- 2 weeks ago
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00:00Oh dang, oh god what is that? You see that? Something just exploded. He's on too.
00:07It's interesting though that you did give yourself the wire but you did not give me the rod.
00:14It was the coolest thing when I when I hooked into that cane.
00:18Woo! Look at that! That is amazing.
00:21It's a giant mangrove. Look at that thing.
00:24That's a pair of mangrove snappers right there y'all.
00:27Yo tried to put it out farther than mine.
00:29Alright, she wins.
00:32Yeah, look at that!
00:36There he is.
00:40Yeah, that's a good one.
00:42Chasing the Sun is brought to you by...
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00:56Minn Kota.
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01:00Pirates Cove Marina.
01:02You enjoy the gulf, we'll take care of the rest.
01:05Welcome back to Panama City Leagues.
01:08It is so good to be back. I mean, a little earlier than planned, but with my big adventure coming up, I had to come a little pre-season, hoping the tarpon will be in, but I think it's all good.
01:12I think it's going to be too cold.
01:13I say never say never, but with a windy, cold front in May like this, I think it's going to be too cold.
01:17I say never say never, but with a windy, cold front in May like this, I'm going to put it on the not very likely, and we're not going to put a lot of time into looking for them.
01:32Look at that beauty. I haven't seen her yet.
01:35Yeah, look at this.
01:36So for the past, I mean, I want to say it's been two years, you have been talking about your conch.
01:42Hi.
01:43It's been too long.
01:44I know.
01:45It's been too long.
01:46Happy tarpon season.
01:47I know.
01:48We're there.
01:49It is finally here and I get to fish on it.
01:50It's been so nice.
01:51Are you loving it?
01:52Are you loving it?
01:53Yeah.
01:54I'm going to put it on the not very likely, and we're not going to put a lot of time into looking for them.
01:56Look at that beauty.
01:57I haven't seen her yet.
01:58Yeah, look at this.
01:59So for the past, I mean, I want to say it's been two years.
02:01You have been talking about your conch.
02:02Hi.
02:03How did you go?
02:04It's been too long.
02:05I know.
02:06Happy tarpon season.
02:07I know.
02:08We're there.
02:09Nice.
02:11Are you loving it?
02:12I am beyond excited, but I mean, expectations are pretty high.
02:17So this thing better perform.
02:18Better perform, right?
02:19Better perform.
02:20She feels so clean.
02:28It looks simple, but it has so much stuff going on.
02:33There's no better day than a day like today to prove why I put so much time and effort into this project.
02:40And that's because A, it's windy.
02:42Yeah.
02:43And B, I need versatility.
02:49You know, these cold fronts in May make bait catching for us very difficult.
02:54One thing that I probably don't give these guys thanks enough for is the fact that we have the best live bait dealership in the world.
03:04Y'all are good, man.
03:05We ain't in a rush.
03:06The good news with these cigars are in us is right now there's a variety of sizes.
03:10Yeah.
03:11Which is always what I want.
03:12It gives us options.
03:13Look at Charlie.
03:15You see your buddy over there?
03:16Yes.
03:17Yeah, look at him.
03:18I just think it's so cool.
03:19I mean, I know you see it every day.
03:20I see him every day.
03:21Okay.
03:22So you don't think it's that cool?
03:23But to have a blue heron just hanging out, that's very cool.
03:28Ooh.
03:33I like this, Meredith.
03:34Yeah?
03:35Eight years to have a mate.
03:36Ah.
03:37I appreciate you.
03:38I just hear him drop.
03:40Thank you, Dennis.
03:41You too.
03:42See ya.
03:43Take care of Charlie for me.
03:44See, you don't think that's cool to have a heron right there?
03:48It's there all the time.
03:49I know, but I just think it's so cool.
04:00Alright, I'm trying to make a game plan here.
04:02One of the things that impresses me about you is that, you know, we start off and we have a game plan.
04:07And we're heading offshore and, you know, we're looking at the GPS and the chart plotter and saying, okay, this is where we're going to head.
04:14These are the reefs we're going to hit.
04:16And on our way out, it's like your fishy, spidery senses are on.
04:22And you see a weed line and it's like, and you pull up, you know, a 180 and say, hold on, abort, you know, our plan A. Let's go to plan B.
04:32That's that squirrel mentality.
04:34Like, you know, I'm like, alright, I got this reef.
04:36I'm going to do this.
04:37Then we're going there.
04:38I'm like, oh, squirrel, squirrel.
04:39Oh, did y'all see that?
04:40You know, you see a fish jump or whatever it is, you know, and just seeing that real, those two different bodies of water pushing against each other, you know, that piques my interest a little bit.
