Best Day in Years.

Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith

Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith

ilmarinen - MODERATOR
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Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
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Today I went fishing. I haven't been in many,many years. My friend who is a big time fisherman invited me to be the fifth member in an offshore run. We were planning on going for Blue fin Tuna, but with only one per boat limit, and the tuna not being up this far yet, we decided to head out for amberjack. I caught three ( we catch and release)- one 44" at 45 pounds; one 48" at 50 pounds; and a whopping 54" at 85 pounds. It was huge, and wore me out fighting it in. I'll have the photos in a day or two when they are emailed to me. It is a citation fish,too ( actually it is 4" beyond citation).
What a great day!!!
 
They are beautiful fish. The color is stunning, especially when looking down through the clear green water.
We ran from Rudee inlet ( Virginia Beach) down to the southern tower....which is about 20 miles offshore from North Carolina. At full cruising speed it takes about two hours to get there. One reason I haven't gone fishing in a long time is that I can drive my car from VA to CA and back on the same amount of gas that we burned in one day of fishing. I am not a tree hugger, but waste is waste. I may not fish again this year...or ever...but this was really a fun trip.....mostly because of the good folks I went with.
 
Glad to hear you had a good trip and a good day Stacy, you've certainly earned it! Now, let's the the pictures!

-d
 
Finally got the photos. The fellow who shot them had the camera sideways to take the shot as vertical. However, he didn't rotate the photo before he cropped it, so it compressed the shot to fit the frame. I am not as short and fat as the photo makes it look. The fish is as big as it looks.
 

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Stacy, if your smile were any bigger your head would split in half! Nice fish! :thumbup::D -Matt-
 
Yeah, I was really stoked. Everybody has commented on my huge grin.
Yes, that fish is not a whole lot shorter than I am, but I do outweigh it.
 
You lucky dog! Those amberjack fight like no other, I have had them fight so hard they roll over at the boat and at that point you have to keep em or waste em. Big :thumbup::thumbup::thumbup: for the catch and release. I went on my first offshore excursion in Florida 2 years ago... I dont even bother taking my bass boat out anymore... Its just not the same now that I have done that.
 
That's a great way to enjoy the day and get some exercise. I'd be grining ear to ear too, glad to see things are looking up on your end. Hope your wife's feeling better.
 
Judy is doing excellent. She has been coming out in the yard to help with the work on moving the wood shop, and helping load the cut up wood from the old deck. It has been in the 90's and near 100% humidity. She would have never come out for even a second before. This morning I went out to load the BBQ grill, the fish fryer, and propane tanks in the trailer ( to take to the church fish fry). It was 6:45 AM. Judy said, "Wait a minute, I'll slip on my jeans and help you load the stuff." This is all a really good sign.
 
Good for ya Stacy. As Decker said you certainly deserve a great day out like that.

Those fish are awesome looking. :thumbup:

Hope to see you at Ashokan. :D
 
I got a phone call from a friend who asked if I had read the sports page Thursday. I told him I never read the sports section. He suggested I get it and look on the last page. Under "Catch of the Week" the first listing was "Stacy Apelt - 54" Amberjack". That makes this officially one of my best days ever.
 
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Good stuff all around Stacy, I lived in The Beach in a prior life, nice place to be, almost went to work at the Norfolk ship yards after machinist school in the '70s, moved to Minnesota instead, deer and duck hunting, great fishing.
 
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