Local Knowledge S8:E10 “Mutton or Nothing”

It might be cold and windy, but if you have trust in your guide the result could be an epic day of fishing! Rush steps up to the challenge and puts Ali on an incredible bite of mutton snapper while also checking another species off of Ali’s bucket list!

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Local Knowledge

Cast:
Ali Hussainy – @bdoali
Rush Maltz – @odyssea_sportfishing_kw

Produced by:
Michael Torbisco

About The Local Knowledge Fishing Show:
The show Local Knowledge explores the culture of fishing itself and follows real life characters that spend their lives dedicated to fishing and the outdoors.

Local Knowledge focuses on the differing and often humorous viewpoints of two drastically different fishermen from opposite sides of the country. Ali Hussainy of San Diego, California is the President of BD Outdoors, the largest fishing site on the web. Capt. Rush Maltz is a born and raised Florida Keys fishing guide. Each is a master on their home turf, but the playing fields are leveled as they travel to strange waters to explore and learn new local knowledge.

Follow two friends as they explore both local and exotic fishing destinations in search of a new flavor of local knowledge. They not only dig deep into the fishing aspect, but the food, people and the culture of fishing that permeate a local and make it unique and special. They seek out a new kind of adventure off the beaten path.

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[Music] where are we I got the guys in town and it’s a little bit of pressure you know we got a lot riding on these shoes here in sunny Key West freezing to death today if I was at my house and Rush told me the plan was fly to Key West and we’re going to fish in 10 ft of water I’m like no reload let’s do this another time no matter how many times I take them fishing I always want to take him and show him good fishing he’s giving you a work out there I can tell you that D it’s nothing for me to sit back and watch my boy catch fish all day mut or nothing till he starts talking smack about how much poundage he has in the box right on Q it’s time for Rush to do something stupid show them who’s boss Russ I think we used to talk about the bucket list a lot on this show not as much now cuz it’s really short looks like an AP it is it’s an AP there you go all right my friend it’s a little chilly this morning really I hadn’t noticed but feels Just Like Home in the winter we got a North Wind so we’re going to tuck up on the south side of the island try and hide a little bit from the wind it’s not going to it’s not going to be easy because where we’re going to be fishings more open where if we were fishing on the south side of the Island the island would actually block some of the Wind for us but we’re not going to have that luxury so we’re going to go pull the traps go catch a few pinish I want to start the morning off just doing a little bottom fishing getting your feet wet I know you just got off the plane catch a few fish warm you up a little bit we’re supposed to have some good weather tomorrow you know so we could we got a lot of options we could run in the Gulf we could fish a lot more areas on the Atlantic side just trying to make something happen today yeah you know just go fishing I got the guys in town and it’s a little bit of pressure you know we got a lot of riding on these shoots and we want to make quality you know TV good fishing it’s not like Ali’s coming from Miami he’s coming from across the country if I was at my house and Rush told me the plan was fly to Key West and we’re going to fish in 10 ft of water I’m like no reload let’s do this another time I still have that little chip on my shoulder where no matter how many times I take them fishing I always want to take them and show them good fishing if not I got to hear about it nobody wants that here in sunny Key West freezing to death today this is very UNF Florida weather I got off the plane yesterday and it was like getting punched in the face it is cold it’s 60° 62° right now got a nice breeze let’s see if we can get it done today as much as I hate to say it my boy has come through in a pinch in some very shallow Waters more than once and you kind of got to trust your skipper pretty good catch there Captain Toad fish you’re pin fishing your ass off today aren’t you bud oh it’s kind of deep right here too try not to let them Spike you you can’t just leave the dock and and expect to be able to catch live bait if I don’t catch pilter or I don’t catch Balo I want to have some pinish on the side I want to have some cutbait on the side I can’t just say oh I’m definitely going to go out there and catch pilt today if it doesn’t happen I’m sitting there kind of looking at these people with no bait saying here you’re going to fish with artificials all day sorry but if I have a plan B pinish a plan C some goggle eyes some Bonita I’m ready to put these people on fish no matter what the situation is just a whole head yeah they love them oh yeah gogg eyes there legit they smell so bad that they work so