"Move fish, get out the way, get out the way fish, get out the way!" I could not help but think of the lyrics from this famous Ludacris song (substitute fish for female dog) as fish came flying on deck during a family fishing trip on the Cutting Edge out of Key Biscayne, FL. When the fish were on, it was complete mayhem. We were casting over each others heads, literally throwing fish on the deck, yelling up to the captain for directions on where to cast, and running with hook in hand to load up with fresh bait. We are all lucky we made it back to shore without any hooks to the face or gaffs to the rib cage. It was wild! So wild in fact, that it made me feel like a wild animal. I caught myself grunting a few times, like Tim "The Tool Man", from Home Improvement.
Coryphaena hippurus, Mahi, mahi, (which means very strong in Hawaiian, and fish in Persian), also known as dolphin fish, or dorado, were the targeted species for the day. They are surface dwelling ray finned fish found in off-shore temperate, tropical, and subtropical waters worldwide. Once on the line they are incredibly flashy, iridescent and acrobatic, with beautiful blue, yellow, and green coloration. Out of the water, the fish changes color to several hues of gold (giving rise to their Spanish name, dorado, "golden") then fading to a muted yellow-grey upon death. Even after death their journey continues through the mouth and into the belly of a human being, where they can only be described as delicious.
Sabinki rig loaded with bait which were used to catch the dorado.
We alternated between two different techniques for catching our fish. One technique involved our Captain using high power binoculars on the top of our boat looking for diving frigit birds, which signaled bait fish and where there's bait fish there's dorado. We would then drive over to those schools of bait and the Captain could see the dorado and point them out so we could cast our fly lined bait fish in front of their faces. That's when the pandemonium would begin.
The other technique involved us trolling an artificial squid behind the boat as we cruised from one bait ball to another. Both techniques worked for us as we ended the day catching between 25-30, 22-30 inch size dolphinfish. When we finally docked the boat around 1 pm, the fish were filleted and we began brain storming cooking ideas on the drive back to Miami. It all sounded good and since we had plenty of fish we decided to cook it a number of different ways but all on the grill!
Fishing day collage!
It was so great to spend time with family and go through a little mayhem together, because even when you argue, fight or push each other out of the way to get a fish in the boat, at the end of the day you work it out, and by doing so grow closer. This ultimate hunter gather bonding experience was further exemplified that evening with a wonderful fish dinner that fed 9 of us! Fishing, as with family, you take the good with the bad, and a little mayhem is worth it as you grunt and bite, into a juicy fish taco followed up by a slurp of ice cold beer. This bud's for you "Tim the Tool Man", Grawwrrr, grawrr, grawrr!
Everybody loves to go bowling or fishing on their birthday followed by blowing out the candles on a big ole slice of cake. For my mother's birthday we decided on fishing, and although we did not have any cake, we made up for it in pounds of bass. It's funny how things just seem to work out on your birthday. I could not promise my mother she would catch a trophy bass all I could do was plan a nice outing on the lake with an opportunity to catch something.
The birthday girl and her 6 pound bass.
Luck is when preparation meets opportunity, and that is no doubt what happened here. My Mom was prepared by knowing how to fish a drop shot rig, and by fishing in areas that had great potential to hold fish, if opportunity knocked she would be quick to answer. And answer she did! Her deafening screams from the back of the boat let everybody on the lake, including the jealous tournament anglers know that she'd just hooked in to a fatty!
"Get the net", she screamed.
"I think I caught a big one!
"Sky, take the reel I can't do it!"
Getting a lesson on how to hold a large bass.
No way was I going to rob her the feeling of reeling in her first 6 pound monster, bucket mouth, fatty bass hog of a fish.
"Don't stop breathing," I told her as she reeled herself to exhaustion. Luckily her drag setting was low enough that the fish could make runs and not snap off. When it got close to the boat I was able to net it and take a few photos of the happy angler and her catch before we released the fish back into the water.
It was not my birthday.
Bowling and fishing are similar in the fact that even a novice has an opportunity for the biggest moments in the sport. This might be why they are both great American past times and why so many people go bowling or fishing on their birthday. We all think that the odds might be a little bit better on our birthday for that 10 pound fish or a few strikes at the bowling alley, in reality practice is the real way to increase our odds. So if you really want to catch a trophy bass like my Mom or bowl a few strikes at the bowling alley, get in some practice and when your birthday rolls around pins will be falling and fish will be biting.
