A lightning turnaround kept all in perpetual motion as we plowed south again anxious to be clear of the boiling coastal water. This current phenomena is great for beachgoers and ocean swimmers, that’s for sure; not so much for the fisherman slinging on a couple two or three hundred scoops of live bait; that’s a scary prospect.

Unbelievably enough the past two runs have not seen our bait unduly suffering thanks in no small part to Everingham Bro’s. Bait Company. A new design they developed for their boxes in the harbor, and their unique method of loading bait into their tanks on the boats, has resulted in a quality of bait that we have not seen in past warm water years. We keep waiting with baited breath for the inevitable then the inevitable doesn’t come. Thank goodness. I don’t want to get too far ahead of the horse here as the season is still young but so far so good. Let us all hope that it stays that way.

Heading west now finally in blessed cooler waters tomorrow the fishing begins anew on the 10th annual Humboldt Fishin’ Lumberjack’s charter. Many new faces will grace the rail on this voyage much to our delight. While we still covet the “old dogs” who made this thing happen and kept it on the rails new Charter Master Andrew Hampton has stepped in and done a phenomenal job of recruiting the next generation of Fishin’ Lumberjacks. A crash course in long range fishing courtesy of “The Crucible” is the perfect starting point. Look for reports and photos to continue as the voyage unfolds.

Photo today feature’s a tribute to Fishin’ Lumberjack David Itano who graciously shared the images I regularly draw upon in times of travel. While conducting research for ISSF Dave and his colleague Mr. Muir captured many stunning shots of bigeye and yellowfin tuna in the net during various purse seine sets in the South Pacific. The bigeye with their elongated pectoral fins are easily identified in this image captured from deep below.