As with any fishing trip, timing is everything.  The fish have to be around and the weather has to co-operate so you can get to them.  Over the past couple of years, my timing hasn’t been that good on my trips to Florida but this year has been a different story.  We’ve had great weather on or trips and the fishing has been incredible!  This trip was no different, we had flat calm seas and quick limits of grouper.

Normally we try to anchor over a spot and chum the fish to us but with the seas being so calm we decided to drift and cover some water. By the time I got the boat stopped and said lines in, my dad was already pulling in a keeper sized red grouper. Mason and Sonya quickly followed and I hadn’t even wet a line.  We marked our spot with a buoy and kept drifting over and around it for the next three hours as we sorted through one just short red after another before we got our limit.  We were using finger mullet, squid, sardines, jigs and swimbaits and all were equally successful.

While we were grouper fishing we couldn’t help but notice all of the life out on the water, schools of bonita and small dorado were everywhere. We decided to find out if there were any blackfin, bigger dorado or kingfish mixed in as well. We did a little running and gunning after schools of fish busting the water. Mason and Madden were on the bow tossing swimbaits and jigs into the feeding schools and pulling out bonita. It wasn’t what we wanted for the table but it sure did make for some nice bloody bait to use for shark fishing later in the week.

Day two was a carbon copy of the first day only we had my brother Jonathan on the boat as Sonya elected to stay home. We went out to the same general area and before I could get a line wet fish were coming over the side. We made pretty quick limits of red grouper and threw back some really nice gag grouper (closed season). Mason hooked up with a nice 37 inch cobia to top off the morning.

After having seen all the life the day before, we made sure we came ready to do some trolling. My brother Jonathan had just installed our new Cannon downriggers on the boat and I needed to show him how to use them. Downriggers are just starting to become really popular in Florida and Cannon dominates the market. We rigged the downrigger rod with a spoon and dropped it down to about 20ft. On the other side we had a plug with a small tuna feather on the shotgun rod. It didn’t take long and we had our first takedown on the downrigger. Jonathan brought the spanish mackeral boatside for a “gentlemen’s release”. As he was putting the spoon back down a big kingfish hits and blisters Jon’s thumb before he could get the bail flipped. The birdsnest that ensued was one of the finest peices of work I’ve ever seen, no saving that line. We trolled for short while longer and had a few more hits before Jonathan landed a final bonita.

With two great days offshore, we decided to stay close and fish for sharks off Anclote Key. We made the 5 minute run and dropped anchor. We were fishing a deep channel and hoping for a big shark while keeping our eye out for any tarpon that might be within casting distance. We saw a tarpon in the distance tearing up some bait but we couldn’t get that shallow with our boat. We decided to go to a differentspot where we had great success before.

This time the sharks showed up, first it was an 8ft hammerhead that decided to take a look at the boat after breaking us off. I was up next and knew I had a nice one on when all of a sudden the shark goes airborn putting on a show like he thought he was a marlin. Unfortunately, a minute later the line snapped and I had nothing to show for it. We did manage to land a few sharks but the ones landed were on the small side. The plan had been to just fish the first few hours of the morning outgoing tide and then head back to the house. Mason had talked his grandpa into some BBQ and if there is anything we Tobeck’s like as much as fishing, it’s a good BBQ.

Originally posted on The Outdoor Line

So far, 2011 is shaping up to be pretty darn good as my Florida Keys trip in January was perhaps some of the best mixed bag fishing I have ever seen and this past trip with the kids for spring break proved to be productive as well with limits of grouper and battles with mystery fish.

Our trips to Florida to see the family for spring break are always very busy as we never get a full week but just a matter of days.

By the time you see family, spend some time at the beach, and take a day with the girls at one of Florida’s amusement parks, this time it was Universal for the new Harry Potter exhibit, it usually leaves only a day to go fishing.  With grouper season just opening up April 1st and some colder water hanging around keeping the majority of kingfish further south it was a no brainer, we were going after some tasty grouper.

Mason with Uncle Jon

Our favorite grouper target, gag grouper, were still closed in federal waters but my brother Jonathan knew of a few spots for some nice red grouper.  We launched the boat in Clearwater and went about 30 miles out on 2ft seas arriving at our waypoint full of anticipation.  Jonathan readied the anchor, as I maneuvered the boat into position, my dad and Mason both readied their rods as it’s always a race to land the first fish. Once we got anchored up it didn’t take more than just a few minutes and it was fish on.

We were fishing an area of cheesy limestone bottom, using a chum block to get a slick going. Threadfin, mackerel, squid and live pinfish that the boys had been catching off the dock were our baits.  In the gulf, red grouper have to be at least 20 inches for rec anglers to keep.  (Only 16, I believe, for commercials, go figure.)  We waded through grouper after grouper with one after another being 18 or 19 inches.  Finally, my brother Jonathan hooked up with a keeper size grouper and then it was just a matter of time before we had six keepers on the boat.

