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| Around 10% of the world's total fish species can be found just within the Great Barrier Reef. |
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| Starfish can re-grow their arms. In fact, a single arm can regenerate a whole body. |
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| Starfish do not have blood. Their blood is actually filtered sea water. |
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| Starfish don't have brains. Special cells on their skin gather information about their surroundings |
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| Not all animals with the word fish in their names count as fish. |
| Though their names may suggest otherwise, cuttlefish, starfish, and jellyfish aren’t actually fish. Generally-speaking, fishes must have skulls, gills, and fins. Surprisingly, though, not all fishes have proper spines. |
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| In three decades, the world's oceans will contain more discarded plastic than fish when measured by weight, researchers say. |
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| As of 2020, there were 34,000 known fish species around world. That’s more than the number of species in all other vertebrates: birds, reptiles, mammals, and amphibians combined. |
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| Just how man species of fish are there? |
| As of 2020, there were 34,000 known fish species around world. That’s more than the number of species in all other vertebrates: birds, reptiles, mammals, and amphibians combined. |
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| Even Catfish are finicky |
| Taste Buds ? Catfish have a more refined sense of flavor than humans. Our 10,000 taste buds may seem like a lot, but catfish can have as many as 175,000. This helps them find the exact location of their next meal. |
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| A bit of Humor |
| My brother has 2 German Shepherds named Rolex and Timex. You guessed it they are Watch Dogs. |
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From Jan 01, 1999 To Sep 25, 2023
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Mar 1, 2007; 08:00PM - Venice, LA winter wahoo tuna and swordfish
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Category: Louisiana
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Author Name: Capt Scott Avanzino
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Cant remember the last post I made but it hasnt been because we havent been fishing in between the weather breaks..winter pattern is still full over in south Louisinaa and the fishing has been exciting..Got off the phone with Scott Leger today he had a 184# yellowfin and 4 other smaller yellowfins, 6 blacks and a wahoo..Capt. Bill had about the same yesterday less the big fish and good wahoo catch the day before that..I took the last two days off still recovering form an overnight trip that yielded two swordfish at 100 and 60 pounds each..got a late start after cleaning up from Monday's charter in time to make 4 drifts with dead market squid under a half moon..first fish came while retrieving the lines after drift 1 hit the last line out so it made for an easy pickup and go..when it figuredit was hooked it made a heck of a run..ran for a solid 10 minutes well into the backing before we fianlly gave chase at 4 knots..came to the boat 45 minutes later; dead and stiff as a board, as it was snagged in the anal fin and hauled in the reverse gear therby suffocating it..we'll take it..It was Capt. Scott Leger's first as an angler and he was just a little pumped..Next drift we set our shallow line at 75 ft and it was the first to run off with 45 minutes soak time..this fish went deep and jumped right next to the boat going ape all down the side and around the bow twice with Capt Hunter on the rod and doing a great job to keeping the line off the rubrail....it too was snagged and dead brown on arrival..30 minutes later we stuck a gaff into it..when we hauled it aboard we noticed it had been hacked by another sword..it actually had two fresh hack marks one deep to the bone and the other surface flesh wound..made 2 more drifts in the same area with one short strike and a slashed bait but no run..We had been logging steady blackfin action in the last week..personally I havent seen a yellowfin in 3 trips but everyone else has been catching at least one..also non-existent for me have been the wahoo and not for lack of effort..we had logged more hours trolling that slopping chunks but from reports and conversations it think that stat is going to change when we get back to work in a few days..I have a few pics to post but for many of the days I had been running solo with no time for pictures..enjoy the pics of the first timers..Paradise Outfitters - 985-845-8006
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Oct 9, 2006; 11:35AM - Wide open fishing in October in Vencie, LA - tuna, wahoo, mahi and cobia
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Category: Louisiana
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Author Name: Capt. Scott Avanzino
