Capt John 40 Hour Overnight Wednesday-Thursday July 13-14, 2016
Leaving Galveston’s Pier 19 with 29 anglers aboard the party boat Capt John headed out with Captains Johnny and Jill Williams in command for this 40 hour trip.
The trips first stops, about 80 miles out, were over natural bottom in 130 and 250 feet of water. Hitting the squid, sardine and various artificial baits were red snapper, scamp grouper, rockhind grouper, ling, kingfish, almcojack and assorted others. After their leave, the run to the deep water platform for their overnight tuna fishing began.
After a run of about 70 miles they were now at the Auger Platform, 150 miles to the southeast of the island. During the overnight period the tuna catch included yellowfins, blackfins and a skipjack. Diamond and Speed jigs, freelined and Carolina rigged Spanish sardines, hard-bodied swimbaits along with surface poppers had the tuna biting after a somewhat slow start. Leaving the Auger Platform, shortly after sunrise Thursday, the run back to Pier 19 began. A stop on the way was scheduled to get the remainder of the allowed double red snapper limit. The area fished was about 90 miles to the southeast of the island in 250 feet of water. The red one were their along with as assortment of other bottom residents, some of those were more vermillions, almaco jack, rockhind and scamp grouper.
After leaving this last bottom fishing area the run back to Pier 19 continued with this total catch in the iced down fish boxes:
14 Yellowfin Tuna to 65#
36 Blackfin Tuna to 19#
1 Skipjack Tuna of 15#
115 Red Snapper to 25#
152 Vermillion Snapper to 3#
3 Sand tilefish
8 Scamp Grouper to 20#
1 African Pompano
7 Porgy
1 Red Porgy
4 Rockhind Grouper
1 Creolfish
4 Barracuda
4 Almaco Jack
1 Lane Snapper
2 Ling
5 Kingfish to 25#
Told you it was “assorted”!
Justin Williams, Galveston, Captain Jill’s 10 year old son with a vermillion snapper limit of 20, 2 sand tilefish, 1 almaco jack, and a double red snapper limit of 4. His heaviest and the trips heaviest red snapper went to a really nice 25 pounds, thats “scale” pounds, not “estimated”- way to go Justin!
Peter Letts, Cedar Creek Lake, Had a pair of yellowfin tuna going 30 and 50 pounds each to go along with his double red snapper limit to 11 pounds and vermillion double limit of 20. Peter also had 2 blackfin tuna.
Woody Woodward, Texas City, With one yellowfin tuna to 40 pound on a freelined Spanish sardine. He also had a double red snapper limit to 10# and 5 blackfin tuna
Nick Bullock, Texas City, Double red snapper limit and 2 blackfin tuna
Troy Hung, Dickinson, Had 2 blackfin tuna and a double red snapper limit of 4
John McCracken, San Leon, Double red snapper limit and a pair of kingfish
Gino Asuncion, Galveston, 1 blackfin tuna and a double red snapper limit to 15# plus the trips only African pompano
John Greschuk, Tyler, Had a pair of blackfin tuna along with double red snapper limit plus lane and vermillion snapper
Shane Law, Blackfoot Indiana, With a double red snapper limit, 2 blackfin tuna and 1 yellowfin tuna. Greschuk brought him down to experience the Capt. John.
Minh Nguyen, Dallas, “Mister Yellowfin” on this trip with his limit of three from 40 to 65 pounds. This excellent, hard fishing angler also had a double red snapper limit of 4 to 11# and a pair of kingfish to 25# along with 6 vermillion snapper.
Multi-species catch, hi-lighted by the tuna, long run easterly, nice weather and gulf conditions….wish I’d have been there.
See you on the Capt. John!
Patrick Lemire
Justin Williams with his 25# red snapper and deckhand Richard Young.