Another heavenly day of travel and preparation in flat calm seas with one stop after dark to supplement our supply of kite and cut bait. The stop was successful as it produced a good quantity of bait, but noteworthy because the quantity came from only a couple of handfuls of massive, denizen of the deep size monsters that actually gave our anglers fishing for bait a good run for their money. The surfacing of these forty to fifty pound giant flying squid was as entertaining as it was functional providing plenty of comedy as the hideous, creepy demons struggled against their doom broadcasting slime, water, and ink amongst anglers without discretion. Lots of laughs and good times. Especially from my perspective on the bridge.

With the travel phase rapidly coming to an end we are primed and ready for what we hope will be a good beginning tomorrow. Reports from the grounds are very poor but we are not entirely discouraged as the cycles down here are well understood. All one can hope for is good timing as the change we seek is bound to come. Needless to say the notion generates a wealth of anxiety, but this is not our first rodeo. We know what to do when they come around. And with any luck we will be here when they do.

Look for fishing reports to begin tomorrow and continue through Thursday next week.

Tim Ekstrom