Dry Tortugas

gruntking · Post by **gruntking** » Thu Jul 17, 2014 7:42 pm

BEOWULF wrote:Wow, the Google Maps crew has really done a great job of photographing Dry Tortugas National Park. I was able to "virtually" walk around the entire perimeter of the fort. Looks like the fishing there, even from shore, must be awesome, (although no doubt prohibited). I feel like one day, when I finally get to go there, I'll totally know the place already!

fishing from shore there aint bad all the grovers you could ever want pods of tarpon rolling about 50 feet off the gas dock schools of bone fish and permit great freaking place i loved my last visit sooo soo much

Rare · Post by **Rare** » Thu Jul 17, 2014 7:48 pm

SaltyDog wrote:They re used to be some cool underwater streaming webcams from there i dont know if they are still running or not. So many fish right there....

Forgot about that...it still up with others as well on their site
http://teens4oceans.org/index.php/gallery/webcams/

swordfish · Post by **swordfish** » Thu Jul 17, 2014 8:32 pm

HA! I just caught a glimpse of a snook on the Tortugas cam! That was cool!

-Swordfish

Leadslinger · Post by **Leadslinger** » Sat Jan 24, 2015 11:04 am

So I pretty much let this one drop of the planet, sorry about that. Still catching pretty well, went through the doldrums of Sept...and the short grouper bonanza that came with it followed by the invasion of sharks...never lost so many fish to sharks in such a short span. Actually got to a point for about 2 weeks I didn't even go fishing. No sense in letting next years keeper get served up on a platter to the tax man.

Since the weather has cooled all the tasty critters have moved in shallow which has made catching a little more lately, and opened up the tackle box a little more for some tinkering. Fresh ballyhoo and pilchards are still the bread and butter, but picking up a lot more on artificial as well. Snook and tarpon have been active, baitbusters and live pilchards off the dock and beach. Grover bite, well they're grovers, they'll eat anytime. Lots of dinks, but some up around 16-18" mixed in if you know where to look. Picked up a surprise bonefish off the dock a few days ago...on squid. Guess he was the tarded one out of the bunch. Went down south and did a little wade fishing, nice permit and bones if you can catch the wind and tide right...or bring a snorkel. Hogs are biting as well, with some patience picking through the grovers and grunts.

With grouper being closed it's mutton and yellowtail mania, but winter also brought the shorter days and crap weather, still manage to eek out every now and then to get my fix. Went out yesterday afternoon and targeted them in 15' around an old communications tower that fell over years ago, pulled a good size 29" in the boat for the grill. Didn't chum for tails but did manage to pick up a few on the bottom, nothing fancy just solid 16-19" tails. Went out a few weeks back just for big tails, boated a 2 person limit in under 30 minutes. Could've tossed a cast net over them and been done quicker I guess.

Best catch lately though was turning a 6 pack into 10 pounds of tasty KW pinks.

swordfish · Post by **swordfish** » Sat Jan 24, 2015 2:12 pm

Good stuff! Keep em coming!

-Swordfish

gruntking · Post by **gruntking** » Sat Jan 24, 2015 2:36 pm

any pictures ?

Kingofthesea · Post by **Kingofthesea** » Sat Jan 24, 2015 2:41 pm

Always enjoy reading another report from heaven. Tails so thick you could throw a net?

Can't wait til I'm back but get my regular fix here. Dry Tortugas should be on every member's bucket list.

SaltyDog · Post by **SaltyDog** » Sat Jan 24, 2015 4:46 pm

Is this both boat and boatless?

Leadslinger · Post by **Leadslinger** » Sat Jan 24, 2015 5:30 pm

gruntking wrote:any pictures ?

Just a few from the facespace, phone went all dinger on me so they're lost. Salty, yes both boatless and with boat. Hitting the beach up tonight to put a guest on a snook, but it's been blowing 30 here today, nice and dirty water.

Last nights dinner

Mixed bag before the weather turned to turds.

