The morning started with the weather looking excellent as usual. After saying goodbye to the wife I went along the jetty to meet up with Stanley and Santos Dillon on their new 50ft Viking fishing boat. My first impressions were WOW!, what a fantastic boat, I’m in fora great day.
With a cabin nicely kitted out with leather seating and air conditioning, toilet, kitchen etc. this boat was definitely built for comfort and wanted for nothing. Being out on a boat all day in the sun does take it out of you and having a/c means you can retreat into the cabin and cool down.
After discussing the days fishing we left the harbour; its going to take about 1 1/2 hrs. to get to the mark. You know when you are reaching the mark when the boat starts to power down, the outriggers are set out, the rods are selected and the baits and lures are then let out behind the boat. Within a short time one of the rods starts screaming as the line is taken off the reel.
Within five minutes the first fish was in the boat, a nice Dorado. Throughout the day, we were catching Dorado and Wahoo and this kept me busy; we didn’t see any billfish that day but there were more than enough fish in the boat for a fantastic start.

On my second trip, the plan was to go for quality rather than quantity; my sights were set on a billfish and by midmorning we had the first take and did it run! I didn’t think it was going to stop and after a great battle the fish was in the boat - a superb Dorado; pound for pound I consider to be one of the best fighting fish in the sea. Within twenty minutes one of the other rods started screaming out line; I picked up the rod still spilling out line; 10 seconds later, all went slack and it was gone...nothing, my chance of a billfish had gone.....but that’s fishing...
At the end of the day, with about 15 minutes to go we had another run; I was convinced it was a small billfish. However, with the fish staying deep, the rod tip knocking and the way it was shaking its head, the bets were on that it was a Wahoo. Once we started seeing colour in the water it was confirmed and safely landed in the boat.
I had a great time with Stanley and his son Santos on their new boat Super Cool Too. They are a super cool team, their knowledge of the fishing in Tobago is second to none, they have really good quality fishing gear and they certainly have the best boat on the Island. After a long day fishing, what could be better than a cold beer or an island cocktail and a fantastic seafood meal cooked by Stanley’s Chef in his restaurant Dillons - a treat not to be missed...

keep up the good work guys and we can’t wait to see you again for our 12th trip to Tobago.