Well it's been quite some time since I have been on the receiving end of extraordinary good timing right from the gates. In fact, I would say on average the opposite has been the case throughout this summer. We have made a bunch of fantastic trips, and a bunch of superb catches, but the old drive down, start looking, and load up we occasionally enjoy has been tough to come by during my stints behind the helm. From everyone's perspective such good luck sets an awfully sweet tone, though sometimes it can be a hard act to follow. We'll see how it goes this time around; regardless we'll take it.

Though we did do at least a little angling at the tail end of our first of two good stops today the need for trickery and/or tactics was effectively non-existent. Basically any gear would do, anywhere one wished to drop in; especially from the second spot we happened upon that was completely suicidal, hell bent on riding the RSW express to the cannery and/or Fisherman's Processing fillet line. It was sweet, and we were all smiles as the school size yellowfin rained on board with a slight mix of bluefin and dorado. And at the tail end of both stops, but in particular the second after all production goals were satisfied and the focus shifted to pure entertainment, out came the bass tackle, poppers, and surface jigs to simply have fun. In beautiful weather we floated along for an hour or so fish watching, releasing a few, and enjoying the challenge of battling the still eager yellowfin on ultra-light gear. A good time was had by all.

Basking in the afterglow of a hugely successful day one, we head south in weather that is presently glassing off comfortable and satisfied, but far from complacent; one good day does not a long range trip make. Now aiming for the big three - quantity, variety, and quality, we still have a few goals to achieve. We are well toward the first however and with some luck will make a little more progress toward that end on the coast tomorrow.

Today's photos can only be understood and appreciated by tuna fishing enthusiasts. I don't offer these shots as the best they could have been, unfortunately I was doing my best to juggle two tasks at once while attempting to capture the action from my perspective, but they do reasonable justice to the caliber of the action we encountered during our second mid day stop. In both shots note the proximity of the rail to the fish plowing through. The shots at this resolution may require an extra second or two of study hence my statement that only tuna fishing enthusiasts would understand. In the second shot angler Duke Dixon provides perspective as the charged up tuna churn the surface into a cauldron right under his nose.

Tim Ekstrom

Photo Here...

Photo Here...