FISH ON!

Sometimes you get lucky.  The other day I was lucky enough to be invited to go on a fishing trip.  The day would be spent trolling for whatever is biting using lures, not bait.  We left at 08:00 sharp and cruised the 5 miles to the south Man of War cut.  There are several cuts to go from the Sea of Abaco (where we are located) to the open Atlantic Ocean.  Navigation through the cut can be treacherous if the conditions are not just right.  Although the passage is 10-12’ deep, it is not too wide and there are waves breaking over the coral reefs on either side.  If there is a big swell on the ocean, it is a white knuckle ride.  Oh, and did I mention that there are no buoys to mark the channel?

Once outside, the plan was to follow “the wall” which is the line where the Bahamian Bank drops off into the ocean.  The depth falls from less than 100’ deep to 10,000 feet deep within the distance of a few boat lengths.  We traveled back and forth along the wall with 4 lines trailing in the water.  It is just a waiting game now.  3 hours slowly go by and then one of the reels gives a little “click”.  Then “click click click” and then Z zzzzzzzzz zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.  Someone yells “Fish ON!  Everyone scrambles to their feet.  The captain takes control of the fishing rod and sets the hook, and hands the rod to me.  The fish continues to take more line and the captain gives the command for the boat to turn to port (left).  The fish will take all of the line if we don’t get the boat turned around in time.  Adrenaline surges as I continue to fight with the fish alternately taking up and giving up line.  It is amazing how much power the creature has when it decides to dive deep or turn and run.   Finally, after 20 minutes of work, the catch is at the transom of the boat and I have landed a 42” long Wahoo!  The rush is so intense that after the fish is secure in the cooler, I sit down shaking from the experience.  It will take 10 minutes for the shaking to stop.

We continue to fish for another couple of hours and land a dolphin (no, not a porpoise) aka Mahi Mahi and a small tuna. The dolphin was struck by a shark on it’s way to the boat but the damage was only slight.  Another trip through the reef passage is anticlimactic although no less dangerous.  Once back at our marina, the captain cut up the fish and we enjoyed a fish dinner of fresh Wahoo cooked to perfection by Mary.  Maybe I will be lucky again.