I had my buddy who bailed on me last minute for an emergency, but I already had the boat packed so was on in the morning no matter what.
I wasn't sure what was going on locally over the week, but I knew it would be a little bumpy for the Curmudgeon... and it was billed as forecasted. Sharp/short period 3-4' waves @5 seconds made for a sporty trip out to the 9-Mile.
Water was super clean and bright blue, so I threw out the trollers. I put out a 4-rod spread with a big Mad Mack for wahoo, a big marlin troller, and two chrome jet heads in case.
I ran south but didn't see much. Plenty of Devil Rays and flying fish, but very little else in the way of the signs that I was looking for. I missed a few of the jumps, but also potentially saw a few marlin mixed in with the rays.
I switched to head north and try the 178 area instead.
It was a long, boring troll and I was thinking about maybe just heading to LJ and look for yellows when both of my Jet Head rods doubled over and started screaming!
I got both in and they were legit skippies! All lit up as hell and the fresh pictures just make them glow!
I cast out a small iron on my bass gear and a screamer again! I gaffed this one, but it showered my boat in blood, and I didn't like that outcome so I decided I would bounce more if I had the chance.
Next cast and I had the chance! Unfortunately, I bounced him on the casting platform, the hook pulled and he rolled out of bounds like basketball and back into the drink. Oh well.
I continued my troll and found a beautiful paddy that appeared to be full of bait. I pulled out the little iron on the bass gear and started jigging it by the paddy. Well, the same as last week... this paddy was full of little nerf sized yellowfin tuna and small ½ to 1-pound yellows.
I think I caught a dozen total, maybe more and released all of the baby yellows, but kept the footballs. I saw a few dodo but I couldn't get them to bite for some reason. I decided to troll circles around the paddy and see if there was anything bigger on it or around it. I made about 8 loops before deciding to start to troll home when my marlin rod started screaming!
Nice striper doing the greyhounding thing and my first marlin for the curmudgeon? I fought it for about 10 minutes, and I could not get him to budge from 30 yards from the boat. I got him close once, but he went... "NOPE" and then locked me down. I started to angle the boat in a way so I could gain some ground when he jumped again and threw the hook... UGHHHH!!!!
Well, I didn't need any more marlin meat anyway and I went from thinking I was going to release him to keeping him, so it was bound to get off since that was my original plan. LOL
I worked my way back through a desert and just called it as it was getting late and the only thing I found on any remaining paddies were the tine yellowtail, so all in all it was a great day. I would have loved to get my mitts on the marlin, but I still had a lot of fun fighting it on my skiff. (My skiff lacks a lot of room to maneuver around the console!)
That's it. I'll post pics later tonight or tomorrow.
The way in was a mess with the Thunder Boats racing in MB. Too many drunk idiots out there....
Exciting trip! Never a saw a paddy this weekend so hopefully some of those drift up this way.
: jrodda September 22, 2026, 11:30:26 pExciting trip! Never a saw a paddy this weekend so hopefully some of those drift up this way.
It was only a manhole sized paddy, but held a TON even 50 yards away! As for the one I found when the navy threw me out, well that was as big as your boat!