So as I sit in the ferry lineup waiting to go home to reality, I started thinking back to what had taken place over the last week at the shootout.
I forged some new friendships and cemented some old ones and had another great westcoast adventure. When you are 70 miles offshore and dozing away watching the spread in gin clear blue water and it is 25 degrees out, you kinda wonder where you really are. Then just as suddenly as the porpoise and mola mola show, a reel begins to scream and then another and another as the Albacore plow into the spread and you realize that you are westcoast BC tuna fishing.
The festivities started off for me helping Brad wrap potatoes at the Beam for them to host the kickoff. Chilling on the deck having some drinks and crushing pints was a great start. Then 100 tuna junkies descended onto the deck to feast on steaks and all the trimmings and get jacked about tomorrow's fishing.
I stood beside Tuna Don and ate steak, I talked with Rodzilla and Dak while staring at all the glass tied to the dock.
4 am came early and Kelly and I found our selves heading out ahead of most of the fleet with Danny Bishop from Bishop and Sons...what a beaut this guy is! We roared out to our numbers and found the water and temp we needed, chucked out the spread and shot the ****.
Back to the scene of albies in the spread, chaos ensues as we haul in the fish and bloody the decks.
After throwing some tuna in the boat we turn the big pursuit and head to the beach while listening to stories by Bishy of past trips. The big pursuit ramped up to 50 mph on the smooth water as we raced back to weigh in and retool for the next day.
I spent the rest of the week with Harper44, telling lies and hunting tuna. This is what it is a big hunt with everyone sharing info and wanting to help. As it turned out Slivov the Croation sensation snuck away and took a chance and did indeed get into some stud tuna and were leading the board as of last night.
Sitting at Mills with the Hardy boys, Captain Kidd and his tuna whisperer, we watched and listened to the bearded one do his thing, man did we laugh!!! "If this coho was 60lbs it could eat a baby" if you were there you know what I am talking about.
Harper and I never found the tuna we needed to win the event but we did find a great week in Bamfield yet again. Listening to the Trophy Hunter tell us how he got spooled but the unknown leviathan they hooked kept us hopefull and stoked for that next big crush to our spread.
Thanks to Jerry and Diane at Mills, Brad at the Beam, Bishy for the laughs and the cigars. Good to see the RodIlla boys, Dak, Sculpin and the rest but biggest thanks to Andrew (Harper44) for a great week of fishing and the BC Tough boys, Kelly, Jon and Jeff for putting on the premier Canadian recreational Tuna Fishing Event. By far on Saturday there were more sporties chasing tuna in Canada at one time than ever before.
Well done, can't wait till next year!!
Give ME the Gaff!
Getbent
