We were trolling off of Pacific Reef out of Homestead, Florida, halfway between the southbound and northbound shipping lanes. The Gulfstream runs about five to six knots in a northerly direction, and southbound ships try to stay on the westerly edge so they are not impeded by the current. Northbound ships take advantage of the current and try to run dead in the middle of the stream.
It was mid-morning when I saw the floating plastic. I had not seen one in quite a while. It was a square bundle of black plastic floating half way down in the water. Square grouper! In the '70s and '80s we used to see them all the time. Some anglers were foolish enough to try and bring one on board and take it back to the dock. This, my friends was a bale of marijuana! They were so common many years ago, that anglers jokingly said they were going fishing for square grouper. I even have a silly looking tee-shirt depicting one of these strange fish.
Today, and even back then, we were smart enough to leave the bale alone. A quick call on the VHF to the Coast Guard with some GPS numbers would bring one of their boats to pick it up, but not before we were through with it!
As I passed a short distance from the bale, I saw what I was looking for - two big dolphin just hanging out underneath. Dolphin will sit under any kind of flotsam to get out of the sun. The blue water is so clear and the sun penetrates so deep, that finding shade is tough. Weed lines, old boards, - heck, I even found one sitting under an old toilet seat one trip - anything that floats and takes away the sun will attract them.
I made the first pass rather wide, and the fish did not react to the bait. On the second pass, I sped the boat to run what we call 'hot baits', and managed to bring the two ballyhoo skipping on the flat lines within about ten feet of the bale.
Both fish erupted from under the bale and came out of the water. If I had been ready with my camera, I would have had a pair of fish completely out of the water, each with a ballyhoo in its mouth. What a beautiful sight!
We caught both fish. The big male was around forty pounds, and the female weighed in at about thirty. We went on to catch quite a few more dolphin, mostly along weeds lines. One school of grasshoppers (the little guys) stayed with the boat for over an hour while we broke out the light tackle.
Oh yes, I forgot about that bale. As soon as we caught those two big fish, I took a GPS reading and called the Coast Guard. They took the information and I left the area! I never did see them come out from Miami to look. I guess one bale in a sea of so many more was not worth their effort!
Comments? My Email.
