On Friday the Wind picked up
and so did the fishing. I had a Father/Son group on both Saturday and Sunday and on both days the Mahi fishing was better than when it was slick calm earlier in the week. It was “sporty” but not bad. Probably 3 ft seas. Most people can handle those waves and my group was just fine. They were a little “jet-lagged” from traveling, but we kept them busy catching.
A rack full of mahi on the dock
We didn’t have any big fish on Friday,
but we had plenty of action. Sometimes that is better than one of two big fish. We had steady bites and it was a mix of “Keeper’ mahi and some “throw-backs”. We probably caught over 25 fish and kept a dozen. Plenty of fish for a good dinner and some to bring back home to enjoy with the rest of the family!
On Saturday,
the wind picked up a little more. We were looking for bigger fish as opposed to lots of bites. My plan was to go to one of the wrecks and catch and release a couple of Barracudas for fun, then move offshore looking for a sailfish, Wahoo or big Mahi.
Unfortunately,
when I got to the wreck, the sargasso weed made it unfishable. There would be no way to keep a bait clean and Barracuda doesn’t like a “salad’ with their Ballyhoo.
Fortunately,
when I turned south from the wreck there was a frigate bird low on the water about 200 yds away. Frigate birds have incredible eyesight and they will swoop down to the surface to snatch their prey. Often they will wait for a big fish to start feeding and making the baitfish jump out of the water. The agile frigate birds will pick off a baitfish in midair. It is cool to see and a good indicator that there are fish around. We trolled over to where the Frigate bird was hovering and hooked a nice 22 lb Bull Dolphin. It was the biggest fish of the week and It made “Dad” happy to see his son fight a big fish.
One nice Black Fin
We picked at fish
Most of the Day. I was still looking for a “bigger” fish and just before it was time to go home, we hooked 2 nice Black Fin Tuna. I think one was foul-hooked from how it was fighting and we lost that one. But “Dad” managed to catch his so at the end of the day, both father and son had caught a good fish. The son caught the better one and I have no doubt that is just the way “Dad” wanted it!