There are fishing trips here in Fort Lauderdale that start with bites as soon as you wet a line. Right out of the port, fish can be abundant right by the entrance of Port Everglades. Then there are those trips you have to search a bit to find the fish. If you're trolling, this is rather easy as you are covering a lot of area as you move along.
But today we were kite fishing with a repeat friend. Arthur and Marcelo were back with us again, local bankers that bring clients and vendors. They had Zach and Peter with them, two guys that seldom get to fish, especially deep sea fishing. The kites were up and were drifted with the current to the north. Light winds allowed us to move in and out of depths and most fish that had been seen that day had been in fairly shallow waters.
We were hoping for Mahi-Mahi, Arthur loves fresh fish and a few had been around. There were also a few sailfish as well in the same depth. But the afternoon was proving to be slower than the morning trips as we waited and only saw one small Kingfish attack our spread.
I've always preferred, if things are going to be slow, that the excitement comes toward the end of the trip rather than the beginning. Catching a really cool fish right out of the gate and then not having action afterwards can be somewhat boring. But if you have to wait for that bite, as we did today? All that waiting goes away and the excitement is what you're left with. And with 2 Sailfish showing up toward the end of the trip? That's exactly what we had!
When you hook 2 fish at the same time, they seldom swim together. They cross and recross the lines, which has to be orchestrated by the mate to keep things clear. These are powerful fish so they can take line from a reel in no time at all and that's just what they did. And as one fish ran north and the other to the southeast? Chasing after them with the boat was not an option... yet.
This is where patience pays off big. The fight is done by working one fish and getting some line back. Then the other fish is worked, even though you may lose a bit of line on the other. Arthur and Marcelo did excellent jobs in following instructions from Justin and within about 45 minutes, we had released Arthur's fish and boated Marcelo's for pictures.
So that patience pays off in both waiting for the bite and winning the fight. It can't be rushed or hurried. And what you end up with is all smiles and repeat guests. I know Arthur will be back!
Tight Lines
Captain Steve
