Paper Post Up

[CR Bound]

As box has pointed out I and other have asked for help when it came to writing papers about our beloved sport. We have not returned our works to the forum. This is me, I present the paper post up thread.

[CR Bound]

Teach a Man to Fish
I have done it dozens of times. I have been doing it since I was eight years old. For me it’s not about escape from life but, rather getting in touch with life. Out there on the cobalt blue water amongst the whales and porpoise’s gracefully skimming the surface and the birds that sometimes rest on the boat, I feel energized. Offshore fishing is more than a hobby, it’s an epic experience like Odysseus sailing past Charybdis.
The panorama before us is spectacular, but so is the stern with its multitude of glistening rods and reels. When the sun strikes our boat, it’s blinding as the metallics and sea throw back its light. The boat is a work of modern art with all her gear deployed. Fishing is a full-body experience that begins with the eyes and works its way through the body.
My mind and body are engaged as the boat slows to trolling speed. It’s my responsibility to deploy the outriggers, and I begin by putting out with the deep lures straight off the stern. The long riggers follow with birds and green machines. The green machine is placed as an injured fish trying to catch up with the school. This attracts tuna and forces them toward the lure. The spreader bars are clipped on the short riggers and will mimic a school of squid. Flat lines are fished close to the transom, with jet heads that go in and out of the wake leaving a “bubble trail” and act like jumping fish.
This sounds complicated, but I have been exposed to this process for twelve hours a day. I learned this through watching and doing and I have loved every moment of it. I was freed from grades and assessment and as a result I have been reading more and more about the subject of offshore fishing. This knowledge has come to me through my hands and my interest in the subject. Fishing has connected my mind and body and made them one.
What makes fishing a sport is not fighting a 600lb Blue Marlin, it is the mental acuity. The hardest part is finding an area in which your odds of finding tuna are in your favor. The recreational fisherman must keep an eye out for bird and bait fish skimming the surface, and the use of temperature charts is necessary for making educated guesses about fish concentrations. Northeast Canyons fishing is the most difficult fishing with its declining fish stocks and rising numbers of fishing enthusiasts.
Even the soul is engaged when the social aspects of offshore fishing are considered. There is the boredom and pandemonium of sport fishing, leading to comical episodes. The middle-aged men speak freely of their lives when the boredom sets in. A lot can be learned on a four hour run with men who were once strangers. I’ve learned of the trials and tribulations of life. I know how important college is from listening to blue collar guys discussing their work. My favorite fishing colleague speaks of his boat as a destination, because he escapes the vagaries of life. Fishermen share so much that one of the wives dubbed us “As the Propeller Turns.”
The tide can quickly turn from absolute quiet to reel screaming, and the crew scanning for the bent pole. The boat slows and the fight with the fish begins. It’s an intense time, this choreographed chaos. And this is my deepest passion. It is fun, full of action, and when it’s not, it’s consistently interesting. My brain and body are bound in a clinch knot. Fishing has simultaneously given me a deeper knowledge of people, the ocean, fish and myself. I love applying my new knowledge to the world and look forward to its application in college.

[CR Bound]

