Ship's Log August 18-26 2020
Wyatt
Wyatt, Jeff, Seanna and I left Winchester Bay early morning of August 16th. Once offshore a bit, I reached out and I got 3 reports... Closest report guy had 110 fish. 75 miles from us. Up above him 40 miles a guy had 60 fish, and up above him about 60 miles a guy had 200 fish. We set our Go To to that guy. I figured with 20 days to work with, we will go to where the gettin is the best. We had to travel all day, and all night, and when the sun came up on that second day, we were within 20 miles of the hot spot. We had gone nearly 200 miles. The weather was very nice for the traveling, we were making 7 to 8 knots. The fish started to come, and Wyatt got a chance to pull fish on our first fishing day. The south wind came up pretty strong, and I was glad to have some miles North ahead of us so we did not have to turn back into it much. We put a bit over 200 fish in the boat before nightfall overtook us.
We woke to a howling south wind, about 25 knots in a crappy choppy sea. Seanna was huddled tight in her bed, Jeff and I were up drinking coffee and muttering under our breath... "Holy shit..." Wyatt was down in his bunk holding tight. We fished as best we could until about 3pm. Then we just shut pulled the gear, shut the boat down and began a drift, taking the choppy seas sideways in the trough as we got pushed further up North. We had only 18 fish for the day, and we all felt irritable, crabby, and crappy. We just huddled down in our bunks reading and napping until the howling quit and the vessel began to ease in the somewhat bearable sea. One futile attempt to get a few more happened late in the evening, mostly so I could get the vessel down south a ways before the long night and a drift north that would take us beyond the edge.
The next day was another heavy 20 to 25 knot south windy sea. We got blown up north and into a larger fleet of vessels pounding it out to get what they could. We participated, and ended up with 64 fish. Wyatt and Jeff stayed on the deck while Seanna and I managed the house. The weather was due to change the following day and give us a break. We ate what we could, no grand meals. Mostly out of the microwave.
The third fishing day was decent, the weather was shifting from a south wind to a north wind. During that change things softened up a bit and we managed a full ton at 148 fish.
The sturdy north winds blew hard, giving the rigging a strong whistle and howling thru the lines around the boat. 60 fish on the 4th day... I made alternative plans and began to slip south with the wind at our backs. Gave us a good chance to eat, breath easy, and relax. Wyatt and I played a lot of Kings Corners, Gin, and Go Fish with the deck of cards. We worked on Seanna’s trick of standing up for treats. Jeff hung out back watching for a bite while reading a book. The fish had disappeared and the full day of sliding south gave up only 27 fish. We spent the night sideways, blowing further down below and away from the bite. Next day was a full day of sliding south with us reading, playing cards, and eating at will... for only 2 fish. These were 25 knot winds and the week ahead promised 30 to 35 knot winds, so we angled for the 170 mile trip to Charleston. Done with this wind!! I am yearning for the comfort of my own bed and the hugs of my wife. We had a good enough angle for a pretty nice ride, and arrived into Charleston on August 26th, and Wyatt and Jeff offloaded our 8000 pounds the next day. These fish, as well as the last load gotten with Zac will be put into American Tuna 4 pound cans and will be distributed throughout the USA to large commercial kitchens. Restaurants, hospitals, retirement homes and such as that. I really like to know where our fish end up and am proud to add our little bit to the supply chain here in the USA.
I will be working of filling our own cans of Fishpatrick’s tuna for the remainder of this year. We have waited until the albacore have a large fat volume in them. Rich and full of the feed that they come to fatten up on every summer in our area. We do have cans available now for purchase. PM Kristi Roelle for details on that if you are needing tuna now. Today is Sunday August 30th. We have 29 tons in for the year. The James Lee will depart with Jeff, Seanna, and I tomorrow morning at 6am.
