Inshore and offshore-Panama City, FL

[chumhead]

Been getting lazy about posting pictures and fishing reports, so I figured I'd better do something about it....

Went fishing Tuesday Oct 6th with Capt Jim and my friend Walter who visits from Mississippi every October. Didn't take many pics as we caught fish, but my little inshore grouper spot finally produced a keeper for Capt Jim, along with a redfish...
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e66/chumhead/100_5564-1.jpg
Total bag for the day was 11 nice trout 18-21 inches, 2 redfish, 1 grouper, 1 flounder-18" and one of the many fat Spanish we caught, we released at least 6 more in the 3-5+ lb range...
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e66/chumhead/100_5565.jpg

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e66/chumhead/100_5566.jpg

Capt Jim and I took Steve and his friend out a few days later, but fishing was very slow with the full moon the previous night. Many here have been amazed at us catching nice Red Snapper 5 miles out, well, even though this is just a little guy, you can see by the background that we were approx. 20 feet from shore and fishing in 4 feet of water when Gary caught this juvenile Red Snapper, a short while later Jim caught another one.....
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e66/chumhead/PICT0238.jpg
On Tuesday Oct 13th, Capt Jim, Walter and I opted to take advantage of light and variable winds and hit our 5 mile spot in 70 feet, we caught and released about 6 Amberjack just short of the minimum size limit, but did manage to keep about 13 Black and Lane Snapper, along with releasing some really nice "nearly extinct" Red Snapper *001*. I managed to find one grouper big enough to keep,
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e66/chumhead/100_5587.jpg
and we released another 30 or so short ones, including about a dozen or so Scamp.
We moved over a couple of hundred yards to the Bridge Spans where we had the encounter with the Whale Shark, and thought we found some more amberjack on the sonar....dropped down and hooked a grouper about 18 inches, but on the way up this guy decided he was hungry....
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e66/chumhead/100_5584.jpg
Got Teeth? Smile for the camera....
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e66/chumhead/100_5586.jpg
Ended up catching another twin to that 'cuda, but opted not to boat it for pics *surrender* after he skyrocketed about a foot off the boat and almost jumped in the boat with us.

Will try to do a better job of taking pictures next week. I have about 140 hours of vacation time I have to use or loose by the end of the year, so I should be getting a bunch of fishing in while Walter is in town.

chumhead

[MartyJ16]

Chum, you are amazin*thumbsup*

[Whatever]

Chum,

I have been wondering if you had gave up fishing for the season..But I see you are still up to your usual...Tha's one find looking bunch of fish...Hell of job...*thumbsup**thumbsup*

Are you aware we have MAD coming to Panama City?



August 2009 Edition
by HOTSPOT » Mon Aug 31, 2009 4:18 pm

The MAD Report - August 2009 Edition

Message from the Chairman

As summer starts to come to an end, there are so many things happening it is hard to stay focused. The kids are heading back to school, the NFL pre-season is underway, summer fishing is hot and college football is about to kick off. With all of this going on now, it is also important to know that MAD planning is still going full speed ahead!

Even though we just wrapped up our largest event to date, we are already well into planning our next events. But before I get into all of that, let me take a minute and thank everyone for making MAD 4 such an amazing success!

MAD 4 was faced with a rather daunting task of finding volunteers and soliciting donations in the toughest economic conditions we have faced since we started in 2006. As we prepared for a smaller than usual turnout, we were shocked when people lined up to help from all over this great country.

Donors from east coast to west sent in contributions that surpassed the number of goods donated in the past and our financial fund raising did not slow down either! By every measure available, MAD 4 broke record upon record including:

*The number of volunteers participating surpassed 200 people!
*Our family activities committee entertained 238 dependents!
*We put nearly 450 troops out on the water!
*Over 90 volunteer provided boats participated!

Amazing weather, great fishing, fantastic food and wonderful entertainment made MAD 4 the standard we will try to repeat going forward.

Now that MAD 4 is in the books, we have turned our attention towards our next event. MAD 4 Oak Island will take place on October 17, 2009 at South Harbour Marina in Oak Island, NC.

Once again we will pick up our troops at the Bill Smith Park and shuttle them down to the South Harbor Marina for a great day of fishing. Hopefully, the weather will be better than last year too! After fishing is over, all of our guests and volunteers will be treated to an incredible meal at the Moose Lodge in Oak Island.

While all of that has been going on, we are also putting the finishing touches on some changes to our organization. Dan Smith is a member of the original group that went to Wilmington in 2006 to change the policy of a few bars and restaurants that were barring Marines from entry. That action led to the formation of MAD.

Dan has been on our Board of Directors since the day we started and unfortunately, Dan has decided to step down. He is not leaving MAD but is taking a break from the year round duties that a member of our all volunteer Board of Directors is asked to facilitate. I hope everyone realizes the amount of work that Dan has put in since that day he started his trip to Wilmington.

Dan Smith is more than a founder of MAD, he is a friend to everyone that has ever met him and a tireless advocate for the men and women of the United States Military. It is a sad day for MAD that he is stepping down and I hope everyone takes a second to thank Dan for all he has done to get our group started and for all that he contributed to each of our past six events.

I am happy to share that Jim Fore has graciously agreed to join our Board of Directors in Dan’s place. Jim has also been with us since the beginning and has played a key role in our last five events. Jim brings a wealth of knowledge about MAD and a passion for supporting our Troops. Please join me in welcoming Jim to the Board of Directors!

