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2 hours ago, troph said:

I'm going to email tailwaters or call them tomorrow.  that 130 lb leader is super hard to tie a knot.  I think the idea is tie the fly right to it and you have less of a chance of a coral break.  supposedly the GT saw your line off on the coral like a fucking chainsaw through a 2x4.

Ah I missed this. Makes a lot more sense.

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Yea, I could see using 130 for shock or bite tippet, but not the whole leader. Doesn’t help with your knot problem, though

4 hours ago, Pescado_Rojo said:

Yea, I could see using 130 for shock or bite tippet, but not the whole leader. Doesn’t help with your knot problem, though

tailwaters was helpful this am - said use the 130 lb leader line attach to the fly line and no tippet (I have 25 yards of it, not manufactured 9ft with the loop leaders like we buy for trout, etc.).  said the reason for 130 lb is the coral breaks.  the GT will snap a thinner line on the coral.  said you need to set your drag to "fuck you, you aren't going anywhere" (my words not his) and stop them dead in their tracks or you'll lose them.  keep the fight really close. 

said the Seychelles guides tell them 130 lb all the way.  Tahiti is similar.

so the rigging is like this:

1. cut the manufactured loop on the fly line.

2. tie two nail knots to create a new loop on the fly line.

3. tie 8-9 feet of leader line to the fly line with a perfection loop knot - so it still is a loop to loop connection.

4. tie the fly with an improved homer rhodes loop knot.

5. fish like you're a bad ass mother fucker.

he said my loop in the pic above is fine for leader to fly on the 130 lb.  just need to adjust the fly line and the butt of the leader with the two nail knots and the perfection loop.

said for bonefish, redfish, others that are fun but not monsters the manfuacatured loop on an 8wt is fine. prefers tippet but I told him I didn't care about the leader I don't want to tie more knots, so use the manufactured loop on the fly line, loop to loop with the manufactured loop on the leader (16-20 lb leader) and then tie your fly with a loop knot. I'll probably stick with the improved homer rhodes knot.

trying to go red fish fishing in the bay with a guide twice this weekend and surf fishing for reds, jacks, ladyfish in between.  we are talking world series epic or buffalo bills shit the bed multiple times in the super bowl kinda weekend coming up.

 

Edited by troph

So I just texted with a buddy that went to St Brandon's last year and caught an 88lb GT. He said they fished straight 130, so sounds like you're on the right track. He also said you can run after the schools and if they hear you running, they will actually turn and charge the sound. If they see you, it's all over though. He said they would have the GT rod in hand and ready to go when the boat stopped because every GT within 500 yards will charge the sound of the boat to see what's going on. Said they had one charge up and attack the prop after they shut the boat down. He said most casts were 40ft or less, and you can run backwards to try to get the fly to the fish and it will keep coming at the sound as long as it doesn't see you.  

He also caught 45 Bonefish over 9 pounds and a 13lb'er, which he said was the fish of the trip.  

21 minutes ago, Pescado_Rojo said:

So I just texted with a buddy that went to St Brandon's last year and caught an 88lb GT. He said they fished straight 130, so sounds like you're on the right track. He also said you can run after the schools and if they hear you running, they will actually turn and charge the sound. If they see you, it's all over though. He said they would have the GT rod in hand and ready to go when the boat stopped because every GT within 500 yards will charge the sound of the boat to see what's going on. Said they had one charge up and attack the prop after they shut the boat down. He said most casts were 40ft or less, and you can run backwards to try to get the fly to the fish and it will keep coming at the sound as long as it doesn't see you.  

He also caught 45 Bonefish over 9 pounds and a 13lb'er, which he said was the fish of the trip.  

that's what I'm talking about.  my first ever off shore trip I've told this story over and over including catching a jack - the dumbshit was so aggressive came up to the boat to see what we were doing basically said, "who the fuck are you" and we slapped bait in the water and BOOM.  45 min fight.  I'm hoping for the same experience.  these GTs are described as mean, unafraid, aggressive, undiscriminate and will just eat everything they can find.  they obviously run off (fast) if presentation is wrong or if they see you yes, but supposedly it doesn't take a lot of skill to get the fish to bite, but it takes a lot bring them in...

the bonefish in this place are supposed to be otherworldly too.

Edited by troph

35 minutes ago, Pescado_Rojo said:

So I just texted with a buddy that went to St Brandon's last year and caught an 88lb GT. He said they fished straight 130, so sounds like you're on the right track. He also said you can run after the schools and if they hear you running, they will actually turn and charge the sound. If they see you, it's all over though. He said they would have the GT rod in hand and ready to go when the boat stopped because every GT within 500 yards will charge the sound of the boat to see what's going on. Said they had one charge up and attack the prop after they shut the boat down. He said most casts were 40ft or less, and you can run backwards to try to get the fly to the fish and it will keep coming at the sound as long as it doesn't see you.  

