2015: Trip #2 on the Fortune (2 Days)
6/11/15 - 6/13/15
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Trip # 2 – Fortune Two Day – June 12th & 13th, 2015
Crew:
Captain Bruce Smith
Deckhand Cory Woods
2nd Captain Mathew Fisher
Deckhand Mike (last name unknown)
Chef “BBQ” Bill Armstrong
DWRRC Representation: (in no particular order)
Roy Patterson
Ryan Burson
Luke Burson
Gary Thompson
Ron Henry
Stewart Finley
Mike Zinniker
Rich Dyer
Ron Rudrud
Bryan Upcraft
Andy Woodfill
Mike Allen
Tom Hill
Jeff Henrichs
Bill Parks
Mike Trunk
Hayden Claisse
Jeremy Patterson
The trip began in typical fashion with the DWRRC representation arriving early to claim their rod racks, tackle storage, and maybe beat the Thursday traffic into San Pedro. The Fortune had recently completed a day-and-a-half trip and was tied up and waiting in its slip while the crew was tending to all the last minute details prior to our 7pm departure. Captain Bruce mentioned the opportunity to take a look around the local Yellowtail grounds if everybody was on-board. That sent Luke into action, working over the contacts in his cell phone to see what the status was for those anglers still making their way up to the landing. When the smoke cleared and the final angler had arrived, we motored off to the Bait Barge for some very thick and large Sardines.
While the Crew was hard at work filling the tanks, the birdlife was alive and well over-head. While engaged in a conversation with Andy, one of the birds targeted the bill of his hat and with one direct hit managed to create a little deflection that caught me in the mouth mid-sentence… While still laughing and somewhat bewildered by what had just happened, Andy took yet another hit from the birdlife above. This time the end results only affected Andy’s hat as we decided that we were probably standing in a bad place and opted to move. While still laughing off what had happened I mentioned to Andy that it was going to bring him good luck for the trip.
Once plugged with enough Dines, and still leaving space for more Squid, we proceeded to the Yellowtail grounds near the outside Oil Rigs to have a look around and see if we could make this two day trip become a three day trip by sacking a few. While in-route to the grounds, BBQ Bill put out an amazing Ham Sandwich spread to ease over the guys and establish the first of many truly delicious and above expectation snacks and meals that we would be enjoying throughout the trip. We motored around the Rigs for a little bit and Bruce saw nothing worth stopping for so the call was made to head to Catalina to make some squid. From there Hayden’s light was flicked on and happy hour was officially kicked off while Game 4 of the NBA Finals was being shown in the Galley.
Once at Catalina, the crew was successful in getting the Squid to float and the tanks were filled up and ready to continue the trek to San Clemente Island (SCI). We began fishing our first stop at SCI around 5am in an area that Bruce referred to as Windmill. While there we tugged on assorted Calicos and Whitefish while the local Seal population was out in full force and ripped into a few easy meals. Mike Trunk hooked up on a mystery fish that smoked some drag, but no visual confirmation was ever made but it showed characteristics of a YT. After about an hour the call was made to seek our entertainment elsewhere and the hook was pulled to continue the pursuit for exotics. Huevos Rancheros were being served in the galley and, believe it or not, Mike T., Andy, and Jeremy began the morning with breakfast beers. (always a culinary delight!)
The Captain did a little looking around and found a meter mark that was worth further investigation so we throttled back and began a drift. The drift yielded two “younger” YT for both Mike T. and Bryan U. A couple others fell victim to our good friend the Sea Lion. Hayden attempted to enact revenge on one of the Sea Lions by hooking it and proceeded to put the wood to it. In the end the Juvenile Seal Lion earned its freedom and returned to pester the next fisherman who came through. Beyond the YT, we were greeted with an assortment of Calicos, Whitefish, and the occasional Cuda. After no additional YT made their presence, Bruce decided it was time to make a move to China Point to try for some Calicos in tight to the rocks. BBQ Bill put out a plate of fresh made Coffee Cake and the anglers began to prep their gear for DWRRC-Style Calico fishing!
