I spent last week in Upstate New York/Canandagua Lake with my family. We had a great time, but bluegill and bass, albeit fun to catch, just don't pull like our fish down here. I returned to P Cola friday around 10pm, and met the boys at the dock at 0400 Saturday. We pulled out around 0430 (Tony was a little late...said something about being TIRED), and headed about 10 miles south east of the nipple looking for the alleged rip Roffs had forecasted. We put lines in around 6 something, and were a little concerned about the water quality. The king guys would have loved it, but it just wasn't what we were looking for. So, we headed further south along the 100 fathom curve with not a single bite. Finally, after realizing that we were not going to find the nice blue water roffs predicted, we decided on heading towards the spur. The water did turn a better shade, and we did start seeing a bit of bait as we neared the spur. It still was blue-green at best, and not very promising looking. Wes Sherouse, Hiller and Woodley were preparing mutiny down below when they were briefly distracted by Blanton. Blanton decided to entertain the crew for a while (I'll let him elaborate), and take their minds off the fact we weren't catching any fish. Apparently, Tony's "entertainment" worked not only on my crew, but on the fish as well. Shortly after the "entertainment" was delivered, I saw a nice fish crash the starboard rigger on Josh's favorite lure. This fish didn't hesitate or play around. He had us down to a half spool (50w) in a matter a a few seconds. The guys did a nice job of quickly clearing the lines and we started backing down pretty hard. Fortunately, the fish started heading towards the boat, and Tony (reeling like a mad man) retrieved a good amount of line. I was impressed by Tony's angling abilities. For someone who has never caught a marlin, he fought it like a pro. Wes did a good job coaching, and Tony had the fish to the boat in around 45 minutes. The fish was still pretty green, and gave Wireman Woodley a little tussle before Josh made another perfect tag shot. Wes grabbed the bill....a few pics were taken...and let that beautiful creature swim away to fight another day. We trolled around the spur for a bit, but no other bites. So, we headed north through the nasty green water. Around 4 we decided we had enough, and headed to the barn. The boat was cleaned, Tony was dunked, a few beers were drank...and we headed to the house. I enjoyed being out there. We had nice seas...a little wind to keep things cool, and a nice fish to top off the day. Wes, we appreciate your humor and fishing skill, and hope to get you out there again soon. Tony, congrats on a great fish. Josh and Woodley....nice job as always. oh yeah...fish was around 95" 300+ lbs. Tight lines, Dave
