| Nyati Offshore Report
Port Aransas,
TX
May 15th-16th, 2005
Report by Oz |
Where to begin..
First off the weather was looking deceptive and our current
springtime pattern of endless days of gusty winds and weekly northerns made
any long trip hard to plan in advanced. Was the forecast being deceptive
or could this be the end of spring and beginning of a promising summer?
Fortunately YT has been incredibly accurate in predicting the
weather and wave forecast aboard the fish catching Nyati. I had an invite
to once again hop on and this time join YT, Troy, OldSalt, Shindle, Mako,
Bum, and Snagged for an overnight Tuna trip to the floater. With this kind
of crew the fish were instantly in trouble.
The Nyati made its departure around 7:30am and we began the
long haul out to sea in calm winds. The ride was smooth and pre-fish meditations
were conducted. Scott took over the captains roll driving us out to sea as
YT went into the cabin. Only a few miles out we see a large Hammer cruising
the surface. Could this be a good omen? Anyhow, we continued on course and
over an hour later Scott finds us some floating structure to investigate.
It is occupied by possibly hundreds of Triggers, dozens of Tripletail,
Almaco and Lesser AJ's, and several small and large Dorado. We immediately
toss light tackle and start jumping Dorado. We began picking up the Dolphin
on small jigs and various spoons.
The small Jacks and Triggers were very aggressive and you would
have to be spot on to get a Dolphin interested. A couple large Bulls came
by and ended up hooking and jumping one before an unfortunate breakoff. We
decide to make a drift past the massive log to try to pick up the Bulls.
At this time we have already boxed 12 Dorado and 2 Rainbow Runners. On our
first attempt drifting by the structure, Jerry 'Snagged' hooks up on a Wahooooo!
He lands the fish and we make another pass. We were still confident
that we could hook some large dorado but this time we are double hooked on
aerial Wahoo. I end up nailing my first of 5 Wahoo on Outcast Spoon'rs.
From this point on, it had become hard to stop and take pictures
for everyone started getting into the action. We were in the middle of a
Wahoo frenzy. Shindle gets hooks up with and lands a nice Wahoo on his spincast.
Not long after and Bum is also hooked up and lands a 'hoo.
Chaos reigned on every pass. The Wahoo were tearing up and
destroying all the lures and biting the skirts clean off. The aerial acrobatics
were absolutely incredible, launching like a missile nailing a drifting lure.
Double and Triple hookups occurred on every pass.
After a couple hours, we had our fill of Wahoo and were filling
up the ice box fast. We then trolled briefly with large lures and plugs for
some of the monster Wahoo occasionally being spotted and even in hopes of
billfish. The mid-sized Wahoo continued to eat up the lures. After a couple
hours we finally leave the randomly floating oasis and when all was said
and done, we landed 21 Wahoo off this single structure and left them biting.
We continue onward with our journey and while initially
being promoted as a Tuna trip, we end up early in the middle of a Wahoofest.
Our next stop we hit up some large weed lines at the breaks and eventually
make our way to the O.A. floater just before sunset.
We approach happily to find no one else other than the
rig boat. We get there to see Blackfin and Bonito randomly demolishing bait
on the surface. No signs yet of Yellowfin but we know they are there and
just have to wait for dark.
We troll around briefly before the sun sets and then get ready
for the night time bite. At dark, we slowly get into position and begin our
slow drifts. Fortunately conditions were incredible.. a very light breeze
and relatively calm seas. It was really ideal and comfortable for fishing.
We began jiggin and dropping cut baits down. After a few minutes
we get our first Tuna.. a small Blackfin. Shortly after the bite exploded.
Jerry hooks up on his trusty Diamond-jig and lands a nice Yellowfin Tuna,
his first of the trip.
The bite was on and we started loading up with countless Blackfin
Tuna. Not long after and Jerry bags his second Yellowfin. During the next
hour or two it was mainly Blackfin. Even at night, you are still able to
see Blackfin and various large Yellowfin break the surface nailing bait.
YT would make a few more drifts before we would pick up another Yellowfin.
This time it was Sam 'Tunakilla' who bags his first YF of the trip.
A couple more hours pass and we continue slaying the BF Tuna.
The bite is still on but not as consistent as before. The explosions continue
on the surface around the floater. Scott 'Oldsalt' is soon hooked up on a
good fish. After a several minute fight and thinking it was a YF, he gets
it up and we stick it to find out it is a massive Blackfin.
The bite was still sporadic with more Blackfin. By now it was
getting late and several of us were changing shifts. YT took control of the
boat again around 1am while most of us tried to get a couple hours of shut
eye. Scott and YT continued to nail more BF. I finally went in to lay down
for an hour then get back up and come out just as YT is leaning over the
edge with a gaff stuck in a big fish. Scott finally does it once again and
gets a big Yellowfin for this trip.
The rapid thumping of the fat Tuna on the deck immediately wake
the rest of the crew. By now I knew I couldn't sleep. I get back at
it along with a couple others and we continue the slaughter of Blackfin.
Many were kept, and many were sent back down as bait and chum. A couple hours
later after an off and on period, we finally get some flying fish coming
to the boat. We begin to cast net them and send them over. My first deployed
flyer resulted in another large Blackfin.
We continued to pick up Blackfin until Sunrise. By then Shindle
was driving and Tunakilla and I were trying our last attempt for the Tuna.
Schools are breaking the surface fairly close to us and I switch back to
the Spoonrs. We land several more BF and I end up also nailing a couple Skipjack
Tuna (Oceanic Bonito).
We get into the last bit of the Tuna bite. Sam and I both nail
a small Yellowfin each casting into the schools on the bow of the boat. Not
long after and our Tuna slaughter has concluded. We kept and iced around
25 Blackfins to fillet up, and caught as many as twice that along with landing
7 Yellowfin Tuna.
The Tuna bite had turned off and we trolled the floater for
a couple of hours. We then headed back on in and hit up a massive weedline
around the breaks. At one point in time we saw a large shark swimming the
surface but couldn't get close enough to ID it. We troll along for a few
more minutes when one rod gets slammed. We see splashing out in the wash
and reel in the spread. Sam is hooked up on a nice Wahoo. After a couple
minutes he gets to the boat and we stick it. Another nice Wahoo to add to
the total.
After trolling for a while we decided we better get back to the docks with
our bounty... but not before hitting up one more spot. We stopped on the
way back around Baker and hit up the rocks. We dropped down cut bait and
brought up a half dozen Snapper. Troy then hooks up and releases a 3-4' Silky
Shark. Jerry lands a small AJ and Shindle gets hooked up on a decent fish.
While thinking it was probably a shark on the bottom, he called it and ended
up being a nice Cobia.
It had started to rain and we continued to catch fish. It was
starting to get late in the day and we really had to head in. We get back
to the dock and spend over 2 hours filleting and distributing fish. We did
end up taking a quick group photo (minus all the Wahoo and Blackfin Tuna)
: note Scott's shirt...
Overall it was another awesome trip aboard the Nyati. I would
like to thank Capt. YT and Troy for the great trip and also Jerry for providing
some of the diamond-jigs for us. Conditions were absolutely perfect and overall
with a great crew, it doesn't get much better. I am sure there is a lot I
left out and will eventually edit back into the report. Until then..
Good fun, with good fish.
-Oz
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