Day 1 - Offshore Islamorada, June 12, 2009

Even with travel delays and a 3:00am arrival in Islamorada the three happy fisherman couldn't sleep and needed to be on the water before sunrise. The skipper could have found his way through that narrow channel blindfolded, so the near dark conditions didn't slow him down.

The water was like glass the first day and the threats of thunder showers seemed far in the distance as the eastern sky began to glow. Trolling rods were set. Every man at his post. Eyes strained for any signs of life on the water. The first fish of the day was a good size Bull Dorado. The fish put up a great fight and Tony was dripping sweat by the time that fish was carefully placed in the ice chest. With the promise of an exciting fishing day and pumped up with adrenalin, the rods were reset and we soon had three nice gaffers on board. The real work started when Captain Ken spotted a school of small Dorado. Trolling rods were quickly set aside for the more agile spinning outfits. The action changed from a steady pick of 15lb plus fish to 20"-24" schooling juveniles. They are voracious and incredibly strong for their size. For the next hour we had 4 fish "on" at all times, non-stop action. With two bait rods and one lure in the water. Michael brought out his fly rod to enjoy the rare opportunity of catching Dorado on a fly. This is why fisherman travel 3000 miles and Michael knew in that instant it was worth every mile.

Day 2 - Offshore Fishing the Islamorada Hump, June 13, 2009

5:00am is 2:00am West Coast time.

There's a saying among fisherman, "don't leave fish, to find fish".

Running on little more than caffeine and instinct we were on the water well before we were fully awake, on our way to the location we fished Day 1.

It seemed like minutes before the boat slowed down meaning we've arrived. The water had a little surface chop.
There was a slight breeze and a few clouds, all different from the previous days fishing. We found a school of small Dorado early on and used light weight gear to land fish until our arms were tired. We called a passing boat over to enjoy some of the action. The children on board were grateful to have the fast paced action. We left the school to the other boat as we went in search of bigger fish. With the changing conditions it became even more important to be vigilant about any sign of life in the water. Birds had been scarce the first day and today wasn't showing any birds as far as we could see. Scott was getting way too much sun up on the flight bridge but wouldn't leave his post. He was quickly adjusting to the glare and the sameness of an endless ocean. His ability to pick out a small floating object a half a mile away paid off with some beautiful fish. Locating floating debris can be the difference between an ok fishing day and a great day.

Day 3 - Offshore Fishing the 409 Hump, June 14, 2009

There comes a point when you know the only thing keeping you on your feet is being too tired to fall asleep.
As we slowly adjust to East Coast time, it was still early. At O' Dark 30, we looked at the matching outfits we had carefully laid out the night before. This was our last day in paradise and we wanted to look like, and work like a team.

We had reports of a wide open tuna bite at the 409 hump yesterday so we opted for the longer run to those numbers for a chance at some Black Fin Tuna. The first hour of trolling looked very promising, one tuna and a hit and miss on big Bull Dorado. We finally started seeing bird life, debris, weed lines, all the signs that fish were in the area. At the end of the day we boated 4 tuna and a three very nice Dorado. It was not what we had hoped for and the big disappointment of the day, came when we saw how dirty our clothes were but:
The worst day fishing is better than the best day working!