First Sailfish And Plenty More

[everythingthatswims]

Here in the Outer Banks, most people make a 40 mile run to find pelagics.... We have found quite a few over the past two days within sight of the beach! I absolutely love it, catching these fish is comparable to no other type of fishing I have experienced. Lots of king mackerel and mahi, the one sailfish, and a few false albacore that have a very shiny belly that works well rigged on smaller trolling lures, the sailfish thought so! I think I could rig a ballyhoo in my sleep now too.

So here's the story with the sailfish, I apologize if this fishing lingo is on another wavelength from bass stuff... 

  We had all of our rods out, 9 of them, when one of the long riggers pops and we can see a huge bull mahi thrashing and jumping behind the spread. My brother grabs that rod and my other brother then tells him that he's crossed in the bird that we troll way behind everything else, but after sorting things out we now see that we have two very respectable mahis hooked up. I get ready to pull in the other rods when the short rigger to my right pops but goes slack. I quickly point the rod at the water and freespool it for a few seconds when I hear my brother (who is sitting on the t-top of our boat watching everything unfold while fighting his fish) say "he's got it!". I engage the reel and to our surprise here comes a gorgeous sailfish out of the water right in the middle of it all, and continues to jump 6 or 7 time before it peels 200 or so yards of line off the reel.

So now you have middle brother on the t-top fighting a gaffer mahi, younger brother on the t-top fighting a mahi, older brother on the deck fighting a sailfish, 6 lines still in the water, dad trying to steer the boat, and mom trying to take picture of the whole thing. I start cranking in a line with my free hand while the sailfish is still running, and my dad scrambles to clear the others. One mahi comes off and the other one wraps in 2 daisy chains of squid. Somehow we gaffed that one and got it in the boat, and a few minutes later we were able to get the leader on my sailfish, I picked up a rag and grabbed the fish by the bill, brought it in the boat, and we got a photo before it started beating the life out of me. Quickly took the hook out and lowered the fish back in the water, I held it in the current for a few seconds but the fish didn't need it, she was already trying to shake free from my grip. Let her loose and watched her swim off to fight another day! 

This shows the colors of a mahi pretty well, they fade almost instantly when you bring them in the boat

[A-Jay]

Very Cool ~

Living the Dream

Congrats.

A-Jay

[Darren.]

Wow! Nice haul!

[00 mod]

Awesome! I understood all of the lingo!  Haha! Congrats on the awesome day!

Jeff

[everythingthatswims]

3 hours ago, 00 mod said:

Awesome! I understood all of the lingo!  Haha! Congrats on the awesome day!

Jeff

Two days 

18 Mahi

11 Kings

1 Sail

[00 mod]

Those are great numbers!  Keep at em!

Jeff

[BassB8Caster]

Wow that's awesome! Congrats! 

[fishinfiend]

well done!

[Chris at Tech]

Nope, absolutely no fun at all!

[Catch 22]

I`m up on the lingo. Fantastic trip with a lot of good eats. WTG

[Turkey sandwich]

Wow.  This is exactly why we fish. 

[Hog Basser]

Sounds like an epic family trip!  Congrats! 

[MassBass]

might as well get on the phone with the fish market!

[everythingthatswims]

1 minute ago, MassBass said:

might as well get on the phone with the fish market!

You mean Uncle Chadd, grandparents on mom's side and dad's side, neighbors, friends, etc?

[MassBass]

I guess uncle Chadd is havin mahi steaks for afew weeks. lol

[Bankbeater]

Great trip!

[Jtrout]

Congratulations! Caught an 86 incher 2 years ago off the  coast of ft lauderdale. It was awesome put up a heck of a fight!

[Looking for the big one]

Great job! - now do it from a kayak 

[Ncflats]

Spent right much time in the Banks chasing fins and feathers. It's a very special place. Enjoy the fisherie... It's a darn good one.