Sorry for the delay, and I apologize if the ending is a letdown, I have been super busy......

Anyway, where was I? Oh, yeah, the Defon 4 to the three.... after what seems like forever, I have seemed to rid my stomach of all contents.... SO I think...

We have now been trolling for the better part of an hour, with nothing to show. We stopped and mooched some birds and meter marks, but no biters....

"Hey Matt, look at those birds working over there....... guys, slowly reel in your gear." I speak in hushed tones, as if the ten or so surrounding boats might hear me.

We put out the trolling gear and slowly meander through the pack towards the dozen or so birds, flitting and dipping towards the surface. I am amazed that no one else has noticed the action. Could it be that they are all lulled into a comatose-like state.

As we near the birds, about a half mile away, I mentally go over everything I had heard on the internet message boards I read. What were the guys doing that we are not????? That is it! Rapalas, the fish were on the Rapalas.

Quickly, I grab my 50 lb trolling stick, tie on a CD-18, bleeding mack Rapala and wing it off the starboard side of the boat. I watch it float towards the daisy chain, cedar plug and feather we have following us. When it reaches about where I want it in the spread, I click the reel into gear.

I love the feeling of a true-running Rapala, the tight vibrations, calling in the predetors.

After, I kid you not, about 4 seconds after I felt the rythmic vibrations begin, I notice that they have been replaced with a rapidly increasing pumping, much stronger. I look down in confusion to see line peeling off my reel. I look up to see of we had run over a kelp paddy, nope, this can only mean one thing.....

HHHOOOOOOOOKKKKKKK UUUUUPPPPPPPPPPPPPP

FFFIIIIIIISSSSSHHH OOOOOONNNNNNNNNNNNN

FFFRRREEESSSSSSHHH OOOONNNNNNEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The slumbering crew quickly snap into action, and along with it, all the carefully laid plans out the window. Guys running here, there, grab this, go there, grab a bait, wait don't forget the last troll line.

"Shoot, I forgot the corner troll stick." Matt puts his reel in the clicker position, puts it in the rod holder and begins to grind in on the troll stick.

I in the mean time am hurting this fish. Before the guys can get their baits away from the boat, I have this fish te feet below the boat, doing the death-roll.

"GAFF....GAFFFFFF" I yell.

"ZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzz"

"Matt your bait stick is bit." I look up to see that the troll stick is now on the bow and Matt is grabbing his bait stick, line starting to scream off the reel.

"Fresh one!" Matt sets the reel in gear and the circle hook starts to bite into the fish.

"GAFF, Just hand me the gaff... thanks....."

Frank puts his rod down and gaffs my fish, it is a fat one. Only about three inches of the large plug are showing. It inhaled it! I rember seeing blood streaming out of its gills as I ground it in.

"DAMN...... hook pulled......" Matt says in disbelief.

I throw my rod down and grab my 30 lb bait stick. It is to be of no avail. That was the only action we were to see that day. We trolled left, we trolled right, up and down. We fast trolled, slow trolled, trolled bait and mooched bait. We dropped jigs deep, and looked for birds and bait. I will not gross you out with more details of hwo I got sick on and off again for the rest of the day, I was miserable! I almost clicked my heels three times and wished to Auntie Emm, I don't want to be a fisherman anymore...... but I didn't.

Now I know just how miserable an all day hit of seasickness can be. I now know why handguns are not often kept on boats. It was horrible, curled up in a ball, trying to balance on the small seat, wishing I had slept a little more, eaten........

The coolest part of the day, is thinking about trying something new, and having it produce fish. I am sure that the school of tuna were following our spread of lures, debating whether or not to attack, when all of a sudden comes bombing down, a bleeding mackeral.....BLAMMMMMMO..... Fresh one................

thanks for your patience guys..... sorry we didn't plug the boat, we sure did try.

Oh and the fish, sorry it wasn't one of the pigs that were caught up there, but it did weigh 40 lbs..... not my biggest, but a tasty treat none the less.

Moondoggie