One of the markets filet masters. This guy had buyers bringing him tuna plugs all morning long just for his filet/prep skills.

One of several warehouses preparing for the 5:00 am fresh tuna auction. This shot is in a smaller auction room for the fresh Bluefins.

Another warehouse preparing for the frozen tuna auction. Just one of many rooms we walked through that was littered with hundreds of Yellowfin and Big Eye plugs. Very recent restriction on photograph and access are sadly being enforced during our tour. I was asked to leave the building right after this photo.

The November issue of Marlin Mag is out and it’s a nice one. This small St. Thomas fish ate a circle hook pitch Bonita behind the Revenge and jumped all over the ocean. This was the last day of a long stretch for Sam, Jon, and the boys during the August moon. And what a stretch it was, having just won the Boy Scout Tournament for best boat and best angler days before. Thank you for another great day on the North Drop.

The excitement around here today was a standoff situation that developed down the street in an apartment building. LAPD doesn’t mess around, so SWAT was called in. After several hours of lock down, they made their move. Tear gas was used. Those of us downwind had to hunker down and ride out the storm. My assistant, pictured above, was prepared for this and didn’t miss a beat. It ended peacefully, nothing to see here.