Billfish and dolphin and yellowfin tuna are all over the place offshore right now..I heard an eddy from the mother loop spun off two weeks ago and I guess it has made it way to the Central Gulf in range of us day fisherman..evidentslly there was a tournament out of the panhandle where 80 billfish were tagged, released or brought to the dock..including a near grander fish.. We likewise had a fantastic two days for the Stewart bunch over the weekend..this is the 5th year they have fished with me and it was a trip of the lifetime for everyone this go around myself included.. I dont usually talk about my faith in God and His Son because of its personal to lot of folks and never for advertising purposes or political asprirations. But those who fish with my crew know its standard operating procedure to start the trip with a prayer..and it is answered everyday..but since this is my site and my forum its time for me to be bold and go a little deeper into it in this report because it I didnt it would be a great misrepresentation of the truth..
The obvious is that I just had the most increadible fishing trip and further an increadible spiritual experience as well and for that I have to give credit where it is due.. First off a little testimony for those who dont know the magnitude of what God and His Son has done for me in my life since deciding to surrender my life to Jesus Christ; and the huge transformation in my life that followed, let alone the miracles done by Him for me; one restoring my failed marraige and second; deliverence me from the grips of alcohol and tobacco addiction; and best of all the fact He loves me enough not to leave me the way that I am even now.. I know am not a perfect person nor do I claim to be..those who know me well enough know how I am wired..aside from the gy who means well and likes to clown around, there is a very intense and competitive side, a bit of a workaholic who out of frustration can be short fused (especially with lack of sleep)..othewise like previously stated I hear I am alot of fun to be around.. enough autobiography..anyway..it is difficult for me to keep cool sometimes in this line of work while answerng phone calls late into the night, maintaing equipment, organizing etc. all the while trying to meet expectations, tame an ocean that isnt tamable, and not blow it when a customer breaks a 300$ fishing rod from high sticking or sets a circle hook for the 10th time on a day when we have to work for every bite; and let me say that I admire alot of people who can hide thier frustrations - many of them work for me or have in the past..still I am getting away form the subject..in short its hard to rememeber that people have hired me to have a good time not to be yelled at..but lately I have really been seeking God to help deliver me from feelings of frustration and how they are manefested outwardly..the last 4 trips have been frustrating to me..trying to hide the frustration has been a real challenge..sometimes I did it other times I blew it..but I am starting to see the light here..faithfulness and obedience have there obvious advantages and even though I know my God provides for me and meets my every need I still get frustrated or upset on a slow fishing day..the table is set..
Here we go..July 14th, 2006 its 8AM and just cleared the south pass jetty of the river..beautiful day..bluebird day with a few high clouds..glass calm with a a slow rolling undulating sea surface that reflects the amber hues off the cloud bottoms from an early morning sun..amazing site just to be there..I am alone in the tower thinking about how a want to keep cool today and enjoy everything for what it is..I let Scott Leger drive and I go to work on the gear mostly to passthe time and to rig a new bait given to me by my friend and "Makaira brand" lure creator Justin Roper - this is a bait he had delivered to me for this trip and the very same lure that nearly caught a blue marlin a few weeks ago when he and some of his friends came to fish woth me..another great day..a multiple marlin day as well- I dont normally pull too many lures without natural baits unless we ae running low on ballyhoo or I want something tomake a little more commotion - like on calm days..today was calm so I decdied I would rig two "teasers with hooks". On the ride out I decided to run off the beaten path like we normally do to avoid the crowds on the weekends..the last 2 weeks I have found a ripline and good conditions out to the northeast of the pass..about 15-20 miles out. Now 10 miles out , there is decent water and a few grass line, some bait -s nice conditions - we actually stop for five minutes and put the baits out..the water is blue and there is bait and a few random grass patches with activity around them..but and I can see a pile of boats out in front of me so I decide to pick up the baits and run a little more off the path..I make it to the 24 mile rigs and the water is green..it was blue not but 3 days before and the conditons were far better 10 miles behind us..I decide to hook it alittle more to the south..were now 30 miles out and its still green and scattered grass..conditions worsen..I decide to run a little more southeast..(I have been zigzagging and second guessing for 10 miles - or a half hour in the Albemarle cruise speed zone)..I feel the frustration start to well up but I stop and this may sound crazy.. I try and picture what the face of God looks like and think what a father loving every would do for his own son..I am almost in a trance in deep meditation and a little prayer when two thoughts hit me..
NO MATTER WHAT I ALWAYS PROVIDE FOR YOU - AND DID IT EVER OCCUR TO YOU I AM STEERING YOU RIGHT TO WHERE THE FISH TODAY.. About that time one of the guys came into the tower with me and we started small talking..I remember distcitly the moment I looked over at him and said "get ready for something special today"..a few minutes later the water started clearing up - we were discussing ideal conditons and I could see what looked like exactly what I had just told him..several current slicks on the horizon and about 1/2 mile away some random grasslines..we crossed a bluewater current line and what appeard to be an endless grassline..I slowed the boat knowing with alot of confidence that it was going to be on..and it only got better..now about 40 miles SE of the river it was closer to 10am than 9am anyway..we had a magical morning which after about every 10 minutes of nothing transitioned into steady action 4 bull dolphin in the boat; one about 5-10 minutes thus getting the first few calamities worked out with where to stand and how to hold the rod..etc....not long after icing the dolphin we could see a school of yellowfins in open water just off the rip - they were smashing what appeared to be chicken dolphin all around over several acres and into our spread as well..made a pass through the tuna as there was no way through around or over them and somehow we didnt get a bite..not one..decided to double back through them a few minutes later getting a huge strike off the long corner bait....no poseitve ID on the fish we just knew it was big and well on the run..as we were fitting our angler into the harness; all lines were cleared except the number one short corner bait with the baot I had rigged an hour or so earlier and the two rigger baits that were lapping the surface as the boat rocked..Scott L. was running all over the deck and just before we settled into chase the fish mode, I could see something large streaking just below the surface like a torpedo straight toward the transom..I figured it a tuna but about the time it was 20 feet from the lifeless bait I yelled marlin; seconds later it slammed the "dolphin knockoff" (Green/Yellow/Blue slanthead Makairia Brutus) this all 15 ft off the transom..Scott was on the rod the second this fish hit; it was amazing to watch this up close attack..anyway the fish hooked itself as I quickly shot the boat forward with the fish coming up and headfirst and slashing whitewater 50 yards behind us..just as we got both anglers in fight position a 3rd marlin came like a torpedo just like the last one, but this time for the outside rigger bait which was dangling just above the surface of the water..
I dont know if this was a good or a bad thing but just as the fish made a move to strike it, the boat rolled to the other side pulling the ballyhoo bait up and out of the water and landing behind the fish as it circled off..there wasnt even time for me to communicate let alone for any human to get the bait down and in front of the fish - we had our hands full as it were with both fish heading in opposite directions; But still we dropped both rigger baits back and I kicked it ahead for another 50 yards before we cleared everythign for good and gave chase..never saw the 3rd fish again (for sure) so we settled back into chase the fish mode...this with both fish running away from each other; We ended up backing the drag off one fish; sending one angler to the bow so we could back down on the closer fish..the first fish was leadered billed, photographed and released in about 10 minutes without much fanfare..fish number two would follow about 20 minutes later and was also released after 3 fair photos..it pulled off before Scott could bill it but we got one good shot of the fish at the wire..there wasnt really time to coordinate a tagging effort with everything going on - we couldnt find the tags anyway - but we did rig up a rough looking tag stick after that experience and everyone was excited about finding that 3rd fish (me for sure as we had never done 3 fish in te same day)..
