You could just feel the excitement from our crew as we made our way out into the choppy waters, and foggy skies, off St.Pete Beach to do some Grouper fishing this past Tuesday. Alix Dolidon treated her family to a fishing charter on the Jawbreaker last August, and once again, Francois, Marie, Izzy and Paul traveled all the way from Paris, France to experience the rod bending action of 'grouper digging' in the Gulf of Mexico. Also on board was the MVP of the day, Reese...this guy could do no wrong!
With water temps dropping into the mid-60 range recently, most of the Kingfish we had been fishing for have moved out and South. Spanish mackerel have been very spotty and small in size, and Barracudas are just plain gone. This leaves us with few options, but one of the few is always a great 'go-to' plan for a half-day fishing charter...bottom fishing for grouper and snapper. Being that our crew already had the experience, there was no need for a seminar, and as soon as we were on the hook, Francois was into something big. Check out Francois and the ladies, Izzy(left) and Alix(right) with the first fish of the day...a classic Gag Grouper, way to go Frank!
The action was fairly steady for fishing the day after a full moon. The strong tide did keep us on our toes and an assortment of both live, and dead bait was needed to keep the fish interested. Of course, for Reese it did not matter. This guy could have put a jelly bean on the hook and he would catch a big fish. When nobody else was catching, Reese was. I have seen this strange phenomenon before,....it's called 'fish magnet' and we obviously had one on board. Well, lots of big Gag Grouper were caught-and-released, everyone did pitch in for a fish box full of Grey Snapper and Porgie, and dinner plans were secured.
Great times with old friends, gotta love it! Wherever in the world you may be, St.Pete Beach is within reach. Call Jawbreaker fishing charters today and plan your next fishing trip with confidence. Happy fishing to Ya, Capt.Dan