He also caught 45 Bonefish over 9 pounds and a 13lb'er, which he said was the fish of the trip.  

wait, FORTY-FIVE bonefish?  holy shit.

1 minute ago, troph said:

wait, FORTY-FIVE bonefish?  holy shit.

No, 45 bonefish OVER 9lbs.  That's the holy shit part.

1 minute ago, davidg said:

No, 45 bonefish OVER 9lbs.  That's the holy shit part.

Yea, he said they didn't even SEE any small bones. . He said he was looking hard for a 10+ plus fish and was letting fish go he didn't think would be 10+, only to have them swim past and think "Shit, that one would have been over 10 lbs"

yeah I already knew they were all large bones.  so I guess that part I expected.  I've gone bonefishing twice now and haven't seen a single one, let alone catch 45 large ones.  mother of god. I need to start praying again, I've been good I promise, please lord reward me, it's all I want in life is a GT and i'll take 20 10lb+ bonefish, i won't even be greedy for FORTY FIVE.  please.

 

16 hours ago, troph said:

tailwaters rec, part of their rob from my retirement turn key package set up.  it's hardAF to tie a knot.  look at that loop knot above, that's what I'm talking about.  I've got 25 yards of 130 lb leader line.  its stiffer than @4th and 5's pecker, believe him.

maybe 4X6, quite small.

stiffer, but not as long...

Oh, and tape up all your fingers so you don’t lose all the skin off them. 

5 hours ago, Pescado_Rojo said:

Oh, and tape up all your fingers so you don’t lose all the skin off them. 

Wow that’s awesome like an offensive lineman? That’s bad ass. I’ll play Eminem lose yourself and just go tennis court queen on the guide! Jk

17 minutes ago, DefinitelyNotHollywoodColt said:

wut.

He said they were fishing the big outside flats and schools of huge bones would come out of deep water and cruise those flats. He said they never saw any small fish muds, just schools of big bruisers. He said any one of them would have made the newspaper in the Bahamas, and there were schools of 100 fish. 

That sounds like a blast.

On 2/18/2022 at 8:14 AM, Pescado_Rojo said:

He said they were fishing the big outside flats and schools of huge bones would come out of deep water and cruise those flats. He said they never saw any small fish muds, just schools of big bruisers. He said any one of them would have made the newspaper in the Bahamas, and there were schools of 100 fish. 

Guide today talked about his dad a fisherman that turned him on to fishing so much he’s now guided Montana, Texas and the Bahamas, and said the Texas flats used to be like that with reds schooling. Said the bay boats ripping through has spooked the fish out of their natural patterns.  Said his dad told stories of catching red fish from the moment his first fly hit the water until he was tired of catching. It’s still good but it’s a hunt now. I’m about to get fucking irate over human beings fucked up short sightedness. It’s time we live with the earth not on and over it. 

Edited by troph

Wait. You mean herding reds with a tower RFL is not the way it’s supposed to be?  I agree. 

11 minutes ago, fattyflattie said:

Wait. You mean herding reds with a tower RFL is not the way it’s supposed to be?  I agree. 

This guide was in a 70 hp skiff. I don’t care how high up you get, he had a stand, but the 50 mph bay boats ripping through the flats is bullshit. 

Edited by troph

45 minutes ago, troph said:

This guide was in a 70 hp skiff. I don’t care how high up you get, he had a stand, but the 50 mph bay boats ripping through the flats is bullshit. 

Well, I don’t burn the flats. But I am in a 70+ mph capable boat. But usually cruising about 40 in the deep water. 

5 minutes ago, fattyflattie said:

Well, I don’t burn the flats. But I am in a 70+ mph capable boat. But usually cruising about 40 in the deep water. 

Yeah I think the fly fisherman guides just despise those that race through there, rip the grass up and spook the fish. I mean he ran the channel hard but the flats, the fishing grounds?  He’s motor off pushing with his oar or whatever the fuck it’s called. There was a bay boat playing nice with us today, and this guide is not disgruntled, he’s just wanting to respect the habitat. We are here to play with the fish, so we owe them some respect. 

Assholes - y’all didn’t tell me fly fishing was harder and more frustrating.  I fished well, felt it, saw it, guide said it. I put the fly in front of half a dozen reds and a sheeps head (those don’t count) and no joy. Well technically we made visual contact they just didn’t want what I was dealing. Spooked and left. Only positives were I was seeing the fish as quick as he was but man it was a hard day. Saw tails, nervous water, actual fish, shimmers, all of it, dammit. On a different day I’d have six of those fuckers in the boat. 
 

