As I was mentioning yesterday no two days have been even remotely similar on the fishing end this voyage. True to the pattern of there being none, we awoke to a good go around on mid grade, 40 - 120# tuna with only one in the 160# class. Where yesterday's action was almost exclusively trophy yellowfin in the 180 to 330# class, today's action almost exclusively featured mid graders. Go figure. In fact, the bank appeared very much like our second day of this voyage with the mid size class fish making an impressive afternoon showing blowing out on local bait and constantly crashing around. But, unlike the earlier catching result when we observed similar signs, we were tortured mercifully by the almost complete indifference shown by these tuna that toured around and under the boat the entire day while only succumbing to the very occasional hooked bait. Maddening is how I would describe the setting from my perspective. By all indications - sonar, fathometer, surface sign, and conditions any fisherman would conclude that it would be game on. The fish demonstrated otherwise.

Regardless of the frustration it made for a great day of angling as there was always something to look at and was absolutely spectacular visually on many occasions. I will include a photo of one the spots that came up right next to us to demonstrate. With such a show going on all around us it was very easy to stay at the rail as there was zero doubt in anyone's mind that the potential was tangible. And ultimately, time at the rail was the only real strategy for success. Every once in a while, for no apparent reason, one of the countless tuna around us would make a mistake and we would capitalize. After about 0800, aside from a handful of tiny 12 - 15# fish we were happy to release in small pieces, everything that came over the rail was in the 90 - 140# class with a couple of standout 160 - 170's. With the amount of fish showing around we had high hopes for a traditional sundowner/evening hit that would round out the day's effort and provide anglers the chance to even the score for the relentless teasing they endured.

That chance indeed materialized and buttressed our total number of two hundred pound class fish by two. A 206 and a 244 were the highlights of the evening shot with a couple more high one hundreds and a few others in the 70 - 100# class. It was a therapeutic ending following a long day of hard effort. Not surprisingly, nearly every angler who put in the time was rewarded accordingly. Once again I get great satisfaction out of such results. Nothing pleases me more than seeing someone put forth a worthy effort and ultimately accomplish their goal.

Now, with our final day almost upon us, yet another big change is on the way. The weather man is forecasting breezy conditions tomorrow. As I write conditions are rapidly freshening and the sea state is on the increase. The flat calm honeymoon is finally over. Honestly, we have had such an incredible period of calm that I can't force myself to complain. So, we will see how the fish react as it promises to be a sloppy one tomorrow. We have caught plenty of them in such conditions before so we are ready to give them all we have before throwing in the towel at day's end.

Our photo of the day features well deserving angler Darrin Seiji who landed a bomber, 292 yesterday and another 244 today. Both were evening sardine fish, and both were the result of dedicated effort at the rail, and impeccable attention to his equipment. Darrin is a superb angler who earned these fish in every respect. Again - nothing lucky about this. The second photo features one of the big boilers that came so close to us we were actually able to toss baits into the maelstrom. Almost unbelievably, even a perfectly presented sardine, tossed right in the middle of this frenzy, didn't even draw notice. It didn't matter though. The show alone was well worth it. But admittedly, it would have been much better to clobber a few of these that were so close we could taste it.

Tim

Photo Here...
Photo Here...