Disappointment is a great loss, but yet a great honor!!!
Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz…. The shot gun bait explodes. Your 50 wide has just lost 200 yards of line in 15 seconds. As you keep the throttles pinned in hopes of a double, triple, or maybe a quad. You know its one of them Alison tuner’s. No one saw the strike, but she is holding deep. This type of tuna that outweighs even the heaviest of men. You run into the salon and take off your sweatshirt. Still in pants you have no time to take them off and change into your shorts. The reel is still singing. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz…your heart rate is going a mile a minute. You haven’t even touched the rod yet, and you’re all ready pumped. You know that its time to control the adrenaline rush. You now have the rod and slowly guide it into the chair rod holder. You wish you had brought your harness with you but you will try and make do with out it. The mate guides the chair in the cockpit; the captain has now brought the boat down to a crawl. Just putting her, in and out of gear. Tuna will hold deep, it becomes a deep stale mate. Not like most other game fish, such as marlin, swordfish, and shark. Where they will surface and greyhound for the horizon. Tuna hold deep, your battle has begun. The key now is to keep tension on the line and to never give in. If she ain’t taking line off the reel you better be putting line on the reel. You slowly make your first pump, keeping that rod tip between 9-11 clock. Each time you gain a foot of line the tuna takes one feet. You increase the drag level forward to 22 pounds. As you start to gain some line, the tuna only pulls it back. You are only into the fight for 10 minutes, when your arm starts to tire. The tuna is still taking line. You can see that she is directly under you as the line is straight down. Your back starts to hurt, but you still hang on. You know that you can reel her in. The fish powers it self all the way across the cockpit to the other side of the boat. You extend the rod tip in order to clear the swim platform. You look down at the spool and see it a 1/3 full, you got about 25 pounds of drag of her. Still pumping, she just goes deeper. Then all of a stead she is coming right at you. You reel your heart out. Keeping tension on the line, a good rule of thumb is to always keep a bend in the rod, that way you also know there is tension on the line. The captain increase the rpm’s to keep the slake out of the line. Turn after turn you, you now have 2/3 of a spool, then ¾ then, she runs again this time you are holding the rod with your right hand it give your left arm a break. You wish you had that harness. Steadily she stops again, now you’re into the battle the slow bring her up process. Pump up, drop the rod, reel up; Pump up, drop the rod, reel up; Pump up, drop the rod, reel up. The key is now to reel in a fulete and even way. You have seen it before a guy gets tried starts to pumping crazy. He drops the rod to fast to keep up with the line. POP!!! no more tuna. You try to control yourself. That’s what separates the men from the boys. Your about 20-25 minutes into the fight have a great way to go, but your are close. Your arm is nume from the pain, but some how you hold the rod. You know you got it. Just slow and steady is the key. Pump up, drop the rod, reel up; Pump up, drop the rod, reel up; Pump up, drop the rod, reel up. Nice and slow. You have about ¾ of spool again. She starts her run to the deep again. F$%^, you say. Holding on the rod you lose everything You have worked so hard for. You begin to start that painful process over again. Pump up, drop the rod, reel up; Pump up, drop the rod, reel up; Pump up, drop the rod, reel up; Pump up, drop the rod, reel up; Pump up, drop the rod, reel up; Pump up, drop the rod, reel up. Finely she is coming into you. 1/3 of the spool, More pumping and rod dropping, and reeling yields 2/3 of spool. ¾ comes in quick. Still you need to be calm, she ain’t in the boat yet. Next you’re on the finale 100 feet. Slowly pumping and reeling. The next 10 feet come in easy. Everyone at this point on the boat is looking for color, to get some time of size estimate. 40 feet to go. The boat is moving slowly with the tuner. All of stead she starts the violent head shakings. You feel the shakes its now extremely imporanted that you keep tension on the line. You pump the rod, and start to reel down, then there slack. She’s running to you. Reel, reel, reel you tell you’re self. You just keep reeling and realize that she is no longer there. You beat your self silly over the loss. It’s just like losing a big game, there nothing that can be said to help the hurting it just sucks. You sit down disgusted with your self. You then look out to the ocean and realize look where you are and think about how many other people have this chance to be out here and fight a tuna that out weights them in their lives.

[Capt. Brian Daley]

Welcome aboard CR, its good to see that Blue Blood run thru
your vains long live the passion and do it for the cause

[Captain Fred Archer]

Thank you very much, young man. You have done a terrific job of bringing home much of the essence of this game of ours, including the victories and defeats and the fact that those defeats aren't really losses, but merely a part of the game that we are privileged to play, "win" or "lose" - we always win. And kudos for your comments to other young persons to do the college thing; that has always been important and is moreso now than ever before.

It is very special and unique that you have captured so much of the game at such a young age.

Right on!

And thank you again.

Website www.FredArchersWorldofFishing.com

[WAHOONBOX]

"Charybdis...." I HAD TO LOOK THAT ONE UP.



"I love applying my new knowledge to the world and look forward to its application in college."



"This knowledge has come to me through my hands and my interest in the subject. Fishing has connected my mind and body and made them one.


"The hardest part is finding an area in which your odds of finding tuna are in your favor.


AND THAT DOESN'T MEAN RUNNING TO THE FIRST BALL OF BOATS YOU SEE ON YOUR RADAR AND PILING IN WITH THE REST OF THEM AND SOON SHUT DOWN THE FISHERY FOR THE DAY...



THANKS....GREAT READ DUDE!

[lilharcher]

Both were great reads.....now I am ready for the 3rd.....

[CR Bound]

haha I had a third but lost it do to a computer issue. It sucks, but I did not think it lived up to the first two.

glad you enjoyed the read. I hope others will post as well.

[Lobo Marine Products]

Here is a hand out for a speech that i had done recently, in my attempt to get some assholes who say fisherman and boaters are rich and dont do anything for the economy.
It opened up alot of peoples eyes. Than infact boaters do impact the economy and fisherman by far that run these tournaments.
______________________________________________________


Marlin Tournaments Bringing out the Money

The Blue Marlin: Range from 100lb’s – 1000+lbs (Grander). Found in the Atlantic and Pacific. World Record by Black Bart in 1984 1656 lbs, est. to be 32 years old. Strong, fast and agile.

The Tournament: There are a significant amount of tournaments across the US. There are the tournament runners then the average joes. Average cost to enter these tournaments are $10,000 with pay outs in excess of $1.5 million. Average Days cost per boat $8,000. Average economic impact in the days of the tournament is $3-$10 Million.
The Boat: The average boat fished in these tournaments are between 28’-80’, with price tags from as low as $50,000 to as much as $8,000,000. Many are production models while many also are custom built for chasing down fish. Average gallons of Fuel carried 600 gallons per boat.

The Gear: Rods, Reels, Gaffs, Fighting Chair, Line, Lures, bait and more is very costly. On the back of any given boat can be in excess of $50,000, and it isnt rare to find boats with over $100,000 in gear aboard.

