Fishing Offshore

[Ken Johnson]

Summer provides a change of pace around here. Stone Crab season is almost over and the offshore conditions are improving (wind is down) Caught this about 3 miles from the reef. Thats about 10 miles from the marina.

[steve 9atx]

Female Dolphin (Dorado). I'd say 15 lbs. Probably caught her under some floating debris in the Gulf Stream. Nice fish. Wonderful sushi.

Steve

[weldertom]

That would be a Dorado /Mahi mahi /Dolphin Fish etc....

Easily converted to human by grilling over hot mesquite coals and served with a fine mango sauce accompanied with a cold Bohemia or two.

[Mike4284m]

Nice color on that one.

[JimR]

We'd call that a chicken dolphin, as opposed to a bull dolphin. Of course, in the grocery store or in a nice restaurant, it is always Mahi Mahi.

[Ken Johnson]

Only 7 pounds.

Chicken it was.

[steve 9atx]

Ken

You remember that scene from Crocodile Dundee where Paul Hogan is confronted by the punk with a knife and he says,

"that's not a knife, THIS is a knife...."? We'll, I hate to do it but bragging is a fisherman's prerogative. Here's a pick of a

buddy of mine with the largest bull of 11 dolphins we caught about 10 years ago in Mexico. He's 6'-1" for comparison.

We were just off of Puerto Aventuras (southwest of Cozumel off the mainland), and our captain kept us slowly trolling just

in front of a squall line heading south for several hours. The bull dolphin in the picture had two girlfriends hanging with him,

so my other friend and I started casting artificial plugs under their noses with light tackle, 12 lb test, and caught both of

them. Each of the cows were in the 30-35lb range. I'll be the big bull was in the 70+lb range - they don't get much bigger

than this. All in all, that was an exceptional day's fishing. We caught 535lbs. of fish (not counting the couple of white marlin

we put back) between the three of us. Every restaurant in Cozumel had a Mahi special that night.

Steve

Edited May 12, 2008 by steve 9atx

[www.dadluvsu.com]

Those are called peanuts at that size.... Not even worthy of a gaff! Throw em back and in 3 years you'll have a 70-80 lb monster!

[JimR]

Nice fish! I have only caught one or two that might match it and those were caught off Venezuela and Panama.

Ken

You remember that scene from Crocodile Dundee where Paul Hogan is confronted by the punk with a knife and he says,

"that's not a knife, THIS is a knife...."? We'll, I hate to do it but bragging is a fisherman's prerogative. Here's a pick of a

buddy of mine with the largest bull of 11 dolphins we caught about 10 years ago in Mexico. He's 6'-1" for comparison.

We were just off of Puerto Aventuras (southwest of Cozumel off the mainland), and our captain kept us slowly trolling just

in front of a squall line heading south for several hours. The bull dolphin in the picture had two girlfriends hanging with him,

so my other friend and I started casting artificial plugs under their noses with light tackle, 12 lb test, and caught both of

them. Each of the cows were in the 30-35lb range. I'll be the big bull was in the 70+lb range - they don't get much bigger

than this. All in all, that was an exceptional day's fishing. We caught 535lbs. of fish (not counting the couple of white marlin

we put back) between the three of us. Every restaurant in Cozumel had a Mahi special that night.

Steve

[Alan_Tampa]

William, more like 1 year to get that big. I think they are very short lived.

Alan

[JimR]

Grow fast, live hard, leave a good eating corpse!

William, more like 1 year to get that big. I think they are very short lived.

Alan

[_Keith]

I would call that fish either bait or sushi, depending on the location.

Now, of course that is easy to say in humor, but I have fished a few days when I would have begged to have that fish on a hook. Thankfully, that has been the minority of days and not the majority.

[Ken Johnson]

It was a slow day. Wind was from the West and around here any fish is good on that kind of day.

Stand by for next weekend.

BTW a nice Wahoo came in that day. 65 pounds!

[steve 9atx]

Ken

A Wahoo about that size (50+ lbs) was my first really big fish. Man, that was like pulling up a chunk of concrete!

I guess, like all pelagic fish, they are STRONG. I can't even imagine catching the record, 195lbs or whatever it is.

Steve

[weldertom]

Nice Bull there ...!!

You friend, however, should not wear his wife's shorts.

[steve 9atx]

Tom

He wasn't actually married then. Maybe they were his swim trunks.

Looks kinda like 1960's basketball shorts though, huh?