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A bit rough and bumpy today on Wednesday..I started off by taking 3 advils..not much wind about the dock but as soon as we cleard SW Pass it was rolling about 15 knots out of the NE with a large groundswell from the east..the bluewater was close today..8 miles from the pass and moving north into the wind..it was a good 3-5 most of the day..I had Eddy Calycombe and Papa Joe and Phil Bowman..we had tried to switch thier inshore trip from Tuesday but we couldnt work it out..anyway they had a ball catching bull reds on topwaters yesterday with Clint Stewart while we sat around the dock swatting gnats..fishing was good and worth the beating for sure..plan A was to troll for wahoo and then look for trawlboats and lastly fish for cobia if the wind and seas proved to be too much..well they were too much but we stuck it out offshore til about 1:30pm..never saw any trawlboats they must have moved west across the hole..lots of action on the troll..although realistically we could only make downsea passes..bites were regularly spaced..no fish piled up anywhere like in previous trips from last week..although we did have two doubles today and both with a wahoo and 40 pound yellowfin at the same time..reminds me of the old days when this happened alot..when the spray settled we ended up with 5 wahoo, 1 mahi mahi, 1 blackfin and 2 fat yellows and all fish on the troll.. I had used up my entire memory card shooting video and couldnt delete the old pics to make room for a dockshot..Eddy will send me pictures..would have been tough to shoot under the conditions..too much rocking..anyway we tucked into the delta for the afternoon and finally found some decent cobia..we had 3 opportunities landing 2 of 3 bites..a 50 and 60 pounder..fat brown white bellied cobia have finally invaded our area..we will likely go and target them a little more these next few weeks..Not many ups and downs the rest of the week unless you're describing sea conditons; With that said, it's still been worth the beating just about every day..
After taking it on the teeth Wednesday we opted to ride along with Capt Bill Delabar on his 32 twin vee..we knew we were going to get pounded by a long period swell and head chop but we went anyway..We had a bunch of Calgarians and they had travelled too far and heard too much about the tuna bite not to make the run..First time Bill and I have fished together in two years and we had a ball..it wasnt even like work and the tuna bite was consistent making the day a real good one..no fish under 80 pounds today which is exciting in itself and the action was off the charts..its nice being the only boat out somedays..pretty much doubles and singles with little wait in between the bites and no pressureto stay on top of the fish..fight time was about 20-30 minutes except for the 120 pounder landed on the 60 pound outfit which capped off the take..this fish grazed my ankle with its teeth as it was flopping leaving a nice gash..witht that and each angler getting to handle the rod three times it was a wrap..Murray, Eric and Rob from Petrobank kept 6 of 9 fish caught. If the entire crew of 5 had showed up, it would have eased to burden not only on the rod but in carrying the fish home on a 12 hr plane ride..we sent them to Harbor Seafood in Kenner to get the catch ready for the plane ride hope it all worked out for them, the meat looked so good I kept a slab
Friday was the only calm day we had this week and the fishing was off the charts..first time we could really go looking for cobia but not without finding a few wahoo beforehand..I had the Haydels from Score and Stain in Slidell..they fish with me every five years which is an oddball interval and someone in the group commented that I would see them before Jay's 60th birthday after this trip celebrating 55 years..covered alot of ground but in the end found 2 wahoo two forty pound yellowfin, 2 bull dolphin and 18 cobia..kept 11 browns releasing 2 babies and five 1 inch shorties..Bill had Mark Hoyle and his son for the first of two offshore trips..he found 4 yellowfins but it was too rough for them and they came home early..
Tried to cancel Saturday's trip with Alligator Irigation but everyone was too excitied not to come and with the fishing the way it had been I was willing to take them..the weather, though rough wasnt as bad as expected and the fishing as good as it had been wasnt as fast and furious as I had hoped for..found it to be tough most of the morning 3 bites in the morning although it all came together after 12 noon..I had half the crew down on account of the Vencie flu during the trolling portion of the trip but my lone angler Kevin would net 2 wahoo and a blackfin while seeeking out new spots..wahoo's were solid 60 pounders too..we ran off to the cobia spots from the previous day findng 5 short fish; I figured them to be the only ones that made it through the 37' mesh screen just east of Cocodrie but we would find another hole with a school of 40-60 pounders.. I guess that these fish were big enough to jump the fence..we quickly added six of the biggest ones in the school and all but one angler handled the rod..still with a nice box of fish we could have headed in but the guys withnew vigor wanted to make one last stab at wahoo and snapper..we tried for both finding only short snapper at half a dozen stops..final take was 2 wahoo a blackfin and 6 of the fattest cobia yet..Capt Bill went tuna fishing and found 9 yellowfins and a wahoo, Hunter struggled searching for wahoo in a new area and had troubled fndng one jack and a small yellowfin..Capt Kerry Milano who was supposed take Mark Hoyle and his son redfishing but instead found a limit of snapper and a few cobia, dont know the details other than the take.
