Bimini Trip June 27th - July 2nd 2021

[Betik]

@Betik planning another gulf icw trip to Golden nugget in July for a stoney larue concert if your interested. The weak moments should have room. As long as you make sure poseidon doesn't ruin my trip again. Last year he sent hurricane Laura to decimate lake charles a week before my departure.

This summer we are planing for a trip overseas, but if it is not much trouble please do tag me when you organizing it. In the meantime I will make offerings to Poseidon as to appease this wrath.

 

[Amar Nanduri]

I blame Glen's incident on @Bruce for holding a group leader meeting over the phone. But at least it gave major smack down an opportunity to be a hero.

@Amar Nanduri I costed me that same. The one difference between you and me is that you got a shattered windshield, I got a cracked anchor locker.

It cost me a lot more @Betik for the next trip as family wanted to do the crossing and I had to upgrade my boat.

 

[Betik]

It cost me a lot more @Betik for the next trip as family wanted to do the crossing and I had to upgrade my boat.

the Chap right !!!!

 

[Amar Nanduri]

the Chap right !!!!

Yeah @Betik . No regrets at all. Sold it though and back to jet boat.

 

[Bizywk]

My new Garmin 94SV Chartplotter arrived and I have plotted out the coordinates for all the key Bimini landmarks and places we know we want to see. I know fishermen never give up their honeyholes, but local fish are part of our trip menu planning. Any sugestions on a reference I can go to for a few good places to catch snapper or grouper? Limited experience with saltwater fishing so I want to hedge our chances.

 

[Sbrown]

My new Garmin 94SV Chartplotter arrived and I have plotted out the coordinates for all the key Bimini landmarks and places we know we want to see. I know fishermen never give up their honeyholes, but local fish are part of our trip menu planning. Any sugestions on a reference I can go to for a few good places to catch snapper or grouper? Limited experience with saltwater fishing so I want to hedge our chances.

@Julian would be the guy for this, I believe

 

[Julian]

@Julian would be the guy for this, I believe

Actually I wish we had some good coordinates! We've been deep drop fishing for grouper and snapper along the drop off at 800-1000 feet deep. This is at the limit of the Garmin 94. You also need deep drop tackle to attempt this (power rods and 8-12lb weights). We troll slowly along the drop at 700' looking for fish, then drop on them and do our best to hold position.....but even with 8lb weights the current still pulls them deeper. @Bruce probably has more fish locations than me (that are at normal depths)

 

[Bruce]

@Bizywk, the best fishing experience that I have had was at Tuna Alley which is west of Cat Cay. We tied to a mooring ball that another boat had just left and put out a bag of dry chum. We caught several meals of larger snapper and trigger in less than 30 minutes.

If you want to catch grouper I recommend hiring Bimini Brown to take you out.

 

[Julian]

This is a photo of one catch while deep drop fishing with @veedubtek

 

[James R Whitten]

This is a photo of one catch while deep drop fishing with @veedubtek
View attachment 138878

I'm not much of a fisherman but my buddy wants to fish out there. What are those you caught there?

 

[Bruce]

I'm not much of a fisherman but my buddy wants to fish out there. What are those you caught there?

Those are red snapper.

Julian was fishing deep with expensive gear. Also bringing in a nice catch.

I was fishing in 50' of water with cheap gear. My son and I will throw out a line in 20' to catch and release smaller snapper.

I use squid or shrimp for bait. Shrimp are less odoriferous so easier for a short fishing session.

 

[James R Whitten]

Those are red snapper.

Julian was fishing deep with expensive gear. Also bringing in a nice catch.

I was fishing in 50' of water with cheap gear. My son and I will throw out a line in 20' to catch and release smaller snapper.

I use squid or shrimp for bait. Shrimp are less odoriferous so easier for a short fishing session.

Thats cool. I imagine we'll do some fishing. Nothing extensive unless we charter a fishing trip. My boats not the greatest for fishing. My Scarab worked good because of the swim platform. The platform on the baja is barely big enough to get in out of the water.

 

[Bizywk]

Actually I wish we had some good coordinates! We've been deep drop fishing for grouper and snapper along the drop off at 800-1000 feet deep. This is at the limit of the Garmin 94. You also need deep drop tackle to attempt this (power rods and 8-12lb weights). We troll slowly along the drop at 700' looking for fish, then drop on them and do our best to hold position.....but even with 8lb weights the current still pulls them deeper. @Bruce probably has more fish locations than me (that are at normal depths)

I've heard of guys using up to 5lb weights, but never anything higher. Wow. That Bimini current must be strong.

I am plowing through scores of reviews on rods and reels and I feel like I'm in a drunken late night poker party with everyone hotly contesting the old "Ford/Chevy/Dodge is best" argument. Ugh. No two opinions line up!

