Got out on the water around sunrise this morning and started the day trolling for wahoo and tuna. No luck with the wahoo but did catch 2 nice size blackfin. With the bite slowing down, we decided to try our luck bottom fishing. Reelsgood boated a nice 5lb mutton snapper and released a king. He had another king to the boat that broke through the leader. As usual, a couple bonito were also on the list of catches. With a few nice fish in the cooler and the heat getting to everyone, we headed back the launch around noon. Big thanks to Reelsgood and Calabrese for the morning entertainment after they decided to pull an all-nighter!

After we gave it a quick try on Monday with no luck and some passenger seasickness, we were finally able to get out this morning and enjoy the crystal clear water pretty much right up to the shore. Water Temps are hovering around 87 offshore with a solid 2' swell for the last week pushing in all sorts of blue water. This also contributed to the hot snapper bite. Gary with his lucky OSU hat was able to land 2 Yellowtails and a Kingfish while my Mom was able to land a Remora all by herself. Didn't get the Sailfish they were hoping for but still a successful day when we are able to have dinner on the grille. Most bites came in 80-110 feet with the remora and sharks a nuisance closer to shore.

After a 2 week hiatus, we finally got out after work on Friday for a quick fishing trip which happened to be Frances' first time ever fishing. We found surprisingly calm seas with a lot of weeds in close to shore. The waves were expected to increase from Hurricane Bill but they never materialized. Frances caught here first fish within 15 minutes and it was a 5lb Mutton Snapper that went right in the cooler. After the first fish, she was a natural, probably more so than Dr. ReelsGood who once again manhandled a Bonito and lost it at the boat ruining the triple header picture. Bryan and Jackman quickly added to the feast with a few more Muttons and Yellowtails along with a decent sized Kingfish. The Bonito and Snapper were biting almost every cast in 80' to 100' of water. It was a great day and full of excitement which is always good for a rookie. Conditions were perfect with the current pushing us at about 3mph due north. The water temperature was 88 degrees 2 miles out and 85 degrees 1 mile out which I am guessing helped make it a good day.

Took Jed, his brother and friend out to find gently rolling seas. It was one of our worst fishing days in a few months with our first bite not coming until after noon when the Yellowtail started to bite. We then hooked up with a couple of bonitos and called it a day. The winds did pick up considerably out of the east on our way back in. Once again the action was found east of the Juno Pier.

Went out to try to capitalize on the hot sailfish bite but didnt have too much success other than a few Kings and Bonito. Most of the action seemed to be east of the Juno Pier in about 80 feet. We did hookup with a nice 8lb mutton snapper. East winds are beginning to pick up which should help move some Wahoo and Dolphin back in close.

Cleared the Palm Beach Inlet a little later today around 715am but ran down to Breakers in about 60 feet of water. Team LJ and Luke lost several fish then Team Kim and Paul hooked up with a Sailfish. I had just free lined a Ballyhoo trying to mix up the baits and sure enough we got hooked. Paul got his shot at his dream fish and did not disappoint. After a two hour fight and somehow avoiding disasters by catching the engine with the line and avoiding the sharks we got the Sail in the boat. During the brutal fight, we saw several nurse sharks ready to pounce on the weakened fish and 3 other sails swimming with the one on our line. We probably could have had a double or triple header with a bit more experience on the boat but one is better than none. We then caught 3 bonito at once and Luke, Kim, and Laura Jean all stepped it up to complete the triple header. I created 4 more fishing addicts to add to the list. Conditions were perfect once again with much more bait popping the surface then the previous day. Maybe the storms stirred them up? Will have to research why the bait was more abundant than the day before. I was glad to get my Uncle who taught me about fishing and life a dream fish with his kids. One of my better moments on the boat in my short fishing career. I think the tournament results produced a tie as everyone caught fish and we would not have gotten the pictures or the Sailfish to the boat without everyones help. Here is a YouTube link to a video showing some of the exciting moments during the fight! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4AM_a2-ZZCE

Cleared in the inlet at 645am with the family to find beautiful conditions with a slight east wind and big storms over the Bahama's providing a nice sunrise with the calm seas. The blue water finally made its long awaited appearance. The kids caught several Bonito with Luke and LJ catching dinner for the family. We fished from about 80' to 300' of water with a lot of bait popping on the surface with Bonito closely behind. At 9am we saw a Sail free jumping in about 110' but the dive boats lived up to their jerk stereotype and dropped their divers right in front of our drift after circling us for about 15 minutes. We also found a tree branch and a weed line in 250' but no one was home other than a Bonito and maybe a something big that got off LJ's line. Overall conditions were absolutely perfect with blue water easily accessible and the current at about 2mph. Fishing was rather slow but everyone caught their first Offshore fish and had a blast. At least the Bonito are biting again which means the Wahoo should be more abundant in coming weeks.

