Kirk Briggs, pictured above (L), caught his first sailfish early on in his trip late last week aboard Captain Morris Lewis’, MAIN ATTRACTION II out of Key Colony Beach Marina. The MAIN ATTRACTION II crew is proven tournament wininng group, and have had many multiple sailfish catch days, but this trip turned out to be one of the most exciting ever. The story goes something like this...

As the day was coming to an end, and everyone aboard was preparing to call it a day...things rapidly changed. A triple header! Three sailfish in the baits at once! Morris’ mate, Ariel Medero working the cockpit instructed his anglers on what to do. Angler 1 picked up a rod and began fighting a sailfish. Unfortunatley, the reel brokedown. Meanwhile, the other two fish ate baits andline was flying off the spinning reels. The cockpit was alive! Three fish on...and one reel boke! Wahooooo! Capt. Lewis scrambled down from the fly-bridge to assist, and realized that the two remaining sails had taken off in opposite directions. Quickly, the crew spliced a new line onto the reel and transferred the first sail to another rod/reel combo. Problem one, taken care of, Angler 1 hooked up and battling.
Now, what to do with the two parting sails? Hmmmn...Break them both off, to assure a good chance at the first fish Angler 1 was fighting? No, not today, not on the MAIN ATTRACTION II. Quickly Ariel attached a lifepresserver to Angler 2’s rod and tossed it over...yes, TOSSED IT OVER!

Now, as the other sail was screaming away in the opposite direction Ariel attached a floating orange ball to the rod/reel combo of Angler 3 and threw it over!

The scene...angler 1 fighting sailfish on a new rod and reel. Angler 2’s sailfish is swimming to the north with a rod & reel attached to a lifepreserver, keeping the outfit from sinking. Angler 3’s sailfish swims away to the south, carrying with it the weight of a rod & reel, and a 12” rubber ball attached.

Capt. Lewis expeditiously manuvers the boat to allow Angler 1 an opportunity to release his sail. Ariel grabs the leader, and this battle comes to an end, but the war is far from over. Capt. Lewis spins the boat in the direction of the floating ball, and shortly Angler 3 has his rod and reel back in his hands, with the fish still on the other end of the string! Yes, Angler 3 is still engaged with the sail. Fish on!! Capt. Lewis, Ariel and Angler 3 hastily work together to release his fish! Two down and one more to go! The Captain, who has attentively kept an eye on the lifepresserver, swiftly manuvers his charter boat in the direction of the bright orange lifevest. Ariel, secures the vest, Angler 2 grabs the rod & reel...fish on! 3 out of 3...impossible, improbable, not on this day. Hooked up! Captain Lewis rapidly positions the boat so that his angler is in the correct position to fight the fish, Ariel lends his expert advisement, resulting in the third release.

3 sails on, one reel breaks, two sails take off in opposite directions...Chaos? Not today...nope, just another sailfish trip aboard the MAIN ATTRACTION II.