In Australia with the Wrights

We arrived in the land down under this morning early after getting up at 1:30 am to get our flight in Auckland / Sydney then up to Cairns. We are extrtemely fortunate to have friends like Laurie and Julie Wright who opened their home to us for a fantastic dinner and a night of fish stories. It doesn't hurt that Laurie Wright is also one of the most respected Black Marlin skippers in the world with over 25 plus granders to his credit.

We are here to spend four days on the Ningaloo pursueing the large model Black Marlins for the ultimate test of our Accurate ATD 130 reels.

We will be getting on the boat this morning and starting our quest for the fat one with our first stop being the Lyndon Bank in front of Cairns and heading North up the ribbon reefs.

I will be keeping you abreast of our adventure as the internet is available.

I hope all is well with you and hope you find some time to wet a line.

Until next time.

Ben

Accurate encounters New Zealand Kingies

Well we have spent a few days preparing for our jigging trip with the boys from DeCorro fishing supplies with all jigs polished and ready to go, and all our knots tied and triple checked we head off to the outside reef in search of the elusive giant Kingie (yellowtail). After a fifty mile run from port in the early morning hours we find ourselves in the open ocean in solid 4 to 6 foot seas with about 20+ knots of wind on it looking extremely nasty. We end up taking a few drifts in 240 to 300 feet of water with our heaviest jigs unable to reach the bottom vertically due to wind drift and heavy cross current.

Our captain, Mark, a very experienced angler, sees this is not going to pan out and suggests running to White Island another twenty miles back to the main land. After a severe beating in a 23 foot aluminum boat riding back up hill in the crap weather we set up in a little better conditions and start some long drifts over some very fishy structures.

It didn't take long before Doug with his Bass Pro Shops Extreme jig hooked the first Kingie and the fight was on. It didn't take long before we got our eyes on the first fish with the new proto reel / and Xnergy rod making short work of the Wiley opponent.

This was the start of a day filled with smaller Kingie's and a great great learning experience for the yanks from overseas. With any type of fishing, the more you pay attention to all the small details, the more you can learn for future fishing use. I had a great time exchanging ideas with the local crew walking away with some new knots and a clearer idea of what their fishery is all about.

Jigging in New Zealand is still in its infancy but with guys like Mark, Kane, and Matt will continue bringing new ideas and techniques to their local fishermen to help them more effectively catch the local Kingies. Our last night we spent at a group dinner in the Tauranga Big Game Club being able to see all the beautiful fish mounts and see how they do it in their country.

This trip has been very eye opening for us and as we head to OZ for a week on the reef we look forward to better weather and bigger fish.

Until next time, hope all your fish are good ones.

Accurate Lands in New Zealand

Houston we have landed. The twins and I landed in NZ at 4:45am and are still waiting for our ride to Rotorunda from our friend Kane. I think he might be lost in action but we will patiently await his arrival. We look forward to seeing the country and fishing the kingies (giant yellowtail).
I will keep you informed of our travels here downunder.
Till the next blog, tight lines.

Ben

Kea Kai does the Pesky Tournament

For those of you that do not know the Southern California Marlin circuit there are a number of money tournaments and than there are the others like the Master Angler Billfish Tournament and the Los Pescadores Billfish tournament. The later being the funnest tournament on the coast with a variety of personalities running amuck having the times of their lives. You have the Bounder as the tournament boat with Randy Wood and Andy Crean dishing out the the radio chatter and confirming catches. If you haven't done this one you surely should and you leave all the stress at the door its all about having fun.
Our team has fished in it several times and we always have a ball but still try to get the fish to the boat for the annual bagel on the bill release. This year they added the Olympics theme where any angler had to wear the full toga and head dress while fighting the fish.
I was fortunate enough to hook a couple fish and wear the garb for the duration and we had one fish fall off at the leader with a quick release format and we had another fish eat a bait and let him go after about 20 minutes. Both fish were caught on a 870XC with 20 lb MoiMoi line and a 7040C Xnergy Accurate rod. Its amazing how the light, smaller set ups make the whole experience that much more enjoyable. I really believe as anglers catch on that smaller is better and definitely more comfortable, anglers will be scaling down their tackle.
As this Marlin season starts winding down I feel very fortunate to be part of the Kea Kai team and friends with jock, he is a great guy who is the best at what he does and really cares about the resources future.
I look forward to many more tournaments with Jock, Dave, and Charlie sharing those moments that are future memories for those years we can no longer do it.
Tomorrow I am off to NZ for some jigging for kingies than off to the Barrier reef for the Big Black Marlins. I should have some good stories for you in the next week or so.
Until than may all your lines be tight ones.

