Back to the BANK: Excel’s Ultra-Limited Load 2/2/23 - 2/18/23

[Montaukmaniac]

Thank you so much for such a great report on a fabulous trip. I’m chomping at the bit for my 16 day adventure the end of April through the middle of May.

TKS very much.

Hope you catch'em UP, Kevin!

(...looking forward to reading of your 16 day adventure.)

 

[Montaukmaniac]

All ready booked up for next year but I hope to make this trip in 2025!
Quite a report. Thanks! - Russ

Thanks so much Russ!

I very much enjoy your postings as well.

 

[Montaukmaniac]

Quite simply - WOW!

That was an amazing report, Steve. Not too much at all for my tastes. The pictures were well-placed and definitely add to the report. And I know my friend John @Roadrunner has been eating up all the tackle details, as he's headed out on his first 16 day in a couple of days.

I'm guessing you take notes throughout the trip. But even so, your recall is incredible and formulating it all into this "tome" of a LR report is quite a feat. I loved it!

Thanks for your kudos Nick!

Technology and friends are enormous helpful! Some friends will assist in trading photographs in the galley, or subsequently. (At times this can be problematic with formatting difficulties that make getting the photographs edited/in the right orientation difficult.) (... there are naturally pros and cons of technology! , , ) I keep a notepad by my bunk and will scribble some stuff intermittently. The dictation function of smart phones also helps in taking notes...

Your input is very much appreciated!

BTW: wish your friend the very best from me on his first 16 day. (I can recall reading Soda Pop's, WaHoo Dad's & Rodless Jim's reports as well as others and thinking "someday when I'm retired maybe I can do that!")

Very best regards!

 

[Montaukmaniac]

Outstanding report! You have certainly raised the bar for all of the rest of us who try to report on our trips with more than the basic "sighted sub, sank same" attitude. I'm not at all interested in pictures of food plates, but I know that some people really enjoy them, and your photography was excellent. A whole lot of tagged fish seemed to be going into the holds for the small number of fishermen, but I wasn't there and don't know the whole story, so it doesn't matter. You did an overall excellent job, Sir!

Gary, I very much appreciate your reply!

Your post are often filled with information that I find to be wonderfully helpful.

Agreed, sometimes people can be reflexive in their tagging and might more thoughtful about their catch. Often, I'll seek to stick to a game plan on what I'll catch and release and what I select for tagging. A number of other friends/anglers donated to the galley and the chunk line. The sushi and the sesame crusted tuna photos are the result of these donations. There was also a wonderful meal of blacked grouper, on bed of risotto, in a Romanesquo vegetable sauce that was fantastic! ( ...sorry about the photo, I couldn't resist.) As stated, due to a full freezer I did not tag any tuna. I know that the food photos are not a big hit with some folks. Alternatively, we have friends from another trip who regularly takes pictures of what comes out of the galley to send to his wife for reference on preferred meals at home! !



Best regards.

 

[Montaukmaniac]

Outstanding report Steve. Makes me wish I was there. Oh, wait a minute…..

Thanks for your response Rob.

I'll take that as high praise from a super cow level angler!

You may, ...or may not recall, I had spoken in my write up of "age-related cognitive decline" as the BEST we could hope for… , , ,!

… Until we meet again, be VERY well!!!

 

[reelconcerned]

One of the BEST reads I have ever read on bloody deck I felt I was there...Paul

 

[Jose Caballero]

That was one of the best reports I’ve ever read. I really appreciate the pace and food-focus. The takeaway section was my favorite, read twice, and the shadow of a conversation lost in the wash was lovely. I think the quality of conversations you find on a long trip can be tough to capture, but the lighter prank and PL68 story made a great attempt.

OH! Since you asked: I personally don’t think you can have too much tackle/rigging/tactics talk, but each audience is different. For example: beginners, how drag works; intermediate, how to improve your knots; advanced, swiveled circle hooks for the chunk bait. I am always skimming for new knowledge and I think other readers are, too.

