Mangrove snapper fishing during the entire full moon period is often very special. More often than not we find 'Mangrove snapper on FIRE!'
The May full moon is 5/21 @ 5:16 P.M. We will be fishing when the moon lights up the night skies. This is going to be good!
Joining us from Nineveh, Indiana, are Tim Fisher, along with the husband wife team of CJ and Becky Gaither. What an honor having these dedicated sportsmen/woman from the Hoosier state.
We are ready. Middle Grounds and vicinity here we come:
Mr. Joe May trolls for kings on the way out:
After a fine Chef Tammy meal, and a good day's sleep, 'Let the fights begin!'
Looks like our Northern friends from the 'Land of Indians' can really catch our Southern fish:
It's really good to see smaller American reds. This is our future:
The mango action is fast and furious. They are 'on FIRE!'
Ever see a mangrove snapper after a cubera attack?
Joe can catch a lot more than king fish:
We have already caught well over 400 mangrove snapper, and the bite is still going strong:
Even the porgies out here are monster sized:
These deep water kings are trophy sized:
Sun Up brings more action:
Still more kings:
Let's check out the demise of a once proud ship for amber jacks. Now this looks good, very good!
Team Indiana drove 989 miles to fish our Florida waters.
CJ absolutely cannot believe the brute strength of Mr. Amber Jack. Watch his great fight six minutes into the video at the end of this report:
Wife, Becky, is so proud of her husband:
Nineveh, Indiana will never be the same:
Now there is a red grouper to be proud of:
This gag was properly vented and sent back to his rocky home to fight again. See you in June:
As good as these extended trips are they are now even better with the edition of Mr. John Martin as cruise coordinator, fishing advisor.
Mr. John Martin:
When John speaks...we listen:
Be sure to catch John's report 'Mango Storm' on our trip. John writes:
"When we started it looked like it was going to potentially be a miserable weather trip with heavy rain and winds but the Fish Gods were in our favor as within an hour of starting the rain stopped and the seas improved to the point where it was quite nice. The Mango action was a storm it’s self as they were chewing from the start
If the first spot was hot the second was a flame thrower."
This ''flame thrower'' overnight adventure resulted in just under 700 mangrove snapper. The next 44 hour "flame thrower'' will be 6/17. The June full moon is 6/20 @ 7:04 A.M. We will be fishing a couple of days before the full moon. It just does not get any better than that. And, just think, we will be able to keep American reds and gag grouper. Talk about the best of times!
Well! As with all good things our extreme adventure is coming to an end.
Dinner time. Look who stopped in for dinner. Our feathered friend greeted everyone on board and then visited Chef 'Jersey Girl' Tammy in the galley. Nothing like a great meal one hundred miles off beautiful Madeira Beach, Florida:
Talk about a great meal...Chef Tammy insist on only the best, cooked to order, steak with all the trimmings:
After dinner it's time for 'The last great FIGHT!' This FIGHT completely circled the Florida twice and lasted over 1/2 an hour.
Finally the great fish decided he had enough. A mighty lunge snapped the 125 pound test line like it was thread. See you next time around.
Next stop...Welcome Home!
See you at the scales:
The proud in the money jack pot winners:
The Florida Middle Grounds is known to hold over 170 varieties of fish. Here is one we seldom see.
What kind of fish is Tim holding? (hint...it is not a strawberry grouper)
Catch all the action in this short action packed video of our trip:
https://youtu.be/9vqN0t2nlF4The June addition of Florida Sportsman magazine has an excellent article on 'Fishing the Outer Grounds.' Check out page 48 to see how 'Long-range Gulf of Mexico trips come of age.'
Bob Harbison Florida Outdoor Writers Association