We passed the Islander on the way to China Point. The Islander was doing a Kayak Mother-Ship Trip so a bunch of Yaks were working over the area pretty well. We arrived at Boiler # 2, the hook was dropped, and it was Showtime! The bite started out easy enough, as the DWRRC representation began chucking a mixture of Dine and Squid. It quickly became apparent that the Calicos wanted the Dine, which were really big. As the saying goes big bait, big fish, and it started getting really serious and quite on the deck as a couple of 20”+ sized Calicos began to come over the rail. Tom Hill was sitting atop the leaderboard from Trip # 1 with a 22” X 16” Calico and wore a vest containing a bulls-eye while the bite began to materialize greater and greater.
Several Calicos came over the rail that would press the limit of Tom’s fish, but it wasn’t until Ron Henry had his beautiful 23” X 16.5” Brute get taped-out that the leaderboard would bare a new occupant. The prideful vest was turned over to Ron, who wore it with a huge smile on his face while the rest of the guys on deck fished hard in envy. Ron’s fish was not without challengers as Jeff H. managed a Calico that would be only a few ounces short to wearing the vest.
At some point during the furious bite, Jeremy Patterson landed a 25” X 17” Checkerboard on a Wax Wing. The fish did not take over the vest, as Jeremy is a long-time guest of the club, but the catch quickly opened everybody’s eyes as to the special opportunity we were all being allowed to participate in. A couple hours into the bite and we began to run very low on the Dines. With the low supply the bite also began to fizzle out as BBQ Bill announced that lunch was ready in the Galley. Linguini in Clam Sauce with Garlic Bread was being served and you could not help but wonder if you had accidently stumbled onto a Long Range boat.
We remained on the hook at China Point while some enjoyed lunch, and others continued at the rail. The Calicos were still biting as the Squid became the sole option to throw at them. With a little more time of working the squid at them, the Calicos began to increase in size. Multiple 20”+ fish starting being landed and it became apparent that the bite and quest for the vest were back on. Roy landed a 22.75” X 15.75” specimen that nearly put him in the top spot, but the leaderboard was about to see a new occupant as Andy Woodfill connected with a 22” X 17” Calico that charted out to 7.95lbs, barely edging out Ron Henry’s 7.83lbs. Andy’s time at the top would ultimately be short lived as he had enough time to give high fives, sign a few autographs, take a couple pictures with some kids, kiss a few babies, and put the vest over his shoulders.
While the taping out process was being executed on Andy’s fish, Ryan Burson was hooked up to the next contender. Patiently and methodically working the fish through the gauntlet of kelp and rocks, Ryan anxiously called for the net. The net was deployed and the Bass that barely occupied it immediately showed promise of taking over the top spot. A quick review of the fish and it bore a very similar resemblance to the original leaderboard Bass that Tom Hill had secured on trip # 1. Tom of course stated that the fish was his as it was being toted over to the board for official measurement. When the measurements were all said and done, we had a new top Calico to shoot for, and Ryan had a new Personal Best with his 25” X 18” – 10.13lbs. Calico! That’s right, the double- digit mark had been broken!
The Club continued to put the wood to the biting Calico’s but no other fish would be able to contend with the DD Beautiful Brown Beast that was CPR’d to be caught another day. In the mix of the five hour – forty-seven minute bite, a younger YT also managed to hit the deck. And lastly one of the Kayaker’s from the Islander thought that it would be a good idea to kick about 20 yards off the stern and right over the area that we had been feverishly pounding with baits.
The bite that we were fortunate enough to experience was truly amazing, but I will let the numbers do the talking from here:
- Ron Henry – 23” X 16.5” – 7.83#
- Jeff Hinrichs – 23.5” X 16” – 7.44#
- Andy Woodfill – 22” X 17” – 7.95”
- Roy Patterson – 22.75” X 15.75” – 7.05#
- Jeremy Patterson – 25” X 17” – 9.03#
- Ryan Burson – 25” X 18” – 10.13#
Many other notable fish came over the rail, these fish were the one’s that were documented on the official board. When the smoke cleared we had 7 different Personal Best’s fall:
Jeff Hinrichs
Andy Woodfill
Ryan Burson
Ron Henry
Hayden Claisse
Mike Trunk
Jeremy Patterson
In a quick interview with the Club Bass Historian, Bill Parks, I asked how he would compare that particular bite against the others that he had participated in. I was no more than half way through asking the question when Bill replied with the simple two word answer of “Best Ever!” He further justified his answer in terms of “Quantity, Quality, and Duration” he had never been in a better bite. On a personal note, I can say that “The Bite” will forever be etched in my mind and I am sure the other’s who got to live it out.
