Even though the seas came up strong and the fishing was uncomfortable the fish harvest was good. Four nice sized Wahoo and three Dolphinfish however took most of the day and many miles were traveled.

L-R: Patrick’s neice, brother and sister looking on as he does his thing

The day started off excellent as the first Wahoo was caught in 153 feet of water exactly sixteen miles to the North of Island Harbour on a ships’ heading of 011º. Patrick was actually fishing for Kingfish but was satisfied with the rare shallow water Wahoo. Several pods of Dolphinfish were located but their temperament was sluggish and mostly refused the bait when using several techniques.

The sea surface was frothy and unsettled and even the non-game fish were few in numbers. Ultimately, Patrick decides to concentrate on Wahoo and trolled around an underwater bank or two without a single strike. Patrick then had an idea he now chooses to keep secret (intellectual property and unpublished know how) and two additional very nice Wahoos were caught. However, two fishing tow lines were massively entangled and many hundreds of feet of expensive wire line were sacrificed. That Wahoo was ultimately and finally hand pulled to the boat.

Patrick poses with rod and fish at jetty

Even though the fish was not lost, the direct cost for the day was escalating with the lost wire and one fish rod abandoned reducing the fishing odds for the remainder of the day. By this time the spent fuel was already over $200 USD and Patrick was growing weary of the rough seas. Inspirationally, and late in the day, a large game fish (most likely a Sailfish) shot across the surface of the water on its side, as if a skipping rock, slightly ahead of the boat chasing a small (single) flying fish. And, even though time was quickly passing and the trip back to Island Harbour would take about 90 minutes, Patrick continued towing as he motored into very deep water and bam: zing-zing-zing, a big rod and reel sang out. The fourth Wahoo was boated and Patrick noted that the fish was caught in 2,000 feet of water and he further reflected that all the Wahoos were caught in unusual conditions and at unexpected depths.

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