I've discovered I can be a little long winded so I broke this one up into two parts.
Day four dawns with better weather. We are greeted by clear star filled skies, warm temperatures and calm winds. The trip out to the bay is quick as is the short ride to the rocks just south and west of Barra. We being tolling and a dorado jumps clear of the water not more then 30 feet off the bow. It is still dark with only a sliver of a moon and the ambient light from the stars overhead. We were somewhat hampered by the availability of a bait source, so there was no live bait to throw to the dorado to bring it to the boat. This fish decides to pass on our offerings, but the sighting of dorado in the area heightens our hopes for a better’s day fishing.
We fish the waters where we sighted the dorado while watching the orange sun rise through the high wispy clouds.
It is always at times like this that I truly appreciate the grandeur that nature offers everyday that all too often goes unnoticed. With no other action we decide to head farther south to another rock where our Captain has had success in the past. This rock turns out to be a small island that has been claimed by the local bird population. Its surface is now whitewashed and it is best viewed and fished upwind.
The sun is now up, the ocean calm and it is not long before we begin to pick up fish. A few bonito to warm up the muscles and multiple sightings of bait fish working the surface. The first good fish of the day hits the squid fly pattern and begins a tail walk across the surface. The colors of a nice dorado highlight the skyline, however, this fish decides to self release and the fight is quickly over. A short time later, another bigger dorado is hooked and shows off by jumping even higher and adding an increased degree of difficulty with a few flips and spins. This fish is in no mood to play with us either, and it too spits the hook. Most people would have been disappointed at losing both these fish, but not this group. It was just as thrilling to hook and see them and know that they were around. I tried to offer some “tips” on how the land these big fish but I was sent back to the front of the boat.
We continued to troll around the rock I had dubbed “poop rock” picking up some smaller bonito here and there and were about to head out for sailfish when the water behind the boat explodes in a foam furry, fish zipping just below the surface. Two rods bend with the weight of good sized fish and we had our first double of the trip. One of the many things I enjoy about saltwater fishing is sometimes you just don’t know what has been hooked. Much of the anticipation and excitement is just getting the fish to the boat to see what it is. These two fish were obviously larger then bonito and had not gone deep which is typical for that species. They had stayed up higher in the water collium, but had not broken the surface typical of dorado. Line was gained and lost and for a while it looked like my fishing companions were in their own version of a Mexican standoff.
Eventually, technology and perseverance pay off and one of the fish is near the boat. It takes a few seconds before anyone identifies the shadowy figure. It is a wahoo, a stripped torpedo with a warhead full of teeth. As if just to tease us the fish allows only a brief glimpse before biting thru the leader, depriving anyone a photo op. There is still hope as the other fish, we assume it is also a wahoo, is still on. This skirmish is taking a little longer because it is on a 12 wt rod as opposed to the first fish caught on a 14 wt. Eventually the rod and line conspire to tire the wahoo and it is next to the boat. My suggestion of just lipping it like a large mouth bass for a photo goes ignored and it is tailed, landed, photographed and released.
Capt. Troy with the toothy critter.
It has been a good morning. The water temperature is higher then the previous two days, much more like the first day, so we head out for the blue water to try our luck for sailfish. The wind has picked up slightly, and the swells are similar to the first day’s conditions. We search for some warmer water and begin trolling when we hit a layer of 82.5 degrees.
Within 30 minutes a sailfish takes off with the line on the 14 weight rod without warning. I just happen to be standing next to it and am the first one to notice it but I dare not grab it. It would have been a long swim back to the beach. The one person who has not managed to land a big fish has the rod and is now holding on. The first 150 feet of backing was gone in the first 10 seconds and it is now half way through the remaining 500 feet. The drag is tightened down and the sail is still taking line. It looks like a refrigerator magnate of a sailfish jumping that far away. It finally stops, and the distance between the boat and sail is slowly narrowed. Thirty minutes later it is within 50 feet of the boat and begins to jump a dozen times, one jump after another. It is quite a show to behold.
All this jumping must have tired out the sail
and shortly thereafter it is billed and landed. Now I would have included a picture but I overexposed all the hero shots much to my fishing companion’s consternation. Really I didn’t do it on purpose, really.
Now this sailfish would not revive either. I’m not sure why. There was no apparent injury and the length of fight was not overly excessive. I am sure conventional gear would land these fish quicker and maybe put less stress on them, however, my companions have made multiple trips bill fishing and have never had any of the other landed fish not survive. I guess farther research will have to be done.
Coming soon part II of day 4
[ 01-21-2004, 08:52 AM: Message edited by: BanannaMan ]
Mexico Day 4 part I and pics
Thats the kind of research i like. [img]graemlins/applause.gif[/img] I know that its a shame to keep killing the things :whazzup: But the smoker will just have to keep smoken :grin: great pics Good luck for the rest of the trip 
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