Ben

2008 MABT: Never Too Old to Learn

Every year we put our best team forward to fish in the MABT (Master Angler Billfish Tournament) which is the most prestigious marlin tournament on the West Coast.
Our annual team includes Jock Albright, Charlie Albright, Dave Elm, and myself on Jock's 44 Pacifica the "Kea Kai" and this year we had a guest from New Zealand, Jocks brother in law Ross.
The tournament was a 2 day tournament Friday and Saturday. The guys had prefished while I was in Alaska and found some honey holes around the islands holding fish. With marlin fishing, "What was good today" doesn't hold true for tomorrow and we found ourselves making changes to the game plan dependent on the conditions which change hourly.
We had good dope (information) that there was a group of fish on the beach in front of San Onfre and checked that first thing Friday morning for sleepers. After looking through the first tide we ended up heading up towards the fleet on the backside of Catalina. We ended up getting up there around 8:50 or so and we started fishing. It didn't take long at all to find out there were a couple fish around Salta Verde. I had put the flat line rod out and was working on getting the right rigger rod out while I was holding the line to put it into the rigger clip I had a fish pull the line out of my hands and it was game on. The fish was very aerial for the first few runs with plenty of jumping and head shakes but on 20 lb nothing that gave us a scare.
While I was fighting the fish on the bow Dave Elm had put the drop back in because we I had seen a couple fish in the jigs and while clearing the lines he got a bite on 12 lb which ended in getting the bait back. The fish continued its hot run with plenty of air action and after 27 minutes we landed the stripe marlin for our first fish on the board. All scoring is done by the line class you catch the fish on which could be 12, 16, 20, or 30 monofilament and all fish are released to fight another day.
The rest of the day we saw a few fish but opted to stay out of the fleet which was like being in a bar during the Super Bowl with many big yachts crusing the zone up west.
We ended the day with two bites, two fish hooked, and one landed.
Saturday started with us having some numbers in front of Northwest Harbor on San Clemente Island and we got up and rolling around 4 am and were on the numbers by 6:15 am and by God's luck we found some sleepers ten minutes before lines in and "hatched them" which in lay mans terms means waited till lines in. All three of us, Charlie, Dave, and myself had our twelve pound rods ready for action and it turned out that the last cast, mine, ended up getting bit at 6:32 am to start off the second day of the tournament. I have caught a lot of stripe marlin in Southern California as well as Mexico and Hawaii but never have I seen a tougher fish in my entire fishing time. With 12 lb test you are unable to pull very hard due to the possiblility of breaking the fish off. There are a lot of variables that come to play while fighting fish on light line. Having the right tackle, a reel with a smooth drag (B270XC), the right rod (Anglers Center 12 lb caster, good line(Momoi IGFA 12 lb), and most importantly a experienced crew. The captain is the most integral part of the team with boat positioning being key and communication with the angler vital. The wireman has to be on his game able to read the conditions on the water and knowing exactly what the fish is doing and able to pounce on the leader at a seconds notice. And the rest of the crew needs to be able to hand out the support and encouragement neccessary while the angler battles these light line opponents with the percentages in the stripe marlin's favor.
Honestly, I have battled a lot of gamefish many of them for several hours including a 291 lb swordfish in front of Dana for 3 hours and five minutes, a 300 lb Thresher on 30 lb for 3 hours 40 minutes, but this fish took the cake. I thought I had seen it all but as they say if you pay attention you can learn something new everday which I did on Saturday.
After fighting this fish for over 5 hours I realized that it was going to come down to who made the first mistake, me or the fish. Hour after hour went by with my focus on several key variables, where is the fish in comparison to the boat, keep the rod bent, and watch how much drag is being put on the fish at all times. It only takes a small mistake to end hours of focused, hard work and you end up empty handed. The importance of the drag on the reel can never be stressed enough especially in 3 to 4 foot seas with the fish traveling up hill. I had between 5 to 8 pounds of drag on the fish the entire fight knowing that if he had too much line out and ran hard I could break him off in the belly of the line between the rod tip and his mouth. I kept him within 50 to 100 yards of the boat the entire battle.
It's amazing how when you are in situations like that your mind plays tricks on you, throwing you vsions of the fish breaking off, thoughts of work or family come in, but the key is to keep your focus on the matter at hand, keeping your rod bent and making sure the line is coming off the reel smoothly and evenly. The whole process might sound simple but effectively keeping the rod bent through smooth, even pumps and regulating the drag dependent on how much line is off the reel, knowing that more line off the reel increases the drag resulting in the angler backing off the drag, and as line is gained putting the drag lever back up to strike. The focus and ability to hold your attention to these variables gives you the stamina to wait out a light line fish with the results being in your favor, if all goes your way.
Well with 7 hours and 50 minutes on the fish, guess what, he made the mistake and came to the surface to show us a flurry of jumps and run around on top. With Jock's excellent boat handling, and wireman Dave's experience, we got the leader and ended up with a release on 12 lb that helped us secure 4th Place High Angler in the tournament but most importantly taught us all something about light line fishing and giving us informtion for our memory banks for future fish with bad attitudes.
This fish swam away from us like with started, fresh and ready to do battle with whover is in his path.
I learned a lot about myself and how important a good drag is on a reel. Without my crew, the light line fish of my lifetime would not have been possible.
Till next time. Have a great time on the water with tight lines. Ben

