CONO! Tortuga!

GENERALturtle. · 03-19-2007, 03:16 PM

Cono! Disco Lady figured you might like this

I got the call from Chris(fishinfool73) a couple months back asking me if I would like to jump on a trip with Capt Yuri. "Hell Yeah" I said, but of course I had to ask the warden for permission. Since I have been on good behavior she said "yes". The crew consisted of Chris(fishinfool73), Tony(2nd Chance), Matt(Paladin), Joe, Kenny and myself.

The plan was to go out to the sword grounds the night before the trip and load up on tinkers, but the wind started to blow out of the east at 15-20 with gusts up to 30 and the seas were looking nasty. We all made the call to give it a whirl but probably should have just stayed home. We made it out to the 58 Nothing, 56 nothing, 54 nothing!

I was stressing bout bait but knew I could count on my forum brothers to hook it up. After a some phone calls and running around, I was able to scrape up bout 8dz frozen tinks and gogs. Thanks Tuna chaser, Nick C, Outfishingforgoogles and flatzbroke for the hook up.

The plan was to meet up at Jack's Friday morning and pick up whatever they had fresh(ballyhoo) and then make our way down to the pinfish bridge. We made quick work of about 60 pins for the well and headed for the boat. By the time Capt. Yuri got there the boat was almost loaded and ready to ride out. The winds were 10-15 out of the west but predicted to switch to NNW by nightfall. I went down below to introduce myself to my bunk and we hit it off right away:sleep:

The first few spots we hit only produced some small mutton, reds and a fishinfool put a 20# black on ice. By the time the night fell the waves had built to a good 6' with the occasional 8' to keep ya on your toes. The current was strong all weekend and it took 10oz to hold bottom on most spots. By 11pm the first night I had one pink in the box and things were slow, so I decided to go rest until daybreak. Here is a pic of the first mutton before my batteries died in my camera

As the sun came up on day two the wind was still blowing. Everyone else stayed up all night and did put some decent mangos and a few more mutts on the ice. After a quick breakfast :cigar: . I was ready for the day. Yuri moved in shallower to target the grouper and on everyother spot we would find em. Tony(2nd Chance) was the grouper king this trip. I think since it was his first trip the grouper were picking on him cause he kept getting hooked up with the big dogs. After a few beat downs, he got the hang of it and dropped a 20# yellowfin on the deck. Next he got a 23# black and then finished off with another yellowfin bout 15#. WTG brother! The other 5 of us got our share of good blacks,reds, scamps all around the 10# mark. Matt(Paladin) slept thru all of this and would not wake up as hard as we tried. He finally woke up at dinner to see we had filled the back box. That's o.k. he needed his rest for what was to come.

Night fell again and we moved back out deeper to try again for the pinks. This spot was on fire and everyone got about 5 before the bite slowed. After a long day of grouper diggin everyone was exaushed and started to drop like flies. The only two survivors were Matt and I. We passed the time waiting for the 2nd shift of pinks by catching kings and fliers for bait (I'll let Matt tell the story of the flier).
Around 3am to 6am all hell broke loose and Matt and I took turns droppin pinks on the deck all in the 15# to 18# range. By the end of the 3 hour period I had 11 and Matt had 14. As the sky started to turn the light shade of red I hooked up again. I had been so buzy reeling in fish that I didn't take the time out to enjoy the moment. Watching the sun rise in the Tortugas with a slob mutt on the end of the your line is heaven on earth. I couldn't wipe the smile off my face. That memory will be burnt into my brain forever....

As the sun woke up so did everyone else. After seeing the box it didn't take long for them to grab the rods and join in on the fun. I think everyone got 2 or 3 more each and they shut off. We had a long run in, so after some breakfast we started for home. This turned out to be a killer trip. I want to thank Capt. Yuri for such a good time. No doubt he is a first class gentleman. He knows how to put you on the fish. It is worth the wait to get booked on his boat. Check out his website Tortugasfishing.com. Can't wait till next year!

quack quack · 03-19-2007, 03:35 PM

Great job and smokin report bro.

Tuna Devil · 03-19-2007, 03:46 PM

Sweet,

Looks like a good trip Chris.

miamiangler1 · 03-19-2007, 03:57 PM

CONO !!! those are some nice fish ... looks like a great time in the tortugas...

Gaitor · 03-19-2007, 04:10 PM

Great Fish and nice report!

