Kevin Smith
04-17-2006, 07:47 AM
Good Friday is said to be one of the best days for Tuna and it was for our crew.
Arrived at Teach’ Lair at 5:45 am, 64 degrees, wind SW 20-25 mph and found Jim Bowman and his new mate Jay working on the Marlin Mania’s port side spot light. Strange thing, but if someone placed their hand on it everything was fine, but if they let go the light went out. After numerous attempts to fix it we decided to wait for dawn. As God Speed pulls away from the starboard berth, they tell us that they are going to out fish us two to one today. The mate Jay & I agree that will likely not happen.
The rest of the fleet was gone and dawn arrived very slowly. To the east the sun created long fingers of light reaching towards the ocean through a distant thunderhead. As we reached open water the wave height was about 6-8 ft and so the going was very slow and we go our first “Technicolor Yawn”. [grin][grin][grin] (Riding outside was only an option for those desperate enough for fresh air because of the spray over the fly bridge was making its way onto the deck and covering the entire stern of the boat in buckets.)
We arrive to find the rest of the fleet already boating Yellow Fins and get our first knock down, but the hook pulls after about 10 minutes. Shortly afterward we have our second victim of the "Technicolor Yawn". The spread is blue & white, blue & pink, purple & pink, blue & black & naked with a red orange squid daisy change on the flat line. On the Marlin Mania the more you do the more the mate (Jay) can do, so we get the spread back out quickly and shortly afterward Captain Jim spots Bonita working the surface and as we pass the school moves into our spread and 6 lines go down with 4 solid hook ups and there are four 30-35 lb YFT in the box after our first “Chinese Fire Drill”. We get a few more doubles and singles until about 11 am and have 9 fish in the box with only 2 pulled hooks and 0 throw backs. The smallest is about 25 lbs and the largest is about 45 lbs.
The winds are letting up and the wave action is subsiding, but fishing gets very slow. Around 1 pm the winds pick up and we begin to see 8-10 ft seas and Jim decides to move further “down the beach”. We are about 5 miles from the rest of the fleet and find substantial amounts of grass and very healthy temperature breaks. Jim again spots Bonita working the surface and we start trolling towards them and across the temperature break, which puts us parallel to the wave action. We pass through the school and nothing happens, but on the next pass there the tuna crash the spread onto the surface and there are another 4 solid hook ups, one of which is yours truly, while clearing the port flat line with a red orange squid daisy chain. The pole was flat in my hands when the fish hits it get the best of me and a 9/0 Penn, so the run wore off my mis placed thumb. The three fighting chairs are full and half over my spool is out. I work this fish, while dodging the other three fishermen. While they get their fish in the box, the increased wave action is starting to get the better of me and this fish is still fighting hard. Suddenly I find myself rapidly moving backwards across the stern towards the starboard gunnel because of an approaching broadside wave. Just as suddenly we start going down the other side of the wave and I am moving rapidly back towards the port gunnel and the fish makes a big run. So rather than go over the side with the fish, I drop to the deck and crash into the port side. Suddenly there is help in my belt loops and kind of an unintentional wedgey, while a few attempts to plant me in a now open fighting chair are not working. After a 2-3 misses the landing is a success and my butt is in the port chair. More fish in the box, including mine!!!
Oddly enough we get the rest of our fish as single hits on the small rod with the same Penn 9/0, which is now rigged without the daisy chain, but still with the trailing purple and pink sea witch.
Final count was 15 for 17 YFT, with about 6 short bites and 50lbs of fillets for each of us.
Kevin
Weekend Mistress [excited][excited][excited]
http://www.snapfish.com/slideshow/AlbumID=40758458/PictureID=1189560373/a=36108231_36108231/t_=36108231
Arrived at Teach’ Lair at 5:45 am, 64 degrees, wind SW 20-25 mph and found Jim Bowman and his new mate Jay working on the Marlin Mania’s port side spot light. Strange thing, but if someone placed their hand on it everything was fine, but if they let go the light went out. After numerous attempts to fix it we decided to wait for dawn. As God Speed pulls away from the starboard berth, they tell us that they are going to out fish us two to one today. The mate Jay & I agree that will likely not happen.
The rest of the fleet was gone and dawn arrived very slowly. To the east the sun created long fingers of light reaching towards the ocean through a distant thunderhead. As we reached open water the wave height was about 6-8 ft and so the going was very slow and we go our first “Technicolor Yawn”. [grin][grin][grin] (Riding outside was only an option for those desperate enough for fresh air because of the spray over the fly bridge was making its way onto the deck and covering the entire stern of the boat in buckets.)
We arrive to find the rest of the fleet already boating Yellow Fins and get our first knock down, but the hook pulls after about 10 minutes. Shortly afterward we have our second victim of the "Technicolor Yawn". The spread is blue & white, blue & pink, purple & pink, blue & black & naked with a red orange squid daisy change on the flat line. On the Marlin Mania the more you do the more the mate (Jay) can do, so we get the spread back out quickly and shortly afterward Captain Jim spots Bonita working the surface and as we pass the school moves into our spread and 6 lines go down with 4 solid hook ups and there are four 30-35 lb YFT in the box after our first “Chinese Fire Drill”. We get a few more doubles and singles until about 11 am and have 9 fish in the box with only 2 pulled hooks and 0 throw backs. The smallest is about 25 lbs and the largest is about 45 lbs.
The winds are letting up and the wave action is subsiding, but fishing gets very slow. Around 1 pm the winds pick up and we begin to see 8-10 ft seas and Jim decides to move further “down the beach”. We are about 5 miles from the rest of the fleet and find substantial amounts of grass and very healthy temperature breaks. Jim again spots Bonita working the surface and we start trolling towards them and across the temperature break, which puts us parallel to the wave action. We pass through the school and nothing happens, but on the next pass there the tuna crash the spread onto the surface and there are another 4 solid hook ups, one of which is yours truly, while clearing the port flat line with a red orange squid daisy chain. The pole was flat in my hands when the fish hits it get the best of me and a 9/0 Penn, so the run wore off my mis placed thumb. The three fighting chairs are full and half over my spool is out. I work this fish, while dodging the other three fishermen. While they get their fish in the box, the increased wave action is starting to get the better of me and this fish is still fighting hard. Suddenly I find myself rapidly moving backwards across the stern towards the starboard gunnel because of an approaching broadside wave. Just as suddenly we start going down the other side of the wave and I am moving rapidly back towards the port gunnel and the fish makes a big run. So rather than go over the side with the fish, I drop to the deck and crash into the port side. Suddenly there is help in my belt loops and kind of an unintentional wedgey, while a few attempts to plant me in a now open fighting chair are not working. After a 2-3 misses the landing is a success and my butt is in the port chair. More fish in the box, including mine!!!
Oddly enough we get the rest of our fish as single hits on the small rod with the same Penn 9/0, which is now rigged without the daisy chain, but still with the trailing purple and pink sea witch.
Final count was 15 for 17 YFT, with about 6 short bites and 50lbs of fillets for each of us.
Kevin
Weekend Mistress [excited][excited][excited]
http://www.snapfish.com/slideshow/AlbumID=40758458/PictureID=1189560373/a=36108231_36108231/t_=36108231