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Ruff One
Posts: 2,306 Captain
"Homecoming Grouper" Homosassa 9/26/2020
Ruff One
Posts: 2,306 Captain
We always spend a little time at our farm in Missouri during the summer, but usually we get back and scallop and fish some. This year we decided to stay at the farm to avoid the high rates of the virus in Fla.. No better place to be then in the middle of nowhere. But with things that had to get done at the Homosassa house and the thought of maybe getting to go cobia and grouper fishing we headed here last week, only to have the winds blowing like mad. Saturday winds were predicted calm and they were right on. Got Ruff One loaded.
Plan was to run out to a rock in 15ft and soak some pin fish for the morning and if the weeds let up troll for grouper. Get to 15ft, set the spotlock and started running chum. No current. None. We sat there and finally the current started to move. No cobia, very little bait. Mango snappers did come up in the slick. Gail put two in the boat at 13 inches. Perfect for my fryer. So it now was noon and the current was perfect. The weeds had abated some. Enough for us to maybe run some plugs. Closed the spotlock down and drifted while I set up the trolling gear. I decided to troll against the current(usually trolling with the current works better) back toward the area we had been set up on. Plug wasn't in the water 2 minutes and my rod bent all the way over. Grouper on. Nice struggle and in the boat comes a nice fat 30 incher.
The bite was on. We would catch a grouper, get set up again, put plugs in water, catch another one. But they were all 22-23 inches. The same routine for about a good hour. Gail was getting all the little ones. She's not use to that.
Then I made a rookie mistake! I convinced Gail that we should run out to 20ft to some rocks and maybe pick up some bigger fish. Never leave biting fish to go look for other fish. Twenty foot was dead. No bites at all. So, we head back to 15ft and the whole time Gail is calling me all kinds of names, but luckily I can't hear good. We put the plugs in the water and wouldn't you know. My rod gets hammered. Nice fight and in the boat comes a 27 incher.
Once again Gail's rod is attracting shorts again. I am finished so I just cheer her on. Finally weeds start to become a real challenge and they are wearing us out. So we decide to stop, clean up, and head on in to the Saturday madness at the ramp. Oh, I hate weekends at the ramp!!
Well, plan half worked. Cobia was a bust, but we did get in on a good grouper bite. That will be it for us until the end of Nov. Headed back to the safety of the farm, where bow season for deer is going strong. Might even enjoy the Oct gun season for gobblers that Missouri has. I sure that I will enjoy all the hunting, but I sure will miss the pull of those big groupers. Enjoy.
Plan was to run out to a rock in 15ft and soak some pin fish for the morning and if the weeds let up troll for grouper. Get to 15ft, set the spotlock and started running chum. No current. None. We sat there and finally the current started to move. No cobia, very little bait. Mango snappers did come up in the slick. Gail put two in the boat at 13 inches. Perfect for my fryer. So it now was noon and the current was perfect. The weeds had abated some. Enough for us to maybe run some plugs. Closed the spotlock down and drifted while I set up the trolling gear. I decided to troll against the current(usually trolling with the current works better) back toward the area we had been set up on. Plug wasn't in the water 2 minutes and my rod bent all the way over. Grouper on. Nice struggle and in the boat comes a nice fat 30 incher.
The bite was on. We would catch a grouper, get set up again, put plugs in water, catch another one. But they were all 22-23 inches. The same routine for about a good hour. Gail was getting all the little ones. She's not use to that.
Then I made a rookie mistake! I convinced Gail that we should run out to 20ft to some rocks and maybe pick up some bigger fish. Never leave biting fish to go look for other fish. Twenty foot was dead. No bites at all. So, we head back to 15ft and the whole time Gail is calling me all kinds of names, but luckily I can't hear good. We put the plugs in the water and wouldn't you know. My rod gets hammered. Nice fight and in the boat comes a 27 incher.
Once again Gail's rod is attracting shorts again. I am finished so I just cheer her on. Finally weeds start to become a real challenge and they are wearing us out. So we decide to stop, clean up, and head on in to the Saturday madness at the ramp. Oh, I hate weekends at the ramp!!
Well, plan half worked. Cobia was a bust, but we did get in on a good grouper bite. That will be it for us until the end of Nov. Headed back to the safety of the farm, where bow season for deer is going strong. Might even enjoy the Oct gun season for gobblers that Missouri has. I sure that I will enjoy all the hunting, but I sure will miss the pull of those big groupers. Enjoy.
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
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