My wife and I were invited to go fishing Dec 5th with some good friends. My wife doesn’t really fish much, but she was enthusiastic for the chance to go off shore with some good friends to spend the day in the sun. We hit the water about 10am. The temperature was 70 on its way to the low eighties. The 4 mph breeze was out of the NNE so the water was almost flat. First we stopped off at a small beach inside New Pass and my buddy’s wife threw the cast net and got us some minnows for the well which already had a few dozen shrimp in it. We then ran about 10 miles off shore out of New Pass to some structure my friend had numbers for. We arrived there after about 30 minutes and began the circle dance to find the structure. Once we anchored, we dropped lines and were rewarded with immediate action. The first fish was a blue runner we hooked to a popping cork and pitched out about 30 yards behind the boat. We caught a couple more which we threw in the box for cut bait in case we needed it later. Then my buddy’s wife hooked a 19 inch permit which also took an ice bath. Seeing all the quick action, my wife asked for a rod and, after a little instruction, she hooked and landed a decent sized spade fish. There was a big school of these guys that had been lured in by the chum bag and they were hungry. Beside the shrimp and minnows, we had some frozen squid along for the ride. The spades were ready to eat either, but there was not one hit on the minnows. All of a sudden the popping cork started zipping through the water. I grabbed the rod and felt the tension for about 3 seconds. The drag was set really light because I have caught big kings and cuda this way and they fly after they hit the bait. The line went slack as did my short lived exhilaration. I cranked in the lined to discover the 30 lb leader sliced clean. We never saw the fish, but whatever it was, it had some sharp chompers. Between the four of us we caught 25-30 spades and kept 9 of the largest. The bite slowed down and we fished for another hour before pulling anchor and heading back in. Along the way, we ran some crab pot lines looking for triple tail. No luck there so we head for the pass. We were cruising at about 23 and enjoying the end of a beautiful day when we ran across a huge school of cobia! There had to be 50-75 of them on top of the water so high we could see their fins flashing in the late afternoon sun. It was an amazing sight! We stopped the boat and turned back and slowly stalked the enormous boil. My buddy’s wife womaned the helm while he threw a big white bobtail at them. We still had a couple of large shrimp, so I baited one up and threw into the pod. After about five casts my friend had a hit on the jig but the cobia spit the hook after about ten seconds. He said “Oh man! He got off”. I was feeling sorry for him when 5 second later I got a hit on the big shrimp! The drag started to peel off lazily and I resisted the urge to set the hook (circle). I let him have it for a few more turns and then started reeling. True to form, the hook set itself and then the drag started singing as he felt the barb. He took a 10 second run that seemed like 30 as my heart rate doubled and I lost all sense of space and time. At the end of the run I started cranking but could not gain any line. He must have felt it though because he did another short run. At the end of that run I adjusted the star drag slightly and was able to gain on him. For the next few??? minutes we cycled gains on each other. During this time a lot of his buddies swarmed around the fight. He dove under them and I could feel his head shaking. Then he suddenly surfaced and went airborne right in the middle of the pack! When he splashed back in the gulf, the line went slack. I started reeling as fast as I could. The line tightened and I realized he was still on and making a run straight at the boat. I was able to keep the tension on until he got within 15 feet of the boat. Then he turned into the hook and shook it out. The line went slack and my heart sank along with every one else on the boat. We were already tasting cobia for several dinners. It sure was an exciting few minutes though, and a near perfect end of a wonderful day on the water. I’ll never forget the sight of that huge school. They are here for the winter. Maybe next time! Here’s some pictures guys. Enjoy!
Nice write up and nicely done on the fishing too. What beautiful blue water. Those are the good times.
Great story thanks for taking us along nice catches also.
