# Return of the Guam fishing report!



## Night Moves

Man it’s been a while since I wrote a fishing report. I have been fishing pretty hard the last few months since I returned from Iraq in late July. Took me a little while to run through the boat and gear up, but the Guam derby was coming up fast so that was the spark that got me going. My buddy Dustin did a great job of up keep on Kuleana while I was gone so it wasn’t too hard to get her up and running. Fishing was slow around the tournament, but we did pretty well, catching more than most other reports I heard. We caught some nice fish and even placed but nothing stayed on the board through the second day. The heart breaker was hooking a 300-400 lb Marlin and doing everything right only to have her break off after about 5 mins. I think she wrapped up it the line and got past the 13’ leader and broke the 100lb main line. She would have competed for the grand prize as the winner was around 360lbs. That’s fishing! 

The latest trips have been very productive even by Guam standards. The buoys were loaded with small Skipjack and Yellowfin Tuna for a month and if you knew what to do, you could load the boat with them. I really can’t say the Wahoo season started early cause it normally starts in November with a run a small 10 lb Wahoo. There have just been good numbers of good sized fish around since August. I have been boating a few 25-35 pound fish on just about every trip. Two weeks ago I took out a bunch of fellow Chiefs from my squadron and a fishing buddy Eric who was leaving Guam the following Thursday. Eric spent like 5+ years here and really turned into a very knowledgeable local fisherman. Great guy to have on the boat and it was hard to see him go. I wanted to make it an epic day so we had a lot planned. Trolling, Jigging and spear fishing. To say we were loaded for bear was an understatement! I was going to run 25 miles south to Stu bank passing up two other banks on the way. I wanted to get farther south as the last stop was white tuna banks 40 miles south. My run took me right over a piece of the second bank(baby bank) and I couldn’t pass it up…and I’m glad I didn’t! It was steady catching for about 4 hours. We boated some nice Wahoo biggest going 34lbs, a couple Yellowfin and skipjack. It was 11 am and we almost forgot about all the other fun stuff we were supposed to be doing, so we had to make the call. We left them biting and ran 10 miles to Santa Rosa reef. There are some shallow spots on the bank that are good for spear fishing so we did about an hour of that. Eric got a nice Giant Trevally along with some Parrot and Snappers. We could have done that for a whole day, but we still had jigging to do so I reluctantly pulled everyone one from the stunning unlimited visibility waters and headed for the edge of the bank. I thought the drift would take us shallow to deep, but it was mostly parallel to the edge and since I started in 100’ we were picking up some nice Lyretail Grouper. We got a few nice different Snappers and then I jigged up a sweet 15lb Wahoo in about 300’. Always fun to hook one on a jigging rod. Well Eric had to be in for a going away party so we turned towards the barn and enjoyed a smooth 35 mile run in. We never made it to the two original places I wanted to fish, Stu and White tuna, but that goes to show you have to be flexible and never leave fish to find fish! We ended with 18 Wahoo in the box and a mix of just about everything else.


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## Night Moves

I was hoping to repeat with yesterdays trip, but was not to sure we could duplicate the Wahoo with it being a new moon. After repairing my arsenal of lures for the last two weeks I was ready to get back at them. 18 Wahoo + the misses do a number on your lures! I soon knew that I wouldn’t be getting to White Tuna again on this trip, but this time it was the weather. I ended up trolling at Galvez as the weatherman lied again. Wind was 10-15, all from the East with a 5 foot swell that made it like sloppy 5' seas. Picked up the biggest Wahoo of the trip right off the bat. A good 35lber. Got another Wahoo and a Mahi on the way down and then went to Baby to fish the tide change. It wasn't as hot as the last trip, but we picked away and got a few more Wahoo and a Dog Tooth Tuna. On to Stu bank, where we got 2 more and a Mahi then headed back to baby. We had been battin 100% up to this point, and then went down hill fast. Out of the next 5 hits we lost a lure, had one come off at the boat, sharks took 1 and then 2/3rds of another. Only 1 out of the 5. Ouch, time to try Galvez again. At the bottom of Galvez banks I saw birds that looked organized for the first time of the day. The whole area looked fishy. Got another Mahi and then BAM, the starboard flat went down hard! One of my crew was having a tough time with the seas. He hit the side about 5 separate times and then laid down, but he popped up felling better and was all over the fish. He was straining big time, but I had no way to judge how big the fish was not knowing if he was just not used to the rod and reel being the first time we ever fished together. As it came in I saw the line a lot lower than a Wahoo. I was like what is this? I really had dog tooth in my head cause of the one we caught earlier. Then I saw the flash...Gold! He played nice and came up for an easy gaff shot. Wow, didn’t see that coming. Cheers all around as a fat 40lb Yellowfin hit the deck! It wore him out big time. He was so happy it wasn't a little fish after the whopping it put on him! The area was hot and we got another Wahoo with out all the lines even back out. He destroyed the skirt and 2 more needed to be changed out and I wanted to put out a Tuna spread and chase the working birds, but it was late and as much as it killed me, we pulled them in and ran back. There would be no way we would be heading back if my buddy Dustin was there. The ride was sloppy for the first 10 miles, but them the island blocked the swell and it got much better for the last 10. Fueled the truck and came home to wash the boat in the dark! Nice big Wahoo, most 15+. Only 2 rats. Nice haul of 12 Wahoo, 4 Mahi, the Dogtooth and Yellowfin. I hope this fishing continues! Duty this weekend so the fish get a break!


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## Chris V

I've wondered when your far-and away reports would return. Thanks for posting


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## Firedawg

I sure miss Guam, I would walk the the lagoon from Sirena Beach to the range tearing the fish up! I can't even count how many ulua I lost in the coral heads. Wish I had more of a chance to go offshore. You guys are tearing up the wahoo!!!


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## Ultralite

Chris V said:


> I've wondered when your far-and away reports would return. Thanks for posting


+1

good report and thanks for your service...


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## Night Moves

Thanks guys! 

