2019: Trip #3 Thunderbird (2 Day)
DWRRC Trip Report
2019 Trip #3- 6/21-6/23- 2 Day Trip
Scribe- Gary Thompson
NOTE- It took this scribe 4 double Palomas to get through this report, so I take no responsibility for any typos, questionable facts or other representations contained herein.
Club Participants- Refer to the sign-up sheet, although there were a couple of last-minute changes.
Crew- Jeff, Brian, Steve, Chris, Goofy
As usual, this trip started a few days earlier with Ryan B. filling us in on the proposed plan and the weather. (Luke B. decided he would rather be in Europe visiting various drinking establishments as part of his family visit). Ryan followed up with updated information before the trip and we were all well prepared. Thank you, Ryan, for the great updates.
The Scribe arrived at Newport Landing where the new boat now runs from at 2:45pm on 6/21, and observed some of the usual suspects had already arrived. We learned that Hayden C. had arrived at 10:45am! Geez Louise I guess he really wanted head of the line privileges! There were about 6 of us there by 3:00pm while the rest filtered in throughout the afternoon. M. Trunk had his usual load of CLs but didn’t have one open and under consumption. We wondered if he was not feeling well, then he confessed that he didn’t want to get busted by the local law enforcement who patrol this neck of the boardwalk. Eventually he relented and popped one open, along with a few other folks. Mario Jr. outdid Trunk on the beer though. He brought 76 cans! At 3:40pm, Mario Jr. had a line in the water (as usual) from the quay wall.
One little note here about early arriving- the scenery. Since the whale watch boats run out of Davey’s, the scenery was not as “talented” on the boardwalk at Newport Landing. However, there was still plenty of worthwhile activity in this regard to ensure that we maintain all of our skills at the highest level, and observe for new innovations in “fishing”, if you all know what I mean…..
By 5:00pm everyone was scattering to their favorite haunts for dinner, most at the Mexican place on Balboa Blvd. Good food for the price. By 6:00pm, everyone was here and now just waiting for the boat. Word is SCI sucked, and has for several days, so we will not be fishing there at least for the first day. Weather forecast for both days looks very good so we have options. Oh, I can’t go on without mentioning Tony B. whining about work. Typical lawyer. I keep telling him he needs a job that doesn’t ever interfere with fishing, like my job. HAHAHAHAH!
The boat arrived around 7:30pm and the anticipated wait for Jeff to come up and give us a quick rundown on the “plan”. The plan is Cortez Bank first day, then go from there.
With the boat at Newport Landing, and Wiggy having fixed the bait receivers, the crew was able to load bait there, thus alleviating a stop at the bait receivers at the jetty. The bait appeared cured also and held up well for the entire trip. We also had about 25 scoops of live squid on board already, and some mini macks mixed in with the sardines, so we were pretty well set. After the crew loaded bait, we loaded up, and left the dock at 9:20pm. We cleared the harbor at 9:40pm. Flat calm seas and next stop, the Cortez Bank, 9.5 hours away.
While transiting the harbor, Goofy gave his customary safety speech consisting of informing all where the ice was for the drinks. Then we all traded the usual obligatory insults with Goofy and settled in for the next two days. Goofy also laid out a tray full of those little “mini wienies” and told us all to eat hardy. Needless to say, there was a bit of discussion surrounding this “snack”.
Immediately upon departure from the harbor, Tony B., Tom H., and yours truly decided it was time to break open the Jack Daniels. As such, we were now officially in “fishing” mode.
Day 1- Well at 3:45am, nature called for this Scribe, as we were just passing SCI. Too bad as it was flat calm and I was having a nice snooze in this nice ride. Anyway, Boo Boo (Brian) was in the galley getting a drink he concocts of “wake me up” stuff, and I grabbed a cup of coffee. I figured, I’m awake so that is it. I told Brian that I was going to fish with 20lb and he just laughed at me. Now why would he do that? Well, I decided to rig my 30lb as well, “just in case”. What I also noticed in the galley was some interesting “decorations” that had been installed in the night. More on that in a minute.
