Big fish Thursday on the docks

Thursday turned out to be a big fish day on the docks. Not only were there a lot of fish brought to the docks, but some of them were huge.

Bringing in one of those huge fish was Chris Elma of Ohio who was fishing aboard the Sunrise with Capt. Kelly Windes. Elma, with help from his son Alex, hauled in an 83.8-pound amberjack.

“That one was a real pole bender,” Windes said as the group of guys looked at the massive amberjack on the racks.

“I’m just glad I skipped the gym this morning,” said Elma, who was worn out from the tug-of-war with the ‘jack.

“It pulled out more line than I could keep up with,” Elma said. “I was spent by the time we got it in. It left me hungry.”

Going from side to side across the back of the boat, it took Elma about 20 minutes to reel in the amberjack.

His amberjack was just one of nine that the group from Ohio pulled in.

“They wont need many hushpuppies,” said Capt. Windes to fill out the plate.

Michigan anglers on the First Light with Capt. Steve Haeusler filled the racks and then some with mingo and white snapper. “All nine anglers fished every drop,” Haeusler said of his group.

For a look at what hit the docks Thursday, click here.

Michigan and Alabama anglers on the Outta Line with Capt. Trey Windes came in from a six-hour trip with mingo, white  snapper, amberine and a snowy grouper. A snowy looks like a grouper, but with white spots.

Kentucky anglers on the Full Draw with Capt. Justin Destin pulled in a good mix of fish. They had four king mackerel along with mingo and white snapper.

“It was awesome,” one of the anglers said. “We went bottom fishing then went trolling. We got all four of those kings in about 20 to 25 minutes. We also had a 6- to 7-foot shark. It was tough.”

Capt. Chris Schoffield on the No Alibi came in with a good mix of fish. The Georgia and Tennessee anglers had lane snapper, mingo, white snapper, scamp and Spanish mackerel on the racks. Captain said they trolled first, then went bottom fishing.

The Stress Relief with Capt. Scott Robinson at the helm came in with a rack full of king mackerel and Spanish.

For a look at what  hit the docks Wednesday, click here.

Indiana anglers on the Special K with Capt. Kyle Lowe reeled in a couple of king mackerel, amberjack and two mahi mahi.

Georgia anglers on the 100 Proof with Capt. Ben O’Connor will have a tale to tell when they get home. Bailey Takash, 15, pulled in a 150-plus pound blacktip shark.

“I’m probably going to have bruises,” she said, from where she was bracing the rod while fighting the shark.

“It kept swimming down and I was reeling. It was all I could do to get it up by the boat,” Takash said.

“It was cool. I’ve never caught a shark that big.” Prior to Thursday the largest she had caught was a 3-to 4-footer.

Takash’s shark was one of four they hooked, the other three were sandbar shark which they released.

The Fish-N-Fool with Capt. Casey Weldon at the helm came in with red grouper, mingo, scamp and amberjack.

Capt. Chris Couvillion took his dad, Joey, out on his first trip aboard Sea Winder Thursday. Joey hooked a 40-pound cobia on a live eel.

Georgia anglers on the Backdown 2 with Capt. Gary Jarvis came in with four amberjack and a small shark.

Anglers on the Vengeance with Capt. Brad Biggers pulled in red grouper, mingo and white snapper.

Atlanta anglers on the Phoenix with Capt. Scott Robson filled the racks with king mackerel, Spanish mackerel, a blackfin tuna and a cobia.

Fishing is good, and it appears to be getting bigger and better everyday.

See you at the docks.