18 Sailfish in one Day-Captain Easy Holiday Isle OFfshore

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Mid-April, moon in the last quarter, wind ESE 10-15 knots, gulf stream pushing onto Alligator Light, warming waters and crowding baitfish up onto the reef, and hungry pelagic predators everywhere. A “Perfect Storm” for the hapless baitfish.

Lee Hagenbach and his son Hunter, friends from Wilmington, DE, down on vacation, had called and invited me for a day offshore on the “Captain Easy”, out of Islamorada, with Captain Bruce Andersen and mate Mike Mason. We boarded and left Holiday Isle at 7:00 A.M. and after a quick run to the reef to catch cigar minnows and ballyhoo, we powered out to a beautiful color change at 110 feet of water, where frigates were wheeling and diving on bait showers, jumping everywhere. I have never seen so much bait; there weren’t “showers”, there were “shoals” coming out, hundreds in a school.

As Capt. Bruce steered toward three frigates diving on bait showers, Lee said, “I hope we can get Hunter on a sail, neither of us has ever caught one.”

Mate Mike put out live ballyhoo and cigar minnows, and Capt Bruce “bump trolled” his way in front of the diving frigates.

I said, “Better get your camera ready”, and BAM, “FISH ON!” as a sailfish slammed the left rigger, then greyhounded for the horizon. Hunter did a perfect job playing the fish, then regained line as Capt Bruce backed down, the leader appeared, Mike leaned over, and Hunter had his first Sail.

“Never caught a sail?” Lee and Hunter hooked up 12 and released 9 by 10:15 that morning………..

The action continued all day, broken only by a 45 min break to catch more live bait after we ran out of ballyhoo.

Final total: 24 hookups, 18 releases (including a tripleheader and two doubles), and a nice by-catch of four 3-7 lb. dolphin, an 8 lb. blackfin, and several kingfish……….

“JUST ANOTHER DAY IN PARADISE”………