Venice report
 

Had 1 person for 2 days. The first day we went offshore. I could not find a deckhand so the shrimp boats were out. I went to the south east and the fish were there also. There were the threat of heavy storms but we ran anyway. Got a start before the sun rose. that turned out to be the best part of the day.

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It was a good thing Jim had some experience. That made getting bait easy. While I was getting bait One eye Ed was fishing the rig. He marked nothing and got nothing. He went to the north east and I went east. As I got to the next rig a boat was fighting a fish. He landed a 50-60 tuna and I was marking all over the place. He tried a bit more and then went off to get red snapper. We could see the front getting closer but our target was yellowfin. All we could get was 3 peanuts.

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It was not because of lack of effort. I jigged, chunked, live baited, and bombed the lives. The fish were there but just not feeding. I was marking them thick but I think the low pressure had something to do with the bite. Going to another rig further out was not an option as he did not want to be out there in a thunderstorm. If we get caught in a storm we hug the rig for protection until it passes. At 11:30 he opted to head towards shore and run ahead of the front. We could see the lightning and the ominous clouds were very threatening. His back was hurting anyway. That evening he told me he had rods and screws in his back.

The next day was an inshore day. The bite was still a little off but we found a few fish. The first 2 in the boat were a 21 inch flounder and a keeper redfish.

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While hitting the shallows for reds we picked up a couple of nice trout.

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We never got into any big reds. I was attempting to go out to east bay to fish the sand bar, that is now an island, for some bulls but heavy rain was there so we stayed inside. We just picked the morning away.

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About noon his back was hurting again so we called it. Ended up with a mixed batch for our efforts.

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Both days were trying for me. When I have a bad day and struggle I beat myself up. A couple of his comments and gestures did not help. He mentioned coming back in Feb. If he does I am sure the trip will be much better. If he does not come back life goes on.

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Life is Good!
Fishing is not a matter of life or death. It's more important than that.

CAPT HOOP -- OUR FREEDOM

Good job Capt considering the conditions.