Archive for May, 2009

Rough seas yield sailfish bonanza!

My wife and I arrived late on November 19th, as our taxi driver took us on a unscheduled (you know what I mean) tour. Captain David calmly assured me that we would still make out fine, and in fact the rough seas that day were actually a good sign and improved our chances of a sailfish strike. We stopped to pick up some of the best bait available which they call google-eyes (small extra cost, highly recommended). They fish sailfish with kites in south Florida if weather permits. I’ve fished with a kites before, but not in the same manner as the crew of the Lady Pamela II. This windy day they flew two kites with multiple baits on each. It was truly a sight to see and they explained everything as they were going, so it was very interesting and educational too. It wasn’t long before one of the orange floats was zig-zagging across the water and the mate grabbed the rod and free spooled for a few moments before gradually pushing the drag up to strike. Just as he did this, the orange ball seemingly flew horizontally across the top of the water at an amazing speed (I swear as fast as a car) for about 100 yards…the sail was hooked and the rush was exhilarating! I took the rod and began fighting the fish just as I heard the captain and mate discussing that this was a very large sailfish…smiles were all around the boat. The fish put on an incredible fight lasting about 25 minutes and did a few amazing jumps, dancing across the top of the water for 20 feet at a time. We eventually brought the fish to the boat and it was an impressive 7 feet, 3 inches long! (I’m on the left in the picture)There were high fives all around. I’m having it replica-mounted, and it will be a long overdue addition to my present collection. A few moments later we were on another large sail which my wife fought for 20 minutes (we have some incredible footage of jumps on my GoPro) and got just outside the reach of the leader when it unfortunately pulled the circle hook. She was tired and a bit sore after, so when a third sailfish was hooked, I fought this one all the way to the leader too! Later in that day we hit a school of Mahi-Mahi which devoured all the baits in the water in seconds…another rush and it also provided some supper as well. Lady Pamela II was one of the most comfortable boats I’ve fished on, and definitely was family friendly with a clean and spacious restroom as well. David and his crew were professional and courteous and I would have no hesitation recommending them for a family outing, or to experienced deep sea fishermen like us. The trip was a magical memory that we will never forget. Thanks David!