We're in the mix again doing our best with the local guys to get this thing going on the offshore grounds. No doubt the overall conditions are rapidly improving with more signs of albacore and bluefin showing down below while the albacore are almost something to depend on in the 110 - 130 mile range. More than anything what this is going to take is number one a little more time, and number two a lot more effort or coverage as we say out here. Once there is a regular exchange of boats working every day to get things located and stay on them, fish counts will undoubtedly reflect the effort. As this is the traditional transition time of the year, and favorable conditions and more and more scattered fish are being found, the period when a surprise catch of say fifty to one hundred albacore is definitely upon us. I'm not saying that it will happen tomorrow or the next day, but I'm not saying it won't either. If I had been asked the question last week my answer would have been different. It was obvious that it was too early and things hadn't quite developed. This week however the feeling is different. We are much closer to this thing taking off in the form of good offshore albacore action. We will see.

For now our focus is short term with this fine group of anglers enjoying the red carpet treatment on Royal Star during this one and one half day adventure. The finest, most experienced Captains and crewmen in the sport fishing world, five star cuisine served by chef Drew Rivera, an immaculate ninety five foot offshore fishing platform with brand new machinery, complimentary filleting and processing of the catch that is stored in a state of the art refrigerated seawater system - for a local fishing voyage and an introduction to how a long range vessel is operated, these trips are a fantastic opportunity and a fantastic value. If you are interested in jumping on one of the few remaining one and one half day local trips before we begin our regular schedule, give Tracy a call in the Royal Star office as limited space is available between June 21st and June 25th. In the meantime look for tomorrow's report with what we hope will be good news from the offshore grounds. Have a great weekend!

Tim Ekstrom