4th of July Tuna!...err, 5th!

Well, it wasn't exactly the 4th of July, but we DID get out to fish for some tuna on the 5th of July.  My friend Chris saw a nice weather window for a week of calm weather so he loaded up the boat and headed over from Idaho. 

I drove over the night before and met him in Newport to launch the boat.  We set a plan for the next day, which entailed a later start.

 
 We loaded up and took off under the bridge, through the thin layer of fog.

 
The fog quickly dissipated and sun broke through.

We made it out to the 33 line and dropped in.  We instantly hooked up!  A nice single to start the day!

 Right after that fish was bled and chilled, we had a double. ...then a triple. ...then a QUAD!  We landed all 4 fish during that quad, too!

It eventually slowed down and the fish went off the bite for a while during the late morning and early afternoon.

There were plenty of signs of life, and lots of birds.  We found a few friendly albatross that danced along the water beside us, looking for a meal, themselves.

Its amazing how large these birds are.  It definitely takes them a few waves to create a runway to take off.  They almost run along the water until they finally glide up into the air. 

The bite turned back on and Rapalas and swim baits were the meal tickets.  

We ended up with plenty of fish for both of us, along with a great day full of memories.
 
Thanks again, Chris!!