Decided to head out after work with the crew. Water was fairly choppy with a southeast wind but there weren't any storms in the air. We had a pretty slow night with only a Bonito and a decent sized Kingfish caught by Bryan. I had trouble with my GPS unit not responding and checked every wire possible only to finally realize that the Coast Guard Cutter that was about a half mile away from us was interrupting our signal. Green water was still the rule even though the east winds persisted much of the week. It was a fun night and got to do some reconnaissance before the Varadis came down.

Doug and I went out again this morning but we were determined to stay away from the Bones this time so we started out in 300' out of the Lake Worth Inlet. About 10 minutes go by without much action then Doug hooks up with a a nice football Tuna. Then a few minutes later he is doing battle with a 30lb Amberjack. While he is getting worked by the big bruiser, I see a Dolphin swim by the back of the boat so I free lined a Ballyhoo out and he steals the bait. I reel in and throw it out again and this time, FISH ON! No video this time but a great start to the day within the first hour that we are out. The seas were even calmer than the night before so we ran out to 700' looking for weeds or trash where maybe some Tuna or Dolphin would be feeding. We found some boxes, shoes, and bags with no fish holding there so we headed back in for another drift and hooked up with some more boneheads. The current was very spotty today but water temperatures we 89 degrees in 700' and 86-87 from 80' to 150'. When out deep there was almost no current but when in shallow we would hit a strong current every so often. It was strange. With temperatures in the 90's and no wind, we called it a day since we were pretty much roasted by 2pm. The fishing has seemed to drop off after noon for the last few weeks. Also interesting that we did not get one snapper with everyone reporting a hot Mutton bite.

Sometimes the captain and co-captain have to go out by themselves without the rest of the crew so we can catch some fish. Doug (Gimp hand and all) and I went out Friday after work around 3pm only to be surrounded by big storms so we hit up Peanut Island to eat some fried chicken and mashed potatoes while the storm passed. Nothing like some PublixSeveral Snook fishermen waiting for the storms to clear joined us under the pavillion. Heard one guy say he caught a 40" Snook in the inlet. After the storms, we started a drift in about 100' and sure enough the boneheads were waiting for us so we moved in shallow to get some snapper or Kings and had 4 nice snake kings. At one time we had three fish on, and yes there was only two of us to reel them in. Called it an early night around 9pm since we were getting an early start on Saturday. Once the storms passed the supposed SE wind was non-existent and the seas calmed to make great conditions for bottom fishing. Water temperatures continue to get warmer nearing 86 degrees in 80' and 88 degrees in 200 feet but the water has been murky out to 500 feet. After the storm, we could see the fire that was started by lightening in Palm Beach Gardens. Apparently the PBG fire department just let it burn out since no homes were in jeopardy.

Woke up early to troll for Wahoo but we had a minor setback that resulted in a trip to the ER for Doug. While Bryan and Doug were at the PBG Med Center, Chris, Dr. ReelsGood, and yours truly were out fishing waiting for them to return. We headed south to Breakers and caught a couple of Yellowtails right off the bat. We then headed north for another drift and landed a 8lb Mutton Snapper. Then Chris and I hooked two nice Dolphin that we found hiding under some weeds as my spotter (Chris) pointed out. We had several bite offs as they were most likely sharks considering we saw a 6' Blacktip Shark make an appearance. Great day other than the hook incident and phenomenal table fare. Winds at 6am were strong out of the east but they calmed down as the sun came up. Our first couple of drifts were pushing us south and then northwest the rest of the day but much slower than normal. A video of the Dolphin Dancing can be seen on YouTube link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CHi_svp0rrY

Happy Independence Day! I wasn't planning on going out today but Bryan and his family convinced me, really had to twist my arm of course. Story didn't change much as Bonito ruled the water however I was able to get everyone hooked on 3 or 4 fish which is better than most days. Mr. Bob caught a Barracuda, Jack, and a couple of Bonito. I knew my luck was running out when a fish, most likely something very large, pulled a rod out of the boat and is swimming somewhere in the Atlantic with $200 attached to it. Mrs. Donahue and Katherine got some very nice Bonito then we headed in to Peanut Island to see the chaos and eat our picnic lunch. Nothing in the cooler today and one rod lighter but still a great day on the water. Conditions remained calm with the west wind although the bait popping on the surface had dropped off significantly from Thursday afternoon.