The hook was ultimately pulled and we were going to be heading to San Nic Island to fish the “Alpha Spot” amongst others for day 2 with the plan of targeting YT. While leaving, the trolling gear was sent out for those anglers who still had a little left in the tank, and the Bonito were tough to keep off the Jigs. Many multi-strike “HOOK-Ups” ensued as the Crew and DWRRC representation would have races to see who could skip their Bonito in the fastest as Bruce keep the throttle down still looking for one last bite to tug on.
The light went on, the bottles of wine and other drinks of choice began flowing, and a truly delicious spread of BBQ Ribs and Brisket was being served up for dinner. The travel from SCI to San Nic was rather uneventful as we were greeted with pretty calm ocean conditions. Liquid sleep aid and tired bodies made the sleeping easy!
Arrived at San Nic at o’dark thirty and anchored up on the Alpha spot while the crew tried to coerce up some more squid. The squid was there and willing, but so to were our friends the Sea Lions so no additional Squid could be made. The Sea Lion population was alive and well around the island, but so to were some of the biggest Red Crabs that I have ever seen. Some looked to measure around 4” in size! Some anglers were up and at it around 4am looking to soak a dropper-looped Squid in the hopes of waking those still sleeping to the gentle thud of a WSB or YT. While on the hook and in the dark, Andy hooked into something that ultimately got devoured by a Sea Lion. It was pretty dark outside still so no visual confirmation could be made as to what it may have been.
As grey light came upon us, three other YT were hooked. (Mike Z., Stewart, and myself) None of which would make the deck as they were hijacked by Sea Lions who were nice enough to at least show us the fish prior to eating them. The agony of defeat reminded me of one of my personal favorite quotes about fishing… “It has always been my private conviction that any man who pits his intelligence against a fish and loses has it coming.” (John Steinbeck) Enough geeky literature reflection and back to my “Scriberly” duties… In the midst of Mike Z’s fight with the first hooked YT, and while fishing right next to Tom Hill, Andy hooked something and began to crank feverishly to avoid another Sea Lion intervention. Andy’s technique would pay-off as he would later boat a nice Halibut that weighed out at 29lbs. on Roy’s Boga Grip. I assume you could all guess what Tom Hill had to say about that ‘Butt…
Recognizing that we were probably fighting an uphill battle with the Sea Lions, the call was made to continue the search. BBQ Bill prepared a Corn Beef Hash and Eggs breakfast that, like all other meals, was truly delicious. After making a few drifts and looking around, we settled up on a spot close to the island to try our hand at some San Nic grade Sheepshead. The Goats really wanted to bite as multiple huge specimens were being sacked up. We managed to put one of Hayden’s Goats on the Boga Grip to get an understanding of size and it tipped the grip at 16#! Amongst the Goat bite, Ron Rudrud pulled up a very nice grade Cabezon. The Cabezon was by far the largest that I had ever seen, but no weight was ever determined.
After getting our fill of Goats, Bruce opted to take us out to do some Ling drifting. The Lings also wanted to play and had a developed a taste for Iron. Hook up after hook up occurred as the sacks began filling up more and more. Chuckleheads and Reds continued to come up from the depths along with the Lings. Luke managed to set the hook on a biting rock that would later live out its days in the bait tank. The rock was home to all kinds of cool stuff that one could spend hours and get lost staring at. Adding to the odd catch list was Rick Dyer, who managed to nab a Wolf Eel from the depths of Lingsville. I have only seen one other Wolf Eel in my life and Rick’s was just as nasty and mean looking as I had recalled. Nobody was really eager to try and figure out how to release it, as it wrapped itself around anything it could, and bit down on anything that dared come near it’s ominous set of teeth. It was at that time that I was glad to be a paying patron and not working the deck.
That was essentially the end of our trip. We sailed in on a flat calm ocean with another incredible lunch being served up of Calico Bass, Rice, and Corn. When it was all said and done the patches were awarded to Ryan Burson for his Day 1 PB Calico that weighed in at 10.13lbs, and on day 2, Andy Woodfill popped his cherry with his Butt weighing in at a solid 29lbs. Having felt like I have said enough with this write-up, I opt to leave with yet another favorite fishing quote that may help to shed some light on why we love fishing the way that we do. “The charm of fishing is that it is the pursuit of something that is elusive but attainable, a perpetual series of occasions for hope.” (John Buchan)
Thank you for taking the time to read my account of the trip! And I apologize not for the length!
