Jack and Ann Hill took their daughters Margaret and Louise fishing on the L&H for a morning half day on Christmas Eve. Today the bait would be more difficult to catch than the big fish. We stopped at one spot and as soon as we hooked a bait, a mackeral would eat it and break our rig off. We tried for a long time and finally went to the bouy where they had been, but today the bouy was tough also. We went back inshore and finally managed to get enough. The conditions were perfect, with beautiful water, a strong current and a big swell. Mike and James could not get the baits out fast enough. Dolphin, kingfish, bonitas and sails were eating us up right away. We lost the first three sailfish of the day and a forty pound king right at the boat. From my perch in the tower I spotted five sailfish tailing down sea and moved the L&H to get in front of them. Seconds later, dad and both girls were fighting sailfish. After releasing the triple our team got into a groove. Dad and Margaret and Louise caught every fish that bit for the rest of the morning. By 11:00 the Hill family had caught eight sails, seven dolphin, two bonitas and a kingfish and they were ready to go home. As I headed the L&H for port I continued looking for tailing sails in hope of getting the magical double digits. Just seconds before we crossed over the reef I found a group of ten sailfish tailing down sea. Had Santa given us an early Christmas present? This was too good to be true! James and Mike threw the baits out and the sails raced each other to the easy meal. Dad and both girls had sailfish jumping in every direction while mom snapped away on her camera. A school of hungry mahi moved in and ate the rest of the baits before the sails could get to them. The father daughters team released the triple giving the L&H an unbelievable eleven sailfish released on a half day of fishing! It was an exciting, fun filled trip, and one that neither myself or the Hill family will soon forget!
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