2014: Trip #1 on the Amigo (1.5 Days)

5/15/2014 - 5/16/2014

Download the PDF here.

Club members gather at the Newport Landing seeking relief from three straight days of hot Santa Ana winds with 100+ degrees temperatures. Terrible brush fires are consuming San Diego County. Mike Guest drives from a comfortable Henderson, NV into a baking So. CA (what a switch of weather conditions)! Fortunately that Thursday evening, the coastal winds are finally shifting from the off-shore

blast furnace to the normal cooler on-shore conditions.

Luke brings on board shiny new ice chests of the right dimensions that he has been pursuing for literally years. A big score at Walmart!

We pick our bunks and the Amigo departs about 8:00 pm with a full complement of 14 anglers. Destination: the Cortez Bank, 100-miles offshore.

First order of business is obtaining bait:

Anchovies at the Newport bait receiver,
Squid from the Pamela Rose bait boat at Silver Canyon, Catalina Island
Mackerel jigged at the “Nine,” which is a northerly part of the Cortez Bank. At 6:16 am, we are jigging up nice-sized mackerel. Mixed in are baby rock fish, which are returnedto the deep.

Throughout the night passage, the seas are relatively calm providing comfortable sleeping conditions. We are greeted by a beautiful sunrise in clear skies. We are the lone sport boat on the bank. Bill Park’s coffee wakens us to the adventure in front of us. Bill Hammer’s tasty snacks ensure no one losses weight from the rigors of the trip and Brian Wynne’s melons refresh us.

By about 7:15 am, the Amigo relocates to another position on the Nine. We are about five miles from the Cortez buoy. Fishing starts in earnest. Iron jigs and mackerel are deployed to bring in a mix of bocaccio (salmon grouper), whitefish, and johnny bass (olive rockfish). Throughout the day, most but not all hooked bocaccio return to the ocean. We abandon the bocaccio rich spots encountered for better pickings.

By 8:20 am, the Amigo moves past the Cortez Buoy to 63 degree water about 100 feet deep. Luke picks up what would be the jackpot yellowtail; a 16 ½ pound fish caught on surface iron. Roy catches a 4.3 pound calico bass, setting the bar for future club trips.

9:20 am in a new nearby location, Bill Parks, using mackerel for bait catches the second and last yellowtail to hit the deck. Two more mackerel-consuming yellows are hooked but never make it aboard. Murky water is chasing us and by 10:15 we move on to snag more mackerel for the bait tank.

10:40 and 11:20 am - we make small moves. The sky remains clear and the seas calm. Several kings arise from our ranks: Charlie – bocaccio king; Andy W – ling king; Roy – johnny bass king; and Andy S – backlash king. 12:30 pm - surface and bottom fishing yield sculpin (scorpionfish). The Amigo moves and we turn our attention to lunch; thick burgers prepared by Ichiro, who has perfected this skill over a 20-year stint commanding the Amigo galley.

By now the wind is picking up, jackets are being donned and shorts pants exchanged for the longer variety. Luke shows off his fashionista neck scarf. Finding quality fish is difficult, presenting us with a difficult choice: (1) taking a 4-hour ride to San Clemente Island to get in a few hours of island fishing before dark, or (2) sticking it out at the bank. We decide to stay and encounter stronger winds and white caps as the day progresses. Standing on deck as the boat moves is now a wet proposition. At our next stop, we pick up four goats (sheepshead) and at 2:00 pm as Tom guides the anchor chain up for another move.

2:30 to 2:45 pm – still on the bank, we hit a few spots with slow catching. Bill picks up a 4 lb. brown rock fish - big for this species which max’s out at about 5 lb. according to Cal fish and Game.

As the day wore on we are getting tired and the wind is chilling us, but we decided to stay at the bank in hopes of the YT making another appearance. That did not happened so at 5:30 PM we called it a trip and headed for Newport Beach. N

Now we relax, empty those flasks, enjoy Ichiro’s spicy nachos and quesadillas, polish off Bill H’s snacks, inhale Gary’s smoked yellowtail and rejuvenate our sore muscles. Lively conversations ensue - updates of events and changes since our last meeting in March: “my early season fishing trip yielded...; the new two-speed reel was perfect for the ….; I’d go on the …. trip again; let me tell you about Andy W’s twin propellers”. Then it was a two-shift steak dinner with red wine and Eskimo Pie dessert. Club members drifted off to their bunks as their fish were filleted. We returned in damp clothes to a quiet Newport Harbor at about 3:45 am and shook hands good bye until we meet again on a future trip.

Participants included:

Members

Mike Guest

Andy Woodfill

Bill Hammer

Roy Patterson

Ryan Burson

Luke Burson

Charlie Sanchez

Bob Wheeler

Andy Sienkiewich

Mike Trunk

Tom Hill

Gary Thompson

Bill Parks

Brian Wynne

Crew

Mike Thompson

Tom

Bob

Ichiro

Conner

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