[Marlin Maniac]

Left Morehead City @ 8:00 PM Saturday night. Turned the corner for the run downill to the grouper grounds and ran into a 6 foot head sea. It was a 3 hour beat directly into the 20 knot wind. Needless to say it was a bit sporty. there were 3 people on the boat not yaking, and I was one of them. It's inevitable, with 30 people involved, that someone is downwind of someone else at the wrong moment. I'll leave the rest to your imagination, but it was entertaining. On to the fishing. The night portion of the trip was unproductive, but at dawn things heated up. First vermillion and silver snapper came over the rails, then gag and red grouper. About a half dozen guys started casting plugs and strip baits off the upper deck and hammered the mahi. They averaged about 10 lbs, but there were several over 20 and one big bull over 30. All on spinning gear. One guy got a big dusky shark in the area of 200 lbs. Grouper fishing for me was slow, but I took a small fish called a grunt and removed his backbone from the tail to the head, kind of like rigging a split tail mullet. Dropped him down and a couple of minutes later Wam, there's a fat 12 lb red grouper in the box. For the run back up the hill, the wind changed direction directly out of the north and we took a beating again! Anyway, caught a ton of fish, had a great time and my right arm and fingers are shot from cranking in fish. I just might have to do this again somewhere down the road. Tight lines!

[RickyF]

Sounds like a rough ride! I can remember years ago working on a head boat back in Charleston SC and have three people out of about 60 actually fish while the others were calling RALPH and chumming the waters for us!!

[G&H Lures]

Sounds like a good time! I remember as a deck hand out of San Diego watching a 12-14 y.o. boy on a father/son trip time it so perfectly with a heave that he lost it on the way down on a swell and the wind picked it up and put the whole load right back on him!! POOR FELLA!!! Oh well that is what they make a deck hose for.

As far as the fishing, what boat did you go on? That sounds like a good time, may make a trip like that with my crowd!

-Mike

[BillyBoy]

Sounds like a good time! I remember as a deck hand out of San Diego watching a 12-14 y.o. boy on a father/son trip time it so perfectly with a heave that he lost it on the way down on a swell and the wind picked it up and put the whole load right back on him!! POOR FELLA!!! Oh well that is what they make a deck hose for.

As far as the fishing, what boat did you go on? That sounds like a good time, may make a trip like that with my crowd!

-Mike

Now that is too funny (in a demented sorta way)! MM, nice report - glad you had a good time. You didn't happen to sample anyone's vittles the second time around , did you?