by Dave Dolan
On September 15, a group of 25 anglers boarded the sport boat Liberty for the Lets Talk Hookup/ Gamakatsu two day off shore fishing trip. This was the first of two Lets Talk Hookup trips, and the third consecutive year for these two fall trips. I’ve always found the fall trips to be my favorites, more of that later.
A sport boat captain once told me that the best way to judge the operation of a boat is to look at the heads. A quick look around the boat, and a check out of the heads told me that the Liberty is a top notch operation. Captain Taro and crew had the boat neat and clean and saw to it that things stayed that way thru out the trip.
If you do these multi day trips, you know the drill. On the way to the bait receiver, we had a raffle. Colt snipers, flat fall jigs, AFTCO clothing, Gamakatsu hooks and Nomar products went out to all anglers. Then it was off south to the fishing grounds. Over that weekend the close by fish counts took a big dip. Our trip would press on to further destinations.
The first morning put us on a nice stop of the yellowfin tuna we were looking for. These were good quality fish, mostly in the 12 to 20 pound range. Close to 40 were landed before the bite faded. Unfortunately, this was our only good tuna stop for the day. There were plenty of big skipjack caught the rest of the day so there was lots of hooking and winding on these fighters.
That night Captain Taro told us there was still something very “fishy” about our area so we would spend the night and take our next day’s chances. This non-move paid off.
Early on the second day, we hit the honey hole. We had a two + hour drift on fish that wanted to play. Several times almost everyone was hooked up. There were some inevitable casualties in the chaos. But the stern of the boat was constantly covered deep with tuna. The crew did excellent work with keeping a high percentage of the hookups being brought on to the deck. The fish continued to be in the 12 to 20 pound range with some larger models mixed in. After the bite, a deck hand told me the big ones were around 45 pounds. There were also four bluefin landed. One was a real trophy, coming in right at the 100 pound mark.
I hand it to Captain Taro and the Liberty crew. The boat is a first class act in all phases. In the galley, Sarah has to be one of the hardest workers in the trade. And let me tell you about those Liberty burgers. They probably just get a few of them off the cow, these things are HUGE !
For those who write off the fishing after Labor Day, you are missing what usually turns out to be some of the best fishing of the year. The waters remain warm in September and October. The boat loads are generally lighter and a little more relaxed. I enjoy that touch of fall in the air, and the fish seem almost always to coopera
And always, Remember September.
