Trip #7 Report – 8/20 - 8/22/2020

Every fishing trip starts out with grand hopes. Whether those hopes are for a particular fish, new experience, a chance to clear your mind, the opportunity to be among friends and family, or any other hope. The experience of being on the water is unique and only really understood by the individual. These hopes are all that really matter as they are what is important and should never be taken for granted as we are fortunate enough in this life to be fishermen. (go ahead… read that again and take it in.)

D.W.R.R.C Cast of Characters

Luke, Ryan, & Nick Burson, Steve Sturm, Stewart Finley, Brian Upcraft, Mike Zinniker, BJ & Riley Dyer, Mike Castillo, Ed & Jake Chutney, Taylor Rodriguez, Brandon Lockwood, Mike Higa, Bill Parks, Jeffy Hinrichs, John Lenker, Hayden Claisse, Jim Bertella, Bing Metzger, and your scribe Mike Allen.

T-Bird Crew

Capt. Jeff, 2^nd Capt. Brian, Goofy on the grill, Cole and Rico on the deck, and helping out on the deck for the first time on the T-Bird was Leo.

In true D.W.R.R.C fashion and in accordance with his Cal Ripken Jr.-esk streak (for the young guys of the club, Cal Ripken Jr. was a famous baseball player who started 2,130 games in a row), Hayden was the first of the group to arrive at the landing and secure the premier spot in line. According to our conversation he arrived around 9am complete with his strategically thought out cart of gear and a big smile on his face. It’s funny how the club members who are retired or semi-retired always seem to have an easy going s*#t eating grin on their face… One day we all should be so lucky. As Hayden waited for others to arrive, it was apparent that one thing was going to be with us for the whole trip, and that was the heat. It was muggy and somewhat nasty at the landing with many of the members taking shelter in the little shade that the landing had to offer. The good thing about the warm conditions was that it made the beverages go down pretty easily which many were actively partaking in while the occasional piece of eye candy strolled past. Gotta love Newport! Don’t get much of that at 22^nd St. (just saying)

In advance of the trip, it had been announced that the club was going to be treated to a BBQ dinner prior to departure by two of the finest grill men we have, Mike C. and B.J. Everybody was told that the food would be there at 6pm and that was not a lie as the boys showed up almost spot on at 6. Who knew that BJ and Mike took punctuality so seriously? The boys started very early to smoke a couple of pork butts which their efforts paid off as the food was truly something special. Accompanying the main dish was salad, potato salad, corn bread, fresh onions, Famous Dave’s Signature Spicy Pickles, and your choice of Sweet Baby Ray’s BBQ or Sweet Golden Mustard BBQ sauce, and cookies! The group enjoyed the grub while jealous onlookers observed and inquired about the spread. The meal was truly delicious and a special THANK YOU goes out to BJ and Mike C. for their efforts and skills!

With bellies full and the boat arriving at the dock it was time to hurry up and wait as the crew changed over the boat for our group and ran to get gas while after dinner drinking continued. The group boarded in an orderly fashion as rod holders, tackle boxes, coolers, and bunks all got situated and we made our way to the bait receiver. As typical with every trip that I have been on with the T-Bird this season, the bait was great! Sure some beat-up and bloodied Sardines could be found but that was certainly not the norm. Most of the baits looked like mini footballs and athletes as we untied from the receiver and listened to Goofy’s motivation safety speech as we made our way out of the harbor and set a course for the Tanner Bank.

Fishing Day 1

As we made our way to the Tanner Bank the group started to get out of the rack around 6:30am, which was a much welcomed sleep-in for most of the group who are still working and accustomed to getting up much earlier. The seas were pretty lumpy as the boat rolled with the swell and we got ready to make our 1^st stop. A couple members decided that some early chum was needed to spark the bite, one was due to the always dreadful sea sickness, and the other was due to self-inflicted over serving of IPAs (yours truly!). With that behind us we made our first stop all by ourselves as Ricardo heckled us from the bait tank. First to hook up was Stewart on a Flatfall, which Ricardo had mentioned the BFT were prone to bite at this location of the bank. Stewart must have felt bad for that particular BFT and allowed it to saw him off under the boat taking with it some jewelry as a keep sake. Jim was quick to follow with our first BFT to hit the deck. Jim was using a “jig” and others landed some assorted Whitefish and Sheepshead. Steward re-tied another Flatfall on in a different color and managed to wrap that up in the prop and bust it off. It was looking like Stewart was going to have one of those trips until he was later able to redeem himself and land a BFT. Luke, being the helpful guy that he is, managed to later retrieve Stewart’s Flatfall while fishing a sinker rig, so Stewart’s luck certainly changed although his challenges are now documented forever. At this point the bite had slowed down and six BFT had hit the deck compliments of Bill, Ryan, Nick, Stewart, Mike Z, and myself. The BFT that Mike Z. caught was his first fish of the past two seasons aside from a short Calico in 2019. It is nice to see that catching BFT is a lot like riding a bike for some. As Jeff kicked on the motor, Luke did what Luke does and proceeded to hook up. I have seen this story play out several times this season. Luke is well known for soaking a bait as the boat is motoring away from a spot and has had great success utilizing this technique. I have been on three trips this season with him and I have seen him hook up when the motor gets kicked on during every trip. (not to give away any secrets) With now seven BFT in the RSW it was time to continue on and join the rest of the fleet on a high spot at the Tanner.

