Since this is my 1st post on this board I better make a it a good one!
The 36 hour trip was booked with Capt John out of Galveston: Capt. John - Galveston, Texas ::: charter fishing, party boat
After literally weeks of tackle preparation the boat left dock at 7:30 AM on Saturday, and immediately after leaving the jetties I became seasick. The boat made the 1st stop at Stetson Bank 69 miles offshore for some Kingfishing, by the looks of action almost everyone limited out, and quickly. There were a few Sharks caught also, the biggest being a 6ft Spinner. The Sharks were jumping intermittently and one 7ft Hammerhead cruised by the boat a few times, you never get tired of seeing those sites!
The next stop was Boomvang at 127 miles offshore in 3,150 foot of water. I remember being nauseous on the top deck looking up to see this large 10 story structure in the middle of gulf, it's an amazing site every time, it cured my seasickness immediately! On the first drop the Blackfin Tuna bite was on, they were hitting the usual 6oz Diamond Jig between 200-300 foot of water.
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Throughout the night the top water bite was on, mostly Blackfin with the occasional Yellowfin taking the bait. After a few casts on the Penn 9500 spinning reel with a 1-1/4 oz Rattletrap I hooked into a smaller Yellowfin which resulted in a line break when it ran under the boat. During the course of the night we made 3-4 drifts from the rig and the action was steady most of the night with 3 Yellowfin boated so far up to 60lbs.
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At 6:50 AM Sunday morning the Capt. decided to make the final drift from the rig. From previous experience on these trips I knew the Yellowfin would go into a brief feeding frenzy as the sun came up over the horizon. I grabbed my Daiwa Saltist 50 w/65lb PowerPro and 80lb Suffix top shot and began freelining a Blackfin Tuna chunk. As I was waiting anxiously two others were hooked up on Yellowfin. With only a few minutes left to fish my line starts slowly peeling off the reel, yeah! Once I get the hook set the fish makes a slow run, maybe a Blackfin I thought; so I apply all 22lbs of drag the reel had and the fish ripped off about 250 yards of line in an instant. I get the fishes head turned by thumbing the spool and this back an forth action goes on for another 30 minutes while one of the Yellowfin is gaffed an the other is broken off on a Daiwa Saltist 30 with a similar setup, not good…
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There were a few more lines in the water with no bites and everyone graciously reeled in and moved rods from the holders as the fish was making runs around the boat. At this point the Capt. (Tony Langston) begins maneuvering the boat to keep the fish at the bow. With the Capt. Tony. at the helm and 2nd Capt. Mike Malloy at my side coaching me we start to get "some" control over the fish. At 1:15 minutes we see the first glimpse of color in the water-BIG Yellowfin! By this time I'm completely exhausted after fishing 12 hours or so, I've been seasick and hadn't eaten since Friday night; 3 bottles of water, that's it. I didn't think I was going to make it as my arms went numb. Using the rail for leverage I was able to make short pumps to get the fish toward the boat, he just wasn't coming in. At 1:30 minutes I tighten the drag further with both hands and the fish is still taking back everything I gained. I know the true meaning of exhaustion now as I contemplated handing off the rod, I was totally spent trying to catch my breath.
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Running on adrenaline I pushed through, the 3 deckhands were standing by and the crowd waited with anticipation. Now I can see the fish again, and there he goes again with another 75 yards of line, but I'm winning now! The next time the fish comes up I'm going for broke because I can't continue on. I finally turn the fishes head and go for it reeling like hell and yelling at this fish. There's color again! The fish with all of it's color and grandeur is at 10 foot and tail in full overdrive headed under the boat. Now this was the turning point and it could have gone either way. With a final burst of energy I thumb the spool and use the rail to leverage this big fish to the surface within gaffing range. One gaff, then two the fish is pulled over the rail by two deck hands. I fell to the deck in exhaustion to catch my breath, what an epic battle! Last bite of the day and 85lb Yellowfin decides to have some breakfast! No harness or fighting belt used during the entire ordeal. I couldn't have made without all the teamwork of the Boat Captains, Deckhands, and other Fishermen--thanks to everyone!
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This is not the largest YFT in the sea, but I couldn't imagine catching one any larger on light gear which in my opinion is the only way to go!
