Just a few weeks ago, I invited my cousin Chris and my friend Aaron to join me for a day of offshore fishing. We met at the dock nice and early so that we could be making our way out of Port Everglades as the sun was rising. Unfortunately for us, after loading the boat and checking the fluid levels and belt tension, there was nothing when I turned the key. After an hour and a half of checking everything we could think of, we were finally able to get the boat started by jumping the starter with a screwdriver. So much for our early start.
Our targeted species for the day was dolphin as I had reports that they were in 900 to 1200 feet. We found some good clean water in 800 feet and put out our spread. Shortly thereafter, we ran into some scattered weed that was almost unfishable. Chris and Aaron did the best they could to keep our lines clear as I pushed us farther offshore. We made our way out to almost 1500 feet, but didn’t see a single bird or a magical piece of floating debris and the weed was just getting worse. I turned our classic Mako around and pointed the bow towards home. As we ran towards home, we found some clean water in 1000 feet and put the spread back out.
Within five minutes, the port outrigger clip popped and we were tight, but it wasn’t a dolphin. It was a sailfish! Aaron was on the rod and there was no slowing down this very acrobatic sailfish. Chris quickly cleared the lines so I could turn the boat to chase him down. We put Aaron up in the bow and I instructed him to keep cranking to keep tension on the line. Ten minutes later we had the majestic pelagic boatside. Chris quickly removed the hook and started the revival process. Soon, Aaron’s first sailfish was swimming strong along the side of the boat and we released him to fight another day. It’s amazing how one fish can turn a crappy day into a day to remember.
A few months earlier, Aaron caught his first wahoo while fishing with me. I don’t know what it is about this guy, but he is clearly welcome aboard our boat anytime. Hopefully, there will be another first for him in the near future!
~ Gene Dyer