We ended our time in the big fish zone on a good note tallying another four trophy yellowfin over two hundred pounds in addition to eight others in the one hundred sixty to one hundred ninety five pound class. That makes a grand total of nineteen over two hundred with an amazing seventy five percent of the over two hundred's weighing in at over two hundred forty pounds! Overall we landed thirty five of the trophy yellowfin for sixteen anglers and as all can determine, over fifty percent of what we caught was over two hundred pounds!
Now I'm not usually a statistics guy spouting out numbers to prove my ability or worth. In this case I simply wish to demonstrate the fantastic odds of hooking a fish of a lifetime in this zone. I have to say that this round of big fish sign in this area clinches the fact in my mind that this fishery is not a fluke or bizarre occurrence. All the history I have in this fishery combined with the knowledge of many other respected captains, some of whom have fished these waters for over fifty years, paints a picture that is now crystal clear. We have seen indications of these big fish down here for all the twenty years I have been long range fishing catching them some years and looking at them others. The big differences now are our knowledge of the bottom contour in the area, as well as patterns in fish movements, and of course advances in methods and technology. All these combined have opened the door to what I believe will be consistent opportunities at Giant Yellowfin Tuna in this vicinity for many years to come.
Don't take this the wrong way either believing that I am predicting huge catches of two hundred pound yellowfin similar to 2005 with any consistency; that kind of fishing is pure fantasy, but you can take my prediction that the long range fleet will make many future catches of big yellowfin in the fall and early winter to the bank.
One final note about the area we fished yesterday: The signs of big fish continue to improve with yesterday afternoon amazing those of us in the region. How much more will show up or how long they will stay we cannot tell, but, as reported earlier in the week, this appears to be the beginning of what very well may be some spectacular fishing for giant yellowfin well into the new year. With that in mind we almost woefully head north not wanting to miss a single day of opportunity targeting trophy yellowfin. All good things must come to an end however, and we are traveling up tonight looking to round out the final phase of our voyage with a little variety on the ridge and beyond.