Today we borrowed a page from the old Revillagigedo play book dropping the anchor in the early a.m. and remaining stationary for the duration. Thirteen hours later we had accumulated sixty of the "stock" grade 100 - 175 pound yellowfin tuna with another four or five just under one hundred pounds. By the end of the day we were doing battle with a pretty good gathering of grinners so a new zone was sought to finish on a high note. It took a few attempts to find the right one; and the final go around couldn't be considered a ripper, but there were some exciting moments; and we added another five tuna to the day's tally for a total of seventy.

What a pleasure. To take what felt like a step back in time enjoying an entire day of fishing while stationary, scratching away steady on the sardine tackle and kites, is an option completely unique to these Revillagigedo tagging voyages. With the lee side of the island presently the zone of choice, the entire day was spent in calm conditions under the surveillance of the local military garrison on the hillside that was close enough to the action to enjoy the show. Needless to say we are grateful for the present setting that has been a tremendous bonus in light of the fact that the weather has been none too great on the outside.

So with our final day pending, and the fishing speaking for itself, we will finish up our tagging tomorrow and bid my beloved Clarion farewell until the next Revillagigedo tagging voyage in February 2011. I am already looking forward to it. Before I get that far ahead though we have plenty of work to complete tomorrow. I have to say that the indications of fish were fantastic at times today, and pushing into the full moon is traditionally a very consistent period, so my optimism for tomorrow is very high. We will see how it shakes out and report accordingly.

Photos of the day features another dedicated tagging veteran in the process of releasing one of his many big yellowfin during this voyage. By Doug Taylor's standard's the 175 in the photo is a dwarf relative to the giant 324 (that was really more like 340) that he released at Roca Partida two years prior. Not that it makes any difference to Doug however who is one of those individuals who has a good time of it no matter what size fish are being landed. In addition, he is one of those anglers who always seems to get his proportion of the action. As many years that I have fished with Doug now I know it is not a coincidence. At the rail Doug consistently applies that perfect combination of effort, experience, and perseverance, while always, and I do mean always, fishing with immaculate, perfectly maintained equipment. It shows in the results. Two photos of Doug are featured today the second alongside Doug's good friend Captain Brian Sims. The third shot is of Doug's lucky tuna on it's way to freedom. Good times. And more to come.

Tim

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