Pensacola Fishing Forum / Blue Water Fishing / Blue Water Fishing - General Q & A

Offshore Weather Forecast

ajfishn — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 14:12:39 GMT

What is a good website to look at the offshore weather forecast?

tuna hunting?

pelagicone — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 13:13:45 GMT

My fishing buddy an I are leaving 1:00am sunday morn looking for the tuna bite .

We are in a 31" baby blue cape horny horn. Any suggestions?:hungry

Pensacola Junior Angler Tournament

Matt09 — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 12:04:06 GMT

Does anyone know any information about this tournament?

Anyone seen Snapper Slapper???

$EA $ICKNE$$ — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 08:20:51 GMT

hmmm.....

Need a crewmate

bellafishing — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 21:16:58 GMT

Need one for Fri/Sat. See "Need a Crew, Need a Ride" Section.

Bob

Where do you get squid for swording?

M L — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 16:51:18 GMT

Where can I find whole squid for swordfishing around Mobile/Orange Beach?

oil rigs

MissKristy — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 21:15:39 GMT

Can you tie your boat to the 255 rig during the night and jig for blackfin? I no you cant hook to the petronius but didnt no about this rig.

Lloyds ridge ?

Top Shelf — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 15:57:12 GMT

Does anyone hav ehte numbers to Lloyds ridge

Eating skipjack tuna

GAHUNTER — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 10:01:41 GMT

I've always given them away in the past, but I see where some folks like them as much as yft.

Do you keep yours? If you do, do you prepare them any differently from your yellowfin steaks?

Opinions please.

HMS permit

MissKristy — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 16:29:32 GMT

Where do you get an HMS permit to catch tuna and how much are they.

Your advice is invaluable

jjam — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 01:11:57 GMT

Hey blue water anglers, I appreciate your professional opinions/advice and I call on those very well respected knowlege folks to chime in.

I've read some great post from the floating condos with envy, but looking to hear from some of the smaller prior/present vessel owners obtaining the same results. Am I dreaming (and I do dream when it comes to fishing) if I can get on some of this action via 22 WA Wellcraft with dependable 200 Optimax. Fuel cap 99 gal getting a solid 2+ mpg and has proven her sea worthiness over the five years I owned her. I've travel to the edge up to 45 mi and participated in Bud Light King tourney a couple years ago. In the tourney, I top off the tank in Ft Morgan and returned to P-cola Bay thru Gulf with just less than a half of tank remaining (approx 45 gal) out of 99 gal.

I appreciate any response, positive or negative from all you Blue Water anglers.

Thanks Much!

Jimmy

Hook, Line and Sinker Seminar Series(Offshore Trolling) Aug. 4

ericholstman — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 17:52:06 GMT

Thought this would be the appropriate spot for this announcement.

Just wanted to let everyone know that Capt. Pat Dineen, Chevy Florida Fishing Report, Capt. Miles Colley and Anthony Arnold will be our Offshore Trolling guest speakers at the HLS Seminar Series next Monday night(7pm) at Flounders.

The HLS Seminars are free. Free food, 2-1 drinks, free raffles and giveaways and excellent free information. Free buffet starts at 630pm and the seminar starts at 700pm. Get there early because they have been packed!

Hope to see everyone next Monday.

Catching Hardtails

Reel Rowdy — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 15:34:30 GMT

What is the best way/technique to get a few hardtails on the way out to the rigs? Thanks in advance for the info!

What is the water like at the rigs?

JMS — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 14:49:47 GMT

Does anyone know what it is like since the storm moved through? I'm going this weekend

What exactly is chunking?

JMS — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 16:15:03 GMT

I have seen this term used about catching yft but I am not familiar with the technique. Can someone describe it to me? I have several whole frozen bonita, can they be used? Weather permiting, I am heading to the rigs this weekend with Tuna in my eyes! I'd love to try something new

Tuna Chunking

Mr. Mike — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 12:30:08 GMT

When you run out of the prefered chunking baits, chunked black fin tuna, mackeral etc. If you chunk with a buffet of various kinds of chunks (whater is on hand) will it still draw the YFT and will they hit?

How's the action off Gulf Shores, AL???