Hope to read more, thanks for raising the bar.

 

[Montaukmaniac]

One of the BEST reads I have ever read on bloody deck I felt I was there...Paul

Thanks for the high praise, Paul. Its a "reel" pleasure to share the journey with those of the SDLR community!

 

[Montaukmaniac]

See below.

 

[Montaukmaniac]

That was one of the best reports I’ve ever read. I really appreciate the pace and food-focus. The takeaway section was my favorite, read twice, and the shadow of a conversation lost in the wash was lovely. I think the quality of conversations you find on a long trip can be tough to capture, but the lighter prank and PL68 story made a great attempt.

OH! Since you asked: I personally don’t think you can have too much tackle/rigging/tactics talk, but each audience is different. For example: beginners, how drag works; intermediate, how to improve your knots; advanced, swiveled circle hooks for the chunk bait. I am always skimming for new knowledge and I think other readers are, too.

Hope to read more, thanks for raising the bar.

Jose,

Thanks so much for your perceptive input. Part of my rationale for writing these reports is to, pay it forward or pay back for some of the fantastic anglers who shared information/knowledge on this forum over my many years participation! (I like to say, we all stand on the shoulders of our betters…) It has proved an invaluable resource for me since I started fishing long-range!

Best regards and tight lines to you.

 

[hucklongfin]

Excellent report. I'm surprised you had time to fish with all the note taking going on!

 

[Montaukmaniac]

Super Awesome report(as always)! Love the blow by blow detail and fantastic writing.
Looking forward to the rest...

Andre,
Your kudos are all the more appreciated, due to the excellent quality of your posts over many years.

Tight lines and best regards!

 

[Montaukmaniac]

Great story, great fish, thanks for the shout out on the swiveled hooks, they are all I use.

Guy,

Thanks so much to you and Annette for your superb selection, phenomenal product and high quality of goods!

Tight lines and screaming reels!

 

[vegasandre]

Andre,
Your kudos are all the more appreciated, due to the excellent quality of your posts over many years.

Tight lines and best regards!

I look forward to any fishing reports..
But I will say that yours and Picasso's are at the top of my list. though not the same kind of reports they are both equally worthy of a few weeks on top of the BD best seller list...
you do a fantastic job- awesome, thorough detail and great pics that compliment the report.
I wish more people wrote them. our audience here is limited.
what percentage of our small LR niche even reads the BD LR forum? maybe 10-20%?
some peek in every now and then to ask about some tackle question.
some are here all the time and many previous regulars have checked out for varied reasons.
writing the reports isn't easy.. so I appreciate the hard work- as it paints a clear picture of our shared passion from the writers eyes.
sometimes it involves a lot of writing , some note taking and high memory retention that usually comes after a long trip that may have used up much of your physical and emotional resources.
I will usually only write about maybe a small portion of my trips as many are short range and others are not too special and time sometimes can be an issue. ..
maybe I will step it up. maybe every trip is actually special- whether it's one day or 16

if you get a chance, look up some old reports from Rodless Jim.. those are some stories.. he has an incredible talent for them.
Also Nebraska is another writing legend.. rumors are swirling that he is taking a journey soon.
thanks again. If we ever fish together. you get to write the report ..

 

[Roadrunner]

Great report - just in time to pump me up for the last push in packing for my 18 day RP trip.

Thank you !


Definitely motivated me to take more notes/ pics and try to do a report when i return.

