New Old Reels and New Grouper Hole

9.5.10
Wind: calm
Water temp: 83
Tide: Incoming

We wanted to go out and try our new old reels I purchased at a garage sale Saturday.  What a deal for a total of $27.

These are mint condition Garcia 5000C, Penn 67 and a Penn 309M.
We hooked up the 309M to use for grouper digging. I'm eBaying the other two reels.

This is a Garcia Kingfisher level wind, also in mint condition.  I'm gonna use it for grouper digging and kingfish trolling.  It is stainless steel with cool engravings in the side plates.







We went out to the flat south of 2 flat to pick up some pinnys and try and catch some trout.  Got around a dozen pinfish and Nancy had her line bit off a few times.  She caught some black sea bass, but no trout.

We headed off to the barge to try and troll up some kingfish, but upon arrival realized that there were too many weeds in the water to successfully troll our lures.

So we decided to take our pinfish and frozen LY's and get our lines stretched.  Our last few trips had a lot of casting involved with a few fish. When you go out for the groupers, you are guaranteed some line stretching fun.

While proceeding to a spot about 4 miles south of the 24 marker the depth finder went red with fish, we slowed an went back over the area, threw out the marker bouy and went to work.  On the first drop, I had the rod about taken out of my hands as a grouper liked the live bait presentation.

The next drop and a gag was on board.  The next drop this keeper gag came up to get an ice bath.

This fish is an "endangered species" and next year, it will be illegal to keep the gags.  You wouldn't know they are "endangered" the way they were eating our bait.

While Nancy was taking a break, I decided to drop her "new reel" down and immediately broke it in with this nice red groupa.

We then hit another spot about a mile away with the same results.  We decided to finish up at the "Yank Hot" hole.

We fished it for about an hour and caught red grouper after red grouper.  No keepers, but close, and a lot of fun.

We finally used up all of our bait and headed to the hill on smooth as glass seas.  That was nice for a change.

The trip odometer read 48 miles when we got back.

Sometimes, it is nice to go out and get your rod bowed up over and over.

Sweet.