12/02/14

The original idea - to stop, shake the kinks out, and pull on a few fish - became a whole lot more. Good skinin', real deal wahoo action, introduced one and all to the distinct flavor of long range fishing. During a handful of stops the big skinnies went on a tear absolutely destroying everyone, no one escaped the blood letting, that is almost comically standard in hot and heavy wahoo fishing.

A description of fishing that is "too good" is difficult to grasp. But that is typically the case in the classic wahoo "train wrecks" that become so through nothing other than the frantic behavior of the fish themselves. Flying out of the water at sixty miles per hour five feet from the boat to grab a jig, bait, or bomb the forward momentum alone creates a near inevitable disaster. Multiplied by five or ten the "near" portion of the aforementioned is abandoned. Exciting in these cases, that typically, mercifully occur only during the first couple of rounds, is a statement that barely captures the intensity.

Honestly there is no way to adequately describe such invigorating disasters. There is nothing to compare. And most often the frustrations of coming out on the losing end, which everyone shares in, are immediately forgotten when that first fat skinny hits the deck. The sense of triumph, vindication knows no end when one of those deserving bastards finally gets what they have coming; never mind their five or six buddies out there laughing at your unbelievable contribution of gear to the cause.

For these reasons, and so many others, long range style wahoo action sits square in a category of its own. There really isn't anything like it. In the end I'd venture that we squared up a little behind the curve but packing a good start in the hatch despite the challenges. It was a fantastic note to start off on. In beautiful conditions we traded blows with the big speedsters until they were done - for today anyhow. We'll see what tomorrow brings as this epic weather continues.

Photo today features Royal Star legend Ed "Skip" Dahlkamp who has graced the pages of our daily narrative many times before. Ed took a few on the chin himself today before righting the ship and reciprocating some well deserved punishment. This dandy, fifty five pound class "skin" is a testament to Ed's record of success; this and a couple others.

Tim Ekstrom

Photo Here...