In some way just about every day out here is an education; and if not, at least a reminder of what a mystery the grand mechanism really is to us. Oh there are certainly patterns. There are plenty of times we get dialed in and throttle our quarry as a result. But still, from my perspective anyway, the vast majority of the time we spend on the ocean is brimming with revelations. That is if you are paying attention, and if you are not convinced that you have already learned all you need to know.

This ocean was alive today. Big spots of our favorite dolphins loaded with jags of skulking cows that showed themselves on just about every stop but took the backseat to the one hundred to one hundred sixty pound yellowfin when it came to climbing on the lines. We had a few shots, and we continue to make progress by putting a few aboard, but we were definitely left wanting after a few of these shows today that were spectacular teasers at best with zero fish over two hundred coming over the rail. Far from a bust, we are undeterred as the obvious opportunity to land the fish of a lifetime is so up close a personal that one can just about taste it every time we hit a school. It will happen. One of these days, one of these stops is going to be right; especially with the continuing flat calm, the change of the moon, and the fishing time we have remaining. In the meantime, day's end found us in transit to supplement our epic load of sardines in preparation for our final four fishing days to come. All's well on Royal Star as we look forward to the next round as it unfolds. Man there is a lot of big ones around here. Whew.

Tim