2016: Shogun 9 Day (October 2016)
Shogun 9 Day Long Range
Fishing Report
October 6 – 15, 2016
On Thursday October 6th nine members of the Dana Wharf Rod and Reel Club joined seventeen other anglers on the Bob Sands 9 Day Charter on the Shogun. The nine were: Bill Parks, Hayden Claisse, Mike Trunk, Carl McKinley, Andy Woodfill, Cody Kelly, Chris Ramsey Jr, Tom Hill and Luke Burson. Five of this group (Bill, Mike, Andy, Tom and Luke) were on the Shogun trip last December that was called the best big tuna trip ever to Guadalupe Island. This trip had 4 more days so the expectations were more time at Guadalupe plus Wahoo fishing at either the area called the “Ridge” or Alijos Rocks. As the trip prepared to depart there was plenty of excitement for YFT and Wahoo. The Shogun had just returned from Guadalupe where they caught quality YFT and other long range boats had been successful catching Wahoo at both the “Ridge” and the “Rocks.”
The Bob Sands charter was made up of some season veterans and a few first timers to long range fishing. Many had never been to Guadalupe. If you added Mike’s and Luke’s trips to Guadalupe together it might have equaled the rest of the anglers combined. Even though both had been to the “Lupe” many times in the past their excitement was the same as the rest of the anglers. The thoughts of fishing for 3 or 4 days for quality YFT, then big YT at night plus Wahoo someplace made for an electric atmosphere!
We left Fisherman’s Landing just before 11 AM and the first stop was for bait. The crew put on over 300 scopes of small but health sardines. We all looked at the bait and wished it was bigger. As it turned out it worked fine but bigger would have been better.
Next stop would be at Ensenada for official check-in to fish Guadalupe Island. It was uneventful except for trying to find a spot for the 92’ by 30’ Shogun to dock in the harbor. Finally they found a place at the back of the harbor where they load and unload container ships. Around 9 pm we were off for Guadalupe.
On the way to Ensenada many anglers started to rig-up for fishing both YFT and YT at Guadalupe. This continued the next day (which was Friday) along with a seminar put on by Captain Russell Brazwell. Russell emphasized fishing with 60# and 80# with short top shots. He also favored Trokar circle hooks in 4/0 and 5/0 sizes. He was very matter of fact about fishing the heavier line. Many found out why once we started fishing.
We got to the island around 3 PM and started looking for YFT. We found a small bunch that wanted to bite. By dark we caught 16 YFT that averaged about 75#s. Later that night we added a couple of YT. For the first day it was scratch fishing and some did not have a bite.
The next day was not much better as we continued to look for YFT that wanted to bite. We ended up with 22 YFT and 3 YT. For the day and half of fishing we had a total 38 YFT and 5 YT. Bill Parks was hot with 4 fish. So was Tom Hill with 3 fish. Luke got bit fine but had trouble keep hooks in the fish, he was 2 for 6 hook-ups with 4 pulled hooks. The DWRRC contingent was clearly setting the bar for the charter. We probably had close to 70% of the tuna.
Wahoo fishing was a constant topic of discussion during the first few days. The co-charter master was working hard to convince the group that Wahoo fishing was in our future. It was a little complicated as explained by Russell during the seminar on Friday. The Wahoo on the Ridge had shut off but there were reports of good fishing at the Rocks. The problem with the Rocks is that it can fish one or two boats at a time. The long range fleet works together to rotate in and out so everyone gets a shot at the Rocks. It seems this working together had recently been compromised with ill-feeling toward the three boats with Guadalupe permits. The Shogun is one of those boats. The three boats (other are the Royal Polaris and Royal Star) were no longer part of the “work together” part which put our Wahoo fishing in jeopardy. Our best shot would be to leave Guadalupe on Saturday night, travel all day Sunday to the Rocks, fish all day Monday, leave at dark and travel all day Tuesday back to Guadalupe. Once back at the Lupe we would have Wednesday and Thursday to fish for YFT and YT. For that to work we needed a very tight window to open up so we could slide into the Rocks after someone else left and before someone else was scheduled to arrive. Magically it worked out, the Excel left the Rocks on Saturday after having very good fishing and the Vagabond was not schedule to be there until Monday PM. All the other long range boats were fishing the Ridge. Russell worked with the Vagabond and we had a slot. Russell announced this to the group and the Wahoo speculation was over. Sunday was our travel day. Russell put on a Wahoo seminar in the morning and we spent the rest of the day rigging for the skinny speedsters. Some made wire leaders for bombs and bait. Others re-rigged bait outfits, jigs outfits, bomb outfits and heavy trolling outfits. We found one kelp that produced one Dorado. The day went by quickly. The Ramseys slept.
