Bob Frevert (narrator) fished Saturday night with Roger Bursey, Cindy, and Mike (14) Bursey, Bruce and Bruce (12) McDavid, and my son Ryan (13) on Cindy's 33 Hydrasport Vector. Left the dock at 3pm. High speed trolled down to Lake Worth inlet without a bite. Headed offshore in delightful conditions. Wind was East @ 5 knots, seas were <1', air temp was 75°. It seemed like June rather than January. Put out the squids in 1550' a few miles south of the Palm Beach canyon.
Put out three jugs and a tip rod. Watched a nice sunset and then marveled at all the stars in the clear sky. At 7pm, the middle jug (200' down, blue cyalume and blue flasher) started to move. I came tight, and the fish swam south into the current, and out of the spread. Left the spread deployed, hoping for a double, but when we were down to a quarter of the spool left, we bumped the drag up from 11# to 13#, cleared the spread, and started chasing the fish. Each of the boys wanted to be the one to land the fish, but it was clear that this fish was more than they could handle. They took turns, and as they tired out, the adults had to help. 2 hours into the battle, the fish wore out and we brought him to the surface and stuck the harpoon in him. The boys were impressed with the size of the fish: 66" LJFL and 136#. Only a couple of squid and half digested fish in it's stomach. Ran home, cleaned up, and got to bed at 1:15am. It was a great father/son bonding experience.