And the last grouper of 2014...a real drag screamer lol

SaltyDog · Post by **SaltyDog** » Sat Jan 24, 2015 6:44 pm

Very nice bud livin the dream down there

gruntking · Post by **gruntking** » Mon Jan 26, 2015 12:53 am

nice fish man i asked for pictures not cause i had doubts about what your catching i mean chit your in the tugas but just since i cant read the pictures help me out alot

keep it up man i look forward to more pics

kblue · Post by **kblue** » Mon Jan 26, 2015 1:03 am

Leadslinger

You are the winner of Feb tourney. And the rest are fighting for 2nd place...lol

gruntking · Post by **gruntking** » Mon Jan 26, 2015 1:17 am

kblue wrote:Leadslinger

You are the winner of Feb tourney. And the rest are fighting for 2nd place...lol

k thats off a boat not from the dock

kblue · Post by **kblue** » Mon Jan 26, 2015 2:58 am

gruntking wrote:
kblue wrote:Leadslinger

You are the winner of Feb tourney. And the rest are fighting for 2nd place...lol

k thats off a boat not from the dock

I hear you...

I expect boatless fishing at DT will be better than most place we fish like dead piers... and also, what else life can he have there except for fishing

? lol
Maybe, no pompano at DT?

Leadslinger · Post by **Leadslinger** » Mon Jan 26, 2015 10:58 am

gruntking wrote:nice fish man i asked for pictures not cause i had doubts about what your catching i mean chit your in the tugas but just since i cant read the pictures help me out alot

keep it up man i look forward to more pics

No worries bro, I do what I can to help. Slipped out between the fronts last night, and wouldn't you know it, we hit Dead.Slack.Tide. 25# of lobster chum right to the bottom...damn! Did manage to pick off a few for dinner. Stud mutton and another at 24". Nailed a gorgeous black...I usually don't mind releasing fish, season or not, but this one actually actually annoyed me to see swimming down. It never came out of the water so I don't have a pic.

Came back to the docks and fished a bit, juvie poons were rolling but not biting, few followers on top water. A literal crap ton of lookdowns were under the dock, that's a first.

Tossed this one on the table and went to cutting...

Blue, I could care less about the Feb tourney, I really doubt I will be able to make time when I'm home to go shrimping. I'll be in NC for the first week of Feb then back out here til the end of the month. Just something fun I didn't want to pass on. I would like to see you win the sucker though.

fishnfool73 · Post by **fishnfool73** » Tue Jan 27, 2015 5:00 pm

Nice reports and pictures. That fallen tower is a great spot to catch a variety of fish especially for it being as shallow as it is. Fished it once with Capt Paul Benson years ago. Loads of big tails a keeper black grouper and some huge ajs that were buzzing the tails in the slick.

swordfish · Post by **swordfish** » Tue Jan 27, 2015 9:17 pm

Very cool! Keep us living vicariously through you!

-Swordfish

Leadslinger · Post by **Leadslinger** » Fri Apr 17, 2015 12:34 pm

Transition time is here! Muttons are feeding like a pack of BAMF's for the coming spawn, grouper are still inhaling anything within mouths reach, tarpon are rolling through, and the hammerheads right behind them.

Took a group of Air Force reservist out last night for some R and R...rocking and reeling. Had a nice chop and screaming current, wanted to target the tasty and simple yellowtail snapper. Tossed out the chum blocks, rigged up the rods using 1/32 and 1/16 ounce jigs with 10lb flouro and 10lb mono, and started cutting ballyhoo for baits and chumslick treats.

Dropped lines in the water and it was game on. Put 37 in the box in about an hour. Unfortunately, someone, ahem yours truly, has a habit of counting plus 1 when moving high limit fish forward to the cooler. So when arrived back at the dock to start the bloodletting we came up 1 fish short of the boat limit. Oh well, two less sammiches won't hurt.

Also, when you take folks out and catch a boatload, make sure you're not the only one with a filet knife...dear lawd that took awhile to get done.

swordfish · Post by **swordfish** » Fri Apr 17, 2015 2:02 pm

Leadslinger wrote:Transition time is here! Muttons are feeding like a pack of BAMF's for the coming spawn, grouper are still inhaling anything within mouths reach, tarpon are rolling through, and the hammerheads right behind them.