 

[Soda Pop]

I look forward to any fishing reports..
But I will say that yours and Picasso's are at the top of my list. though not the same kind of reports they are both equally worthy of a few weeks on top of the BD best seller list...
you do a fantastic job- awesome, thorough detail and great pics that compliment the report.
I wish more people wrote them. our audience here is limited.
what percentage of our small LR niche even reads the BD LR forum? maybe 10-20%?
some peek in every now and then to ask about some tackle question.
some are here all the time and many previous regulars have checked out for varied reasons.
writing the reports isn't easy.. so I appreciate the hard work- as it paints a clear picture of our shared passion from the writers eyes.
sometimes it involves a lot of writing , some note taking and high memory retention that usually comes after a long trip that may have used up much of your physical and emotional resources.
I will usually only write about maybe a small portion of my trips as many are short range and others are not too special and time sometimes can be an issue. ..
maybe I will step it up. maybe every trip is actually special- whether it's one day or 16

if you get a chance, look up some old reports from Rodless Jim.. those are some stories.. he has an incredible talent for them.
Also Nebraska is another writing legend.. rumors are swirling that he is taking a journey soon.
thanks again. If we ever fish together. you get to write the report ..

Nebraska is on the Red Rooster right now. 16 day

 

[Montaukmaniac]

I look forward to any fishing reports..
But I will say that yours and Picasso's are at the top of my list. though not the same kind of reports they are both equally worthy of a few weeks on top of the BD best seller list...
you do a fantastic job- awesome, thorough detail and great pics that compliment the report.
I wish more people wrote them. our audience here is limited.
what percentage of our small LR niche even reads the BD LR forum? maybe 10-20%?
some peek in every now and then to ask about some tackle question.
some are here all the time and many previous regulars have checked out for varied reasons.
writing the reports isn't easy.. so I appreciate the hard work- as it paints a clear picture of our shared passion from the writers eyes.
sometimes it involves a lot of writing , some note taking and high memory retention that usually comes after a long trip that may have used up much of your physical and emotional resources.
I will usually only write about maybe a small portion of my trips as many are short range and others are not too special and time sometimes can be an issue. ..
maybe I will step it up. maybe every trip is actually special- whether it's one day or 16

if you get a chance, look up some old reports from Rodless Jim.. those are some stories.. he has an incredible talent for them.
Also Nebraska is another writing legend.. rumors are swirling that he is taking a journey soon.
thanks again. If we ever fish together. you get to write the report ..

Thanks for your kudos Nick!

Technology and friends are enormous helpful! Some friends will assist in trading photographs in the galley, or subsequently. (At times this can be problematic with formatting difficulties that make getting the photographs edited/in the right orientation difficult.) (... there are naturally pros and cons of technology! , , ) I keep a notepad by my bunk and will scribble some stuff intermittently. The dictation function of smart phones also helps in taking notes...

Your input is very much appreciated!

BTW: wish your friend the very best from me on his first 16 day. (I can recall reading Soda Pop's, WaHoo Dad's & Rodless Jim's reports as well as others and thinking "someday when I'm retired maybe I can do that!")

Very best regards!

I look forward to any fishing reports..
But I will say that yours and Picasso's are at the top of my list. though not the same kind of reports they are both equally worthy of a few weeks on top of the BD best seller list...
you do a fantastic job- awesome, thorough detail and great pics that compliment the report.
I wish more people wrote them. our audience here is limited.
what percentage of our small LR niche even reads the BD LR forum? maybe 10-20%?
some peek in every now and then to ask about some tackle question.
some are here all the time and many previous regulars have checked out for varied reasons.
writing the reports isn't easy.. so I appreciate the hard work- as it paints a clear picture of our shared passion from the writers eyes.
sometimes it involves a lot of writing , some note taking and high memory retention that usually comes after a long trip that may have used up much of your physical and emotional resources.
I will usually only write about maybe a small portion of my trips as many are short range and others are not too special and time sometimes can be an issue. ..
maybe I will step it up. maybe every trip is actually special- whether it's one day or 16

if you get a chance, look up some old reports from Rodless Jim.. those are some stories.. he has an incredible talent for them.
Also Nebraska is another writing legend.. rumors are swirling that he is taking a journey soon.
thanks again. If we ever fish together. you get to write the report ..

Andre,

I couldn't agree with you more about looking forward to ANY fishing reports and very much appreciate your kudos for my efforts.

