Albacore!
July 24th, 2008 by Pastor John
The prized sportfish Albacore show up off of Southern California waters almost every summer. But they are elusive and sometimes hard to catch. Many a casual fisherman has come back from an expensive trip disappointed or even empty handed. In fact, many boats come back disappointed as the fish move constantly and one day the catch is many and the next day the bite is shut off. My good friend Mark Fisher and I went out for two days on a trip planned since last December. The Lord really blessed our trip. Our boat caught 96 fish (20 fishermen) which was well above the dock average per boat. Mark and I had a fantastic time fishing and just taking it easy on God’s big ocean. My good friends Brad Meister and Ed Hanley went out at the same time on a different boat and they also did well. The Lord was very good to all of us. The fishing has shut down a bit now, with many boats not catching even 1 Albacore per rod. But our freezers are packed with fillets for the summer and winter and our hearts are blessed to have caught the highly prized fish.
The two-day trips can be real character builders, especially if there is any rough seas or winds. We were especially blessed with flat calm weather and little or no wind. We actually had a blast trying out new equipment and fishing methods. We learned alot from a man named Joe who seemed to always be “on” and he eventually confided in both Mark and me what his secret method is. Can’t wait to try it out next time we go fishing. The Albacore are called “long fins” and you can see why by closely looking at the length of the dorsal fin which can be almost half the length of the body. Bluefin, Yellowfin, and Big Eye Tuna do not have this long fin. Sometimes called “the chicken of the sea”, Albacore tastes fantastic. My son Marke and I had an “all you can eat” sashimi session as is our tradition whenever I come back from one of these trips. Praise the Lord, He is Good and His ocean is great!
January 15th, 2009 at 6:16 pm
AAAARRRGGGHHH matey! a great trip for sure!!!!! Got me an 30#Ahi in Sept! 40 miles out on a 17ft. skiff! Beat up and sore for days but it was worth it!! Taste and see that the LORD is good!
May 10th, 2009 at 1:54 am
Hey Dano brahdah,
I miss my brothas… John H., Dano, Ed H., Charlie, da boys…
Soon we’ll be lookin’ for a few good men… Uh fishermen that is. I know of a fishing ministry servant-leader that is looking for a new home. The old home is forcibly pushing us out. Saddleback Church is an option, but I’m thinking Zoe… Would someone PLEASE step up to the plate? Maybe a new servant-leader at a new church like THIS one?!
In Jesus’ peace and grace,
D & S
July 21st, 2009 at 3:39 pm
Hey D & S,
Probably alot has happened at the “old home” since this post got lost in the in basket. It wasn’t clear to me whether the fishing ministry leader was looking for a new home or you were looking for a new-servant leader to take over (and move) the current ministry? Oh well, look in on us sometime with an update—tight lines, as they say!