Disco Lady · 03-19-2007, 05:14 PM

CONO!!!!!!!!!

Nice catch of reds.... thanks for the info... let me know next time you go.

Cheers!

DL

WhItEoUt 23 · 03-19-2007, 05:19 PM

CONO

-------------------------------

TIGHT LINES AND SHARP HOOK'S

igotbenefits · 03-19-2007, 05:28 PM

Nice Repot.. I've got to book a trip..

P33JP3 · 03-19-2007, 07:06 PM

nice report GT and great catch.

LIGHTS OUT · 03-19-2007, 07:09 PM

WTG Nice trip and nice report

Nick C · 03-19-2007, 07:20 PM

Nice work Turtle!

Gaitor · 03-19-2007, 07:28 PM

Oh ... I forgot ..... COONYO!

Disco Lady · 03-19-2007, 08:02 PM

Cheers! Gaitor...... OH CONO!!!!!!!!!!!

snooknreds2 · 03-19-2007, 09:09 PM

TURTLE....... your the man!!

Too bad we did not get bait that night, but I guess you did not need it after all.

congrats on an awesome trip. The image of the sunrising in your head is priceless. CONGRATS and CONO!!!!!!!

Boboe · 03-19-2007, 10:23 PM

Only 10oz to hold bottom? Must be shallow there. I only fished 10oz when I was fishing <100' and there was no current. When I fished 200+, it was more like 16-22, depending on current. There have been times when I had to use 36oz of lead to hold bottom in 180' due to incredible current.

GENERALturtle. · 03-20-2007, 09:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Boboe

Only 10oz to hold bottom? Must be shallow there. I only fished 10oz when I was fishing <100' and there was no current. When I fished 200+, it was more like 16-22, depending on current. There have been times when I had to use 36oz of lead to hold bottom in 180' due to incredible current.

bout 130'.

Certifiable · 03-20-2007, 09:30 AM

Nice job Turtle. When I saw the name "Yuri" my first thought was Andy Griffiths charter. We fished with Yuri nearly 4 years ago and had a blast. He is a first class captain, never gets edgy or grumpy at the anglers. Glad to see that he is still going strong.
We booked the charter for the Tortugas 2 years in a row and never made it past the Marquesas. The seas were rough as heck, and we had to stay close to the Marquesas for shelter to get out of the swells at night. Actually had to tie my lawn chair and beer cooler to the center roof support post to keep from sliding from gunwhale to gunwhale on the 8' beam sea. Weather was crappy, so we dove into the beer cooler and made the best of it.
Ahh the memories.....ohh the hangovers.

Another Grand · 03-20-2007, 09:58 AM

Chris,

You know what to with these ........

Skin bahimian style mon, and tro em da deepfryer whole

Ya know wut im sayin

Square Grouper · 03-20-2007, 02:10 PM

Nice Report GT, just ate some Tortugas Mutton last night my neighbor gave me. He was out there last Thurs - Sat. Man that stuff will eat.