After I finished rigging up, I went back to bed only to be awoken at 5:30am by THREE alarm clocks going off. Good lord I thought the boat was sounding general quarters! Well anyway. I rolled out and headed to the galley where several folks were already admiring and discussing those “decorations” I mentioned earlier. Now so as to keep this report politically correct, we won’t describe what these decorations were, but we all deduced that there was only one person that could have been responsible- Trunk. That was confirmed a bit later when Trunk crawled up from the bunkroom with a shit eating grin on his face. The kind of “cat that ate the canary” grin. He then proceeded to blame it all on Andy W. HAH!
Goofy got up and just stared a bit and proceeded to ignore it all, for now. Word came down from the wheelhouse that our ETA was 7:00am. Boat was flying in this good weather at 10.5-11 knots. Goofy served up a really good breakfast of pancakes, bacon and eggs. Very tasty.
We arrived at the bank at 6:55am, on the lower end, and dropped anchor at 7:05am. A couple fish showed but no bites. A live squid was a guaranteed whitefish or sheepshead, but we weren’t there for that. On the move at 7:45am up the bank to the west. Nice calm weather but heavy mist and wet conditions.
Arrived at the 9 fathoms spot a few miles west of Bishop Rock at 8:45am. Good sign and show of yellows and large bonito. We went 7-12 on the yellows. I went 0-2 on yo-yo jigs. Both bit on the sink, and both pulled the hook after being on for a while. WTF was that all about? We also landed several large bonito in the 10-14 lbs. range. I got one of those too and they definitely tug hard when they are that big, especially on 20lb. Parks landed a bruiser yellow that weighed 41.75 lbs. on the spring scale, but only taped at just under 35 lbs. It was a skinny fish and the girth measurement was not as proportional as it should have been for its length. Thus, the low taped weight due to the formula.
We were on the move again at 10:20am, looking around the area of the 9 fathoms spot, then headed back south down the bank. Jeff wanted to see if those fish that were there earlier were ready to bite. We got the anchor down about an hour later and proceeded to catch- nothing. No boils, no bites, nada. Jeff decided there was no point chasing shadows any longer so it was time to “stuff the bags” with some nice Reds. Oh Yeah! Goofy served up an excellent BBQ pork sandwich for lunch while we were traveling out to the deep-water areas.
Over the course of the morning, Goofy had decided that the new “decorations” in the galley were most likely not suitable for their regular cliental that rides the boat, so he slowly removed all of them over the course of a couple hours. By lunch time, they were all gone. Oh well.
We fished several spots in deep water in various areas, and did well. Drift was very good in the calm water and made fishing deep pretty easy. Very few tangles. We ended up very well with a large quantity of nice Reds, some Chucks and Boscos, and miscellaneous other bottom dwellers. We also added 4 nice ling cod, one each for Parks, Ryan B., Tom H., and yours truly. And those lings were mean. Both Ryan’s ling and mine pulled drag!
We wrapped up a good fun day around 5:45pm and took off for SCI to try and get in right at dark and try for some squid and maybe a few dark evening fish. We finished the day with 7 yellowtail, 4 ling cod, limits of reds and assorted rockfish, and a handful of stud bonito. Patch and Jackpot for the day went to Parks with that brute yellow!
We did have one passenger casualty for the day that I must mention. Yours truly the Scribe got skewered in the leg by a Red spine when Chris dropped it on my leg. The spine went straight into a surface vein on my leg and it looked at first like it had hit an artery. I was bleeding like a stuck pig! When we determined it had just hit a vein, all was good. Luckily the spine didn’t break off so a little hydrogen peroxide and a good band aid, and it was back to fishing. No rest for this wicked scribe when fishing for cods!
During the afternoon, and on the way to the island, we enjoyed some of the best snacks ever I felt on a DWRRC trip, due in a great part to Ryan’s pre-trip plea of “NO CHEEZ-ITS”. We had quite a variety of chips, crackers, salsa, various salami and other meats and cheeses, and smoked salmon. And of course, the cocktail hour was in full swing with the Jack Daniels, other whiskeys, and all the connoisseur wines flowing.
We were then rewarded with an excellent tri-tip dinner, along with baked potato with butter and sour cream, rolls, and salad. All you wanted. Definitely a great meal and well appreciated. Some of us retired shortly thereafter, while others stayed up partying. My only question was- would the “interior decorator” return?
