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Yesterday we ran down the cold river and out a pass on the other side looking for tuna. We knew they were there but we would have to fight hundreds of sharks and kingfish just to get some.

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We ran right past several rigs that usually hold wahoo. The bite has not been steady this year and we knew it was going to be a long busy day. We were almost to our chosen spot when we ran across a shrimp bost pulling it's nets. The only thing we found were sharks so thick you could walk on them. These were all 5 plus feet long. Never attempted to toss a bait or chum.

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Once on site we set up our drift. First 2 were basicaly nothing happening. An occasional kingfish and some shark bites but a very dull morning. As the morning went on the bite picked up. The problem was they were all sharks and kingfish. There were about a dozen boats with us and nobody was doing anything different. Only One boat landed the head of about a 60 pound yellowfin. We were going through 12/0 circle hooks faster than you could imagine all the time hoping for the tuna to start biting. Suddenly Eddie yells "MAKO". I look up for a fin in the area but it was circling under our boat eating the chum I was tossing. I had just loined out a king and with one slice of the knife our bait was ready. I toss a few hand fulls of chum to keep it around. One of the customers just reeled in a 50 wide so Eddie cut the hook and tied in a shark rig we had velcrowed to the "T" top. As soon as the bait hits the water the mako gulps it down just sitting there waiting for more.

Everything was in our favor on this one. We already had a big shark on the bow pulling drag so Eddie put the 50 wide in free spool with his finger on it so it would not backlash and chased the shark off the bow getting us away from the mako enjoying our offering. Once far enough away from the mako it was lock and hook set. He concentrated on that fish and I went to the bow to help loose the shark on the bow. The Contender is in the shop for some minor work and the boat we had did not even have a rope for tail ropeing. I did not have my 380 with me. OoooKay! Capt Willy B. of Super Strike Charters came by to give us a harpoon and a 45. This Mako was alongside in about 20 minutes and never even jumped once. Nice Puppy http://www.ctfisherman.com/ubbthread...fault/kiss.gif He thrashed a bit as Eddie attempted to stick it with the poon. It made the mistake of sticking it's head up long enough to get a shot at it. Being stunned we had a chance to fill it with some more lead. I got a tail rope on it while Eddie held the head with the gaff. After that I secured the head so we could drag it.

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With the action being so slow I knew something big had to happen or we would be king of the dock today. Life is Good!

Back to the fishing. It was now around noon. The kings and sharks were still thick. Around 1:00 we get our first tuna. Well almost. The head of a blackfin. "JAWS"!!!!

As I am sitting there on the gunnels chumming and cutting hook bait the kings are blitzing on schools of mullet all around us. these fish are flying 20 feet in the air hitting bait. Suddenly I let out a "Holy S--T"! One of these Kingfish about 25 pounds slides past my ear and shoulder from behind. It clears the boat and lands in the water about 15-20 feet past the boat. Everybody saw it after I yelled. It got my shoulder wet. A hair lower and I would have been speared in the back which would have been a lot better than a hair to the right removing my left ear. Must have stepped in something special before getting on the boat.

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A little after 2:00 we hook up to a deffinate tuna. Our first yellowfin hits the deck around 50 pounds. Maybe the bite is turning on. We'll take a late day bite. More sharks and kings as fast as we could tie hooks. About 45 minutes later another yellowfin hook up. This one comes in with the tail chewed up. It was around 35 pounds

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About 4:00 we call it a day. We figured around a hundred hooks donated today. We used up an almost full box of a hundred and made a dent in another box. At the dock there were no reports of any wahoo and the high catch of tuna was 3 (WHOLE) unchewed fish. Our mako tipped the scales at 160 pounds. Just the right size.

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Fish cleaning was not much of a chore.

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At the marina at 5:00 am and home at 9:45 pm. A long, active, interesting day to say the least.

Life is Good!
Fishing is not a matter of life or death. It's more important than that.

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