This week we had 3 days with the wind speed down under single digits - finally, after weeks of unseasonably high winds over the summer. We were joined on our boat Blu Bi U by the Berry family from Michigan, for a 7.5 Hour Charter. Mom was a bit hesitant to get too far off-shore in case it got a bit rough, so we had planned to stay pretty close in. Once we got out there, though the seas were like glass. barely a ripple, except for our wake, of course. Within the first hour, we bagged a nice football size, Blackfin Tuna. We were trolling a cedar plug on a spinning reel way out back. I just happened to be looking back at the trail of the plug (which you could actually see, for a change, because the water was so flat), when I saw a silver flash behind the lure. Before I could even turn my head to look at the reel, I could already hear the line zinging out. Fish On! I grabbed the rod and handed it to the young fella as I called out to the captain to slow the boat. Our guest worked the rod like a champ, reclaiming line when he could, letting him run when he needed to. After a valiant, but fruitless, struggle on the part of the fish, we got him to the side of the boat. I pulled him up and over the gunnels. No sooner was he over the side than he flipped off the hook. A 5 minute chase around the deck ensued to contain the flapping fish. OK, well, it was more like 30 seconds but it felt like 5 minutes. We finally got him under control though and into the cooler. We re-rigged and set off on the troll again. Things went quiet for a while apart from a couple of hits where we failed to hook up. We came upon two huge rafts of sargassum and trolled back and forth along the line but spent more time clearing weed off the lines than catching fish. So, we decided to stop on one of our favorite deep drop spots and try the bottom. As we got our deep drop rigs setup and in the water, one of the weed patches drifted toward us. As I dropped our first line we spotted several Mahi in the water dashing out from under the weeds. We started tossing chunks of bait into the water while I baited up a hand line. As soon as the handline bait hit the water, one of the mahi hit it hard. I handed the line to one of the guests who quickly pulled the fish into the boat. Meanwhile, I pulled up my baited deep drop line to the surface. Two Mahi pounced on it and I had a double hook up. Getting one crazed Mahi into the boat is hard enough, Getting two in is like herding cats. When we finally got them on-board and they hit the deck they go completely crazy. It took us more than a few minutes to get them under control, hooks out and in the cooler. After all that activity, it was time to head back to the dock. We trolled all the way back in but to no avail. With the sea so calm and visibility down to about 60 feet, I'm guessing the fish were all hiding under what cover they could find and not interested in taking our lures. Back at the dock, we cleaned up our catch and our guests took away a generous bag of fresh Tuna and Mahi for their dinner. Our guests were happy after a great day on the water. We were happy the guests were happy and also because we were left with nice tuna and Mahi to enjoy for ourselves!

Guests Eran and Jason joined us yesterday for a nice day out on the water. Originally, they booked for the next day but we saw some nasty weather heading our way and gave them the option to reschedule for the previous day. Good thing we did, as today, while I'm writing this report, it's pouring rain with scattered thunderstorms. We left the dock yesterday morning around 10 am. A few scattered light showers earlier but by the time we left the sun was out again and it was warming up fast. With Captain JP at the helm and myself on the lines, we chose to start the day with a little in-shore trolling just a mile or two off the coast. Within 20 minutes we got a small hit but failed to hook up. Two more hits and misses over the next hour kept me busy changing out the ballyhoo. As we turned south and headed out to the drop-off, the sargassum started to flow thick and fast. Long thin strands of weed played havoc with our lines. No big solid mats where we might find a lurking predator or two, just thin scattered strands. Lately, we have been putting trolling birds in front of our lures - this really does seem to help keep the weed of the lures - up to a point. Still, spent a lot of useless energy reeling and clearing. Close to noon we hit our first Mahi - a small schoolie but a keeper all the same. Snagged him on our shotgun and after a long haul he was in the boat and on ice. As the weed started to bunch up into some nice rafts, things looked more promising, we hooked a good size Mahi on one of our shorts. He was jumping and heading straight back at us, crossed our other line, and then took off sideways. We reeled him in and sorted out the tangle. Got him in the clear and off the Port stern in blue water. Not ten feet from the boat he lept out of the water with a big head shake and spat out the lure. Gone. You win some, you lose some. We trolled a little longer, catching a small Lesser Amberjack for the bait box along the way and then we saw some bird activity going on a few miles back. Unfortunately, it was a mile or two inside the local Marine Park. While it's tempting to go chase them down, we have to respect the regulations against fishing inside the reserve. It's just the right thing to do. Anyway, at this point, we decided to head to one of our favorite bottom spots and hit the depths. We headed a little inshore, within the lee of St Maarten. The water was calming nicely, with light breezes and smaller 2 to 4 feet swells. Perfect for drift fishing. Our first drop with the electrics started in about 500 feet of water. As soon we