You know the Wahoo are in when you show up at 0530 at the boat launch and one of the half dozen boats heading out is a jet ski with a rod holder mounted on the back! With the reports of a good Wahoo bite and some Mahi mixed in I figured it would be a good chance to get some of the guys from work out knowing I should be able to put them on some fish. The weather was about average for this time of year blowing about 15 knots, too rough for most boats to make it around the point, but not too bad for Kuleana. The Wolrd Cat likes the rough stuff. I figured with a good bite on the inside, those who braved the washing machine and Pati point would be rewarded! That wasn't the case. We had 3 fish in the boat before we made it to the point. The 3 hours that followed in the rough stuff only produced one Mahi and the biggest hit of the day. My best guess was a Sailfish or a monster Wahoo as it pulled off 80 yards of line so fast it made the reel hot then came unbuttoned. Pati point looked fishy with lots of bird action, but no Wahoo. Trolled back and started catching fish from Ritidian back down the calm side. Who knew? We could have stayed in the lee and caught more fish. Thats the way it goes some times. We ended with 9 Wahoo and 2 Mahi then did some swimming at Gun beach. Biggest Wahoo was maybe 15 so the run of nice 30+ pounders ended on this trip. I hope the wind can lay down for another window to get back down south one more time. Here are the pics from the trip.


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## Firedawg

Do you guys ever throw plugs for Ulua? I used to do good right under two lovers point in your picture. You guys are tearing them up!!!


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## Night Moves

Thanks! Not sure how many GTs were here in the past, but there dosen't seem to be enough around to be productive. They are here, I just don't see a lot caught or many when I free dive.


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## Firedawg

When the Mackeral (atuli) come in the pass at the boat basin they are usually not far behind. My buddy caught a 60lb Dogtooth at that tall channel marker/light on the right as you leave the harbor free-lining a mackeral he caught on a sibiki. I sure miss that place!!! I caught most of my Ulua around the cut in the reef off Sirena beach at Anderson, along with some nice red snapper. You guys are going to hook a monster soon out there, good luck!


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## Kim

Reading your post has brought back some fond memories from my tour in Guam. Enjoy your tour and make sure you get a few pigs while you're there and Luau away.


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## Night Moves

*The next installment....*

We had to work hard for our fish today, that’s for sure. Wasn't expecting much out of this trip for some reason. The new moon along with all the small Wahoo from the last trip limited my expectations. That and my buddy Wendall who was with me today had only caught 1 fish yesterday when he went out. We started trolling at haputo after a little later start than usual which put us behind a few of the other boats. We made it all the way to around Ratidian point before our first hit… and miss. Radio chatter from the other boats that were ahead of me let me know the bite was picking up as we all got bit within a minute of each other except ours came off. Sounded like the other boats were blank up to that point as well as John Eads on the Lucky Strike said “It looks like slim pickins today boys”. At least he had a Wahoo in the boat! The weather was way better than I thought it would be. 4-5 swell and only 2' of chop. Not bad at all. The other boats turned back to work the area they hooked up in and we continued to Pati with no fish. I was wondering if this would be the first day Kuleana ever got skunked. I think we had 1 more hit on the way, but no joy, things weren’t looking good...until we got to pati point. Right in my favorite spot Wendall's 6/0 goes off like we hooked the reef. Man do senators make a sweet sound when line is peeling off. It was so violent that I had my doubts we would get it in. Though it might be a shark or it would get eaten by a shark. I just didn't feel this was gonna end well as I have had many a Wahoo chompped in half at this spot. I headed for deeper water and kept the speed up around 5 knots and then finally slowed and Wendall reeled nice and steady. When I saw color I could see it was a big fish. It wanted to stay on the wrong side of the boat, but we muscled it over and sank the gaff in to it. 37 lb Wahoo! Great Wahoo for Guam! No skunk today! I think we picked up 1 more Wahoo there and then I decided to head down the back side. A little more confused seas over there with the swell bouncing off the island. Picked up a small Mahi around the point and then made it a mile or so down the coast and bam another hard puller. Definitely some bigger fish over there as this one went 30lbs. Any thoughts that this was gonna be a crappy day were gone with those two nice fish in the box. Picked up another Wahoo and another Mahi in the area, but it was getting a little late and the sloppy seas were a little tough on my crew so we departed for the long run back. It was a long run back as we trolled all the way back around Ratidian point before we got another Wahoo. A good hour and a half lull in some normally productive water. I doubt many of the other boats did well with the bite so slow on the main Wahoo grounds of the lee side. Ended with 5 Wahoo and 2 small Mahi. Took it in to double reef for pics and snorkeling after getting a nice rain shower that had everyone huddled under the t-top. Another awesome day on the water in Paradise!


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## devndeb

That cliff pic on page one...is that Tumon Bay and I Believe 2 lovers leap? Been to Guam a few times, but never had the chance to fish it...we were always quick turning or on alert...Diego Garcia, however is a different story!!!  GREAT fishing there and Wake Island! Thanks for the reports and pics!!!! Keep em coming...BTW...Retired USAF 22 years.


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## Night Moves

It is Two lovers point. Lot of my fellow Navy folks have been to DG, but somehoe the guy who would love it most has avoided pulling in there!


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## Night Moves

Haven't posted anything from the last few trips as they have been just average with just some Mahi and Wahoo. It has been a little slow with the Mahi not showing up in any force yet and the Wahoo thinning out. I have been putting in the effort and going the extra mile to find fish, but the last two trips I found the best fish back on the inside. Two weeks ago after heading around Pati point and down the back side, I only had one Wahoo to show for my efforts. It was looking like the worst trip ever on the Kuleana until we were in the home stretch near Haupto and got a double Wahoo with one going 34 lbs. Definitely helped put dinner on the table for everyone on board.

