Well everyone here is my new pride and joy. She is a 2001 Maverick Pathfinder with about 50 hours total. Enough about her though, if you would like to find out more about the new ride, just click the link Chew On This Pathfinder.
My first trip in the new girl was with the former owner Mike Allen from Aiken, South Carolina. He was kind enough to drive the boat all the way down from South Carolina to deliver it to me. So I felt in apprectiation of him driving the boat all the way down to SW Florida, I would give him a charter on the house. Besides it was alot easier than driving up there and back.
When Mike arrived we loaded up the rods and headed for the ramp. Nelson, Mike, Mikes friend Jimmy, and I were the party for the day. We made short work of bait at the Causeway. I believe we had all of the threads we needed in two casts. We decided to give the bridge a shot since the water has cooled down dramatically since the last two fronts passed through. At the first stop we all had one or two bites but nothing to right home about. The next two stops produced about the same results but the tide was getting ready to turn.
Once the tide turned we headed to another spot on the Causeway. The first 10 minutes or so we only managed a few hits. Then the grouper started to get a little hungry. Nelson lost two or three due to breakoffs, then Mike missed 4 or 5, and Jimmy finally put a fat little Jewfish in the boat. Nelson tossed his Thread back into the current and before long he had a big fish on the other end of his line. After a short but intense tussel Nelson landed this nice 9 pound grouper.
Well, now that Nelson got his fishing fix in, it was my turn. A big school of rays just appeared underneath the boat and at about the same time we saw the rays the Cape Fear bent double. I was affraid my 700 Calcutta may break, we were already having problems with the handle and now the freespool button wouldn't spring back and engage the reel when reeled. Fortunately for me I was able to hold on with the drag on complete lock down. I was sure I had one heck of a grouper. Nelson said he thought it was a cobia and sure enough when we were finally able to see it, a cobia surfaces that ended up weighing 22 pounds. When those Cobia think there is danger to them they go crazy. He had me on my tippy toes a couple of times but I managed to get him over to Nelson so he could land him. Those Cobia sure are interesting looking fish.
Nelson and I took Mike to several other spots but it just wasn't meant to be. Everytime he would get a hit something would go wrong. I believe he still left happy for his thousand mile journey, because we provided him with a ton of meat from the Cobia and Grouper. I really appreciated him driving down the pathfinder and sending him back with some fish was the least I could do.
In conclusion, we had a very good day and I have a new boat that catches fish. The new Pathfinder will take some getting used to but I do believe I am looking forward to that endeavor. It sure was nice when we decided to get into a little rougher water to fish. The freeboard gave us a little piece of mind as well as helping us stay dry. I really hope Maverick can help me out with the livewell system on the boat. I can hardly keep any threads alive in the well for very long. Us guys on the West Coast just need more well space. The one in the middle is just not big enough, I will try and figure out a way to place one in front of the console somehow. Click on the link if you would like to see more pics of the boat and read a little more about itChew On This Pathfinder.
If you are looking for
some tackle busting, leader fraying, excitement then give Captain Chancey a call @ (239)540-7529
Until next time may you have line singing, leader fraying, and
tackle busting action!!!!