hit the bottom we started getting bites. Wasn't long before we had a few small Silk Snapper on ice. Eran and Jason took to the electric reels nicely. Deep dropping with electric reels can be a little hit and miss for some people. When you are used to fishing in 100 feet of water with a rod in your hands, you can get accustomed to the tactile feel of when a fish bites. The electric reels are different. It's much more of a visual game and it can be hard to tell the difference between the rise and fall of the boat, the vibration from the engines, the small movements of the weight drifting over the bottom, etc. With 600 or more feet of line out, braided line, a large weight on the line, etc it can be hard to tell when a fish actually bites and know when to set the hook. It takes practice and a keen eye. Some people get it, some, not so much. I can appreciate that. In any case, it's how we do it and we can catch some good fish that we wouldn't ordinarily get in the shallows around here. On this trip, the guys took to it very well. We bagged a few nice Yellow-Eye and Silk snapper at around the 600-foot mark. We also snagged a nice little 8-Bar Grouper, the first I've seen around here in quite a while. As we drifted out into the premium depths, at one point, both rods hooked up with a nice bite almost simultaneously. With the rods bent over nicely, we bought in two 5lb plus Caribbean Queen Snapper (see photos). The Queen Snapper is our target species of choice around here on the deep drop. With delicious, delicate tasting flesh, they are some of the best-eating fish to be had. We baited up and dropped again. On the next drop, Captain JP and guest Jason hooked up a nice heavy fish, possibly even multiple fish (we run multiple hooks of course when fishing that deep). Unfortunately, they started high-fiving and fist-bumping a little too early. As the business end of the line came to the surface, we could also see a nice size shark following it up. Right near the surface, the shark struck and took fish, line, and sinker. Cha-ching, a nice Queen Snapper, and $40 of gear lost to the deep. An important lesson to the punters out there! No celebrating until the fish is on the deck - don't tempt the fates. We managed to bring in a few additional Silky and Yellow Eye Snapper after that before it was time to head back in the lagoon via the 5 pm bridge. All in all, a very nice day (sea/weather-w

We headed out today with a husband and wife duo Tim and Sandy on our 5.5.hour charter. The forecast looked good with winds around 6 to 13 knots and the swell forecast at 3 to 5 feet. Skies were partly overcast with the chance for some isolated local showers. Our guests were a little nervous after speaking with some of our prior guests who came out with us a few days ago (Small world, they happened to be staying at the same local resort). The conditions on the previous trip were, shall we say, less than ideal. The previous trip ended early after one member of the party got a little seasick and we had to end the trip prematurely and head for the beach. It happens. It's never pleasant getting seasick but for any of us who hit the water often, we know, it's not a question of IF but WHEN. In any case, our guests on the day had heard the previous trip was uncomfortable and their expectations were a bit on the low side. Kudos to our guests on this trip, they decided to give it a shot. As it turned out, I'm pretty sure they are glad that they did. The sea was much calmer today. Once we got out into the open water, the swell was only 2 to 3 feet. Within 20 minutes we were out on the drop-off with lines in the water. We trolled along the drop-off in the optimal range between **hidden content** feet for around 40 minutes without much luck. We were about to go looking for a nice bottom spot in about 200 feet of water when one of the rods starting singing. Fish on! Our guest Tim took the rod and started cranking, while we slowed the boat and circled to port to keep the fish in blue water. A mighty fight ensued as Tim reeled away for hours (ok, well, actually it was about 10 minutes but it seemed like hours). As we got the fish to the side of the boat, he found a last burst of energy and struggled valiantly but with Tim on the reel and our crewmember Justen ready with the gaf, he didn't stand a chance. Within a few moments, we had a 40lb Wahoo flapping around on the deck. Tim's wife Sandy was ready with her camera to capture the entire action. Even though, being an animal lover, she had her eyes closed the entire time (especially when the billy club came out) she still managed to take some great snapshots, even the gaf shot! With the Wahoo in the icebox, we geared up again and continued on the troll. 5 minutes later another rod went singing and then another for a double hookup. We landed two smaller Wahoo (or Weehoo if you like) at around 10 to 15 pounds each. Another couple of passes along the catch site turned up empty so we switched to deep dropping out in 600 to 1,000 feet. The bite was pretty slow. Despite one good hookup with a triple header, the bite was otherwise pretty slow. On our triple hooker, we lost the bottom two fish on the way up from 1,200 feet. One small silk Snapper was all we ended up with on the deep drop. Tim was more interested in trolling for Mahi-Mahi so we switched back to the troll as we headed the boat back to St Maarten. We found a few weed lines on the way back but the Mahi were apparently, out to lunch. Regardless, we made it back to port in one piece with a nice haul of fresh Wahoo. Crew member Justen carved up a nice portion of the Wahoo for the guests, who took home a nice bag of around 8 to 10 pounds of fresh fish for their dinner (and a few gifts for their favorite staff at their resort).