FB: Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[OzJohnnie]

Hey, all.  It's good to be back. Six days with five men (my brother-in-law, me, the captain and two deckhands) on a marlin boat outside the barrier reef was quite the effort.  Please forgive this self-indulgent post.  I've got a few photos that I know at least duffman will be interested in.  It was a great week.  But I was shot at the end of it. (click to embiggen all the pics)

First the money shots.  We caught three marlin.  In the last one, you see me doing SJU proud in the chair while reeling in the one I got.



I got some reception while at anchor on the reef one night and was able to snap my location.  We fished beyond the reef out in the Coral Sea during the day and anchored in the shelter of the reef at night. We anchored about 14 nautical miles from Lizard Island, maybe 40 nautical miles from the mainland.  The second pic is looking at the sunset back from anchor over Lizard Island (which you see at the horizon just to the left of the sun).



Halfway through the week, we treated ourselves by going into the old marlin fisherman's bar on Lizard Island for a burger and some beers on dry land.  They had a 1000-pounder mounted on the wall.



Lastly, the fun.  We had a whale shark swim up to the boat at one point.  I was just a baby, only 20 feet long or so.  We also caught a sizable yellow-fin tuna and had sushimi and tuna steaks until we popped.



Even if you're not a raging fisherman (I am not a raging fisherman) it's a fun experience.  I recommend that you jump on it if the opportunity presents itself.  We went fishing with Hayden Bell.  He's in this video (at the 28:45 mark) the marlin fisherman's association put together called On The Edge.  Good fun.

[OzJohnnie]

Sorry for the double post but I forgot to include these two which I also like.  The first is the waves breaking on the reef, 40 miles out from the mainland, as we head into the open ocean for some fishing.  The second is the captain, Hayden, just riding the back of crashing waves as we fish for bait on the way out.  If you look closely, you can see that the waves are breaking just three yards off the starboard side.  It takes some experience and crazy skill to pilot the boat there.

 

[art76]

Way cool Oz!

[repete]

Tremendous stuff, Oz!

[BiggieSmalls]

Great pics!

[sjusection105]

Very nice Oz! Glad to hear you had a great time!

[OldAuggie]

I appreciate the experience. Thanks for sharing!

[DuffMan]

Wow, Oz, that looks like the trip of a lifetime!  Thanks for following up.

[DuffMan]

Where's BDB with the annual "last to turn on the furnace" contest?

[GoldandBlueBU]

Thanks for sharing!  Even from the perspective of someone who doesn't fish or care about it - the pictures and story were awesome!

[Texas Ole]

Nice pictures. I'm looking at a similar trip in the Gulf along with a trip to Belize for fly fishing.

[Pat Coleman]

Where's BDB with the annual "last to turn on the furnace" contest?

I was kind of wondering this, as I turned on my furnace yesterday.

[Pat Coleman]

Oz, joining the chorus to say how amazing your trip looks!

[DuffMan]

I was kind of wondering this, as I turned on my furnace yesterday.

The Mrs. is going out of town tomorrow, so I should be good at least through the weekend. 

[Robert Zimmerman]

Haven't turned our furnace on yet (but have used the fireplace). Last year we made it until Veteran's Day. I don't think that will happen this year, my daughter is already complaining it's too cold (she will be attending CSB next year! That will make it much easier to wait on the furnace).