I did something somewhat outside my wheelhouse the other day, so naturally, I figured I’d share it with you this month.
I did an offshore trip with a buddy, Capt. Andrew Villareal, the owner of Drew’s Fishing Charters and Adventures. On this outing, he brought along another buddy of his and his son. What a great day and what a great experience! From my end, not to be in sight of ANY land was a bit weird, but hey, it’s something I haven’t done in a couple of decades.
Our goal for the day was to keep lines tight and have fun, and man, did that play out well. The weather was terrific, with wind and tides cooperating and working in unison in our favor. Not having any landmarks to work with, as I’m accustomed to, was interesting, but true to form, Drew knows his job and had set game plans for the day to be successful. Much like inshore fishing, and as you’ve heard me mention, it’s all about structure and cover for the fish. The Gulf is primarily composed of mud and sand, with sporadic areas of structure. Therefore, the key to success is identifying hard bottom or bottom undulations that hold fish, as well as areas with some soft coral. The use of his GPS and fish finder is crucial in that environment, along with knowing and working the tides for your time there.
Tackle and technique were also a bit different for me, as we used natural bait, both live and cut. The priority for Capt. Drew was to stop early and load up on Greenbacks (bait fish), and he had a healthy supply of live shrimp on board as well. For the Greenbacks, rather than throwing a cast net, he used a Sabiki rig, which made a significant difference in that it doesn’t harm the bait and keeps it fresh longer. The Sabiki is a light line about 8 feet long featuring rows of tiny hooks, some as small as 1-2mm, with little wings of varying colors attached to the hooks. It mimics TINY fish that the Greenbacks will then feed on and get hooked. We have these at Sunshine Ace Hardware and sell quite a few. Sunshine Ace’s experts can explain their application, but seeing them in practice was awesome.
At each stop, the boat’s position was crucial and understanding the structure and how to position the boat made all the difference in success at each stop. Drew’s rods were set up with either knocker rigs, fish finders or chicken rigs. Describing them in a blog is tough, so for reference, you can look up these online for good examples. Every one of those setups worked in the different locations. The Greenbacks produced some of the larger fish for obvious reasons, and the shrimp kept the lines tight on a variety of species, from Mangrove Snapper to Bluefish and Jacks. His buddy’s son had the hot stick all day long, way out-fishing the “experienced” adults on the boat. I’ll tell you what, though, each of us could not have been happier for that young man… the memories he’ll carry will last forever! In one productive spot, we had a good-sized Barracuda under the boat that made spectacular short work of several catches. I heard from Drew during one of his visits to our store several days later that he was still talking about messing with that ‘cuda.
To recap, offshore and near-shore, BAIT is the key, folks. Find or catch some baitfish, as well as shrimp, for the menu because, as the sayings go, “everything eats shrimp” and “even elephants eat peanuts!” As with any fishing, match the tackle to your target species. Capt. Drew was ready with medium-heavy tackle for most of the work, as regular casting was involved, along with the repetitive task of rebaiting the hooks, which reduces stress and fatigue on the angler. But he was ready with two heavy rods in the event we ran onto some Cobia he’d seen on prior trips. Capt. Drew is a regular and loyal customer at Sunshine Ace and is on our Captains Program here. Beyond that, I’m honored to call him a friend as well. He runs a great ride, a very comfortable and spacious 24-foot center console, making for no sore bones for this old guy. Look him up for your next adventure on the water; his website is drewsfca.com.
Have a great June, tight lines and try something new!
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About the Author
Joe Garcia is the Brand Fishing Ambassador at Sunshine Ace Hardware.
Contact Joe for information on the hottest new fishing gear in stock, local fishing tips and more: JGarcia@SunshineAce.com.