The Last Sunday Service

Marty · 10-06-2003, 07:37 PM

I truely hope that Sunday Services of the magnitude I beyeld yesterday will continue for all the ifishers for more many weeks to come, but then again we all know the hour glass of opportunity is sliding away. Anyway, 2 buddy's and I left Depoe Sunday when church was called to order at 6:45 am. Gliding thru the opening with a gentle 4 foot swell @ 12 seconds and greasy flat calm water without a trace of any wind. Ran out 23 miles and 'released the jig hounds' in 57 degree water. Trolled about 4 miles N & W and saw a few jumpers in 57.4. Caught a fat 34 pounder, but found none of his brothers and sisters after we boxed the area for another hour. Continued N & W and crossed .4 to .6 degree temp breaks, current lines and debri lines with no one home. Picked up and ran to the 45/125 line and found water 60.8, but nothing seemed alife past the 30 mile mark where we had caught the first fish. I had heard that there were good concentrations of fish in the 60 to 75 mile range and commercials were getting tonnage.......but I couldn't make myself run that far. We headed back inside to where we caught the first fish and saw more jumpers as we got about a mile away. Put the 'boys' back to work chasing the boiling, jumping tuna. Had one guy on the bow casting lures and one on the stern mending the rods and casting fishtraps when boils became available. These fish would come boiling up for 3 or 4 seconds chasing the sperm type bait of sauries or small chovies and then quickly disappear. We caught another 30 lber. on a fish trap and then another on a small pink cone head (a lure similar to the one Pilar slayed em with on his first trip.....Pilar, what was the name of that thing and where do you find em???) I think if I had more of those lures, I would have done better. We stayed in the area the next 4 hours, chasing tuna but mostly chasing time and holding on to the memory's as this was most likely my last tuna trip this year. We caught one more fish on that pink cone headed lure and that was to be the last fish.

Not counting the 4 fish we caught (total wt. 128 lb.) the "Service" on the water was the nicest, most fulfilling I have been involved with for a long time. Flat ocean, jumping fish, good friends and even a hump back whale that came to within 15' of the boat and tried to shake our hand with his fluke. Its going to be a long wet winter season without tuna and I don't know yet how I am going to survive, but days like this will make it easier to cope.

Marty

Sea Jypzee · 10-06-2003, 08:11 PM

Marty - Great report. If I hadn't had to work yesterday I'd have been out there with ya paying homage to the Gods of the ocean.

I passed ya today hauling the boat up Hwy 18. Hated to see it being hauled out for the winter. The Sea Jypzee is gonna get lonely waiting for your return to the slip next door.

edsr · 10-06-2003, 09:08 PM

Bless you my son and go forth for you have received the anointment of the tuna and we know 30+ pounders can certainly do that.

Remember the old blessing that any day spent fishing is not subtracted from our alloted time in this life.

edsr

Mello-Yello · 10-06-2003, 09:32 PM

A truly solemn story Marty. Thanks! Winter will pass, and again we will watch for albatross on the wing. We'll yell out temperature changes and mileage from port as we venture west. For west is where the tuna lay in wait.

Whoah! Did I just say all that? Ack! :shocked:

skein · 10-07-2003, 04:44 AM

'Tis true, 'tis so true.

For the last couple of days I've wondered what will keep us going this winter. Last year we had the newness of learning how to rig for tuna, the gathering of gear, the making of lines and lures and lashings. Crabbait and I repaid by buying and building boats and taking everyone along for the ride. SeaJypzee let us sweat her boat up Hwy 101 and participate in clearing up her fuel and prop problems. Totes were bought. Ice was discussed (but never solved). Jewelry was on everyone's mind. Edsr and Rod became dorymen and shared their dreams and visions. All of that helped, but that is behind us now.

Who will step up to the plate this year? Who will do the dramatic and drag us out of the doldrums, that Sargasso Sea that clogs our intakes and holds us motionless and aching when the seas turn gray and cold. Who? What?

We're okay for now, our hands still cut and callused from the waning season, and in some ways it's good to rest. But ten months - ten months - is a long, long time.

Who will be there?

Skein

fish assassin · 10-07-2003, 05:02 AM

Marty,

[img]graemlins/applause.gif[/img] [img]graemlins/applause.gif[/img]

[img]graemlins/applause.gif[/img] [img]graemlins/applause.gif[/img]

-assAssin-

Mark Mc · 10-07-2003, 06:17 AM

Skein, I think someone will need to buy a bigger boat, that comes from far away.....And it will be coupled with trying to sell a smaller boat, while the wife rants all winter long about being a two-boat owner. This will require a several-month treatment via salty dog companionship & the proper fluids.

Miss B Haven · 10-07-2003, 08:27 AM

Don't know whether to laugh

or cry :depressed: at this one. I guess I'll jut enjoy it, nice post Marty!