Day Six in Sitka Sees Silvers go on the Bite

Our last day of the Sitka trip has ended with a very good afternoon of Silver Salmon fishing in the sound. Mac had a honey hole in an inner passage which turned out to be a perfect close for a trip that saw a variety of species caught with a lot of effort on the anglers side. We took the Point Break up the inner passage to an inlet and the Silver fishing was phenomenal on spinners for fish up to 12 lbs, with eight fish caught, and at least that many hooked and dumped.

We saw a lot of pinks and had to wade through the humps to get at the silvers but the aerial antics of these fish is nothing less than awesome with us hooting at each others fish as they erratically fight to the finish. Theresa, Mac, and I didn't even leave the lodge until noon and within in an hour ride had a total blast.

For those of you who have not been to Alaska the variety of fish is great but the atmosphere of where you catch them is breath taking.

This has been a great trip for myself, Rich, and Theresa and if you are looking for a trip to really see the outdoors, Alaska is the place and Frontier Lodge definitely has the accomendations.

If you want to bring your family, friends, or maybe have a business retreat, they have the facility to meet your needs.

Well until the next trip, this is Ben signing out and I hope your fishing time is spent with tight lines and many fish caught.

All my best.

Ben

Day Five Sitka Shows its Nasty Face

Today we woke to rain and wind at the lodge hoping for the best we set out for the harbor to get on the point break. Didn't seem that bad while we were running out until we hit the rock pile (half way mark) towards the cape. At this point we decided to abort the morning Salmon run and run directly to the Halibut hole. We got to the spot with friendly 20 to 25 mph gusts of wind and solid 4 to 8 foot seas we put the baits down and proceeded to fish for the next three hours without a bite except Mac's favorite, the occassional Ratfish. After about four hours on the spot we saw a few Big, Big Lings 40 plus pounders, we got our first Halibut which Theresa put on the deck. Within about thirty minutes we caught two more fish about twenty pounds each plus several sharks including a blue shark by Rich.

The weather continued to get worst and worst which made us finally pull the hook and head in, which for trips was a terrible feeling knowing we were about to get the crap kicked out of us.

We have had a slower trip than normal but with a focused approach we have caught our share of fish.

I have had a great time with my buddy Rich not only fishing but at the lodge, sharing all the moments from twenty plus years of fishing. Theresa has enjoyed the reading time every night, taking advantage of the quiet time without our three kids and the daily fire drills.

We have one more day on the water and we look forward to filling out a days Salmon limit.

Until we blog tomorrow.

Ben

Day Four sees Sitka Heat up in the Halibut Hole

Today we woke up to clear skies, warmer weather, and dead flat conditions which had fish written all over them. We were able to run right out to the cape and fish the outside spots which had relatively slow bomber fishing with a few bigger ones taken including a couple good yelloweyes. Today was different, we found salmon that wanted to bite and while trying to catch the rockfish, Rich decided to mooch a bait which resulted in a clean ten pound silver salmon followed by Theresa's fish that burned around the boat but ended up in the net. We dumped a couple others before we set out for the Halibut hole.

We showed up on the fifty fathom line in the sound with Summer Wind( Mac's other boat) on the alpha spot with a couple already in the boat. We set up the lines and started our patient wait. During the process we caught some legal lings and some mondo ones that could have been 40 to 50 pounds.

