After a successful night trip we hit the ocean around 9am for round two. We were greeted with calm seas and no wind which made it very hot to start. We headed down south of Breakers in about 70 feet and were catching grunts before we could even get bait on a hook. Also hooked up with several snappers and grouper but nothing worth keeping. We then decided to head north a bit because the commercial fisherman and weekend warriors were out in force making the area almost unfishable. After the move we hooked up with a bunch of bonitas and snappers. Then a 16lb smoker king hit and 20 minutes later Chris had it in the boat. After drifting to Juno Pier we headed back closer to the inlet for one more drift and hooked up with a decent sized schoolie Dolphin. We left it out there because we thought we had some more dolphin in the area but the Bonita made it impossible to get to them. All in all it was a fantastic fishing weekend for all of us. Rough numbers are Chris caught 10 fish, Jackman caught 8, Doug caught 8, I caught 4. Conditions today got very rough around 3pm as winds picked up due to thunderstorms in the area. Water clearity was pretty clear in 300' even though reports were saying it was murky until 600'.

We headed out after work about 5pm with numberous showers and thunderstorms around but they were dissipating and the evening turned out to be beautiful. We drifted north catching a few snappers, kings, grouper, and bonita of course. No pictures of the catch as we saved the pictures for the day trip on Saturday (next report). The winds were out of the SW switching to out of the Southeast. Skies were cloudy with some patchy breaks after the heavy daytime rains.

After a late start we set up drift in 80 feet at about 9am. There was little to no wind and not a cloud in the sky most of the morning which led for very hot conditions. Jed started off his birthday trip with a nice yellowtail then we landed 5 more for the day. Jackman and Doug also got in on the action. After the snapper were biting all morning, the Bonito moved in and kept us busy. We couldnt even get our baits to the bottome without the boneheads hitting our baits. It made for an exiciting day but we would have liked to get something edible. Jackman capped off a great day with his first Kingfish of 2009. Clean water is very hard to find these days with all of the rain and west winds. Reports are saying you have to go out to about 350' to find the blue water.

After two weeks of all day rain, the old man and I cleared the inlet around 8am with flat seas and a light northwest wind. We set up to drift in 80 feet as we were drifting northeast. The Yellowtail, Mutton, and Grouper were biting well in 90 feet. The kings were scarce probably due to the heavy pressure from the KDW Classic on Saturday however we did land these two kings around noon off Singer Island using dead freelined ballyhoo. Bonito are becoming thicker by the hour it seems. All in all we had 6 fish in the cooler by noon and the old man caught some fish to take home to the Ohioans. The west wind and heavy rains have created murky conditions once again.

We got to the inlet at 615am and saw the rough seas and headed back in to put on some ponchos and get ready for the rough adventure out to the drop. We drifted dead sardines hooking up with kingfish every few minutes. Caught a 10.5 pounder good enough for 10th place in the Simmons and White KDW Tournament. We did fight something for two hours before finally giving up. The Kingfish were everywhere from 70 feet to 120 feet hitting our sardines and tearing through the flourocarbon every drop. The water was murky due to the rough conditions with a strong southeast wind pushing seas 4-6'. Below is our catch. Winning dolphin was 24lbs and winning King was 34lbs. All in all it was a successful tournament considering we were the smallest boat out of 40 boats! Thanks to the crew for helping out and pitching in during the rough conditions. I wouldnt have been able to go out there without everyones help.

With almost no wind and clear skies we set out around 830am. Our first drift was south of the inlet in 100 feet Within 15 minutes Paige landed her first Kingfish. It is very clear that the Kingfish bite has picked up significantly in the last couple of weeks despite the full moon this weekend. The fish must not be as smart either because Doug finally landed a 15lb King. It doesnt compare to the smoker king he lost last week but it will do. After three Kingfish and a few bottom dwellers we trolled bonito strips from 100' to 600' straight out the inlet with no luck. Water has still been very clear with the lack of rain.

With the KDW tournament only a couple weeks away and the team unable to land a King or a Dolphin in recent weeks, we set out early once again only this time to find rough seas and a blustery SE wind. Water clearity was still crystal clear however it was cloudier than the previous day so it made it difficult to see the bottom. With a bonito in the cooler ready to make bonito strips we set out deeper to find some Kings however Dr. ReelsGood decided he was going to catch his leg with a treble hook so we had to head in at 10am so he could get the hook removed. While he was out of commission Bryan finally landed a 12lb King and a 17lb bonito just north of the inlet in about 90' of water. An hour later, Jackman and Jon were back in action and Matt landed the first Dolphin of 2009. It was a schoolie but still tasted good on the dinner table. We landed a few more Bonito one of which got tangled up with the Depth Finder transducer yet the fish somehow managed to stay on the line while Bryan jumped in the water to untangle it. With all of bruises from the seas, wind, and Jackman's hook, we headed in to grill up the weekends' catch while we were all still in one piece.

Matt, Doug and I hit the water around 8am and found a calm ocean with no wind and clear skies. The water was so clear you could see the bottom in about 70 feet of water. As far as fishing goes, fish were solid on the fish finder most of the day anywhere from 70 feet to 110 feet. Matt fought a fish for 45 minutes in 110 feet of water but lost it. Co-Captain Doug fought a huge smoker king for an hour and half and lost it on its last run. He promises it wont happen again. I had to step up and put a King, Mutton Snapper and 2 Yellowtail Snapper in the cooler since it was clear WVU wasnt going to get it done. Winds picked up as the day went on but the water remained calm. We went out to 150' of water and found 81 degree water with crystal clear water anywhere from 50' to 150'. The boneheads are back as well as Doug and Matt were able to boat a few.

Cleared the inlet around 8am. Trolled 300' to 80' with no luck. Then we decided to drift and caught 1 kingfish that snapped the line at the boat and a couple of remora. The winds were out of the south and were fairly strong most of the day. Seas were around 2-4'. Water temperatures are at about 76 degrees about 2 miles out. Bluewater has been very hard to come by as murkey water has been out for 3 miles the last few weeks with the west winds. East winds this week should push some bluewater in tight thus helping out with the dolphin bite.

With gale forced winds predicted in the afternoon, we set out before sunrise to find calm seas and overcast skies with light winds out of the southwest. The Varadi's were out for their first offshore Florida experience. LJ started the day off by boating a nice size Cuda while Paul pulled in his first Cuda as well. LJ then decided to catch us dinner by reeling in this nice 4lb mutton snapper. The winds began to pick up but we set out on the drop to snag this big AJ. The fish finder was full of fish from 100' to 130'. Paul then used his SC fishing experience and caught dinner for the family by reeling in this nice Spanish Mackerel. Winds reached Gale force out of the southwest by 1230. Temps were in the lower 90's with overcast skies early in the morning giving way to bright sunny conditions. Water temps continue to rise to about 78 with blue water making a reappearance in close to shore despite the offshore winds.

Cleared the inlet around 10am and set up shall0w in about 60 feet as the brisk northwest wind was pushing us out to sea. Landed a nice size grouper just under the limit. Then we set up on the drop and landed a couple of small amberjacks. Then came the big one. Jackman fought the fish for about 45 minutes when we finally got a glimpse, a +/-35lb amberjack, that he decided that he didnt want to get in the boat and pulled the hook right of its mouth. We did atleast get a quick look but its another one that got away!! Winds shifted throughout the day eventually ending up coming from the east very lightly to almost non-existent. This shut off the bite which was almost instant. All fish were caught prior to noon. After the one that got away, we fished anywhere from 40 to 200 feet with no luck.