I had a premonition that I relayed to a few of the guys that the yellows were going to bite the next day. They had been off the bite for so long, they were due. Was I right? Keep reading and we will see.
Day 2-
We arrived at Pyramid Cove around 9:15pm the night before, but no squid or fish in the dark. The Cove was full of boats, approximately 40, due to a yellowtail tournament that day. What a fricking parking lot. And it was cold and heavy mist early in the morning, almost rain. The good news is we still had plenty of squid for the day. Early risers caught a few legal barracuda in the dark, but that was all. We were all wondering with all the boats, what this day would bring. And by the way, the “interior decorator” had not returned.
Not long after grey light, we got a good hit on the yellows on the dropper loops. They were all nice fish in the 20-30lb range. We threw on 18 in about 45 minutes before they quit. I even got one! Finally! After yesterday’s fubar for me, I was beginning to wonder. When it died out, we moved out to the China Point ridge. Fish splashed around a bit, Mario Jr. got one on the surface iron, and that was it. Boat traffic was horrendous. Lots of Googans in their Parkers (Captain Jeff likes Parkers- HAHAHAH!), the Islander had their kayak fishermen out, and we even had spearfishermen in the water. What a fricking zoo it was!
At 7:45am we pulled anchor and headed off to happier hunting grounds. Jeff’s plan was to spot hop up the front side and be in position by around noon at the west end. Thus, we spent the next several hours “spot hopping” up the island. Breakfast on the run was a nice plate of bacon, eggs and potatoes. But there was then something about someone asking for a burrito and the next thing you know everyone that hadn’t eaten yet was eating burritos. I’m not sure how that happened, but from what I understand, is was kinda funny. Goofy was just shaking his head. Between stops, lots of weird discussion and witty banter took place in the galley, with Goofy expounding more words of wisdom, as we traveled the front side of the island searching for conditions, fish and no sea lions. We found plenty of all three, however, fish did not want to even show. One issue we did have was it was overcast. And we know what that means at that island. As Wiggy would say, “no sun, no fun”.
By 11:30 am, we anchored up at the ridge and kelp at the upper end of Northwest Harbor hoping to get something going. By this time there was some light winds and we had a side current, but the sun was out. There had been fish in there a few days prior so we were hoping for the best. And it paid off in spades. The yellows showed right away and were eating everything. Surface irons and fly lined baits, both sardine and squid (with a very small slider) were getting bit. The bite was steady and lasted for quite a while. It was typical yellow fishing. Fish would come through in spurts, splash around, we hang a few and then they swim off for a bit. Repeat the cycle many times this day. Additionally, due to where we were positioned, we had excellent bass fishing for anyone that wanted to catch one, mostly legal fish. The squid was working well on the bass, and they were also eating the jigs. Of course, the yellows though were the prime target. Mario Jr. was smoking it on the jig nailing 5 or so on his surface iron. When it was all said and done, we put 34 more yellows into the RSW. I personally went 3-4 out of this batch. The one that got away was a funny deal. It was on for a while, got in the kelp, and I pulled the hook trying to get it out. And then a calico ate the bare hook! Too funny. I ended up 4-7 on the yellows for the trip, but should not have lost those two on the first day. Frustrating to say the least.
At the end of the day, we had bagged 53 yellowtail, and although only a few were kept, all the legal bass you wanted. The Patch for Day 2 went to Ron S. with a nice yellow, and the jackpot went to Mario Jr.’s guest Ed C. with his best ever yellow.
So, once it was all said and done for Day 2, I guess my premonition was correct. But even a blind squirrel finds a nut once in a while.
We left for home at 1:30pm. Cocktail hour for the most part began right away on the way home. Tony B., Tom H. and I polished off the Jack Daniels, and others did there thing as well. A great Philly Cheesesteak sandwich for lunch, then it was nap time for most as a fitting end to a good day. With a smooth ride home, except for some wind the last two hours, we arrived at the dock around 6:45pm. We all unloaded from the boat, hustled for our vehicles, loaded up our gear and fish, said our goodbyes and any final insults, and headed home looking forward to the next trip.
