Alright, it's finally time to tell the tale...and what a long, arduous, and painful tale it will be!
Sorry for the delay, amidst a plethora of problems, I was having trouble getting pictures uploaded...of which took about 2 days to do so.
Of course, there are nearly 500 pictures...sooooooooo...it took awhile.
Wow, so where to start...how about a little background.
Rewind to back in March, fishing on the Angela Rose II for some winter flounder where we met Captain Anthony and Captain/Mate Jay for the first time. For those that don't know, both of these guys are absolutely awesome...just a ton of fun to fish with, and I'd gladly join in on a trip with them anytime!
So, as it turns out, Jay does a ton of offshore fishing all up and down the East coast. To our offshore tuna crew, it was a no-brainer to book it up with Jay...guaranteed good time, and he worked for a great looking boat called the Defiant under none other than Defiant Sportfishing.
Fast-forward to about 3 weeks ago...offshore is ripe with action, our crew is totally stoked for the trip, counting down the days! Then I get a call from Steve (aka Captain Socks) about not being able to get on the Defiant Sportfishing website. Wow, that seems odd. I give Jay a call...no answer. No biggie, I figure he's out fishing offshore beating on the tuna...as it turns out, that was indeed the case. OK, so I give Captain Adam a call...phone is disconnected...hrmmm this isn't looking good! Next step, I call the owner of the boat to find out he SOLD the friggin boat 2 days earlier and disconnected Adam's phone since it was a "business phone". WOW...just WOW. Talk about shafting umpteen charters, and above and beyond all of that...Adam's crew/mate from the FL Keys relocated to NJ for the offshore season...only to find out the boat's been sold and he and Adam are without a job...with no severance and no warning...ouch! Fortunately for Jay, he picked up a full time gig working on a private boat running tourneys some months back, but was on-board for our trip...said he wouldn't miss it for the world. Of course, he didn't factor the boat getting sold into the equation! Totally sucks for everyone...I can't even tell you how much we were looking forward to sailing with Jay and the crew.
OK...3 weeks til our offshore departure booked well in advance...and we're without a boat. It's a crazy, panic-oriented rush to shoot out emails and phone calls around the horn trying to find a stand-in boat and captain for a WEEKEND slot in PEAK offshore season. To say we had a slim chance of filling the trip was an understatement...and half of the 6 man crew were locked into that weekend date, having requested it off 6 months in advance!
So we're scrambling trying to find someone to take us out, rifling through phone calls and emails...when I decide to post around on the forums as a last ditch effort. Well, it turned out to be our saving grace! We had some immediate feedback from a few charters and captains, but none of which could accommodate our timeframe...that was until Tom (aka Bobber) was nice enough to put in a good word for us with JR on Out on a Limb. JR took us on for the same timeframe in super short notice, which was a pleasant surprise and refueled our crew's quickly dwindling fire! I thanked Tom before and I'll thank him again, he was the first step in saving our offshore trip this year!
And of course, I can't thank JR and his mate Chris enough for taking us out on such short notice...it was a near impossible timeline, but they made it happen!
OK, so fast-forward a little bit more...I stayed in communication with JR for the next couple weeks as the final week approached, we kept a close eye on the weather and at first, it sure didn't look good with 4-7 foot seas predicted 5 days out...but as each day passed, the weather got better and better...leaving us with a beautiful weekend of 2-4 foot seas predicted and sub 10mph winds...beautiful!
OK, it's Friday night...Steve (Captain Socks) hooks us up with a house in Point Pleasant to hang out and spend the night before our morning departure...big thanks to Steve for that, was a great time and an awesome place to stay! So, I talk with JR on the way down, confirm our 10AM departure time...we're both super pumped for the trip...plans to hit up some tile fishing on the way out, then hit a mid to late afternoon troll and set up on the hook sometime mid evening after we locate some solid water and fish...everything is coming together beautifully!
Well...that's where the beauty ends.
The next morning, we wake up nice and early...none of us sleeping much...certainly not me with Captain Chainsaw Massacre snoring in the bed next to me (aka Tom D)...despite flying shoes, pillows, kicks to the mattress...I think I got a solid 15 minutes of sleep in! It's like Christmas morning, everyone's pumped to get things together and head on out. A little breakfast, some coffee and it's about time to pack up when the phone rings with JR on the other line...ahhh no worries, he's just calling to make sure we're outta bed, right? WRONG!