04:48And as you get closer, there was a buoy randomly floating in it.
04:52Well, there, we need a pole on it.
04:55Hey, anytime you're riding out here and you see something floating, it's usually worth your time to stop and give it a look.
05:01So, we're going to stop giving it a look.
05:02Yeah, I see it.
05:03It's something down there.
05:10Mike?
05:11Mike, take a little jig and drop it down and just see, see if there's anything.
05:16Ooh, sabiki?
05:17So, no, we're not, we're not catching bait.
05:21I mean, I love it.
05:22You always have, how many rods up there?
05:2412?
05:25872 rods.
05:26On the line, all matching.
05:27Ready to go.
05:28Yeah.
05:29And so, I think you took one with wire on it.
05:32Yeah.
05:33And then I got one that was just kind of, just a basic rig.
05:36And we both throw towards the grass line.
05:39And I think right away, you catch this little cute Toronto.
05:42Oh, man.
05:45Oh.
05:46I just got bit by something.
05:49You did?
05:50Yeah.
05:51Oh, it's a mini dolphin.
05:53No way.
05:54Holy cow, it's tiny.
05:55No way.
05:56He's so cute.
05:57Look at that.
05:58No way.
05:59He's so cute.
06:00I figured there'd be some mahi's on them.
06:01I just thought they'd be like, you know, that big, maybe.
06:04They were about that big.
06:05They were like this big.
06:06Fastest growing fish there is right there, y'all.
06:10What's wild is this fish will be just a hammer in about a year.
06:16And he'll be a nice keeper size.
06:19That is the first mahi of the year for me.
06:23You know, although my little mahi bite wasn't very impressive, the next bait, the bigger bait
06:29that went in on a piece of wire was a little more impressive bite.
06:32Cut right in half, huh?
06:33Yep.
06:34There's definitely some toothy critters around here.
06:35Oh, dang.
06:36Oh, God, what is that?
06:37Did you see that?
06:38Something just exploded.
06:39He's on, too.
06:40Oh, my gosh.
06:41Here, come grab this.
06:42Okay.
06:43I didn't see it.
06:44I saw a huge explosion.
06:45Oh, my gosh.
06:46Hold on.
06:47He's coming back.
06:48Keep going.
06:49You got it.
06:50You got it.
06:51You got it.
06:52You got it.
06:53Maybe a wahoo.
06:54It may be a king or a wahoo, but look at that thing go.
06:57All right.
06:58You got that.
06:59All right.
07:00I'll fight.
07:01It's the wrong king anyway.
07:02I know.
07:03I'm going to be excited if it's a king because, like I said, we'd have to take a
07:12bite.
07:13I haven't seen them.
07:14What is it?
07:15What is it?
07:16You know, I do think it's interesting, though, that you did give yourself the wire, but you
07:21did not give me the rod rigged with the wire.
07:24I figured it was a higher percentage opportunity to get a bite without the wire.
07:28That's why I gave you that one.
07:29Oh, is that what it was?
07:30Yeah.
07:31It's a king.
07:32Oh, it is.
07:33Yep.
07:34It's a king miracle.
07:35Amazing.
07:36All right.
07:37And I'm going to show you.
07:38Please do.
07:39Because I've never caught a king before.
07:40See that thing start circling down there below the boat?
07:42I'm like, all right, get the gaff because this dude is going to make us some good fish
07:45dip.
07:46Well, I was excited because this was the first king mackerel I'd ever been witness to.
07:51Woo!
07:52This is so fun.
07:54Y'all, I mean, the best part about being out here is you never know what you're going
07:59to catch.
08:00That's a good king, too, right?
08:01Oh, yeah, it's a nice king.
08:02Good thing you put on your wire.
08:03I know.
08:04What pound wire did you put on?
08:0540 pound wire.
08:0640 pound wire, and good thing he did, because look at what we're going to be able to have
08:10tomorrow.
08:11She ain't in the boat yet.
08:12That's true.
08:13And you haven't seen me try to gaff.
08:15I know.
08:16Here, do you want to trade real quick?
08:17Seriously?
08:18Yes.
08:27Woo!
08:28Look at that.
08:29That is amazing.
08:30Over the rail and in the bale.
08:31Woo!
08:32Look at that, you guys.
08:33You don't want them teeth.
08:36No.
08:37This is the first king I've actually ever seen in person.
08:39Really?
08:40Yeah.
08:41There we go.
08:42Sorry, dude.
08:43You're going to be fish dip.
08:45Oh, my gosh.
08:46That is so cool.
08:48Look at those teeth.