All in all, this was a very good 2-day trip with lots of good fishing, although at times slow, and lots of fun. Especially some of the interesting “antics” that do occur on these trips. I sometimes wonder how Jeff and his crew can actually put up with us.
Final Trip Score- 60 yellowtail, 4 ling cod, a handful of barracuda and bonito, some bass kept, lots of legal bass released, and lots of nice Reds!
Some observations-
The Cortez Bank is always a crap shoot. You just never know. We had good weather, decent current and good water conditions, plenty of fish, but just off the bite. It happens, but it was certainly worth the shot we took. And you can’t go wrong with the bottom fishing.
The sea lions were being their normal obnoxious selves on every spot as usual at SCI. They picked at our baits and spooked the yellows as usual, but for the most part, were disinterested in eating hooked fish this trip. So, in that sense we got pretty lucky. We only lost a couple to them that I can recall. Not sure why at times they are like this, but we benefited by it on this trip.
Lastly, some observations about the new boat itself since I have now fished two trips on her. As we all know, a lot of work was put into the boat during the winter to prepare it for fishing in Southern California waters. And the work has paid off. Bait capacity in the four bait tanks is tremendous- Jeff estimates 80 scoops of sardines is now capacity. Also, much easier to segregate bait when two or more types are available. The fish hold is much more accessible, twice the size as the previous boat, and the same refrigerated salt water spray system. It is also shallower so fish aren’t stacked on top of each other as bad as the other boat. Fish kept very well in it.
The bunkrooms are very nice with good air conditioning, bunk curtains in each, and lights and electrical in most bunks. Bunks are also larger than older boats and can accommodate all of the big guys like me and others. The galley and dual seating areas are very nice and spacious, with comfortable seating capacity of 24 in the main upper seating area, and 6 in the lower area. The galley itself is very nice and has allowed Goofy to expand his menu options for our group. He has lots of storage space in the refrigerator, freezers, and dry storage with a large beer/soft drink cooler. And a unique ice dispenser as well for our evening libations. He seems to enjoy his new galley very much. The tackle storage is good with plenty of space, and more than enough rod holders (yeah right). The one drawback which I believe they will work on is the anchor and getting a fish around it. Definitely need crew assistance. The boat seems to take the weather well, although we have not yet had a real test, but coming home on this trip, the wind did kick up and the ride was fine. The boat drifts pretty well also.
Some items we might suggest to Wiggy to be added/improved next year. Two main priorities- a new hood fan over the grill, the one they put in is a piece of garbage. And the “monkey bar” on the cabin aft overhang. The overhang may or may not need to be cut back as it does not seem to hinder casting jigs or bait from the sides near it. Careful casting is all that is necessary. A few minor items- mirrors, paper towel dispensers and trash cans in each head. Sliding side windows in the upper galley seating area since there is no air conditioning there would be nice. One on each side.
One final thought for the club officers. As you contemplate the passenger load for next year, in conjunction with the cost increase, I suggest sticking with 20 as maximum. Both trips so far had 20 and there were times when it did seem crowded. 22 or 23 may be too many. But that is just my observation.
And that ends my report for Trip #3. Signing off. Gary T.
Latest Posts
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!
