July 23, 2026

Regulars Back Aboard, Three Generations Out for Mahi

MaryPat, Emily and Antonia on deck with mahi from the morning bite

Alan, Lisa, MaryPat and Emily have fished with us enough that they do not need the walkthrough anymore. They know where to stand, they know how the pit works, and they know I am going to hunt until we find something.

This time they brought the whole family. Grandma and grandpa came along, and so did MaryPat and Emily’s cousin Antonia. Three generations on the DirtyBoat and one plan for the day. Go find mahi.

The setup

Thursday had an east wind at 10 to 15 knots. Hawk Channel ran 2 to 3 feet and the Straits were close to the same, but the wave detail is the part that mattered. Northeast to east, 3 feet at 4 seconds. That is short, busy water. The forecast number looks fine on paper. The ride tells you something else.

Vaca Key was reading 88.7 degrees before the sun got serious. The Gulf Stream edge was tight, 6 miles southeast of Alligator and 2 miles southeast of Molasses, so there was no need to make a long run to reach good water.

Fish early

We got out there and went hunting. By 9 in the morning we had a few mahi in the box.

That is a decent start for a day that was never going to lay down flat. Nobody had to wait around wondering if the trip was going to produce.

Calling it

Antonia was not feeling good. A 4 second sea will do that, and it usually finds whoever is newest to the ocean first.

There is no medal for making somebody grind through a rough morning on a trip that is supposed to be fun. So we picked up and ran back to the barn with fish in the box and everybody in one piece.

Knowing when to turn the boat around is part of the job. The fish will be there next time, and so will this crew.