You are quite right that only a small subset of SDLR anglers may review the long-range thread on BD outdoors. Your observation about the effort to create a report when it "involves a lot of writing, some note taking and high memory retention that usually comes after a long trip that may have used up much of your physical and emotional resources" is IMHO spot on! (As mentioned up thread, there are some technological hacks / advances, that assist where memory may become uncertain; the camera, dictation and note functions on our smart phones are extremely helpful when the days begin to blur together or fatigue impacts the sequence of events.)

I was particularly please by your recommendation to read some "old reports"on SDLR as we obviously share some of the same high regard! (I've excerpted from my above comment to Nicodemus/Nick "I can recall reading Soda Pop's, WaHoo Dad's & Rodless Jim's reports"

There is a long cascade of history that informs current reporting. (I am fairly certain you as well as others are well aware of this history.) Back in the 1800s and 1900s newspapers/magazines would carry accounts of the successful anglers of the day. This gave way to magazines like Outdoor Life, Field and Stream as well as more specific Salt Water Sportsman & the like. For me as a youngster it was the Long Island Fishermen. One of the writers was a guy named Matt Ahearn. He was a phenomenal writer who encouraged older more experienced anglers to share their knowledge with less experienced fishermen and was an inspiration for young anglers. On the West Coast your Western Outdoor News likely served as similar inspiration. Coming to the present days people like Bill Roecker's Long Range fishing Reports and his videos were a fantastic advance in "reporting" the story of long-range fishing. (My own path was inspired from my son's watching these videos, which led to us coming west to fish SDLR & my participation here.) It's a great pleasure to contribute, share and "give back when you have enjoyed & benefited from the knowledge of other anglers.

Hopefully, if more become enamored with the reporting (as we have) which include narratives, information, humor and strategies they may be inspired to tell their own "tails"!

… It would be great to share the rail and also the co-author ship , of any reports that might result from future adventures!

Very best regards.

 

[Montaukmaniac]

Nebraska is on the Red Rooster right now. 16 day

Thanks David. NICE HOO!

 

[nicodemus]

As fate would have it, Roadrunner, 336 (used to be Rivers, but then he caught that supercow) and I all had deposits down on this trip next year. Work schedule and $ considerations led us to move those to the Okuma trip late April.

Would have been awesome to fish with you and the rest... but getting to fish a trip like this is a winner any way you cut it. We'll get to fish with Soup and his wife. And rumor has it, the aforementioned Wahoodad just might be aboard!

 

[vegasandre]

Andre,

I couldn't agree with you more about looking forward to ANY fishing reports and very much appreciate your kudos for my efforts.

You are quite right that only a small subset of SDLR anglers may review the long-range thread on BD outdoors. Your observation about the effort to create a report when it "involves a lot of writing, some note taking and high memory retention that usually comes after a long trip that may have used up much of your physical and emotional resources" is IMHO spot on! (As mentioned up thread, there are some technological hacks / advances, that assist where memory may become uncertain; the camera, dictation and note functions on our smart phones are extremely helpful when the days begin to blur together or fatigue impacts the sequence of events.)

I was particularly please by your recommendation to read some "old reports"on SDLR as we obviously share some of the same high regard! (I've excerpted from my above comment to Nicodemus/Nick "I can recall reading Soda Pop's, WaHoo Dad's & Rodless Jim's reports"

There is a long cascade of history that informs current reporting. (I am fairly certain you as well as others are well aware of this history.) Back in the 1800s and 1900s newspapers/magazines would carry accounts of the successful anglers of the day. This gave way to magazines like Outdoor Life, Field and Stream as well as more specific Salt Water Sportsman & the like. For me as a youngster it was the Long Island Fishermen. One of the writers was a guy named Matt Ahearn. He was a phenomenal writer who encouraged older more experienced anglers to share their knowledge with less experienced fishermen and was an inspiration for young anglers. On the West Coast your Western Outdoor News likely served as similar inspiration. Coming to the present days people like Bill Roecker's Long Range fishing Reports and his videos were a fantastic advance in "reporting" the story of long-range fishing. (My own path was inspired from my son's watching these videos, which led to us coming west to fish SDLR & my participation here.) It's a great pleasure to contribute, share and "give back when you have enjoyed & benefited from the knowledge of other anglers.

