10-03 "middle grounds"

[eaglesfanguy]

Well, the weatherman kept us from attempting the middle grounds this weekend.Prediction was 3-5 or 4-7 . Checked many sites and got mixed results, but all offerd 2-3 at the smallest. well this is what we had to deal with! Bot the weatherman sucks!!!






Well we hit seminole boat ramp at 5am, loaded up and hit the water bout 530.

Started in 70 ft 25 miles east north east.
Small red grouper.I then start to realize the guys im fishing with .... um..... are complete morons.
Did i mention i didnt take my boat... Wish like hell i did.
Anyway . were in a 28 ft cobia center console with a 264 wellcraft coastal. joining us.
These guys all dive. I was the only fisherman.

well i learned alot of things.. Spearfishers shoot first measure later!.. And kill everything bring it up identify it.. if its legal its kept . If its not its tossed overboard or eaten on the boat.

2nd they only know how to get to numbers but cant read a bottom machine. they anchor on the numbers and swim to wherever the reef is.
So being a fisherman All i musterd up was a nice kingfish.. a few small red grouper. They were feeding heavily and swallowing 8/0 circles so i quit fishing bottom. I managed a few big ramoras on the flat line and a huge i dunno what fish.. stripped 100yds on first run off my Tyrnos.. Got 50 back dogged out another 50 .. 5 mins later im getting line back and pop 80 mono breaks.
Anyway the guys nailed 20 hogfish, 5 were kepers. 4 red grouper 0 were keepers. 1 gag Not a keeper.
1 sheepshead.. which was legal, and 6 triggerfish 3 kepers.

Ill say this i have no respect for divers!


When the guys werent diving they were catching baby red groupers and doing this with them




Yep.. Phukin disgrace.

ANYway..

Here are some pics of catch



Ill fish from my own boat Now on.

When i said morons.. these guys had georgous boats nice electronics.. but no clue.. you know how they found the wrecks and stuff.. thy put the coordinates in and watch the curser when its on the numbers icon they drop anchor.. never looking at the bottom machine. I kept trying to give advice.. nope that bottom reader dosent work.. gotta use the numbers to get right on the spot... i was over it after the 3rd hr when we finally started fishing.

Man theres dumbasses everywhere

[bodysnatcher]

What can I say but WOW!

[eaglesfanguy]

Highlight of the day was seeing a school of about 20 mahi mahi.. come buy.. They were maybe 12 inches.. and i was tossing bait to keep em near.. and rigged a dead sardine, and one of the divers on the boat next to us jumps in with his gun and chased em away.. Friggin genius!.. dude was searchin the oppisite they went.. Unbelievable..

Dude was gonna shot one then measure..

[havetofish]

Man Steve,
I can only imagine how disappointed you must have been.
I guess it pays to know your friends a little better. Tell them to come on over to the Skyway and keep flipper busy, if they like playing "swim with the dolphins".

[buzzcatcher420]

damn.. feeding under sized grouper to dolphins, WTF?

thats just wrong...

[steelcity]

Easy my man. Not all of us are in the same category. Everyone who starts out shooting will shoot an undersize fish. Guarenteed. I did it and so have all of the guys I know. It is very unfortunate but that is how you learn. Now what seperates us is how fast you learn. I will admit I shot two undersize hogs when I first started.

Spearfishing done by guys who know what they are doing and are very good is the most efficient and fish friendly way to harvest. There in no by-catch. You don't have to worry about the fish being gut hooked or deflating it.

The guys you were out with sound like they have done this before. They are idiots who have no regard for our fish stock. Once you shoot your first undersize fish you should have a picture in your head from there on out as to what a legal fish should look like then. Disregarding this and just going down there and playing " The OK Corral" is irresponsible, reckless, and plain out stupid. They should be kicked in the nuts and their guns broken over their heads.

What is the most frustrating thing is when you have guys who come on the boat and say that they have been out many of times and know how to shoot and what they are shooting, only to have them pop small red groupers and baby hogs. I have had guys who I have partnered up with on a charter and I'll go down and shoot nice keeper hogs in the 18"-22" range and keeper gags and reds and have them on a stringer. Then I look beside me and this bonehead is bringing me a 15" red grouper to throw on the stringer. I hit him with the fish underwater and put our two fish together so he could see the difference. We then talk about it on the boat and lecture the dumbass. The next dive he proceeded to do the same thing. So when he came up his gun was taken away for the day and he was no longer allowed to shoot.

The guys who you were out with which I know are not your friends are a$$h0le$. They knew what they are doing is wrong and have no problems with it in their mind. The fact that they kept doing it while fishing just drives the fact home that they are morons.

Not all of us shooters are in the same class.

[steelcity]

then as you get better you get more selective. You let those 14" hogs go and target the bigger ones. Some people have no respect.

[bcc]

That just makes me want to puke. If i was on that boat i would of absolutly had a fit and probably be swimming home or would have been used as chum. I dont think i could have kept my mouth shut.

[truckyfd]

steve, sorry bout the trip!

and i hate to really say this! BUTT

you need to turn over the photo's and id's to fwc

if anybody from fwc see's this thread, you could be in trouble for not reporting them!