| A beautiful weekend was about to greet us and allow us to
head far offshore to what would become one of our most epic adventures yet
aboard the Nyati. Capt. YT and Lea once again gave us the great opportunity
to be part of the crew. Joining Scott, Moose, and I were Todd (RaiderRed),
Gabe (Mako), Shane, Tim (Coastal) & his girlfriend Amy. With a good solid
crew anything was possible.
We headed out around the crack of 8pm and took our time cruising
out to a deep-water floating oil platform. Around 6am and just getting light
out, we get our spread out and begin trolling a few miles from the rig.
Immediately we get hooked up and we get Todd in the chair.
After a couple minutes we clear the spread and Todd begins hammering
down on the fish. We finally get it near the boat and see it is a small billfish.
Upon further inspection we find that it is a White Marlin which also ends
up being the boats first White. We get ready and tag the fish and then
she is off for the release and Todd gets his first Marlin.
We get the lines back out and continue on our course. A couple hours
later and another fish hits our spread. The hook is set and we get Amy into
the chair and strapped in for battle.
A couple of us see what we think is a bill thrashing through
the water but don't jump to any conclusions. After a few minutes we see color
and are able to confirm it is another billfish. This too is another White
Marlin that we are happy to tag and release. Amy also gets her first Marlin
ever. Congrats!
By late morning we get to our destination and begin trolling.
We see a few other boats hanging around fishing for another tournament. Things
are slow and we begin distancing ourself from the rig trying to pick up something
on a very calm but beautiful day out in a mile deep of water.
We continue to troll for a while and things begin to slow
down until on of the outriggers get slammed. I practically push Lea overboard
reaching for the rod and hook into another solid fish. The guys throw
me in the chair and after a couple minutes we finally see that it is a mega
Dorado.
This hefty beast is my largest Mahi yet. The boat and Amy all
decide to get a quick pic of her holding it as well (since she looks much
better holding it than me).
We get lines back out and continue trolling around. Things
definitely begin to slow down and YT takes a break and I jump on wheel. After
a couple more hours of trolling we get a couple quick knockdowns and see
something far in the spread. Then finally the fish slices through once again
nailing a bait and we are hooked up on a nice smoking fish. Gabe jumps in
his chair and get a glimpse of yet another bill, this time a bit larger.
Gabe powers through the fish like a champ and gets her up to
the boat and we see color. A few seconds later we are able grab the leader
on yet another Marlin, this time a nice Blue. This is also Gabes first Blue
Marlin. A couple of pics and we tag and the crew of the Nyati releases our
3rd Marlin of the day.
I hop back on the wheel and start the troll once again. It is
mid-afternoon and about an hour or so passes and small Blackfin and Skipjack
Tuna start blowing up randomly. All of a sudden I look behind at the spread
just as a car-bomb like explosion lights up the surface. Thinking it is a
good Marlin we gun it to set the hook and get Moose into the chair.
After a few seconds I slow down to catch up to it. YT jumps
back on the helm and I go down to help with the leader. By now the fish is
still taking line on a heavy set drag. Scott and Moose notice that the reel,
a finely crafted Italian 12/0 two-speed duel reel, begins to actually start
smoking. The reel grease and drag are actually smoking! The drag locks up
and begins slipping for a minute but then Moose is able to get it back under
control.
After about 20 minutes of a hellacious fight, we get the fish
close within 100yds. The countdown is on and we are about to find out the
culprit. The fish gets closer and starts doing circles... Tuna circles. But
is certainly no Blackfin. A couple minutes pass and we finally get our first
glimpse of the fish. It is indeed a Tuna, a large Yellowfin that hit a lure
like a hydrodynamic torpedo with great destructive force. I grab the gaff
and wait watching below as Moose slowly pumps the beast a couple inches at
a time. Finally we get it in gaffing range and I stick it. We all ended up
underestimating its size and Scott sticks it with a second gaff as Gabe jumps
in to help pull it into the boat. Moose gets his first Yellowfin Tuna,
and a mammoth beast at that.
This sushi-grade giant gets released safely into the fish box
and we get lines back out. Things once again slow down and go biteless for
a couple more hours. It is now near sunset and we begin getting a few pesky
critters such as Blackfin Tuna and Oceanic Bonito. We get back close to the
rig and troll sunset picking up mainly smaller critters.