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Farewell!
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The 36 hour trip was booked with Capt John out of Galveston: Capt. John - Galveston, Texas ::: charter fishing, party boat
After literally weeks of tackle preparation the boat left dock at 7:30 AM on Saturday, and immediately after leaving the jetties I became seasick. The boat made the 1st stop at Stetson Bank 69 miles offshore for some Kingfishing, by the looks of action almost everyone limited out, and quickly. There were a few Sharks caught also, the biggest being a 6ft Spinner. The Sharks were jumping intermittently and one 7ft Hammerhead cruised by the boat a few times, you never get tired of seeing those sites!
The next stop was Boomvang at 127 miles offshore in 3,150 foot of water. I remember being nauseous on the top deck looking up to see this large 10 story structure in the middle of gulf, it's an amazing site every time, it cured my seasickness immediately! On the first drop the Blackfin Tuna bite was on, they were hitting the usual 6oz Diamond Jig between 200-300 foot of water.
Throughout the night the top water bite was on, mostly Blackfin with the occasional Yellowfin taking the bait. After a few casts on the Penn 9500 spinning reel with a 1-1/4 oz Rattletrap I hooked into a smaller Yellowfin which resulted in a line break when it ran under the boat. During the course of the night we made 3-4 drifts from the rig and the action was steady most of the night with 3 Yellowfin boated so far up to 60lbs.
At 6:50 AM Sunday morning the Capt. decided to make the final drift from the rig. From previous experience on these trips I knew the Yellowfin would go into a brief feeding frenzy as the sun came up over the horizon. I grabbed my Daiwa Saltist 50 w/65lb PowerPro and 80lb Suffix top shot and began freelining a Blackfin Tuna chunk. As I was waiting anxiously two others were hooked up on Yellowfin. With only a few minutes left to fish my line starts slowly peeling off the reel, yeah! Once I get the hook set the fish makes a slow run, maybe a Blackfin I thought; so I apply all 22lbs of drag the reel had and the fish ripped off about 250 yards of line in an instant. I get the fishes head turned by thumbing the spool and this back an forth action goes on for another 30 minutes while one of the Yellowfin is gaffed an the other is broken off on a Daiwa Saltist 30 with a similar setup, not good…
There were a few more lines in the water with no bites and everyone graciously reeled in and moved rods from the holders as the fish was making runs around the boat. At this point the Capt. (Tony Langston) begins maneuvering the boat to keep the fish at the bow. With the Capt. Tony. at the helm and 2nd Capt. Mike Malloy at my side coaching me we start to get "some" control over the fish. At 1:15 minutes we see the first glimpse of color in the water-BIG Yellowfin! By this time I'm completely exhausted after fishing 12 hours or so, I've been seasick and hadn't eaten since Friday night; 3 bottles of water, that's it. I didn't think I was going to make it as my arms went numb. Using the rail for leverage I was able to make short pumps to get the fish toward the boat, he just wasn't coming in. At 1:30 minutes I tighten the drag further with both hands and the fish is still taking back everything I gained. I know the true meaning of exhaustion now as I contemplated handing off the rod, I was totally spent trying to catch my breath.
Running on adrenaline I pushed through, the 3 deckhands were standing by and the crowd waited with anticipation. Now I can see the fish again, and there he goes again with another 75 yards of line, but I'm winning now! The next time the fish comes up I'm going for broke because I can't continue on. I finally turn the fishes head and go for it reeling like hell and yelling at this fish. There's color again! The fish with all of it's color and grandeur is at 10 foot and tail in full overdrive headed under the boat. Now this was the turning point and it could have gone either way. With a final burst of energy I thumb the spool and use the rail to leverage this big fish to the surface within gaffing range. One gaff, then two the fish is pulled over the rail by two deck hands. I fell to the deck in exhaustion to catch my breath, what an epic battle! Last bite of the day and 85lb Yellowfin decides to have some breakfast! No harness or fighting belt used during the entire ordeal. I couldn't have made without all the teamwork of the Boat Captains, Deckhands, and other Fishermen--thanks to everyone!
This is not the largest YFT in the sea, but I couldn't imagine catching one any larger on light gear which in my opinion is the only way to go!
Farewell!
