One day after work I was sitting on the couch scrolling through my social media accounts when I came across a contest held by Coastal Angler Magazine called “Kiss your Catch.” It was a simple contest; just send in a picture of you or someone you know kissing a fish and you could win a four-night stay at Valentine’s Resort on Harbour Island in the Bahamas. I don’t usually kiss fish but my wife Ashley has been known to kiss one on occasion. I found a nice picture of Ashley, kissing a redfish, sent it in as my entry, and went on with my day.
On Valentine’s Day, I was working and completely forgot about my entry into the contest. I was busy and when I saw an email from Coastal Angler Magazine saying I won I almost deleted it as a spam email. Thankfully I didn’t delete it and read further to see a detailed message explaining Jimmy Houston would be announcing me as the winner on Facebook Live shortly. I was shocked that I won and immediately called Ashley to let her know. That night we went out to dinner to celebrate Valentine’s Day and plan our new trip.
Ashley and I worked out the dates with Coastal Angler Staff and Valentine’s Resort without any issues. We flew into Eleuthera, Bahamas and took a small water taxi over to Harbour Island. Harbour Island is a small island, approximately ½ mile wide and 3 miles long. Most of the visitors get around by walking or golf carts. When we arrived, we checked into the resort and went to see the famous Pink Sand Beach. It was definitely one of the best beaches I have seen in my lifetime.
Every day that we spent on the island we went exploring on our golf cart. The meals were delicious (especially the Conch Salad from Queen Conch) and the people were friendly. We made sure to book a fishing charter while we were in the area and planned to go with Captain James Dunnam of Spanish Wells (no relation). James also agreed to show us some sights around the area. On our charter, we were dropped off on a secluded beach to check out Preacher’s Cave, found giant starfish on Sand Dollar Beach, and caught Yellowtail Snapper, Mutton Snapper, and other reef fish while trolling around the beautiful blue waters of the Bahamas. After catching plenty of fish, we went swimming with pigs on a small beach. Ashley absolutely loved the swimming pigs! We fed them some bread while Captain James filleted our catch. After finally dragging Ashley back on board, Captain James took us back to Valentine’s Resort and they prepared our fresh catch for us.
Looking back at our amazing vacation, I can tell you it went by so fast. From having drinks at the beautiful Sip Sip Restaurant, watching the sunset from Remora Bay Resort Marina, and partying with the Yacht crews at Gusty’s, we had a blast. I think we ate at every restaurant on the island and drove our golf cart down every street we could find, even in the rain. It was definitely paradise. We made so many new friends during our stay and the staff at Valentine’s Resort were very helpful. I personally wanted to thank Coastal Angler Magazine for holding such an awesome contest and making the trip possible.