We had 2 trips today and it proved that fishing can change from morning to afternoon on the same day. I was not the Captain today. I took the day off and had a good friend and had Capt. Craig Jiovani. Capt. Craig is a good captain with lots of experience. Until he sold his charter boat a few weeks ago and “retired” he was the second most tenured captain on the dock, (now I think I’m 2nd).
The morning trip was a half day. Just looking for action and hopefully some fish to take home for dinner. The weather was beautiful, but as I have mentioned in previous posts, calm weather is great for the fishermen, but not great for the fishing.
This morning proved it. Fishing was tough, especially with the limited time of a half day. We caught a couple of bonitos and one small dolphin. Unfortunately, the dolphin was undersized and had to be thrown back. it was a tough morning. Just one of those mornings when nothing was biting.
The afternoon was a different story. To be fair, it was a 3/4 day. The trip is only 2 hrs longer than the morning trip, but that extra 2 hrs is all fishing time. In reality, a 3/4 day gives the customers about twice the fishing time as a half day. It could have been because it was the afternoon and a different tide. It could have been because there was more fishing time. Or it could have been because of both, but today the fishing in the afternoon was far better than the morning. in the afternoon the boat caught 8 keeper dolphin and released a couple of bonitos. Much better action than the morning.
Some days are like that. You can go to the same area, with the same baits and have a completely different result. People always ask which is better, the morning or the afternoon. Normally, I prefer the morning, but it is not always the case and today proved that out. The only real difference between the trips was the length. Maybe today that was the real difference. We have plenty of half day trips where we catch good fish, but on the tough days, having a little more time can make a big difference. Even with the extra time, sometimes, fishing can change from morning to afternoon