Day 12- Out with Double Header

Matt and Olivia holding her first caught Mahi -Happiness!

Today we went fishing with Double Header. It was captained by Matt - aka “Making it Happen” and first mate was Chi – aka “Killer”. Matt and Chi grew up on St. Thomas and had been fishing their entire lives. We knew this was going to make for a great trip out.

Thomas showcasing a yummy Blackfin Tuna!

We made our way out to the North Drop about 20 north of St. Thomas. The North Drop is a shelf that runs along the entire region of the British and US Virgin Islands where it drops down to 28,000 feet at its deepest. It was to be our Tuna Mecca.

On our way, we made a slight stop near a local salt pond and Matt managed to catch some bait fish with his cast net. After a few casts, the net was stored and we were back on the run. Luckily today, the wind was laid down so the water was too. It was a smooth ride out to the North Drop and after about 45 minutes into the ride, the guys put out the lines and we started trolling.

Mom trophying her Mahi catch!

Once we started trolling, it was game on. Most of the time when one line hit, two more hit. Yes, it truly was “Tuna Mecca”. On one of our hits, we caught three different tuna species – Blackfin, Skipjack and Yellowtail. We trolled for most of the afternoon, except for about 45 minutes when we used live bait. Matt stopped near a bouy and checked to see if anything was hanging out. First throw and “BAM!” – caught a Mahi! We quickly scurried to through more lines in and reeled in another 6 Mahi!

The real Mahi Master - Thomas!

After the Mahi wrangle we tried one more bouy a little further out with no success and then went back to trolling. We trolled for the remainder of the trip and kept hitting jackpots!

We knew of six times that we had 3 lines going at the same time. It was fun to watch the kids and Anna reel in the fish. The smiles and faces are now etched in my mind and are priceless!

Thomas with the only Bonita caught!

Around 6:15pm we started making our one hour trip back to St. Thomas. On the way back we witness an amazing sunset, some beautiful landscapes and a couple of rainbows. What a day!!!!

We ended up with 7 Mahi (2 dropped in the water at the docks), 1 Blackfin, 1 Yellowtail and 18 Skipjack tunas. SUSHI TONIGHT!!!!!

Anna, Olivia and Thomas all  reeling in after running into a school of Skipjack tunas.

Anna happy being back in her natural habitat - on the water!

Olivia mocking the smallest caught of the day!

Thomas with the only Barracuda caught of the day!

Olivia holding her Skipjack!

Sunset off the coast of US Virgin Islands heading back to St. Thomas after fishing with the Double Header.