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00:01On this week's World of Saltwater Fishing, we're off Key Largo in the fabulous Florida Keys.
00:05I'll be fishing with Lee Lavery from Ladies Let's Go Fishing.
00:08We'll be hand-cranked deep-dropping, as well as drifting for Yellowtail.
00:12This is one exciting episode you do not want to miss.
00:15George Bovarumo's World of Saltwater Fishing.
00:31Big fish don't stand a chance.
00:33Lee Lavery.
00:43I've been friends with her, I would think, probably coming on 27, 28 years.
00:50How I met her was through our Saltwater Sportsman National Seminar Series.
00:54She was an attendee every time we brought the seminar to South Florida.
00:57Then, she was an annual participant in our Bimini Fishing Extravaganza that we ran for 16 years out of the Bimini Big Game Fishing Club and Bimini Sands.
01:08I started fishing, I got my first boat when I was 20 years old.
01:13I'm 79 now.
01:15I've had 14 boats in the career that I've had.
01:19And I started fishing with my uncle off the jetties at Baker's Hall over.
01:24And the rest is history.
01:27She'll charge all over that ocean.
01:29She's exceptional in all forms of fishing.
01:31But her specialty is deep-dropping and also yellow-telling.
01:37And the joke about this whole situation is she's been after me for 26 years to take her fishing.
01:45Why not me?
01:46I'm Lee.
01:47I have pretty much, I know how to tie knots.
01:51I can rig baits.
01:52I'm a worthy participant.
01:55Why not take me fishing?
01:57So, I have been stalking George and badgering him probably four or five times a year.
02:06So, George, when are we going fishing?
02:08Promise me you're going to take me fishing.
02:09This is going on 26 years.
02:12I'm going to make her day.
02:14I paid a phone call to Lee and said, Lee, you know, you've been after me all the time to take you fishing.
02:19What, going on 26 years now?
02:21I'm going to make it happen.
02:23But we're going to do this in a big way.
02:25Not only are you going to fish with me aboard the Mark VI in Key Largo, your home waters,
02:30but I'm going to have you as my guest angler on the World of Saltwater Fishing television series.
02:35And Lee has her numbers, and she said she would like to go to this area where she catches a lot of yellow eyes.
02:55So, I said, that's fantastic because we have a dinner at Snook's Bayside.
03:00They're going to host us on one of those evenings, and they would like to cook our catch.
03:04So, I said, let's go ahead and get out there and do a grocery run.
03:10Coming on the first spot, current's around 2.3, 2.5 knots.
03:15Going to get down about 300 feet, and Mark and Fish, let's see what happens.
03:20Dropping down, all of a sudden they felt tap, tap.
03:22I let that fish pull that rod down, and started winding tight, and there I am.
03:26I'm on.
03:29Push the button.
03:30Push the button.
03:31300 feet.
03:33Do you want it, Lee?
03:34No, thanks.
03:38We're working on dinner.
03:40And your spot.
03:41Good concentrate on my fish here.
03:44And now when I hit a certain point, they'll just blow up the top, make it easy on this?
03:48No, I didn't think so.
03:49Only their eyes.
03:50Here, it's easy to drop down, hand-crackers.
03:52I always say, whether you're 80 feet, 90 feet, or 300, you don't realize how much those measurements are until you have to crank it in.
04:00I may try on my hand.
04:02Uh-oh, look, I see something coming up.
04:03Look at this.
04:03I see color.
04:04We're that much closer to dinner.
04:06I see color.
04:07Okay.
04:10Here it comes.
04:13Check it out, Lee.
04:15Vermilion.
04:17You're going to flip it?
04:18Whatever you want to do, you do it.
04:19Nice.
04:19You're the pro.
04:21My native guide here.
04:22Look at that.
04:23That is beautiful.
04:24Nice fish.
04:24That is gorgeous.
04:26And watch those hooks.
04:29Lee, that is absolutely gorgeous.
04:30Hey, how about that?
04:30Do you have a de-hooker?
04:31The record for here.
04:32What do you mean?
04:33That's big for here.
04:34The size?
04:35Really big.
04:35Wow.
04:37Come on.
04:39Come on.
04:40Cut it out.
04:40I'm enjoying this.
04:41There we go.
04:41It's something I don't do that often.
04:43It's just enjoyable.
04:43You got it.
04:44You had it.
04:46That fish could be tenderized by the time we get into the...
04:49You're going to wonder what the black and blue marks are.
04:52I'm about to say.
04:54There you go.
05:02George Fovaromo's world of saltwater fishing is proudly brought to you by Penn.
05:07Let the battle begin.
05:09Mako.
05:09You'll find them where the fish are.
05:11Bass Pro Shops and Cabela's.
05:13Your adventure starts here.
05:15Mercury Marine.
05:17George, we'll be right back.
