For those of us that work on sportfishing boats there are many definitions of our job. One definition is pretty obvious that we are fisherman, but in reality we are educators. Passing on not only tackle tips, but more importantly how to use that tackle to hook fish and land them is one of the many things that we do. The combination of a helpful crew and open-minded passengers can be detrimental to any fish that swims.

Today was another great day of fishing. We had three stops where the 60-170 lb fish were biting very good. Because we have no self proclaimed "experts" on board, the hectic 5 and 6 way tangles were unweaved with very few losses. It almost brought a tear to the crews eyes as several first-timers quickly became part of the machine as proof that with a cool head and clear mind, there is no tangle too tough. We had a big day on these mid-grade fish and it certainly does not go unappreciated.

In the afternoon we went in search of something different. Through the hard work from the guys in the mast, we were able to get on a little different grade of fish. Although there was only a few fish in the group, by looking at the machines we knew that they were different. We hooked a total of four fish with Steve Schneblin bringing the first fish up to color. The gaffs were out, but on the final stand up and lift, the hook straightened out and the fish swam to its freedom.

It was easy to say that it was truly the "big one that got away" because we all had such an intimate look at the fish. We were able to make a pretty good estimation in our minds because in the same stop Jim Stein got one 212, Karl Khoe landed a 295lb monster and Anthony Foster landed an absolute giant 326lber [thanks to his wife Michele].

We tried to fit the whole group in today's picture, but it was hard to get everybody in with Anthony's great fish. We had everyone included because it was the group's togetherness that made the bigger fish possibl