Steve

[bubba]

All those fish looked quite good.Bet that Wahoo is already eaten.I remember my Grandfather telling me that a number of years ago when he was a lad,they used to catch Wahoo in the Intracoastal and throw them back!

[street124]

Ken

You remember that scene from Crocodile Dundee where Paul Hogan is confronted by the punk with a knife and he says,

"that's not a knife, THIS is a knife...."? We'll, I hate to do it but bragging is a fisherman's prerogative. Here's a pick of a

buddy of mine with the largest bull of 11 dolphins we caught about 10 years ago in Mexico. He's 6'-1" for comparison.

We were just off of Puerto Aventuras (southwest of Cozumel off the mainland), and our captain kept us slowly trolling just

in front of a squall line heading south for several hours. The bull dolphin in the picture had two girlfriends hanging with him,

so my other friend and I started casting artificial plugs under their noses with light tackle, 12 lb test, and caught both of

them. Each of the cows were in the 30-35lb range. I'll be the big bull was in the 70+lb range - they don't get much bigger

than this. All in all, that was an exceptional day's fishing. We caught 535lbs. of fish (not counting the couple of white marlin

we put back) between the three of us. Every restaurant in Cozumel had a Mahi special that night.

Steve

[street124]

Ken

You remember that scene from Crocodile Dundee where Paul Hogan is confronted by the punk with a knife and he says,

"that's not a knife, THIS is a knife...."? We'll, I hate to do it but bragging is a fisherman's prerogative. Here's a pick of a

buddy of mine with the largest bull of 11 dolphins we caught about 10 years ago in Mexico. He's 6'-1" for comparison.

We were just off of Puerto Aventuras (southwest of Cozumel off the mainland), and our captain kept us slowly trolling just

in front of a squall line heading south for several hours. The bull dolphin in the picture had two girlfriends hanging with him,

so my other friend and I started casting artificial plugs under their noses with light tackle, 12 lb test, and caught both of

them. Each of the cows were in the 30-35lb range. I'll be the big bull was in the 70+lb range - they don't get much bigger

than this. All in all, that was an exceptional day's fishing. We caught 535lbs. of fish (not counting the couple of white marlin

we put back) between the three of us. Every restaurant in Cozumel had a Mahi special that night.

Steve

hey is that flipper laying on the dock?

[Xavierdlc61887]

Steve

[gsn]

All those fish looked quite good.Bet that Wahoo is already eaten.I remember my Grandfather telling me that a number of years ago when he was a lad,they used to catch Wahoo in the Intracoastal and throw them back!

Bubba,

Did they also catch bluefin and yellowfin tuna in the Intracoastal?

Kingfish maybe when they are near the beaches in the summer ,might wander into the intracoastal , but a true pelagic like WAHOO?

I have seen some interesting catches come out of the Indian River!

[_Keith]

Summer provides a change of pace around here. Stone Crab season is almost over and the offshore conditions are improving (wind is down) Caught this about 3 miles from the reef. Thats about 10 miles from the marina.

We too have a limited Stone Crab harvest. Right now, Blue Crab season is starting. They will be in the bays and shorelines in great numbers soon. Is it the same in So. Fla.?

Here is a cut and paste relating to the Louisiana Stone Crab.

The stone crab found in Louisiana is officially known as the Gulf stone crab, Menippe adina. It is very closely related to the Florida stone crab, Menippe mercenaria, but smaller, with some color differences. The Gulf stone crab has a dark brown body, compared to the tan or gray color of the Florida stone crab, and it doesn’t have bands or stripes around its legs like the Florida stone crab. The ranges of the two species overlap in the area of Apalachee Bay, Florida, where they hybridize.

[www.dadluvsu.com]

I have to keep photos of my fish stories so they don't outgrow the truth by too much! This was a while back, but for a size reference... the little itty bitty fish on the bottom of the frame was 10 lbs...

200 kilos of fish in just over 3 hours... My arms hurt so bad we went back to the dock early...

Overpopulation and over fishing (grumble grumble)...

I remember not even 15 years ago I couldn't put a line in the water without catching a 15-20 lb dorado... Where'd the weedlines go? Why are there so many boats out on Wednesdays, not even mentioning the weekends? :beatingdh: Alas, humans have mucked up one more thing on this planet.... Pray the fish restock!

[street124]

Summer provides a change of pace around here. Stone Crab season is almost over and the offshore conditions are improving (wind is down) Caught this about 3 miles from the reef. Thats about 10 miles from the marina.