Took a group of Air Force reservist out last night for some R and R...rocking and reeling. Had a nice chop and screaming current, wanted to target the tasty and simple yellowtail snapper. Tossed out the chum blocks, rigged up the rods using 1/32 and 1/16 ounce jigs with 10lb flouro and 10lb mono, and started cutting ballyhoo for baits and chumslick treats.

Dropped lines in the water and it was game on. Put 37 in the box in about an hour. Unfortunately, someone, ahem yours truly, has a habit of counting plus 1 when moving high limit fish forward to the cooler. So when arrived back at the dock to start the bloodletting we came up 1 fish short of the boat limit. Oh well, two less sammiches won't hurt.

Also, when you take folks out and catch a boatload, make sure you're not the only one with a filet knife...dear lawd that took awhile to get done.

There you are! Awesome... I want to go get me a topwater mutton soon!

-Swordfish

snapperfanatic18 · Post by **snapperfanatic18** » Fri Apr 17, 2015 6:01 pm

Awesome report bro..I love me sum tails!!!

Leadslinger · Post by **Leadslinger** » Wed Jul 01, 2015 7:01 pm

Been hitting the flats and harbor pretty hard lately. Pretty cool to stand on a bar and look back at the fort on your right while the sunset lights up the sky like the 4th of July on your left, and bonefish screams off line.

Somebody's got to do it right?

swordfish · Post by **swordfish** » Sun Jul 05, 2015 9:47 pm

Leadslinger wrote:Been hitting the flats and harbor pretty hard lately. Pretty cool to stand on a bar and look back at the fort on your right while the sunset lights up the sky like the 4th of July on your left, and bonefish screams off line.

Somebody's got to do it right?

LOL nice... You need a go pro to capture those visuals for us less fortunate souls!

-Swordfish

cudaman · Post by **cudaman** » Mon Jul 06, 2015 10:43 am

Leadslinger wrote:Been hitting the flats and harbor pretty hard lately. Pretty cool to stand on a bar and look back at the fort on your right while the sunset lights up the sky like the 4th of July on your left, and bonefish screams off line.

Somebody's got to do it right?

Must be awesome.

Leadslinger · Post by **Leadslinger** » Mon Jul 06, 2015 11:27 pm

swordfish wrote:
Leadslinger wrote:Been hitting the flats and harbor pretty hard lately. Pretty cool to stand on a bar and look back at the fort on your right while the sunset lights up the sky like the 4th of July on your left, and bonefish screams off line.

Somebody's got to do it right?

LOL nice... You need a go pro to capture those visuals for us less fortunate souls!

-Swordfish

Girlfriend bought one of those for my birthday a few weeks back. Some Jackhole stole it right off my picnic table.

Shoot me a text, new phone and I lost your number. Was out tamiami way Sunday evening pre-storms. You should go if you can.

swordfish · Post by **swordfish** » Tue Jul 07, 2015 5:52 pm

Sent.. sucks bud... I have been roaming up there the past few months. Haven't been doing much else. When you know the drill there you can score big as you are aware. I have this one hole that I pull 6-8 bass every single time lol... Best part is that its in very salty water.

-Swordfish

Leadslinger · Post by **Leadslinger** » Tue Jul 07, 2015 5:58 pm

Thanks man. I'll get it next week when I get back to key west.

I'll be back home in mid August, let's try to get out.

Rare · Post by **Rare** » Tue Jul 07, 2015 6:36 pm

2 of mines last year

Kingofthesea · Post by **Kingofthesea** » Tue Jul 07, 2015 8:08 pm

No birds?

Leadslinger · Post by **Leadslinger** » Tue Jul 07, 2015 8:44 pm

Lol, well hell anchoring over there is just asking for it. Had one of those little cackling bastards land on my head while paddling back from Iowa rock. Total WTF moment.

Rare · Post by **Rare** » Tue Jul 07, 2015 9:25 pm

Kingofthesea wrote:No birds?

I do have one picture of a Dickenson bird, a very odd strange bird. I spotted this old coot bird that only shows its true feather at night. It was on the gunnel and I was fortune enough to take a picture of it . Birds of the same feathers doesn't not apply here.

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