I have been fishing my entire life, I was lucky enough to grow up just yards from the Vermillion River. I have fished multiple lakes and rivers, and have always enjoyed fishing. I recently had an opportunity to go deep sea fishing in the Keys with Captain Todd Monson of Out of the Blue Charters. In my mind deep sea fishing would be similar to the fishing I had done, in South Dakota, but boy was I wrong!

My husband Trey, myself, my good friend Abby and her husband Jake were all very excited to go deep sea fishing, we got to the Marina, around seven and met captain Todd. I had never met Todd before and didn't know what to expect, he was waiting for us at his boat and welcomed us on. We headed out a few miles from the Marina, to catch our bait for the day. We were in about 14ft of water when captain Todd stopped, he had a five gallon bucked that had sand, oats and chubs all mixed together and began throwing it out into the water, before long there was an entire group of small fish around the boat. Captain Todd then threw a big net into the water in the area he had thrown the sand, oat, chub mixture, and before long we had the bait we needed. He explained that the sand was needed to make the water cloudy so you could throw the net to catch the bait. Right before we left we even got a glimpse at a shark swimming along the ocean bottom.

We had our bait and headed out, we stopped near a light house and through out a parachute like anchor that let us drift along at 1-2 mph. The next thing captain Todd did really through us for a loop, he got out a kite, we all gave him a look like we though we were going fishing, whispering back and fourth we then came up with that it must just be a marker so other boat know where we are, we were wrong, we actually used the kite to send out fishing lines out and be able to control our bait and line better. When we connected our lines to the kite line you put them on a little clip so if you got a bite your line would drop off the kite line and into the water. The fishing pole line also had a bright bobber like attachment on it so you can see your line to adjust it, the first pole's line is furthest out, we had four poles in the water. Unlike the fishing I am use to back home In South Dakota you don't just throw your line is and and sit back and wait, when deep sea fishing with the waves changing the water height and the wind moving the kite around you bait is constantly either to deep in the water or completely out of the water. Captain Todd taught us how to adjust our lines and keep them where they needed to be, when they got to high we would let out line and when they got to deep we would crank the line up a bit.

It didn't take long and Jake had a sailfish on the line, his pole was the first to go out on the kite so his line was the furthest out in the water. Jakes, fish was putting up a fight, it jumped out of the water multiple times up to 5 feet in the air. Jake fought the fish for a couple minutes before the hook popped out of his mouth. We were all in awe seeing a fish put up a fight and jump out of the water like that, the catfish in south dakota don't put up quite as much of a fight. It didn't take long before Trey had a sailfish on his line. His didn't put up much of a fight at all, it came swimming directly at our boat. You may be thinking it must have been easy to catch, but actually it was still difficult having to try to reel in line as fast as the fish was swimming at the boat, luckily Trey was just fast enough and got him caught! Now it was my turn! We re baited our hooks and barley got them in the water before we saw a rainbow colored fish head right for my line. He took the bait and we started the fight to get him in. He was putting up a fight, he took the bait at the back of the boated and headed for the front, I pulling back and reeling as fast as I could, while trying to follow him to the front of the boat, I finally got him reeled in close enough to the boat that captain Todd grab him and get him in the boat, it was a Mahi Mahi. My arms were tired and I had used muscles I am pretty positive I had never used before, but it was worth it, when we finally got him in. We kept fishing and a few more chances at a small shark, group fish and Trey caught a King Fish.

Captain Todd, moved spots 3 times and kept giving us great opportunities to catch fish! Our experience would not have been near as fun or successful with out our great captain. Todd was not only a great captain, but a great teacher, he explained why we did everything the way we did and why that was the right way to do it and showed us how to do it, it was like being out on the water with an old friend. I highly recommend captain Todd to anyone interested in going deep sea fishing, you are sure to have a successful, educations, fun trip!

Captain Todd Monson, was born and raised in Florida, and his love for the water and excitement for fishing is his passion. Captain Todd has been fishing since his childhood. In 1994 his family moved to the Keys where he was able to garner experience fishing with the talented elders of the fishing community and learned the techniques and skills that have allowed him to become an expert with his anglers. Growing up in the Keys made for an enormous playground both offshore and back country, extending his knowledge of the terrain as well as an extensive understanding of the fish species that inhabit the areas waters. For Captain Todd, bending the rod continues to hold excitement for him that he enjoys sharing with his visitors.

Captain Todd Monson has also extended his fishing experience to the Bahamas, Mexico's Sea of Cortez, Cabo as well as the northern Great Lakes and Canada's wilderness. Whether you wish to fish for trout, permit, snook or tarpon, or prefer the excitement of capturing a moment with a marlin, sailfish or swordfish, Captain Monson can provide you with the ultimate fishing adventure.

L-R Jake Abby Ashley Trey Captain Todd