BonitaBarry wrote:
My wife and I were invited to go fishing Dec 5th with some good friends. My wife doesn’t really fish much, but she was enthusiastic for the chance to go off shore with some good friends to spend the day in the sun. We hit the water about 10am. The temperature was 70 on its way to the low eighties. The 4 mph breeze was out of the NNE so the water was almost flat. First we stopped off at a small beach inside New Pass and my buddy’s wife threw the cast net and got us some minnows for the well which already had a few dozen shrimp in it. We then ran about 10 miles off shore out of New Pass to some structure my friend had numbers for. We arrived there after about 30 minutes and began the circle dance to find the structure. Once we anchored, we dropped lines and were rewarded with immediate action. The first fish was a blue runner we hooked to a popping cork and pitched out about 30 yards behind the boat. We caught a couple more which we threw in the box for cut bait in case we needed it later. Then my buddy’s wife hooked a 19 inch permit which also took an ice bath. Seeing all the quick action, my wife asked for a rod and, after a little instruction, she hooked and landed a decent sized spade fish. There was a big school of these guys that had been lured in by the chum bag and they were hungry. Beside the shrimp and minnows, we had some frozen squid along for the ride. The spades were ready to eat either, but there was not one hit on the minnows. All of a sudden the popping cork started zipping through the water. I grabbed the rod and felt the tension for about 3 seconds. The drag was set really light because I have caught big kings and cuda this way and they fly after they hit the bait. The line went slack as did my short lived exhilaration. I cranked in the lined to discover the 30 lb leader sliced clean. We never saw the fish, but whatever it was, it had some sharp chompers. Between the four of us we caught 25-30 spades and kept 9 of the largest. The bite slowed down and we fished for another hour before pulling anchor and heading back in. Along the way, we ran some crab pot lines looking for triple tail. No luck there so we head for the pass. We were cruising at about 23 and enjoying the end of a beautiful day when we ran across a huge school of cobia! There had to be 50-75 of them on top of the water so high we could see their fins flashing in the late afternoon sun. It was an amazing sight! We stopped the boat and turned back and slowly stalked the enormous boil. My buddy’s wife womaned the helm while he threw a big white bobtail at them. We still had a couple of large shrimp, so I baited one up and threw into the pod. After about five casts my friend had a hit on the jig but the cobia spit the hook after about ten seconds. He said “Oh man! He got off”. I was feeling sorry for him when 5 second later I got a hit on the big shrimp! The drag started to peel off lazily and I resisted the urge to set the hook (circle). I let him have it for a few more turns and then started reeling. True to form, the hook set itself and then the drag started singing as he felt the barb. He took a 10 second run that seemed like 30 as my heart rate doubled and I lost all sense of space and time. At the end of the run I started cranking but could not gain any line. He must have felt it though because he did another short run. At the end of that run I adjusted the star drag slightly and was able to gain on him. For the next few??? minutes we cycled gains on each other. During this time a lot of his buddies swarmed around the fight. He dove under them and I could feel his head shaking. Then he suddenly surfaced and went airborne right in the middle of the pack! When he splashed back in the gulf, the line went slack. I started reeling as fast as I could. The line tightened and I realized he was still on and making a run straight at the boat. I was able to keep the tension on until he got within 15 feet of the boat. Then he turned into the hook and shook it out. The line went slack and my heart sank along with every one else on the boat. We were already tasting cobia for several dinners. It sure was an exciting few minutes though, and a near perfect end of a wonderful day on the water. I’ll never forget the sight of that huge school. They are here for the winter. Maybe next time! Here’s some pictures guys. Enjoy!
My wife and I were invited to go fishing Dec 5th w... (
show quote)
Great report and story Barry! Man I feel like I was there, maybe wishful thinking, LOL. Sounds like an excellent day with beautiful water an weather, and a nice catch to boot. Thanks for the pictures and the story.
Great story! Felt like I was there fighting it with you. You’ll get him next time. Looking forward to your next adventure!! Thanks for the post
Smokey2 wrote:
Nice write up and nicely done on the fishing too. What beautiful blue water. Those are the good times.
Thanks Smokey! It was a great day I wanted to share. Tight lines!
neverfish wrote:
Great story thanks for taking us along nice catches also.
Glad you enjoyed it neverfish!
Fredfish wrote:
Great report and story Barry! Man I feel like I was there, maybe wishful thinking, LOL. Sounds like an excellent day with beautiful water an weather, and a nice catch to boot. Thanks for the pictures and the story.