I’m confident in my 30-35 foot cast in conditions. Also a 15 foot quick hitting roll cast too. So that’s something. at least I know the sight fishing game now.  GT and big boners in French poly up next. I’m coming for you little bitches. 

Edited by troph

On 1/18/2022 at 8:20 PM, Judge Roybeanbag said:

Correct about state parks, I’d recommend Buescher if you’re looking to stay close, they release trout there too.  Plus you can rent boats/kayaks.  

It's closed to all fishing until the finish repairs to the dam. That includes bank fishing. 

32 minutes ago, troph said:

Assholes - y’all didn’t tell me fly fishing was harder and more frustrating.  I fished well, felt it, saw it, guide said it. I put the fly in front of half a dozen reds and a sheeps head (those don’t count) and no joy. Well technically we made visual contact they just didn’t want what I was dealing. Spooked and left. Only positives were I was seeing the fish as quick as he was but man it was a hard day. Saw tails, nervous water, actual fish, shimmers, all of it, dammit. On a different day I’d have six of those fuckers in the boat. 
 

I’m confident in my 30-35 foot cast in conditions. Also a 15 foot quick hitting roll cast too. So that’s something. at least I know the sight fishing game now.  GT and big boners in French poly up next. I’m coming for you little bitches. 

When you’re ready, we’ll intro you to a fish that’s almost impossible to find, even harder to get a fly in front of, and when you do they almost never eat.

Sounds fun, huh?

33 minutes ago, DefinitelyNotHollywoodColt said:

When you’re ready, we’ll intro you to a fish that’s almost impossible to find, even harder to get a fly in front of, and when you do they almost never eat.

Sounds fun, huh?

Problem is I can’t go back.  I really think it’s a love hate thing here.  You never feel the same on a spinner cast as you do a fly, that’s the problem. Man I had several where the fly line was already in the water and the leader and tippet just rolled over for a 40 ish foot cast. It was beautiful. Not as beautiful as catching one of these fuckers, so whatever. 

1 hour ago, DefinitelyNotHollywoodColt said:

When you’re ready, we’ll intro you to a fish that’s almost impossible to find, even harder to get a fly in front of, and when you do they almost never eat.

Sounds fun, huh?

What’s that permit? 

2 hours ago, DefinitelyNotHollywoodColt said:

When you’re ready, we’ll intro you to a fish that’s almost impossible to find, even harder to get a fly in front of, and when you do they almost never eat.

Sounds fun, huh?

I’ve heard you can get drunk and hang out drinking all night, then boat one first thing the next AM. 

2 hours ago, troph said:

big boners

Phrasing

1 hour ago, troph said:

Problem is I can’t go back.  I really think it’s a love hate thing here.  You never feel the same on a spinner cast as you do a fly, that’s the problem.

I don’t know how you were that close to Baffin in Feb and weren’t chest deep looking for a 10# sow. That will change your perspective as well. Fishing all day in the freezing cold to get 1 bite at a true trophy on light tackle.  But completely worth it when it comes together. 

So the girls tournament, Pescadora https://pescadora22.catchstat.com, was Friday and Saturday. Fishing has slowed down a little but Friday I fished on a 70 foot Weaver named Southern Pride and we caught 1 blue and 5 sails which was good enough for 5th place on the day out of 40 boats. Beautiful boat with a 34 knot slow cruise. Saturday I fished on the boat Fish Tank 65 foot custom Hatteras and we caught 2 blues and 6 sails which was 1st place for the day and won all the daily jackpots. This video is one of the mates in the “jacuzzi” live well.

im in Jaco now to fish a couple of days in Los Suenos on a 74 foot Spencer. https://www.marlinmag.com/spencer-74-smooth-move-pictures/ I’ll post some pics of that here or on the boat thread.

Edited by justhookit

7 hours ago, justhookit said:

Fishing has slowed down a little but Friday I fished on a 70 foot Weaver named Southern Pride and we caught 1 blue and 5 sails which was good enough for 5th place on the day out of 40 boats. Beautiful boat with a 34 knot slow cruise.

I’m still taken back every time I see the 68’ Weaver local to us (Mech Man).  Just gorgeous boats that perform. 

On 2/14/2022 at 10:14 AM, Zwylde said:

image.thumb.jpeg.e5f29ed97b9d67b51e7abea3c5d4e5f6.jpeg

This is glorious. What a toad! Must've been a great father-son moment. How long did it take to boat?

Not too long cause we had some pretty heavy gear.  Prolly 10 minutes or so.  Thought we were gonna have to do some anchor rope gymnastics but we got her turned around in time.

On 2/20/2022 at 2:49 PM, DefinitelyNotHollywoodColt said:

When you’re ready, we’ll intro you to a fish that’s almost impossible to find, even harder to get a fly in front of, and when you do they almost never eat.