-Mike Allen
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Trip #5: Boat: Thunderbird 2.5 day Departs: Tuesday August 19th Fishing: August 20th, 21th Returns: August 22th am Thunderbird Crew: Jeff Markland- Captain Steve Raby- 2nd Captain Jose, Jared & Nate on deck Goofy in his usual form in the Galley The usual suspects, newer club members and a slew of guests began gathering for the upcoming 2.5-day venture on board the Thunderbird on Tuesday afternoon/evening, a lot of discussion occurred around where will we fish, what is our bait, are we going to fish for tuna, and more importantly, the weather. Forecast was for pretty breezy on the outer banks and tuna grounds with somewhat better at the island. Thursday weather looked much improved everywhere. As it turned out, the weather turned out nice the first day, and even nicer the second day. Also the good news was we would have sardines for bait. When the boat returned from the fuel dock around 7:30, I wandered down to the boat and sat with Jeff and discussed our “options”. There was about 2 scoops of live squid on the boat and the squid at San Clemente Island was available but by jigging. Also, the yellowtail fishing was hit or miss at best early in the cove, and then really nothing to catch the rest of the day unless the bass decided to bite. The tuna grounds were in range to do some night fishing between the days, and daytime fishing was producing smaller fish. The Tanner Bank had the 10-15 lb variety which was spotty, and inside toward SCI were bigger 30-35lb variety with some larger mixed in. Getting bites though would be hard. The Cortez Bank coughed up 100 yellowtail for Jeff a few days before. There was also some white sea bass caught at San Nicholas Island so that was an option. Soooo, one more time, what to do. Jeff decided he will decide when we leave the bait receiver as I said give it your best shot. The final decision, with the weather forecast improving, we would head to the Cortez Bank since there had been some yellowtail there a few days before. And off we went. Travel out was not too bad. Day 1- Arrived at the Cortez Bank around 7:45 am, fished a couple areas for nothing except some of the jumbo bonito, large mackerel and a few bottom dwellers. There was no sign of yellowtail. Where the F**k did they go? Around 10:00am, Jeff pulled the plug and we headed back inside to the tuna grounds, about 30 miles away. Weather was getting much nicer, We ended up picking at the BFT not long after we arrived in the area around 2:00pm and joined “the fleet”. We had one decent plunker drift for 16 BFT, and scratched up 9 more at sundown. As dark fell, we headed into the island to try for the early morning yellowtail fishing at the Lost Point area. Day 1 fish count- 25 BFT, 4 Bonito kept, a few misc bottom dwellers kept JP winner- Bronson Noggle (Cory Steinwand Guest)- 30 plus lb BFT, Patch winner Cory Steinwand- 30 plus lb BFT (it was very close) Day 2- had a few yellowtail bites in the dark and grey light at Lost Point, all nice fish. Headed out after grey light for yesterday’s tuna grounds. Flat calm weather. Worked the area with “the fleet” for a couple of hours and covering a lot of water. Jeff finally pulled the plug and decided to take a gamble and head to the Tanner Bank since there were tuna there a few days before. And the gamble certainly paid off. We were greeted with boiling fish in the chum circle when we arrived, boiling fish on the anchor and steady fishing on the 10-15 lb BFT the rest of the afternoon. We fished a couple deep spots for decent reds and other stuff, one nice ling cod and headed back to the area west of SCI toward San Nicholas Island for some night fishing. We had several stops on spots of fish, and got a few anywhere from 30 plus lbs up to 100lbs. Around midnight, we headed home. We were able to fish that long because by chance, the boat was not scheduled to run a ¾ day trip when we got in, so we got to fish longer. Arrived at the dock around 7:20am, unloaded and that was it. Day 2 fish count- 6 Yellowtail, 40 BFT, 1 Halibut, 2 Barracuda, 100 plus mixed Reds and Rockfish, 1 Ling Cod JP & Patch winner- Cory Steinwand- 102 lb BFT Trip total- 65 BFT, 6 Yellowtail, 1 Halibut, 4 Bonito, 100 plus mixed Reds/Rockfish, 1 Ling Cod The weather for the entire trip was good. Temperature cool both days but very nice. Very little wind to flat calm the entire 2 days. One thing that was troubling was the amount of casualties on these smaller tuna. Seems like most everyone liberated one or two, or more. (We won’t mention my luck!). Small hooks and light line with too much pressure and these little guys were hot! All in all a good time had by all and a very good group of guests on this trip as well. That’s it! Your Scribe- Gary Thompson