Well, as it turns out, the strangest of things happened...JR's ludicrous boat Out on a Limb 4 completed sheared off a shaft and prop on their test run that morning after picking up bait, gassing up, and icing up the boat...UGH! But JR wasn't giving up...he was determined to get out there! It's an insane mad rush, as JR has to go get his trailer up at his house about 30 minutes away to pull the boat out no matter what. Our initial plan was to hunt down a shaft and prop and get it replaced ASAP...so I told him I'd do the legwork and make the phone calls while he was driving to get the trailer. A bazillion calls and an hour and a half later, and no shaft to be found. I expand my search highjacking a signal outside our beach house on my laptop trying to find a part online in the state of NJ when JR calls again with new plans. He says we have another option, heading out of Morgan on Out on a Limb (the original) catamaran...it's a little slower, but equally comfortable and has seen the canyon many a time...but he needs a quick answer...because if we're going...we have to go ASAP. I head over to the house immediately with JR on the phone and try to get the guys organized...I tell JR I'll give him a call back in a few minutes. After a 30 second chat, it's clear everyone is ready to go...so I call JR back and it's ON!
Now the rush REALLY begins...JR is on his way back down with the trailer to pick up the OOAL4...and then we have to take it up to Morgan to offload all the offshore gear, rods, reels, ice, bait, and tackle to the OOAL cat! He says to meet him at the boat ramp in 15 minutes...so it's a crazy rush to pack all our stuff in short order and head on over...and amidst it all...I COMPLETELY FORGOT I LEFT MY LAPTOP ON THE STAIRS DURING THAT LAST PHONE CALL! Worst of all, I didn't even know it until I got BACK down to the shore house on Sunday evening!
UGH...what an devastating loss, having over 100,000 pictures on that laptop from various family vacations, hunting trips, fishing trips, trailcam pictures, etc. Fortunately, I have about 10,000 of them out on my personal webspace...which are all the ones I save from my reports...but still, the loss of the remainder is something I can't ever replace. As a side note, police report has been filed, they are investigating...couple leads, we'll see what happens...but I don't have my hopes up. I also ran down to Point the next day and put out reward flyers...again I'm not too hopeful.
OK...so back to the trip...
Crazy rush, I head to the boat ramp and pick up JR while Steve drives Chris back over to where OOAL4 is docked. JR and Chris ride the boat back to the ramp to offload it onto the trailer, while Steve and I drive back there to follow them up to Morgan. 20 minutes later, JR and Chris are back and have the boat on the trailer and it's off to the races to get it up to Morgan. Our window is tight...it's already 11:45 and we want to be heading out of Morgan no later than 1PM if possible.
OK, we hit the GSP when a rainstorm from hell comes out of nowhere...forecasted clear, sunny skies all day...and somehow we're hit with a monsoon. Seriously, who in the crew beat up kids for milk money when they were younger?!?!? This is getting ridiculous...ohhhh but not quite ridiculous enough...give it time!
We finally get to Morgan, and JR has the presence of mind to call ahead to his buddy to gas up OOAL for the trip out and to save us time...as well as bring the boat up to the Morgan ramp to facilitate our offloading. JR is on the ball! OK...so we might as well be swimming in the ocean it's raining so hard, all our gear is getting soaked...but we're not made of sugar...we throw on the raingear and get to packin. It's a little chaotic, but we manage to get it all together...really just stuffing things on there with plans on organizing it more on our way out.
It ain't pretty but we get all the gear on board and start our trip out...and naturally...the rain stops just as we are pulling out around 1:45PM...hah, the irony. JR spends a few minutes with the cast net trying to locate some peanuts and maybe some snappers...but with the heavy rain that just passed, the water is muddy and murky...and there's no bait to be found, even at the tideline and moving outward. We don't have much time to waste, so we promptly head on out.
It's a bit of ride from the back of the bay, extending our trip about 25 miles or so more than it would have been from Point. Unfortunately that also alters the gameplan due to gas capacity and relative distance, but JR has some numbers that produced just a day or so ago...not the water he initially planned on hitting, but it'll have to do...we're walking a tightrope just getting out there at this point!
The ride's not bad, some of us BS on the way out...ripe with anticipation, while others are snoozing away....which BTW became SOP for half the crew...lazy bums! Haha It takes us about 4.5 hours to get to the spot and the seas look great but with some cooler than expected temps hovering around 71-72 degrees. JR heads right over to the numbers he has in mind...we're already later than we wanted to be...so we weren't wasting time setting up.