Capt Scott L. ran yesterday's trip and found two tuna (one barley legal one 80 pounds and a single 40 pound wahoo..
My camera memory card filled up shooting on Wednsday and without the software to unload it installed on the new laptop I have no cool pictures of my own, so I am waiting on some great footage from the customers..off the next few days altough Bill has a crew out today looking for tuna..we plan on possibly going sowrdfishing tomorrow night after Tuesday's scheduled maintenance day..Paradise Outfitters 1-888-FISHWUS (888-347-4987)
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Sep 12, 2006; 10:58AM - Venice, LA fall tuna fishing pattern in full swing
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Category: Louisiana
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Author Name: Capt. Scott Avanzino
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Been a pretty good week for fisherman seeking yellowfin tuna..day and night trips have been yeilding nice fish..we even caught some while grouper fishing last trip out..been netting as many as a dozen on the night trips including a 190 fish from last Monday and anywhere from 4-9 on last weeks day trips..the fish are up on the shelf already as they show up here each fall in search of easy pickings on bait moving out of the interior marshes and bays..one boat releasd a blue marlin and others had run ins resulting in premature releases..picked up at least one bull dolphin each try while trolling...we are anticipating the white marlin intrusion from the east anyday now..the guys in the panhandle of FL have been wearing them out along with swordfish..we have a night trip later this week..hoping to bag a sword and some tuna..grouper bite has also been steady with alot of nice fish falling for live baits..we have been finding 10 of them last 3 trips on the ride home...Paradise Outfitters - 1-888-FISH-W-US (1-888-347-4987)
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Aug 6, 2006; 11:40PM - August WEEK 1 reports
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Category: Louisiana
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Author Name: Capt Scott Avanzino
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Pretty much resigned myself to a weekly reports on the action..so here it is for those 1 or 2 that have been wondering..it gets a little blurry but I do remember the hgihlights..Got back from vacation last week fishing Monday with the Bell family; everyone got to catch a yellowfin even the boys - Max age 9 and Josh age 5 both handled the rod and Max all by himself..pretty cool moment..thats the nice thing about the fighting chair! we had 8 yellowfin before 10am leaving early to go get a limit of snapper and 3 grouper..Tuesday I had Tom Harmon Jr and his daughter MD and her two friends Annie and Alex all age 13..we stopped at 4 yellowfin since the goal of the trip was to put the girls on dolphin..in hindsight we should have probably stayed on the tuna..not one bite on the troll..nice bluewater and the current was ripping to the east..ended up again with 12 red snapper on the way home..Wednesday was a great overnight trip with my good pal John Hunsucker and Jack Dulaney and Jim and James and Don..very hot day today..nothing would go right at the start..plan was to marlin fish and bottom fish with the possibility of drifting for swordfish..I arrived at the marina well before our scheduled 10am departure to add provisions this all after getting the boat ready the night before..half the party showed up on time but it didnt matter..there was no fuel availbale since some nice guy had pulled in before me and taken the last 2000 gallons in the tank..well the commercial dock was overloaded with boats waiting on the pump so I ran further down the jump to the Asco fuel dock..it too with a wait for fuel..and to make along story short..when I did get fuel it came rushing out of the hole after the dock hand had switched tanks; this spraying just about everywhere and worse into the live well, cockpit, and all over my marlin baits I had set out..what a mini-catastrophy...I kept it cool though - no putter throw today.. Now its 10:15 and I still have to idle all the way through the jump and get back to the marina to pick and come right back..I ended up changing the skirts on 3 of the baits and soaked the other two in pogey oil and soap..