As if all of that were not enough, we are also in the early stages of planning our first event outside of North Carolina. As we move into the latter parts of 2009, please keep an eye on our website for some exciting news about MAD 5 Panama City, Florida!

It certainly has been a busy year so far, with plenty of excitement still to come. Thank you for continuing to be part of the MAD family!

Sincerely,
Rich Anderson
Chairman, Board of Directors

Military Appreciation Day, Inc. is a 501 (c) (3) Non-Profit Company.

To view the History of the organization, its sponsors, donors, and volunteers, visit the MAD web site: http://www.MilitaryAppreciationDay.org. On the web site, you can volunteer your time, donate goods and services, or make financial contributions to help Thank Those Who Serve America.

[DWood]

Chum, those are some great pictures. *thumbsup* Hope you get to make many more before the end of the year. Wouldn't want to loose that vacation time!

[chumhead]

Whatever,

I would LOVE to participate with MAD. I have been wanting to contact the local Navy and Air Force bases and offer free trips to active duty guys that might want to tag along. Will definitely get in touch with MAD about doing something here in P.C.....Thanks a bunch!

Please shoot me a reminder once they announce plans/dates for Panama City...I will gladly save some Vacation time to participate in that!

chumhead

[Gunnar]

*clap**clap**clap* Way to go chumhead, love your fishing reports and pictures *thumbsup*

Gregg

[Whatever]

Whatever,

I would LOVE to participate with MAD. I have been wanting to contact the local Navy and Air Force bases and offer free trips to active duty guys that might want to tag along. Will definitely get in touch with MAD about doing something here in P.C.....Thanks a bunch!

Please shoot me a reminder once they announce plans/dates for Panama City...I will gladly save some Vacation time to participate in that!

chumhead

Thanks Chum,

I knew I could count on you...*yay*..I will be talking with MAD board members this weekend, since we are having our fall MAD event at Oak Island, N.C. I will find out something and keep you posted...*thumbsup*...If I am not mistaken their is supose to be a group from Panama City participating in our event this weekend...*flag*

[Redfish]

Only thing missing was the face turds.*006*

Great report. I'm ready to move to the panhandle.

*009*Ooops, sorry. I looked back and see you still be unreformed. Grouper pic includes the trademark.

[Dave]

ASSUME Chum!!! I'm always amazed at the great close-in bottom fishing action you fellows have in Florida. Reading your posts and seeing the pics is the next best thing to being there... keep 'em coming Buddy *Cheers*

I'm planning to come to Panama City with MAD 5... hope to meet you there *flag*

Dave

[Marion]

Chum, You are one fish catchin' machine! I have got to plan a trip north to your stompin' grounds some day. *Cheers*

[chumhead]

I have a standing invite to anyone in the area, if we can work out a schedule I am always willing to go fishing. Just can't guarantee anything, some days are good, and some days are really bad....some here can attest to that....Sorry Beckcl, we need to schedule another trip.

I can't speak for Capt Jim, but I'm pretty sure he would also be interested in participating in the MAD event later this year.

Thanks for all the kind comments, and yes, I am still unreformed when it comes to the "face turds"....gotta have at least one vice!

chumhead

[Whatever]

Chum,

I met with the folks coordinating the MAD event in Panama City, they informed me that the event is set for 31 July...The person you need to contact is Anita Beaverson, in Panama City. Ph.# (850) 276-6276

anita_beaverson@militaryappreciationday.org

I already talked to her about your interest, she should be back in town this week, please give her a shout as soon as convinient with you...As you may have already noticed CSO has been a great supporter of this organization in the Carolinas, we are looking foward to extending this support to the Florida area...*flag*

God willing I will be meeting you that week...*thumbsup*

[chumhead]

Great, thanks for the info. I will go ahead and mark next years calendar at work to ensure I get the day off.

Look forward to meeting you. Will you be here longer than just the one day?

chumhead

[Whatever]

one Day...:eek:...I need at least 3-4 days to make it worth the fun...;D...I am sure looking foward to a little pre fishing, maybe a little "CSO Day in the water Event"...*flag*...It would be intereting to see how many CSO Skiffs we can muster in Panama City...;D

[chumhead]

I will try to burn off a couple of Vacation days while you are in town. I would definitely like to do some pre-fishing so I can try to put the troops on some good fish. We'll have to get together for some planning once things get a little closer.....

chumhead

[Whatever]

Looking foward to it..We will see how things start to develop...*Cheers*

[Dave]

Lotta time between now and then, but as it stands now, I'm in for the whole enchilada *003*............wait, gotta check with the Boss.

Me: "Hey Hun, I'm going to Florida next summer to do some fishing... wanna go?"

Boss: "No, I don't like mosquitoes. You go ahead and have a good time."

Me: "Okeedokey, I'll bring you back a suntan"

OK fellows, I'm good to go!

Dave

[Whatever]

*laughing**laughing*...Well It looks like two from the Carolinas so far...;D

[chumhead]

Sounds like the makings of a fine fishing trip! Guess I will have to head out today to do some more 'scouting', lol.... Other than the heat and Red Snapper most likely being closed, that should be an excellent time of year for fishing!

Looking forward to it already!

chumhead