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You know the old saying, what a difference a week makes? Well sometimes a
new week is not needed. For example, last Saturday, June Bug had a two-man
charter party from West Bloomfield, Michigan who just wanted to have fund and
catch fish. The June Bug crew accomodated them with some nice Yellowfins, Mahi,
and a very spirited 450 pound Blue Marlin out of the Lindenkohl. Weater and sea
conditions were super and we had not seen as much bait, Porpoises, Pilot Whales,
and Fin Back Whales in 20 years as we did last Saturday. No wonder there were
lots of fish.Fast forward to Saturday, July 3. The weather forecast was similar
to the previous Saturday, winds less than 10 knots, seas less than 2 feet. In
actuality, when June Bug arrived at the Lindenkohl at 4:15 a.m. that morning,
winds were between 10 to 15 with gusts to 20 and seas were 3 to 5 but nice and
blue again with plenty of bait, porpoise, and other activity. However, we had no
knockdowns on the high ground or around the pots at the drop. We moved into the
deep and found far warmer water. The best we had all day was 77.3. Mostly the
surface temps were 76.5 or so. There was a 1.8 degree temp break with a long
line set right on it. That's where most of the fish were.This time June Bug
had Ralph Hibbs and his nephew Kevin plus Bill Figley and his friend Tom, a
retired State Trooper Unit Commander on board. Capt. Nate Figley was aboard as
mate and Garrett Frey, who came all the was from Wabash, Indiana, was our Junior
Mate. Garrett's sole reason for coming to LBI this summer is to participate in
the Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association's Junior Mate Training program. It
is spectacular that a young man such as Garrett would first find our program and
then enroll. After his actions today, Garrett is off to a fine start.So here we
were this morning in the Lindenkohl. There were about a hundred boats already in
that Canyon. Most were working the 100 fathom line but we didn't like what we
saw there. We worked out into the deep and away from the fleet. At about 5:45
a.m., our first action was an attack by a pod of Bigeyes. At least 6 or 7 fish
were involved and 3 hooked up. 2 came off pretty quickly but Ralph Hibbs stayed
with his fish and got it in the boat in about 30 minutes. As Nate carefully
wired the fish at boatside, Garrett deftly gaffed the fish in the head. His
first big fish gaff and he hits the target dead on. Great job, Garrett! The fish
weighed an estimated 160 pounds.A short time later, a pod of smaller Yellowfins
swarmed all over everything we were dragging. One came aboard, about a 35
pounder.Not long after, small groups of larger Yellowfins started to smack our
spreader bars. We started landing the larger tunas in turn. These weighed about
80 pounds each. Nice fish.Our action tailed off around 10 a.m. All fish had been
raised and caught in 76.5 or so water in depths between 1,800 and 3,000
feet.Since our fish storage was full, we quit early and went home.Another great
day on the Ocean. Book your Great Day by calling Capt. Lindsay Fuller at
609-685-2839 or e-mail him at JLinFuller@aol.com.Let's Go Fishin'! www.Fish-JuneBug.com |
