Great Catch

We’ve sailed from Galveston to Florida to the Bahamas and back to Florida over the past two months and not once have I broken out the rods to troll while sailing – until today. I set up the rigs with my two favorite lures: the black and purple skirted sailfish lure with a shiny head made of shell that has caught numerous dorado, wahoo, barracuda, and once we even hooked a small blue marlin and had it to the boat before we lost it. The other lure, my “dolphin slayer,” is a bright green plastic squid with a yellow and green skirt. I’ve used this lure for years and have seldom been disappointed. In fact, in 2008, our son Patrick caught a sailfish on this lure while sailing with us from South Padre to Aransas Pass.

WIth the strong mojo of these two lures, how could we NOT catch fish in the deep blue waters, alive with flying fish? We trolled all day, without even getting a bump – until around 4:30. ZZZZZIIIINNNNGGG!! A beautiful blue/yellow/green dorado was on the line, leaping, dancing, and shaking to rid himself of the lure. Tim Clipson, my old friend from Key Club and Circle K days (think Kiwanis for High School and College), took the rod and fought valiantly to bring the fish home. This is Tim’s first Gulf Crossing and his first fish caught trolling on a sailboat. He fought the fish like a pro and in no time we had him on the deck and filleted, ready for tomorrow’s fish tacos. What a beautiful end to another perfect day at sea.