Going after the Mob...

...one fish at a time!

The winds and our schedule have finally settled and we were able to get over to Stuart for more than 24 hours.

The boat was prepped, the rods readied and we were ready to fish early Friday morning.

Fishing this year has been non-existent so we were really looking forward to getting out!  Our sights were set high and we were looking for the "Fish Mob" (and their wives): Sammy the Sail, Phil the 'Phin, Karl the King, Marty the Marlin, and Tommy the Tuna. :0)

We didn't want to waste any time and instead of 'hunting' for bait, we decided to pick up a dozen on the way toward the inlet.  While getting the bait, a hitchhiker hopped on board.

This brave fellow hung on for quite a while, even as we were getting up to speed to get around another boat.  But we slowed down so he could have a safe takeoff.

 We got out to about 130' and got things set up.  Shortly thereafter, we saw some activity around one of the balloons/bait.  Sure enough, a dolphin was after our bait!  Sadly though, it spit the hook and took off.

We spent some more time drifting with live bait and the only other bite we got was a yucky ramora.    We decided 'Free Lunch Friday' was over!  We pulled in our lines and regrouped.  It was time to troll for a little while.

While trolling, we ran across some scattered weeds, but then we hit the mother-lode!

 No, this isn't an oilslick.  It's huge patches of weeds - the Holy Grail of offshore fishing!  (Little fish hang out under the protection of the weeds.  Bigger fish come to eat the little fish.  So it makes for better chances of catching fish.)

Sure enough, we caught one of the 'mob wives'!

Marla the Mahi in the box

We drifted the weedy area several times, but no further luck.  Since we still had some live baits left, we decided to head a little closer to shore and search for cobia.  The winds picked up and it was pretty choppy.  After a few drifts, we thought it would be good to call it a day and leave some fish for the next trip.

So, while one of the mob wives is off 'The Most Wanted' list, we're adding 'Bruce the Bull'.  :o)