A major mangrove snapper catch
The full moon for May is on the fourteenth at 3:18 P.M. We will be fishing three days after the full of the moon. The mango snapper should be on fire. Long time Florida Fisherman ll regulars, Will (L), and Rich (R), discuss the trip with mates Will, Kyle & Captain Garret. Captain Garret is a true professional with many years of experience to back him up.
Captain Garret decides our best chance for a 'Major mangrove snapper catch' will be the fish rich Florida Middle Grounds. The Middle Grounds, located roughly 100 miles NW of Madeira Beach, Florida, is a prehistoric coral-reef complex covering 461 square miles, and is home to 170 species of fish, including the hard to fool, hard to catch, mangrove snapper. Mango snapper are notorious bait thieves. Will they skip out without paying for their dinner? Or will there be 'A major mangrove snapper catch?' Let's go see together. Sit back, relax, and enjoy our trip with us.
Will, our first mate, goes over safety precautions and what to expect on our 39 hour excursion deep into the very heart of the Florida Middle Grounds. Will tells us the ride out will be a rough one, but Saturday is predicted to be much better. No problem, Will, we can take it.
Hubbard's Marina, we are out of here.
As expected it is really rough. That 72' cat takes it in stride. Let's eat then hit the sack. Tammy time! Time for hot off the grill Italian sausage smothered in onions & peppers. We must be in heaven. Some bring fancy steaks. Tammy will gladly prepare for us anything special we may decide to bring.
Let's hit our air conditioned bunks. After all, the fights ahead could very well be long and hard fought battles. We simply must be at our best. 12:30 A.M. Now that was one quick night. The aroma of Tammy's hot off the grill ham & cheese sandwiches are enough to wake anyone up. Mr. Carl Kisner, that smells as good as it looks. What a way to jump-start the morning:
Look at that moon! No wonder we are so excited. Hopefully the fish will be as excited as we are:
Look at the size of that Middle Grounds porgy:
It's mango time:
Will, (R) a proud retired navy man, shows how good he really is:
Tammy, we are starving. Any suggestions? How about a country sausage & cheese omelette with hot off the grill hash browns & gravy? Bring it on girl; bring it on!
In our quest for, 'A major mangrove snapper catch' we are having one little problem, the American red snapper:
Carl sure is glad he started the morning with that grilled ham & cheese followed by a real he-man hot breakfast. That thing really fought:
Spanish sardines are among the best snapper baits. Be sure to cut the tails off to reduce spinning on the way down. We are fishing in 125 feet of water; that's a long way to the coral bottom home of the mangrove snapper:
The sun has yet to make it's daily appearance and the fish box is already looking good.
Look at those deep water B Liners. They are almost as big as the mangos:
Here comes the sun. Mangrove snapper are notorious night time feeders. Hope they are still hungry:
Things are still looking good. Get them, Rich:
Ed, now that's a strawberry grouper to be proud of:
Red snapper time, pay back time, nears:
Looks like the mangos are still hungry:
Ed, now that's a snapper to be proud of:
Looks like the AJ's have decided to challenge us:
Mr. Travis Gladish, fishing out Lake Alfred, Florida, fished spot # 19 to out-do this beauty:
Ever see, or hear of, a sheepshead porgy? We do not see too many of them. Tammy is really proud of this one:
Bo is knee deep in snapper:
We have lost some real monsters. Never, and I mean never, think that the big boys of the Florida Middle Grounds are going to give up without a struggle that defies the imagination. That's a 9/0 reel and was a very heavy rod:
Ed, now that's a nice red grouper. We caught some good ones today:
We are having one heck of a day:
Guess what chef Tammy does when she is not cooking or looking after us:
Manny Castillo, you can be proud of that one. June 1, is pay back time:
Thanks for the memories:
Mr. Ravi . Ande, we are sure glad to have you on our side:
As the sun slowly sinks into the Western horizon, we think, once again, of Tammy. Our Chef has prepared for us a real treat, two different kinds of pasta, Move over Olive Garden; Chef Tammy is here. Roger has had some real fights. This looks good:
We have been in snapper all night & day; never fast, but picking the entire time:
Roger, Captain Garret (R) and Will are so proud of you. It looks like someone forgot to tell the American red snapper how bad of shape they are in. Here it is late evening; we have been in them last night & all day today:
Mr. Castillo was still catching fish even when Captain Garret fired up those two huge 1,150 cats. Now we are all ready to hit out bunks. Take us home Captain John, home to Madeira Beach, Florida:
Early Sunday morning. We are so proud:
And now the 'in-the-money' jack pot winners:
Amber jack honors go to Mr. Eddie Sumrall (L). Best snapper goes to Ed's long time friend Mr. Dan Jackman. And a very special congratulations to Hudson, Colorado's Mr. Dave Lupton (R). Hudson, known for it's trains and grand views of the Rocky Mountains, can be very proud of Dave. This real sportsman traveled across our great country to win the grouper jack pot. Job well done, sir, well done indeed! Captain Garret (far R) is so proud of our winners:
Will the little bait thieves know simply as mangos skip out, or be forced to pay for their meals? Will there be a, ' Major snapper catch?' Well! Rich & Captain Garret, it looks like all that planning really paid off:
If we had been able to keep American reds and gag grouper, that pile would have been much larger. Never-the-less, it was another outstanding trip to the fish rich Florida Middle Grounds. Some of us even limited out on the hard to catch mangrove snapper, and that's a two day federal limit of 20. Gosh! I just got home and am alrready thinking of my next trip to the Florida Middle Grounds. Yes! The Grounds really are that good.
Check out the short 12 minute, 13 second, action packed video of out trip.
(click on the YouTube link)
Bob Harbison Florida Outdoor Writers Association
