Tweet
This was a makeup trip for my Dad and I since he was sick that last time that we tried to get on the night snapper fishing trip from Fort Myers Beach Florida. We were booked for two. I decided to bring one of three spinning rods that I bought in Florida a few years ago and stored at my parents. My father must wanted to use the boat provided deep sea rods. The trip was planned from 6pm to 1am through Captain Tony's Fishing Adventures http://www.capttonys.com . The price was $70 per person. It included all of your bait and tackle. I believed that we would fish in 50 to 60 feet of water. The weather was great, clear skies, with temperatures of 80 during the day and 60 degrees at night and very little wind. The water was calm with 1 foot chops.
We were running a little late so we did not get to the correct marina until 5:40pm. There was not much time to spare. After paying and boarding, the boat took off on time. The ride out to the fishing ground would be 1.75 hours. We had 22 anglers on the boat. The boat was big and comfortable. Plenty of seating since it was a 90 foot boat. It even had a working galley where the chef was making steak and cheese, hotdog's and hamburgers. The bait that we used was squid and steaked up sardines. I had brought some squid from Bass Proshop so I can use the tentacle heads on my hook. That seemed to work well in catching the fish. Nothing was really biting the sardines on that night. The tackle that was provided was a four ounce weight on a double hook rigged mono line. We started catching fish within the first 10 minutes of our first stop. My dad and I ended up catching 31 fish. I caught a mangrove snapper, porgies, a lane snapper, several gray snappers, several fish the size of a gray perch, and two groupers between my father and myself that had to be released since grouper season was closed. They were between 19 to 22 inches in length. Fishing at night is great since you do not need a hat or sun block. The night was alive with a lot of animals. We saw a dolphin jumping in the wake of the boat. We saw a dozen eels swimming along the surface chasing our lines. We saw a giant sea turtle, pelicans, and schools of bait fish swimming just below the surface of the water. After 11:15pm, we began to head back to the dock. We arrived at and got off the boat by 1:30am. This was a good captain, since he chose to move to other locations if the fish were not biting or they were too small. I believe we moved four time. He did not sit over the same wreck. I will definitely go on the night fishing trip again. I did notice that the guys who were catching more frequently and catching larger snappers were using a two or three ounce egg sinker in a fish finder rig configuration. I will have to try that next time.
We were running a little late so we did not get to the correct marina until 5:40pm. There was not much time to spare. After paying and boarding, the boat took off on time. The ride out to the fishing ground would be 1.75 hours. We had 22 anglers on the boat. The boat was big and comfortable. Plenty of seating since it was a 90 foot boat. It even had a working galley where the chef was making steak and cheese, hotdog's and hamburgers. The bait that we used was squid and steaked up sardines. I had brought some squid from Bass Proshop so I can use the tentacle heads on my hook. That seemed to work well in catching the fish. Nothing was really biting the sardines on that night. The tackle that was provided was a four ounce weight on a double hook rigged mono line. We started catching fish within the first 10 minutes of our first stop. My dad and I ended up catching 31 fish. I caught a mangrove snapper, porgies, a lane snapper, several gray snappers, several fish the size of a gray perch, and two groupers between my father and myself that had to be released since grouper season was closed. They were between 19 to 22 inches in length. Fishing at night is great since you do not need a hat or sun block. The night was alive with a lot of animals. We saw a dolphin jumping in the wake of the boat. We saw a dozen eels swimming along the surface chasing our lines. We saw a giant sea turtle, pelicans, and schools of bait fish swimming just below the surface of the water. After 11:15pm, we began to head back to the dock. We arrived at and got off the boat by 1:30am. This was a good captain, since he chose to move to other locations if the fish were not biting or they were too small. I believe we moved four time. He did not sit over the same wreck. I will definitely go on the night fishing trip again. I did notice that the guys who were catching more frequently and catching larger snappers were using a two or three ounce egg sinker in a fish finder rig configuration. I will have to try that next time.
Nice catchin!
Comment