My, my! Mahi-Mahi!

Captain Sammy highlighted that the next location was quite a distance away, during the journey, it would be a good idea to rest and regain our energy for the battle ahead. What could this battle be?

It was just a little over lunch and all targets we were keen to land has been achieved. Rizal battled and released a stunning Sailfish for his 50th Birthday, he also landed a Barracuda and along with myself, we landed two decent sized Spanish Mackerel – all of which we opted to take home for the family. To slow down the excitement, we went squid jigging, Rizal caught a big one which made for stunning Sashimi, prepared by our lovely Captain.

Weather was perfect, the mood on board was amazing, we could not ask for more. Before we know it, we arrived at a location far from where we started, pristine blue water, calm air and a peaceful silence – except for Sammy and both our deckhands getting busy live baiting our hooks.

“Are you ready?”, Sammy exclaimed confidently, with a wide smile on his face as he casted out the first bait. “For what?”, we asked collectively. Why answer that question, when he could show us within a second? The calm at sea was interrupted by a surface explosion in hues of bright green and yellow.

“Mahiiii-Mahiiiiiiii!” We yelled, in decibels which we were certain could be heard all the way back in Kuala Rompin town. The Mahi-Mahi (Dorado or Dolphinfish) leapt out of the water with great élan, mesmerising and infecting us all with the same spirit! Unlike it’s elegance, we gracelessly stumbled around the boat trying to grab the next rod with another one hooked on it. Landing, photography of our catch and battling another Mahi happened simultaneously between us.

At that moment, it mattered not who we were, how we knew each other, where we came from… we were all, including Captain and Deckhands, a bunch of elated 10 year olds at sea. Us three anglers, elated from realising a shared dream; to land our first (hopefully, of many) Mahi-Mahi.

We decided to take home four Mahi’s for the family and released the rest. This is a species talked about not just for it’s stunning colours and adrenaline pumping battle but also its sweet, fairly firm meat.

Smiling to ourselves, grinning, staring out to the finally calm sea, we could not believe what happened. Serenity surrounded us once more, this trip is not over yet, what else was in store?