Found some schools of Dorado 25 miles south of Rocky Point. Trolled with bright feathers and large bright Rapalas. Gotta be one of the most exciting fish to reel in with their aerial acrobatics.
Found some schools of Dorado 25 miles south of Rocky Point. Trolled with bright feathers and large bright Rapalas. Gotta be one of the most exciting fish to reel in with their aerial acrobatics.
Very nice! How far offshore? How deep was the water?
We were bottom fishing (170 ft deep) in the Caballo area which is about 25 miles south/southeast of Rocky Point and about 10 miles west of Bird Island. That's when we noticed schools of Dorado swimming by (top water) and switched over to trolling for them with bright feathers and bright Rapalas (we didn't have many bright tuna feathers onboard). You could also spot em from about a mile away when they were jumping. We ended up catching 5 (4 onboard allowed 2 each) ranging in size I'd say 5-15 lbs, we had hooked onto a couple that were probably 20-30 lbs but unfortunately we lost em.
So Yuma, did you see much Sargasso out there? Another twenty or thirty miles southwest of there is the region where the Sargasso really builds up into huge mats sometimes over 100 feet across. This is due to the tidal movement being less dramatic than the more shallow northern Gulf.
The big bruisers are a blast to battle but after one or two I think twice before another hookup as they just beat the crap outa my arms, not to mention my boat. The only thing more destructive is a freshly decked Mako. Also, those big Bulls just get tougher as they grow. The ones in your photo are by far the best eating.
So Yuma, did you see much Sargasso out there? Another twenty or thirty miles southwest of there is the region where the Sargasso really builds up into huge mats sometimes over 100 feet across. This is due to the tidal movement being less dramatic than the more shallow northern Gulf.
The big bruisers are a blast to battle but after one or two I think twice before another hookup as they just beat the crap outa my arms, not to mention my boat. The only thing more destructive is a freshly decked Mako. Also, those big Bulls just get tougher as they grow. The ones in your photo are by far the best eating.
Tight lines and bloody decks,
JJ
I know that same place, have it marked on the GPS as RP DODO. When the sargasso is balled up and hasn't been blown apart by a storm, you can't troll 10 ft. without hooking a damn skippy or peanut dodo. They are literally everywhere. We try to shake the hook on the smaller models and go for some a little bigger. We have caught them to about 25 lbs., which is perfect size.
Not much of a fishing report, but went out again this Sunday and Monday hoping to catch more Dorado. Windfinder was way out in left field, supposed to be calm but ran into winds and 2-3 foot waves, not what we expected. Trolled the Caballo area for Dorado but too windy and wavy to see em, coming home stopped at the 10 mile reefs and got a bunch of rock bass and this Leopard Grouper. Nothing compared to what Shawn gets (am embarrassed to post this compared to what he gets), oh well, at least its a meal. Wish these winds would die down so we could have another crack at those Dorado before they leave.
Lookin' forward to going out again Bill. Another halibut hopefully? Have a vacation booked for the last two weeks of October so hopefully we can hook up November.
Gonna be down there from the 6th through the 10th, if anyone wants to buddy boat/fish or allow me and a friend to pitch in for gas.. we have a panga, not much for luxury fishing, but very good on gas ;).. let me know.. 480.861.3642
Not much of a fishing report, but went out again this Sunday and Monday hoping to catch more Dorado. Windfinder was way out in left field, supposed to be calm but ran into winds and 2-3 foot waves, not what we expected. Trolled the Caballo area for Dorado but too windy and wavy to see em, coming home stopped at the 10 mile reefs and got a bunch of rock bass and this Leopard Grouper. Nothing compared to what Shawn gets (am embarrassed to post this compared to what he gets), oh well, at least its a meal. Wish these winds would die down so we could have another crack at those Dorado before they leave.