We arrived at the high-dollar real estate portion of the Tanner Bank and joined up with about twenty boats including several from San Diego’s Long Range fleet. We saddled up alongside the Freedom, dropped the hook and started to work baits while Ricardo tossed a steady diet of Sardines. To be honest, I do not really recall who hooked up next or how long it took to start getting the Bluefin to play, but they certainly got with it. FUN is the only real word that I can use to describe the next couple of hours! For some members it was easy hookups with basically any bait that would swim. Others had to go through some soul searching and take on heavy casualties (B.J) but in the end all managed to get the experience of pulling on the 25-35# grade Bluefin. The fight of this grade of Bluefin is really fun and challenging as they were on a strict diet of 25# and 30# fluorocarbon (more on that later). It was also pretty muggy on the deck that morning so once the Bluefin was gaffed and flopped onto the deck of the T-Bird, the happy angler was left usually dripping in sweat with arm pump. I can still hear that special thump sound in my head that a Bluefin makes after being gaffed and brought over the rail on the T-Bird and dropped on the deck… I am pretty sure they teach that skill at deckhand school and the T-Bird crew are some of the best at getting that thump just right!

As the bite forged on and many of the D.W.R.R.C fellowship were becoming content with their taking, the crew of the T-Bird took full advantage and began to wet lines. Hook and Hands became a real thing among the club members and crew. Goofy seemed to take a liking to Mike C’s Super Seeker set up and proceeded to grab for it every time that Mike would put it down to hydrate or use the facilities. Even Luke got in the act and started to grab several rods from his arsenal and send out a bait, get a bite, and pass it along. I am not sure how many times he did this but it was certainly appreciated by those members who were the recipient. At one point Mike C. got tired of reeling in Goofy’s Bluefin and refused to take his rod. Goofy was forced to reel that particular Bluefin in on his own which was met with plenty of kind words for Mike. Mike would later grab the gaff and finish off Goofy’s fish with a perfect gaff shot. Speaking of club members and gaff shots, many members (Ryan and John that I can recall, but I am sure more) got involved in gaffing a Bluefin in a nice change of pace from being on the other end of the practice. The crew continued to fish and enjoy the great bite and Cole hooked up on the port side of the boat and tried to put the wood to a Bluefin like he was a stud while cast and crew from the Freedom cheered him on and club member trash talked him to hurry up. The fish ended up being really mean and in the end Cole was left tired and exhausted as the Bluefin finally hit the deck.

As mentioned earlier, using fluorocarbon was on a small scale proven to be statistically significant. Luke performed a study during the bite in which he got bit on five consecutive baits when fishing 30# flouro. On one of his hook and hands, he took the rod that the handed off angler was fishing which had 20# mono only and proceeded to not get a bite in four consecutive baits. I’ll admit this is a small sampling and the data lacks the replicates needed to draw a strong statistical conclusion to fully reject the null hypothesis, but as a fisherman I deliver this information for you to do with it what you wish.

When the smoke cleared and many were finally able to eat a Goofy breakfast burrito, it was DOUBLE LIMITS for the entire group before noon and time to make our way for the Cortez Bank in search of Yellowtail! The high spot on the Cortez that we were heading for was about 15 miles away from our location on the Tanner, so plenty of time for some food (Goofy made really good steak sandwiches), a nap, and a beverage. While in route to the Cortez high spot (about 8 miles away) we came upon another high spot that Jeff stopped the boat on. This spot immediately produced some nice Bonito (8-10# range), smaller grade Bluefin, some assorted rock and whitefish, and a Yellowtail. From there we continued on the high spot on the Cortez that we were originally motoring towards.

Once we arrived to the desired spot on the bank, we were greeted with all the Bonito (more of the 8-10# range) you could want. Luke managed to get a really nice YT on one of the larger Sardines in the tank and the group got called a bunch a “fish snobs” by Jeff as many of the Bonito were released and the attendance at the rail had been significantly reduced. Jeff and the crew making fun of and trash talking the club members is one of my favorite things about T-Bird trips! Those guys are really a special crew and make the experience that much more memorable and fun. You really can’t say enough about them and their ability at their jobs!