03-19-2007, 03:16 PM	#1 (permalink)
GENERALturtle. Hooked Up Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: on da 50 Best Catch: your mom Occupation: boat lettering and sign Posts: 543	CONO! Tortuga! Cono! Disco Lady figured you might like this I got the call from Chris(fishinfool73) a couple months back asking me if I would like to jump on a trip with Capt Yuri. "Hell Yeah" I said, but of course I had to ask the warden for permission. Since I have been on good behavior she said "yes". The crew consisted of Chris(fishinfool73), Tony(2nd Chance), Matt(Paladin), Joe, Kenny and myself. The plan was to go out to the sword grounds the night before the trip and load up on tinkers, but the wind started to blow out of the east at 15-20 with gusts up to 30 and the seas were looking nasty. We all made the call to give it a whirl but probably should have just stayed home. We made it out to the 58 Nothing, 56 nothing, 54 nothing! I was stressing bout bait but knew I could count on my forum brothers to hook it up. After a some phone calls and running around, I was able to scrape up bout 8dz frozen tinks and gogs. Thanks Tuna chaser, Nick C, Outfishingforgoogles and flatzbroke for the hook up. The plan was to meet up at Jack's Friday morning and pick up whatever they had fresh(ballyhoo) and then make our way down to the pinfish bridge. We made quick work of about 60 pins for the well and headed for the boat. By the time Capt. Yuri got there the boat was almost loaded and ready to ride out. The winds were 10-15 out of the west but predicted to switch to NNW by nightfall. I went down below to introduce myself to my bunk and we hit it off right away:sleep: The first few spots we hit only produced some small mutton, reds and a fishinfool put a 20# black on ice. By the time the night fell the waves had built to a good 6' with the occasional 8' to keep ya on your toes. The current was strong all weekend and it took 10oz to hold bottom on most spots. By 11pm the first night I had one pink in the box and things were slow, so I decided to go rest until daybreak. Here is a pic of the first mutton before my batteries died in my camera As the sun came up on day two the wind was still blowing. Everyone else stayed up all night and did put some decent mangos and a few more mutts on the ice. After a quick breakfast :cigar: . I was ready for the day. Yuri moved in shallower to target the grouper and on everyother spot we would find em. Tony(2nd Chance) was the grouper king this trip. I think since it was his first trip the grouper were picking on him cause he kept getting hooked up with the big dogs. After a few beat downs, he got the hang of it and dropped a 20# yellowfin on the deck. Next he got a 23# black and then finished off with another yellowfin bout 15#. WTG brother! The other 5 of us got our share of good blacks,reds, scamps all around the 10# mark. Matt(Paladin) slept thru all of this and would not wake up as hard as we tried. He finally woke up at dinner to see we had filled the back box. That's o.k. he needed his rest for what was to come. Night fell again and we moved back out deeper to try again for the pinks. This spot was on fire and everyone got about 5 before the bite slowed. After a long day of grouper diggin everyone was exaushed and started to drop like flies. The only two survivors were Matt and I. We passed the time waiting for the 2nd shift of pinks by catching kings and fliers for bait (I'll let Matt tell the story of the flier). Around 3am to 6am all hell broke loose and Matt and I took turns droppin pinks on the deck all in the 15# to 18# range. By the end of the 3 hour period I had 11 and Matt had 14. As the sky started to turn the light shade of red I hooked up again. I had been so buzy reeling in fish that I didn't take the time out to enjoy the moment. Watching the sun rise in the Tortugas with a slob mutt on the end of the your line is heaven on earth. I couldn't wipe the smile off my face. That memory will be burnt into my brain forever.... As the sun woke up so did everyone else. After seeing the box it didn't take long for them to grab the rods and join in on the fun. I think everyone got 2 or 3 more each and they shut off. We had a long run in, so after some breakfast we started for home. This turned out to be a killer trip. I want to thank Capt. Yuri for such a good time. No doubt he is a first class gentleman. He knows how to put you on the fish. It is worth the wait to get booked on his boat. Check out his website Tortugasfishing.com. Can't wait till next year! __________________

03-19-2007, 03:35 PM	#2 (permalink)
quack quack Old Salt Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: lake worth Best Catch: 25lb codfish 5 yrs old first hanger Posts: 4,984	Great job and smokin report bro. __________________ Either we can be a part of the solution or we can be the victims of a decision.

03-19-2007, 03:46 PM	#3 (permalink)
Tuna Devil Grander Join Date: Nov 2005 Occupation: Pirate Posts: 1,955	Sweet, Looks like a good trip Chris. __________________ What do you mean I'm not kind? I'm just not your kind.

03-19-2007, 05:14 PM	#6 (permalink)
Disco Lady Grander Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 3,439	CONO!!!!!!!!!Nice catch of reds.... thanks for the info... let me know next time you go. Cheers! DL

03-19-2007, 07:06 PM	#9 (permalink)
P33JP3 Hooked Up Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Boca Raton Boat: 'Cin's Surf' 270 Wellcraft Coastal Best Catch: a reeeely big one Posts: 127	nice report GT and great catch. __________________ Patrick --- There's no danger here - In clear blue water ---

03-19-2007, 03:57 PM	#4 (permalink)
miamiangler1 Grander Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: north miami, keystone point Boat: ,live bait ,deep dropping,swordfishing Best Catch: 7ft sailfish on 10#test with diawaBG20, 100#tarpon on 6#test baitcaster bass rod Occupation: selfemployed,real estate, painter,model builder Posts: 1,574	CONO !!! those are some nice fish ... looks like a great time in the tortugas...

03-19-2007, 04:10 PM	#5 (permalink)
Gaitor Hooked Up Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Palm Beach Gardens,FL Boat: 25 ft HydraSports Best Catch: 150 lb Pacific Sail, 100 lb Tarpon from the surf Occupation: Old Retired Fart Posts: 558	Great Fish and nice report!

