Sailfishing is one of the most exciting types of saltwater fishing. For those that have experienced it you know what I mean. For those of you who haven't, don't let another year go by if you can help it. Two of the best places for sailfishing are Florida and Mexico. This particular adventure will take us to Cancun, Mexico.

Sailfishing in Cancun, Mexico is very exciting -- not only for the fantastic fishing -- but also to experience vacationing in another part of the world where the customs and culture are quite different from that of North America.

Before my trip, I wondered if I would enjoy the change in culture because I am so used to America and believe the United States has so much to offer. Putting my nationalism aside, I gave Capt. Allan Poole a call to see if he would be interested in being featured on our television show, ADVENTURES IN FISHING WITH CAPT. RAY KELLY.

Capt. Allan was interested and we scheduled filming a show in April aboard his boat, 'The Calcutta'. There's a great deal of work to schedule shoots and produce our show. For this particular episode, I was lucky enough to have my son, Chris join me. Fathers out there know that it can be quite a problem to schedule 'quality time' with your son. Chris is 22 years old and works for Neographics, a Web development company in New York City. He hardly has time for himself never mind me.

We flew to Cancun and stayed at the Melia Turquesa hotel. The next day we located the Marina Hacienda Del Mar in Cancun and I met Capt. Allan Poole. The Calcutta was a beautiful boat. Capt. Allan told me that the sailfish were biting and we made arrangements to meet at the dock early the next morning.

Chris and I took a taxi to the marina the next morning, which was an event in itself because if you don't bargain your fare before you go, the drivers will charge you much higher rates! Chris was to be the main cameraman and I would act as a backup here and there. As Chris filmed me at the marina, I wondered whether or not we would catch any sailfish that day. I had heard that the sailfishing was great in Cancun and had told Capt. Allan that if we caught two sailfish, we could produce a nice segment for the television show.

We left the dock. The mate of the Calcutta, Tony Acker, and Capt. Jeb Hale, who is a captain on one of the other boats, had the day off and would be our anglers.

Chris and I were amazed at the color of the water. There were blues and greens yet it was all crystal clear. The water was beautiful. Capt. Allan cruised past our hotel and Chris photographed it from the boat. Chris is a great photographer. He has a good eye for composition, which is so important.

Tony and Jeb were rigging up the rods. The bait they were using was frozen ballyhoo from Calcutta Baits. Capt. Allan said we would be trolling for sailfish and started the first run at the southern-most point of Cancun.

Within an hour there was a sailfish following the bait on the left outrigger. It didn't take long before the fish took the bait. The line screamed. Tony grabbed the rod and set the hook. As soon as he did the sailfish broke the surface and started to do the acrobatics for which sailfish are so well known. Chris and I tried hard to capture the jumps with the cameras. I might add this is no easy task.

I was hoping that the sailfish would not be lost. Tony gave the rod to Jeb who fought the fish like the true professional that he is. Tony put on a fighting belt with the gimble on Jeb. Capt. Allan backed off on the sailfish to help the fight. As the sailfish came closer to the boat, you could see it was a beauty -- we estimated between 60-70 pounds. Tony grabbed the leader and pulled the fish to the boat. The sailfish jumped and thrashed, shook the hook at the boat and swam away. It would have been released anyway. Capt. Allan practices catch and release.

This was Chris' first fishing experienced on a luxury sportfishing charter boat. He was amazed at the beauty and comfort of it's spacious cabin with a leather couch, television, air conditioning and just about all the comforts of home. And as I said in the beginning, it was great being able to spend the time with my son. Chris told me that he filmed most of the jumps and it should really come out well. Although we had one sailfish on film, I was now hoping for another.

God answered my prayers. Not 45 minutes later the line on the right rigger was hit.

It was another sailfish. Jeb grabbed the rod and set the hook. This sailfish jumped even more. It danced on the surface at times and that is a truly beautiful sight to behold.

Chris enjoyed filming from the bridge and I was down in the cockpit or, as I say, 'where the action is'. I was impressed with the teamwork of Capt. Allan, the mate and the angler. Teamwork is extremely important when you're fighting big fish.

The fight lasted about twenty minutes before Tony could grab the leader. Working the leader on these big fish is a tough job. Tony eased the sailfish to the boat. You could see it swimming along next to the boat. It was tired but had strength left for another run and took off jumping and dancing. Ten minutes later Jeb reeled the fish back to the boat. Tony grabbed the leader again and brought it back to the boat. This sailfish was even bigger then the first. This time Tony was able to grab the bill of the fish. Although the sailfish thrashed around Tony was able to hold it and retrieve the hook from it's mouth. And yes, this sailfish was also released. You get such a good feeling when you see the fish swim away. Catch and release is so important. I highly recommend it -- especially when it involves billfish.

We got the segment filmed and headed back to the dock. It doesn't take you long when the sailfish are biting and you have a great captain and crew. Capt. Allan Poole is a great captain and the Calcutta is a beautiful boat. And the sailfishing is fantastic in Cancun, Mexico.

Capt. Allan can be reached at 1-800-743-8898 or give us a call at (516) 929-6711 and we will arrange your fishing vacation for you.

Visit Capt. Ray at his website http://www.adventure-fishing.com or drop him a line at [email protected]