There are those occasional moments, when despite the highest level of professional attention possible, that conditions at the rail descend into near pandemonium. It usually coincides with a wave of tuna or other spirited game fish launching a coordinated assault grabbing everything being fished at the time. The setting on deck goes from fully in control to semi in control in the blink of an eye. Of course the guys are on it, and the chaos sown is cleared up in short order, but during those hectic moments I have to admit that there are times when it feels like it could go either way.

We had a few of those moments today. And while I was obviously not doing my part at the moment of today's photo, I couldn't help myself. Actually it was quite humorous as the dialogue at the rail containing various recommendations and advice was conducted in both Thai and English. Despite the occasional inevitable disaster everyone maintained a healthy sense of humor. The fishing was good, the tuna were in the 40 - 100 pound class, the weather was agreeable, and a few jumbos were lurking in the shadows.

Dr. Dave Hall was the champion of the day with a 195. Otherwise I have to report that overall we got our clock's cleaned by the remaining jumbos hooked that had an uncanny knack for shredding gear off using the bottom structure to their advantage. More than a few expressions of disdain were directed toward the big fish in this zone that have a history of such behavior. Regardless a good time was had by all as the action spread across the full day.

As already mentioned today's photo features one of the classic heated moments when things just about spun out of control. Every tight line in this photo had a fish hanging on the end of it. There were a lot of hands doing a lot of different things during this go around. Long range sport fishing at it's finest.

Tim Ekstrom


Photo Here...