A LONG WAY FROM HOME!

Twenty two hours. The journey was unexpectantly easy, maybe it was the anticipation of what the journey would bring. Anyhow, a couple of days later we were at the dock waiting to board a 4am vessel that would take us to our dream. Here's a highlight of a trip of faith, determination and a sprinkling of good luck...

The Cape Cod sun beckons at 3.30am - summer in the north mean long days...

Leaving the New England coast behind us with Capt. Jimmy at the helm of his very capable sportfisher with the whole works - essential for shooting off into the darkness...

Tsurusaki-san getting prepped for the day ahead...

This trip is an opportunity to put the tackle he makes to good use. FCL Labo lures and rods rigged and ready. This CSP sinking pencil would prove an extraordinary accessory to have on this trip...

Once the birds and accompanying fins were spotted it was a scramble into position as the Capt. would gun the boat towards the frenzied pack...

Well whaddya know, I get hit on the first cast!

Rod bent with the sun poking through the horizon - it was a surreal experience. Set the scene for some pretty amazing photos too...

It wasn't a monster, and the FCL 81EXT made short work of the fish...

The decision was made to release this fish so it would have to be carefully handled...

Lip shot by the Capt. and the fish was ours...

Morning exercise complete!

Right on cue with the FCL Labo CSP pencil...

What we came here for - the Northern Bluefin Tuna. This fish was shy of the 200lb mark, but we were happy none the less...

Off to find more schools...

Falling in love with the combo of the supple rod and magical lure already...

Ran into a pack of birds but instead of Tuna we got this nice Striped Bass, on an FCL HJ-Stick...

Large Bluefin Tuna were showing on the sounder, streaking through the bait schools...

Our host Kil Song hooked up next and another Bluefin virgin was to experience a fight of a lifetime...

In a fight that never seemed to end, the fighting harness proved useful...

Giving it stick was the only way to get these big fish to the boat...

Another one to add to its repertoire, CSP was on fire...

A smile to burn away the aches...

At well over 200 pounds, they were as hard to lift for pictures as they were to fight...

Huge fish dwarfs angler...

Next I put on an SPP Tuna and had a huge take but all the tuna got was the head and missed the hooks, toothmarks were all I got...

We got up close to observe this Basking Shark just cruising around...

And I hooked one of its little cousins...

More wildlife - a beach full of Seals!

Day breaks on day two...

Geared to go. Tsurusaki had some new prototypes for us to check out...

Put on this FCL jig with high hopes for the day, it wouldn't disappoint...

With fish on the sounder, jigs were dropped and 3 guys hooked up instantaneously. This was the result for Tsurusaki-san as 3 fishes headed in opposite directions and there was nothing we could do to chase either. Hundreds of metres in seconds on maybe 40lbs of drag - just to remind us what we were up against...

With that behind us we soon settled into making the other two hook-ups count...

Tsurusaki took over my Poseidon to avenge his lost fish. This little rod would raise a few eyebrows. The guys onboard thought that we were seriously undergunned with this PE-4 rated rod but its performance was a revelation...

Off into the horizon with each run...

Checking to see if there was still line on the spool...

Look Ma, no hands!

With two guys hooked up, the Capt. orchastrated the fight to perfection. We would keep the bigger fish out wide and land the smaller one first...

Angler was instructed to get the grunt in...

It was back-breaking work...

Colour at last...

What a magnificent sight, a big Bluefin materializing from the depths...

Angler and fish - taken on the FCL SL jig...

Another great fish well over 200lb, it was revived boatside and swam away beautifully...

Now to finish off the fight on the larger fish...

Not without some awful antics of the onlookers...

Evergreen Poseidon stretched to the max, it had plenty!

Locked in a death circle, these fish never seem to give up...

Colour at last as the circles got smaller and smaller and the fish was eventually raised...

Jubilation...

A big fish on the FCL Labo SL jig. This was a keeper and the harpoon was dispatched...

Videoman with cam in hand...

Getting it boatside was only the first part, hauling close to 300lb of dead weight in through the tiny door was no easy task...

Poseidon PE-4 rod - pure magic when it came to holding its own against a behemoth...

All smiles, and why not? It was a relief after coming this far and having all the anxiety and fears about tackle failures etc compounded. The rods, the lures and everything else held in place and exceeded expectations...

We took our time in making sure we got many nice pictures...

Tsuru was estatic and it showed...

That's the still pumping heart of a BFT!

When the task of the day was achieved and the bite went away, we had to chance to learn and share ideas about new FCL Labo products that were in development...

It was great to see a respected master of his craft at work, and of course we're eagerly anticipating some really interesting stuff to find their way into production soon...

Back at shore this tuna was being prepped to be sent off on an airplane to Japan...

Some last shots for posterity...

On the 3rd and last day on the water we were greeted by some magnificent sights. These are the stuff you know you are truly blessed to witness in all its natural glory...

In fact throughout the three fishing days we were in the company of these truly magnificent creatures - Minke and Humpback Whales share these waters and are here for the same reason the Bluefin Tuna are. Plankton and other micro-organisms bring in the baitfish, turning the cape into a smorgasbord for marinelife of all forms...

Here we witness Humpbacks working in packs, rounding up feed into balls and crashing through them with mouths wide open...

In these bait schools you'll find other predators like this Bluefish, which took a liking to a CSP but was no match for the popping gear...

The day was slow but when we eventually came across a feeding pack, we wasted no time in getting stuck into it. This fish was rampaging hard and after a hundred odd metre run we thought we had it all under control until...

The opened gape on the single tells the whole story, you can go too hard on these fish and they'll show you who's boss...

Lightning seldom strikes twice but after an hour or two of searching half the continent for working birds and fish, we got lucky. The Capt. dropped the jig and got hit while i tossed a CSP into the feeding melee and watched as the twitch, slide, twitch was met with a big white slab come up from beneath to stop the lure in its tracks. Somehow it reminded me of Barramundi fishing! But anyhow, we were hooked up solid and after nearly getting spooled we settled into a slug match. Meanwhile the fish on jig won its freedom by diving below and parting the line on the props...

Bluefin fights can go long, and get abit boring if I must say. Time between runs and recovering inch after inch of line were spent with many practical jokes...

After losing the first fish of the day to a hook failure, we didn't take our second chance for granted so we took care knowing that patience and perseverance would pay off. It was a long wait indeed...

Some fell asleep waiting...

When time came to put the pressure on the tackle held up well and soon we saw the faint silver bullet slide into view...

It was a big one! Needless to say we were pretty excited...

Oh that magical face...

FCL 81EXT popping rod, Stella 18000, PE-8 SMP, 170lb YGK Absorber and FCL CSP 180S helping the cause...

The stuff of dreams - 300lb of pure muscle...

Over an hour after hooking up, and after the high-fives we'd thrown we made sure we got plenty of photos to remember this day...

Another for the road...

The fish's stomach was full of small Squid and Sandeels, proving just how tough it was to get these monsters to fall for lures so much bigger than what they were dieting on...

A parting message from the cap!

All in it was a fantastic journey. The fishing was tough, so kudos to the guys who go out and do this every other week. We'd like to think we got lucky, with the large number of hopeful boats working the schools our chances looked pretty dim but the Captain was made of the right stuff. He never gave up and had a work ethic which put us to shame. We also had some pretty good lures to boot and we felt they made the difference when the cards were on the line. Last we heard quite a few guys were trying to get their hands on them when news got out!