Tawn; the dinner cruise does sound like a good deal. I was sweating bullets leaving Deale in a two-three ft chop knowing I had to run boards with #64 rubber bands
Those damn 19 inch fish were going to play havoc with board lines and I was going to be trying to "pop" fish off the boards
Luckily, two things happened. We caught all our early fish off the boat rods deep; and the wind continued to lay down and it became perfect conditions for fishing by mid morning.
I also had the added pressure of knowing that Doug had put 11 in the boat the day before. I know that shouldn't matter; but you know how competitive we "mates" can get
With Charlie onboard as well, I guess we technically had two mates to get the job done, and we ganged up on Doug
On my own boat, I'm not running boards, however, I usually only need a couple of fish to make it a good day. Many people don't understand the pressure that the Captain of a charter goes through to put fish in the box for customers. I worked my butt off to get these fish. We ran 17 lines (all hoses) when we started. We kept tangles to a minimum (always have a few with hoses), but rigging and re-rigging was a constant chore. The bottom claimed a few of our rigs, and we had to improvise with other lures to keep the spread "alive".
NO DOUBT, we had a bit of luck involved in getting our limit. Originally, the fish were concentrated in a small area above the bridge and you could target a certain area to catch all the nice size fish you wanted. I suppose, all the pressure has spread them out over several miles. Now, trolling from one school to another uses more fuel for the captain.
Livelinning continues to put big fish in the boat (Maybe Mlag can post some photos). But, as shown with your friend and Deale Captain, it's not a guarantee.
I get to write all this because today is a "pool" day with the grandchildren
Tomorrow looks like light winds, I may have to sneak out in the afternoon
With the fish so close to me this year, I can run to the slip, jump in the boat, fish, and be back at the dock tying up 3 hrs later
I had to replace some of my "good" hoses with "normal" hoses, so we will see how they produce. If I don't catch well; I have a built in excuse already
Later,
5th