08:49Look at those teeth.
08:50Hey, why didn't it come loose?
08:51I can tell you that.
08:52There we go.
08:53Got it.
08:54Yeah.
08:55Got it.
08:56Unbelievable.
08:57I was super stoked.
09:00It comes on board.
09:01It has these teeth that are razor sharp.
09:04And then it decides to puke all over my feet.
09:08My bare feet.
09:09Now you know why I keep their heads pointed away from me.
09:12Hey, that's a good way to start off the morning right there.
09:15Woo!
09:16That is one fun thing in the Gulf.
09:18Everything swims out here and you never know what you're going to see next.
09:21And just by stopping on a breath, Matt.
09:23Yeah, this isn't a spot.
09:24This was...
09:25Oh, disgusting.
09:26Oh, my gosh.
09:27Look at the whole boat.
09:28Look at it.
09:29And it's on my foot.
09:30Time out.
09:31Yuck.
09:32Yuck.
09:33All right.
09:34We're going to get this guy on ice and then we're going to clean the boat up.
09:39And after that, we'll get back to fishing.
09:40Yes.
09:41That is awesome.
09:42Incredible.
09:43So while you're cleaning up, I'm still fishing.
09:44I'm never going to stop fishing.
09:45I love to fish.
09:46I can't get enough.
09:47Yeah.
09:48That's why you put another bait out.
09:49Look at that.
09:50We haven't even got this one cleaned up yet.
09:51And, uh, maybe this looked up again.
09:52And reeling with the wrong hand.
09:55And so one thing when we're kingfishing here, we usually fish a lighter drag.
09:56Okay.
09:57Because they pull out easy.
09:58Ah, they have a soft mouth.
09:59Yeah.
10:00Soft mouth.
10:01You want to be kind of nice with them.
10:02Okay.
10:03Okay.
10:04Good to know.
10:05It was the coolest thing when I, when I hooked into that.
10:06That's enough.
10:07Yeah.
10:08That's enough.
10:09Yeah.
10:10That's why you put another bait out.
10:11Look at that.
10:12We haven't even got this one cleaned up yet.
10:13And, uh, maybe this looked up again.
10:14And, uh, reeling with the wrong hand.
10:15And so one thing when we're kingfishing here, we usually fish a lighter drag.
10:16Okay.
10:17Because they pull out easy.
10:18Ah, they have a soft mouth.
10:19Yeah.
10:20Soft mouth.
10:21It was the coolest thing when I, when I hooked into that king.
10:26I'll tell you, it's, they are fast.
10:28They are.
10:29They are fast.
10:30I mean, that reel was singing.
10:32Listen to that drag.
10:33Listen to that drag.
10:34Is that not?
10:35Who would have known?
10:36Just like stopping at a grass flat.
10:38Oh, thank you.
10:39Hey, can you get that chunk off my foot?
10:43Why?
10:44Oh, no.
10:49I got to have it on the other side.
10:53I would have gotten it in half as fast.
10:55I mean, I don't know why you reel with the wrong hand, but you did.
10:59And I guess that was your excuse for that one coming off.
11:01And I'm real fast like that.
11:02I mean, with the right hand, it's called right for a reason.
11:05No.
11:11You know, king mackerel are definitely on our, like, regular menu through the, especially the warmer months.
11:16I just expected that you had probably caught him your whole life.
11:19You know?
11:20And when you said, you know, oh, this is my first king order.
11:22I'm like, I would have put a lot more, it would have put more pressure on me.
11:25Let's make sure we get that fish in the boat.
11:27Oh, there he is.
11:28He's on.
11:29He's on.
11:30He's on.
11:31He's on.
11:32He's on.
11:33Oh, he came off.
11:34No, we got him.
11:35We got two.
11:36We got two.
11:37We got two.
11:38Woo!
11:39Dang, of course, I just dropped the jig back.
11:40Oh, I caught one on the jig.
11:44All right.
11:45All right.
11:46Now what?
11:47All right.
11:48All right.
11:49All right.
11:50All right.
11:51Now what?
11:52All right.
11:53I was trying to reel this jig in to get a, uh, this right right here.
11:59Oh, no, he's still on.
12:00Yeah, I got a Benita on here.
12:02Yeah, I bet you.
12:03Oh, we got something else hitting on this other one.
12:06Good.
12:07Oh, that, oh, oh, oh.
12:08Look at that.
12:09Do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do.
12:11Yeah.
12:13Yeah.
12:14Oh, that one came off, I think.
12:19All right.
12:20I got to come under you.
12:21Okay.
12:22Gotcha.
12:23Do a little dance.