05:19They do grow big down Key Largo Way.
05:22Captain Lee Lavery and I are getting set for another round of drifting and hand-cranking bottom dwellers off Key Largo in the Florida Keys.
05:29But first, let me tell you about Baker's Cay Resort.
05:33Baker's Cay Resort Key Largo hosted our television production.
05:37Nestled amongst lush tropical foliage, the all-inclusive property is located Bayside at Myomarker 97.
05:43Guests at the 400-room resort can enjoy waterfront pools, a private beach complete with hammocks, and a wide variety of water sports the likes of diving, parasailing, and, of course, fishing.
05:55On-site eateries include in-room dining, beachside and poolside tiki bars and cafes, and gourmet dining at their Calusa restaurant.
06:03Baker's Cay is a popular spot for both business meetings and weddings.
06:06Now, let's get right back to hand-crank deep-dropping for those Key Largo bottom fish.
06:13Once you get hooked up to the fish, I don't care how deep you are, that's the easy part.
06:16It's not like catching amberjack or grouper around the wreck where you have to go toe-to-toe and muscle that fish out of that structure.
06:22There's really not that much for them to get you in trouble with down there.
06:26So you just keep tight, whine, and just work that rhythm all the way up, and you have your catch.
06:32It's really not that hard to hang crank deep-drop.
06:36We drop down again, and don't you know, I'm hooked up again.
06:39What do I bring up?
06:41Well, I feel a little bit of a strong fish.
06:42Whoa, look at that.
06:45Maybe you have, too.
06:46I may, because it's definitely feeling a little on the weighty side here.
06:51It's a long way down there.
06:53It's a long way.
06:55But it's fun.
06:56Anything that comes out of that deep, cool water, you know, it's outstanding eating.
07:00And we're like on a mission.
07:01We need to get some fish together for dinner at Snooks Bayside.
07:06This is a pizza gym any day.
07:09Look at it.
07:10I'm doing a hand-crank deep-drop where you build up those arms fast.
07:15And you sleep well at night, too.
07:16Here we come, Lee.
07:19Another beauty.
07:19Look at this.
07:20Oh!
07:22I guess it's hooked good for me to lift it in, huh?
07:25And it's going to come in.
07:28And it's coming.
07:29Nice.
07:30Vermilion.
07:31Oh, who's bigger than the last one?
07:36That's great.
07:37Oh, my gosh.
07:38I mean, this is, like I said, it's enjoyable, and you took me to one of your A spots here,
07:42too.
07:43So I've got to thank you for it.
07:45Thank you for bringing me here.
07:46There you go.
07:47Oh, look.
07:47It's a baby.
07:48Check that out.
07:50That's not bad.
07:51Not at all.
07:52It's not bad.
07:53Yellow eye.
07:55Okay.
07:57You know, we have to make it to our good dinner to progress, Lee.
08:00Okay.
08:00Nice.
08:12Did he get eaten?
08:14Oh, something on him.
08:16Something's trying to eat him.
08:19Yeah.
08:19Oh, a shark got me.
08:21I have one new rig for me, and hey.
08:24How about that?
08:24He got a little piece of the action, but we're going to get some meat off this, too.
08:30So we decided to start out deep dropping.
08:32We went to, I have a spot in 350 feet where we have in the past gotten yellow eye and vermilion.
08:42Sometimes they're there, and sometimes they're not.
08:46And thank heavens they were there.
08:51We were using chicken rigs or multi-hook rigs with circle hooks and squid and chunks of bonita.
08:59So at that point, we had plenty of deep drop fish in the box.
09:03I said, Lee, let's do the yellow tailing, because you like to sandball for yellow tail, and you like to drift.
09:10I said, I want to definitely try that combination.
09:12And we headed to the yellow tail spot.
09:14With nicknames the likes of Beeliner and Mango, the vermilion is a relatively deep water snapper identified by its red color,
09:22narrow lines beneath its lateral line, and large red eyes.
09:25Often congregating on gravel and sandy bottoms, primarily between 100 and 450 feet,
09:31they're among the most accessible recreational deep drop fish.
09:34Best bet, vary baits to dial in on their feed and always maintain contact with bottom.
09:40In ArtByPasta.com, from Catch the Canvas, rendering.
09:43Catch the Canvas, baby.
09:45George Poveromo's World of Saltwater Fishing is proudly brought to you by Simrad.
09:51Rapala holds the world record for world records.
09:56Suffix, always use the best line.
09:59Starbright Boat Care Products, blending technology with performance since 1973.
10:05George, we'll be right back.
10:07With our fish box filling up and sharks now onto our trail, it was time to do something different.
10:13Yellow tail, anyone?
10:14I'm at Key Largo, Florida Keys with Captain Lee Lavery.
10:17But first, here's an attraction you should definitely check out.