MakeMyDay — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 11:03:48 GMT

Hello, fellow Sportsmen -

I will be visting (actually contemplating a permanent move with the family) Gulf Shore, Alabama, and am wondering about the offshore action in this neck of the woods. I am a SE Florida resident and fish solely offshore in the Florida and Bahamian waters for dolphin, sailfish, wahoo, tuna and the like. I also do some deep dropping and love to dive and snorkel for lobster and hog snapper.

Anyone have experience in the waters off Gulf Shores? What are the target species in this area? Are there oil rigs this far north in the Gulf? I made a trip to Venice, LA, last month and the fishing around the oil rigs was fantastic. I lived on Florida's Gulf Coast back in the 90s and recall that the rule of thumb was a mile for every foot of depth to reach serious fishing water. How far out do you need to go in the northern Gulf for serious offshore angling opportunity?

Boating, fishing and all the stuff that goes along with it are what make my family's quality of life what it is. I need to make sure we have and will enjoy the same opportunity just outside of the Panhandle. Any information or feedback would be appreciated.

Tight lines!

More advice for the beginner please!!

ericholstman — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 21:41:25 GMT

Hello Bluewater friends,

I've got the itch to do some offshore trolling very soon, possibly Sunday or early next week. My sincere thanks to all of you who offered the incredible information on bait choices and the techniques for wahoo and dolphin on my last post. It will give me a headstart and at least get me going with the proper trolling techniques. I'm anxious to learn as much as possible!!

I was wondering if the water between the Nipple and Spur has improved as far as water quality and weed formation? Would the rigs be more productive? Or just any advice that you think will be helpful.

Oceans of thanks again.

Livebaiting tuna northern GOM

hmsmithjr — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 13:20:35 GMT

Normally I am a troller but I have been thinking a lot about more live baiting for tuna around the rigs south of Dauphin Island. I have done it once or twice but with no luck so far except for a miss or two. So far when i do this I am connecting my main line to a 6 - 9 ft flourocarbon leader using a uni to uni knot. Then slow trolling two lines at a time with live hardtails. How can I refine my technique so that I may present my baits better? BTW I am bridling my baits to a 7/0 or 8/0 frenzy circle hook. Should I get off the rig and drift instead of slow trolling of what? I do have a kite that I really haven't used yet but I plan on using it this weekend when I go out in conjunction with the live baiting. Thanks in advance for the help.

Maclin

Break-away weights?

GAHUNTER — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 08:48:40 GMT

I've heard that some folks in south Florida use break-away weights when swording at night in the Stream. Weights are attached with light rigging wire at the swivel.

Theory is that when a fish starts his run, water pressure causes the rigging wire to give way, releasing the weight, preventing it from becoming a counter-weight, which may or may not cause the hook to dislodge.

I have a cousin who used to do this for tarpon in West Pass (Appalachicola). It worked well, until one day a tarpon jumped on first hook-up and threw the 4-oz. weight right through the Mako's windshield! Had it hit one of them in the head, we're not sure he would have survived.

Swordfish jump, too.

looking for sportfishing charter

wrangler — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 15:47:25 GMT

I will be in destin this coming sat (july 26) and will be there for a week. I have been calling around and no one I can find on the net will do make up or grouping together trips. My family doest want to go fishing and I need to find a charter group that wants to target yft, mahi, billfish etc. If anyone here can recomend a charter I might call that would do this or be interested let me know.

Going to floater's this fri night

Team Nitty Gritty — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 13:13:44 GMT

Hello fellow fishaholics, myself and a couple of guys from the b'ham area have aquired the sickness known as saltwater fishing. we fish out of gulf shores/ ob area 1-2 times a month and we very much appreciate the tips you guys post, with fuel prices etc. any info is precious. We will try and post what we find as soon as we return. if any of y'all are out that way give us a shout,we generally monitor channel 16. we fish out of a scout abaco 28'. Thanks again from Team Nitty Gritty: Capt. Jeff/ Jason/Keith and assorted scoundrels.

