Homosassa week of 20th to 26th to 50 ft.

ALV

I'm back.....All in all a decent week. Hit my first 100 hrs. on the new Suzuki 150. Only used it 4 months or so. Spent a lot of time on the water. Temps were 67 to 68 degrees. Found the best fishing was inside of 30 ft. Past that and things were considerably slower. Caught a dozen or so groupers with only three being keepers. All inside 30 ft. Had a cool experience when on Friday we caught a 29" on a Bomber Long A, about 300 ft. back, probably 6 to 8 ft. down. That grouper came up 25 or so ft. to attack the bomber (blue/white) and passed on the divers ? Was also running a couple of Rapala Magnums (25 to 30 ft.). Water was so clear that earlier that day in 40+ ft. I watched a ladyfish plug rest on the bottom with a huge turtle and a ramora swimming behind the turtle. Amazing. Found a couple of rock piles and limited out on Mangroves. Largest around 2 lbs. Averaging 1 lb. Free lining a chum line. Lost a few groups using a sardine/w trimmed tail while trying to snapper fish. obviuos result.......cut off ! Try it with heavier gear ?......squat. Lol. A million grunts, ramoras, sea bass, squirrels, spots, s. mackerel, shark, etc etc..... next week looks iffy weather wise. Rest the body and work on the boat.

Oh, Joe, one of the guys I fish with is gonna take a break from fishing for awhile so I'm looking for a guy to replace him. Some one that knows his way around a boat and can help with costs/cleaning the norm. If interested, PM me and lets talk.

Thanks, ALV

barhopper51

Great report. Thanks

capt louie

Thanks , The Bomber Long-A 15' behind a #2 planer was the grouper KILLER back in the day. 2nd was a 3 1/2 drone spoon behind a planer.

Killed a LOT of fish on those rigs...

k-dog

ALV if i didn't have this thing called 8 hours away i would love to take your friends place on the boat. I'm sure with all the fish you put in the boat people will be all over this.

xmuskyguide

Good fishing. :thumbsup you are right about the wind messing the week up but Friday may be a possibility.

Ruff One

Winter time is always a cool time to fish. You can see the bottom a lot. You don't have to go deep now. Hit those shallow areas. I hear you on the wind. Want to get out, but looks like golf may be my outdoor activity this week.

ALV

Capt. Louie, Gonna try a Reddi Rig next time I troll. Try a 4" drone and and curly tail jig. I'll report the results.

mburke001 aka TripleB

Nice

Slacker

Thanks for the report. Sounds like staying in close is the answer.

wvinfl12

Nice report and fish to boot.............I went out Saturday and it was a bit rough in the AM getting offshore, but it laid down around 11 or so and was a nice day.....took no pics, but put a big *** treble hook through my leg when I bumped into it and lost my balance on a wave.....it was just under the skin, cut the line, then cut off the hook from the Rapala, then cut the hook and pulled it back through....not a lot of bleeding but made the wife cringe helping me out.....lol......didn't catch much of anything that we could keep, but I didn't care......after being shorebound for 2 months, I was just happy being out there.

capt louie

ALV wrote: »

Capt. Louie, Gonna try a Reddi Rig next time I troll. Try a 4" drone and and curly tail jig. I'll report the results.

Cool . I'm thinking the distance from the boat with the bomber was key. They get a bit boat shy in too clear water sometimes.
I like some discoloration in the water. Cuts down on followers that give up and won't commit.

Ruff One

wvinfl12 wrote: »

Nice report and fish to boot.............I went out Saturday and it was a bit rough in the AM getting offshore, but it laid down around 11 or so and was a nice day.....took no pics, but put a big *** treble hook through my leg when I bumped into it and lost my balance on a wave.....it was just under the skin, cut the line, then cut off the hook from the Rapala, then cut the hook and pulled it back through....not a lot of bleeding but made the wife cringe helping me out.....lol......didn't catch much of anything that we could keep, but I didn't care......after being shorebound for 2 months, I was just happy being out there.

If you are going to do much trolling, you might look into replacing all your trebles with in line single hooks. They don't affect your hook up rate, and they are so much more safe. I can release a grouper without bringing it in the boat.

k-dog

Ruff one what size and brand do you use to replace on trolling plugs like a x-rap for 20 foot

Ruff One

Xrap 20's use VMC inline no. 5/0. Xrap 30's use VMC inline 6/0. I also fish Sebile 160 LLplugs, use the same as Xrap 30's. YoZuri 20ft deep diver will not work with inline 5/0. That plug gets a 5/0 on the tail hook, with the belly hook staying treble. I guess I'll call it a hybrid. All of these plugs function great with this hardware change.

Ruff One

I also changed out the spit rings. Used spro size 7(185 lb test) power split rings. Probably factory would be okay, but I' ve had rings pulled apart on big groupers.

Doc Stressor

The best setup for the rear hook is to use a split ring and a barrel swivel. This lets the plug run better and makes it almost impossible for the fish to shake the hook.

k-dog

Thanks for the tips guys will put them to good use

ALV

Hey Ruff One, I've been thinking about changing all trebles and split rings on all of the plugs. Might be a good time to consider your suggestion more seriously than I have previously. Doc, you also have an idea worth looking into. Reduced or no stress from twisting that could easily be transferred to the point of entry. These guys are good...! On the philosophical side of things unrelated to this topic but it seems........every time I go out I imagine all the hundreds, even thousands of grouper I'm passing over as I search further, deeper, maybe even richer grounds, and I wonder how many, EXACTLY , did I actually pass over ? LOL.....

k-dog

ALV wrote: »

Hey Ruff One, I've been thinking about changing all trebles and split rings on all of the plugs. Might be a good time to consider your suggestion more seriously than I have previously. Doc, you also have an idea worth looking into. Reduced or no stress from twisting that could easily be transferred to the point of entry. These guys are good...! On the philosophical side of things unrelated to this topic but it seems........every time I go out I imagine all the hundreds, even thousands of grouper I'm passing over as I search further, deeper, maybe even richer grounds, and I wonder how many, EXACTLY , did I actually pass over ? LOL.....

I'm sure it would make you sick ALV a few thousand i would imagine.