Obsession Charters Spring Newsletter 2010

Some trips go better than others! Deckhand Richard Wright and I, along with 2 other charter boats, headed to Mexico on January 4. The trip started off terribly, the winds blowing 25-35 knots WNW and the temperature 21 degrees. We had to get rolling cause there was a window of good weather forecast in 5 days to cross the Gulf of Mexico ..... so off we went. ICE ON BOAT

A half hour out of Pirates Cove, we got to the open waters of Pamlico Sound, the first spray hit us and immediately froze over!   As spray continuously hit our starbord side for the next 4 hours, it built up on our curtains, outriggers, bow deck, covering boards and cockpit deck.... we were not happy.... and bit concerned..... I was worried my outriggers were going to come apart there was so much ice on them..... thought of turning around! Finally got to Adams creek and calm water... began using a space heater on the curtains to get ice off them so we could open them up, and then spent the next 4 hours beating the ice off the riggers & bridge sides and everywhere else.   Felt like the crabbers in the Bering Sea, but when they iced up, they had rubber sledge hammers and shovels..... we used a plastic squeegee and a chamois mop!! Needed a few drinks when we finally tied up in Wrightsville Beach that evening! The weather and the rest of the trip went well... finally got all the ice off the OBSESSION in Florida two days latter.   Our crossing of the Gulf of Mexico was calm the whole way.... whole trip took 6 days.

     When we arrived at Isla Mujeres, we were surprised at how few boats were there......only 6 of the 20 slips out Enriques Marina were full....but other than the disappointment in not seeing old friends, the thought of less crowded fishing grounds had us jacked up and as it turned out with good reason. Weather was unusually cool the entire 2 months and sunny days were the exception, but the fishing was spectacular the entire time we were there. Most seasons, we have a mixture of fishing by circling around balls of bait with frigate birds over them and sailfish around them, as well as just straight trolling, where we see sailfish 'free jumping' or just mark areas of bait or sailfish. This year was predominately fishing around birds and 'balls of bait', and with so few boats competing for the spots, we were able to have sustained action very often all day long.

     I can't really say there were more sailfish this year than other years, though certainly there were plenty of them, but the reduced fishing pressure factored in to the excellent fishing we had virtually every day!   We caught 10 or more sailfish 11 of the 13 days we fished in January, 24 of the 26 days in February and 7 of the 10 days in March, averaging 19 sailfish/day in January, 24 fish/day in February and 17 fish/day in March.   We ended up catching 1048 sailfish, far exceeding our previous best season, and achieving personal goals that Richard and I had discussed while heading down there, in light of the exceptional sailfishing off North Carolina this past summer and off Florida in December and January. Sailfish 2010

In January, Steve Smith & Charles Demark caught 34 sailfish for our best day of the month. Dan Homa and crew caught 28 sails one day, including 7 sailfish in one circle, as they kept hooking fish as fast as one was released....they also captured a quad and a few doubles and triples.

In mid February, Jeff Gill & friends did a sensational job hooking fish, catching 35 sailfish out of 46 bites, including a quadruple header, which they followed by hooking four more and while fighting them, hooked four more to set a new OBSESSION record of 8 sailfish in one long circle. Later in February, Professor Ian Trayer and wife Barbara, from England, who have been fishing these waters since the early nineties, saw their best fishing ever, catching 11 their first day, 31 their second day and our season's, and their personal best, 51 sailfish their final day..... and we quite around 1PM.... they were justifiably worn out. Randy Johnson & his crew caught 42 & 43 sailfish in successive days in late February.
Kid's sailfish

In March, David Botely and crew caught 41 sailfish, our best day ever in March. A few days later, with some friends and another boat captain, we headed out to swim with the sails .....found a great bunch right out of the gate, and followed them for 2 hours with everyone taking turns swimming with the ball of bait and sailfish.... there were atleast 30 or more sailfish on the surface corralling, chasing escaping bait or charging thru the 4 ft diameter ball of sardines, Classic bait ball

and another 80+ sailfish hovering below and taking turns .....UNBELIEVABLE..... even I jumped in as Captain Brian Peele maneuvered the boat..... mate Richard, having the best endurance and the strongest swimmer followed them for 2 miles.