The Anglers/Captain: During the tournaments the crew is comprised of a Captain, mate, wireman, gaff man, and 2-3 anglers. Some anglers are sponsered others are not, some are paid by the whealthy to fish their boats for bragging rights. In the end its all about the love of fishing.

[gmoney]

heres a paper I wrote for my writing class a few weeks ago...

Charlie

It was early morning. All was still quiet. The stars and moon were still bright in the sky. The silence was suddenly broken by the sound of my alarm.
It was 5:30AM, time to head to the dock and get on the boat. I was going tuna fishing. I rolled out of bed and pulled my clothes on. I picked up my bag that I had packed the night before. My dad walks out of his room, we both said good morning, in a tired yet excited tone of voice. I grabbed the subs from the fridge and put them in the cooler, and off we went. The rest of the crew was already at the dock, after a round of hello's I put my bag on the dock and went to help bring the rest of the ice down to the dock. When I got back down the boat had been brought off the mooring and over to the dock. Then the process of loading the boat and getting everything in the right place began. Bags, coolers, people, and rods. 5 rods with shiny gold reels and aluminum butts all go on. each in its own spot. Everything was loaded and we pushed off the dock, down the river and into open water.
The water was like glass when we got out of the river and started across the bay. We continued our ride across the bay and out around Halibut Point. Once we got around the point the water got a little lumpier but it was still a calm day, Past Thatchers Island, where twin lights stands tall as you go past. We continued the 18 mile ride offshore to the Northwest corner of Stellwagen bank. As we got closer to the bank another member of the crew looked at me and said "Nice and flat, well see charlie bouncing around today," I looked at him and replied with a smile and a great big "O yeah." As we got closer to the corner, a few other boats became visible, but there was not as much activity on the bank as usual on a summer day.
Just before we got up on top of the bank, we started to see busting fish. One here, two there. Whales coming up for air. While we could see the fish on the surface we tried casting at them. What a sight to see, a 140 pound fish coming out of the water chasing a topwater lure. crashing the lure in a fit of white water, totally airborne, mouth open wide. Then crashing back into the water and out of sight. While a few of the other crew members were casting, I was vertically jigging a soft plastic worm down deep in hopes of a bite that way. After several missed shots at the busting fish we decided to set out on the troll. We headed for the western edge of the bank as we set out the spread. All those big shiny reels were set out with rigs consisting of brightly colored squid shaped lures that skip over the water to attract the fishes attention. After about 20 minutes of getting the spread set out, everyone at down for a bit as we trolled down the western edge for a mile or so, then made a turn to the east to head across the bank to the eastern edge. After this period of trolling with no action we reduced the spread to two squid bars. This allowed us to stop and start jigging again when we started marking fish on the depth sounder. With the spread reduced we set out on the troll again with a northwesterly heading. Everyone took a seat, one guy went to the bow to lie down, and we headed back up towards the northwest corner. After our first troll down the western edge no one really had any hope of hooking up on the troll anymore. Every one had been sitting down now for about 10 minutes, no one saying much. Then we heard it
"ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ" We were hooked up, the rod was doubled over, the reel was screaming. Now if you've never seen what happens on a boat when you hook up, its quite a spectacle. What happens is more or less the epitome of the term "controlled chaos." one guy goes to the rod, a few others begin to clear the other rods, one guy keeps driving the boat to make sure you don't hit anyone in this process. I began the clear the left rigger rod, cranking as fast as you can, getting the line on the reel evenly, and hurrying to get that rod out of the way. Ok, now all the rods are cleared, fish is still tight, who's going to fight the fish? Ok apparently I am. The harness gets thrown around my back, the rod place on the pad that suddenly lies across my mid thigh, clip here, clip there, two clip to the reel, I'm locked in. Left hand goes on the reel body, right hand goes on the crank, bend the knees and crank on the way up. The fish starts coming in pretty easily. I work him right up next to the boat, When the fish sees the boat he takes a little run, I lean back to slow him down. Couple more cranks and the leader comes up. Now time for the second fire drill type activity to take place in a half hour period, landing the fish. The leader man grabs the leader and begins to bring it in hand over hand. Once the fish comes to the surface my dad quickly places a nice gaff shot right behind his head, or in the shoulder as it is often called. The fish begins to flap and kick in the water at the end of the gaff. Another gaff is placed in the gill plates. With both gaffs placed in the fish, time to bring him in the boat. Over the rail he comes, at the mercy of the two gaffs in his face, o well he's ours now.
The fish hit the deck of the boat. However we all made sure it wasn't dropped, as not to damage the meat. Once that fish was on the deck of the boat the entire crew erupted in hoots, hollers and high fives. The process of cleaning the fish began immediately. His gills were cut open and all of the insides pulled out. The body cavity was packed with a bag of ice. The fish was then placed in the fish box and covered with another 35 pounds of ice. The process of cleaning the boat began as the bow was pointed for home.