We went followed an adventurous notion out of the gates only to be shunned by the majority of the paltry amount of fish we did encounter. There was good enough potential to charge my optimism, but the thrill was gone by mid day with the writing clearly on the wall. If we were going to get it done another round of prospecting was the call.

The call went unanswered however as the present set up is not offering much. Call it the down side of the cycle or blame it on the sloppy weather. Either way there is presently very little to find in the lower zone. The good news is that we are well familiar with the peaks and valleys of fishing recalling countless times when an ominous setting turns on a dime and kicks out stellar fishing. That is what we are hoping for. There is enough sign around, especially of big cows, to maintain optimism.

Thus far the weather man has been dead on with the promised, coveted flat calm conditions beginning to show signs of occurring tomorrow and beyond. While there was no such indication this morning, and plenty of frustration with the breezy conditions, the mid and late afternoon featured a completely different ocean. It was a relief in every respect; not the least of which is that we were able to effectively cover the ocean while searching for signs of fish.

Day's end found us in perfect position to target big fish tomorrow as we set up proper on the "Angus" bank along with our colleagues. While there hasn't been a lot of action, there have been a few shots at genuine trophy class fish. We'll see if such fortune is in our cards tomorrow. We are committed to the trophy zone for at least a day, perhaps two, before taking a shot at variety and/or quantity elsewhere.

Tim Ekstrom