Good fishing today; again the quality of these yellowfin tuna being the real draw. By numbers alone one could easily mistake this outing for an average affair – a nice day but nothing to write home about. But beautiful 90 – 150# yellowfin coming over the rail just about all day long is anything but average in these parts – I think. Whether this is another gift of “El Nino” or the new norm out here remains to be seen. For now we'll consider the bounty from a fisherman's perspective and save the questions, and projections, for later.

And the icing on the cake? Perfect weather and conditions assign the present effort exceptional status. I'll even go cliché on you - “it doesn't get any better than this”. It's a bit of a cop out for one who likes to write but fits the bill perfectly today. This is good fishing, good living – exactly what we hope to find every time. Of course reality does not allow such fortune but for a handful of occasions, perhaps a few more during really good seasons, per year. So we take this at face value hearkening back to sentiments expressed in yesterday's narrative. It's a fine note to close on; as is today's photo selection. Mike Reardon, Royal Star veteran and exceptional angler in any setting, made good on the opportunity to battle this beautiful, 140# class yellowfin tuna.