Lucaya Bacardi Billfish Tourney Sterns Of Lucaya Bows of the Bahamas
This trip was a blast. Whole crew was on their game. We ran the farthest and fished the hardest in the smallest... Thanks Guys...
It all starts with that first bite...
The boss man digs in...
First points on the board...
Day two missed a blue and got this "billfish"
That next day was lay day... Most crews slept in...
Fishing day three... Nick laid into a slob white...
Day for was the only calm run. We were zippin at 35+kts by sunrise...
Even at break neck speed the Contender let the boys get some much needed rest...
The boss man leaned into our first one of the day...
A slob of a sail...
Nick leans on the next...
Another spindlebeak...
Deep Deckhand shows off our lone "meat fish"...
The Mirage earned a dandy trophy... and a lumpy envelope...
This is for all those suffering from being planted on dry ground through the clold months here. This oughta thaw you out but good. Too good to run in just one forum. Go full screen and let her rip guys. A couple bad words sneak through near the end but thats how shark guys talk ... 4124
Miami is not my favorite place. Leaving this behind here in Palm Beach was tough enough...
Arriving at Miami Beach Marina we were greeted by this mess. As ugly as this is the story behind it and the other boat that burnt was rather interesting. Seems that the crew on this vessel was stuck in the bow cabin as the fire raged through the boat for over forty minutes. A quick thinking local jumped aboard Bouncer Smiths Dusky and brought fire fighters to the bow where they could cut a hole in the engulfed blazing mess to get the guys out... All hands made it...
There was a silver lining on the dock for me at least. Coast Guard personel don't do much for me but this specimen really stood out as special. The pic doesn't do any justice to just how well put together she was. Not only pretty but sharp as a tack and great conversation to boot. Never wanted to be violated by CG before but was praying to be this time.
Morning one came and we were off to a flying thud. Language barriers and inexperience quickly set us into a 0 for 6 slump on sails and too many other missed mixed bites to count. Our two guests from Holland finally scored a bonito for Dick and an amberjack for Hans to get the skunk off the boat...
Giorgio from the south of Italy was the one to break the ice on the sail slump.
Back at the dock the Contender girls took good care of our boat as well as the other Contenders in the VIP area...
Day two was not just sporty... It was rough as hell... We found a color break as defined as any youcould ever want. Fish were slow to cooperate at first though. We took a pseudo rogue wave over the top that hit us so hard it spun the radar aray like a helicopter blade...
We continued to trudge through the rough stuff and finally raised a fish. The language again posed an issue and the seas really dictated that Deep Deckhand take control so he wrestled the first for the day to the boat...
From there out they kept comming at a good clip... Not enough to win but a good time for all aboard as seas let up some...
Forgot to pop em up the other day...
Eric W gets to work on one...
Gettin bitchy boatside...
Juanago Frank has a go...
Another falls prey to the tear drop lure of death...
I cussed the gods this morn. Flappin trees indicated that swordin just wouldn't be on the plate for the night. The squids never left the fridge... It would be a marlin scouting expedition instead. I jumped in the Miragemobile and gave her her her initial run hauling bait and tackle for the first time... Even dropped a few ballyhoo scales in her to bring her to RTB status.
Eric, Alex, and Frank arrived on time... I kicked and cussed the haunted E120 and finally she grabbed GPS signal.
We cleared the inlet into predictably sloppy 2-4 with a stray 5. We had flyers kicking a few hundered yards out so I dropped the spread early. From 75' all the way to 750' there was bait and signs of life. Just nothing wanted to play. We saw a couple schoolie dolphin that didn't have enogh ass to even take a look at the big stuff we were dragging.
An hour in we had a sail smack a flat and go away. Sails in May are pretty rare and I figured it would be our one lone shot at one for the week... Not so fast there... What I think and what mother nature thinks are often on different ends. In no place particular in about 700' an hour later, I saw a bill working the tear drop over horse. Not real big but aggressive... I went to work. Swing and a miss. I jigged her back up top. Wham! Strike two... I got strokin hard. Wham! Third time the charm. Eric was closest so he got the call. I could see billfish but couldn't get an ID...