Trip #8: Boat: Thunderbird 2 day Departs: Thursday October 3rd Fishing: October 4th, 5th Returns: October 5th pm Arriving at the dock a little later than I usually like to, the typical group as one would expect was all there. At this point I am starting to think that Hayden secretly lives at the landing, and only comes out of the shadows every couple weeks to fish with the club. It was overcast and on the cool side at the dock and I was beginning to regret only bringing shorts on the trip but figured with enough beer and maybe some stronger beverages I would find a way to stay warm throughout the trip. The fishing had either been wonderful or complete garbage the days prior, but everyone was hoping the optimistic that we would locate some hungry fish. After the standard, organized, boarding of the vessel we would call home for the next 2 days, we loaded up some great looking bait and off we went into the calm night. The plan was to head to Cherry Bank to hunt for the elusive bluefin. Our crew consisted of Carmello, Steve, and Jarid with Captains Jeff and Chris. It was my first trip without Goofy, and there was a calmness in the galley that felt very unfamiliar but also a feeling that something was missing. The forecast was absolutely wonderful with very little wind and a swell that was almost non-existent. After the guys all set their gear up, they disappeared one by one into their bunks. Day 1 - Friday Fishing began around 4am for some, with 2 bluefin being landed by Jim (81 lbs) and Ryan (87 lbs) just after 5am. Excitement was high with a couple of great grade fish coming over the rail, but we would soon lose that excitement. We continued to look for hungry schools, and look, and look…. We found several good schools swimming deep, but they would either disappear or avoid our bait like I avoid my mother-in-law. At about 1130 Captain Jeff decided it was time to take a break and drop deep for some taco meat. The rockfish grade was great with Luke pulling in the largest Salmon Grouper he had ever seen. It weighed in at 11 lbs, but I swear it looked bigger. We continued our taco quest until around 245 before resuming the look for the bluefin. We looked, and looked, and looked some more with zero success until dinner time. At this point, I figured if I wasn’t going to catch any fish I might as well catch a buzz. With a great dinner from Carmello consisting of chicken, rice, salad, the cocktails and conversations flowed into the evening until it was time to look yet again for these stupid fish. We looked, and looked, and looked some more. At some point only 4 were still standing. Jim, Cory, Ryan, and I were hanging out hoping to come across something to catch. We did our best to stay well hydrated, and that was about the only thing we were successful with late into the night. Of the 4, Ryan was the first to throw in the towel sometime around 2 or 230, I think... The remaining soldiers finally surrendered at about 315 and made our way to our bunks. Final count for the day was 2 bluefin and 52 rockfish. Day 2 – Saturday With a disappointing day 1 behind us, day 2 did not bring a change. We drove hundreds of miles looking, and looking, and looking. I think Captain Jeff was more disappointed than any of us. We sat around and ate what we could of the endless amounts of chips, which seemed to be the only snack option when people were shopping prior to the trip. On the upside, we had a great group of guys and some of the calmest seas that I have ever seen. Final count for day 2 was a big fat zero but I guess that’s the way fishing goes sometimes. We returned to a quiet dock, and disembarked with our snack size bags of rockfish, and headed home. Till next time, James Harris
Trip #7: Boat: Thunderbird 2.5 day Departs: Tuesday September 17th Fishing: September 18th, 19th Returns: September 20th am It all started on a pleasant Tuesday afternoon, Tuesday September 17th in fact. Tuesday is a fantastic day to get to the docks, because this Tuesday happened to be Taco Tuesday. Taco Tuesday is a great way to start anything of any importance, especially a fishing trip, two-dollar tacos and five-dollar margs to get things rocking while you’re still on land. This has been unscientifically proven to allow one’s sea legs to become accustomed to an imbalance of equilibrium, making for a smooth transition to the boat. We departed the dock around 8 pm with words of Tanner and Cortez slipping through the breeze and dancing upon our ears. Day 1 we arrived at Cortez bank around 5:30 am. After a night of getting rocked by large swells we awoke to a sea that was not all that happy to have us and not very willing to give up the fish. It was on the tougher side of things, but we still managed to scrape out a pretty good haul of fish. With a tally of 47 fish caught from good sized yellow tail to smaller blue fin from 20 lbs to the largest being 55 lbs caught by our Junior Angler Lucas Harris. Now, I believe, young Lucas learned a valuable life lesson on this trip, if you don’t gamble you can’t win. The next biggest fish, patch recipient, and pot was caught by Steve Sturm! Day 1 ended with a trip back to the bait barge because the bait was not great. Day 2 we arrived at Cortez bank around 5:50 am. As we were now a well-rested contingent of hardened sea slappers, everyone was extremely eager to get a line out. With rods in our hands and lines in the water, Bonita and small yellowtail began to come over the rail. After 3 hours of Bonita, El Capitan, Jeffe, decided it was time to make a move to Tanner. And this was well received. We arrived to Tanner and it began to sprinkle which was nice. At Tanner we caught yellowtail and smaller bluefin. The night bite wasn’t very bitey, El Capitan made a great effort moving multiple times to try and get us on the fish to no avail. Mr. one cast one fish, Mike Castillo caught the biggest blue fin of the day receiving the patch and pot. Light lines, small hooks and bait that was less than willing to be sacrificed in the belly of monsters make for tough fishing but it’s always great to be out on the water. Adios Brandon Lockwood