Trip #4: Boat: Thunderbird 2 day Departs: Thursday August 7th Fishing: August 8th, 9th Returns: August 9th pm Trip 4 started as usual with people arriving at Newport Landing at all hours of the day with anticipation of fishing. The preliminary reports from Gary Thompson were all too familiar to what we’ve seen this year. Bait was going to be an issue. And last but not least, was the fish seemed to pop up one day and then disappear the next. Nevertheless, everyone was ready to go. Friday morning saw us anchored at the usual cove off SCI. Weather was OK; fishable, but not a lot of fish. But the ones we caught were quality yellowtail and white sea bass. The sea lions provided ample entertainment …err I mean frustration. We hopped around to a few spots picking up the occasional calico but not much. Day 1 jackpot went to Alex Arthur (Justin Becker’s Guest) with the patch going to Nick Burson for some chunky YT’s Day 2 started much as it did Day 1 but the weather was worse than Day 1. We looked here and there with only 3 yellowtail to show for our efforts. Eventually, the Thunderbird turned towards offshore waters to try our luck at some bluefin. Unfortunately, the fish didn’t get the memo and we saw neither sign or had any bites. Mr, “Hey that’s my fish” Tom Hill was the lucky jackpot and patch winner for Day 2 with a 15# YT. So, there you have it, not a, “Hey you missed a great trip” kind ‘a trip but per usual, the members of our club all seemed to enjoy doing what we do. It’s not always about the fish; it’s about the people and the experience. LOL! Who am I kidding…we all want more fish. Until next time, step to the right/left and take up your slack.
Trip #3: Boat: Thunderbird 2 day Departs: Thursday July 24 Fishing: July 25 and 26 Returns: July 26 pm Trip 3 started as usual with people arriving at Newport Landing at all hours of the day and anticipation for fishing high. The preliminary reports from Gary Thompson were not great. Bait was going to be an issue. Anchovies were sick, too hot for squid, and no sardines. Nevertheless, everyone was ready to go. Due to some late cancellations (bummer), there were 21 passengers on the trip. Gary gave the pre-trip update before boarding with the news that we would make the ride down to Dana Wharf, where there were good sardines for bait. That was the good news. The bad news was that it was going to be a bumpy ride out and wind was going to be an issue, and we probably wouldn’t make it to San Clemente Island. Our initial destination would be Catalina. So, at 9pm off we went. Friday morning saw us anchored at China cove at Catalina. I haven’t been with the club long, but my understanding from some of the older members is that the club hasn’t fished Catalina in many years. I was up at 3:30ish and there were a few hearty souls trying to make squid bait. 2-3 at a time on squid jigs, and eventually we had a decent amount of squid to go along with the sardines. Possibly a good sign. Gradually all the fisherman got lines in the water, with most people dropping down by 5am, waiting for the fish to bite. Well, the yellowtail and white seabass were a no show. We did have a pretty incredible black seabass bite. A total of 6 were hooked, 3 broke off, and 3 were landed (all by Jim Bertella) and released. At 7:30 Captain Chris decided to make the move over to San Clemente Island. We looked for kelp patties and bluefin on the way. Again, fish were a no show (there’s a theme happening here). Made it to Clemente about 11:30. We spent the rest of the day fighting winds at Clemente. Most of the fishing was close to the island with catch and release calico fishing, although a few nice ones were kept. A few small yellowtail were caught on bait, and one on a surface iron. On any other trip these probably would have been released, but beggars can’t be choosers. Final count for day 1 was 9 yellowtail. Gary Thompson won jackpot. We anchored at Clemente for Friday night. Overnight the squid came up and we woke to plenty of squid in the bait tanks. We started fishing early Saturday morning by dropping down for yellowtail. Once again, the fish were a no show. It wasn’t for lack of trying. All the passengers dropped lines and were giving it the best effort. Enthusiasm remained high. A small halibut was caught, along with a few barracuda. At 7:30 we pulled anchor and started looking for bluefin. At 8, a small bluefin was caught on the troll by one of our guests. No other fish were willing to bite and we kept looking. No luck. At mid-morning, Chris set us up for some rockfishing