Thanks Tawn; it was good to have you on the boat today
John wanted to put together a fun trip for this afternoon. He had some appointments earlier today, so a 2:00 pm departure was scheduled. John had a few friends and I brought two friends (had to get Tawn back out on the water). I approached Tawn with just a boat ride. I was afraid it was too early to get him back in on the fishing, baiting hooks, and removing fish (mate work).
Tawn jumped at the chance. He actualy brought a LL rod and a spot rod to participate
I stopped by his 27 Judge in Deale to pick up a few pointers on improving my Judge. From there, we met Capt John at the boat and off we went to catch spot.
With 8 people on board, we figured 40 spot would be enough. It took longer than expected to catch our spot, but Tawn pitched in with all the mate duties. His new Fish Off glove got a workout with the spot and croaker
It took 2 hours to get our 40 spot
Off we went to Poplar Island and soon we were intently watching the fishfinder for signs of rockfish.
We dropped anchor and almost instantly hooked up. Tawn and I kept spot on the hooks and shared netting duty. It sure is nice to have two mates on the boat
I would guess it took about 45 minutes to get our 16 rock. We had no "overs" but plenty of 20-24 inch fish.
With plenty of daylight left, we ran south to look for blues. We found NONE. We trolled up a few small rock and a couple legal size as well. With the boat needing cleaning, we pulled lines and ran back to Deale. John, Tawn, and I cleaned the boat in record time.
I have charters on Friday and Sunday; wish Tawn was available
The beer was cold, the fish were biting, and the camaraderie was excellent. Stories and good natured ribbing flew around the boat. It was good to see Tawn's hand has healed so well.
It was a good evening on the water. Thanks for your help.
5th (Marty)