12:26Doing a little dance.
12:28Pulling in.
12:29I don't know.
12:30It's got to be two Benitas.
12:32If it is, it has some, uh, weight to it.
12:35All right.
12:36Just in case you do have a can, I'm going to try to go ahead and get rid of my Benita.
12:38Okay.
12:39That's what it's all about.
12:41Get bites.
12:42Get bites.
12:43Get bites.
12:44What are we going to catch today?
12:45I don't know.
12:46Let's go fishing.
12:47I don't know, but I like that big grass back.
12:49Oh, it's a king.
12:50Is it?
12:51Yes, sir.
12:53Yes, it is.
12:56Sure is.
12:57All right.
12:58Now, don't let him get you under the motor.
12:59I won't.
13:00He's going to circle and you got to dip down.
13:02That's it.
13:03Let him dip down under.
13:04I will.
13:05Never put more pressure right here at the boat.
13:06If anything, I sometimes will ease up just a hair on the drag.
13:08No, I wouldn't do that right now, but.
13:09Yeah.
13:10Yeah.
13:11Sometimes it's good too.
13:13All right.
13:14Nice.
13:15Just wait for him to come alongside.
13:16Woo-hoo!
13:17That is, ladies and gentlemen, my first king mackerel.
13:20Nice work.
13:21That is freaking awesome.
13:22Well, that sounds beautiful.
13:23Thank you very much.
13:24Woo-hoo!
13:25You guys, that's so fun.
13:27I mean, trolling by these grass mats, you never know what you're going to find.
13:31And look at us.
13:32Number two for the boat and my first ever king mackerel.
13:37Oh, my gosh.
13:38What's that nastiness?
13:39It's his guts.
13:40Here, hold on.
13:41Look at this.
13:42Beautiful.
13:43That is so cool.
13:44We are having smoked fish dip tomorrow.
13:49Yeah!
13:50All right.
13:51We'll let him go now.
13:52Okay, so that was my very first king mackerel.
13:59I mean, exciting.
14:00I lost one.
14:01Yeah.
14:02Not exciting.
14:03You know, that size right there is perfect.
14:05Those are big.
14:06You can get big fillets off of them.
14:07They're still great food quality.
14:09I'm happy with the two we have.
14:10All I know for sure is that right now, Justin's is slightly larger than mine.
14:15I need a bigger one.
14:16Yeah.
14:17In our wind and current today was your instinct.
14:22Your Minn Kota instinct was just able to hold us in one direction without swinging.
14:28It's incredible.
14:29Yeah.
14:30That is pretty fancy, fancy dancy trolling motor.
14:33Yeah.
14:34You know, first off, boat positioning is everything.
14:36I mean, it doesn't matter if you're pulling on the flats or whatever.
14:40Anything in fishing, boat positioning is everything.
14:43So we've had spot lock for a while now where we can sit still and fish over a reef without
14:48moving.
14:49But this weed line we're fishing is completely different.
14:52The weed line itself is moving.
14:54It's moving with the current.
14:56If we spot locked, the boat's going to stay still, but the weed line is going to leave
15:01us.
15:02So I was able to see what direction it's drifting, pick a point down beyond it, put my motor in
15:08drift mode, and then I can tell it where I want to go, how fast I want to get from point
15:13A to point B.
15:14And it's going to do all the figuring out of how it needs to turn, what speed it needs
15:18to run at to keep us on that line where we can just move right along with that weed line.
15:23Yeah.
15:24I'm not that smart.
15:25I'm glad that thing can figure it out because I'm like, all right, I know the fish are there.
15:28I want my boat to stay right there beside that moving object.
15:31I can figure out how fast we're going and it does the rest.
15:34Amazing.
15:35Chasing the Sun has been brought to you by Minn Kota, Florida Water Sports.
15:46Get all you need for the water at FWS.Fish.
15:50Humminbirds, simply, clearly, better.
15:55And by Pirate's Cold Marina.
16:00You enjoy the gulf, we'll take care of the rest.
16:03One thing I love about looking at all the stuff on my chart is like now that we've conquered
16:15the king mackerel on this weed line, I also noticed we're like less than half a mile from
16:20one of my favorite reefs.
16:21What's on the reef?
16:22Everything.
16:23Yes!
16:24As fun as the king mackerel are, you know what?
16:32May stands for, right?
16:33What is it?
16:34Mangrove snapper May.
16:35Sounds delicious to me.
16:36It is.
16:37I target mangrove snappers in May more than any other time of the year.
16:39And one of my favorite ways to catch them, chunking.
16:40Just chunking is one of my favorite methods for a few reasons.