Hopefully, if more become enamored with the reporting (as we have) which include narratives, information, humor and strategies they may be inspired to tell their own "tails"!

… It would be great to share the rail and also the co-author ship , of any reports that might result from future adventures!

Very best regards.

I totally agree . The History of Fishing reports , stories and information goes way back and seemed more glamorous "back in the day"..
also being from the East Coast , I used to read most of those publications growing up as well. it set the ground work for my passion.
I love fishing stories and ocean/sailing and island stories in general.
I sometimes wonder what has happened though?
maybe this is a topic for another thread. (it probably is)
The topic runs pretty deep and varied as our shared passion seems it's becoming smaller and smaller.
which is why any story/report written here is appreciated so much more.
I am not sure what has occurred here on the LR forum. this was the place to be from 2010-2017 or so.. I know of no other forums or places where people can get a large varied amount of advice and information anywhere on the fishing topics.
where did everyone go?
sure there is WON and Lets talk hookup etc. but something is amiss..
maybe no one likes to read anymore? maybe people got sick of some drama?
maybe people just share info with their friends and neighbors..
... people still buying a lot of tackle..buying boats and trying to find places on mostly full Short Range and LR trips.
It is a mystery. hmmm..

back to the reports..
some of the best threads were from the All coast days pre 2010
look up Rodless Jim oldest threads and progress forward in time.
then there is the infamous and notoroius Loreto Joe (Picasso) epic stories there as well.
I may repost some of them here one day.
anyway: thanks again !

 

[vegasandre]

Nebraska is on the Red Rooster right now. 16 day

there is going to be a great story about that hoo.. !

 

[Montaukmaniac]

I totally agree . The History of Fishing reports , stories and information goes way back and seemed more glamorous "back in the day"..
also being from the East Coast , I used to read most of those publications growing up as well. it set the ground work for my passion.
I love fishing stories and ocean/sailing and island stories in general.
I sometimes wonder what has happened though?
maybe this is a topic for another thread. (it probably is)
The topic runs pretty deep and varied as our shared passion seems it's becoming smaller and smaller.
which is why any story/report written here is appreciated so much more.
I am not sure what has occurred here on the LR forum. this was the place to be from 2010-2017 or so.. I know of no other forums or places where people can get a large varied amount of advice and information anywhere on the fishing topics.
where did everyone go?
sure there is WON and Lets talk hookup etc. but something is amiss..
maybe no one likes to read anymore? maybe people got sick of some drama?
maybe people just share info with their friends and neighbors..
... people still buying a lot of tackle..buying boats and trying to find places on mostly full Short Range and LR trips.
It is a mystery. hmmm..

back to the reports..
some of the best threads were from the All coast days pre 2010
look up Rodless Jim oldest threads and progress forward in time.
then there is the infamous and notoroius Loreto Joe (Picasso) epic stories there as well.
I may repost some of them here one day.
anyway: thanks again !

Andre,

I always enjoy reading good content. If it was a good post then it's probably a good post now!

Your statements are onto something with regard to"where did they go"! I know that folks at the rail will complain about the invective that sometimes happened with a particular POV. Informed commentary is helpful but sometimes it got out of hand with the vitriol of the response. Your observation is good IMHO, folks "got sick of some drama". That some people are changing their reading habits, I think is accurate as well!

Good food for thought. Be well.

 

[hagridfish]

TKS very much.

Hope you catch'em UP, Kevin!

(...looking forward to reading of your 16 day adventure.)

I’ll try. But no guarantees! I’m not a very good reporter. But I’ll give it a try.

 

[caballo del mar]

I caught a 314 pound yft with 80 lb test. People used to fish the Islands with 80. We did use 200 lb mono leaders though.

 

[stephen campbell]

"Bite leader" I get it but what was the point, today it's tiny hook, tiny line, any prom date is better than none, hahaha