I'm a MidWest lake guy who would only use this equipment once or twice a year so it doesn't make sense to buy pro level hardware, but I also believe in buying the right equipment for the job, with an eye to the future, and taking care of it so it lasts forever. Currently Looking at a power rod (clueless on whether I want a bent and/or straight butt) and a reasonable two speed trolling reel.

Any make/model recommendations for a mid level budget currently targeting snapper & grouper but may want bigger gamefish in later trips? I currently have my eye on a Penn Squall IGFA30, but worry that I might be overkilling it. Penn Squall Lever Drag 2-Speed Reels I have absolutely no idea what rod to pair with it. What do you think?

Based on the cost of a new saltwater set-up, we'll probably only have one deep rod/reel this trip, along with one light tackle (existing lake fishing) rod/reel for bait just in case.

Where do you get bait in Bimini - Catch it your self? The Big Game Club? Bonita?

 

[Bizywk]

Question: We'll have 6 crew on this trip, and currently plan to split into two groups going over - one by our family boat and the other by either ferry or air. For you guys that have traveled this way in the past, how have you handled Bimini customs? Can I, as the small boat captain, meet them at the ferry/airport and process everyone at the same time so that we won't have fishing license problems?

 

[Betik]

Question: We'll have 6 crew on this trip, and currently plan to split into two groups going over - one by our family boat and the other by either ferry or air. For you guys that have traveled this way in the past, how have you handled Bimini customs? Can I, as the small boat captain, meet them at the ferry/airport and process everyone at the same time so that we won't have fishing license problems?

I do not know about the fishing as we do fish.

You fly in crew will have no problem checking in at customs.

If they riding back to Florida with you then consider this.
The main problem is that when they are in Florida and try to fly to Bimini. The airline might give them trouble for having a one way ticket. They will need to proof that they have a way to return to the US. Contacting the airline ahead of time to find out what they want in terms of documentation might save you a lot of headache. In our case they wanted a float plan for the vessel and written document saying that I will transport back the US.

That being said this was all for the airline, the immigration at the airport did not see to car anit that I checked in separately and they checking separately.

 

[Bizywk]

My fault - I failed to indicate that everyone would be returning the way they came.

We are splitting the crew because we've watched many crossing videos, and rarely see more than 3 crew on the boat for a crossing, but later see a full boat while there. Since it's our first trip, we figured we'd do the same and see how it goes. Besides, if we had a rough crossing, only two would have to endure it, and it might conserve a little fuel in case conditions pushed us way past expected consumption rates. Is this thinking crazy?


My intent when I started the thread was to be sure we respected the local laws and stayed out of trouble. I've read that the fishing license is issued for the folks who check in with the boat. I'm assuming that the individuals are licensed (by name as we do here in the US) in the incoming vessel customs document or do they license the boat for fishing ??

 

[Betik]

The vibe I got from Bimini is that they are very relaxed.
I don’t fish so you cannot take my word for it, but I do no see how it will be an issue if you get a fishing lience for say yourself and the family get in trouble for fishing while you are on the boat, I cannot picture you getting over you limit

 

[Bruce]

My intent when I started the thread was to be sure we respected the local laws and stayed out of trouble. I've read that the fishing license is issued for the folks who check in with the boat. I'm assuming that the individuals are licensed (by name as we do here in the US) in the incoming vessel customs document or do they license the boat for fishing ??

The fishing permit is issued for the vessel and whoever may be on it.

You can see an example at https://jetboaters.net/threads/preparing-for-bimini.3800/#post-72882

Florida and US Customs have regulations regarding bringing fish back. In general you do not want to bring it back unless it is in season in Florida since you can not prove where you caught it. I take circle hooks for fishing for snapper. That is a requirement in Florida but not in the Bahamas.

 

[Bruce]

We are splitting the crew because we've watched many crossing videos, and rarely see more than 3 crew on the boat for a crossing, but later see a full boat while there

That is a good plan for the 190. You will want to have extra fuel and plan to run at full throttle the whole way. I believe @ThatJeepGuy developed a method of sending a crew member to the bow to get the loaded boat on plane then letting the crew member return to cockpit.

How many people are you taking and how long are you staying? At some point the 190 might not be enough to ferry the food. I plan to eat fish for two or three meals out of a 10 to 12 day trip and local restaurants or pizza for a few dinners. We take gatorade powder and mix it with local tap water.

 

[Bizywk]

Awesome. I won't worry about the fishing license then. Thank you, and thanks for the good advice.

We will have six crew in total., 2 onboard during crossings.

This trip is only scheduled for 7 days including crossing days (27June to 2 July). I would really like to stay longer, but being our first trip and having little open water experience, I will stay with the group both ways. We've got an SX210, so I'm hoping we do a little better that the 190's. We're a long time Army family, so our plan is quite detailed and we had already prepared to be efficient with meal and beverage planning to keep the boat as light as possible - hence the on-site fishing for a couple meals.