good yep the reason I switched you to dead Bay cuz the water’s Pretty Dirty mhm so I feel like they’re going to react more off scent right here than they are sight right we get on a good bite yeah the pinish will stir them up but we got they got to find us first what are you hoping to catch on that what are you hoping to catch on that nasty chunk of ba a mutton a mutton or something when we first start on a new spot especially when you got the chum bag out and now you’ve got the shallow water which is going to mean more small fish typically the game started just as I would expect we’re using a piece of dead bait on the bottom on a jig head and we start getting pecked to death uh I got a little nibble like literally a peck right yeah it’s a little little tiny Lane Snappers or and then we’re using another piece of dead bait like a goggle eye head and put it down pecked pecked pecked to death only Captain Ross can put you on a bite like this that is a pet oh baby oh it’s on now son know what that is don’t you lane snapper frea Rush catches a little lane snapper okay now we know what the culprit is but that pecking and that stirring up of the bottom we all know you give it a little bit of time like rush says to build life that gets the fish fired up what is it Captain Ross might be the right kind no huh I don’t think so maybe it feels I would appreciate it if it was whatever it’s pulling drag I’ll take it right now if I had to guess I would say it is a sharp nose shark but in this shallow water you just don’t know you know they both fight the same a lot of times the muttons will stay more straight up and down he’s not but I’ve been fooled before and usually if they do fool you it’s a big one like a monster mut he’s giving you a workout there I can tell you that yeah if it if it is a a mutton it’s going to be a big one should be able to see them in this it is it’s a mutton pink oh my God it’s a giant mutton that is a big mutton hold on hold on wow he’s so green [Applause] D they fall in that shallow water don’t they that is one of my alltime biggest got them and all 10 ft of water yeah wow now when I tell you they pull hey you told me it was a shark they pull you talk about Key West magic this is Key West magic how big is that let me see 14 it say 15 in that shot I mean 11 ft of water come on don’t cut yourself short it’s 11.1 11.1 11.3 depending on which gauge you’re looking at yeah look at the quality of that fish it’s so funny too how one fish just changes is the morale of the day nobody on the boat is very optimistic but in the back of my head I’ve been here before this is nothing different I do this on a daily basis got to just put the anchor down and start fishing one fish changes the whole day and just like any fisherman man you shake it off oh there’s one here there must be more let’s go and then we just started to dig in like a mutton like a mutton like a mutton who whoa not in the chum net buddy yeah no I didn’t think this one was a little smaller grade but dude are you kidding me nonetheless for how many feet of water again big model small model and all models in between let’s hope bait was big as this guy was is that the same thing on that head same thing [Music] [Music] a little bigger maybe a bigger Jack or could be a bigger Jack Brown guy maybe could be you never know I’ll yell shark if it is one of the cool things and tough things about fishing shallow water is fish act different give me your little tussle huh yeah I know it’s not tiny the fight it’s so different than the deep water those mutton Snappers and those groupers when they can see that rock that they want it’s really shallow and clear they are just a different animal and it really makes for a challenge what you got a mutton big old mutton can’t get away from him now that’s a good problem to have holy crap barely hooked it’s the only way I hook him boys I was not expecting the pink what the heck’s going on C Ros consolation prize Kobe fishing you can keep the Kobe as these guys eat better look how white he is yeah totally different color than those fish we were just catching look at the scales how iridescent they are is’t that pretty totally different colors than the other one there was one of those variables you know that you have in a typical day of fishing that made this whole plan and come together we had about 3 hours to catch this short little tide window where we were going to be able to Anchor up on these shallow little spots have the tide running to the South with us it was going to lay the sea State down in half and it was going to give us that those couple hours to just be able to catch a few good fish on these tiny little spots you hooked up yep feels like the same thing buddy get them we need need him when you get wind against the tide or the current it’s going to make everything steep choppy nasty well the opposite is true when they run the same way together it’ll kind of smooth things out and lay it out and that’s exactly what rush was banking on today he knew that we would have the wind lined up with the tide for just a couple of hours and that couple of