Amazing two half day fishing with Jeff a

Our friends Lucas and Tatum joined us for a half-day offshore fishing trip. The day before, we had caught several mahi-mahi and raised a couple of sailfish, so we were excited knowing there was plenty of life in the area. But fishing has a way of keeping you humble. We arrived at the grounds and found no mahi. We switched our focus to sailfish, which was Lucas’s dream catch. For the next four hours, we trolled, searched, and worked hard to raise a fish—but nothing happened. Our half-day trip was officially over, but we decided to stay out for just 30 more minutes. Thirty-two minutes later, we still hadn’t seen a sailfish. At that point, I looked up to God and started talking to Him about perseverance. We had worked hard for this fish all day. My mate had already picked up most of our baits, and we only had one lure left in the water. I turned to Zachary and said, “Give me two more minutes.” As I was saying those words, a dark shadow appeared behind our Yo-Zuri Twitchbait. “Zachary!!!” I screamed. “Ballyhoo in the water, now! Hurry!” The sailfish followed that Yo-Zuri for nearly a minute before deciding to switch over to the ballyhoo. Then it spent another 30 seconds tracking the bait before finally committing. The reel screamed, the fish lit up, and Lucas’s dream became reality. Sometimes the reward comes when you’re ready to quit, when the gear is already being put away, and when nobody expects it anymore. Keep going. One more cast, one more minute, one more try—you never know when your sailfish is already swimming right behind the lure.

Amazing two half days on Feb 22nd. Caught and released 8 rooster fish plus 6 jacks. Inshore fishing is on fire.

1 for 5 on sailfish offshore yesterday. We saw plenty of life—fish free-jumping everywhere and lots of activity—but most of the sailfish were just checking out the dead ballyhoo and not fully committing. They’d come in, tap or swipe at the bait, then fade off. Late in the day, one finally crushed the ballyhoo and stayed tight. Beautiful sailfish, solid fight, and a clean release to wrap up the day.