Went out again Monday for the trimphant return of my fishing buddy Dustin who just returned from Iraq. I'm sure many will make the claim last ones out, but when CNN showed the last convoys leaving Iraq at 3 am, he was still in Basra for MEDEVAC support. They flew out later that day. I let him pick were he wanted to go, but with a shitty forecast we were kinda limited. We ended up going south to 11 mile reef figuring the island would block some of the 6' swell and 15-20 knot winds. It was still sporty, but we made it work. Hit the buoys on the way, but they all had boats on them though fewer the farther out we got. Picked up a Mahi or 2 along the way and then got to 11 mile where we were rewarded for all our work with a 4 banger of nice 20+lb Yellowfin. Managed to get them all in with a little Tuna two steppin keeping the lines untangled. Picked up a few Skipjack Tuna and another Mahi on the way in. Besides being rough, it rained practically ALL day. As we turned into the harbor, the skies parted and the sun came out. What a welcome sight as we were all soaked to the bone. Always a good trip when you can put some Yellowfin on the table. After 3 nights of eating it, I'm ready to go get some more! Heres the pics...


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## Night Moves

More Pics...


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## Sailor50

Thats nice, only passed through Guam, but nice to see the report. Remember fishing out at Minami Torishima (Marcus Island) something hit my bait and took off. Spooled me good. Enjoy the pictures, thanks


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## Night Moves

Well the trade wind gods took a breather last weekend and allowed us a rare winter treat, a trip to the southern banks! If you're not familiar with Guam we have an incredible series of banks that run in a chain from Guam to 40+ miles south. There is some distance between a few of them of a few miles, but for the most part you can fish it the whole way down. These are reefs or islands that didn't make it to the surface that come out of thousands of feet of water. The shear grandeur of the structure is enough to get excited about. They range in depths from 35' and shallower to some with 200' plateaus before the edges plummet into the abyss. The shallower reefs hold a huge variety of reef dwellers from Grouper to Snapper. The edges however are where most of the actions is. There are Wahoo, Dog Tooth Tuna, Jacks, Rainbow Runners and the ever present Gray Reef Sharks that thrive where the current pushes up from the depth. 

The weather report was for a 6' East swell and a 4' North swell with 5-10knts of East wind. The wind was ideal, but I wasn't sure how sloppy a mixed swell would be. We were greeted by a pod of Pilot Whales on the way out and that was the second set of Whales we had seen in two trips. Still trying to figure out what the ones we saw last week were, but we think it was some form of beaked Whale. The ride out was great with both swells off our rear quarters, but when we stopped we realized the wind was up to over 10 knts and it was a little bumpy in the confused sea. We ran past Galvez bank and start fishing at Baby bank. Hard to pass up, but we had plans to hit White Tuna bank and that was still 20 miles farther down. There was not any birds or boils, but we managed to pick up a Wahoo and 2 Mahi before moving on to Stu bank. Same there, not much in the way of signs of life. We decided to give Stu a good chance with a few passes. Stu is an amazing bank. It is basically just a pinnacle that rises to about 150 out of a couple thousand feet. It's roughly the size of a football field and sometimes don't even see it on the finder. This a very sharky place! Our passes worked out as our outriggers popped on our second pass. Thought we had a good sized Wahoo from the way line ripped off the reel, but as it came in it hung lower and looked fat as it showed color. A big fat 19lb Dog Tooth came up for an easy gaff shot. Man those things are tough! After a few more passes and about 5 more fish including more Mahi, Wahoo and a Rainbow Runner we pulled the lines and ran to the top of White Tuna. There were lots of birds there and it looked fishy, but we didn't start trolling just yet. We broke out the jigging and bottom rods right on the drop off. It was not as productive as it has been in the past as we just didn't find the right spot, but we got some Snappers and a nice grouper. After about two hours of that we threw the lures back out and almost immediately got wacked. With the birds piling up, it was hot for the next hour with Mahi, Wahoo, Yellowfin and Rainbow Runners all taking their turn jumpin in the spread. All nice average 10-15lb fish. With 2PM passing, we had 40 miles to home and a busted radiator line on my truck waiting for us to figure out back at the marina(yes we went fishing anyway!) it was time to head back. The wind layed down nicely so it was easy to do a little run/troll/run/troll on the way home until we hit the top of Galvez, than ran the rest of the way in only stopping when we saw large blows about 3 miles out of the Marina. We putted up to see 5 Sperm Whales with 1 of them being very LARGE. I would have loved to slip into the water and taken some under water footage, but it was late and almost dark so we just snapped a few photos and enjoyed the view. Finally made it in, taped up the radiator hose and headed home. Only had to stop twice and fill up the truck with water  Got the boat to the house at about 9PM. Thats a long day after starting at 0400! It is such a privilege to have such a wild and unspoiled place to fish. The best part is we did not see another boat all day. Man those are the days I live for! Didn't take a lot of photos of the fish, but here are a few of the whales.


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## 192

Great read John!


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## Ardiemus

I just left the B-52 Community to Teach here in Pensacola, Any chance you would be willing to take some Aircrew guys out? We were always looking for someone to take us out on a "charter" and I was rarely pleased with the service. Let me know if you think you could stand some Buff crewdogs "helping" you out with gas money. 

-Jonathan


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## devndeb

John...Hell of a read and am Jealous...Used to go to Guam and DG alot on Big Sexy (KC-10)...Miss those trips...As for taking BUFF guys out...I dunno about that...hhehhe (Tanker and Buff guys have always had a good friendly rivalry) If you can find it in your heart to take those poor buff guys out with ya, good on ya!!!


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## devndeb

Ardiemus said:


> I just left the B-52 Community to Teach here in Pensacola, Any chance you would be willing to take some Aircrew guys out? We were always looking for someone to take us out on a "charter" and I was rarely pleased with the service. Let me know if you think you could stand some Buff crewdogs "helping" you out with gas money.
> 
> -Jonathan


 Where's ya come from? KBAD? Know a Chris Crookshank?


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## Night Moves

Jonathan,
I don't do charters as I don't have my captain's license. I keep pretty busy with getting the guys out from my squdron. Not sure who you Chartered, but John Eads on the Lucky Strike is one of the best and is some one that have been out with many times. Hes the man as far as Guam fishing goes.


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## SammyYak

Wow! Thanks for the post, brings back alot of memories. Was there when it was still HC-5 '95-'98. Went out many times with some squadron buds.


