6/6/14

Begrudgingly I'm going to have to give this round to Mother Nature. Hog tied and tormented by relentless wind and seas offshore we passed a majority portion of this run waiting for the weather to abate. It didn't. And won't for at least another day. Such is the reality of fishing; fortunately a reality we rarely contend with in these proportions.

While we do experience our share of unfavorable weather in the long range arena what is uncommon is for tough conditions to extend beyond a few days or more. But it does happen. And while inconvenient for us the grand scheme out here is actually well served by such blows. The water needs to roll over on occasion and the wind driven upwelling is crucial to the proper function of the coast and high seas.

Enough of that though. The beauty of such wind dominated intervals are the option/tools we have at our disposal to work within the confines of such conditions. Big islands, a ton of coastline, and long range allow the show to go on. It always does, and in most occasions the results of our improvisations are consistent with long range catch standards.

We return from this run shy on the coveted bluefin tuna, but fat still in the quantity department with a respectable load of twenty two to thirty five pound class yellowtail. Randy, Brian, and I always say that a full tank of premium RSW product is an accomplishment well sufficient to satisfy our quantity expectations. In light of conditions we return with a strong sense of gratitude that it worked out. It very easily could have gone the other way.

Final image of this voyage rightly features master angler Len Cunningham who pulled off winning first and second place in the jackpot with his 69 pound bluefin and 43 pound wahoo. Granted he had some help for those timid few who didn't enter the sweepstakes but his accomplishments and accolades are still worthy of all our admiration, and are well earned. He is the man - again.

Now it is on the shoulders of Captain Randy Toussaint who departs tomorrow with an impending forecast that reflects his standard template - flat calm. Rest assured that he will make good on the opportunities that often go hand in hand with such conditions. Look for Randy's succinct reports to relate the action and Capt. Brian Sims' facebook posts to resume.

Tim Ekstrom

Photo Here...