There were enough indicators yesterday to suggest far more in this zone than met the eye. Too many scattered signals across a traditional zone broad in scope doesn't add up to nothing in this fishery; signs reminiscent of the beginning of some very big years were glaringly apparent. The showing today removed any and all speculation. They are here, in force. Whether they bite or not is another story. Today they certainly didn't cooperate well enough to quench our desire, but we landed sufficient numbers to make believers out of everyone; not that this seasoned group of big fish anglers needed any convincing.

The grade of fish leaves nothing to be desired. A few 130 to 140's with the remainder 170 and better. Thus far we have one deuce and a few in the 185 - 195 pound class. We have seen numerous bigger rigs both in our bait and jumping around. We have fine weather to augment the effort and a wealth of time remaining. And a final message to any last minute anglers still waiting on the sidelines - pack your bags. What we saw today was no joke. There is mucho big fish around. With far warmer conditions favoring a run carrying into next month and beyond this is as good a gamble as one is going to find.

At the very least watch over the next few days to see how it develops. If today was any indication of what is to come there should be more progress in numbers. The whole gang is now here so we should also have a better idea as to how this action will distribute among us. It might not be time to pull the trigger just yet, but if one is itching to make a trip down here I would certainly begin to get your affairs in order. This looks very good; good enough that I can't wait to see what tomorrow brings. We are on the verge here, I know it.

First photo of the day features Alaska fisherman Eric Mc Kee, who is a brother in arms to us in more ways than one, put on a clinic today landing a 188 and 194 in short, professional order. Photo number two features long time friend and veteran John Finneran pulling on what became a 179 just before sundown.

Tim Ekstrom

Photo Here...

Photo Here...