(none would catch a fish so you can rule out deisel as a fish attractant)..got out offshore about 1pm and put out the billfish spread in open bluegreen water..did alot of open water trolling as in the days before and sadly with the same result ...big zero...pulled on a good color change for a while 12 miles out and didnt get one bite..and I had almost given the D-TODD gauarantee too..oh well cant always be right..about 6pm we decided we would try the 'hot tuna bite' I had told them about..well guess what..it was cold to luke warm..managed one good yellowfin, pulled the hook on another and boated two small ones (which we use as bait late the next morning) just before we packed up two of the fattest blackfin I have ever seen inhaled as we were picking up..about 30 to dark I gave the order..no more tuna fishing..we headed up on the shelf for a try at swordfish..got set up about 8:45 in 200 fathom line and set about to wait..we would get a double strike 15 minutes later..just as everyone was settling in to sleep..fish number one took the shallow tip rod and as I was setting him fish number two grabbed the deep tip..doubled up..Jack was sure he had a shark and I thought otherwise when I saw both lights up on the surface..two jumps from the larger fish would cancel out the shark idea..Jack fought his sword about 15 minutes while John hauled him aboard for the Balancing Act's first swrodfish catch ever a small keeper by inches..fish number two would prove to be a handfull..took 2 anglers 45 more minutes to bring it to gaff..103 overall and 62 inch fork..very thick..fish cleaner estimated the fish at 130-140#..we got set up about 45 minutes later and after an hour's soak and building seas it was decided we would try bottom fishing....bottom fishing was a little slow as compared to recent trips (commercial snapper season opened 2 days before)..not counting amberjacks we had a tough time with big fish..only caught one big mama snapper about 25 pounds..the rest 18-24 inch fish..not sure where the jacks showed up from but they managed to chase away all the grouper..not one..ended up with a limit of jacks 12 snapper 5 tuna and 2 swords. Lance and Leger ran an overnighter out on the other pole finding cooperative fish..they ended with 12 yellowfin, 2 dolphin a wahoo and a handfull of blacks..Eric Capetta the customer called to tell me that Lance was frustrated that it took more than 3 hours to get the boat limit..they repeated this performance the next night in kless time allowing them plenty of time to try for thier first swordfish..and sadly missing a sword just beofe ewsun-up..My friday trip cancelled but Sonny went out ahead..he had a mixed catch of tuna and bottom fish..Everyone cancelled yesterday myself having driven back down ariving at 530am to wait a few hours and drive back home..Sonny had the Big Fish TV crew today for a quick and dirty tuna show..they had 8 yellowfins stopping for a jack on the way home..we have boats available just about any weekday between now and Christmas should anyone want to get ut on the bite and avoid the weekend crowds..Paradise Outfitters - 985-845-8006 or 1-888-347-4987
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Apr 26, 2006; 09:49PM - Snapper opener and more
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Category: Louisiana
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Author Name: Capt. Scott Avanzino
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Sorry for lacking in the reports department..here is a lumped together report for the last few days.. I will try and post individual reports with pics in a few days on my homesite...Man what can I say..between the yard and fishing there hasnt been any time to make any reports,,by the way, it feels fantastic to be out of the shipyard..at this point I would rather break rocks in jail than turn any more wrenchs or squeeze tubes of 5200..
We made the escape in time for the red snapper season opener Friday the 21st, but just in time..with that behind us, it has been nothing but great weather and fishing all week aside from the band of wet and wind that passed through Friday night; but during the day its been dead calm..made the ride down to Venice Thursday from Seabrook..Capt. Sonny had a trip on the Twin vee that day and while bending flyrods with small tuna and bonita for Terry Thrash et al, a monster 192# yellowfin showed up in the slick..it was agreed to bait him on commie tackle and 2 1/2 hours later the group had him boated..that was the only trip we had scheduled last week that made it out..