10:21The Laura Quinn, Florida Keys Wild Bird Rehabilitation Center is situated on 5 1⁄2 acres in Tavernier.
10:28The not-for-profit organization is dedicated to the rescue, rehabilitation, and release of native and migratory wild birds that have been harmed or displaced.
10:37For those birds which cannot be released, the center provides humane shelter and care nestled amongst lush native vegetation, mangroves, hammocks, and wetlands.
10:46Visitors experience and learn about a variety of wild birds and the related environments.
10:52And now, let's go on the drift and sandball for yellowtail snapper off Key Largo.
10:57It was time to go yellowtailing.
10:59Lee has these numbers to a piece of bottom structure.
11:03With the yellowtail ball up in this area, maybe, you know, 30 or 40 feet off the bottom.
11:08And the traditional school of yellowtail, as we have talked about over the years, is that Christmas tree look.
11:16And that's what we're looking for.
11:19And it's pretty pretty.
11:21When you see it, you know it.
11:24We would get on top of the structure and we would mark it.
11:26Then it's a matter of sandballing and dropping down your bait in the sandball to reach them.
11:31So we make a sandball about the size of a tennis ball.
11:37And then we make a little hole in the sandball.
11:40We put our bait and our jig in the sandball.
11:44And we tend to do wraps.
11:47And we'll wrap, oh, 10 times, 15 times, depending on the current.
11:53The heavier the current, the more wraps we do.
11:56And I said, okay, Lee, I'm going to state the wheel in case I have to stem the current.
12:00I said, drop down.
12:01So it's real important for the person driving the boat, just when they have a sense that we're coming up on that school of fish, they yell, drop it.
12:14And then that's what we do.
12:16We drop it and we wait for the runoff.
12:20And that's so much fun.
12:22I take goosebumps just thinking about it.
12:26Tell me when you see color.
12:32All right, slip them in.
12:34You don't even need me, did you?
12:35What am I doing?
12:36I said more than you did that fish.
12:38Go for it.
12:39Keep it in there.
12:40Go.
12:41See them.
12:48See them.
12:51It's a nice tail.
12:52Okay.
12:53That's the way they're supposed to be.
12:55And bigger.
12:56Usually 18, 19 inches.
12:58How about that?
12:59I'm loving it.
13:00Good.
13:00Okay.
13:01Just like that.
13:01Oh, I got a big mangrove.
13:05Incoming.
13:05Yep.
13:06Told you.
13:07Mangroves.
13:07Now that's a surprise one right there.
13:09Right.
13:10Yes.
13:11Yeah.
13:11I told you that we've been getting like mangroves here.
13:14That's looking good.
13:15So we just crank, crank, crank, crank, crank, crank, crank, and crank, crank, crank, and try and outrun the sharks.
13:22And honestly, this particular day, I didn't do that well.
13:28Mercury Performance Stats.
13:29Key Largo.
13:30Florida Keys.
13:31Seize.
13:32Calm.
13:33Power.
13:34Triple Mercury Verado 400 horsepower V10 outboards.
13:38Props.
13:39Mercury Revolution X.
13:4025 inch pitch.
13:42Total miles.
13:4228.
13:43Consistent cruise.
13:444,700 RPMs.
13:46Speed.
13:4750 miles per hour.
13:49Total fuel burn.
13:5035 gallons.
13:55George Poveromo's World of Saltwater Fishing is proudly brought to you by the Florida Keys and Key West.
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14:06Float on boat trailers.
14:08Make it easy.
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14:21So it was, to me at least, someone who really goes on the hook and chums heavily for yellowtail.
14:29This was a pretty unique situation for me in that we were drifting for the yellowtails and sandballing, which I do, you know, very rarely.
14:37So it was an education on my behalf too, watching her fish in this type of situation and getting down the yellowtails that were 70, 80, 90 feet down.
14:47And it was working like a charm.
14:48No, no, no.
14:51Come on, let's get that thing going.
14:53Can I join you?
14:57No.
14:58No.
14:59No.
14:59No.
15:00I got me.
15:01No.
15:02Got me.
15:02Got me.
15:03Got me.
15:05Got me.
15:07Oh, my gosh.
15:08Is that a toad or watch?
15:10Oh, you got sharks.
15:12It's supposed to be, and I got sharks.
15:15Oh, that's terrible.
15:17Well, one way of looking at it, maybe you sacrificed years.
15:20I did.
15:21And check his, where the jig comes into us now.
15:24Look at that hole.
15:25One little slack line, he would have thrown it.
15:27But you've got to crank your sharks.
15:29Come on, I want to see color.
15:33Oh, I can see it.
15:34Not very big, would it be?
15:35It would make a difference.
15:36Good thing there's nothing with real big gray down underneath.
15:39Another.
15:40No.
15:40What?
