"Yesterday was our first day at the bank," wrote Red Rooster III skipper Andy Cates March 14, "and unfortunately we did not find what we were hoping for, with only 6 tuna in the 100-pound range and 14 wahoo. The sharks in the afternoon were horrible, although it didn't really matter because we didn't see any sign of fish. The best sign we saw was midday and we are waiting to see if the fish show again today. So far this morning the sharks have dominated the field; I hope they back off.

"We left the Bank yesterday," he wrote on the 15th, "after a tough day with no tuna, just 15 wahoo and plenty of sharks. We spent the day outside the six-mile zone at Clarion for 19 tuna from 80 to 150 pounds. The weather was not ideal which made it tough, but it does look like the wind is backing off this evening. We're hoping for better conditions and from what we saw here today with the right weather I think we will do all right. The satellite phone has been weak so this should update things."

"Today was less productive than yesterday," wrote Cates on the 17th, "with really only one school that bit a little. We ended the day with 19 tuna from 90 to 170 pounds.?? We found some wahoo action on a dead whale 25 miles below the Island. That made for some excitement, after hitting a lot of schools of tuna that would not bite. But another nice day and the weather was better today."