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## Realtor

Wow, keep the reports and pictures coming!!! Brings back a few memories for me as well, Man that water is super pretty there. Miss the South Pacific


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## Night Moves

*Friday 17 Feb*

Been a rough couple of weeks and I didn't get out the past few weekends, but with some old friends in for my squadron's annual SAR eval I had to get them out on the water.... that is, if they passed us! 

I had heard some good Mahi reports the last few weeks and figured we would have no problem catching a few. One of my buddies had never been deep sea fishing and I was very confident his first trip would be a memorable one. I got a little worried at the dock when I talked to John Eads who said it was a little slow with just a Mahi here and there and a Wahoo if you were lucky. Ouch, not what I wanted to hear as John is almost always spot on with the info. Oh well, no turnin back now! I figure we will run the coast in Wahoo water and look for birds as the Mahi often are caught right along side the Wahoo or just out another 1/4 mile under the birds. Made it up the West side and well past Ratidian point before we got our first strike...and miss. Got another about 20 mins later on our way to Pati point. Another miss. This one was a Mahi that charged the port rigger and slammed the lure only to spit it right away. No worries, Pati point should be awesome. No one should have fished it for weeks now with all the rough weather we have had. Not so fast my friend! Right through my sweet spot and nothing! Ran the edge all the way out to the point with no hints of fish. Well, we have had some cloud cover to lets push to 45 bank and see if there are any Tuna there. Well, we hadn't seen a bird al morning and if there weren’t any on 45, something has gone terribly wrong in the universe. There they were as planed. Looked good too with a mix of 3 kinds of birds and they were tight and active. After one uneventful pass, they broke up and went searching. We chased them for a few more minutes as I though of what to do next. I didn't want to run back and fish the same water that only recently brought heart ache. I could try the back side, but that was dead the last time I tried that and if it was again, I would have no where else to go. Only one thing to do... Rota banks. There would have to be some fish there. It was a 10 mile run, but the weather man lied again, but this time it was for the good! The forecast called for 10-15 with a 7-8 ' swell. What we got was wind less than 10 with about a 3-4 swell. Off we went.

I had a buddy heading out that way going to do some bottom fishing, but when I was almost there I spotted him trolling and called him on the radio. He had got 3 nice Wahoo and lost 2 more to the sharks. He said it slowed a bit and he was off to deep drop. That was still good news that there was fish there and on our first pass...Bam, fish on! My buddy Jay who never fished like this before did a veteran job on the rod and we soon had exercised the demons off the boat with a nice 30+ lb Wahoo. Not too shabby for a first time! Well for as much detail I have had up to this point, the rest is a crazy blur. Lots of action with mixed results including screaming reels, triple hook ups, broken hearts and a few more fish in the box. The triple Wahoo were all eaten by sharks with one of them finding the hooks. We had to boat a beautiful 100+lb Silver Tip to get my lure back. We then lost a nice 30+ lb Mahi as he had tangled with the STBD rigger and jumped off. Had a Marlin on for 30 seconds and think another took a shot at the stinger as it snapped down hard and left a giant hole left behind the lure. We did manage a few more Wahoo, a Skipjack and a nice Mahi around 35lbs. All in all a great day especially with the weather being nicer than expected. Just shows some times you have to keep your options open and adapt to make it work.


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## Night Moves

More pics


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## Night Moves

Andy sweatin!


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## Firedawg

Damn I miss Guam!!!!!


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## Night Moves

Man I hate when we don't take a lot of photos especially when it was a good day of fishing. We headed out Saturday with our fingers crossed as the small craft advisory was just canceled Friday morning. The forecast was calling for a 7-8' swell, but only 10-15mph of wind. The swell was only around 5' and long, but as the day wore on, the wind picked up to near 20 and made for a sloppy day. The good part was we didn't see another boat all day and the fishing was steady from the git go. We trolled from Galvez down to Stu and back. Every where I expected fish produced some with no one place being red hot. Our percentage for the day was pretty good with the handful of usual outrigger pops and the fish not sticking, but the highlight was running over baby bank and having a heavy Wahoo lure on the port corner go ripping off for 20 seconds only to go slack. As I reeled in the lure to check it, I could feel how hot the reel had gotten. Lure had a few strands missing and one of the wings on the side gone. We reset and turned and bam same spot, same lure, same result. I grabbed the rod this time and line was steady peeling off the reel only to just stop. Reeled it in and the other wing was gone. I'm thinking it was a big crafty Dog tooth, but who knows what lurks out there! There were some other not so exciting, more painful highlights too. Like the pain to my face as one of the larger Mahi smacked me right across the cheek as I slid him into the fish box or when the boat rocked as I was grabbing the rod to put the line in the rigger clip and as I held onto it for balance and it bent then slipped out of my hand and wacked me it the teeth, yes, the teeth! None of that compares to the inner pain and life time of heckling I will receive from Dustin for one of my gaffing attempts gone horribly wrong. First shot was a legit miss as the fish turned super tight as just as I struck. What followed was a blur of frustrated swipes that somehow made it seam like the fish knew what I was going to do before I did. All I remember it what Dustin has told me about it as I have tried to block it out of my memory! We headed back north into the seas that had built up, but the Kuleana took it is stride. Man some days just really show the capability of a cat! We continued to catch fish all the way til the end. It was kind of a contest between the Mahi and Wahoo all day with the Mahi holding a constant slight lead up until we had a few doubles and triples of Mahi right at the end that pushed them ahead for good. We trolled a few miles from Galvez and than picked up and ran. The ride in was awesome. No mono hull of the same size could have run like we did in that slop. Total count was 14 Mahi and 7 Wahoo. We had two nice big Mahi, one of which we weighed that went 28 and many were around 20. Wahoo ranged from 12-20. We did break out the camera early in the day for two fish that had some nice color so here are those two pics. Yes the boat got a little bloody!


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## Night Moves

A couple guys from my work went out on Saturday with John Eads on the Lucky Strike so I was waiting all day for their report. If anybody is gonna catch fish, its John. The report was not good. One Skipjack Tuna...one! Ouch. Sunday was the day after the new moon. I have caught plenty of fish on the new moon, but it is not known as the prime moon phase and many people don't like it. This all lowered my expectations. The good thing was it was a new day and we were headed 30+ miles South and we had caught fish there two weeks ago. You never know unless you go!