You are welcome Fred. I always enjoy reading reports from you and many others on the stage. We had a great day that I wanted to detail to return the favor! 👍😎
JoeT73
Loc: Punta Gorda Florida
Thanks for the report it was exciting to read.
I think that makes all of us up north very jealous!! Well I know I am!! Great story
BonitaBarry wrote:
My wife and I were invited to go fishing Dec 5th with some good friends. My wife doesn’t really fish much, but she was enthusiastic for the chance to go off shore with some good friends to spend the day in the sun. We hit the water about 10am. The temperature was 70 on its way to the low eighties. The 4 mph breeze was out of the NNE so the water was almost flat. First we stopped off at a small beach inside New Pass and my buddy’s wife threw the cast net and got us some minnows for the well which already had a few dozen shrimp in it. We then ran about 10 miles off shore out of New Pass to some structure my friend had numbers for. We arrived there after about 30 minutes and began the circle dance to find the structure. Once we anchored, we dropped lines and were rewarded with immediate action. The first fish was a blue runner we hooked to a popping cork and pitched out about 30 yards behind the boat. We caught a couple more which we threw in the box for cut bait in case we needed it later. Then my buddy’s wife hooked a 19 inch permit which also took an ice bath. Seeing all the quick action, my wife asked for a rod and, after a little instruction, she hooked and landed a decent sized spade fish. There was a big school of these guys that had been lured in by the chum bag and they were hungry. Beside the shrimp and minnows, we had some frozen squid along for the ride. The spades were ready to eat either, but there was not one hit on the minnows. All of a sudden the popping cork started zipping through the water. I grabbed the rod and felt the tension for about 3 seconds. The drag was set really light because I have caught big kings and cuda this way and they fly after they hit the bait. The line went slack as did my short lived exhilaration. I cranked in the lined to discover the 30 lb leader sliced clean. We never saw the fish, but whatever it was, it had some sharp chompers. Between the four of us we caught 25-30 spades and kept 9 of the largest. The bite slowed down and we fished for another hour before pulling anchor and heading back in. Along the way, we ran some crab pot lines looking for triple tail. No luck there so we head for the pass. We were cruising at about 23 and enjoying the end of a beautiful day when we ran across a huge school of cobia! There had to be 50-75 of them on top of the water so high we could see their fins flashing in the late afternoon sun. It was an amazing sight! We stopped the boat and turned back and slowly stalked the enormous boil. My buddy’s wife womaned the helm while he threw a big white bobtail at them. We still had a couple of large shrimp, so I baited one up and threw into the pod. After about five casts my friend had a hit on the jig but the cobia spit the hook after about ten seconds. He said “Oh man! He got off”. I was feeling sorry for him when 5 second later I got a hit on the big shrimp! The drag started to peel off lazily and I resisted the urge to set the hook (circle). I let him have it for a few more turns and then started reeling. True to form, the hook set itself and then the drag started singing as he felt the barb. He took a 10 second run that seemed like 30 as my heart rate doubled and I lost all sense of space and time. At the end of the run I started cranking but could not gain any line. He must have felt it though because he did another short run. At the end of that run I adjusted the star drag slightly and was able to gain on him. For the next few??? minutes we cycled gains on each other. During this time a lot of his buddies swarmed around the fight. He dove under them and I could feel his head shaking. Then he suddenly surfaced and went airborne right in the middle of the pack! When he splashed back in the gulf, the line went slack. I started reeling as fast as I could. The line tightened and I realized he was still on and making a run straight at the boat. I was able to keep the tension on until he got within 15 feet of the boat. Then he turned into the hook and shook it out. The line went slack and my heart sank along with every one else on the boat. We were already tasting cobia for several dinners. It sure was an exciting few minutes though, and a near perfect end of a wonderful day on the water. I’ll never forget the sight of that huge school. They are here for the winter. Maybe next time! Here’s some pictures guys. Enjoy!