Next, we pulled the anchor and in the process broke the trip wire… The crew was quick to rectify that situation and we were off to go and try to replenish the bait we had gone through with some Mackerel. Sabikis were tied on in hopes of filling the front two tanks of the T-Bird. The club members worked hard at the rail to catch more bait and were rewarded with many Spanish, Greenies, and Jumbo Sardines! Before long the front two tanks were filled and we were on our way to San Clemente Island (SCI) for Day 2. Mixed in with the Macks and Dines were various rockfish and enough Perch to even make Gary (who wasn’t on the trip) jealous. Visions of what the Macks might do with the Yellowtail and Calicos at SCI danced in all of our heads as we sat down to a Lasagna and Pasta Dinner and made our way toward the island.

The top 5 fish were taped and the jackpot was settled. When it was all said and done, Luke came out with the patch after much effort and determination to ensure the process was conducted effectively.

Here are the results on the tape, congrats to all!

• Riley Dyer – 32.42#
• Ryan Burson – 32.47#
• Nick Burson – 32.75#
• Bill Parks – 32.87#
• Luke Burson – 33.76#

Now it was time to get out of the way and let the crew process the catch and clean the boat for Day #2. I got up around 4am to re-write my notes and enjoy the morning and was greeted by Cole who was obviously running on fumes and was in Zombie Mode. He would end up working 26 hours straight before getting some much needed rest. While I was working through my notes I was greeted by some nice conversation with the 2^nd Capt. Brian and Stewart as we yapped about whatever would come to our minds. It was a nice start to Day 2 already and I was looking forward to seeing what the day would bring at SCI. According to Capt. Brain, we were posted up at the Dunes, south of West Cove as we waited for grey light to form. While in the dark a school of about 6-10 Flying Fish stayed near the boat and swam in and out of the deck lights which was something that I have never seen before. Around 6:30am or so many were up and at the rail in search of a Yellowtail. Jim was the first to hook up on a surface iron. He made really impressive work of the fish as he managed to bring the fish to gaff without it taking a single inch of drag and keeping its head out of the water as the Yellowtail struggled to figure out what was going on after hitting his jig. A quick look around and only another skiff was within eyesight as it was apparent that we would have the island mostly to ourselves as the fleet was elsewhere (probably working over the Bluefin at the Tanner).

We later made a move (not sure to where) and more Yellowtail were caught. Most of the yellowtail had a craving for the various Macks that were made the evening prior at the Cortez. Full disclosure, I am not sure as to how many Yellowtail were caught and by who… but some were definitely caught.

Now on to the club doing what the club loves doing, FISHING CALICOS!!! We pulled the hook and were told by Jeff that we were going to anchor up on some kelp and try and catch a Bass. This was music to everybody’s ears as we had plenty of Macks in the tank and were looking to put a respectable grade Bass on the board. As the hook got settled, the kelp was laying down nicely, indicative of decent water movement (aka CURRENT). Several baits hit the water and were eaten up by a smaller grade of Calicos who were quick to jump on the easy meal. Some stood atop the really nice sun deck of the T-Bird enjoying the sun and a beverage or two as others zoned in on the Calico fishing that was available. Things were really starting to get good, it was instant bite on any Sardine that was thrown out and then Luke tossed a Cortez bank transferred Spanish Mack deep into the kelp and towards the SCI shore… The energy really got serious as his 7.8# Calico came over the rail! Finally, a decent bass was atop the leader board! Ryan followed up with another nice Bass and things were really looking good! BUT then two things happened. The current backed off and the Navy advised that we leave the area because they were about to perform an underwater detonation… … …

So we left and went in search for more Yellowtail and Calicos. More Yellowtail were caught, Mike C. got bit on a nice meter mark and surface action of good grade fish. He managed to be the only bite and took a fair ration of crap for it from everybody else as he nursed his Yellowtail to gaff. Soon after it was time to motor back home.

All in all it was a great trip! Lots of fun was had by all. Many of the reasons why we are fishermen were satisfied as we settled up jackpot, which Bill won with a beautiful Yellowtail that he caught on a Mackerel. As we steamed toward port, I was reminded of moments over the past few days where I didn’t think about work, didn’t stress over the many chaotic things that are happening around the U.S, and even for just a few days was fortunate enough to be a part of something that we all strive to be a part of but truly struggle with achieving… Being truly in a moment, focused on what is happening around you, and caring about nothing else as you give your 100% attention to something. It is therapeutic in a way that no other will ever understand and a big reason why I pride myself in being a Fisherman. (mic drop!)