A few minutes later and a dead boat fight up came a sail! Crushed another cherry ...
We dragged all over. The south wind grew and the seas soon followed. We had a blind strike slap down an Iland pro... Then a half hour later a harder knock down on the pro on the other side... Again couldn't ID the fish. No scuffs to speak of on the leader but bait not tore up either... Oh well. Something was there.
The sun lowered and a distant thunderstorm grew closer. I slid into 400' and it was solid flying fish for miles. Some showering with stuff pushing them but couldn't see what it was. The seas built and I pointed even shallower. Solid flyers still on the way in. I slowed from marlin speed to inside troll speed and damn if yet another sail didn't pile on. Frank got the duty on this one. I made another pass and yet another pounded a teardrop. That one never felt Mustad love though...
Two for four on sails in May on the dead stuff tickled my pickle and the 33knot ride down the ditch was pleasant after the chop beating we got offshore...
Today we continued our quest looking for dolphin... Shrunk the baits and started hitting the usual spots. I was off the "dodge" wall in about 190' when the rigger went down blind. I was thinking maybe sail. The drag started screaming. Wahoo? Nope... Frank was on the stick and there it was a medium small blue absolutely balling the jack ! Not really jumping. Head shook a couple times and then that tail slinging water and this fish was motorin! Got 2/3 of the tld 25 spool in a heart beat then came unglued...
We set back up and hammered the area with nothing more. I slid deep then heard a guy inside crushing sails. We went for a look. Rigger goes down. Whiff! Then minutes later yet another whiff!
That was it for our bites.0-3 Watched the guy with live baits though drill two more. Just after one o'clock we heard a guy bowed up on a slob blue. Right where we had been for our small one. They were still on it a little while ago as we headed in. They had chased it from Palm Beach to bleow Boca Raton (20+ miles) against the current... They said the rod and reel were both spent and they almost had the leader touch once... Hope they get it. Another boat called it a pig in the 600 class... Quite the feat on sail tackle..
Today we broke our stones trying to find the green. I was shocked that 400 boats had lined up to give it a go... All the billfish events this year were down by half. The wahoo events up by quite a bit and dolphin king wahoo up by almost double... So much for the economy and gas theories... It was no play close to home game either. Last weeks guy from the Grove KDW tourney ran 120 miles all the way to the pocket. Today we had guys that ran 60 moiles north or south. We ran twenty out and twent six south... Finally found some weed and some condition but not all the pieces in place. Bait was scarce until late in the day...
We banged some dolphins finally after three days of searching but just not the right one. 30lber won the thing. Five wahoo for 400 boats was topped by a 57 pounder and the big king was 56... So that was it. We scored but not worth weighing. We did have three memorable bluebird sunny days and great company.
Mirage is all buttoned up. Deep C is pickled so that left my newly recovered skiff to go play with. Marina was nuts with a tourneu going on but managed to get through the chaos and go find a place of my own. The neeters were on cue as I arrived. Problem was that they were for the most part those 15 pound summer hummers.
I tried shrinking the baits then they got too small. I hooked a pair of slobs and had to pull her out of gear to work em. The two sinking lines got hammered but not with neeters. Kings... Another time I might be happy but I was on a mission. One of the pig neeters got clipped by a shark.
I worked up a sweat drilling I guess a dozen or more too bigs, a half dozen bullets and two snake kings... The wind started perking and I began working back toward my inlet. Another quad and though big they ones made the grade as potential mako baits for the next few weeks. Another pass got me one more big but usable... If I had been more energetic I could have saved the slobs and cut strips but I waved the white flag and bailed early.
Five is better than none and probalbly all I will need. When mako fishing. I only put one out if we have a pig prowling the slick that doesn't want to eat. I think they see the squiggly stripes and it triggers some kind of angry hit. More of a kill than feed bite...
LinkBack URL
About LinkBacks
Reply With Quote
All hands made it...