hours was hopefully all we would need I looks like the right kind huh buddy no no but I’ve been wrong before today a lot give him the wood big boy I have been wrong before scary thing is if this is a mutton you’re going to have to come handle it for me what is a mutton isn’t a mutton a sheep yeah mut’s an old sheep you don’t look like an old sheep to me I’m an old goat that is a nice mutton snapper for 11 ft of water my friend is a beautiful fish oh we might have another one Rush not quite as big as yours oh what happened y old sheep nothing nothing man nothing pull the hook right out of his mouth you want me to get this one or are you going to come over here and handle them for me I think you probably ought to I’m uh previously engaged want me see if I can grab them be nice probably need some entertainment remember nice and easy grab him by the tail are you serious in the Gill whatever you want wet shirt you got them look at you yeah bigger’s easier yeah that small one’s a pain in the but what a freaking fish buddy look at his nose see how he’s all beat up from rooting around and they’re digging for shrimp and crabs and goggly ey heads is that what you one yeah oh crap there on that gogg ey head huh I just missed one on gogg ey head what a beautiful fish man I saw a vision on a windy day yeah when you go out there and nobody’s expecting to catch anything conditions are tough oh what do we doing let’s go back and go get some lunch no you get out there you get it done and you just feel that much better about yourself when it’s all said and done with I’m fortunate enough to have this where I grew up backyard is where I was when I was a kid I’d be fishing this area all the time diving it and to be able to come here on a windy day and catch quality fish like that in my business you just don’t see that a lot you go get a shark or a junk fish or a Cuda this ain’t a Cuda or a shark this is this is Target number one when Ali comes down this is his favorite thing to do he loves bottom fishing so I like to just do my thing and sit back and let him fish what is going on today Russ another mutton another really nice mutton I’ve caught thousands and thousands of mutton snapper I’ve caught everything us has to offer mutton or nothing [Laughter] mut or nothing Jes I don’t Jes they’re not small I I had a couple small ones but oh still winning the jackpot that’s all that matters it’s true you are winning the jackpot I don’t like losing the jackpot either it’s nothing for me to sit back and watch my boy catch fish all day and he starts talking smack about how much poundage she has in the Box well there’s one way to counter that real quick I I have to pull on a bunch of fish I just have to pull on one fish so after I catch that big mutton of course I may have mentioned it to rush one or seven times rubbing it in that I was winning the jackpot and uh things are going good we’re catching fish and right on Q it’s time for Rush to do something stupid let’s see if we can wrestle a giant grouper out of a hole in 10 ft of water with the wrong gear That’s my boy we were not going grouper fishing on this day in particular there was nothing on the boat set up to stop a big grouper let alone a big goliath grouper let’s see typically when we’re trying to catch a Goliath we’re going hard like 20 wide 30 wide 50 wide on a heavy trolling rod and that thing’s not leaving the gunnel most likely cuz you just can’t get it out once you got that fish on there but we didn’t have that Gear with us cuz we weren’t expecting to do this and you know Rush is always up for a challenge so he grabs gear that’s way too light way too small and decides to fire it down and see what happens oh he doesn’t seem like he’s there anymore a bit he got bit hard but not by the right one oh maybe it is o o oh that’s not a good Goliath Rod didn’t take long got bit got broke off a lot of smart people would stop there not rush he’s determined to get one of these things boat side and it seems like when you get that in your head that’s usually when you get bit in the ass come on come on look at how he stands back like a [ __ ] I would Doo that a shark come on get back in there show them who’s boss R Us got him just where I want him buddy that’s where I want him come on if I was wondering who’s winning who would you say at this point me I’m always winning All I do is win win win come on get off the bottom you got him I mean I’m only in 30 foot of water all you do is win win win no matter what I’m losing I got Goliath on my mind and I ain’t giving up yeah you’re losing right now buddy I like the power there down B out B on him I’m trying to give you some incursion buddy you’re my worst Charter client you’re next you can’t make me do that that was a big one king size you tell me what do you me to do there I’m going to go back over here woo my back what do you want me to do with that thing lip them lip them good call oh my back oh man steer him around you hand hand in the Gill or what yeah hand right in the Gill no I’m see what do you want me to do with yeah hand in the Gill got a handle that easy to say holy [ __ ] what did you catch Raj last week or today I I wasn’t going to let you win the pot yeah you got the pot no arguments I can’t get a hand in the SK how big you think that is 350 well that worked out oh what happened bit off right at the bow that was a large fish dude I tell you he every bit a 350 yeah he was like I would think he was high TW that’s big fish oh man that was a big model I felt like I was going to cry I was I was I was hoping for a 60 pounder that was 60 times like [Music] [Music] five welcome Captain Ross let’s have a good day on the water it’s a going to be a marvelous day on the water the wind is down about 20 mph from yesterday so it’s only 40 that’s good so it’s about 10° warmer at least oh God it’s a lot warmer all right hold on there boys this second day here with Ali we we had a great day of fishing the day before I mean we had pretty much everything we needed conditions were definitely against us but we made it happened we caught tons of fish and we had a better weather window the next day I still had all these goggle eyes in the pen I fill out all these pinish and stuff and with that weather I I felt like it was a good time to just Target some fish that Ali hadn’t caught yet I think we used to talk about the bucket list a lot on this show not as much now cuz it’s really short now on my list there’s just really two things left and believe me I constantly remind Rush of these two hey you think there’s any chance we can catch a pompo here African pompo that other fish that I really want is that black grouper and actually the spot we were going to the other day rush like hey we’ve caught black grer in here really well gets me fired up puts me more in the game why not on a nice weather day just stay nice and close to home and try and pick a few of these [Music] off first thing right off the get I wanted to drop on a couple little wrecks that I knew about just south of the Key West so rush like you know what I’m seeing a lot of bait down there I’m going to go ahead and put the anchor down and let’s see what happened what I like about anchoring down is I’m able to fish a couple baits on the surface and I’m also able to fish a rod on the bottom and another Rod midwater now I could settle in on this wreck everything calms down I could set that bait on the bottom it can sit there Rush is like hey man if you want go ahead and drop to the bottom here you can catch just about anything and don’t have to ask me twice especially when it comes to bottom fishing I grabbed that deep mutton rig that he had abused the day before and uh and sent it down and really within minutes I started getting bites reliably what got going on there pal not sure but it’s big and angry big and angry it’s coming up he’s a fish doesn’t feel groy she’s a fish it’s right here Rush got him up got the leader on kind of jackisha looks like a jack kind of looking like a jack they do still exist oh looks like an AP it is it’s an AP yeah it’s like no way dude that’s your AP buddy nice one too belly Gaff yep perfect there and that’s a nice one so stoked dude that’s a good one there how many times have I talked to you about getting one of these man I love when a plan comes [Music] together just a little just a little persistence it’s all it takes oh my gosh I’ve been wanting to get my hands on this guy for a long time so well you got your hands on them buddy well now I don’t got to listen to that anymore never put me on an AP you don’t have to hear me anymore but now I got to hear you remember that AP I mean a black grouper here and I’m done I’m F qu tired that’s a good one too they don’t weigh a whole lot for how big they are well look at you know look how skinny they are so just imagine how big like a 45 pounder is oh it’s got to be giant right oh yeah so sick dude thank you thank you thank you I feel like whenever I come to the keys we’re always battling the weather you know we schedule these shoots out months in advance but we are a lot of times Bound by those dates and we’ve got to come and get something done what it really boils down to is you just never know till you go I mean look at the first day we get out there everything’s fighting us wind cold tide everything’s against us but you get out there and you just have a great day of bottom fishing in this super shallow water and impress yourself even this trip started as Bleak as it could be looked like we’re going to have to scratch day one surprise day two had a boatload of options you know really thought we would make a big hit we didn’t get the quantity that we normally do but we got the quality and I got my bucket list fish well that makes it all worth it right there that’s why we do this that’s why we play this game and that’s what fishing’s all about especially Key West fishing the lesson in all this is the guys that grind it out are the guys that win you keep your head in the game you pay attention something Good’s going to happen and that’s exactly what happened on this trip but in the end I’m over the moon had an awesome trip and I’m headed back to San Diego with a bucket list fish [Music] [Music] [Music]