Day 5 - Thursday
Our last fishing day
We planned to fish between 40 and 50 miles from shore. This would take about 2 hours to get there. It is where most of the fish have been caught recently. They are usually closer but not at the moment.
We had a slightly earlier breakfast and headed for the dock about 30 minutes ahead of our usual time. As usual the boat and crew were ready for an immediate departure.
Let's get fishing
We actually decellerated to trolling speed after about 90 minutes as we reached 34 miles out. Apparently a number of concrete blocks were dropped into the ocean here to create an artificial reef and Marlin are often caught in this area.
We began trolling but did not follow the usual circular pattern. Instead we kept on a heading to eventually achieve 50 miles but fishing/trolling the rest of the way.
At 40 miles out, I lost a fish that shed the hook. I guess I gave it some slack. However, at least it showed there were fish around.
First catch
At 43 miles out, Garry got a nice Sailfish. I picked up my camera and had to put it down immediately as we were now into our first double hook-up of the trip. This was great having us both playing lively fish that were leaping, tail-walking and diving. Garry caught and released his fish first. One of the deck hands (Kevin) then grabbed my camera and took this great shot of me, a leaping Sailfish and Garry capturing the same on his phone (more of that in a moment!).
It happened in an instant
As you can can see from the above photo, Garry was sitting to my left recording a video of the Sailfish. A moment later Garry saw the Sailfish jump very close to the boat through the camera lens and immediately ducked and turned downward to his right. It hit Garry on the left side of his arm resulting in his shirt being shredded.
I've got my eye on you!
The resultant damage
Thankfully he wasn't harmed and he never even felt his shirt rip - it was so fast. We laughed about it at the time but it was close to being a serious incident. They are fast, powerful and clearly have very sharp serrations on their long bill.
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| This symbolises our 1st double hook-up |
Here we go again
We sailed another 3 miles so were now about 46 miles out. Garry was into a Sailfish when another rod went immediately and I was also into a Sailfish. Our 2nd double hook-up and coming straight after the other one. This time I caught and released my fish first so I started to video Garry's Sailfish. As it neared the boat it leapt very close to me this time. I wasn't taking any chances and quickly jumped out of the way.
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| This one was heading for me |
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| This symbolises our 2nd double hook-up |
Back to 1 at a time in a hotspot
Still at 46 miles out now, Garry gets another Sailfish. Another mile further out and I get a Sailfish (now at 47 miles out). Shortly after, Garry get another Sailfish (still at 47 miles out). Still at 47 miles out I manage one more Sailfish. Clearly there are more fish around here than anywhere else we have been on this trip.
It really is incredible how fast these fish are. We typically hook them well behind the boat and in no time, the fish is in front of the boat and heading off into the distance. The captain has to accellerate until he catches up. Then the fish either swims straight toward you at speed or starts a deep dive.
Slowly heading back
We now start a steady troll back the way we came. At 44 miles out Garry had yet another Sailfish. Soon after I lost another Sailfish - that's my 2nd today and they both just shed the hook - arghhhh! The last Sailfish fell to Garry at 42 miles out.
Marlin - maybe
A few miles closer in and the captain spotted a few sea birds, again clustered around a floating log. They were occassionally diving for food but didn't seem to be hunting a large shoal of baitfish. However, the deck hands put out a small imitation octopus lure in the hope of catching a Bonito that would then be used for live bait to tempt a Marlin. It took 10 to 15 minutes and several circles around the log before we hit success and caught a Bonito. This was immediately put out on Marlin gear as we continued circling around the log. Alas, it wasn't to be - no Marlin. At least we will be able to carry our luggage tomorrow without aching arms :-)
Catch Summary
Garry
- 6 x Sailfish
Steve
- 4 x Sailfish
Overall Summary
This was our best day with respect to the numbers of fish caught (10 Sailfish). If you add my 2 lost fish and the 3 where the crew missed the bites - that would have been 15 Sailfish. Added to that, the drama of a Sailfish trying to hug Garry, we had a very eventful and enjoyable day.
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| We put in the miles and got the rewards today |