Red snapper trip turns into day of epic battles

One of the reasons I love American red snapper season is the diversity of anglers it brings together. Everyone shares pictures, passes along reports, and talks about their successful trips west into the Gulf of Mexico for a brief period.

To sum up our June 1, 2, and 3 federal red snapper season this year I could do it in one word: eventful.

Day 1 saw beautiful weather. The bite was slow for some as high pressure sat over the Gulf of Mexico. That night storms pushed in from the west, covering much of the Gulf from Louisiana to south Florida.

Early morning of Day 2, the remaining storms covered a good portion of the Gulf. Many anglers canceled trips at the sight of the storms, but, for me, it was my chance to charge into the Gulf of Mexico with Jay Travis and Tony Summers aboard Travis’s 32-foot Contender.

Travis wasn’t convinced the weather would be nice. I was the pushy one who insisted we give it a shot. The wind was supposed to stay light and any storms would be approaching from the west so we could always turn around and head back home. He obliged, and trusting the safety features like satellite radar on his electronics made the trip feel safe as we avoided any major storms and seas all day.

Our first stop was in 120 feet of water near the famous Mexican Pride. The bite was on. It was red snapper after red snapper, but the size wasn’t quite what we wanted. After picking through about 20, we added only one to the box as bigger fish lay ahead.

The next stop in 165 feet of water produced what we were after. I dropped a Spanish sardine and was pinned to the rail. The relentless digging and head shaking fight of a red snapper turned in my advantage with heavy tackle and a large 20-pound red snapper was added to the box.

Shortly after, an outflow of storms moved overhead and swirling winds picked up to about 20 mph, making bottom fishing difficult. In the distance, a sailfish put on an acrobatic show, but our efforts to find it were too late.

With clear weather to the west, we left other potential big fish and pushed farther offshore, getting to about 210 feet of water.

Travis proved his talent with a big spinning rod and added another jumbo red snapper into the boat. The bite was on and soon we had our official six-fish limit. I was railed into the bottom a few times by monsters, and after amberjacks crashed the party we moved one more time.

Our final spot was again in over 200 feet of water at a place Travis found many years ago. The bottom machine lit up with fish as we drifted around, and I landed a large yellowtail snapper.

We swung around on anchor, and for the next 2 1/2 hours I experienced some of the best fishing of my life.

The key was chumming. We started a chumline that wouldn’t stop. The big yellowtails worked their way to the surface from 200 feet below, and as I fought another pesky amberjack up from the bottom, I could see the yellowtails eating the chum just below the surface off the back of the boat.

Travis excitedly rigged a light spinner with no weight and freelined a bait back. This produced a beautiful yellowtail snapper.

Summers joined in. The next few yellowtail snapper were the biggest I’ve ever seen, weighing in at more than 8 pounds on the boga grip scale and coming it at 20 inches to the fork. The world record is 22 inches, so we weren’t far behind!

While this was going on, blackfin tuna decided to start jumping around the boat and a lit-up wahoo made an appearance below. Freelined baits soon produced a cobia, many more amberjack, bonita and blackfin tuna. At one point, the Penn Spinning reel was nearly spooled of its 400-yards of 65-pound power pro by a fish that eventually wore it’s way through the mainline.

By the end of it, we left the fish biting with a 2-hour ride home and three very sore anglers who didn’t stop fighting fish for nearly three hours.

When we got home, I bragged about the success of our trip with a few friends. Their responses were all positive and inquisitive, something all anglers love as feedback.

This is what red snapper season is. It’s a brief time to forget politics and problems. It’s a time to get out and do what we all enjoy. That is the reason anglers fight so hard and get so upset with the current regulations restricting this enjoyment.

My feelings are well known on the lack of a recreational season beyond three days. I know anglers like myself spend the best days of their lives chasing fish across the Gulf of Mexico, and my one glorious day on June 2 of 2017 is one I’ll never forget.

This story was originally published June 10, 2017 at 4:28 PM with the headline "Red snapper trip turns into day of epic battles."