Reel Creel · 10-07-2003, 08:41 AM

that rocks that youguys even caught some : [img]graemlins/applause.gif[/img] [img]graemlins/applause.gif[/img] [img]graemlins/applause.gif[/img]

Pilar · 10-07-2003, 08:42 AM

Nice, Marty we heard you scratchy and faint on the Radio. We rejoiced in your quest as we searched for the pointy finned and sharp toothed ones that never wander far from the pile. 4 fish that go over 120 lbs! What a day. :grin:

BTW, I believe the last TUNA! of the year has yet to be caught.

edsr · 10-07-2003, 08:44 AM

In Marty's report those little Sauries seem to be playing a major role as primary food source.

We have several months to come up with an imitation.

Pilar had a daisy chain rig featuring some very small hoochies at the last T/A meeting that looked promising. Any bright ideers? Think we could match the hatch? I like the idea of casting to a school of rising tuna - Oh Yeah!

edsr

8knots · 10-07-2003, 09:18 AM

Thanks for the great report. Really put me there and a very worthy catch with those four fat ones. I for one, have been thankful for those of you getting these late trips in. It keeps the thrill going, even if I am in Kennewick for the day.
I like the idea of trying to find the killer bait for when they are feeding on small baits, which in some ways seems to be what they have been doing for the last month. The other thing I need to work on is getting some baits deeper in the water when trolling at 6.5 knots. Maybe I can be convinced to try a diver.

TWB · 10-07-2003, 09:11 PM

Marty,
Try this one on for size.....

Just today I was talking to a former doryman friend, about these finicky tuna and the fact that everyone was having a hard time getting them to bite.

He told me that some of the guys at PC were using black and white clones? His buddy went to Englunds's, got some, and wacked the tuna on them? What do you guys think?

My friend Ron was out last Wed. He said that he got into a huge school of fish, jumping every where. He said there was a big jig boat there and he was catching fish on the troll? Ron fished until almost dark, said he had never been so frustrated by fish!!! Wound up with a few fish. Also he said he had a dozen frozen herring, which he cast to the boils and hooked up on every bait. Then everyone broke his mooching leaders he was using. Also the fish hit the herring on a troll, never done that before?

Skein, if only we could figure out how to get "LIVE BAIT" this winter......!!!

Marty · 10-07-2003, 10:00 PM

It seems that we reach this point every year and no one solves the problem of finicky fish. If you read the posts on the chat boards out of Morro Bay or Santa Cruz or Frisco, they all have the same problem. The only difference is that they have live bait and still can't get them to go. Their general conclusion is to try and go deeper. Fish or troll with down riggers or put 6 oz on the live bait to get it deeper to the fish. I for one don't have a good enough fish finder really see if the fish are hanging around the 80 to 100 foot range and feeding as normal.....and its just that we can't get to that depth range to make anything work.

Food for thought during the winter months. And yes Pilar, I think there will be more tuna caught this year, but only if these 16 foot swell go down a little. Corrirod got the last fish in 2002 off the mouth of the Columbia ( I think that was October 9). With the water as warm as it is and the south still blowing......I think the fish will be around for awhile. We can only hope, but all in all it has been a spectacular year for albies.

Marty

Mojo · 10-07-2003, 11:03 PM

edsr,
I can whip out a pretty sweet saurie imitation in about 5 minutes. This is time for casting flies to those longfinned bruisers. Really, why wouldn't trolling flies work?

Miss B Haven · 10-07-2003, 11:07 PM

Mojo- no reason at all. Feather jigs are just that. You do need them to stay in the water trolling at 6-7 knots however. A "real" fly won't do that. I'll bet you could cast and strip 'em to surface fish though! Now that sounds like fun!

sherry marie · 10-07-2003, 11:33 PM

Marty
Thanks for the post.. I can't imagine anyone could care for the tuna experience more that you. I have admired your success all year. Nice touch to end a wonderful season. We have our dreams and experiences to help us through the dark months. The man with arms of steel must have a heart of gold to find the silver lining his is last trip of the year.

thanks for your help this season
Ray

Mr. Fisherman · 10-07-2003, 11:52 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Pilar:

BTW, I believe the last TUNA! of the year has yet to be caught.

<font size="2" face="verdana,arial,helv">I so hope you are right my brother, I so hope you're right

edsr · 10-09-2003, 10:53 AM

Hmmmm - Lets see here a 9Wt./9ft. with 5000-yds of backing -- Oh Yeah!! Let's match the hatch of Sauries. I think that by the time a second fish has been fought and landed it would be "MIller Time" for just about anybody!

Solving the mystery, or better yet puzzle of why they stop biting and turn off is the crux of the thing. Additionally what are the jig boats doing to keep making their tonnage? Are there still fish to be found in the marginally colder/ warm water closer to shore?

Perhaps we will find some answers next year.

edsr

Popeye · 10-09-2003, 11:04 PM

edsr....check out the stripteasers in my other post. I think these little jewels might just do the trick!

http://www.ifish.net/ubb/ultimatebb....;f=21;t=003221