9/17/13

A productive day of fishing albeit nothing like the glory of yesterday. One thing certain is that they came hard earned. The
wind was up, seas were sloppy, and overall conditions were rather trying wherever we traveled. There was no easy way about
it; time at the rail enduring the not so sweet flavor of this brand was the winning combo today - if your program was about
catching fish.

Ours most certainly was, and days end found us remarkably farther along in the quantity category than where we began because
of it. By far the best action in many ways was found in the afternoon as the coastal zones came alive. 16 - 25# yellowtail
erupted along a one mile stretch going to town on the huge amounts of sardines we had been observing for some time. It made
for exciting times with a visual alone worth a thousand words.

Those thousand words will come at another time though. For now the focus remains on the coastal zones as the weather outside
needs one more day to get the recent fit out of it's system. No complaints about our present status and position as such: a
nice calm night at anchor and second day targeting fine quality yellows with a hearty lee nearby - we'll take it.

Ultimately it appears that the right sea state is in the cards for our final couple of days offshore. Until then we enjoy the
bird in hand taking it all in stride. Today's photo features Royal Star veteran and exceptional angler Andrew Hampton with a
nice bull dorado caught amidst a yellowtail melee nearshore. Needless to say this offshore regular wasn't expected here but
such is the beauty of the ocean; one never knows.

Tim Ekstrom



Photo Here...