jjam

Hey blue water anglers, I appreciate your professional opinions/advice and I call on those very well respected knowlege folks to chime in.

I've read some great post from the floating condos with envy,but looking to hear from some of the smallerprior/present vessel owners obtaining the same results. Am I dreaming (and I do dream when it comes to fishing) if I can get on some of this action via 22 WA Wellcraft with dependable 200 Optimax. Fuel cap 99 gal getting a solid 2+ mpg and has proven her sea worthiness over the five years I owned her.I've travel to the edge up to 45 mi and participated in Bud Light King tourney a couple years ago. In the tourney, I top off the tank in Ft Morgan and returned to P-cola Bay thru Gulf with just less than a half of tank remaining (approx 45 gal) out of 99 gal.

I appreciate any response,positive or negative from all you Blue Water anglers.

Thanks Much!

Jimmy

biggamefishr

your post is kind of confusing but what i gather from it is that you're asking if you have the range to fish some bluewater (or where the bluewater usually is). lets say you get 200miles from a tank of fuel (2mpgx99g) the general consensus is 1/3 out there, 1/3 back and 1/3 reserve. that gives you about 66 miles that you can run from the dock. this is usually more than far enough to target billfish, wahoo, dolphin.

in a smaller boat, with a limited range its pretty important to know where clean water is before you leave the dock instead of hunting for it when you get out there. most people usually just ask on the forum where it is, others subscribe to online services that tell them where it is. watch the weather closely and go for it.

good luck

edit...now I see that you're looking to fish the floaters, not real familiar with them but hopefully someone will chime in that is

David Ridenour

Check out this site Josh sent me a while back.

http://www.venture23.com/

Your boat can handle a lot more than you can. Fuel is really your biggest limitation. My boat has always thought it was a battle wagon and i've fished it accordingly when I had the chance. I've never caught a blue but I've been in their waters off several shores and caught dolphin and tuna from my little 18 footer. If you don't mind trailering, you can fish out of Venice,La in the water you seek. Take a chart and a compass and draw an arc from the pass you intend to use out to your conservative fuel range. Keep trolling and bad weather in mind. The third rule as Josh mentioned is what I go by.

jjam

First, thanks for the reply and I apologise for the confusion.

It's my gain though, bumbling the intro to the thread you haveprovided valuable knowlege which will benefitmy off shore adventures. Thank you!

My hope is to catch tuna on deep water rigs with smaller vessel and you have already identified range and obtainable hunting grounds other than rigs.I trailer so, I can splash atideal launch to maximize range.

Thank you again!

Jimmy

401 Cay

Dont forget that the 1/3 rule doesnt account for fuel burned while trolling etc.. For tuna I would say dont do it.. Is it possible..? with extra fuel onboard Yes, is it smart? No. Most 22/23 footers I have fished have between 125 and 140 gallon tanks.. so first I would say you are fuel limited off the bat. Second, you have to account for fuel burn in the worst conditions should (and when) the seas kick up.. which can be over half less efficient than your "2 MPG".. Should you plan on trolling, typical trolling speeds in a V-Hull operate the vessel at VERY inefficient parameters due to plowing off plane. Fuel consumption is usually high. If you really want to do it though, I would take at LEAST 60 extra gallons of fuel (aprrox 400lbs) Dont forget the amount of ice you will need.. and then I would go with a buddy boat.. preferably one with twin engines! Good luck should you attempt it!

HeartofDixie

Me and a couple buddies went all the time for a summer in a single engine 21' Cape Horn. We regularly went to the Spur &Dumping Grounds (approx 60-70 mi out) and trolled. And, when the bluewater was close, the Nipple & Elbow region was well within our reach. Caught a ton of Mahi and Wahoo that summer....Along with several white marlin and 1 blue marlin. We had a blast that summer!

Now a 21' boat is not the ideal boat to run that far out, but if you prepare correctly and be careful/safe it can and has been done. Oh and, 8 times out of 10 we had a larger 'buddy boat' that went with us and was at least in radio reach (maybe not in sight though).

We never ventured out to the rigs in that 21 footer though...Thats really pushing it. With extra fuel on board, a calm day, and no storms forecasted, then it could be done. But, as said earlier, all that added weight is going to knock-down your fuel economy. The rigs are GREAT fishing, but if you have a small boat you don't have to go to the rigs to catch big game fish.

jjam

Thanks all for your replies,

I was hoping to catch some Tuna out of smaller boat. You guys proved me right as tomy original post the invaluable advice I would get here. I enjoy getting out in the Gulf especially on calm days and have great respect for Mother Nature.

Joe Patty's here I come for mytuna tonight! Leave the floaters to the big boys.

Thanks again for your advice!

Jimmy

401 Cay

Now that said, you can EASILY anchor and chum on the edge for Blackfin tuna.. sept/oct are GREAT months for that! Good fight and great eating.. as good as yellowfin some will say.

jjam

Thanks for that alternative 401 Cay,

You'vegot meso I can't wait another 30 days to give that a try....I've fish for several species out there but didn't know about chunking for black fins.

Sept / Oct, O-boy I need to start my research on the chunking thing and burying hook into chunk rigs and so forth..Maybe I should take the Hoo up on his offer on the riggin/tying lesson...Thanks Hoo,see ya soon!

Thanks again for the awesome feed back!

Jimmy

MissKristy

You will be fine i have a 21 footer with 101 gal tank i have taken it to the petronius. I am actualy going back out there the 3 or 4 week in sep. You may wont to take some extra fuel just in case.