It was a good trip with my family. Also got to fish for about 1/2 of one day. I took a fly rod and stuff to fish with, but there wasn't much action anywhere, so I never used it. I used the gear on board, which was salfront butter baitcasting gear. We trolled for probably 15 miles each way between the marina and the fishing "spot"...and didn't catch a thing.
Still it was nice to enjoy the scenery, and I even saw a few whales.
Once we got to the "spot", we baited up with 11" live bait...some sort of young jack or sardine-looking thing. Then we just very slowly trolled along the outside edge of a long sandy beach.
First take, I get a few tugs, and look at the boat captain. My line has gone slack. I think it might be running toward the boat. He tells me to reel in, which makes good sense to me. The line has been cut. Ok...there was an 11" bait, plus about 24" of titanium leader. The line was cut ABOVE that! "Spanish Mackerel," says the knowing captain.
OK. He re-rigs my line, adds fresh bait and we are back in business. Not much going on...I start watching the sea birds.
Lots of Frigates, Seagulls, Pelicans....and...OH LOOK! An OSPREY!
The way he's flying around, its almost likes he can see my bait, isn't that cute? Hey, he's dropping down to the water. and...HEY, that's about where my bait is. and...HEY, HE'S GOT MY BAIT AND IS FLYING OFF WITH IT!!
LISTEN TO THAT DRAG SCREAM!! Well, I figured I'd better reel the thing in, cuz he's making a beeline for shore. I try to put the brakes on the reel. Amazing how strong this "fish eagle" is in flight! Anyway, I put enough pressure on it that the hook pulled out of the bait, and no harm done to the osprey. I couldn't even tell that the bird dipped down or even noticed any strange pressure on that fish. STRONG BIRD!!
OK...once the captain stopped laughing at me, he kindly rebaited my hook. Soon, there was some action near my bait, and I could see the Roosterfish's dorsal fin slashing through the surface of the waves as it chased down my hooked baitfish. I did as I'd been instructed...."Count to 3, close the bail, and set the hook!". FISH ON! Gee whiz, it didn't look that big in the water, but this is a STRONG FISH!! I landed it. Hooray! Roosterfish are COOL FISH!
The capt gets me set up with fresh bait and we continue our slow troll. The next fish hits, and I repeat the hooksetting procedure. FISH ON AGAIN! Holy buckets, this one is BIGGER! I can't budge this thing! It seems like forever before I can even TURN THE REEL HANDLE. My rod arm is getting very tired! But, I win again, and this fish is big enough that the capt uses the gaff to land it. He tells me it is a yellowtail. I think he is wrong. I checked it out later, and believe it is a Pacific Jack Crevalle. We estimate the weight at around 15 lbs.
That was pretty much it for the fishing. On the way back into the marina, a friendly (aka HUNGRY) pelican landed on our motor and eyeballed the fish in our livewell.
Overall the trip was excellent. Once I got back home to Iowa and unpacked my suitcase, I discovered my fly rod, 2 fly reels, and 2 boxes jam-packed with flies were stolen from my checked-in luggage. Since they seemed to know exactly where to look...even left my fanny pack, but took the valuable contents from it...I figure it was probably a TSA employee who had probably seen my precious cargo on the x-ray monitors. I figure the value of my loss to be around $860. Thieves. Bummer.
They also rifled through my remaining cigars, but didn't keep many, if any, since they weren't Cubans.
fun!
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