Hilton's Offshore Report

82montauk — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 22:29:04 GMT

We're planning a rig / sword trip for Friday and Saturday and want to know what the water is looking like around the rigs and Steps. Is anyone else out there having problems with Hilton's site? The colors on the altemitry and salinity screens seem to be reversed - dirty water showing as blue, blue water showing as yellow/orange, etc. I basically want to know what this storm is doing for the tuna bite overthere before wasting a bunch of time and gas. Any help appreciated.

jase

ROV attacked by SwordFish!

GOTCHA TOO — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 08:43:17 GMT

Look at pic

Freakin Crazy.. It hit the ROV 20m down! The sword got stuck and they had to pull the ROV up and cut its head off! Good eatin!

Oil rig charts

GAHUNTER — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 08:32:20 GMT

Is there a web site or a constantly updated chart published that shows the location by lat/long of every oil rig, stand pipe, gas well, etc., in the Gulf? In the past, I've gotten block charts in LA that shows locations in individulal blocks, but I found thme inaccurate or outdated.

Swordfishing 101

The Blue Hoo — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 13:57:55 GMT

I have had a few requests lately on how to rig up leaders, baits, etc. for swordfishing. There are many ways to do it, depending on your resources, skill level, time, etc. but here are a few we have found to be successful on our boat. Much thanks to Chris Vecsey at Top Gun Tackle as well as Wade (Downtime2)

as for sword rigs, we dont do anything overly fancy on our boat. we have 2 main rigs we use. on both of these rigs, the leaders are pretty much the same. i like to use around 15' of 300-400# leader. i havent really noticed a difference between flouro and mono (maybe because of the dark?) so i just grab whatever i have readily available.

the first one is relatively easy but most people lack the materials to construct it; this first rig can be seen at http://sportfishingmag.com/gulfswordrigs

i kinda like this first one so long as i take the time to rig them up while everyone is eating dinner inside the salon. i'll rig up around 4 or so in about 20 minutes....the floss helps hold the squid up....as in, keeps the mantle from "bunching" up much like a slinky or sock, if that makes sense. this can also be accomplished with copper rigging wire, but i prefer rigging floss. the key here is matching the hook size to the squid that you are using. for further help rigging this leader, either contact chris vecsey at top gun tackle in orange beach (251 981-3811) or myself.

as for the second, start out with the same leader. 15' of 300-400# leader, crimped on with chafe tubing at the hook; and with a loop crimped at the tag end. i'm not sure the size j-hook, (11/0 or 12/0) but it's big and a bit longer on the shank side than what i would normally rig plastics on....i believe it's meant for pulling horse ballyhoo. as for baiting it, swords are not like some fish in that, often they will turn their nose up at your offering if isnt cosmetically appealing. we will spear whatever we have on the boat, on the hook. it may be anything from 4-5 boston macks on the hook, or a squid (live if they've shown up under the lights); a big fresh dead blackfin or bonito, etc. doesn't have to look pretty.

as for the lights, we dont waste our time usually with the expensive lindgreen-pittman lights (or however you spell that company). they work, but they have not proven any more effective than just your standard cyalume "snap-sticks." i attach these at the swivel (top of the leader) with copper rigging wire. very simple. various other boats i work on will stick the lightstick inside a gatorade bottle and float one near the surface, but i really havent seen those in awhile so i cant comment on them. the weights also go at the swivel. now the key is to let it drop SLOWLY. if not, the bait (all depending on current-just like bottom fishing. i use anywhere from 12-32 ounces) will helicopter around the leader and light stick and prove useless. i will sometimes attach the weights with a rubber band, but it honestly just depends on how much lead i brought aboard. we usually dont keep a whole lot aboard cuz we dont like to fool around with bottom fishing all that much. the last few trips i ran, i attached the weights with rigging floss attached to a life-saver. i'm sure you've heard of this method, as the candy will dissolve in a couple of minutes and then the weights will break off to a watery grave. basically, once you get your bait at its desired depth (i like to stagger my baits at 150, 250, 350 feet down (100 foot intervals) ), let it sit and then that weight will break off. the bait will slowly rise to the surface. if not hit, it usually takes about an hour for the bait to float back to the surface. redeploy as desired. if you're on a bigger boat, hang the lines right out of the outriggers. this just keeps them out of the props and hanging vertically. keep your drag lever VERY light. i keep mine just above freespool, with the clicker engaged. and then i pop a monster or a redbull and sit out and either cast poppers to yellowfin or just chill to a little Squizz on XM radio. swords will often take very subtle inches of line at a time....this is when they are usually whackin the shit outta the bait with their bills. DO NOT TOUCH THE REEL AT THIS TIME. wait til that puppy starts screamin, and then very slowly but deliberately move the drag lever closer (but not all the way) to strike. fight fish accordingly. i think this pretty much covers sword fishing as we do it on our boat; sorry for the long, drawn-out post. this is often much easier to show in person, and i will be happy to show anyone how to do it next week either at my place over in orange beach or at whatever place we meet up for wednesday night dinner.

