I told the guys before embarking on this move that regardless of what we caught it was the right thing to do. We began the voyage with gang busters action on beautiful yellowtail for the first two days; enough so that we did not need, or want, to take any more. As such we headed offshore fully satisfied with the catch in the hatch, ready to add to the voyage's success with a little variety.

In today's case "a little" is the correct term. We saw them. We pursued them. And we caught a precious few. Bluefin tuna and yellowfin tuna were the quarry. Both were landed in small numbers. Both were seen in fair numbers. As is the theme for 2010 however - seeing is not believing. The catching part of the equation, the validation that is, is tough to come by. Although, if it counts as a consolation, we did validate their presence through plenty of fish crashing around delighted to accept our offerings.

And so passes my fair attempt at humor. Less the comedy, there are plenty around, but they had lockjaw today. Yesterday and the day before, not so much - there were some good catches made on both species. Today, they dished out some more punishment teasing most anglers to grief by dangling the unattainable goal just beyond reach. Devils.

As such we close the book on this voyage pleased with the ultimate result that speaks a tale of success. Even more so, we are pleased and grateful for the fantastic group of anglers assembled by long time favorite, Royal Star charter master Ty Brietman. All of these stellar anglers receive our most sincere thanks for a great time on the water in good fishing and bad. Although, I hesitate to say "bad" when it comes to fishing. What is the old saying - "the worst day of fishing is better than the best day of work". Perhaps that is a stretch, but I'll go with it. We make a good time of it no matter what. We meaning the crew, and our epic groups of anglers.

Bad is too harsh a term to assign to a vacation. It definitely gets bad up on the bridge, or tough may be a better choice of words, but it definitely should not get bad on deck for a fisherman out to enjoy a vacation. When the fish don't bite it is certainly grounds for disappointment, but there is plenty of good company to share, and a good time to be had regardless. This superb group of anglers is a perfect example. Especially this afternoon. Fishing wasn't great, and wasn't showing promise of getting any better, but they were out back whooping it up, enjoying the day, making a good time of it. This is as it should be. To be completely honest though, that RSW tank plugged with beautiful yellowtail in perfect condition made it easy to shrug off slow fishing. As I have said plenty of times now, thank goodness for them.

Now it is up to the master as Captain Toussaint takes the helm on our annual Labor Day five day adventure. Good prospects prevail and the weather is lining up to be ideal. Look for Randy's reports to continue tomorrow and beyond. Photos for the day feature long time Royal Star veteran's Donny Maxwell and Gary Bobay living the moment we all come for. Have a fine day!

Tim Ekstrom

Photo Here...
Photo Here...