We finally settle in around 7:00PM or so, just in time to catch the sun setting in the background. Chris heads to the fish boxes to start unpacking the bait when he suddenly realizes...we have a problem. It turns out there was a mix up at the bait shop and instead of having 5 slabs of butterfish and 1 slab of sardines....we had 1 slab of butterfish, 1 slab of sardines, and 4 slabs of bunker! ACK! Obviously not the best of baits, but it will have to do...we're 100+ miles offshore, we certainly can't run back...our luck clearly is not getting any better!
Alright, so Chris busts out the automatic chunking machine to find out the power plug doesn't fit the OOAL boat plug...UGH^2!!! We just can't catch a break! Guess we'll have to do it the old fashion way...manually. Not a big deal, we'll make due!
So JR dips the light in the water and in minutes we start seeing squid cruising around...a very promising sign...we have the bait, now we just need the fish to move on in. We proceed to catch some live squid and drop them down, but nothing's doing. Hours pass when one of the rods finally goes off at 11:30PM, JR is on the rod like white on rice, sets the hook, and the fight is ON!
We chose the rotation such that those guys that haven't caught a tuna before were up front...Rich was first, Tom D. was second, Steve was third, Tom K. was fourth, Craig was fifth, and I was last.
JR immediately hands the rod off to Rich, while I try to capture the chaos on camera...it's a great fight! One thing I noticed right away was JR's willingness to immediately cut lines to avoid losing the fish. He didn't hesitate...Rich got a few cranks in and JR saw the lines were twisted pretty bad...didn't waste any time trying to untangle, just grabbed his pliers and cut. Generally this sucks to lose line, but given Craig's experience last year fighting through tangles for 30-40 minutes+ with refusals to cut a tangled mess...I guess this was noticed and welcomed by us. Not to say we wouldn't have worked through it for awhile to try to get out of the tangle, but JR didn't ask, didn't question, didn't hesitate...it was clear getting that fish in was paramount to him...and much appreciated by our crew!
So back to the fight...Rich is amped up and having a great time...what it's all about. Rich gets his butt kicked, and eventually lands a 70#ish yellowfin...nice! Finally on the board and Rich is exhausted! Heh, I told him they were strong...but I'm sure he didn't believe me until he had the belt on and rod in his hands!
Alright, things are looking better...took us awhile to get there...but we finally got a hit and a fish in the boat! As quickly as it started, it was over...not another hit on any of the other lines we had in. Huh? What?!?! How?!?!? Not another fish anywhere in the area to hit another line? Meh! We reset all the lines, and myself and Craig are jigging like mofos here and there for the next few hours without a touch on any of the rods. We're marking fish on the finder all night, but NOTHING is hitting...it's incredible...and it seems like we're not alone in our section of water, as many other boats are within sight and on the radio crying the same blues.
It's 4:50AM when we finally get another hit...the reel is screaming, JR again is on it before I even blink, goes to set the hook and comes up empty. Live squid...fish just ripped it right off, never having the hook in it's mouth. Quick adrenaline rush, hopes rising...but alas no more hits on the other rods...again, a solo fish cruising through. Honorable mention to Tom D. though, next up...he went from a deep chainsaw replication slumber to at the rod like his pants were on fire...pretty comical I must say...and just as quickly as he was up, he was back down sleeping! Haha, classic!
So daylight isn't far off, it's around 5:30AM...everyone but JR, Chris, and myself are sleeping. Chris is on the chunking, I'm just watching the sardine chunks disappear before Chris throws a few more when suddenly I see a flash of 3 tuna sucking in the chunks 20 yards off the port side. I yell out to JR, he rushes over and hooks up a rod with a chunk and drops it in the slick. We're tossing chunks and watching the 3 longfins come in and hammer them. Amidst the commotion, the guys awake, Tom D is next up and has his belt on and ready to roll when JR hooks into the first longfin and hands the rod off to Tom. The fight is on, as Tom puts a hurting on the 40# longfin, getting him to the boat promptly, gaffed and in the box! Great job Tom!
The fish are still around and hitting the slick, so we drop lines back in, as JR nearly immediately hooks another one and hands the rod to Steve. Shortly after Steve's into his fight, Tom K. hooks another one...two fish on! Things are a little ugly with crossed lines and confusion, as Tom K brings his fish in super green and fast...JR sticks him thinking it's Steve's fish...and as he lifts...he sees the Steve's line and fish pinned vertically beneath...and POP...Steve's fish breaks off...but we got one of them in the box.
And again, just as fast the fishing started...it ended. The sunrise and light came on quickly, and the end of the chunk came with it. JR and Chris setup on the morning troll in hopes of hooking a few more right off the bat, but it just wasn't meant to be. We got an hour or so in on the troll when the weather really started kicking up and getting nasty, forcing us to call it a trip and head on in.