As for swordfishing during the day, apparently this practice has been utilized by the guys over in the Mediterranean for a while now, and to great success. There is simply no reason why these fish only feed at night. However, because this practice really hasn't caught on in the northern gulf of mexico, there is simply a lack of evidence to prove that it works or not. My theory? It will work. Same methods, same baits, same depths, same "fishy" areas; be it around a rig or the steps, etc. Stay tuned for a report in the next few weeks; I am very anxious to try daytime deep dropping for swords.

As for trolling at night for swords, moldcraft actually makes several of their lures in glow-in-the-dark paint schemes. Once again, we haven't tried it so I am not in a place to say whether it works or not. Something to think about next time you're bored at night and have some extra senior wide ranges in glow laying around....

Edit: While drifting at night, especially around a well-lit up rig, there simply is nothing better than rigging up a live flier thru the lips, and setting him out on a drift line behind the boat. No weights. I typically use a stout spinning rod (everyone should know by now I use my heavy spinning rod for EVERYTHING), but if decent size yellers have been spotted in the area, let that baby out on a 50w. Flying fish are like crack cocaine for yellowfin. You should not have a problem with this line becoming entangled with your sword lines.

TS Dolly

bigone — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 16:17:38 GMT

Do you think Tropical storm Dolly will push that southern blue water towards us ?, heading to the rigs this weekend, only rig trip with the guys this summer, going wether the water is blue, green, brown or black

catching yft

spiderjohn — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 19:31:15 GMT

What permits are required if you nail a yft and decide to keep it?

Swordfishing around rigs

M L — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 20:43:45 GMT

I was wanting to get some advice. Is it worth swording around Marlin/Petronius at night or would it be better to make the run to the steps? Anyone caught a sword around the rigs?

Reels for trolling nipple, 131, spur

spiderjohn — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 21:38:25 GMT

Other than the obvious 80 and 130 class offshore stuff that costs a bundle, anyone have opinions on what reels are good enough for 80% of the catch? Looking at TLD 25 but was told to move up to the Tyrnos 30 at least. We have two 30W that work great but trying to add qualty reels that will last and catch most of hookups out there. What are mos using out there? Thanks for the info. I currently use 2 113h Penn and am forced to use the GTi330 Penn on the way back down the middle. Trying to move up to a 7 line spread when we have the anglers that can help. Otherwise, its four to five in the spread on outriggers and corners. 25 foot boat so beam is not enough to go bigger.

Marlin-food or fun

Jarhead — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 19:40:49 GMT

I was just wondering if you guys, or how many of you, eat the Marlin and Swordies you catch.. I know there's a big push for catch and release and tagging fish but I'm seeing a lot of pics of dead sailfish on here.

I have yet to catch one and haven't been able to get that involved in trying to catch one...... yet... But I would hate to look like an ass at the dock when I finally get my first. It wouldn't kill me to release one if that's the best thing for future fishing but I will keep it and throw it on the grill if it's good eating and not going to hurt anybody's feelings.

Also, I was searching for the limits on this type of fish and all I found was the Federal Guide that says there's NO LIMIT on most of this type of fish. I found that extremely hard to believe. This guide had Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, and Florida listed but was the GOM Federal Guide.. Does this apply? I found it through the Alabama site.