drifts. Most of the fish caught were salmon grouper, but people at least had a shot to fill their bags. After the rockfishing, we were back on the troll. We covered a wide area of ground. I believe at one point we may have entered into Mexican waters. We saw no bluefin during the troll. Finally, we had to start heading back to the landing. As we were heading north, we saw one our first and last kelp patty. It would be our last stop for the trip. On the stop, one yellowtail was caught using a colt sniper. Like the yellowtail on day 1, it wasn’t big (generous to call it 8 pounds), but it was a keeper and the jackpot fish (sad but true). Final count for day 2 was 1 yellowtail, 1 bluefin on the troll, 1 halibut, and a couple of barracuda. Brian Drazba won jackpot. Despite the rough weather and challenging fishing conditions. Captain and crew were great as always. Never gave up. And I believe all club members and guests had a good time. We can’t always have great days and it just gets us ready for the next trip. Submitted respectfully, Brian Drazba
Trip #2: Boat: Thunderbird 2 day Departs: Thursday July 10th Fishing: July 11th and 12th Returns: July 12th pm Thunderbird Crew: Jeff Markland- Captain Steve Raby- 2nd Captain “Scuba” Steve, “Melo” Carmelo and Jarred on deck Goofy in his usual form in the Galley As the usual suspects, newer club members and a slew of guests began gathering for the upcoming 2-day venture on board the Thunderbird on Thursday afternoon/evening, a lot of discussion occurred around where will we fish, what is our bait, are we going to fish for tuna? As I was the one as club president that is supposed to have all the answers, I had only one…I have no f**king clue! And as everyone sauntered off to dinner, I sat there thinking based on the way things are fishing and bait wise, we could be in for a long two days. When the boat arrived around 6:45, I sauntered down to the boat and sat with Jeff and discussed our “options”. There was about 75 pieces of live squid on the boat and the squid at San Clemente Island was starting to phase out. Also, the yellowtail fishing was hit or miss at best early in the cove, and then really nothing to catch the rest of the day unless the bass decided to bite on our other bait...the long disappeared but now returned anchovies. There was, and still remains, no sardines in range of the landing bait haulers. The tuna grounds were in range to do some night fishing between the days, but without sardines, daytime fishing would be a waste. And there has not been any gamefish on the outer banks either. Soooo, what to do. Jeff thought it might be a huge gamble but he did suggest a 113 mile trek to Santa Rosa Island for white sea bass and halibut which have been biting. He mentioned that the Oxnard/Ventura boats have been snagging squid during the day up there so we should be able to get more and have plenty to fish with. So with everything as it was, we rolled the dice and that was the plan. And it turned out to be one good call when it was all said and done. We loaded up and departed about 8:30pm, stopping at the bait receiver to top off the anchovies and cleared the harbor around 9:30 pm. Day 1- Arrived at Santa Rosa Island around 7:30 am, fished several areas, picking all day long at WSB and Halibut and a few large barracuda mixed in most everywhere, with a pretty good little hit late in the day. We caught plenty of daylight squid, but when dark fell after dinner, the squid nest we were sitting over decided to float, so we loaded up. That evening, the decision was made to move about 30 miles closer to home for Day 2, so it would be off to San Nicholas Island to see if a WSB could be had, and fish for more halibut. We took off around 10:30pm and headed that way. Day 1 fish count- 14 WSB, 16 Halibut, 10 Barracuda JP winner- Jim Bertella- 26.1 lb Halibut, Patch winner Craig Steinwand- 26.2 lb Halibut (was not in jackpot but Halibut larger than Jim’s) Day 2- Arrived at San Nicholas Island at 3:30am down at the sand spit area to a screaming current. Flylining a dropper loop with 8 oz of weight in 60 feet of water. Basically no WSB to be found trying several areas, but did pick up more halibut. Went south of the island later in the morning and fished the deeps for a good amount of nice reds, other rockfish and one nice ling cod. Left for home around 11:30am since we were 73 miles away. Arrived at the dock at 6:30, and as usual, everyone piled off the boat and went home. Day 2 fish count 6 Halibut, 2 Barracuda, 100 plus mixed Reds/Rockfish, 1 Ling Cod JP & Patch winner- Mike Higa- 30 lb Halibut Trip total- 14 WSB, 22 Halibut, 12 Barracuda, 100 plus mixed Reds/Rockfish, 