Mahi Madness

We left Staniel Cay with a pretty well provisioned boat.  Lots of rice, beans, pasta and even some fresh fruits and vegetables from the small market there.  Even our water tanks were full.  The only thing we lacked was meat.  Sure, we could eat beans and rice, and we were fully prepared to do so if need be.  After all, we were headed for Cambridge Cay and Warderick Wells which fall within the 176-square-mile boundary of Exuma Land and Sea Park.   A park where fishing is strictly prohibited.  

With our lucky whistler lure probably still swimming in the jaws of a great barracuda, Scott decided to invest $15 in a package of 3 rigged ballyhoo. "Rigged" meaning  there were 2 large hooks embedded in each bait fish and attached to a steel leader.  He'd heard from a fellow fishing fanatic that this was the way to catch Mahi.

We were sailing on the sound, or "outside" as they say, and only had 10 miles of ocean before we would hit the park boundary.  Ten miles before we'd have to reel in the lines, stow the rods, and resign ourselves to a vegetarian diet for the next week.  Don't get me wrong, we love rice and beans, but we'd been spoiled by lots of fresh fish.

Things can get pretty crazy in a sail boat when you have a large fish on the line. Someone needs to tend to the rod while the boat is powered down.  This can be tricky (and dangerous) when the sails are full of wind; lines fly, sails luff, and things can go south pretty quickly.  We devised a "fish-on" plan, as follows: 

Scott:  Power down engine (if running) and take control of the rod.  Set hook. If fish is not too much of a beast, pass the rod off  to one of the girls.

Wren:  Sheet out on the main.  Get fish ID book.

Riley:  Release jib sheet.  Get gaff and give to Scott if/when needed.

Steph: Furl jib.  Take control of rod while Scott gaffs the catch.  Make sure we don't run into anything.

We were zigzagging  across the 300-600' drop-off when Scott saw the first Mahi skipping across the water heading straight for the bait on rod #1, "He's gonna hit it!  He's gonna hit it!" he yelled.  He hit it alright, but in a matter of a few seconds he was off, taking the ballyhoo and leaving us with 2 bare hooks.   The fish-on plan had already been initiated so we were ready when the second Mahi hit rod #2 seconds later.  He was a beautiful male "bull" with a large forehead.  He put up quite a fight, but was brought into the cockpit in a matter of about 15 minutes.  

We felt such reverence for this amazing creature as we watched his brilliant green, blue, and yellow fade to grey; remorseful and thankful at the same time.  Our table would be blessed, once again, with this mighty fish. 

By this time we were getting dangerously close to the park boundary line.  There was only one thing to do.  We turned around and kept fishing.

We had only one ballyhoo left.  As Scott fillet up our catch I said, "Hey, dissect the stomach and get the bait".  Of course he thought this was a brilliant idea.  

Used bait

 We rigged up the rods with the two remaining baits and tried our luck again.  We worked the same course in reverse, running back and forth across the drop-off.  In almost the exact same location, we had another hit.  Another bull.  But this one was big.  Really big.  And smart too.  He took cover under the dinghy, which was tied off to one side behind Kiawah.  He wrapped himself around the prop of the dinghy, as if trying to break the line.  I took the rod while Scott jumped into the dinghy with the gaff.  

I can't repeat what I was saying

Almost....

almost...

Scott wrestled the line free from the prop and was just about to come down with the gaff when the great beast shook and freed himself from the hook, leaving one half of the "used" ballyhoo behind. Ouch.  That hurt.

I can't repeat what he was saying either

And there was one more after that.  I'll spare you the gory details, but he got away, too.  I kept wondering what all you "SPOT watchers" must have been thinking as we traversed back and forth several times along an 8 mile stretch of Exuma Sound for the better part of February 24th.  Did they lose something again?  And to further confuse you (fueled by an amazing meal of Mahi), we decided to go back to Staniel Cay the following day for more rigged ballyhoo.

With 4 packages of ballyhoo in the fridge, we fished the exact same route on February 26th and didn't even get as much as a sniff.  Not even a barracuda!  Go figure.  Fish are just plain unpredictable.  I guess that's what makes fishing such an addicting challenge.  We stowed the rods and crossed into the park with only one meal of Mahi left in the fridge.  Vegetarian it would be.  Too bad none of us had the stomach to try eating ballyhoo. 

It's our custom to give thanks by kissing the tail.

Thank you, Mahi