Teaser Bait

Jarhead — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 15:59:16 GMT

I'm brand new to trolling and trying to figure out as much as I can before I go out next. I've been reading up about Trolling techniques and there are a couple things I haven't been able to find answers for. All the recent threads I've read from you guys have been VERY helpful but it looks to me, and correct me if I'm wrong, like you guys are using 1 teaser up close. The articles I found online talk about putting one inline teaser in front of each lure to simulate your lure chasing this baitfish. The idea they gave for this is that even when these fish aren't feeding, seeing their usual prey going after lunch will cause a bite based on competitiveness.

I also found a thread one of you posted just the other day with a diagram,(very nice for a rookie like myself) but I saw no inline teasers and if I remember correctly, just one near the stern.

Any help would be greatly appreciated, and much of the terminology like spreaders, wood plugs, ext. is pretty greek to me so please try to remember that I'm pretty ignorant to much of these ideas. I try to figure these things out by myself but most of the information you find is advertisements and bias. I'd hate to run out and buy a bunch of junk I don't need (which I've done before) and still do it wrong.

If I ever get the basic setup down I'd be able to tweak it enough to make it work but jumping in without a clue can be pretty confusing and mistakes can be expensive. Some of these lures are over $100 each. If I bought 7 of these things and found out I only needed one I'd blow a gasket. :reallycrying(if the wife didn't kill me first). :doh:doh

Thanks in advance fellas and hope to see you out there. :bowdownI'll be the one with a bunch of tangled up lines scratching his head and kicking his boat.. :banghead:banghead:banghead:banghead:banghead:banghead

Blue Water advice appreciated

JMS — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 14:10:42 GMT

I am trailoring down from Tallassee, Al(northeast of Montgomery) this weekend to hookup with my cousin and fishing partner who lives in Milton. We usually make an overnight run out to the rigs( petronious, beercan, ram powell etc.) for some trolling and jigging around the rigs if the weather and seas are good. The forecast looks good so far for the weekend and we have the full moon to keep us company but I am reading a lot of bad reports on the water clarity.What do you think? Are we wasting time and gas=money trying to make that run or would we be better off staying closer and bottom fishing and trolling the edge and nipple? We are going regardless because it doesn't look good for us having another shot before September.The question is just what to prepare for. I really respect and would greatly appreciate your advice.

Thanks,

Mike

Bluewater

bottomfisher01 — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 15:55:58 GMT

Is there bluewater south of panama city right now?

anybody going out tuesday/wed ?

zeke — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 18:28:42 GMT

We are going to swordfish/troll the spur Tues/Wed. Anybody else going to be out?

call us on 16/68

Zeke

29 Luhrs Express

lures for newbie

spiderjohn — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 19:51:05 GMT

I already asked about the reels. Now wondering about lures. I have some Ilander blue/whites with ballyhoo rigs. I have also seen the Ilander Blackholes catch more mahi than the straight up Ilanders. If I want good lures for mahi/other top water eaters... what would y'all suggest. I am thinking all Blackholes with blue/white and ballyhoo rigs and some Moldcraft standard wide ranges. Any other must haves/color recommendations? I have Yozuri Bonitos (black/orange and purple/black) as well as high speed black and red wahoo rig and high speed blue white wahoo Ilander rig. I really like the top water stuff that pops and jets. Black Barts seem expensive and not familiar with the Hawaiin lures... Trying to get some good stuff for our spread without complicating too much. Again, your input is appreciated by me and I assume other posting. Looking for the experienced guys to lend their two cents on what catches fish when they are out there. I would love to catch bill fish trolling...

Dauphin Island / Billy Goat Hole Question

NewtoBlue — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 20:56:15 GMT

My boat draws about 2 1/2 feet, when leaving billy goat hole from DI do you have to run out in the ship channel or can you cut down west of sand island lighthouse?

Lures

bottomfisher01 — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 14:03:57 GMT

Are there any lures that could be used for both wahoo and marlin???

going out this week

14offshore — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 10:04:16 GMT

i have gotten some numbers for the dutch banks, and yellow gravel. is this a trip worth taking right now. what kind of set up so you use do you bottom or troll if some one could give me an idea as to what the tatics are for both thanks mike

finding bluewater

bluffman2 — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 18:32:09 GMT

this may help........

http://onearth.jpl.nasa.gov/WK/daily_planet/