It had a been a few days since we fished and we were excitedly looking forward to fishing today. Frank spent the better part of yesterday getting things on the boat ready! We were determined to catch live bait and subsequently catch sailfish and dolphin (as many people did the previous time we fished).
We left the dock earlier than planned only to hit a wall of fog! We could barely see 30 feet in front of us! (A boat ride that normally takes 30 minutes, took nearly an hour.)
Channel marker at the end of the canal. Leaving the condo.
Thankfully our GPS had all the channel markers, bridges and other landmarks as well as the last path we took. But the fog was so thick we literally went down the river at a snail's pace.
And wouldn't you know, it wasn't until we cleared the last bridge, the sun came out and the fog was clearing.
We headed for what we anticipated would be a good bait spot. After several tries, we only pulled in one bait fish. Our favorite Captain called to say he found bait. Off we went and sure enough, we started filling the livewell.
With several different types of bait on hand, we headed out to the Gulf Stream. It was a little slow going because the wind had picked up and the seas were a little rough (ok, they were a lot rough!).
We selected our starting point and got the baits ready. A trick Captain Frank uses is to tie a balloon to each of the lines. It's an easy way to see where the bait is and when a fish hits the bait.
Julius (orange) and Bell (blue) were put out first. Shortly afterward, a dolphin got Julius and we got the dolphin! A little while later, we saw a fin (a sail actually) swimming around the blue balloon. The balloon went one direction and the line went the other. But, Bell must have slipped off the hook because that sailfish did not get hooked up. So, more baits and more balloons. We drifted for a little while. Sure enough, another sailfish checked out the bait and some how ended up with a free snack! The third time was the charm and the sailfish was hooked up, but only for a short time. He jumped 3-4 times and we think it was about 6' long. Guess it was his way of saying 'thank you for the tasty snacks'.
Unfortunately, with only two of us on the boat and the conditions, it was impossible to get a picture of the free-jumping sailfish.
We drifted for a while longer, but the seas were getting rougher and we were ready to call it a day.
Inspite of the foggy start, it turned out to be a good day!
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