Orange Beach red snapper trip

[ronaultmtd]

I took the Gulf Wind II party boat snapper trip Thursday out of Orange Beach, Alabama. It was an eight hour trip 34 miles out. I wanted to review the Fox Sport V- Jig XT Trek Travel Rod and the Squall 40LD reel with 65#braid rig. This outfit is very lightweight- rated for 50-80 pound braid...we fished in 125 feet of water using 10 oz. sinker on a chicken rig- single 7/0 circle hook using cigar minnows for bait- I caught my first fish, an 18 pound red snapper on our first stop on the first reef we came to...the rod and reel performed flawlessly...I limited out with a 16.5 pound red snapper at the third stop and caught triggerfish (out of season- had to release)...all in all, a very good trip...the Fox Sports XT Jig travel rod is a perfect heavy-duty bottom fishing rod for offshore fishing.

[J.A. Veil]

Congratulations on the large red snappers.

[ronaultmtd]

Thanks John- The Alabama snapper season ran from June 1 through June 9th...so there was no holding back by the skippers, like they would on a 150 day season...We went to his "Honey Holes" - These were some real rod benders- biggest average snappers I have seen caught- we caught a 32 pound Red Grouper and a 27 pound red snapper on our boat- only 25 anglers- lots of room and very few tangles- a bunch of 20 pounders came over the rail- my fish was the biggest caught on the first drop but was quickly passed by the second and third drop- we limited out the boat on the third drop and were done at 12:30 pm, headed back in-I caught an even dozen red snappers and several triggerfish....the mates on the boat released anything under 12 pounds unless the angler asked to keep it- the man fishing next to me caught the 27 pound red snapper- he was from Michagan on vacation-

I am bringing home frozen snapper filets, frozen conecuh smoked sausage and frozen peeled crawfish tails in a big bright yellow Calcutta soft sided cooler bag with 7 pounds of dry ice to keep it frozen on the Southwest flight home tomorrow morning out of New Orleans-

[coastal_dan]

Sounds like a great trip with a few dinners as well, thanks for sharing.

[ronaultmtd]

One thing I have learned is put bright colored line on your reel...make it a lot easier for the mates to see to untangle and it makes it easier for you to see where your line is when the boat is drifting over the wrecks...

[kanvery]

Thanks for the review of the rod! I've been considering buying the lighter Jig Trek for a few months. Do you think the rating is true? or are the under/overrated as far as the jig is concerned?

[ronaultmtd]

The Fox Sports Travel rod is amazing- the spigot fit is super strong and it break downs to 4 pieces that are 25 inches long...my rod is as advertised and the rating seems right. It isn't cheap, but it allows you to fly with a heavy-duty quality rod that is other wise not available- I bought the jigging rod not to jig fish but to bottom fish deep drop trips and Alaskan halibut fishing. The rods and reels provided on party boats are usually solid glass rods and Penn 4/0 Senators or Long Beach 68, with 80 # monofilament-durable but very heavy...I was asked over and over, where did you get that outfit...my fishing mates were amazed at the light weight of the Penn Squall 40LD and the 6'6" Fox Sports travel rod- and it is spooled with 580 yards of 65# braid. My only caution is the price- it is hard to justify the investment unless you travel a lot and want to carry your own fishing rod and reel instead of taking the pot luck of provided boat equipment. The 27 pound red snapper that was the biggest snapper caught was caught by a Michigan man on vacation using the provided boat rod and reel, so it works and is adequate equipment.

[DOGFISH]

Nice Ron. Glad you got some good fishing and later some good eating.