The trip in was...well, about standard for this insane trip with steady 6 to 8 foot seas and heavy chop...forcing us to head south in the trough to avoid taking the waves head on. It wasn't a pretty ride home, but we go there after about 6 hours or so.
I can't even begin to summarize this nitemare of a trip...really the only good to the trip was all a result of JR's tenacity and persistence to get us out there. Our crew was absolutely awesome...that is why I fish with these guys, and JR and Chris completed it all...just phenomenal guys who work their butts off for you from start to the bitter end. It was great to be able to catch a few fish despite all of the adversity we faced throughout...it was just a never ending string of bad breaks...but our crew held it together and made a trip out of it...and certainly one that will never be forgotten...and hopefully never repeated! Haha
JR and Chris, we can't thank you guys enough for all that you did. Despite all the negative crap that happened throughout the trip, your outstanding efforts deserve to be acknowledged and commended, and are truly appreciated by everyone in our crew. And no matter what, our group just loves being out there...fishing is fishing, you aren't always going to catch em, things aren't always going to work out the way you want them too...and as I said, you can't control the fishing, but you can control the fun...and we had a blast regardless of all that happened!
My hats off to you guys, certainly a trip I won't ever forget, and likewise I'll never forget your boundless and selfless efforts to make this trip happen where many captains and mates would have thrown in the towel!
I can't thank you guys enough, I only hope we can someday hit the water again and bury this trip beneath a big pile of fish! After this trip, we ALL are certainly due! As a matter of fact, I know you guys are out there again right now (tonight), and I hope you are beating on the tuna!
OK, let's move on to the pics...what so many have been waiting for!
Word of warning...I told you, I seriously took nearly 500 pics...and hell, we only had 5 hits!
So get ready, there will be a lot of them...not 500...but maybe like 490 or so!
Friday - 09/21/2007
Alright, it's time for the beach house!
Craig and Steve getting warmed up...
Tom K, enjoying a cold one!
A little in-house scenery...palm tree!
Welcome to the Beach!
Heh, after this trip...we certainly have an interesting story to tell!
Craig, destroying the stromboli I brought!
Here comes trouble!
So...umm...Tom...that's not quite a parking spot there buddy. See the driveway?
Tom, offloading some home brew...
And of course, I have to take the opportunity to take a shot of the canned hams!
Tom telling Craig he'll break his fingers if he touches the Grappa! Hahaha
Craig says...he doesn't care, he just wants some of that Coffee Brandy!
Look at him...friggin quadrupling up...when's that next AA meeting buddy? Haha
Tom, warning Craig again, "I'll shoot you down with my finger guns!"
Craig actually looks concerned.
Voop! Then the good stuff comes out, Tom's homemade reds...this red zinf was the strongest wine I've ever had personally...awesome stuff!
And a Boredeaux
Tom's proud of his wine...he should be, that stuff is goooooooooood!
Craig, Steve, and Tom...having a good time
Apparently there was a Canned Ham contest that evening...I must have missed the memo!
But I didn't miss this bit of blasphemy! Captain Socks...wearing...socks?!?!? Say it ain't so Steve!!!
OK...so those didn't last too long...
Tom looks like he's concerned or constipated....either way he is praying for something and it has us all scared!
So much so it drove Craig into a complete craze!
Craig and his goblet of wine.
Tom got a kick of out it...
Steve says Cheers!
Tom...getting saucy already, making funny faces!
Craig pondering what alcoholic beverage he wants to try next...
It didn't take him too long to decide on what's in the freezer...some Grappa, some Coffee Brandy
Tom assuring us the Grappa only has about a 98.3% chance of killing us...hey it's only 180 proof!
Pour it up!
Tom drinks this stuff for breakfast...note Craig is patting his forehead with a napkin...BTW did you guys ever pay that Wake Zone fine that night you slept on Tom's boat? Haha
Getting some fresh air...
Steve, double fisting it...
Craig, getting giddy...
Tom K telling stories...Craig and Tom laughing up a drunken storm...good times!
"So...do you come here often?"
Tom with a mug-o-Coffee Brandy
Captain 8 Heads was it? Seriously, Craig needs help!
Tom's loving it
Tom K, loungin...
Tom D...with another hilarious face...
Hey, why not one more? Take a shot in the eye?
Phew...OK that's all for the night...hahaha
Saturday into Sunday - 09/22/2007 to 09/23/2007
The boat we were originally headed out on...beautiful.
