Nasty Night!

Tuesday night we had a Cubera trip reserved for Marty and our friend CL from North Carolina. Unfortunately they had to cancel. We hadn’t rebooked that night so I called Devon and he rounded up my 2 daughters Missy and Amy. Of course we invited my buddy, Uncle Al as well. This trip was going to be a fun trip with no pressure to perform, just a leisurely stroll to Nastyville.

We hooked up at the dock at 3 PM, checked all of the running lights, and paid a visit to the fuel dock to drop $300 worth of petrol into The BEAST. We moseyed out into the Bay then I throttled up the ponies and let The BEAST run. We arrived at a likely spot to start catching lobster. Devon and Uncle Al slid into the water. They were fighting a strong outgoing tide, 2-4’ seas, and an entire platoon of Moon Jellyfish. They were doing fairly well on the bug collecting when Al said his legs had enough of the Jellies and shortly thereafter, Devon couldn’t clear his one ear. No problems, no pressure, it’s family having fun! 11 bugs should do us fine. There was some heavy rain moving in on us so I made a dash toward Cubera City to outrun the rain.

We arrived in the area and while I drifted around getting an idea of what was going on in the water, Devon rigged the terminal tackle for the main show. Missy grabbed a small speed jig and made a cast toward a Sooty Tern working the water. There he is! She is hooked up, first cast and first fish of the evening turns out to be a chunky Bonito. Amy, Missy, and Uncle Al continue working the speed jigs and Al gets the bump. He’s working another tuna-type fish when suddenly the door gets slammed on him. He can’t move this fish and then it begins to move. Everyone was saying he must’ve hooked into a garage door. After another 10 minutes of grunting, huffing, and puffing, the leader parts. Al thinks the original catch had been eaten by a big shark. We dropped down a couple of Mullet that we netted in the Marina earlier. We got a swing and a miss on the mullet. The mullet came up with fang marks in it. OK. Let’s get after our target species.

It wasn’t dark yet but we went ahead and dropped a bug down. Everything is perfect, light current at 1 knot and I could work the boat and keep that drift down to .1 or .2 knots, that’s lobster walking speed. The only thing that wasn’t absolutely perfect were the 2-4’ seas but that’s nothing The BEAST can’t handle comfortably. On about the 3rd drift we lose one rig to the bottom but I have found the drift line. Next drop and we get a bite but it doesn’t hook up. The bait came up split in two pieces. Next drop and, Bam! Missy jumps on the rod and gets to feel the real power these fish have. She was just telling us how she worked out her guns at the gym that morning to get ready for this moment. She brings the fish in and it’s just a baby, a 20 pounder.

[url]http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa56/beastcharters/14935-N90-Cubera8-13_zps43b9ce33.jpg[/url]

Amy is on deck for the next drift and once again the rod doubles over. That didn’t take long. Devon yells out, “They’re chewin’!“ Amy works the fish and it isn’t coming easy. Several minutes later and Amy out muscles this fish. This Nasty fish is pushing well into the higher 30’s possibly a 40 pound marker.

[url]http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa56/beastcharters/14937-N90-Cubera8-13_zps93d878a4.jpg[/url]

We make another drift and nothing happens but as Devon is dragging the bait back to the top to set up again, it gets nailed. This time the carapace was gone and we have the tail left. Uncle Al is set up for the next drift and we get a strike. Bada Bing! Al gives this fish the business and the fish is giving the business back to Al. Uncle Al wins this fight and we have another 30ish pound fish.

[url]http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa56/beastcharters/14939-N90-Cubera8-13_zps7fc70edd.jpg[/url]

Every drift after that resulted in a good hit and Devon’s turn ends up being a bust. He is snake bit! He was getting frustrated and after a few missed strikes, he relinquishes the rod. Next drift and SLAM... We scream for Missy and she jumps on the doubled over rod . This is a good fish and it is making Missy‘s arms sore. Maybe she shouldn‘t have worked out at the gym and saved her strength for these fish. After a good time she gets the fish to the boat and this one is a bruiser, pulling the pin on the scale down to exactly 50 pounds.

[url]http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa56/beastcharters/14941-N90-Cubera8-13_zps52ce93b5.jpg[/url]

We talked Devon into trying it again and he loses another fish. Now the snide comments and little jokes are aimed at him and flowing freely. We started out with 11 baits and lost 2 to hangs up. We’re out of bait, but wait, we still have that tail
that we tossed into the back of the cockpit. Down it goes and thump... thump... Boom! Fish on! Devon was determined to get this one to the boat and everything worked out for him this time. A nice fish in the high 20 pound range, reaches the boat.

[url]http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa56/beastcharters/14945-N90-Cubera8-13_zpsfa999e96.jpg[/url]

Ok were now we are completely out of bait, except for some live mullet. Should we try them? The general vote comes up no since the clock is approaching midnight. We packed it in and cruised on home in the bright moonlight. Technically we had 10 bites out of 9 baits and caught 5 fish which is not too shabby for a quick fun run. This was a nice quick family trip and we had a great time. Pictures speak a thousand words... Listen to this...

[url]http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa56/beastcharters/14943-N90-Cubera8-13_zps7a927223.jpg[/url]

Capt. Jim
The BEAST
305-233-9996
[email][email protected][/email]
[url]www.beastcharters.com[/url]