A few more runs and we call the trolling to an end with a successful
day.We now get ready for the night-time Tuna slaughter. About an hour after
sunset we begin to start the harvest. We jig up multitudes of Blackfin Tuna.
After a while Scott throws a chunk bait out and picks up the first Yellowfin
of the night.
After Scotts Yellowfin we snatch a few more Blackfin. I get
hooked up on a chunk bait to a larger Tuna hoping it were a Yellow, but ends
up being another massive Blackfin.
I put out a chunk bait and hook into a solid fish.. could tell
it was a nice Yellow right off the bat. Roughly 5 minutes and I get the fish
within visual distance under the boat and it is lit up in the underwater
lights. This definitely being the largest Tuna of the night and it uses is
powerful tail and long sickles to counter the battle. After about 5
more minutes and not being able to get the fish to the surface it finally
grinds through the fluorocarbon leader. A tough loss but I get rigged back
up. Meanwhile Todd soon gets into the action and gets a nice Blackfin on
a Topwater Lure.
Scott eventually picks up his 2nd Yellowfin of the night and then
we decide to head back towards the rig. Scott picks up a mystery fish which
ends up being a not so common Black Jack. Scott kept this hoping it were
a record of some sorts but ended up making sashimi with it.. j/k.
Todd, Tim, and I are now the only ones left awake. I jump back
on the wheel and take us for a couple drifts. Blackfin after Blackfin are
jigged up and put on ice or release back as cut bait. A rod of mine baited
with meat gets nailed. Another Yellowfin and I nail the speed record getting
it up in quicker than they can get the belt on me... puts the lost
Yellow from earlier in perspective.
We make our final drift pass the rig and begin drifting for
a while putting out a shark rod hoping for a purple beast. After we get at
least a mile into our drift we have Tuna galore coming into our chum. We
begin nailing countless solid Tuna one after another on topwater lures. It
is around 3:30am and Tim finally hits the hay leaving Todd and I to battle
the aqua-rockets ourselves. During the course of nailing the Blackfin on
the Surface, a few large Yellows show up to inspect the chaos and begin chasing
hooked BF. While not hitting our topwaters, they begin eating our chum and
Todd beats me to the punch and puts out a small chunk. Within seconds he
is hooked up on a very nice Yellowfin battling it on a small accurate reel
that did surprisingly well. After about a 20min fight we get the fish just
under the boat into the lights and can see resisting the upward pull to the
surface. After being so close and just out of gaffing range his line finally
gives. A sore loss but both Todd and the fish live to fight another day.
The sun will soon be coming up and the day crew gets ready as Todd
and I catch up on zzz's. We troll for a while in the morning picking up small
Chicken Dolphin and around 10am have a double hookup on billfish. Moose is
hooked up and I am awakened to a small but feisty Marlin in which Gabe is
able snap an awesome aerial pic from a distance.
Moose horses in the Marlin on stand-up and she is quickly tagged
and released. The Nyati rewards Moose with his first Blue Marlin. A very
beautiful fish lit up and safely released back to the deep blue.
Meanwhile Shane is hooked up on the other fish that hit a bait
far in the spread. Strapped into the chair he is having his turn doing battle.
A few minutes pass and after a respectable fight Shane is able to
get his Marlin in.. another beautiful Blue. This also happens to be Shane's
first Blue Marlin as well. We tag and release our 5th Marlin of the trip.
We get lines back out and continue to troll a couple hours back
towards home. We finally pick it up and celebrate the traditional 1st Marlin
'dumping' with all 5 'dumpees'. The rest of the crew line them up like pirates
forcing unsuspecting victims to walk the plank and then they are united once
again in the water.
We cruise back home and reflect on another epic trip aboard the Nyati.
We clean the gear on the way in and rest up for the fish cleaning at the
dock. When we get back we the get flags out and once again a group photo
with just some of the fish to cap off another fabulous trip.
We ventured far offshore in search of the ultimate fishing grounds
and were blessed with extraordinary fish and a well defined and compatible
crew. Our thrills and thirst for adventure are usually delivered aboard the
Nyati and this trip certainly was no exception. Thanks to such a good group
of friends and a special thanks to YT and Lea for providing us with more
drag screeching memories burned vividly in our minds. Thanks guys for another
great trip!
Living the Adventure..
- Oz |
