Omar Vasquez & Crew - June 30, 2012© Photos Posted by Mark Miller © Hi-Res Source
This was a Charter Diving and Fishing Trip by Omar Vasquez of Gulfport, MS. I also picked up 2 more Divers, Joseph Wescovich of Long Beach, MS and Kevin Wellman of Addis, LA, as well as a fisherman, Wesley Lyons of Ocean Springs, MS. My son Paul (17) and his buddy Preston Savage of Baton Rouge worked the Deck. We were eager to head offshore to the Louisana Cutoffs but our 225 Honda was giving us trouble again. Probably an Oxygen Sensor as we had a great deal of trouble getting planed off. We decided to fish some spots on the way and were met with Sharks everywhere we stopped. We stopped on a Sargassum Patch and had a large Cobia (65-75 pounds) cruise by the boat but would not take the Jig. We decided to try and spear him, but he got wise and scooted away. We then stopped at FH-7 for a few Red Snapper. Paul and Omar made a Dive on the Rowan and then all the Divers made dives on the nearby Oil Rig. Omar speared a Red Snapper and an Amberjack. Eventually we continued on toward MP243 where we found cobalt blue water and flying fish. Along the way we spotted a Manta Ray sunning on the surface and we stopped for some interaction (See Video 3). Finally arriving at MP243 we saw several Amberjack crushing baitfish on the surface. Paul started Jigging for one with a Butterfly and bam, he was on. We pulled away from the structure and then to our amazement a Sailfish came jumping out of the water! I got my Camera out, changed lenses, and then Paul was screaming he was almost spooled, so I frantically started chasing the fish with the boat, got over zealous and ran over the fishing line breaking it off on the Prop. Sorry Paul. Anyway, we saw about a dozen jumps and it really pumped us up. We made a Dive on MP243 and were greeted by a Goliath Grouper (See Video 4). The water was Crystal Clear making it an awesome Dive. We then went to MP242 where my Ikelite housing failed me and flooded my T1i Camera. Fortunatley after some effort, I was able to access the memory card for these pictures and video. We eventually limited out on Red Snapper, got 1 small Cobia after missing the big one, 1 AmberJack, 1 King Mackerel, a few vermillion snapper, and a sheepshead. It was a glorious long fun filled day that encompassed 156 nautical miles, 17 hours, and 115.3 gallons of fuel.
|
