Big "E"

I had never spent the night offshore fishing until last week. There is something eerie about watching the sunset over the Gulf of Mexico and knowing you are 80 miles from main land. The seas were rough, with swells of 8 to 10 feet and I felt something was not normal. It wasn’t.

With 40 people onboard, we were all inside the cabin (staying dry) as the Captain maintained his course towards an area that held huge numbers of Black fin tuna. The spray from the waves beat the glass that surrounded us. On most offshore party boats this situation would have called for somber quiet time for everyone as they fought off seasickness. But this group was spread out aboard the huge vessel, enjoying the surprisingly smooth ride. Many of the fishermen passed the time by watching movies on one of the three plasma screen satellite televisions. Others were down stairs sleeping in one of the bedrooms, resting up for what would hopefully be an exhausting night.

The huge boat called “The Big E” is like no other on the Texas coast. It is the largest boat of its kind and is owned and operated by Captain Elliott’s fishing charters located in Freeport, Texas. The huge vessel measures 130 feet long, sleeps 40 people comfortably, has bathrooms, showers, a luxurious entertainment area with reclining chairs and as knowledgeable and attentive crew as I have ever fished with. The best way to describe this boat is that it is bigger and better in every way than the best offshore party boat you have ever seen. When “The Big E” it is not taking charters offshore it can be seen docked outside of Elliott’s business that has been serving adventure-seeking anglers for years.

The captain slowed the Big E down about a half hour before sunset and began looking for the exact spot to drop an anchor. Once he had located the hard spot on the bottom, he dropped anchor in 140 feet of water and issued instructions to start fishing. The deck hands on board had already prepared the rods and reels and placed bait out for each adventurer aboard. In minutes, red snapper were being hauled over the side of the boat. With a limit of four snapper per day per person, it didn’t take long to fill the box.

Our Captain then issued the order to reel’em up and said “next stop we’ll be fishing for tuna. It’ll take about 3 hours to get there”. I was beat and decided to quietly find my bunk and get some rest during the long ride. I awakened just as the engines were slowing down and looked at my watch. It was nearly midnight. I knew we must be to the tuna spot and I rushed to get a position on deck. The only thing that slowed me down was the lure of a cup of coffee. I felt refreshed and ready for a good fight.

“How deep of water we in now?” I asked the Captain. The answer shocked me as I learned we were now in 3,500 feet of water and about 100 miles east of Baffin Bay, which is located south of Corpus Christi. I had never been in water so deep much less even considered fishing in water like this. I’ve been fishing much more than most readers and didn’t even know what to do at this point. How do you catch fish in this deep of water kept crossing my mind. It wouldn’t take long to find out.

We dropped heavy jigging spoons down about 150-175 feet to the suspended fish and started getting takers right away. They were Black fin tuna about 8-12 pounds in size and everyone was catching them. I must admit, it is possible to get tired of catching fish as I decided to watch others and take some photos.

About 4:45 am the deck was void of most fishermen as they had gone to bed. Only a few of us remained on deck. I heard someone yell out “There’s a big yellow fin next to the boat” and I scrambled for a rod and tossed bait to the fish. The big tuna circled and took the bait and I excitedly set the hook. The fish took off like a rocket and stripped hundreds of 30-pound test from the reel spool. I simply held on and when I could, I’d take some of the line back. It was a fierce battle as it neared the one-hour mark. The yellow fin came along side the boat so we could at least get a good look at it. But it was not ready to give up. Another huge run of line from my reel left me wondering if I really wanted this fish that badly.

Another grueling forty-five minutes had passed and I was near exhaustion. The sky was getting brighter and the sun would rise soon. It felt like I had fought the fish all night long. The fish came alongside the Big E and I was thankful the deckhand was standing by with the gaff hook. The fish weighed an estimated 80 pounds. It normally wouldn’t have put up such a fight. But the equipment I was using was not heavy enough to horse the fish. I didn’t have any trouble sleeping as the Big E made its way back to Freeport. I knew I’d never forget that fight.

The Big E is the largest offshore boat of its kind in the entire Gulf of Mexico. It enables the everyday angler an opportunity for deep-water offshore fishing at a very reasonable cost. Many of the trips aboard this boat are used for corporate entertainment. But, the Big E is available to small groups as well. For more information on the Big E, log on to www.captelliotts.com or call (979) 233-1811.