Rough Seas

This past weekend my Friend Juan Estevez (Capt. of "Why Knot" charters) invited me to go fishing with him next week in Key West for the Mutton run. Of course I accepted, and as part of that deal I was to go with him this past weekend to catch some bait for that occasion. 

The Seas were very rough as the winds were sustained at around 22 knots, and gusting to more than 25, but since the plan was just to catch some Ballyhoo, I decided to bring my son along for the ride. 

We first went to government cut but the Ballyhoo weren't there, so we headed for Marker 21 and it was more of the same; there was nothing to do but head for Bug Light and see if we could find'em.  The Waters at Bug light were rough, and there were no Ballyhoo there either but plenty of Pilchards; so Juan asked me if I wanted to go off shore for a bit and I can never say no to fishing so we loaded up on Pilchards and headed offshore. 

It was not smooth going, the oceans were in the 5 to 7 range with some 8 mixed in for good measure.  We trotted along slowly until we found a depth we liked and put out the Kite.  The action was slow, and we saw many boats heading south, but for us it was going to happen here or not happen at all. 

A big Loggerhead happened by and it brought with it a Remora who decided the Pilchard we had swimming top water would make a tasty snack.  Not exactly the fish you want to catch, but my son had a good time reeling it in.  The action was pretty slow, but a bit later we had another fish on the line, nothing to mention though, a large needle fish had taken another Pilchard and once again my boy reeled it to the boat.

 

We were getting a little banged up from the seas, and were considering calling it quits when Juan saw the Bill of a Sail Fish come up and take the bait.  The Fish made a hard run south with the current, then made his first jump to try to pitch the hook; it didn't work and he started running hard again.  Soon after the big fish made another jump, this time high in the air and in a rolling motion that managed to get the line wrapped around it's body.  Then the fish Spread his sail against the hard north current and headed for the depths.  Eventually he broke us off, but not before my son had some fun reeling down on him and I was able to take some nice video. 

Anyway, like I've always said on here, the crappiest day fishing is still better than the best day working.  I found out a couple of important things too, first of all my son is not afraid of rough seas, he never complained, never seemed scared, or looked apprehensive; on the contrary, he was having a blast.  Secondly, and most importantly I found out that my son does not get sea sick; if those rough seas didn't bother him, I think he should never have a problem, because even the seasoned Captain of the vessel got a little green while tieing some knots.

If you want to see some cool fishing video go to YouTube and search "Why Knot" and you can find a few fishing videos I've made.   

Enjoy the Pictures.

Till next time...