"Lump" Wrap up
Mar 07, 2007

It will be happening any day now; we will be taking the Lump anchors off of the boat and will be putting the outriggers back on. We have had a few boats go exploring already, and the prognosis for the spring and summer looks very good. In fact, on the Last day in February, Darryl went to one of our spring hotspots and Caught Yellowfin as fast as he could get the baits out. The Wahoo look like they will be here for the April Wahoo Run; Devlin fished several of the spring areas this week and Caught Several Nice Wahoo.

The Lump Season this year had its ups and downs. The weather was uncooperative on many days but the fish were there most days. All in all, the Lump was much more productive than last year. Our biggest Tuna to come off of the Lump was on Capt. Rimmer's Boat and weighed in at 222 on Mardi Gras day. Capt Billy Caught our biggest Mako at just shy of 400 pounds. Michael Kurras (9) missed the small fry world record for Blackfin by just a few ounces while fishing with Capt. Devlin. Darryl, Kevin, Andy and Mike all caught several Tuna over 180 pounds as well.

As we move forward in the year, we will be looking forward to some exciting fishing. March through Early April will be spent fishing for tuna on the rigs. The tuna range in size from 30 pounds to 150pounds, and you never know what size will bite next. In the Middle of April, the Wahoo come a calling again. Last year we caught more Wahoo in April than we did during the whole winter combined. Snapper Season will probably open in late April as well although we do not yet have a date from the Feds. We do however believe that the limit will be reduced on Snapper for the next few years to allow for a rebuilding of the population. We will keep everyone informed on this subject as soon as we hear anything. May begins our true summertime fishing. Along with the serious tuna action that Venice is Famous for, Dorado, Swordfish and Billfish will join the mix. With an El Nino year, we expect to see some solid numbers of billfish.

We are currently booking at a pretty good rate for March and we still have plenty of open dates in April. If you would like to fish in May or June, now would be a good time to start making your plans as these months tend to book up very early. This year, with the addition of Capt. Mike Ellis to the team, we plan to hit the Swordfish pretty hard. Capts. Devlin and Mike have accounted for more Swordfish in the Venice area than all other captains in the area combined. One night last summer, while Mike and Devlin were fishing together on a guides night out, they caught an amazing 7 swords in less than 3 hours. WE suggest that you let these guys take you out for a night that you will not soon forget.

Capt. Rimmer and Capt. Andy plan to spend some time fishing for Big Marlin this summer. Rimmer tagged and released a Blue Marlin last summer that was believed by many to have been the new Gulf Record. The fish's measurements put him way over 1000 pounds. Rimmer, like most of our captains, loves to fish for Marlin and has set a pretty high goal for himself this summer. Capt. Andy has also had some close encounters of the fishy kind with these big brutes from the deep. Andy contends that his favorite part of fishing in leadering big blues.

Capts. Billy and Kevin will be doing what they do best this summer. They plan to find the best tuna action available each day and hit them hard. They also know that where you find Tuna, you will find big Dorado. These guys are not interested in the Chicken dolphin that others get excited about; they are looking for the big boys and Girls. They both have a knack for feeding live baits to big fish and summertime in Venice is there favorite time to do it.

Capt. Darryl has a couple of new toys up his sleeve for this year. Darryl is known in Venice for producing Trophy Bottom fish and this year, he has added two electric deep drop rigs to his quiver. They have already produced several huge Misty and Snowy grouper as well as the largest tilefish that we have ever seen. If you have never tried this, you will certainly want to give it a shot.

Venice is still on a slow recovery pace, but we have had some interesting new developments. Venice Marina now has a restaurant open Tuesday-Sunday. There hours are flexible but as the spring wears on, I am sure that they will become more rigid. Currently, they are open until 8:00 pm. I am also sure that during the summer, they will be open later as well as every day of the week. The BBq house will also be lengthening there hours as well. Cypress Cove still has plans to open there restaurant and store but the progress has been a little slow.

Reel Peace Charters is looking forward to making dreams come true this year and would like to help you plan your next offshore adventure. Come fish with us on one of our Offshore Catamarans and you will have the adventure of your lifetime. Do not wait too long to book your trip, or we might not have that date that you are looking for.

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