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I finally relocated Decoy to Venice Marina and the first trip was a good one. We had a crew of 10 including my brothers and 5 kids. Ended up going 4 for 5 on wahoo with the largest one going about 80 lbs. We let the kids catch all of the fish. The kid with the white hat on is 7 years old and ended up catching a 60 pounder. Pretty funny, Dominic with the green jacket had to be forced into the pic by his father. He had never seen such a big fish and was a bit scared by the teeth. One of the pics is a shark that was bitten in half by what we think may have been a large Mako. We had one jump behind the boat earlier in the morning. Here are a couple of pics:

What's better than that? Congratulations! Walter

Best eating fish there is.

Way to go there Jack, Congrats on those JR Anglers catching those Ono's.
Was suppose to have fished down there between Christmas and New Years but weather did not permit. What day did you go out?

DQ

Thanks Walter and Brewster, I gotta agree with you on eating wahoo. Capt. DQ, we went out the Tuesday after Christmas. It was the only good day. It's been blowing hard down there since. I have a buddy headed out tomorrow morning. We caught all the fish by 10 am. They shut off after that. There's a beautiful 31 named Centurion just down the dock from me. Here's a picture of the crew on the bridge:

Those boys will remember that forever! Thats what its all about!!

Thats AWSOME !!! I hope we get some better weather this summer for the kids sake. I hate takem when it a little rough.

Nice hoo!

Jack

Looks like the kids had a day they will always remember. Try smoking one of those Wahoo's. Nothing like smoked Wahoo. It's like eatig peanuts can't stop. With a bottle of beer, the best.

Jack, thanks for the report. Usually when I go down, we stay at the Venice Marina over at the camp docks @ the Villa Venice camp. Its on the 2nd row of docks just south of the boat slips.

The camp/houseboat sits right right next to Mr. Skeets camp, its the green Villa Venice houseboats which belongs to David Massey. Its the one the Coast Guard was renting during the BP spill at the Venice Marina. He has a Wellcraft 32' w/ tower called Jac-a-mar docked right next to it.

DQ

Thanks Guys, the kids are still buzzing over the wahoo trip.

Tony, we probably had over 100 lbs of wahoo steaks, and they are already gone. We have a huge crowd for Christmas/New Years and between that and the fish we gave to friends and neighbors, I'm going to have to try the smoked hoo after the next trip. Do you have a recipe?

Capt DQ I'll let you know the next time I'm headed down. I'll buy you a cold one at the clubhouse.

JR

Jack

When we did ours, we just used a standard salt brine, you need to be able to float a raw egg in the water, soaked it overnight, take it out let it dry and then smoked with Hickory for about 6 to 8 hours.

Next time just take piece and try it. I am sure Brew or Walter could give some good Brine recipes.

REEL COOL and GOOD JOB!
Crew of 10, ha- makes me smile!

Try a cup of Kosher salt, A cup of light brown sugar (or dark), two cups of water, a bay leaf or two, a liberal amount of garlic powder, ground black pepper and a sprinkling of pickling spices (purchased in the spices area in your local supermarket). I sometimes also throw in a shot of Bourbon. Stir to dissolve the granular stuff and then layer in the fish. Based on how you cut up the fish, I keep the fish skin side up. Put a plate on top so it's weight keeps the fish submerged. Refrigerate overnight.
The next day, rinse off the fish and lay on racks skin side down. At this point you can grind black pepper on some, your favorite rub on some, or leave them alone to air dry for about a half to an hour. You will see a glossy surface start to take form on the surface of the fish.
Place fish in smoker (I use an electric "Little Chief" smoker) with a pan of hickory chips. In a while the chips will start to smolder. After 3-4 pans are used, your fish will not absorb any more flavor, so don't waste more chips after that. Based on the thickness of your fish pieces, keep in the low heat of the smoker for about 5-6 hours, before you start to "taste test". Longer may be needed, but you have to look at your first batch as an experiment from which your personal tastes may want to adjust. Good luck! Walter

Walter,

Sounds great, thanks for the recipe. It's already in the book.