I chose Sunday for the forecast. The wind was supposed to lay down Saturday night to 10-15MPH with a 6' swell all out of the East. Nope, weatherman lied again! It was a solid 20 all day making for another sloppy day. Guess they call them weather guessers for a reason. 

We ran to Galvez and threw out the lines and picked up a nice Rainbow Runner. Skunks gone, streak is still alive! I'd say thats about 30 strait trips on the Kuleana now! Worked our way down and picked up a couple of nice Mahi and 1 Wahoo and then headed to Baby bank. Before we got there, there was a bunch of birds so we gave chase. Bam, double of big near 20lb Skipjack Tuna. Picked up another and figured we would be catching a bunch of them. That wasn't to be as the birds we scattered everywhere, but very active and when we headed over to the gatherings, it usually meant a Mahi or Wahoo on the line. The fishing was good there, but there was another boat, the Flying Proa Two working there also and I wanted to see want was at Stu bank. Just one of those gut feelings. I would have been wondering what was at Stu all day if I did not go. Almost the same thing as we got within one mile of the bank. There was a large 300-400 strong bird pile that we diverted to. Immediately hook up with a few more Mahi and a nice football Yellowfin. Yes, thats 5 kinds of fish in the boat for you guys keeping track at home. I'm calling it a Guam Slam! Now a Marlin would make it a real accomplishment as I have never caught that many species in one day in Guam. The only other normally caught troll fish would be a Kawa Kawa which is a small Tuna, Kinda like a Skipjack. I was hoping for some more Yellowfin, but just like the Skipjacks, that was the last we saw of them. 

Well we have a respectable box of fish and its about 1100 so now comes the fun part, heading back into the slop. Back to Baby where we picked up a few more Mahi and another Wahoo, then on to Galvez. There was consistent action along the way as every half mile was 5-10 birds actively feeding and most produced a fish. A few times we would see the Mahi grey hounding into the spread. They normally hit, but didn't every time. Still fun to watch. We were about half way up and the center rod slams down hard. Wendall was quick to turn off the clicker, but I could still hear line pulling off the reel. We both said at the same time, "thats a good fish". We cleared one side and Wendall asked who wanted it. Everyone came up with some good excuse of why they couldn't take it. I think CJ said he had a dental appointment. No one wanted this rod as I think everyone on the boat had there turn in the barrel on the center rod that day. They call it a stinger for a reason and I keep it back there a mile with 7 lines in the water. It is a work out to get it back in with a fish on it. Wendalls no dummy and with the rocking boat he employed an interesting technique. He kept the rod in the holder and reeled backwards. I gave him shit, but he replied, fish is coming in isn't he. I couldn't argue with that. I headed out to deeper water and we cleared all the lines. As the fish got within 25 yards of the boat he took off ripping out about 100 yards which required another "thats a nice fish" remark. I figured it was a big Dogtooth around 50-70lbs. We don't normally see Wahoo that big here and right on the edge of the reef those are the two things you would expect. Wendall picked up the rod and brought the fish back to the boat and we could see it was a monster Wahoo. Biggest I have ever seen in Guam. He was still frisky at the boat, but I got a nice gaff shot near his mouth. As I was about to pull him in I didn't like the amount of mass that was on the gaff. He just wasn't hooked deep enough for a fish of that size. Just as I though to call for another gaff he shook off, but I immediately stuck him center mass behind his head and pulled him in. Nothing like the thud of a nice fish hitting the deck. I'll take guesses from the pictures on how big he was.

Caught one more Mahi and then ran back it. Again, for growing up in mono hull boats and knowing what kind of conditions you can run in and what to expect, I had my doubts how the ride it would be. The Kuleana handled the slop with ease so I set the auto pilot and ran in at nice 22 knots in. I saw two other boats at the banks and I have to give them credit. They must get pounded just trolling all the way back at 7 knots. This boat makes it easy. Woldcat did it right with putting the Honda 225s on them! They are with out a doubt, the best motors I ever had!

Total count was 11 Mahi, 5 Wahoo, 3 Skipjack, 1 Yellowfin and 1 Rainbow runner. 21 fish again! I think I am going to have to start playing blackjack!


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## Night Moves

Wow not one guess on the weight.


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## 192

55? I enjoy the reports and pictures bubba! Hope things are well out there,

Mike


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## Night Moves

Mike, I knew I could count on another original member to chime in. Doesn't look like there are too many around anymore. 
Good Guess- he went 61.5 pounds on the scale at the Fisherman’s Co-Op.


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## 192

Right on, definately a nice one for Guam. There are a still a few of us around--I just transferred back, for good this time!


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## Duke

A great report with fantastic pictures. Thanks.


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## jim t

Great looking fish...I've fished with Jon in Guam before. Hooked Blue Marlin within sight of the beach.

Jim


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## Night Moves

*April 1st*

I had a busy week and the trip last week on Sunday was hard to recover from. There is lot to do to keep everything in order to do these trips right. Lures need to be re-rigged, line and reel maintenance and the boat always needs something. That all takes time so I wasn't sure if this weekend included a fishing trip. Well, the weather looked like we were going to get another break in the winds and the fishing had been good. A little voice kept saying "You gotta go when the gittins good". I couldn't pass up on a chance at another epic trip so I made the decision Saturday and changed the oil in the motors and rounded up a crew! 

This weeks crew included some guys that I have wanted to go for a while, but the timing just had never worked out, until now. A lot of times I have guys on board that haven't fish much or don't pick up on how blue water fishing works. This week was not the case. With a crew of outdoorsmen everyone was working like a well oiled machine very quickly and that was good cause we were gonna need it!

