The day began right with a solid morning hit on 60 – 80 pound fish and a few bigger standouts. The sign was incredible – as good as one could want to see. But again what we saw on the machines did not really translate into the kind of success in the hatch that one would expect. And after full daylight the fish went back into the blow up and race around mode requiring a lot of effort to stay ahead of the game. One here and there was the ultimate result through day's end.

Far better than nothing, and plenty to fuel optimism, the size average currently available still leaves something to be desired. Taking the main objective of these giant yellowfin tuna adventures into account another quick jump across the pond may soon be in order. All by our lonesome out here there is nothing to dissuade a worthy prospecting mission. Before falling victim to impulsivity however we'll give it another morning in these epic conditions just to be sure.

Photo today features long time Royal Star veteran and friend Geoff Houck pulling on a good one just after dawn.