Good Evening Heather,
On my way into work this morning, I looked out at the Chesapeake as I drove over the Lesner Bridge. The wind was steady, and a light snow had just begun to fall. As I took note of the white caps on the water, I wondered for a moment if Billy and Steve would be heading out today.
Often times my job is very exciting, but after two consecutive days of chasing bluefin on the Tuna Fever, I have a new standard for what I consider an exciting work day. A few of my friends thought I was crazy, and the weather forecast even scared a few of them off, but the joke was on them.
The last two days of fishing will forever remain some of the more memorable days of my life. Tuesday started slowly, and it had the potential to be one of those dreaded days of offshore fishing where the ocean decides not to share any her treasures. But up above in the captain's chair, Billy was unwavering. Billy Maxwell is to tuna what the The Terminator is to Sarah and John Connor - he is never going to stop until he finds them. Shortly after I finished my lunch, I heard that beautiful sound of mono snapping out of an outrigger clip and line peeling off the reel. That was about 1:30 on Tuesday afternoon. Other than transit time and sleep, we spent the next day and a half fighting bluefin tuna. We caught three on Tuesday, and five on Wednesday. You can never appreciate the strength and the will of this fish until you are sitting in the chair trying to put one in the boat.
After we got back to Virginia Beach last night, everybody rushed home for a quick shower, and we all got together for a round-table feast of O-toro (the Japanese name for bluefin belly), and shared stories of our two days on the Tuna Fever. We all agreed that as long as the bluefin continue to bless our waters, this will be an annual event.
Billy and Steve are true professionals; they have earned my utmost respect as fishermen, and as men. I started fishing with Billy last year because of his reputation, now I fish with him because I consider him a friend.
With Utmost Respect,
Mark
PS: I also want to mention that Steve is a machine down on the deck. Not only did he do his job, but he also trained all of us in the basics. By yesterday afternoon, we actually started to look like we knew what we were doing.