When something works, don't change it. That was the plan with todays trip. Do what we did last week. The ride out was great and I was so looking forward to a calmer day of fishing. As red hot as it was last week, we started a little slow. Maybe a half hour of trolling before a small Wahoo came aboard. Wendall joked that he was starting to get worried but we had dinner in the boat for the skipper so all was well. About half way down Galvez the action started to heat up with bird action that resulted in a mix of Mahi, Wahoo and 1 Yellowfin in the boat. Last week I had wondered if I should have just stayed at Galvez where there were fish instead of heading south so I spent a little more time there this week but still continued slowly south. All the guys got in on leadering and gaffing. After one Mahi turned sideways right as Bordo went to stick him and got away, almost all the gaffs were picture perfect the rest of the day. Two notes on gaffing for the day. Bordo came within an inch of free gaffing the escapee which would have been total redemption and Dustin can no longer bust my balls for my wayward attempt a few weeks ago after one of his frenzied flailing attempts that ended in the fish just being pulled in ungaffed. I mean you can only give someone so many shots before you call it!

We made it to Baby bank and caught fish there too. The Skipjack were another addition to the box as they were under the birds as they were last week. Though they were not the big bombers from last week, they were welcomed on the boat as species number 4. We had a respectable box of fish by now, not 21 fish, but it had to be in the high teen club. I figured it was too late to head to stu bank. Its a good 35 min troll there and why leave fish to find fish right? Well, Dustin had that gleam in his eye. Probably the same one I had last week so we pulled in the lines and ran there in less than 15 min. It took about 30 minutes to pick up, but when it did we started getting Yellowfin. Unfortunately the sharks zeroed in on them too and we lost 3/4 of one and a whole one along with the lure to the tax collectors. Now its getting a little late and the wind has picked up to around 20 mph with some rain. We were all hoping the wind would lay down after the rain, but it was not to be. It was the steepest 3-4' I had been in for a while as it was a building sea. Great only 30 miles to go in this slop! The good news is there were fish all along the way with Galvez blowing up as we got near the center. There were birds everywhere with no one direction to target. We continued to pick up all four species including a 3 banger consisting of a Yellowfin, Wahoo and Mahi. And then it happened again, no not the center line slamming down with a huge Wahoo on the line. It was another Rainbow runner coming over the rail to make it another Guam slam! 5 species in one day two weeks in a row! By now the box had to have near 40 fish in it and even though I had brought extra ice and some ice blocks, it was hard to keep them all buried in the ice. It was hard to leave the red hot bite, but with the ice situation and the time we turned towards Agat. I keep bragging on how great the ride is on the Kuleana is, but everything has it's limits. With just topping off the fuel tanks at 240 gallons, 6 people, gear and what has to be 4-5 hundred pounds of fish and ice. Kuleana met her match. Normally she can get up on top and run, but the steepness of the waves with the heavy boat made it too rough. So we trolled. Its a long run back, but the good news was, we kept catching Mahi. There was a small weed line 6 miles off Galvez that kept producing fish. About half way we pulled in the lines to make better speed and the closer we got the more it laid down. 

Sure made for a long but productive day. Got back to the house at 8pm and then still had to wash the boat. Saved fish cleaning til the next day. Everyone commented on how well they had slept! Final count was 17 Mahi, 11 Wahoo, 8 Yellowfin, 6 Skipjack Tuna and 1 Rainbow runner. 43 fish. The teamwork on the boat was spectacular. Wendall wrapped it up best with "That was one epic day". Sure was. Until next time.....


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## MrFish

Nice report and nice mess of fish!


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## cody&ryand

Epic describes that trip perfectly


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## 192

well done guys!


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## Night Moves

Thanks guys! Here is some of the battle damage for the day. Yes, even the bird got attacked and lost an eye!


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## my3nme

What a stud hoo. Congrats and thanks for what you do


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## Night Moves

Almost forgot to post this. Went out last Thursday chasing the good weather forecast and the sweet bite. Didn't get the numbers we did on Sunday, but we managed another Guam slam! I think we ended with 6 Mahi, 3 Wahoo, 4 Skipjack, 3 Yellowfin and a rainbow runner. Another boat that trolled all the way to Santa Rosa reef caught two Marlin. The highlights of this trip were one big Mahi and Wendell and Bordo teaming up to bring in a Mahi on the spinning gear! Good times!


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## Chris V

Oh I dread these reports. Makes me want to sell everything I own and move to the South Pacific.


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## guam_bomb80

I love reading your reports! Maybe one day My family and I will be able to get back and enjoy that kind of fishing once again. Keep the reports comming, helps me not to be so home sick!!!


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## Duke

Nice post. See you soon. Stay in touch.


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## Night Moves

Glad you guys enjoy the reports. Happy to share them!

Earl, I'm looking forward to some big time bottom fishing with the master Grouper getter!

After spending all last weekend in the boat doing upkeep, I was ready for another trip even if the last one was only 10 days prior. The weather forecast changed everyday as the drop in the winds seamed to keep moving farther out and as we targeted Sunday as the most favorable day. It too seamed like it might not be as good as it looked earlier in the week as we prepared to head out. I was hoping for it to lay down on Saturday night so we could make the long run to White Tuna. It settled down to 10-13 all night and that was enough to make the run possible. Big question was, would it pick up during the day like it has the last few trips and make the 40+ mile run back in shitty? 

We got an early start and were on the water at 0530. The run takes you right over Galvez and as soon as we got there at sun up, there were 100 birds piled up and it was soooo hard not to stop and start fishing. I looked at Dustin as it wouldn't have taken much for me to stop. Dustin stuck to the plan and motioned to keep running. With it being such a long run, you want every minute there to fish cause you can't stay there til 1600 and expect to make it back in before dark. Man that was tough, but I was sure it would be worth it. Past Galvez, right by baby, past stu and on to the top of White Tuna. A good hour and a half run. No birds to speak of, but we hooked up to a nice Mahi within 15 min of trolling and then another, and another. We kept working out way down seeing just a handful of birds that almost all held fish. We worked in a few Wahoo and some Rainbow Runner. I figured since we had the RR, another Slam would be a given! I even keep think of what spread I wanted to put out when we saw and started chasing the bird piles for Tuna. Theres always Tuna at White Tuna! But alas, it wasn't to be. We didn't see a single Yellowfin or Skipjack all day. We did however catch the banks namesake, a dogtooth Tuna otherwise known as a "White Tuna". He was just a little guy and to keep the Karma on the Kuleana going strong, we threw him back to grow up to be a 200lb monster that we can come back and jig up one day. 

