All Rivers and Saltwater Charters, Westport WA
Day Two was quickly in question. Through the night the wind picked up and howled through our accommodations at the Islander Resort, just off the docks where the boat was parked. Soon after came a torrent of rain. Prepared for the sh*t, we walked down to the dock to find the boat ready to go. Captain Mark was on point with the weather and told us it would be a rough go out, but once fishing we will be in calmer seas. He was right about both. We slugged our way through the slop and over "the bar", a high sand bar that wreaks havoc just past the jetty. And soon started finding a subsiding sea.
The first hour was slow, scratching a few fish up on the troll, and mustering the odd fish during random bait stops. With our eyes peeled on the sea, searching for any sign of fish (birds, debris ect) we soldiered on. Off in the distance we could see more life. Soon after a call from a fellow boat lead us to a power move. Gear up, hammer down! We bumped another 10 miles offshore and came upon a small cluster of commercial and sport boats working some water.
Lines down. Fish on! We had located the school. Fishing outside of the fleet was no problem, the school was large, though a smaller size of fish.
The bait stops proved explosive. With a dozen fish flying over the rails in a span of 10-15 minutes before the bite stopped and the school dispersed. Several times there were 5 rods hooked up. I'm sure our 6th would have but I was on the camera at those times.
Finishing in about the same time, we had decked another 59 fish. With the last fish to come aboard winning the weekly westport derby for largest tuna. Tipping the scales at 37#.
By the end of the day we were all reeling from what had just happened. An unreal experience with a Captain and crew who were 2nd to none. 1st mate Travis was a machine at the bait tank and with his knife. I couldn't say enough about this operation. Top Notch from dawn till dusk.
An epic day by any account.
Cheers