15:41My favorite.
15:42It's a sand eel.
15:43A sand eel.
15:44They're the worst of the worst.
15:45That's not what they call a slippery ditch.
15:47Yep.
15:48Yep.
15:48Okay, I was hoping you were going to say that, not me.
15:52Yeah, it's not me.
15:53I thought I'd say it.
15:54It comes before me.
15:55Well, there you go.
15:57What about it?
15:58What about the slippery dick?
15:59Did we?
16:01We did.
16:03Yeah.
16:03That's a sand eel.
16:04It's a sand eel.
16:06They're sand eels.
16:08Hey, folks, it's no joke.
16:09The slippery dick is the common name for a species of wrasse inhabiting shallow tropical waters
16:14of the Western Atlantic Ocean, known for its slippery body and ability to escape hands
16:19and even some nets.
16:21How about that for a science lesson?
16:24And yellow coming in over here.
16:26Oh, no.
16:27No, come on, please.
16:28I can't.
16:29He's a baby.
16:29That's why you got him.
16:30A baby.
16:31Oh.
16:32I only say really nice complimenting things about you.
16:35The fish you get.
16:36Yeah, I get the sand eel.
16:39And I'm going to keep mine here.
16:40I'm going to measure yours up here.
16:41He called mine a baby.
16:42Mine's a baby, too.
16:43That's probably the only reason I'll be able to get him.
16:46It's already.
16:48Oh, maybe not.
16:49Maybe not.
16:50Yeah, mine looks way bigger.
16:52Way?
16:53No.
16:54No, mine's way bigger.
16:55You're the baby fish, like you said.
16:56Mine, though, you're the baby fish.
16:57Way bigger.
16:58Mine's way bigger.
17:00But these are nice yellow tails.
17:01Oh, it's good.
17:02How about that?
17:03I think I lost four fish to the sharks.
17:07And it does help to moan and groan and grunt.
17:10But I think I got two yellow tail, and George probably got four or five or six.
17:16I don't know.
17:17I didn't keep count.
17:20And I said, Lee, I said, we did some serious damage out here today.
17:23And I've got to commend you.
17:25You know, I told you to run the show.
17:27We're doing your style of fishing in both instances.
17:29And I have no disappointments whatsoever.
17:34You really know your stuff.
17:35And let's head on back to the barn.
17:37And that's exactly what we did.
17:39Raced the Mark VI all the way back to Pilot House Marina.
17:42Speaking about the Pilot House, the marina features 50 wet slips and 75 dry racks.
17:47Situated in a protected basin a mile from the Atlantic Ocean, it's the perfect base when fishing North Key Largo waters.
17:53They have both gas and diesel, ice, and snacks and beverages available at their ship store.
17:59The marina is supported by their Pilot House restaurant.
18:02And even though the Pilot House marina has fish cleaning tables, Lee did the honors nearby at her home dock and cleaning table.
18:10And then we divvied up the chores at that point.
18:13Lee didn't want to star bright the boat.
18:15So that left me to do that job.
18:17She got far away from me to her own little nice fish cleaning table and took care of all the fish.
18:24And I took care of the boat, star brighted it.
18:26So I guess that was a fair trade-off.
18:28And Lee invited us back to the house.
18:30And what was impressive, she has a two-story home on one of the main canals in Key Largo.
18:36Was the lower floor was basically a dedicated tackle center.
18:47This is the serious part of my woman cave, where I can sit down here and do my, make my rigs.
18:56This is where I have all my rods and reels and they're kind of categorized.
19:02So these are my terminal rigs for deep dropping, usually in 300 feet of water, up to 800 feet.
19:10And at that point, we got everything together and we headed over to Snooks Bayside.
19:17A gem of a North Key Largo restaurant is Snooks Bayside Restaurant and Grand Tiki Bar at Mile Market 99.
19:28In addition to outdoor and indoor dining against a backdrop of some of the most amazing Florida Keys sunsets,
19:35Snooks is known for serving up a variety of fresh seafood and tropical drinks.
19:39It was the most amazing way to top off a highly successful fishing trip.
19:43It took 26 years to get this trip and we did it.
19:48And I have to tell you what, she's amazing.
19:51She's a great asset to Ladies Let's Go Fishing.
19:55He still owes me one day.
19:57So I am going to start my next series of stalking and texting to get that one more day that he owes me.
20:07And I've got to tell you, based on how she knows these waters and the fishing around here and how she catches them in grandiose fashion,
20:15we might not wait another 26 years to make this happen.
20:19If you're a fan of our show, keep up with our adventures by following us on social media.
20:23I'm on Instagram at George Poveromo.
20:26And on Facebook, go to facebook.com forward slash George.Poveromo.
20:31You can also watch our episodes at any time on YouTube at George Poveromo TV.
20:36We'll see you on the water.
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