LA Family Full Day, 32 Schoolies and Angel Put on a Clinic

Matt Entrekin booked a full day and brought his son Thomas and his dad Bill down from Los Angeles for it. Three generations on the DirtyBoat. Grandpa, dad, and son, all with one goal. Get into some mahi.

The setup

Tuesday morning had a southeast breeze near 15 knots, easing to east southeast around 10 in the afternoon. Hawk Channel two to three feet. Straits two to four on a five second period. Not glass, but workable.

Water was hot and uniform, right around 87 to 88 across the whole surface with no thermal break to run to. The Gulf Stream was sitting offshore and behaving, with the working chlorophyll color line about three to five miles off the reef from Alligator north to Molasses. Moon was a 45 percent waxing crescent. Small tides, small drift.

That kind of setup means you fish the birds. You do not fish the map.

First set, first fish

Ran out and found our first set of working birds in 450 feet of water, about 8 miles from the house. That is a short run for offshore and a good sign when the birds are working that close.

Pulled up, pitched baits, and got into fish right away. Not a wide open blitz, but enough action to know the mahi were around and eating.

Second set, nothing

Kept looking and found a second pile of birds not long after. Ran up, worked it hard, and never got a bite. That happens. Sometimes the birds are on something the fish are not interested in. Sometimes the pile has already been picked over. You do not know until you fish it, and you do not sit on a dead pile hoping.

Picked up and kept hunting.

Third set, the school

Third pile was the one. Ran up on a set of birds and there were mahi stacked underneath. School of a hundred plus fish, all in the same size class, all fired up and eating.

That is when my first mate Angel put on a clinic in the pit. Rigging baits, clearing lines, gaffing fish, keeping the customers hooked up, and doing it all without missing a beat. When you get on a school like that, the difference between five fish and thirty fish is how fast the mate resets the deck between hookups. Angel was on it.

Bill, Matt, and Thomas put in the work. Rods bent, drag screaming, everybody quiet and focused. When it is that kind of bite you do not need to talk. You just fish.

32 in the box

Ended up with 32 nice schoolies on the deck. Not the giants, but the eating size, and plenty of them. Perfect fish for the table.

Pointed it back toward the dock with a heavy fish box and a fired up crew. Matt and the family had the whole catch packed and shipped home to Los Angeles. If you are going to fly across the country for a fishing trip, you might as well eat well for the next month back home.

Plenty of mahi to go around out there right now. If you are looking to get into some, this is the week.

Always a good time aboard DirtyBoat.

Want to chase mahi offshore? Book your trip today →