JR

what life should be about.......

Congrats, Capt. Jack.....its Hoo City out there right now, full of fat & stupid ones. Slice some of that hoo real thin and saute' it in butter and a little sea salt & black pepper and you won't fool with any other way to do it. Without a doubt the best eating fish that swims, or crawls for that matter.

UV

Before smoking the fish should be frozen. This lets the water in the cells to brake the cell walls and then the smoke will penetrae the meat much better.

you guys are a wealth of information . freeze it first ! never heard of that . truly a band of brothers! incidently look at the childrens faces ,that says it all!

Jack,
Way to go!
I fished there 15 yrs ago or so, and was wondering if ya'll still fish with Rapala cd18's and Halco Tremblers? Are Lena, Moxy, and the 52's still there and do they still produce liked they used to? Great job!
Thanks.
John.

not to hijack this thread but cranston it is time to book your trip to greenport, and that goes for you too uv and andre

Neil, u r rite, I miss u guys. UV and I are having lunch tomorrow and we'll discuss for sure. Meet us Harry?

I have to try that feeze the fish first trick next time. The thing is we don't always catch Hoo up here in NJ. They are here in the summer but it is catch as catch can. Would trade a tuna for a hoo anytime.

After defrost brine and then set on rack in refridge for 4-6 hours to dry. This lets the protien to come to surface. The meat should be tacky when you touch it like a piece of scotch tape. Then you are ready to start smoking. I ran the second largest smoking op on Long Island for eight years. I would be happy to share all the secrets with whoever wants. Feel free to call 631 457 2587. Just not after ten pm. Brewster.

I learned something today. Never too old....

Brew,

May call you some day. 10 PM, I thought the faithfull were just starting to get going at 10 PM.

Neil,
OK, pal...we'll go if you match me drink for drink like you did last year...and if Brew brings LeNore and his square bottle of jungle madness. Pam and I had a great time and would like to talk to you about the hotel at the marina. Would you please send your # so we can get some details from you?'
Thanks.
John.

John,

Still fishing the same area's the same way you fished here. We also use large lipped lures like the strech 30 and Bomber lures. We fish rigged balihoo on the surface for wahoo in the summer, but it seems like they run deeper in the winter. Vic, we used your method for almost all of the wahoo, except we used olive oil in place of the butter. WE also blackened some. Outstanding. I'm gonna try the freezing/smoking method next time as well. Great ideas.

JR

Capt. JR - I know you fly Boeing triple 7s for a living.....saw on the news last night that a 777 pilot spilled coffee on the transponder and set off the 'hijcak' signal so they had to make a emergency landing. What's the real scoop?

UV

I have said it many times since the first time i tasted wahoo at the first U.V.I.....................if we had wahoo up here in new england and i have never ever seen it anywhere, haddock and cod sales would plummet.
U .v you are so kind to suggest my girth has maintained its shape from yesteryear.Whats with all the nostalgia..The boat show participation or interest was lacking when i suggested we get together and take every room at the flop house..Meeting in lauderdale was more about a get together and the boat show was an ancillary benefit...Glad to here the judge has retired.Man did he look youngish in that picture.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,
Has anybody heard from or talked to El' Presidente...................back in the sunshine state at 11 pm tonight,,had more than my share of this sheeeeeat

Ric,

It was me looking for that nostalgia..picture as everything I owned just about, including pictures were lost in Hurricane Ivan. I was lookin to replace some of my photo's for my scrap book. That was the first time I met everybody at the UVI (1).

If you remember, your Son & You where on the Short Circuit when he caught his first Wahoo.

DQ

Jackryan ....
what took the other 3/4 of that small shark ??

UV

Just got back from Tel Aviv tonight. I heard some other pilots talking about the false hijack code, but have not seen anything on what really happened. I have heard about electrical problems caused by spilling liquids on the pedestal, but never heard of anything like that.

As for what ate the other 3/4 of that shark, we guessed it was the large mako we saw free jumping behind the boat earlier in the morning. What ever it was ate the rear 3/4 of that shark in one bite.

JR