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After looking at the weather, I decided we needed to get the boat to Ocean City a few days earlier than expected. My 8-year-old daughter, Avery, was sitting next to me on the couch when I was checking conditions. That’s when the wheels started spinning in my head. “Hey Avery, you want to catch a white marlin?”
I could tell she didn’t know what to think. Although I fish a lot, my kids have not been too involved in my adventures. I couldn’t help but think about how amazing it would be to share my other love with my true loves. After getting the blessing from my boss, it was time to talk to the family about it. I asked my wife, Kristen, what she thought. Not only did she think it was a good idea to bring Avery, but she also wanted to come and bring our 11-year-old daughter, Harper, too. So, now it was turning into a family affair. My ultimate dream was to have the girls see the sunrise over the ocean, each catch a white marlin, get some pictures with our flags before jumping in at Sunset Marina, and celebrate with ice cream at Dumser’s Dairyland. Everyone seemed pretty excited.
The 4 a.m. wake-up call came early for most members of the Kubik household. They were surprised by how few cars were on the road on the way to Pirates Cove Marina. Per Sweet Spot tradition, we shared a morning prayer before leaving the dock. After that, we all climbed the ladder to the bridge. The girls had their pillows and blankets and quickly picked their benches. It wasn’t long before we were under the bridge and out of the inlet. What an amazing opportunity for them to go on a family adventure on such a pretty boat on a slick-calm day. Shortly afterward, we watched the sunrise together as a family.
Soon the throttles were pulled back, and my mate, Matt Murphy, went to work. It was probably weird for him to be in the cockpit alone and hear Taylor Swift on the stereo. After about an hour of looking, Avery asked, “When are we going to start fishing?” Trolling was new for them. Their fishing had been minimal until this point. They’d caught a few fish around the inlet before, but never anything quite like this.
Things didn’t start out overly promising that morning. We had gone around a couple of buoys with no mahi around them. As we made our way through the Norfolk Canyon, we saw a few pods of dolphins, providing some entertainment. After several hours of trolling, we got our first bite on the long rigger. Avery was the first down the ladder and jumped in the chair.
This was not going to be your normal fishing day. There would be no circling. I took the boat out of gear and hopped down the ladder to help Matt clear lines and assist the kids. Avery’s mouth was going a million miles an hour as the white marlin jumped all over the ocean. After lots of screams and cheers, we were able to secure the leader and get the fish boatside for some pictures. Sharing that moment with her and seeing how thrilled she was to catch that fish was just an awesome experience. After a few hugs and high-fives, we were back on the hunt to find one for Harper.
We didn’t go very far before we had another fish on. Harper got in the chair and went to battle. She made short work of her yellowfin on a dink pole. I couldn’t help but be surprised by how good they were doing. I really thought I would have to hold the rod or offer some sort of assistance. After spending almost 20 years charter fishing, I have heard many grown men moan and groan while fighting tuna.
We weren’t trolling very long before the mahi started to get after us. Both Harper and Avery were able to land a double of small gaffers. Avery screamed and lifted her legs as they flopped around the cockpit floor.
Then things started to get more exciting. “Left teaser!” I was trying to tell Kristen and the girls to look as we began retrieving the teaser. Everyone was excited when Matt hooked the white marlin and it began jumping. Harper was back in the chair again, and it wasn’t long before we were looking at her first billfish. Both girls could not believe they had caught fish bigger than they were. Not much could make me happier at this point, or so I thought.
Suddenly, the left teaser was coming to life again. Everyone started hollering about the white marlin chasing it up to the back of the boat. Not to be outdone by the kids, Kristen was next. She didn’t scream like Avery, but she did a great job catching her white marlin. I couldn’t believe it was all happening the way I had dreamed.
The Ocean City Ferris wheel came into view as we rode through the inlet. After we got settled into our slip at Sunset Marina, we all climbed up to the bow for some family pictures. It was time to jump in. I was so happy to share these memories with my kids, especially since it was a white marlin that got me hooked on fishing when I was 16.
We celebrated with ice cream. The perfect day. It was certainly the highlight of my summer and a day I will not soon forget.