16:53First off, it's really effective.
16:55I got something.
16:56Oh, good.
16:57Nice.
16:58Who is it?
16:59It's mangrove May.
17:00Woo!
17:01Good job!
17:02They're there.
17:03Did you get him on the bottom?
17:04No.
17:05I was not down very far at all.
17:06Let me secure him from here to here.
17:08Still have your minnow?
17:09Yeah, I still have my minnow.
17:10Well, why didn't yours get bit?
17:11I don't know.
17:12Hmm.
17:13Come on!
17:14Come on!
17:15Come on!
17:16Come on!
17:17That is a giant mangrove!
17:18Look at that thing!
17:19Woo-hoo!
17:20Holy cow!
17:21Don't lift him out of the water!
17:22Here, slide forward.
17:23Take a couple steps to your left.
17:24Don't lift him!
17:25Don't lift him!
17:26Don't lift him!
17:27Don't lift him!
17:27I'm not.
17:28What a mangrove.
17:29Woo-hoo!
17:30Here, slide him forward.
17:31Take a couple steps to your left.
17:32Don't lift him!
17:33Don't lift him!
17:34Don't lift him!
17:35I'm not.
17:36Golly, what a mangrove!
17:37Woo-hoo!
17:38Come on!
17:39Now take a couple steps to your left.
17:40Alright, all right.
17:41It's about a cut!
17:42I'm so good.
17:43I'm pretty legit.
17:44There's about two of theè…• today.
17:45Are you in the middle of the terrible that is?
17:46I'm not.
17:49Golly, what a mangrove.
17:50Hey, that's what I'm talking about.
17:53That is a great one.
17:56Oh, man.
17:58Look at that beauty.
18:00All right, we're going to make a bold claim here,
18:02but I think Panama City Beach is now the mangrove snapper capital of the world.
18:09Wow.
18:10That is a beautiful fish.
18:11That is amazing.
18:12Look at those teeth, too.
18:13Hey, but you did perfect.
18:14You reeled it, and that hook just sits right in the corner on that jaw,
18:18and even though you're pulling as hard as you can like that, they stayed hooked.
18:21You see people fishing regularly, 80-pound test, 100-pound leader, big reels,
18:28because they're always worried that they're going to hook the big one,
18:31but most of the time with that tackle, they don't hook the big one,
18:35because the big one ain't going to hook.
18:37He got big by being smart.
18:40You're walking this timeline of fishing really light tackle,
18:44and by lightening up your tackle, you get a bite.
18:48All right, now, I'll start planning out what I'm going to do with that fish.
18:50If it's a mangrove...
18:51It's a mangrove.
18:52Oh, my goodness.
18:53You've got to be kidding me.
18:55Another good one.
18:56Oh, my gosh.
18:57Here's the easy one over here.
19:00That's getting all real anymore.
19:01Let's take a look.
19:02Let's take a look here so you can see this here.
19:04Well, somebody out there can get us a bigger net.
19:12Woo!
19:14Oh, my God.
19:15That might even be bigger than the last one.
19:18You.
19:19You make me look bad.
19:21Actually, you make me look good.
19:22Oh, my gosh.
19:22I think that one's bigger than the last one.
19:27Look at that.
19:29That is amazing.
19:31Amazing.
19:32It is!
19:33Look at that.
19:34Woo!
19:35If you'd have told me that you were going to beat that mangrove today right there,
19:38I'd have called you crazy.
19:42Oh, Lee, I got one on this rod.
19:44Come on.
19:45I say this all the time, but I couldn't be more thankful for what we have.
19:49It's a beautiful day.
19:51We've got a great boat that we get to go fishing on.
19:54Great company.
19:55And plenty of action.
19:58Now, that's a pair of mangrove snappers right there.
20:01You know, I'm trying to put it out farther than mine.
20:03All right.
20:03She wins.
20:05That is typically going to be about as big as you'll see in other places.
20:10But in Panama City Beach, they just grow bigger here.
20:13Not a lot.
20:13That is a beaut.
20:16Who can cook for everybody?
20:18Yeah!
20:19You know, as a fly fisherman, most of what I do is catch and release.
20:22So to be able to bring some home for the cooking.
20:26That's good in variety.
20:27We only take as much as we're going to be able to eat and our friends and family are going
20:31to be able to eat that night.
20:32Keeping those fish and enjoying them, that's part of what finishes the entire part of the
20:38culture.
20:38It brings it full circle.
20:40And to be able to do it with friends and family, to me, that means everything.
20:43And to be able to do it with friends and family, to be able to eat that night.
20:56Okay.
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