|
17 Mar 2003 - Venice Louisiana Report
|
|
Category: Saltwater
|
|
Author Name: Capt. Scott Avanzino
|
Been putting a hurt on the amberjacks and grouper on the slow tuna days avergaing and easy limit of jacks and at least one large warsaw from 30-60 pounds as well as a few scamps and yellowedge groupers....the 70 degree bluewater has moved in but fishing is surprisingly slow for trolling. Last year during this same time we were hammering the wahoo. Only caught 2 last week along with a 8 twenty pound blackfin tuna in open water.
The big story of the week was the 400 pound mako we released....not intentionally...It was the highlight of Thursday after spotting a dark blue and black fin among the busting tuna. The hookup and fight went smooth since we had a bonita on wire in the box and the 'mako rod' in the ready in the rack. My angler Houston from O'Conner Oil and Gas in Lafayette did a great job all by himself with a potential record fish on the line. He hung in for 1 and 45 minute doing a great job...the fish made 5 jumps at various times and came to the transom 3 times before running off 100 yards of line...we got great pictures of the of the fish on Tim and Jon O'Conner's digital (will post on my home page photo sight when I get them)...Just to tell you how unpredicatble these guys are is a whole separate story. The one we green gaffed a few weeks ago was tame compared to this one...
Had rehearsed the process before attempting anything and had a 22 caliber with hollow points on the ready. Decided to let the deckhand Sonny do the honors while I manuevered. He precisely planted the 8' flyer deep into the back (a perfiect shot) and the fish went nuts spinning and thrashing behind the boat 4 feet from the cockpit. Somehow the 100# mainline and 250# windon broke in the calamity. I decided to leave the controls to help out Sonny with the rope. I was able to get him closer to the boat but for every foot I would gain he would get a little deeper until he turned and made a run under the boat. I asked the closest bystander to the controls to put the boat in gear and he hit the throttles by accident...by the time I ran back to the controls to get in gear the rope holding the gaff to the cleat came undone yanking Sonny clean out of the cockpit and into the water. Fortunately Sonny cam up rattled and clear of the running gear a little rattled and without boots...not a perfect catch and release but a catch and release!
As we were discussing what we learned I was thankful that we always keep a knife in a utility belt at all times...next time we will be sure to do the cleating ourselves...and for sure check it before the gaff shot....it had turned out that the loop end of the flying gaff rope had been hurriedly looped around the cleat instaed of secured...the slack in the line pulled the loop free and when the boat went into gear the fish took the whole line and Sonny with it.
Paradise Outfitters...504-451-7579
|
|
|
