Stuart Area Offshore and Inshore

Tropical Storm Bret is churning about a hundred and fifty miles from our inlet but it is thankfully headed east out to sea. Today we have six foot waves but in a couple of days they will be down to one to two feet. We had a couple of good bottom trips off of the Loran Tower in seventy feet. The usual mix of snapper, porgy, seabass, and trigger fish were put in the fish box. The sailfish bite is really good for this time of year due to some color changes due to cold water currents moving through the area. Many boats are enjoying multiple hookups. Another bonus from the cold water is that the cobia bite has taken off again. The Bull Shark Barge yielded cobia to just about every boat that was there last week. A few more African pompano were caught on the Sandpile. We took a ride to push Button Hill after hearing morning reports of blackfin tuna being caught trolling feathers there. But after a half hour of not having a knockdown we decided to put a couple of lives sardines out with six ounces of lead. It was'nt long before we had a couple of ten pounders for sushi along with one big old bonita. While cruising home we spotted a stump of a palm tree in the water and slowed down to check it out. As we were approaching it, a very small dolphin was being chased by a big bull. The small fish hid in the stump while I quickly pitched a sardine into the water. The bull exploded on it and the fight was on. A ten minute fight on spinning tackle ensued and we landed him and headed home. More later.{%image_id=21750%}