# Destin Sailfish



## sharkpunch (Sep 28, 2012)

Some of you in the community have already seen the pictures, but I thought I would share the experience with you all. Hope you enjoy!

So, I decided to go ahead and make a solo trip (as usual) out fishing this last Saturday. I check the forecast and it showed slight chop with a NE wind. I end up getting to the parking lot right around 0615 and it is still pretty dark out. Grab my binoculars and head down to the beach. Starting to get light and the surf and chop doesn't look too bad. Head back up, grab the PA and head back down. Launch around 0630 and head out in search of some bait. Bait was pretty hard to locate, mainly because I don't have a fish finder yet, but I end up snagging some threadfins after about a half hour. Put one on the duster rig (green and yellow skirt) and troll out. 

Head out about a mile or so and I am sitting in 60-70' of water according to my Navionics app. The wind gradually picks up during the next hour and a half and it turns into 1-2' swells. Still manageable with the PA14, so I continue trolling for another twenty minutes. Finally, I decide I might as well head in and go hit up the bay since I wasn't having any luck at all. Couple minutes pass by and finally something.

Rod gives me one bend, followed up by another. Reach over and pull the rod from it's holder, tighten the drag down a little bit, reel in the little slack, set the hook, and.... a beautiful chaos erupts! Next thing I know, 5 or so feet of sailfish comes exploding out of the water. I will be honest, I was slightly dumbfounded and struck with disbelief. Do I really have a sailfish on the other end of my rod?!?! The fish smashes back into the water and reality sets in. I could see my duster standing out like a sore thumb against the sail's gorgeous colored body. (Really wish I had my GoPro on) The sail starts jumping like crazy about 30 feet out and starts to make a jumping beeline right for the left side of my yak. 

I felt a slight rush of panic as it continued to head directly for me. I kept my cool, while continuing to reel and keep pressure on it. Luckily, the sail decides to turn right and make a run. Drag starts screaming and I'm losing line quick. I feather the spool and make my drag adjustments till I find a good spot. Now it's time to go for a little ride. I finally get around to getting the GoPro turned on and trying my best to get some footage of the amazing acrobatics. 15-20 minutes pass as he pulls me around and continues to try and spit the hook. It starts to slow down and the jumping seizes. It's getting tired and by now, so am I. 

The sail finally surrenders and allows me to pull it up, get in a few poses for pictures and remove the hook. I try to quickly get it back in the water and start the revival. I spend the next several minutes peddling around, getting the oxygen flowing on through. I feel it's body coming back to life and giving me a slight kick, letting me know it's time to go. Grab the tail, feel one last little kick and away it goes. The adrenaline throughout the fight had me shaking, but after the release, I had a fish high like you would not believe. I was absolutely stoked! I guess the video at the end kind of embodies that. I couldn't stop smiling the rest of the pedal in. An absolutely amazing experience that I couldn't possibly ever forget. Thank goodness for GoPro!

P.S. If you thought that this day couldn't get any better... it did. Had VIP tickets to the local beer festival!


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## Big Perm (Aug 1, 2011)

Great job!!!! Congratulations!


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## PBTH (Oct 1, 2007)

Congrats on a solid sailfish! They are always a rush.


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## BlackJeep (Jun 13, 2010)

Nice job and nice release. Congrats


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## GatorBane (Jan 11, 2010)

Great catch and release. Simply AWESOME!


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## PAWGhunter (Feb 3, 2010)

Nice catch! Thanks for sharing


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## MVann126 (Feb 17, 2012)

STOKED! Nothing can compare to a kayak Sail.


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## baldona523 (Mar 2, 2008)

Awesome man, I love the emotion.


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## sniperpeeps (Mar 5, 2011)

Awesome man!! Hard to beat that feeling!


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## JD7.62 (Feb 13, 2008)

Great job man on the solo sail. Its been an epic year for them that is for sure. If I dont get mine this year I hope next year they are back in good numbers.

You need to make you a bait tube, those buckets really slow you down.


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## sharkpunch (Sep 28, 2012)

JD7.62 said:


> You need to make you a bait tube, those buckets really slow you down.



I know. I actually just picked up all the supplies last night. Hoping to get it done before this evenings trip.


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## need2fish (Oct 2, 2007)

Great job! Congratulations.


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## JD7.62 (Feb 13, 2008)

sharkpunch said:


> I know. I actually just picked up all the supplies last night. Hoping to get it done before this evenings trip.


Hopefully that NE wind will die down by then. I loaded up and hit the beach this AM as the wind seemed calm at the house. Not the case on the water, I could see it white capping out there pretty bad so I just came back home. This string of flatness has really gotten us spoiled.

Plus a cool morning combined with the constant splashing from the NE winds wouldnt have been too comfortable. Tomorrow looks like the day to be out there.


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## captken (Feb 24, 2008)

*Wow!*

Doggone I wish I'd had a yak in 1963! I'd still live up there if I'd survived.

Congrats. Great accomplishment.


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## Salty Daze (Sep 25, 2011)

cool video! man what a rush that has to be on a yak. great job on the release too.


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## GrayMan (Mar 17, 2011)

Very nice dude, congrats!


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## Foulhook (Apr 26, 2010)

Holy cow, Sat in Destin must have been sailfish palooza. I also caught one off of Crystal Beach at 830 Sat morning while trolling for kings. I only have a poor cell phone pic of part of the fish that I will try to post later this week. I was only 12-1500 feet off the beach and he stayed within 500 feet of where I hooked into him during the 25 minute fight. Glad you had a good camera. I will have to ask Santa for a GoPro.


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## sharkpunch (Sep 28, 2012)

Foulhook said:


> Holy cow, Sat in Destin must have been sailfish palooza. I also caught one off of Crystal Beach at 830 Sat morning while trolling for kings. I only have a poor cell phone pic of part of the fish that I will try to post later this week. I was only 12-1500 feet off the beach and he stayed within 500 feet of where I hooked into him during the 25 minute fight. Glad you had a good camera. I will have to ask Santa for a GoPro.


Awesome. It was my first time trolling off the beach in Destin. I am gonna start going out a lot more, conditions permitting. I feel like we don't have quite the community that Navarre and Pensacola has, so maybe there is a lot more cruising around.


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## Instant Karma (Oct 9, 2007)

That is awesome!!!!


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## northportcjm (Jun 9, 2009)

*Awesome Sailfish*

That was amazing! What kind of reel and rod were you using to catch the sailfish? Looks like a levelwind casting reel?
Thanks,

northportcjm


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## sharkpunch (Sep 28, 2012)

7'6" MH Shimano Teramar rod and a Shimano Cardiff 401a reel.


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