Found at: http://www.anguillaguide.com/article/articleprint/5743/-1/140/
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Nice Catch In Anticipation Of The Upcoming Fishing Tournament - Festival Del Mar
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Fisherman Patrick had almost gone landlubber addle based on the Anguilla Christmas Winds that have lasted into March. The winds have kept the East End seas high and the fishing fleet idle during some long stretches of time this season.
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Pat and his March catch
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However, on Monday past, Patrick went to the North in search of a big Wahoo that had been requested by Veya Restaurant, Sandy Ground. The Ocean waves had not entirely subsided even thought the winds had cut back substantially. Trolling for big Wahoo proved unsuccessful during the morning such that Patrick decided to try his luck looking for Dolphinfish. A pod of colorful fish was found but they ignored and refused the bait. The pod lacked typical Dolphinfish aggression and voracious appetite. After several attempts, that location was abandoned in hopes of greater success elsewhere.
Subsequently, another group was found but similarly the fish were unusually timid and slow to bite. Numerous technique and bait approaches were employed and a few fish were ultimately caught. After several hours and more than three locations, 15 Dolphinfish were ultimately caught and preserved. However, it is fair to say that each and every fish caught required an unusual amount of coxing and finagling. Further, many fish surfaced but stoically ignored the bait and were left to be caught another day.
Notably, the Veya Restaurant commercial request had not been fulfilled as no big Wahoo had been caught. One last attempt of towing artificial bait for about two hours produced an enormous however unusual strike. The big 12 naught fishing reel screamed at about 3:15 in the afternoon and continues making noise long after the boat had been slowed. A big fish had hit the bait from a perpendicular approach to the lure and continued running north even though the boat was on a Westward heading. Strangely, the fish swam virtually on top of the water Northward and Patrick felt as though he had hooked a small Marlin. However, it was a big Wahoo of about 40 or 50 pounds exactly as Veya Restaurant needed. Conspicuously, the artificial lure had two giant hooks and typically a fish gets barbed with the last hook in tandem. In this strange case, the fish was hooked only with the hook nearer the lure head as the last hook was dangling outside of the fish mouth. The fish had obviously hit the artificial bait from the side or below but did not chase the bait from behind. This nice fish was quickly manhandled on deck to minimize bruising and further endured sashimi grade preservation techniques including stuffing the belly with zero degrees cooling. By 3:45 Patrick had contacted Veya Restaurant to inform his customer that he had successfully caught the big Wahoo that they needed.
As a preview, there is healthy and vivid talk among the many talented fishermen regarding Festival Del Mar and the upcoming fishing tournament. As is widely known, fishermen are extremely competitive and the rod and reel tournament should prove to be one of the highlights of the festival.