We too have a limited Stone Crab harvest. Right now, Blue Crab season is starting. They will be in the bays and shorelines in great numbers soon. Is it the same in So. Fla.?

Here is a cut and paste relating to the Louisiana Stone Crab.

The stone crab found in Louisiana is officially known as the Gulf stone crab, Menippe adina. It is very closely related to the Florida stone crab, Menippe mercenaria, but smaller, with some color differences. The Gulf stone crab has a dark brown body, compared to the tan or gray color of the Florida stone crab, and it doesn’t have bands or stripes around its legs like the Florida stone crab. The ranges of the two species overlap in the area of Apalachee Bay, Florida, where they hybridize.

would like to see that cut and paste, didnt come through for me. Stone crab season in Fl runs from oct 15 thru may 15 with most production coming out of monroe county (FL Keys) followed by the west coast and no commercial production above Miami on the East coast. Total havest is around 3-4 million pounds per year. Not an expert on blue crabs but they are abundant on both coasts of Fl except for the keys.

[steve 9atx]

Street

No, flipper would be the non-PC type of "dolphin" to put in the boat. It was a black-tipped reef shark

about 6' long.

William

Nice mess 'o fish.

Steve

[_Keith]

Summer provides a change of pace around here. Stone Crab season is almost over and the offshore conditions are improving (wind is down) Caught this about 3 miles from the reef. Thats about 10 miles from the marina.

We too have a limited Stone Crab harvest. Right now, Blue Crab season is starting. They will be in the bays and shorelines in great numbers soon. Is it the same in So. Fla.?

Here is a cut and paste relating to the Louisiana Stone Crab.

The stone crab found in Louisiana is officially known as the Gulf stone crab, Menippe adina. It is very closely related to the Florida stone crab, Menippe mercenaria, but smaller, with some color differences. The Gulf stone crab has a dark brown body, compared to the tan or gray color of the Florida stone crab, and it doesn’t have bands or stripes around its legs like the Florida stone crab. The ranges of the two species overlap in the area of Apalachee Bay, Florida, where they hybridize.

would like to see that cut and paste, didnt come through for me. Stone crab season in Fl runs from oct 15 thru may 15 with most production coming out of monroe county (FL Keys) followed by the west coast and no commercial production above Miami on the East coast. Total havest is around 3-4 million pounds per year. Not an expert on blue crabs but they are abundant on both coasts of Fl except for the keys.

Here you go. It is a short article. http://www.seagrantfish.lsu.edu/resources/...astonecrabs.htm

[street124]

Street

No, flipper would be the non-PC type of "dolphin" to put in the boat. It was a black-tipped reef shark

about 6' long.

William

Nice mess 'o fish.

Steve

Steve,

JUST messin with you, the tail laying over does resemble flippers tail though.

JC

[Alicehunter2000]

It always sucks to be the one who hooks the first fish in a school of dolphins......"just leave him there on the hook"......while everyone else is having fun.

Anyways......I'm not much of a fisherman....but speaking of pelagic fish nearshore.....we sometimes get sailfish in our waterway leading into the bays around here. Seen em jump surfing. Completely unrelated.........I've seen mako shark mounts from people who fish several miles offshore in the Gulf of Mexico.........supposidly there are White Sharks well offshore as well.

[DoomsDave]

Ken:

Wow, that little thing's pretty!

Did it taste as good as it looked?

dave

[Ken Johnson]

Dave, Yup.

We were in a club tournament and everyone donated their fish for a fry. It was great. I csught 5 more after that one. Could have been worse.

Saw a turtle that must have weighed 1000 pounds. Had DoDo with it too.

[bubba]

In the Late teens and early 20's,Lake worth was clear as a bell and could well have been considered a mear extension of the Ocean.That was "Fixed"by South Florida Water Management.

[gsn]

Bubba,

No doubt Lake Worth was much cleaner,clearer,and more pristine in the 20's than it is now,due in part to the reasons you mention,but also development, fertilizers, and over crowding.

My point was that no matter how pristine Lake Worth was in the 20's it was still an inland body of water,and pelagic species like wahoo, rarely come into such areas.The Florida Keys would be a prime example,still fairly pristine.Yes pelagics are caught on the reefs near shore(Atlantic side) there,but one never hears, or very rarely hears of pelagics caught in the cuts between the keys, or in Florida Bay. Pelagic species by nature are open water fish,and don't like shallow water. And the intracoastal is extremely shallow compared to the open ocean.