At about 1400, we had made the full round trip down the East side and back up. We didn't feel like gambling on the back side as the front had been so productive. I knew we would have a good shot at a Marlin if we trolled all the way back in the deep water, but to maximize or fishing time, we picked up the lines and did a little "run and gun" to Stu bank, then baby on to Galvez. We even baited up the spinning rods and had a blast bringing in a few more Mahi that followed in our hooked fish. Pulled in the lines at Galvez NE and ran back to Agat arriving at 1730. 12 hours on the water. Finished with 13 Mahi, 4 Wahoo, 2 Rainbows and the Doggie. Mahi averaged a nice size. I hope they stick around just a little longer! Hook up ratio was a little off today as we had about 10 knockdowns that didn't stay hooked. Most were Mahi who took to the sky and did somersaults and back flips to get off. By the time we got the boat washed and cleaned up, it was 2100. After waking up at 0340 that sure makes for a long day, but great days on the water like that are worth it. Its awesome to be able to enjoy Guams beauty and catch some fish in the process!


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## Night Moves

Well for all of my faithful followers that have been waiting for a current report, all I can say is sorry for taking so long. It's just hard to write a report when you don't take a break from the fishing!

My life long fishing buddy who I credit with restarting my fishing addiction flew in from Alaska for a week of hard core fishing, so I took leave in hopes of writing a new chapter in our fishing adventures! I fished growing up in south Florida, but once I joined the Navy I didn't do it as much being in different locations and not knowing anyone who fished. That all changed on my first tour in Pensacola when I met Mike. He just purchased a new Dusky 233 CC "Night Moves" with a 225 Evenrude OB and was ready to start hitting the fish hard. And fish hard we did. At the risk of our marriages, we fished days that should have put us in the dog house for good. Mothers day, anniversaries, birthdays, you name it. If not for two of the most understanding and awesome wives we still have, we would have never been able to pull it off. I brought out everything I had learned fishing in my youth and Mike came up with some leading edge ideas of places and ways to fish. We routinely made 30-40 mile runs back when most boats thought getting 9 miles out to the Russian freighter was a haul. Mike picked spots by looking at the charts and we would be the only boat anchored out on the ledge between Destin and P-cola. The only other boats we would see was the battle wagons out of Destin trolling the ledge for Wahoo which we also caught by floating live baits under balloons. We hooked Sailfish, Blackfin Tuna, Mahi, Kings and more Bonita than I can count. We also bottom fished and scored somenice Gag/Black Grouper, big Red Snapper, AJs and Mingos for everybody! We really had it wired! Fast forward 16 years after tours in Jax, Alaska, and Key West for him and Guam and more Pensacola and Guam again for me. His boat is where I came up with my fishing forum name as I took care of it for 3 years in Pensacola. The boats finally gone after 14 good years, but the spirt lives on with every post.

Mike had been talking about a trip to Guam for years and as my time here neared an end he made the effort to get here with a grueling flight that was only made worse by travel for his work just 7 hours prior to departing for Guam. He got in early Sunday morning and got some much needed sleep. That day was seeing some sights and prepping for the fishing that was to come. The weather forecast called for light winds starting Tuesday so I had big plans starting then. Monday was 10-15 so we did a half day and tried to hook a Marlin. It is a little early in the season so we didn't hook up. Only got a Yellowfin which made for some good dinner. Tuesday was the big trip. I gathered a great crew consisting of Dustin, Wendell and Bordo. Not too many guys willing to just take off work mid week for fishing at the drop of a hat, but these guys all share my addiction. The plan was to overnight out at white tuna and do some trolling, shallow bottom fishing and then head deep and drop some sword baits. 

The weather forecast was dead on for a change. 5-10 knot winds with less than 2' waves and a 3' swell. Perfect! Mike brought the tunes and the boat was jamin down memory lane. We started trolling at Galvez and worked our way down catching a mix of everything though it didn't start out so good with us pulling the hook on a nice 30-40 Mahi. We hooked him in the shallows and thought a shark was after him as we saw a fin pop up behind him. We told Mike to put the heat to him before we realized it was the Mahi's own tail as he was a bigin. We arrived down south in the evening and started to bottom fish and jig. My first drop in 300' was met with my jig getting blasted by a nice Dog Tooth Tuna. Lots of Jacks, Mafuti, Groupers, Snappers and others were coming in the boat, one after the other. Everyone caught some nice Red Snapper called Tugafi here. The big ones are known to carry ciguatera so they all went back, but we must have caught well over 20 of them with the biggest going 30+. Tough fighters and a blast to hook on bottom rigs. We had about an 85% moon so it was almost bright enough to see. The lights on the Kuleana are great. There are a bunch of LEDs that light up the whole boat with out blinding you. Dustin was chompin at the bit to get the sword baits out so we headed out to deeper water right after midnight and threw out the large florescent light he brought and deployed the squid baits. We did a 3-4 mile drift in about 5 hours with the sea anchor out but had no bites. We all got a little sleep with some getting more than others though someone was always awake. You might think it would be hard to get some good sleep on a 27cc with 5 guys. Not for Wendall. He got a solid 8 hours out here only interrupted when Dustin asked him for the bait cooler with the squid in it. Here's where it got ugly. Wendall tried to pass the cooler over his head while lying down and unfortunately turned it sideways and had the squid juice spill right onto his head and into his ear. YUCK!!! Hopefully nothing starts to grow in there! 

We cleaned up in the morning and got back to a little trolling and more bottom fishing. The bottom fishing was still on fire and we had to call it quits to get back before too late. We ran back to Galvez and trolled there finding some nice Mahi and even redeemed ourselves on the big Mahi we lost the day before as him or his twin brother pounced on one of our lures and we put him in the cooler. Mike caught all the action on his go pro and it's a fun watch. Bordo placed a great gaff shot and then bailed up the side of the boat after the fish came off the gaff and went nuts in the boat. Smart man! Ran in, swung into the co-op and headed home to clean up the boat. Talk about getting a good nights sleep that night!


