9/27/12

It's a difficult thing to describe the excitement of fishing; to convey the intensity of
sentiment, the exuberance, to reach the emotional plane. If my descriptive effort could
capture an instant, a fraction, of the primal satisfaction a fisherman experiences when it
is on - no Facebook, no YouTube, no Google, no iphone - real, in the flesh living; that is
fishing.

When it all comes together I can not help but succumb to these notions. As swarms of 12 -
25# yellowfin, literally swarms, charged every single bait that hit the water for almost
three hours 360 degrees around the boat, when anglers mercilessly teased those poor tuna by
pulling their baits and jigs from the water at the last second attempting to sight fish
selectively for the interspersed, slightly slower big dorado, I/we are all aglow. Not only
is the competition of finding and catching them won, the ultimate chord is touched.

I may attach a bit more significance to the setting than the average soul, but not by much.
I gather more than anything that the only difference is a depth of reference. How does one
even process the visual, the complete departure from any and every measure of fishing
previously known? To witness the "real deal", to experience the absolute abandon of a
school of tuna and dorado completely short circuited by the need to gorge, is a reality far
separate from the average day of fishing. It is the one in a hundred, a thousand perhaps,
depending on where one dedicates their time in pursuit of.

In the realm of long range fishing it is far from uncommon, but still only occurs to such
an amazing degree perhaps only a handful of times per year. I am not talking about a simple
good tuna bite when one casts out, puts it in gear, and swings. I am pitifully attempting
to describe a scenario when the fish are way beyond aggressive, when they are off their
rocker, a setting where say an angler touches their hooked bait to the surface to clear the
line from the rod tip in advance of a cast and twenty or thirty tuna scream from beneath
the hull in a desperate rush, with two or three champions flying from the water, in a
effort to make good on the fleeting opportunity.

Crazy? Indescribable? Unbelievable? Yes, unless you have been there; unless you have seen
the ultimate show. Rest assured these anglers did today. After multiple nice stops in
advance of the grand finale, "The One" as I announced it even before we stopped the boat,
Capt. Brian Sims eagle eyed, from a distance of four miles no less, exactly what we were
looking for. Perfect, flat calm conditions were a big help, and a huge bonus toward the
aquarium like fish viewing once we stopped.

We had a huge day. Loaded with quantity, variety, and quality, I didn't even mention the
early morning stop for a dozen forty to sixty pound yellowfin, we could not have timed it,
or positioned ourselves better. It was meant to be. Full moon a couple of days out, flat
calm conditions, and mucho fish around that have gone missing for quite some time, sound
familiar? Those of you who have been reading this narrative for any length of time likely
realize by now that these events are not by accident. There is a pattern to consistent
success out here. And it certainly, thank goodness for my sake, isn't based upon luck.

But a little luck does go a long way, and we are definitely reaching tomorrow. If it is to
come our way we'll gladly take it. One or two more species would round out the variety
component of this run to perfection. It's not a make or break proposition though - it is
icing on the cake we now seek. Even a few would do the trick. Actually a few would be
better; after yesterday's drubbing we certainly aren't in the market for more quantity. My
many thanks to the fish gods accordingly.

Photos for the day feature angler Jim Agnew with one of the bigger yellowfin from our
morning hit, and Janelle and her dad Bob Alleman with a combo of Dorado and yellowfin from
our gargantuan late afternoon hit.

Tim Ekstrom


Photo Here...

Photo Here...