Joining the “Billfish Club”

By Caleb Davis, Age 13

Edisto Island

I have always had a love for fishing but it wasn’t until this past July that I discovered just how much fun offshore fishing could be.  One night in July, while watching TV, my dad came up to me and said, “Caleb, do you want to go offshore fishing in two weeks blue water trolling for dolphin and billfish on a HUGE boat?”  Of course I said, “Heck yes!!!”  In the past, I have always gone fishing for trout and redfish during the weekends, but this was different.  For offshore fishing we would travel sixty to SEVENTY miles out.  Excitedly, I headed off to bed thinking of abnormally large dolphin, sailfish, marlin and the wonderful trip that lay ahead.

Two week later, around three-thirty in the morning, my alarm went off.  Immediately, I sat straight up in bed like I had never been asleep at all and hurried to the shower.  After taking a shower and getting dressed, I headed downstairs to find my dad already waiting for me at the breakfast table.  With the upcoming offshore fishing trip, I was careful no to eat anything heavy because of the predicted heavy seas.  I decided, just in case, to have only two pieces of toast with jelly and afterwards we were off to the marina.  The car ride to the marina seemed to last forever, and I kept asking my dad repeatedly, “Are we there yet? Are we there yet??”  Finally I was able to see the tips of the sails on the sail boats, and I knew we were about there.  As we pulled up to the marina I jumped out of the car and began jumping for joy, yelling and running in circles at four in the morning.  After calming down, my dad and I walked up to the boat, which was named the Micabe, and the owner emerged.  We greeted the captain and began to wait for about forty-five minutes for the other groups of fisherman to arrive.  Finally, everyone arrived and we untied the giant fifty-five foot boat from the dock, and we were off.

Even though it took forever to get to the trolling hotspot, I was relieved and fascinated once we got there.   The water was as blue and clear as a sapphire but very rough.  Flying fish were jumping everywhere in the six to eight foot seas.  At this point the first mate began deploying the baits of choice which were naked ballyhoo on circle hooks fished behind massive mullet dredge bars.  Due to the rolling seas, everyone but me and three other adults were seasick and confined to the cabin.  It became funny as the weary were throwing up when the captain came out and said, “Who wants a sausage biscuit?”  Everyone got one, which was stupid because most were regretting it five minutes later!

Suddenly, after about fifteen minutes the rod skipping a naked ballyhoo bent over.  The first mate picks up the rod and gives it to one of the girls on the boat, and she fought the small dolphin.  After that, nothing happened for about an hour and just when I was beginning to get bored out of my head the first mate yells, “SAIL!!!!!”  Immediately I rush to the deck to find one of the younger men on the boat fighting the fist sailfish I’ve ever seen.  I was a little disappointed that I didn’t get to fight it, but it was ok.  I hoped there was going to be another.  The man got the sailfish to the boat, took some pictures, and the hook was pulled from its mouth.  Before the release, no one noticed the line wrapped around the tail of the sail fish.  At that time, the sailfish was thrown overboard with the line and hook trailing behind.  When it was released the line took off with the large 10/0 circle hook which happened to be wrapped around the captain’s leg.  As the line tightened, the hook became embedded in the Captain’s calf.  Now we’ve got a problem because we are seventy miles offshore and the hook is past the barb.  With the hook deep in his leg, the captain decides to get out his pocket knife and cut the hook out.  There was so much blood, the captain became sick to his stomach but insisted we finish the day fishing.

It was a couple of hours after the sailfish was caught when I was sitting half asleep in the fighting chair as I head that luminous word again being yelled by the first mate, “SAIL!!!!!!!” Since I was already in the fighting chair, he hands me the gigantic rod and tells me to start reeling.  Immediately, I start cranking and the fish jumps violently several times.  It seemed like an eternity, but I was determined not to give up.  We got the fish into the boat, took some pictures, and released him back into the ocean.  What a beautiful fish!  Soon thereafter, it was back to the marina.  Unfortunately, the whole way back they were talking about throwing me and the other guy who caught the other sail into the water at the marina because it was our first billfish.  It was a “tradition” they said.  After a long bumpy trip, we finally arrived at the marina, and the captain told me to empty my pockets for my initiation into the “billfish club”.  Reluctantly I did, and I was shoved into the creek along with the other young man who also caught his first billfish.  It was a shocking experience but one I will never forget.  I hope it won’t be long until I get out there again to catch another sail, and maybe I will be the one who gets to initiate another “newby” into the billfish club!