Sounds fun, huh?

The Simpsons Fish GIF by GIPHY CAM

So the girls tournament, Pescadora https://pescadora22.catchstat.com, was Friday and Saturday. Fishing has slowed down a little but Friday I fished on a 70 foot Weaver named Southern Pride and we caught 1 blue and 5 sails which was good enough for 5th place on the day out of 40 boats. Beautiful boat with a 34 knot slow cruise. Saturday I fished on the boat Fish Tank 65 foot custom Hatteras and we caught 2 blues and 6 sails which was 1st place for the day and won all the daily jackpots. This video is one of the mates in the “jacuzzi” live well.
im in Jaco now to fish a couple of days in Los Suenos on a 74 foot Spencer. https://www.marlinmag.com/spencer-74-smooth-move-pictures/ I’ll post some pics of that here or on the boat thread.


I fished the Miss Behavin (64’ Garlington?) out of Suenos 5 years ago. Good times.
On 2/21/2022 at 11:08 PM, huge said:


I fished the Miss Behavin (64’ Garlington?) out of Suenos 5 years ago. Good times.

Yeah they just got a new one in the 70’s. Freaking gorgeous boat. I was right next to them in the marina few days ago and should have taken a pic.

Fished 3 days this week on the big Spencer called Smooth Move. Crazy coming in at 42 knots. I’ll put some pics on the boat fanatic thread. It’s available for around 8million if anyone is interested.  Marlin fishing is still good but the sailfish bite has fallen off a cliff.

@hugethat’s the new Miss Behavin first boat in the background

AFC41862-A433-47DC-B68D-82D9C4A6F5E6.jpeg

Edited by justhookit

We talking a few mil for something like that?

2 hours ago, midtown said:

We talking a few mil for something like that?

Closer to 10 million if you want a new one. The red one is for sale for 8 millionish and the brand new one behind it is a 71’ Garlington. The picture doesn’t do that one justice. It’s gorgeous with incredible lines. Not sure on price but it’s likely similar.

30 minutes ago, justhookit said:

Closer to 10 million if you want a new one.

Guess Ill only get one in that case

How
Much for the High Cotton?

1 hour ago, huge said:

How
Much for the High Cotton?

The enclosed bridge? I think it’s a 92’ and would be over 10 million. One of its sister ships is here in my marina. I’ll try and get a picture.

So after you reel in a few big girls who swallow do you go below deck for a massage and a soak in the hot tub with some other girls who swallow

On 2/26/2022 at 9:50 AM, justhookit said:

The enclosed bridge? I think it’s a 92’ and would be over 10 million. One of its sister ships is here in my marina. I’ll try and get a picture.

Yeah its a 92 viking.  ridiculous

Crushed them today prefishing a one day tournament that’s tomorrow. If the fish are still there tomorrow we’ll probably win because nobody else is fishing where we were. Small tournament only 23 boats and not a lot of money involved.

it’s a sailfish ONLY tournament. At some point today I looked at my captain that I’ve fished with for years and years and said “man, if you had told me we would ever fish a tournament where we would say oh shit it’s a marlin don’t catch it I would have thrown you overboard for being insane”. But here we are.

  • Popular Post
On 3/4/2022 at 10:08 PM, justhookit said:

Crushed them today prefishing a one day tournament that’s tomorrow. If the fish are still there tomorrow we’ll probably win because nobody else is fishing where we were. Small tournament only 23 boats and not a lot of money involved.

it’s a sailfish ONLY tournament. At some point today I looked at my captain that I’ve fished with for years and years and said “man, if you had told me we would ever fish a tournament where we would say oh shit it’s a marlin don’t catch it I would have thrown you overboard for being insane”. But here we are.

Fuck yes we won. More details tomorrow or whenever but we had 4800 points. Second place had 2600. Amazing day.

 

4542EE73-C7B5-4BEB-BFA1-BCE988248093.jpeg

24 sailfish. And yeah, we raised the marlin that did everything he could to catch himself while we were trying to not catch him. Part of me died inside.

8 hours ago, justhookit said:

Fuck yes we won. More details tomorrow or whenever but we had 4800 points. Second place had 2600. Amazing day.

 

4542EE73-C7B5-4BEB-BFA1-BCE988248093.jpeg

That’s awesome. I wanna fish a tourney with you. 

9 minutes ago, troph said:

That’s awesome. I wanna fish a tourney with you. 

You know you are welcome anytime.

1 minute ago, justhookit said:

You know you are welcome anytime.

Let’s plan it for next year we already had key west and Tahiti for Jan - March this year. 😕

Little dude was apparently rooting for another team.

5A8F3911-B02B-4D4B-AA85-BCB478B407A8.jpeg

Edited by justhookit

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