“Look Mario, there” I yell as I see a pod of anchovies being devoured. “Its probably just mackerel” he says “We have bigger fish to fry”…..and he was right.
Instantly we realize that undersized AJ’s were going to be the nuisance of the trip, hitting anything you dropped down.
But Mario is able to pick one out that meets the minimum size requirement
And then finally finds a way to get his jig past the delinquents and into this snapper’s mouth.
He would then pick up several nice Yellowmouth Grouper
And I would catch mine by the tail
Saturday morning brings the forecasted flat seas and we head out deep offshore in search of billfish, it would be my first overnighter and our first time swordfishing.
One could look out in just about any direction at any given time and find signs of fish busting bait, blackfin tuna, bonita and a few fish we couldn’t get close enough to identify were in full feeding mode. Our spirits were high with so much life around us, we even trolled past a bait ball with a large whaleshark suspended vertically gorging itself.
The sun made its way to the watery horizon and we were all smiles and high fives, not for the blackfin tuna just caught, but for the fish just lost. A very healthy blue marlin found its way into and out of our spread, but not before leaving us with a half empty 80W and a most spectacular aerial show.
The high fives continue as Mario pulls up the first sword for Azulita. The rest of the night remained quiet except for a bait left slashed.
The sun greeted us the next morning, but the seas had picked up considerably. We trolled around for an hour and I was about ready to call it off when we get a knock down. The hook would pull, but the fish came right back for it, Mario sets the hook and we have a fish on.
After a brief battle we finally see a small but beautiful blue marlin
Mario is able to remove the hook and send this marlin away in good shape.
It’s great to see your friends succeed in their goals, especially when several are squeezed into one short trip. Hopefully this is just the beginning of great things to come.
Congratulations to Mario on some fine ‘firsts’ and a big thanks for including me in the latest Azulita adventure
