[BasicPatrick]

Another Derby has indeed come and gone. It really is less about the fish and more about the friends for me however it was awesome to once again get into the bonito, even if it was from the boat. We definitely were hindered by the wind but were able to spend enough hours on the water to make the cost of bringing it over worth it. Besides the return of good numbers of bonito it was also great to share a night with Surfpirate, my brother Ronnie and take old man Johnny squidding. Its been a loooong time since I had 100 squid in the bucket but we got them this year in just one night. We spent most of our time throwing eels at no bass along the Elizabeth's. I was shocked that we never once got a hit. Just shows how few Stripers are around compared to prior years. All in all a great week and plans for next year are already underway. Really missed Rphud who had circumstances out of his control prevent him form using his bed.

I had my 2014 Derby moment on the back side of Nantucket. Trolling a sand eel umbrella through a beautiful rip that shall remain nameless we hooked a fish that had the "almost" locked down 4/0 Senator screaming. 30 feet out we started thinking we had a decent Bass because of the sandy brown color and fat body. 20 feet out and "HOLY SH#&T" that's a giant Bluefish. I have won multiple tournaments with 14-16 pound bluefish and haven't seen one larger in many many years. When it simply opened its mouth and spit the rig at about 8 feet from the boat it sort of twisted there for a moment in time. SurfPirate took a failed shot at it with the net but it was just out of reach. We clearly saw that the both the head and tail were outside the 34" width of the net. I guarantee this fish was well over 15. How big we will never know but it was from a spot at a time when true monsters are known to be harvested. As my old friend Bells from the Island said to me, it just wasn't my time..YET. Eventually its gonna happen and until then Ill just enjoy the journey.