The snapper opener was great and everything we expected..wide open bites for both Sonny, Lance and I on day one; Lance ran a trip out of Fourchon where he will likely stay for the next few months..he wants to chase tuna in Green Canyon this year..any way he has been filling my overnight box on day trips with wahoo, snapper, amberjacks, grouper and cobia..he has outfished us too..Sonny and I made 2 stops Friday finding easy limits on big and small fish Sonny had the Line Avenue Pharmacy gang and I had the Lvcoste bachelor party..Plenty boats out there trying too..Sonny had a mixed size limit with one red snapper over 30 pounds and I had a string of 10-20 pounders..he also had a warsaw and 4 gags using dead pogeys and I was using live and dead pogeys getting only one grouper..odd thing was no jacks at all on live baits for either of us..hard to find them on the east side I guess..intersting story for those that like to mooch off shrimpers..I passed 200 feet astern of a trawler picking up his nets about 2 miles out of Baptist Collete..he had his trawl nets up by the time I got to him but I got hung up in a 300 ft length of poly rope he had snagged during his drag..took about 1 minute to get him to stop dragging us astern and 20 minutes to get it all cut out..needless to say it was a freak occurence that could have proven disasterous..Lance had a limit of snapper and jacks along with 4 wahoo a warsaw and 1 cobia and it would only get better for him each successive day..
At the Saturday morning dock conference we figured it would be mobbed bottom fishing but I was going anyway..I didnt see but one other boat all day..Both Leon and Sonny took off for blue water in search of wahoo..Snapper bite was pretty steady for the Arkansa boys but we decided to leave two limits open for bigger fish..it would prove tricky to find them so we ended up amberjack and grouper fishing finding a 43 20 and 15 pound gag and a limit of jacks along with a few scamps..we made a stop on the ride home and hit paydirt on the big snappers getting our last 8 fish in 3 drifts..Sonny found 8 wahoo on the troll, Leon had 4 wahoo and a dolphin before heading in early to get his limit of jacks and snapper..There was a nice rip south of the river..Lance absolutely murdered them to the west..his take Saturday was 12 wahoo, 6 jacks 5 cobia 3 gags, a 70 pound warsaw, and 10 snapper..this ought to make a fine picture! Both Sonny and Lance wacked the snappers and groupers today and Sonny also had 3 wahoo..Lance was bragging about having big fish today ..cant wait to see the pics myself..we have run 3 bluewater trip in a row..its been a wahoo slaughter as well..I had 6 Monday before going bottom foshing and picking up red snapper limit, a cbia, jack and a grouper for my 2 man crew and Sonny and Leon whammed then again yesterday in a head to head competition..The field was the ripline and it was the battle of the wahoo baits today; after the final bell rang; Leon and Scott out did Capt Sonny and Britton.. J hooks were the difference..Sonny now believes that treble hooks baits are junk and it was a tough lesson one to two fish and that is it for those things and you are lucky if they stay hooked up...Poor Sonny lost all 4 of his Braid murauders this morning in the first 30 minutes of his trip when other fish hit the swivels..About a month ago I had given him a 5 gallon bucket full of brand new diving baits still in the box (wont say which brands) these were given to me by Steve Hedrick after he sold his bertram.. I kept the gaffs Steve so thanks and by the way the kids have a ball catching each other in the yard with the oversized landing net you also gave me..anyway..the bite was on the line today..Leon and Scott went 10 for 13 on wahoo and Sonny 3-13 but came home with the pot winner an estimated 75 pound wahoo..Leon also won the head to head tuna competition by outfishing the same team with 2 yellowfin and 6 blackfin to Sonny's 2 blackfin..Sonny claims the day to be a huge success since he only had two anglers aboard..he did win the amberjack competition in part because he was uncontested..funny thing happened to Leon the other day..he was travelling home from Venice on HWY 23 when somewhere between the marina and the checkpoint the drag lever on one of his trolling rods got disengaged allowing 600 yards of line to run off his trolling rod..an odd look from the attending officer tipped him off and he quickly pulled over and reeled the line back in before hooking any passing cars..we cancelled tomorrow's trip due to the thunderstorms and wind but plan to be back on Thursday and Friday before the next front..still have alot of days to fill in the coming weeks..we also look for our second marlin soon..some have been sighted already..outriggers are going back on the boats tomorrow....PICTURED ARE THE RESPECTIVE CATCHES AND HAPPY CUSTOMERS..
..504-451-7579 cell 985-845-8006 local - 888-347-4987 toll free
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Apr 14, 2006; 01:52PM - back to Venice
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Category: Louisiana
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Author Name: Capt. Scott Avanzino
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