6/26/13

We finally got things rolling on the offshore grounds heading back out in rapidly improving conditions to find a
couple of cooperative bluefin schools. The first spot was a perfect warm up producing steady action on school size,
25 - 40 fish for a couple of hours before petering out. Round two was a classic long range opportunity that
thankfully every angler on board was well prepared for.

We happened upon a spot of straight jumbos - bluefin in the 108 through 136 pound range - and fared incredibly
well, all things considered, landing eight from about a dozen opportunities. It was a morale boosting bonus that
reminded every angler on board of the beauty, of the magic, of the always tremendous potential when fishing long
range.

While mentioning this I also must accredit the day's success to an incredibly well prepared, seasoned group of
anglers that knew exactly what to do when opportunity knocked. Through calm, methodical fishing this group did a
tremendous job of making the most out of both the day's stops; especially the first on school fish that started out
hot and heavy.

This scenario, a couple of fishless days to build anxiety and tension, has the potential to sow the most
destructive, every man for himself, kind of chaos on deck when wide open fishing is finally encountered. Not this
time in the least; the first big hit might as well have been the fifth, eighth, or tenth of a voyage judging by the
calm demeanor of everyone at the rail working together. And the second, big league opportunity on jumbos was
exactly the same.

From here I'll let the pictures do the talking. It goes without saying that we'll be investing our final full day
on the offshore grounds again targeting bluefin tuna. Photo number one features Eunice Chisholm who masterfully
subdued the smallest jumbo of the afternoon round using 40# monofilament. While obviously not the ideal equipment
for 100 pound class tuna, sixty pound is much preferred, Eunice, who is no stranger to pulling on big tuna,
hammered the drag and yarded on the fish as if the line size was sixty. Crewman Blake Wasano does the assist
hoisting Eunice's 108# prized bluefin for the first photo.

Photo number two features one of my favorite cousins Bill Nielsen who was introduced to offshore bluefin tuna
fishing today in a big kind of way. After honing his skills on a few mid day school fish Bill snared this beautiful
133# bluefin on the long soak way up wind. Northern fisherman Bill and I have merrily debated the salmon vs. tuna
topic on several occasions scoring numerous points of humor along the way. Needless to say following Bill's epic
battle, and the capture of this dandy, the debate is no more - they are both fantastic.

Tim Ekstrom


Photo Here...

Photo Here...