A Dream Come True
Catching my first sailfish was a dream come true. Thank you Danny for helping me scratch another item off of my bucket list!
It started early one May morning.
We had two goals for the day: I was determined to catch my first sail fish and we all wanted to eat good that night. Danny Crosby and his Captain and crew worked tirelessly all day to not only accomplish both goals, but to exceed all of our expectations.
After the deck hands took our party to Danny’s immaculately clean charter boat, we promptly filled the live well with bait fish before heading toward open water. Along the way, Danny and I sat on the bow watching sea turtles go by, and even saw a manta ray skipping across the crystal blue water.
Figuring that “eating fish” would not be too hard to come by, we began by trolling for bill fish. Much to our surprise and satisfaction, we soon encountered a large school of Mahi Mahi. After we caught our fill, with most casts producing two fish at a time, we headed toward a hot spot to bottom fish for the rest of our dinner.
Once there, Danny dropped lines and within a few minutes I was in the fight of my life with a 52 pound Amberjack. My inexperience with such a large fish showed, but Danny was there by my side reel for reel telling me what to do and making sure I did not lose the tasty beast.
Not long after pulling the fish into the boat, we had a 47 pound Red Snapper on another line, followed by a modest Broomtail Grouper. With 2/3 of our trip behind us and with our evening menu now complete, we again embarked on our final journey for the elusive bill fish. As the sun was going down, we all knew it was time to head back.
My head hung low knowing how disappointed my 9 and 12 year old children would be that their Dad had not caught the sailfish he had traveled all the way to Costa Rica to catch. Knowing how important it was for me to catch a sail, Danny and crew persevered. Suddenly, we heard the sweet sound of the line spooling off the reel at a high rate of speed as the rod doubled over under the great weight. Everyone on board moved out of the way and summoned me to the fighting chair. We still were not sure what we had on the line, but we knew it was big. With Danny by my side again coaching me every step of the way, we saw the mighty sailfish break the water for the first time. Everyone erupted in cheers as I fought the acrobatic sailfish for what seemed an eternity as it jumped and rolled no less than a half-dozen times.
Words can not express the happiness I felt as the deck hand pulled the sail fish across my lap for a photo. As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words – the smile on my face says it all!
Thanks Danny!!!