[www.dadluvsu.com]

Scott,

I've caught wahoo just inside of Boca Raton inlet on an incoming right after slack tide twice! Agreed it rarely occurs, but it can and does occur... Since we are on the topic I have free dived the inside of the inlet (right inbetween jettys) and been within 50 ft of both a pack of sails (little guys, maybe 30-40 lbs) and a school (at least a dozen)of 15-18 foot long hammerheads

[MattyB]

Steve

That fish is so big it makes your shorts look small.

[bubba]

Wahoo was just one of many unheard of fish he caught out of Lake Worth,when it was clean and clear.He was fairly close to the Palm Beach Inlet.

[gsn]

Bubba,

I am not saying it is impossible that your grandfather caught wahoo in Lake Worth. What I am trying to impress is that this would be EXTREMELY rare even the early 1900's to catch PELAGIC fish in a shallow body of water, such as Lake Worth. But to catch them in numbers that one would throw them back as a trash fish would be hard beleive. Yes rare catches are made ,as I stated, I have seen some in the Indian River. I'm on the water in and around ,Mosquito Lagoon ,the Indian River,and the Atlantic Ocean about 280 days a year.Sailfish are caught nearshore and around the jettys on rare occassions,but never inside,Mosquito Lagoon,Indian and Banana Rivers(misnomer they are also really lagoons). I have even caught a wahoo slow trolling pogies for kingfish about 300 yards off the beach. The kingfish were supposed to be there in the summer(smokers) but the wahoo was NOT.I will repeat then SHUT UP,pelagic fish if found in a shallow water estuary, no matter how pristine,clean and clear the water, were totally LOST!

Some fish that might be confused with wahoo , kingfish,spanish mackeral,and maybe the closest resemblance cero mackeral,down your way.

Bill,

I used to dive the Palm Beach inlet alot when I was in high school ,collecting tropicals. I also have seen some interesting things there.

I don't doubt for a second that you caught wahoo, AT the inlet,but even that would be rare.

Even rarer would be to catch them INSIDE the intracoastal 5 miles from the inlet.

[Mike4284m]

Whose the freak? . . . oh wait . . .

I don't fish very often, but went out on a charter with some buddies last fall. We maxed out on kings and I brought the barracuda in.

[www.dadluvsu.com]

sWEET hAT bRO!

[Alan_Tampa]

Scott, your being a little harsh I think, towards Bubba's post about his grandfather catching wahoo in Lake Worth. I would take him at his word and by extension his Grandfather's word.

I see you added a smiley face, so obviously you are not intending ill will, but having seen some oddball things in my short life I see little reason to raise such a fuss.

More on topic, great whites have been caught as little as two miles off the shore of Sarasota/Bradenton.

Mote Marine Laboratory found a BASKING shark just offshore from its old south Siesta Key location, about 1978 or 1979, Talk about odd.

Even orcas (not near shore) and sperm whales lurk in the Gulf of Mexico.

Also, William 15 to 18 foot long hammerheads seems unlikely, better knock a few feet of that estimate. Also, the biguns usually do not school.

Largest line caught Hammerhead (that was actually a certified record), was about 14 feet long - off of Longboat key.

Most of my fishing has been on the west coast of Florida, within 30 miles of shore, and we don't seem to get as many wahoo on this side and the dolphin are usually pretty far out, but both have turned up in Tampa Bay, granted west of the Skyway. As well as a handful of billfish, including, if memory serves, a white marlin. It should be noted that the channel into Tampa bay is as deep as about 80 feet in places. Remember here on this coast the continental shelf extends rather far and much travel is needed to get to true 'deep water'.

Also, the Gulf of Mexico has some really, really deep spots, Its average depth is 1615 m about 5200 feet.

Pelagic species can stray away from the comforts of the deep, as can inshore fishes wander away from there usual haunts.

Alan

[gsn]

Alan,

No ill will intended , nor disrespect intended,I am only trying to state facts about open ocean species .Nor am I saying he didn't catch a wahoo in Lake Worth.Much the contrary I am clarifing what others have said,even you. Yes there are freak oddball catches recorded everywhere. But it is far from the norm, it is out of the ordinary.Cacthing a pelagic in a shallow water estuary is a freak occurance no matter how pristine the water. I am only going by what I know from years of experience both inland ,nearshore ,and offshore fishing. This what I do for a living.

Now I am really going to shut up!