It certainly has been awhile since we have seen Roca Partida live up to its historic reputation as a highly productive spot for quality yellowfin tuna. Between what is often a voracious shark population in the area and the standard hoards of small, eight to fifteen pound tuna and skipjack, more often than not "The Rock" just doesn't offer enough in the way of bigger tuna to keep us around for more than a day. But, there have been plenty of times in my memory that conditions and the type of fishing we seek intersected to make for incredible action on quality yellowfin tuna. Yesterday was one of those days.

Yellowfin tuna in the 50 - 100# class with a few bigger standouts up to 176 were abundant and hungry from the time of our pre dawn arrival to our departure just after lunch when our satiated anglers were beginning to do more observing and re-rigging than catching when we rolled into stops. A sure sign of saturation and success, we took the cue and continued heading southwest with ninety nine tags deployed in yellowfin tuna and a handful in the again mysteriously absent Wahoo around Roca Partida. Flat calm weather put the finishing touch on another fantastic day of fishing that came at the perfect time following yesterday's dip in the action.

You all may have noticed that I haven't mentioned anything about the ever present shark population around the Revillagigedo Islands that is typically an accepted albeit challenging element of the fishing around this archipelago. That is because before today's visit to Roca Partida there haven't been any to speak of. And, of the ever present sharks at "The Rock", they were definitely there but were the most polite pack of dreadful marauders one could hope for. Every time we stopped the boat they inevitably arrived on scene to investigate and tax the effort but they were much more interested in the sardines on our hooks than the tuna that we were catching. Yes, they doled out some grief by eating the baits, but as long as they leave the fish we hook alone we accept their presence with gratitude.

So we are now underway for the famous big fish grounds of Isla Clarion where many wishes have been granted and dreams realized by anglers seeking the ultimate in trophy yellowfin tuna and Wahoo fishing. As I previously stated we could not be in a more desirable position with a massive load of perfect bait, primo weather, and the motivation to continue the success of this voyage and the Revillagigedo tagging project overall. We have four full fishing days remaining so now it is up to our ability and most importantly the fish gods to provide the opportunities. The adventure continues.

Tim