After a good hour and a half the first chicken ( smaller Halibut) showed for Rich which was matched by another fish that was the same size for Theresa. The chickens continued until probably an hour before we picked up when Rich caught a fish around 60 lbs and another one about 30 lbs. Of course there has to be the one that got away story and I had a toad hooked with one good run and ended up with a bare hook returned. Fishing is looking up with the Summer Wind crew getting two fish over a hundred pounds for the day.

With the action looking up I think tomorrow will really be good. We have given that B2-30 a real work out with a lot of smaller fish but look forward to hooking a fish over a deuce tomorrow.

Look forward to telling you about the big one.

Till then.

Ben

Day Three in Sitka sees Lings, Yelloweyes, and more Bombers

The third day of the Accurate Sitka Adventure comes to an end with a lot of fish caught but the wiley big Halibut still not cooperating as hoped. Today we woke up to the best weather so far, no rain, slight overcast, and dead flat conditions. After a really good Damian (Lodge chef) breakfast this morning we got to the boat at 6 am and headed right to the cape with the best conditions I have seen in a couple years of fishing here. We looked the salmon grounds over with very little potential, no bait and no fish to speak of on the fish locator.

Next stop was the rock fish hole where we proceeded to limit out on the Black Bombers and catch a few oversize lings on relatively light tackle that included the single speed B-197 / ACCCR 7020 7' Xnergy rod and the B-870N coupled with the ACCCR 6630 6'6" Xnergy rod. The smaller tackle makes the whole bottom fish experience a lot more fun; feeling like its a decent fish on the 30 and 40 lb spectra we are using.

After the rock fish focus we moved onto the ling thing where we caught our limits of lings in the 30 - 35" slot plus some really big yellow eyes which are the best eating fish, in my opinion, of all the ones we catch up here.

The rest of the day was at least 4 to 5 hours of Halibut fishing in the deep water spots for the 100 too 200 lb fish which saw us hook one nice fish that came unbuttoned at the boat. We focused on these spots knowing from previous history that a big fish is very probable but as mentioned earlier not always possible.

My wife Theresa has joined us up here today for the next few days of fishing hoping that the luck will change for that elusive heavy weight Halibut.

I will keep you posted to tomorrows activities and with the right luck have a picture of a trophy fish to share with the crew.

Till tomorrows log.

Ben

Day Two in the Sitka Adventure

Today we got up to the same grey, rainy weather best known here in Alaska. After a great breakfast at the lodge, Rich and I got on the Point Break with Mac for another rough but more productive day. We ran out to look on the outside and the swell had decreased from the day before to 4 to 6 feet with 8 to 12 knots of wind. We took a quick run around the salmon hole and decided to work our way back in not seeing any sign of life in the means of bait or moving fish on the meter. We hit the bomber spot (Black Bass) for limits and Rich hit the jackpot with a very good size Yellow eye as the highlight of our drifts.

We ran over to the inside Halibut hole and preceded to get a fairly quick limit of chikens (28 to 40" fish) with a couple good ligs including a keeper in the slot for Rich. Nothing big yet on the flat side but there are a few more days left and who is to say when the multi digit fish show up.

With time running out in the day we ran back out to the salmon hole and mooched for an hour with one bite and no fish to show. The trip so far has been on the slow side but the weather is looking up for the next few days and we are looking for the window so we can get out to the fishing grounds in front of the Cape to put a hurt on the big guys.

Hopefully tomorrow will be the day. I will keep you posted.

Until tomorrow.

Ben

Day One of our Sitka Adventure

Today Rich (Holland) and I got up at 4:45 am with high hopes of snapping Lings and over size Halibut but instead the weather showed us who was boss. We ventured out to the cape with our good friend Mac to the 21 mph winds and 7 to 10 foot swells which made it very difficult to fish, literally impossible. We started around the cape towards Shelcup Island and had boat troubles that slowed us down considerably. After several hours at 8 knots in less than perfect conditions we were picked up by a second boat who was skippered by our friend Levi.

We went back into the passages to avoid any weather and ended up catching a lot of Black rock fish on the B-197 and 7020 rods with small Bass Pro Shop jigs. We also ended up with a keeper Ling Cod that squeaked in under the 35" limit.

Hopefully tomorrow will bring better conditions and get us into some big lings and some keeper Halibut for the Box. Talking with Mac the salmon fishing has been fair but right now I don't think there are enough people fishing them to know. I will keep you informed of what lies in our future.

Till tomorrow.

Ben