Bad trip by the captain.
Well getting back to the updates here. Weather lets us get back out on Valentines day. The morning started off cold and wet and the afternoon finished up cold and wet leaving us bumming all the way home. We looked everywhere and late in the day found a good mile of gannets, a dozen whales, and huge bait marks. No fish marks no nibbles except the diving gannets. Sorry fellas I apologize for the long tough day. The skunk was riding proud that day. At least we fought to the end and didn't pack her in at 1:00. These hardchargers are the ones that hurt ya most because no whining all day toughed it out and just the fish did not show.
Good
Next day heading out still feeling the snake bite telling long time striper whacking journeyman Randy Wong we blanked the day before. He still drove on down 7 hours to give er a shot. Randy normally fishes 7-12 trips with me in the fall/winter for rock and we had been weathered out 7 times already. The weather looked good and he was not scared. Off at 7:30 and 11 miles from the dock and thirty minutes later we landed a rock! Then the marks started poppin off the bottom and by 9:oo fish moved off the bottom and started feeding on menhaden. There was a 3-5 mile area of scattered pods of rock and diving gannets fighting for food. Randy caught them trolling at first and then jigging the rest of the day. Our biggest fish was 48lbs! He actually landed 12 fish over 40lbs out of the 70 landed! I am not sure but that has to be a Rock Solid single person record. At 5:00 last boat out I had to drag him off the bite to beat dark and get in by 5:45. All fish we released.
Ugly
My buddy Johnny Mac fishing with friends on Haywood's boat had an absolute piggy at 64 lbs!!!!! (side note- Johnny is one of the best surfers from our area I grew up watching him rip every wave he was on) They estimate this fish @ 25+ years old. Wow to dodge all the hooks, nets, and predation to make it that long. This fish would of beat the current state record by a pound! Quite the accomplishment! Sorry about all the tools that had to complain. Glad you did not want to deal with that! Took the high road. You caught the 64lber! I cannot wait to see that piggy hanging on your wall. I guess they should of called when the last state record or the last two Va records (caught in NC) were caught as well. I wish I would of caught that sticky wicket. Congrats!~
Pretty work McD! You can still say you caught a 64lber, how many people can say that? Rock on!
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I saw that fish yesterday and it was a pig. Try 41" girth. I told Johnny get a fat pic, anyways it is what it is. But it was a pig!!!!!!
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