One of the things that I always do when I am bottom fishing in the gulf is set up a live bait on top with a bait runner and hope that something big and hungry swims by.  As we were trying to catch two more reds to finish out our limit, the bait runner went off but by the time I could get to it the fish was gone.  I reeled in to check my bait and saw only half of a big pinfish.  We figured it had to be a toothy kingfish so I re-baited and tossed back out.  A few minutes later, another zing and this time I lost the entire set-up as the fish severed the fluorocarbon leader with its razor teeth.  Determined, I re-baited and tossed the big pinfish behind the boat avoiding the hungry bird that kept trying to get an easy meal.

After some time went by my dad caught a nice keeper sized gag grouper that we had to release but other than that the bite really slowed down.  Just as we were talking about pulling anchor and trolling our way back in, the top rod went off again.  This time the fish stayed buttoned as I set the hook and handed off the rod to Mason.  I stopped passing the rod off to my son a few years back because he does a great job at catching more than his share of fish and his rubbing it in to the old man was more than I could handle.  This time however, I figured that he was the only one on the boat that hadn’t caught a kingfish and I wanted him to have the experience.

It hurt my dad to have to throw this one back

It turns out that what I thought was going to be a nice little first king mackerel for my son turned out to be an hour and forty minute test of will between Mason and whatever we has on the end of the line.  It was forty-five minutes into the fight when we first saw color.  We couldn’t tell what we had however; we just knew that it was big.  Could it be a big king?  Tuna?  How about amberjack?  After some debate and looking at the way it was fighting we decided that it had to be a big AJ.  All fish in the jack family are known for their hard fighting abilities and Mason would attest, this fish wouldn’t budge.

Mason continued to battle as time went on, I lit a cigar and cracked a beer, I could tell we weren’t going anywhere soon.  The fish stayed a comfortable distance from the boat and teased us with a flash of color before it made another run, tearing line off the reel just as fast as it did on its initial run.  My brother Jon and I debated whether or not we should drop the anchor but I ruled it out as I thought it was just going to be a short while and Mason would have this fish bested.  Turns out I made the wrong call.

After 100 minutes of Mason and this fish going toe to fin, the fish had finally had enough of play time.
Mason yelled for us to drop the anchor as the fish made one last blistering run. Unfortunately, we couldn’t get it done fast enough.  Mason kept saying we were wrapped up in the anchor rope but Jon and I just couldn’t accept it.  We cut the rope and left the anchor sit just hoping the rope would fall through but it didn’t, and eventually SNAP!  It was over!

Mason was exhausted in the Florida heat, my dad, brother, and I all sat silently as we contemplated what might have been.  Even though we had a great day of fishing, we couldn’t help but feel disappointed.
Oh well, we had a great story and I’m sure we’ll have years of talking about the fish that got away.

Rob Tobeck

The Outdoor Line

710 ESPN Seattle

A favorite of my wife, the endangered manatee seem to be making a comeback.

Although it wasn’t the three days of fishing that I wanted to get in while I was in town, we did manage to get out for one day of grouper fishing.  I had been hearing that the grouper were really on the chew the week before I got there so I couldn’t wait to get my shot.  We went about 30 miles SW of the house to about 65 ft of water.  We anchored on a little ledge, dropped a chum bag over the side and immediately started catching fish.

The first fish to be caught was a tasty little grunt, followed shortly by a nice keeper-size gag grouper.

My brother-in-law Tim caught some heat for taking so long to land this little grunt.

My dad, Auggie-Doggy put the first keeper on the boat.

My brother Jon caught and released over twenty short grouper, including this half-inch shy gag.

As everyone is well aware, I am constantly amazed at fishery managers’ decisions and when it comes to grouper management it is no different.  For the first time ever, the west coast of Florida will close to grouper fishing for two months in January and February.  In recent years, the bag limit has been reduced and other protections such as gear restrictions have been put in place.  All of these restrictions have been aimed at the recreational community.  If these restrictions have a scientifically based reason for being enacted then great, let’s do what is right for the resource.  That being said, can someone explain to me why a red grouper has to be over 20 inches for a recreational fisherman and just 16 for a commercial?  We must have caught and released over 40 grouper that a commercial fisherman would be able to keep.  Just like gulf red snapper, why are we taking such extreme measures when the resource tells a different story?

Anyway, back to fishing.  Besides battling some grouper, I couldn’t wait to try out some of my new Fetha Styx rods.  When these grouper hit they do it with an attitude and I can’t think of a better test for a rod than getting a big grouper out of the rocks.  I was using a Fetha Styx “Jigger” spinning rod and the new Big Game series 70MH.  The problem I had was deciding which one to use.  They both performed great and I can’t wait to get some albacore on these new Big Game series rods.

This Fetha Styx Jigger had the backbone to lift this keeper red (below) out of the rocks.

I also caught a bonus king while jigging. Although not all that plentiful and a little small this time of year, they are great fighters and a nice catch any time of the year.

Spring and fall are the best times to target big smoker kings.

We had a great day on the water with steady action all day and as always, I am already looking forward to my next trip to Florida.

Dad, "You have to clean all the fish."

Check out Rob at The Outdoor Line.com