Naples Crew Grinds Out 14 Keeper Mahi

Jack brought his son Jack and his friend Darren from Naples today for one mission: hunt mahi offshore and put meat in the box.

We ran DirtyBoat out to 2,000 feet and found the kind of weed patches you want to see in August. Giant mats. Good-looking water. Plenty of reason to stay interested.

Only problem was the fish did not wake up for anybody until noon.

That is offshore mahi fishing. Sometimes the ocean looks perfect and still makes you pay your dues.

Weed Everywhere, Fish Nowhere

We stayed with it and kept working our way down inside the EEZ along the patches.

There was enough weed around to make you think the next stop had to be the one. Patch after patch, we kept checking, looking for life, and waiting for the ocean to give us a real sign.

For the first half of the day, it was mostly pretty water and stubborn fish.

So we kept grinding.

Birds Finally Showed Up

Around noon, the birds started to show.

That changed the whole mood. Once the birds got honest and started working on fish, the mahi finally woke up too.

We got on them, stayed with the patches, and started putting keepers over the rail. What had been a slow hunt turned into a real DirtyBoat afternoon.

Turtle In 850 Feet

Later in the day we found a turtle in 850 feet.

That is usually worth a look, and it paid off for one more mahi before the turtle decided he had seen enough of us and bugged out.

We ended the day with 14 keeper mahi.

Not every trip starts hot. Some days you earn it mile by mile, weed patch by weed patch, bird by bird.

Jack, Jack, and Darren stuck with the hunt, and the fish box looked a whole lot better by the time we got home.

Always a good time on DirtyBoat.

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