Outdoors column | Let this fishing captain entertain you
“Cheese!” an angler says, and not when he’s posing for a picture. He’s fishing with Capt. Jason Stock and the safe word cheese means he’s had enough as the rod is passed along.
Stock has made his living providing anglers with an experience they will never forget.
“If I can’t offer people a great trip they’re going to remember, I don’t want to do it. I think, ‘If it was me, what would I want to do?’” the nearshore specialist Stock explained.
“Anyone can go catch snook, redfish or trout. My whole business has been about going offshore and offering something different. Being a captain you’re also an entertainer. We have such a good fishery we can do so many different things that provide memories but then also catch food when people want it.”
Stock’s trips are what he calls dinner and a show. The show typically involves huge fish from goliath grouper, massive sharks and more recently back-breaking amberjack. When anglers get enough of that, he takes them to target snapper, grouper, hogfish, flounder or other species that provide excellent table fare.
“The big amberjack are from seven to 30 miles offshore, they move around the wrecks and it’s a lot of hunting around to find them. We use big bait and heavy tackle,” Stock said. “We’ve had huge fish that we hook and get off the wreck 500-feet just for them to turn and burn locked Talica drags all the way back to the wreck.”
Knowing the pain that amberjack tend to induce, Stock sets up a safe word with clients. When they’ve had enough the rod is passed around for the next angler to feel the burn.
“There was a group from Wisconsin who used the word ‘cheese’. It’s something people never forget. They don’t know what they’re in for and it’s funny what people say when they’re ready to give up.”
The biggest amberjack Stock recalls catching this year was a massive 125 pounds! Four anglers ended up exhausted after a 30-minute long battle that left all four crying their safe word.
“When they run out to the side with the heavy drag it’s not that bad. When a big amberjack is straight up and down with full drag you’re going to feel it and you’re lower back will hurt so bad. That’s when it’s fun for spectators to heckle, and a group never forgets that.”
Another specialty is catch-and-release goliath grouper fishing, which Stock says is always a favorite.
“People love goliaths and lose their mind with them. We could go catch every fish in the ocean and the goliath in their mind is what they come back to.”
For goliaths, Stock straps anglers into the boat and sends down a rope with a giant bait over just about any wreck in the Gulf of Mexico. The result is grouper from 100 to 400 pounds that are released after a tug of war.
Moving into spring Stock is most excited for the return of bait schools and pelagics. He’ll soon be chasing tuna, permit, wahoo and more.
To book a trip, Capt. Jason Stock can be reached at (941) 253-6512.