We arrive around 4 AM at Alijos Rocks and started to fish for YT. They were there and wanted to bite. Mike Trunk brought 6 boxes of frozen giant squid for the YT. The DWRRC group shared the cost. The squid was working for the YT. Big gear was best, 135# or 100# outfit with heavy 2 speeds with very tight drags. The hot sticks were Andy and Cody. Chris and Tom were pretty hot as well. We ended up with 24 YT for the few hours of fishing, the biggest was close to 50#s. An Amberjack was also caught on a jig. As the sun came up Andy decided to shift to fishing Wahoo and was bit immediately. Tom Hill was not far behind. They were the first to put Wahoo on the deck. Shortly after that Hayden was bit but it looked to be a Marlin. Hayden fooled everyone and landed a nice Wahoo. The Wahoo fishing was exciting but also frustrating. For some it was like spring training where you were learning to hit a curve ball. Some were definitely better at this than others. At one time the Wahoo would bite a bait almost immediately. Some of us used a wire called Not2Kinky Titanium Wire that we crimped. It was amazing, some guys got 3 fish on the same wire leader. The hot sticks were Andy and Chris, both had 10 Wahoo. Chris knew what he was doing because he fished them before, Andy was a first timer but quickly got dialed in with success. Andy also had a Marlin that took a Wahoo Bomb, he let it swim away. The total for the day was 103 Wahoo and only one or two were on the troll. It was very good fishing.
During the travel day back to Guadalupe Luke decided to rethink his rigging. He was frustrated with pulling hooks and thought some changes were needed. He consulted with Bill and they concluded that the small sardines needed every advantage possible to pull the heavy line. Luke had been fishing 20’ of FC leaders with loop to loop connections to 60#, 80# and 100# solid spectra. The re-rigging was back to the way Russell recommended everyone fish, 5’ of FC tied directly to the spectra. Luke spent part of the day re-rigging and the next day it would pay off.
We arrived at Guadalupe at 2 AM on Wednesday morning and immediately started fishing for YT. It was pretty good with all the fish 30#s or more and the DWRRC contingent catching far more than their share. We ended with about 20 YT in the dark. Cody was again the hot stick on YT. Then the YFT fishing started and this was by far our best day. We had great current and the fish wanted to bite. For the day we ended with 53 YFT including our biggest fish for the trip. It was 125# and caught on the kite. Luke had one that was 109# and Bill had one at 107#s. Some anglers were more successful than others. Some dropped down in line size to get a bite but that usually did not end very well. We had a few GWS around the boat and the longer fights on lighter line put the odds in their favor. Mike was hooked up all day long on the lighter gear but paid the price to the GWSs. Luke was happy with his re-rigging and had a good day putting 8 fish on the deck including what turned out to be 2nd place JP.
Our last day again started in the dark fishing for YT but the YT did not want to cooperate, we caught zero. The YFT were not as eager either primarily due to lack of current. At the end of the day we found a bunch that bite right into the dark which made the day respectable with 24 fish in the morning / early afternoon and another 14 fish that bit into the dark. Carl hooked two during the evening bite that worked him pretty good.
This was our last day of fishing, when the night bite ended we were pointed toward Ensenada with about 22 hours of travel in front of us.
The totals for the trip were: 128 YFT up to 125#s, 48 YT up to 50#s and 103 Wahoo up to about 60#s. Most everyone was happy with their results but a few were frustrated. Fishing Guadalupe Island requires strong fly-lining skills that start with bait selection, casting and bait placement, keeping in touch with the bait to avoid spectra tangles, knowing when to change baits, knowing when to butt hook, shoulder hook or nose hook……………then having your tackle in “perfect” working order so you can pull as hard as possible to shorten the battle because the tax-man is waiting. Our group was good at this and it showed, others on the trip were at times very frustrated. They simply did not fish enough or had not master the fly-lining skills required for Guadalupe YFT fishing.
You all would have been proud of the DWRRC contingent, we fished well. Here is how we did:
- Anglers: DWRRC 9 or 35% of the anglers
- Yellowfin Tuna: DWRRC 58 or 45% of the fish
- Yellowtail: DWRRC 38 or 79% of the fish
- Wahoo: DWRRC 48 or 47% of the fish
One of the last pictures shows the daily fish count. By the way the pictures are in chronological order.
And yes, 6 of us have signed up to go again next year. Some have a few scores to settle with the YFT and others want to leverage what was learned in this year’s Wahoo Spring Training.
YFT, YT and Wahoo beware, we are coming back!
Latest Posts
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!
