Jack Daughtry lead the group in organizing the trip. I met him and fellow kayakers Mike Rosa, Matt James in addition to another boat angler (Jeff) down in Hatteras, NC. With 4 kayaks and all our gear aboard the "Good Times" (47' Sheldon Midgette), Capt. Andy took us out to the gulf stream in search of blackfin tuna. The wind and waves caused issues (and a few upchucks) in the morning, so we started off jigging on the big boat. Amberjacks were hooked immediately, but the sharks reigned supreme. Most of our catches ended up being big AJ heads with gnarly teeth marks. Eventually, when the winds calmed down a little and the captain was positive the marks on the depth finder were tuna, we deployed the kayaks and continued dropping the butterfly/speed jigs down to 150'-175'. Unfortunately, the tuna were not interested in the jigs that day.
But the AJs were.
And so were the sharks.
We tried for a while to no avail. Another boat in the area had luck trolling, so we packed up the kayaks and made it into a meat run. Within minutes of putting out the greenstick trolling equipment we were hooked up on blackfins. Visualizing the hits was the fun part, but dealing with the massive equipment and the resistance of the boat still moving while reeling them in was a chore. None the less, it was a great experience.
Big thanks to Jack Daughtry for getting this trip together.
Good times...
ReplyDelete"Not getting hastled, not getting hustled.
Keepin' your head above water,
Making a wave when you can."
Beautiful Shots of the Blackfin, they are pretty fish.
ReplyDeleteGreat looking trip that must be a tug for a couple moments when a shark hits
ReplyDeleteTrip looks like a blast, great photos!
ReplyDeleteHola Rob, me tienes que indicar cual es tu medico para que me recete unas salidas a pescar en kayak porque el estress de los problemas familiares también me están afectando.
ReplyDeleteEnhorabuena por tan estupenda entrada.
Un saludo