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## Night Moves

I was going to take it easy with just a relax day, but then I remembered how much Mike pushed me on my visit to see him in Alaska. King Salmon fishing till 0200, 2 hour ride home, them him waking me up at 0600 telling me we had a boat to catch in Homer for an overnight Halibut trip and that I could sleep on the boat. We put over 1000 miles on his truck in the ten days I was there and I wasn’t about to let him off the hook. After a great lunch of blackened Mahi sandwiches(Yes Warren, they were enjoyed)We headed to Haputo for some great snorkeling. We had the whole beach to ourselves and had a blast. I figured we would do an island tour on Friday as we were still recovering from the over nighter, but as the evening came, the thought of getting back on the bottom fishing arose. At about 10pm, the idea was enough for Mike to say “lets just go get ice now and see if we want to go tomorrow”. I knew then it was on. He asked if I was comfortable running the boat at night and after giving it the thought it deserved bouncing it off my knowledge of Guam’s waters and the boat’s capability, I said “Yes”. I didn’t call Wendell til about 0800 on Friday as the plan was to head out around noon, fish into the night and come home when ever. Wendall was in, but Dustin and Bordo were out. We added Frank and my son Josh to the mix and away we went. Ran a little over an hour strait down to the southern banks looking for some Skipjack schools for bait, but it was quite as can be. There was almost no wind with a light 3’ swell. We started drift bottom fishing and started catching right away. We had a rod out for Flying Fish that went ripping off with a Mahij umping. He spit the bait, which happened to be a Flying Fish that ate the bait with out us knowing. He kept eating the FF, but the FF had swallowed the hook so there was no way to hook the Mahi and he boogied after a while. The drift was fast and we kept repositioning to get the best passes in productive water. As evening approached we ran to my honey hole and anchored up. I wasn’t sure if anchoring would be a good idea, but we were breaking off a bunch of rigs on the bottom with the fast drift. It was slow at first, but once I deployed the light over the side, it got red hot and did not let up. Lots of Humpback Snapper and Tugafi along with a few nice Uku(Green Jobfish) and lots of Trevally. I’ll let the pictures do the talking on how nice some of the fish were. Everyone got their share. Wendell even got in a couple hours of much needed sleep. We ran out of bait just about as everyone was puttering out. At 0100 we headed in for the smooth ride back in. I ran in with the radar on making sure I painted the fishing buoy and any possible other boats. Got in after 0200 and made our way home. We filled my 162 cooler with fish and ice and had to go to another cooler to hold the rest. Not bad for a last minute trip.

Well, that about did it, Mike had be at the airport at 1500 so after some sleep and a late breakfast there wasn’t much time left for anything. I just hate to think about when he meets up with someone from Guam and tells them he has been here. They are going to think he is lying as he didn’t see any of the sights and will only be able to talk about the fishing! I told him as he was trying to figure out if he could come that we only live once and we have to make the most out of it. I am forever grateful he made the effort to come and write another chapter in our fishing adventures together. It needed to be done and we made it a huge success! Here’s to life long fishing buddies…


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## 192

Great report as always! Are you planning on coming back this way anytime this summer?

MIke


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## Ultralite

always have enjoyed your reports...keepem' coming...

nice Jobfish and snapper's...


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## Night Moves

I'm sure I'll get out a few more reports before I transfer and hopefully my crew will continue them, but it's off to Key West next come September. The Kuleana will be in good hands.

We caught two nice jobfish like that. I wish I would have taken more pictures of the smaller fish as they are cool in their own right. We caught a bunch of Humpback Snappers and other Emperors.


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## 192

Key West...no words...at least no words that I can post here...lol...


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## jim t

ROAD TRIP!!!

Jim


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## 192

jim t said:


> ROAD TRIP!!!
> 
> Jim


I wasnt thinking about those words, but hell ya!!!


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## Garbo

I don't have the words......so


Dang.



.


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## Night Moves

Road trip sounds good boys. Well get some of the original PFF members back together.

My only advice for the road trip is... What ever you do, don't stop for Puerto Rican BBQ on the way!


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## Tyee Dave

That's some good fish porn. :thumbup:


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## 192

Night Moves said:


> Road trip sounds good boys. Well get some of the original PFF members back together.
> 
> My only advice for the road trip is... What ever you do, don't stop for Puerto Rican BBQ on the way!


I remember that story---and the pictures!


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## jim t

We stopped for lunch enroute to KW. About 30 minutes later we see Jon in the front seat bracing against the floor with his legs, hands on the ceiling, asking when the next exit is coming. "15 minutes or so..."

Jon: "STOP, NOW!!!"

We pull over, Jon exits about 2 feet,drops and squats... Dustin (DoubleD) pulls forward a foot and Jon screams, "DON"T..."

All we have is my USA Today...

Jon gets back in, as we pull away I look back and it is so awful I gag in the car.

Bad MOFONGO!!!

GREAT time in KW though... Tarpon from Mike's dock, Smitty gets in a convertible full of transvestites and takes a ride... Dan shooting at annoying bird with a Walmart Special, in a Wildlife Sanctuary...(fortunately he is a LOUSY shot and quit quickly, when we, after getting over the shock, told him where we were.)

Cannot wait to do it all again... well MOST of it.

Jim

Jim


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## 192

nice recap Jim, felt like I was there--less the smell.


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## Night Moves

Yeah thats great, Jim barely ever posts to my reports anymore. Hardly hear from him and bam, brings that up that great memory. I'll admit, that was bad. There was no stoppin that train. That was a down right medical emergency! Too funny. Looking forward to Key West and you guys rolling in for a trip. Anybody seen Mad Max?


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## 192

Looking forward to it as well. Havent heard a whisper from him.


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## Pourman1

Man I would LOVE to Kayak Fish there :yes: ... those Fish must taste GREAT too , those waters are Clean & Pristine


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## nathan70

That does it I'm putting Anderson AFB down on my dream sheet.


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