Trip #6: Boat: Thunderbird 1.5 day Departs: Thursday September 5th Fishing: September 6th Returns: September 7th am Trip 6 kicked off as it routinely does the usual suspects being at the dock, possibly before sunrise for all I know. My dad and I arrived at the dock around 2pm on Thursday with almost no traffic on the peninsula due to school being back in session. The weather at the dock was beautiful but we knew there was some wind ahead on the Tanner and Cortez Banks but that was really the only option as that’s where the fish have been basically all summer. Captain Jeff told us he wasn’t sure where we were going to start but it was going to be a bumpy ride out. After getting bait we were headed west. When we woke up, I was informed that Jeff took us to the Tanner Bank and was looking for fish. We stopped on a couple spots of fish and eventually got the anchor down and tried to get a bite going with no luck. Around 9:00 AM, we made the hour and 20-minute run to the Cortez Bank. The fishing improved once we got there but it was still a grind and we were soon anchored up in about 150 feet of water. The next 3 and a half hours were classic plunker bite fishing. Light line, small hooks and a hot bait would be rewarded with bites. There was a good mix of bluefin and yellowtail biting and the weather really improved from the ride out and was better than forecasted, but still a bit breezy. The final count for the morning was 14 Bluefin (8-15lbs), 14 Yellowtail and 4 bonito. At 1:30PM, with the bite really slowing down Jeff decided it was time to make another move towards the northwest end of Clemente; that would not only put us closer to home but get us in position for an afternoon/night bite on some better grade bluefin. With that being said most of the boat went down to get some rest. After the nap it was time to enjoy some beers in the sun on the top deck of the boat. Things got interesting when Bruce spotted bigger tuna splashing nearby. The crew jumped into action, setting up the kite and sending out flyers, while others used fly lines and sinker rigs. There were some standout moments: Hung, Bruce’s guest, landed his first bluefin on a dropshot rig with 40lb test after a tough fight and Kevin Kom quickly pulled in a solid bluefin on a 50lb fly line. Last but certainly not least, Rico worked the flyer like a pro, and at one point, we had two bait fish and two kite fish going at the same time. We had a close call when two kite fish got tangled and broke one of the fish off but when the first fish was gaffed the braid of the broken off fish was wrapped around it. Jeff and Scuba Steve jumped into action to try and save it. Jeff wrapped the braid around his shoulder and hands, and Steve spliced the line back to the rod, letting us bring in the fish. Our junior angler Lucas was pumped after the catch. This description truly doesn’t do it justice and was one of the most impressive things I’ve seen done by a crew. After the heroic save, we went a perfect 5 for 5 on 70-130 lb fish. The kite fish were caught by Mike Barton, Ron Shrout and Lucas, our junior angler. With the sun starting to set and a few hours left to fish, Jeff kept the search going while guys were having Carmelo’s pork loin and mashed potatoes in the galley. He told us we were going to have to work hard at it as the fish they had been seeing in this area was in wolf packs. The first few stops were quick as the fish that were located kept on the move. Slowly but surely, Jeff started to work away from the fleet and it paid off on the first stop. At 9PM the boat stopped on a school that was from 270’- 400’ and just as my jig got to 400’ I was able to get the first bite of the night and was able to boat it, but not before it swam off the gaff at 50 miles an hour with my reel in free spool. Shortly after that fish hit the deck, my dad was engaged in battle with a bluefin of his own and was able to make quick work of it. Micheal Harris was the next to join the party and got one on a flat fall with a little flashback to 2016 nights. They do in fact still get bit. There were a few more hooked on that stop that found eventually their freedom due to various reasons. There were a few more stops, but no bites and at midnight it was time to turn the boat back towards Newport and get some much earned rest in flat calm seas. The final count for the trip was 23 Bluefin (8 from 75-130lbs), 14 Yellowtail and 4 Bonito. Jackpot went to Kevin Kom with his fly lined 80 pound bluefin. All in all, the fishing was tough but as always this group of guys always manages to put a good score of fish together. It is always a pleasure to fish with this club and create lifetime memories. It is a highlight of my summers and look forward to it for many years to come. Tight lines, Jake Chutney
