What a bunch of bull...

We were really looking forward to fishing today! The winds were down, which meant the seas would be calmer. Since we had luck yesterday, we were hopeful today.

We met up with Capt. Pete, who lives in the same condo complex, at the rendezvous spot for bait. He was able to pull in a few bait fish. But there was one boat who must have put some secret attractant on his rig, because he seemed to pull them in hand-over-fist. We left empty-handed, but not defeated. We were prepared to troll - for mahi, sailfish, marlin, wahoo!

Capt. Pete Jakits

While the seas were a bit calmer, there were quite a few storms brewing. After trying for bait, we noticed a huge storm that was heading north. So we altered our plan and headed south to get around it.

Still not a lot of chatter on the radio, but one captain said he found a few dolphin (mahi mahi) out between 350-400'. So, we got things set up and started fishing.

There were a few more fishing boats on the water today, but there were also some larger vessels too!

Our normal strategy is to alternate Captain and Mate/Lookout responsibilities. During one of my Captain times, I started thinking..."they" call fishing a sport. But I think it's more like a game - a cross between gambling and 'hide-and-go-seek', only in a really huge area! Sometimes, you have good luck and find the fish, and other times, in spite of all your efforts, you go home with nothing.

Shortly after the shift change, we spotted something white floating. (These are things you look for when fishing - creates a shady place for fish to hide from birds, but not necessarily from bigger, hungry fish.) Turned out the thing was a balloon...probably from the cruise ship.

Next thing we know, one of the lines is yanked out of the rigger and "ZIIIIIINNNNNGGGG", line is flying off the reel! A beautiful dolphin did several jumps, trying to throw the hook! Frank was starting to clear lines, teasers and getting things ready to land my fish. All of a sudden, the other rigger rod is "ZIIIIINNNNNGGGGGing". A DOUBLE HOOK-UP! This one did several jumps as well. It was pretty exciting!!

Keep in mind, there are only 2 of us on the boat, 2 fish on when a third line pops out of the clip! Yikes! (Guess he didn't like what was being served because nothing got hooked.) Anyway, I digress. We each kept the lines tight on our fish, while at the same time clearing rods and teasers on each side of the boat with our free hand. We needed to get the deck cleared so we could open the box and get these babies in there! Frank did a great job of getting him from the water into the boat, but that fish did not like being in the boat! Before we could slip him in the box, he thrashed and jumped around, spitting out the little fishes he must have scarfed down before hitting our bait. Needless to say, the inside of the boat (and Frank's clothes) looked like a scene fit for CSI! After a quick rinse down of the deck, we got the second one in the box. He didn't like it any more than the first one and made all sorts of racket! The icing on the cake...2 bulls (boy dolphin) - now that's some good eating!

The only unfortunate part of this fishing trip was that we didn't get any of the action on camera!

This was the small one - 15 pounds.

Must have been the orange these bulls were attracted to.

Frank's decided that each time we fish, we are going to double the number and size from each previous trip. :o)

Today, we definitely hit the jackpot! Perhaps next time, the game will be 'Red Rover, Red Rover, send your daddy over'.