And the morning run results...at least it didn't happen when we were out there on the water!
Fortunately JR has more boats than most of us have socks...especially Steve!
Here's the boat we went on instead!
Well, with all the chaos and rain, I couldn't take pics til we were about to leave.
Here's Chris...ready to roll!
My buddy Rich, caught up at a party the night before, but showed up for fishing (unlike golf).
Captain Serious...Tom K
Captain Likes To Yell...Tom D.
Captain Two Handed Hello...soaked to the bone...Craig
Captain Looks Like He's Wearing Socks...Steve
See, you thought I was kidding!!! Haha
And Captain Canned Hams had to break out...
There's the man...the REAL Captain...Captain JR!
Tom's ready to get going...
Some jiggin sticks...
A few more rods...
Alright...we're moving!
Yooooooooo!!!!!!!!
JR, he's pumped for some action!
Chris, all smiles!
JR, hunting for some fresh bait!
Our crew of 6...
Heading out...it's a little gloomy!
Tom K...in standard form...I think he slept for about 95% of the trip...haha.
JR scopin the maps out...
And toggling the electronics...
Craig...drinking...soda?!?!? You feelin OK buddy?
JR...fueling up! Seriously, this guy might have slept 10 minutes in 2 days...machine!
Craig...feeling like a rock star with the wind blowing through his hair...
Tom, trying to tie a Bimini Twist by himself...haha
Movin now...
Honda power...
Rich...designer hat...iPod...we ain't headed to an NYC runway buddy! Haha
Tom K, chillin
Rich, snaggin my camera and giving me a dose of my own medicine!
Chris was awesome...with those shades, we called him P-Diddy
I think Rich was getting antsy...that or he had to take a wizz
The sun, shining...
Rippin...getting close
Finally there...sun going down...
Craig, meditating?
Chris...starting to chunk it up...
Nice sky...
Real nice...
Rich is ready!
Nice...
Ahhhh...wish I was still there...
What up Diddy!!!
The moon...
Best one yet...
Same time...equally nice.
Cool pic with a boat under the clouds in the distance...
Another nice one...
Fireball,about gone...
Going, going, gone...
Over the top...
Alright, nitefall and onto some fishing! The boys are ready!
Rich, hangin out...
A little fresh bait...
And a few hours later...and Rich is on a yellowfin!
I love how relaxed JR is...just hangin out on the rail, looking out in the distance! Heh
Whoaaaaaa Nelly!
Rich...who's winnin this battle buddy?
Color!!!
Coming around now...
Gaffed and in the boat!
Bloodbath!
And Rich with his fish...nice job dude!
A little while later...while squid jiggin...someone caught this interesting jellyfish.
Looks like that yellowfin kicked Rich's butt...of course, if he falls over the side...he's got bigger problems.
I'll call this pic...The Sleeping Magnet.
I can probably think of about 100 funny things to say here...I think I'll just laugh at this pic instead! Haha
Captain Chainsaw Massacre...back at it...
Tom D, finally getting into one!
Get em!
On the stick and in the boat!
And on the deck...
Then Steve's into one!
Get em Socks!!!
JR's ready!
Then Tom K hooked into one, and it was a little chaotic, I cleared out of the way and started fishing.
Next pic I have is of an exhausted Steve
And Tom D...the only nutcase walking around in bare feet...
And I just noticed the San Francisco jacket...and here you make fun of my orange pants?!?! Hahaha
The morning...not much of a sunrise...
Not a bad start...
The water out there is amazing...
Look at these two snoozers!
San Fran...out cold!
Rich and Craig are up...now...haha
Rich is ready for more action!
Tom was sound asleep...until Craig tried winging a piece of chunking bait at me...missed and it landed on Tom.
Captain Oblivious...note his arm.
On the troll...blue, so blue...
Nice!
Sun, finally breaking through...
Things getting a little snotty...
Heading back to the barn...with soaked Socks!
Getting ugly...
Rich...sleeping...again! Haha, I can't blame him...heading in is the time to rest up...I admit, I was sleeping too!
Socks, bein his cool self!
Final shot of the warn out captain...the man is a machine!
And likewise for Chris...get your Diddy on!!!
And back at the dock...clearing the boat off. No final fish pics...was blazing hot, we were all exhausted...didn't even think about it.
Well that's all folks. Definitely a rough trip, but we made the best of it with an awesome crew of guys.
Once again, big thanks to JR for extending himself so much to help us out...really speaks volumes about his character and the type of guy he is! Great job to both you and Chris for making it all happen!
Until next time...
