Deep-Dropping - 07 Feb 09

[ocnslr]

We ran 75nm from Little Creek Inlet to the north side of the Norfolk Canyon, and dropped at 0900 in 320-feet on a somewhat snotty day. Had Jeff, Chuck and Ed along with Cathy and me.

First drop was dogfish, so we moved about 100yds. Pulled up two BSB, and then we were in the Blueline Tiles. Continued drifts until noon, when we had out limit of 35 BLT, pleu eight BSB to go with them. Tried one drop in deeper water on the slope for grouper, but the wind was too strong and the drift too fast.

Here is Ed with the traditional kiss for his first BLT:

And here is the crew and our catch:

Apologies to those of you who are iced in, or who mark your seasons with shrink-wrapping..

We cleaned the boat today in 70* temps... then came home to vacuum bag the fish.

Brian

 

[Tuna Man]

Brian,
Looks like a very productive trip. Yes the boat has been pulled for a while but spring is only around the corner. Hope to see a few tilefish this summer for the first time.

Just curious, are you using window sash weights, electric reels or good old fashioned lead weight and conventional tackle?

 

[ocnslr]

Brian,
Looks like a very productive trip. Yes the boat has been pulled for a while but spring is only around the corner. Hope to see a few tilefish this summer for the first time.

Just curious, are you using window sash weights, electric reels or good old fashioned lead weight and conventional tackle?

We have two Electra-Mates onboard, one on a Penn 114H and the other on a Penn 345. Cathy used the 345 yesterday after she got tired. We usually use an electric for the first drop, to see if we are in tiles and sea bass, or dogfish.

The rest of the gear is conventional. Penn 330s and 320LDs, Shimano TLD25. All spooled with 65 or 80# braid.

We use conventional weights. It was quite windy yesterday and the drift was a bit fast, so we used 32-oz in 320-feet of water. Tried using the same on the slop in 580-feet and couldn't really "feel" the bottom. We have been able to fish the tiles in 300-330-feet with 20-oz on calm days, and more weight as the drift gets faster.

I make all my own rigs, from simple tied rigs with two dropper loops for the hooks and loops ate each end, to heavier rigs with crimped in-line swivels for the stand-off hooks, barrel swivels at the top and snap swivels for the weights at the bottom.

Brian

 

[Kenlahr]

Nice job on the tiles Brian.

 

[Stonewall]

Brian,

Nice fish. Who would have imagined the weather this weekend. I was working on my engines in a T-Shirt!!!

You need to do some research so we know wher to get a few of them for our Hatteras trip.

Hope you and Cathy are fine.

 

[Average Joe]

Looks like a great time was had by all. Thanks for sharing Brian.

 

[Heavy Duty]

Looks like you guys did good. Nice fish. The water was a little snooty down at Morehead too. Very impressed at the way the Sailfish handled it.

Who is that in the background?

HD

 

[ocnslr]

Looks like you guys did good. Nice fish. The water was a little snooty down at Morehead too. Very impressed at the way the Sailfish handled it.

Who is that in the background?

HD

Hi Len,

That's the Admiral in the red hat.

Did you bring the Sailfish home?

Brian

 

[Heavy Duty]

LOL, I like the Admiral's choice for covers . The first pic of Ed smooching the fish there is a boat in the background…was that one of our club member’s boat?

No I didn't bring her home this past weekend. We found a few minor problems that needed correcting. Left engine gauge not working properly, steering was very hard and needed to be checked for air in system or seal leak, and autopilot was not working. So “T” Harris was going to get that done and do a final check on the boat. The paperwork is done and the money exchanged. Also I’m working on the deal for a trailer. Morehead has a really nice used float on (Thing is built like a tank). But a friend of mine in E. City has a new Load Right with a 2 year warranty that can be had for $1000 bucks more. So this Sat I’ll be over in E. City checking that out.

Right now and depending on weather I’m looking at either the end of this month or the 2nd weekend in March to bring her home. I have to work around the weekends that I’m not on call. Of course if I decide to just trailer it home I can do that anytime. I will be going back down this weekend to spend all day Sat getting to know the electronics. The guys at Morehead have been really good and are willing to spend as much time as needed on getting to know the boat and the systems.

Nice boat. Sitting on the blocks in the parking lot at the dealer you do not get the true sense of how big this boat is until it is in the water sitting next to a Sport Fisherman. When I stepped onto the boat I was expecting it to roll like the Overnighter. Got very little roll and it was very solid feeling.

We had four folks on board….including the War Department (Wife). Performance wise 4 people didn’t even phase it. We ran out of Beaufort Inlet and ended up about 10 miles offshore. Ran at about 30 knots and had 2-3 footers with occasional 4 ft waves. Once trimmed up the boat handled those just fine. In my little Overnighter I would have been lucky to get 10-15 knots. Anything more would have been a very rough ride. Bottom line is I really like the way this boat rides and I am now truly spoiled.

Is your offer still open?

Thanks.

Len

 

[ocnslr]

.. there is a boat in the background…was that one of our club member’s boat?

Is your offer still open? Len

Not one of the TGWC boats.

Offer for training still stands.

 

[Heavy Duty]

Thanks. I'll get up with you on some "not to distant' dates.

Len