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Fish On! Deep Sea Fishing Key West, Part II

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As I wrote to you here, fishing isn’t always about catching. If it was, they’d call it “catching.” But, if it’s the catching you’re after, “just sit right back, and you’ll hear a tale” worthy of Gilligan’s Island.

It’s funny because, in my conversations with you, you said to me, “Uh, Survival Guy, nice story about fishing. Just one thing. Did you catch the fish?” Which made me laugh because I guess I left out the most important part. Sorry. Yes, we caught the fish.

But, before we caught “the fish,” Your Survival Guy hooked on to a good size Wahoo, 20-pounds I’m guessing, and had the bruises on my inside hips, from the pole digging in, to prove it. Which makes this a good time for a public service announcement: “If you go deep sea fishing, get ready to work. This isn’t a bottom fishing, hanging along the rail type of trip. This is all hands-on deck, bring your sea legs type of day.”

And, of course, my fishing partner son wanted “Dad” to film the fight. And I’m good with that, but as my body logs its 50th trip around the sun this year, I feel like the Old Man on the Sea trying to keep my balance, hold the phone, and get a shot good enough for Instagram. But before we landed “the fish,” the old man did hook on to a sailfish of his own, but after a lengthy battle (in my mind it was lengthy), it pulled the hook and got away. I have to say I wasn’t that upset when the struggle was over.

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But this story is about catching. And when we threw a live bait like an ice cream sundae just inches from the frenzy, we had a fish on! You can see the rest of the battle here.

According to our expert guide Shawn this was probably a 30–40-pound sailfish that, after the end of this video, we released back into the water, held along the side of the boat by Shawn as we moved forward, and it swam away, ready to fight another day.

Later on, during Your Survival Guy’s trip to Key West, I was told that our deep sea charter guys had a big day—seven sailfish and a boatload of tuna. I thought to myself, “I’m not sure I’d have it in me to catch that many fish.” I’d do the work, but I might consider jumping overboard to take a break. But don’t tell anyone I said that.

Action Line: If you want to know how “successful” a trip was, look for the little white flags flying from the outriggers as a deep-sea fishing vessel cruises by, and you’ll know exactly how many they landed that day. And if you want to live the Island Life, stick with me.

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E.J. Smith - Your Survival Guy

E.J. Smith is Founder of YourSurvivalGuy.com, Managing Director at Richard C. Young & Co., Ltd., a Managing Editor of Richardcyoung.com, and Editor-in-Chief of Youngresearch.com. His focus at all times is on preparing clients and readers for “Times Like These.” E.J. graduated from Babson College in Wellesley, Massachusetts, with a B.S. in finance and investments. In 1995, E.J. began his investment career at Fidelity Investments in Boston before joining Richard C. Young & Co., Ltd. in 1998. E.J. has trained at Sig Sauer Academy in Epping, NH. His first drum set was a 5-piece Slingerland with Zildjians. He grew-up worshiping Neil Peart (RIP) of the band Rush, and loves the song Tom Sawyer—the name of his family’s boat, a Grady-White Canyon 306. He grew up in Mattapoisett, MA, an idyllic small town on the water near Cape Cod. He spends time in Newport, RI and Bartlett, NH—both as far away from Wall Street as one could mentally get. The Newport office is on a quiet, tree lined street not far from the harbor and the log cabin in Bartlett, NH, the “Live Free or Die” state, sits on the edge of the White Mountain National Forest. He enjoys spending time in Key West (RIP JB) and Paris. Please get in touch with E.J. at ejsmith@yoursurvivalguy.com To sign up for my free monthly Survive & Thrive letter, click here.
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