Well the sun set on the shark free action today as a significant change in conditions ushered in an unwelcome wave of the notorious pests that challenged anglers patience while continuing the effort to tag as many yellowfin tuna and Wahoo as we were able. We were far from being completely shut down, as the day's score of twenty six yellowfin from 100 - 190 pounds attests, but I guarantee there isn't an angler on board that didn't prefer the prior two days when fishing was a whole lot easier. I'll admit it - we have become very spoiled with everything imaginable working in our favor during the first six fishing days. How could we not? Tomorrow is a new day and we have plenty of tricks up our sleeve to work around and within the shark population at the Revilla's when and if necessary. In tomorrow's case I prefer the "if" category but if not we will certainly overcome.

With the dark portion of the report out of the way, I have to mention the incredible quantity of big fish that came into the island in the afternoon putting on a outrageous show as they plowed through schools of small baitfish and flying fish all along the shallow edge. We got in a couple of good drifts and enjoyed the show as the overall picture of flat calm conditions, spectacular demonstrations of Humpback whale antics, breath taking backdrop of Clarion island, and the beautiful, yet rugged reality of ocean was in full swing. There is nothing like fishing among all this life in this amazing marine reserve. What a privilege.

Now our final day is nearly upon us and we are ready to finish strong on a high note. On these tagging voyages in particular, the drive to catch more, and enthusiasm for tagging anglers demonstrate never ceases to amaze me. As I write this report the deck behind me is bustling with activity as anglers and crewmen prepare their equipment for the final push replacing top shots and double checking the details to ensure that all will be in perfect working order tomorrow. One might think that after landing well over five hundred mid to trophy class yellowfin tuna and almost one hundred Wahoo that anglers here to exclusively tag and release these fish would be lackadaisical or at least saturated with catching by this point; not hardly. In fact, on every one of these tagging cruises to date, the level of enthusiasm elevates as the voyage progresses. Down to the last minute anglers are at the rail and hard charging as if it were the first stop on day one. That is my ultimate testament to the success of this project. Happy, enthusiastic, enlightened anglers thoroughly satiated yet ready and wanting more. If I could meet this goal on every voyage I would ...