03-19-2007, 05:19 PM	#7 (permalink)
WhItEoUt 23 Grander Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: pompano bch Boat: dusky 23 Best Catch: 160 lb swordfish 52 ib rooster fish Occupation: self employed Posts: 1,264	CONO ------------------------------- TIGHT LINES AND SHARP HOOK'S

03-19-2007, 05:28 PM	#8 (permalink)
igotbenefits Hooked Up Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Davie, FL Occupation: Pharmacy Manager Posts: 122	Nice Repot.. I've got to book a trip..

03-19-2007, 07:09 PM	#10 (permalink)
LIGHTS OUT Hooked Up Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Plantation, Fl. Boat: 26' Open Fish/ Twin 200 Best Catch: 300+ Swordy Occupation: entrepreneur Posts: 554	WTG Nice trip and nice report

03-19-2007, 07:20 PM	#11 (permalink)
Nick C Grander Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: 900-1600' of water Boat: 25' Bluewater(Rough C's) Best Catch: est. 120lb Tarpon on 16lb tippet(fight time was 12 min) Occupation: Squid rigger Posts: 2,212	Nice work Turtle! __________________ "Put your buoys out... we're comin' in HOT!"

03-19-2007, 07:28 PM	#12 (permalink)
Gaitor Hooked Up Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Palm Beach Gardens,FL Boat: 25 ft HydraSports Best Catch: 150 lb Pacific Sail, 100 lb Tarpon from the surf Occupation: Old Retired Fart Posts: 558	Oh ... I forgot ..... COONYO!

03-19-2007, 08:02 PM	#13 (permalink)
Disco Lady Grander Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 3,439	Cheers! Gaitor...... OH CONO!!!!!!!!!!!

03-19-2007, 09:09 PM	#14 (permalink)
snooknreds2 Hooked Up Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Dania Beach, Fl Boat: Fishing, mountain biking,scuba diving, skate boarding, playing drums Occupation: Ocean Engineer / sign maker Posts: 706	TURTLE....... your the man!! Too bad we did not get bait that night, but I guess you did not need it after all. congrats on an awesome trip. The image of the sunrising in your head is priceless. CONGRATS and CONO!!!!!!! __________________ "COLLEGE... THE BEST 7 YEARS OF MY LIFE" I will miss fishing 4 days a week every week Top of the line wedding Photography by LIMELIGHT Photography www.stepintothelimelight.com

03-19-2007, 10:23 PM	#15 (permalink)
Boboe Hooked Up Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Austin, TX Occupation: Alaskan Fishing Guide, Gulf of Mexico Offshore Crew Boat Captain Posts: 805	Only 10oz to hold bottom? Must be shallow there. I only fished 10oz when I was fishing <100' and there was no current. When I fished 200+, it was more like 16-22, depending on current. There have been times when I had to use 36oz of lead to hold bottom in 180' due to incredible current.

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03-20-2007, 09:30 AM	#17 (permalink)
Certifiable Hooked Up Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Vero Beach Boat: 36' Contender Best Catch: 200# Blue Marlin/1200#Black Marlin Occupation: Engineer Posts: 351	Nice job Turtle. When I saw the name "Yuri" my first thought was Andy Griffiths charter. We fished with Yuri nearly 4 years ago and had a blast. He is a first class captain, never gets edgy or grumpy at the anglers. Glad to see that he is still going strong. We booked the charter for the Tortugas 2 years in a row and never made it past the Marquesas. The seas were rough as heck, and we had to stay close to the Marquesas for shelter to get out of the swells at night. Actually had to tie my lawn chair and beer cooler to the center roof support post to keep from sliding from gunwhale to gunwhale on the 8' beam sea. Weather was crappy, so we dove into the beer cooler and made the best of it. Ahh the memories.....ohh the hangovers. __________________ Sig 9mm - I would rather be tried by 12 than carried by 6

03-20-2007, 09:58 AM	#18 (permalink)
Another Grand Grander Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 1,094	Chris, You know what to with these ........ Skin bahimian style mon, and tro em da deepfryer whole Ya know wut im sayin

03-20-2007, 02:10 PM	#19 (permalink)
Square Grouper Hooked Up Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Vero Beach, FL Best Catch: A Killer Buzz Posts: 131	Nice Report GT, just ate some Tortugas Mutton last night my neighbor gave me. He was out there last Thurs - Sat. Man that stuff will eat. __________________ "Man Up" is not just a phrase.....It's a way of life.

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