1 Ling Cod Note- Largest WSB was Chris Lund- 24.8 lbs The weather for the entire trip was good. Temperature cool both days but very nice. Very little wind to flat calm the entire 2 days. All the WSB were decent fish in the 18-24 lb. range, and several halibut were over 20 lbs up to 30 lbs. All in all a good time had by all and a very good group of guests on this trip as well. Goofy was his usual self and apparently there was quite a lot of fun going on in the galley after dinner on Day 1, after I had gone to bed. Lots of beverages consumed as I understand it. And I also learned a squid attacked and bit a certain club member who shall remain nameless in the lip and he bled like a stuck pig! And I have a copy of the video! That’s all folks! Your Scribe- Gary Thompson
Trip #1: Boat: Thunderbird 1.5 day Departs: Thursday June 26 Fishing: June 26 - June 28 Returns: June 28, AM “Your life does not get better by chance; it gets better by change.” — Jim Rohn. Well, on trip #1 we saw many changes to our normal DWRRC routine. We had zero Burson’s in attendance, Hayden was not the first in line, hell, he was not even on the trip! Our fearless Captain Jeff was subbed in by Captain Chris and lastly….no sardines. Wow, that is a lot of change for us men to handle. How did we survive? Quite well actually. The trip started off as normal, with many getting in line and finding ways to work off the 4-6 hours before we actually boarded the Thinderbird. Oscar had coaching duties which stifled his ability to join us, but Junior took his spot and was well looked after. On the dock, we were told that BFT were not within reach and would not be pursued, we would fish for Yellow Tail, do some bass fishing and do a few passes for bottom fish. We had a plan. We pushed off around 8 PM to San Clement Island. Chris parked us at Pyramid Cove where we woke to night fishing. Some were up around 4 AM, with Said catching a shark and a White Sea Bass, we also landed 3 Yellows early, before sunrise. The big bite happened just before and thru dawn with good sized Yellowtail (#30-#35) being landed. We lost very few as we were fishing heavier gear with dropper loop and squid. Paul landed 2 nice Yellows and Jim, as usual, could not be stopped with 5-7 Yellows already in the hole. At 7:20 AM we pulled up anchor with 35 YT and 1 WSB. It was strange not having Sardines on the boat, as many veered away from the small anchovy. Chris started off to the front of the Island, with a few stops sprinkled in. We picked off some white fish, sheepshead and an occasional barracuda. Around 9 AM, on the East End, Chris pulled us tight into a nice spot for Calico fishing. Some whoppers were caught; Bill bringing in a very nice bass with “cheat code” bait, Said also landed a nice Calico with Anchovy. This was a change, certainly, that we had to work with the smaller baits and match hook, line and strategy to get bit. We continued around the Island heading East with some stops throughout the morning, stops produced an assortment of White Fish, Barracuda a few Bonita, and a sprinkling of YT. At 12:30 we had 30 Yellows and the 1 WSB. At one stop we had good bass and YT fishing but 6 sealions on us, that halted the fun. Chris tried to pawn the sealions off to some private boats and return to the spot, but we never got the groove back. Spent some time, mid-day, looking to bottom fish. Chris made of few attempts at floating past some nice spots, but struggled to hit the pass, so after a few swings through the grounds we aborted the bottom. Reds and other rock fish were caught, but nothing consequential. As Ron noted, we spent much time “rigging and re-rigging” as we moved from dropper loop, yoyo, to weighted line and lightly weighted fly line using squid and anchovy. The afternoon was a science experiment, with many trying different options to land fish. Chris brought us to Eel Point, where the Amigo caught a bunch of WSB in the early Friday morning bite. We assumed the meandering Sea Bass would come back in the evening and we would be ready. Unfortunately, none were landed and we spent most of the time hoping for action. The evening excitement was Paul’s bat ray that stirred the crowd, expecting a WSB bite. We had some dinner (Costco Special) and drank some wine, but pretty tame evening all in all….scribe crashed at 9:15…out! We finished with 42 YT and 1 WSB. All the Yellows were of good quality running between 30-38 pounds….Paul won the Jackpot and the only badge available with a #38 Yellow Tail. Congrats Paul! With all the changes on this trip, we still managed to land some nice Yellows and enjoy some time on the water. A good first trip for a 1.5 day’r!