My wife and I were invited to go fishing Dec 5th w... (
show quote)
Barry,
Nice story and day you had. It looks like you went out of Bonita Bay Marina, where we have had our boats last years. I’m heading down for some bass fishing on lake O. Then maybe try some offshore later in February and try to duplicate your day.
flyguy
Loc: Lake Onalaska, Sunfish Capitol of the World!
BonitaBarry wrote:
My wife and I were invited to go fishing Dec 5th with some good friends. My wife doesn’t really fish much, but she was enthusiastic for the chance to go off shore with some good friends to spend the day in the sun. We hit the water about 10am. The temperature was 70 on its way to the low eighties. The 4 mph breeze was out of the NNE so the water was almost flat. First we stopped off at a small beach inside New Pass and my buddy’s wife threw the cast net and got us some minnows for the well which already had a few dozen shrimp in it. We then ran about 10 miles off shore out of New Pass to some structure my friend had numbers for. We arrived there after about 30 minutes and began the circle dance to find the structure. Once we anchored, we dropped lines and were rewarded with immediate action. The first fish was a blue runner we hooked to a popping cork and pitched out about 30 yards behind the boat. We caught a couple more which we threw in the box for cut bait in case we needed it later. Then my buddy’s wife hooked a 19 inch permit which also took an ice bath. Seeing all the quick action, my wife asked for a rod and, after a little instruction, she hooked and landed a decent sized spade fish. There was a big school of these guys that had been lured in by the chum bag and they were hungry. Beside the shrimp and minnows, we had some frozen squid along for the ride. The spades were ready to eat either, but there was not one hit on the minnows. All of a sudden the popping cork started zipping through the water. I grabbed the rod and felt the tension for about 3 seconds. The drag was set really light because I have caught big kings and cuda this way and they fly after they hit the bait. The line went slack as did my short lived exhilaration. I cranked in the lined to discover the 30 lb leader sliced clean. We never saw the fish, but whatever it was, it had some sharp chompers. Between the four of us we caught 25-30 spades and kept 9 of the largest. The bite slowed down and we fished for another hour before pulling anchor and heading back in. Along the way, we ran some crab pot lines looking for triple tail. No luck there so we head for the pass. We were cruising at about 23 and enjoying the end of a beautiful day when we ran across a huge school of cobia! There had to be 50-75 of them on top of the water so high we could see their fins flashing in the late afternoon sun. It was an amazing sight! We stopped the boat and turned back and slowly stalked the enormous boil. My buddy’s wife womaned the helm while he threw a big white bobtail at them. We still had a couple of large shrimp, so I baited one up and threw into the pod. After about five casts my friend had a hit on the jig but the cobia spit the hook after about ten seconds. He said “Oh man! He got off”. I was feeling sorry for him when 5 second later I got a hit on the big shrimp! The drag started to peel off lazily and I resisted the urge to set the hook (circle). I let him have it for a few more turns and then started reeling. True to form, the hook set itself and then the drag started singing as he felt the barb. He took a 10 second run that seemed like 30 as my heart rate doubled and I lost all sense of space and time. At the end of the run I started cranking but could not gain any line. He must have felt it though because he did another short run. At the end of that run I adjusted the star drag slightly and was able to gain on him. For the next few??? minutes we cycled gains on each other. During this time a lot of his buddies swarmed around the fight. He dove under them and I could feel his head shaking. Then he suddenly surfaced and went airborne right in the middle of the pack! When he splashed back in the gulf, the line went slack. I started reeling as fast as I could. The line tightened and I realized he was still on and making a run straight at the boat. I was able to keep the tension on until he got within 15 feet of the boat. Then he turned into the hook and shook it out. The line went slack and my heart sank along with every one else on the boat. We were already tasting cobia for several dinners. It sure was an exciting few minutes though, and a near perfect end of a wonderful day on the water. I’ll never forget the sight of that huge school. They are here for the winter. Maybe next time! Here’s some pictures guys. Enjoy!
My wife and I were invited to go fishing Dec 5th w... (
show quote)
Thank you for the wonderful story, and the pictures, BB.
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