As the 1830 hour approached and we had yet to see or catch a fish the optimism I expressed in yesterday's narrative was beginning to unravel. The second guessing had long since begun and a thousand strategic alternatives revolved in my thoughts as the crushing notion of failure tightened my countenance. The steady stream of visitors on the bridge, excited to fish and full of enthusiasm, tapered down to zero as the atmosphere thickened and our focus narrowed to the sole and unrelenting task of finding any sign of fish. Yes, it was another one of those countless occasions that compact minutes into what feels like years, adds a few grey hairs, and deepens the creases on our faces. In short, another typical day of fishing.

So with anxiety surging, and the day rapidly fading, we finally saw our first school and got down to what we came for. It wasn't a whole lot, and definitely left us wanting more, but, at the very least, the eventual couple of stops validated the day's effort, and located us for tomorrow's effort's. The main component of success - good weather, is in our favor, and time is on our side. Forty bluefin was the day's total, and one harbinger of El Nino - a sole yellowfin tuna caught in 63.5 degree water.

That is a joke in case any one reading took it seriously. I would say that everyone one of us out here, including yours truly, were thoroughly blind sided by the absence of warm conditions that appeared set to dominate the picture as early as April this year. Mother Nature threw us an epic curve ball stoking up about two months of solid north west winds upwelling the ocean for about three thousand miles with significant seas and strong southerly currents. Once again we were acquainted with the fact that we haven't any genuine insight into Mother Nature's thinking. It's kind of like a man attempting to figure out a woman's thinking. We all know how well that works out. Actually, that is an incredibly accurate parallel to fishing in general. One is much better off reading the signs and acting accordingly rather that trying to figure it out ahead of time. There you go. Tim's fishing tip for the day.

No photo today as I freely admit that when we finally did get on the fish snapping a photo was as far from my mind as the thought of me becoming an astronaut. When the stress level subsides I will get back with the program. Look for reports to continue as we ply the offshore grounds tomorrow and beyond.

Tim Ekstrom