Surprise! Just the past week, several boats saw lots of activity offshore. Sailfish were seen jumping (30-50 estimated) most everywhere, and some were tagged. On an overnight trip, "Shark Bait" had 3 Sails and 2 Swordfish releases, "Sailfish II" had 1 Swordfish and lost 2 Sails at the boat, Tim Sousa's "Teezer" released a Sail and "Right Side" released 3 Sails, plus "Hattitude" recently had 2 Atlantic Spearfish on, and released one of them. So there you have it, lots of activity offshore even though we're in the midst of our yearly November weather fronts... With all the Sailfish free jumping just mentioned, we have a Sailfish Mini-Tournament all set for this weekend and if the weather cooperates, it should be a fun time for all who venture out. It's set for November 15, 16, 17th. Be sure and check in with Jim Blalock ahead of time.

MOST IMPORTANT... There will be NO general meeting this month of November. This month has traditionally been one of our weakest in attendance for our regular monthly meeting, so let's put all our attendance efforts into our Christmas Party/General Meeting next month, on December 18th. Again, NO Meeting in November.

Talk about excitement, our new website - "NEFMA.COM" is up and running. Some of the windows are not yet operable as of yet, but will be shortly. As part of the January 15, 2003 General Meeting, there will be a briefing and a Q & A priod about our website. "NEFMA.COM" will have some areas only for members and some that can be accessed by the general public. Member only areas will be secure so when you come up the first time, follow the onscreen diections. It's an impressive website, complete with member and boat photos. You'll soon be able to send in and read fishing reports, see photos of what was caught and you'll be able to officially record your catches on this site. Truly, the above is a giant step forward for our club. Meanwhile, we need photos of your boat that can be scanned and put on the web. We also need photos and mugshots (as in the police lineup) of all General and Associate members. You can mail thm in or just bring them to our next meeting.

(Webmaster Note: As of November 22, all features mentioned above are up and running. Starting January 1st, you will be able to submit your NEFMA catch online. All standings, statistics and year-end results are now automatically calculated at a fraction of a second whenever a new catch is approved, saving time and reducing risk of inaccuracies due to volume of information.)

NEFMA RULE OF THE MONTH - Rule no. 5 states "all fish must be caught in accordance with IGFA and NEFMA rules. If you don't have a copy of these 2 sets of rules, contact Jim Blalock. Ang most important, brief your crew so that we all play by the same guidelines.

(Webmaster Note: NEFMA Members - Log in and click here for NEFMA Rules. Current IGFA Rules can be found here)

From the Ballyhoo department... Boatless Capt. John Powers (By Design) writes that he received notice that a Blue Marlin he had caught years ago at Walkers Cay was recovered over 1200 miles away and had gained over 200 pounds. We don't hear of many recoveries, but this one obviously was treated (and fed) well and had a proper send off at the time of release! Good work Capt. John!
(Webmaster Note: Click here for Details)

Don Combs swears he had the largest Wahoo ever up to his boat on a recent trip. When Don swears, it sure enough must have been a record-breaker!

Speaking of Don, he's gonna tellus the how, when & where at our Jan 15, 2003 meeting!

Check out the giant squid that Sailfish II pullout out of the deep recently. Seems it caught the attention of the Whitney Lab (Marlineland) folks recently!
(Webmaster Note: Click here for Details)

For future planning, the 20th Annual Treasure Cay International Billfish Tournament is all set for June 22 - 27, 2003!

Bumped into Jim Mobley (in the mensroom) at the Jags game. Seems he & Kathy are enjoying the good life in the mobile home and aboard Leisure Lee down in Ft. Pierce!

Lucky dogs - the eligible "TOP TEN SHOOTOUT" boats are listed elsewhere in this letter... and even more important, a note regarding the sale (to restaurants, etc) of Swordfish meat caught in Florida waters is in this letter. Read up!

The following boats are eligible to fish the Top Ten Shootout which will be conducted in conjunction with the Sailfish Mini Tournament, Nov 15 - 17. Entry is $100 per boat which will be awarded to the captain with the most points during the tournament. Mini Tournament Rules apply.

• Double Trouble
• Shark Bait
• Sailfish II
• Right Side
• The "C" Fan
• ByDesign
• Hattitude
• Lori Marie
• Winner's Circle
• Zulu Canu

Lastly, but most important, in this letter, you'll find a list of those members (General and Associates) who have paid their dues to date. We sincerely need the financial support of all offshore fishing folks in North East Florida. Our new year began on October 1 and maybe you've just overlooked sending in your dues - do it now. Or maybe you know of someone who should be a member of NEFMA, well nudge them into joining today. Remember, the fish you catch won't count towards our awards if your dues aren't paid up. Anyone with questions regarding membership should contact Roger Combs at 992-9926 or 759-6218.

See you at the Christmas Party on December 18th.

Sincerely your editor,
Marshall Rowland
mwr@power-link.com

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