Trip #2:

Boat: Thunderbird 2 day

Departs: Thursday July 11th

Fishing: July 12th & 13th

Gary had been diligent enough with information prior to the trip which included somewhat spotty fishing along with a forecast of calm seas with a light to moderate breeze.

We boarded without event and shortly thereafter the ride was rough, we began pitching to and fro. The wind was gusting unbelievably at well over 50 knots. It was so bad that most of the time the restrooms were not accessible, the crew was not able to assist at all. Moving around was very limited. We were directed not to move above about. Surprisingly, not one soul on board got sick.

Nevertheless, we continued southwest to our destination. Well, things finally settled down, we were able to use the restrooms and our landing at Long Beach Airport was smooth as could be. Stewart was there waiting for us, we enjoyed dinner at the Hangout and we were anxious to get on the water and fish with our old friends again. Erich and I should know by now that it is always bumpy flying over Rockies in the afternoon.

That was Wednesday. Thursday we made it to the docks around one-thirty, the usual early birds were there, Hayden, Luke, Bill, Jeffy, and President Gary. Shortly thereafter the remainer of our group began to arrive, Stewart Finley, Steve Sturm, Mike Allen, Dan Shumacher, Ron Matro, James Harris, Brian Drazba, Patrick Thunyakij, Logan Reinmiller, Mike Harris, Josh Edwards, Mike Barton, Bryan Upcraft, and Brenden Hanley. We also had the pleasure of having Ron Matro’s son Cayden, and Logan’s son Cory on board with us.  The both of whom I wanted to throw overboard at one point or another. Just kidding, sort of. No really, they were both a joy to be around and fish with. My frustration with them was only due to their profound fishing abilities. They both displayed excellent rail manners in my humble opinion. Looking forward to fishing with you both again someday. New member Erich Kirch and myself, Mike Zinniker (not so new member) rounded out the ship’s passenger manifest.

We set off around 8-ish from the dock after the normal orderly boarding procedure. We loaded up with ‘dines at the bait receiver and headed off to the West End of San Clemente Island. With some intel provided to us by both the Fury and the Amigo it was decided that the best strategy was to start out at the west end of Clemente in the morning and then head out to the Tanner late morning. This would put us in a position to fish for bluefin Friday night. The seas were pleasant, unlike our plane ride from Colorado.

At around 2:00AM Friday morning the T-Bird crew was able to get the squid to float. So much so that after we stuffed our tanks, we were able to share and help the Fury load up as well, as the Thunderbird’s stern was literally surrounded by squirters. This is basically where and when the fishing would start.

Cayden was the first U16 angler to get under my skin by pulling in a Yellowtail that scaled at 48 pounds on the dropper loop. Very impressive and just reward for getting such an early start in the wee hours of the morning when many of us had sleeping on our minds. Good job Cayden! Gary was the next early morning riser to bring in an impressive catch on the dropper, a white sea bass taped at 33 pounds. Brenden also managed a nice white sea bass. Despite Cayden, and Brenden and Gary’s promising start the rest of the morning was a slow, slow pick. It was made more humbling by watching the Fury fishing next to us catching at a moderate rate with the bait WE GAVE THEM! Oh well, I still think we should have given them the squid we each paid ten bucks for and gotten our money back. Again, just kidding, paying for the squirters was for sure the right plan and it was appreciated that the T-Bird went out of their way to get it.  Squid was scarce up until Friday morning. We tried our best, as always with the DWRRC, and come around 6:15 Jeff Markland decided it was time to head out to Tanner Bank.

The Tanner didn’t prove to be much better, there was current heading the wrong direction which didn’t help and tons of Sea Lions around as well. There was a Yellowtail caught here and there, but after a while it was time to work on filling freezers, move out to deeper water and fish for rock fish. It reminded me of my first time I fished for rock fish with the club. We all donned paper bags on our heads to hide our identities, the unknown rock codders. I guess we’ve all aged a bit since then and we don’t seem to be so proud about having to scrounge our next meeaaal ( Bob Dylan lyrics a song writer and occasional rapper b.t.w.  for Cory and Cayden and maybe a few others).

While that macrame gathering was taking place, in the galley, Gary being a newly elected official insisted that I include this in the write up for full transparency. This conspiracy theory, according to Hayden (the victim) is bigger than the JFK assignation, or Whitewater. It seems that according to Hayden, Bill Parks (the perpetrator) has been directed to stalk Hayden and continually subdue Mr. Claisse by entangling his bright neon blue spectra line, preventing Hayden from completing his assigned mission of killing as many fish as possible. It’s like something right out of the Manchurian Candidate or Three Days of the Condor (those are movies, Cory and Cayden, and possibly a few others). Hayden, stay vigilant and maybe consider changing the color of your line to throw off Comrade Parks. Kudos to our president for bringing this conspiracy out for full disclosure. That was about it as far as the excitement got for the rest of Friday’s daylight hours.

It was time for dinner, fine wine, cocktails and rest for the hopes of an evening Bluefin bite.  Final count as of dinner time, that is, for day one was 12 Yellowtail, 2 White Sea Bass and an assortment of bottom grabbers. Would Cayden’s 48 lb Yellowtail hold up for the day one jack pot, would Gary’s 37 pound (taped at 33) White Sea Bass earn him a top angler patch for day one. You’ll just have to wait and see, just until the next paragraph actually.

Some of us, including myself, were more than happy to forgo the evening hunt for bluefin, lick our wounds and get to bed in hopes of a better day in the morning. Many others, more ambitious than I, braved the lack of sleep and carried on after dinner once arriving at the Bluefin spot. For those hearty fellows rewards were reaped for most. It began (I am told) with tuna in the 30 lb. range and steadily increased in size, down goes Cayden’s tail, down goes Gary’s WSB (Cory and Cayden and possibly a few others that was a reference to Howard Cosell a sports announcer primarily for boxing and football)( boxing is a sport that was popular before MMA and cage fighting). 

Anyway, the fish ranged from 35 to 135 pounds. There were 13 caught all total. Notables were Erich Kirsh getting his first bluefin, a 35 pounder, Brian Drazba and James Harris caught nearly identical 135 poundish bluefins. They were so close in size it would not be decided until the next day. Also putting bluefins on the boat that evening were Jeffy, Luke, Ron, Cory, Mike Bardon. The evening featured a tail- wrapped jack pot contending Bluefin, a gaff stealing Bluefin (gaff retrieved by deckhand Jose, fish retrieved by Ron) and a triple gaff miss by the crew, fish recovered the second time.

Four brave souls, (sorry I was sound asleep so I can’t congratulate you by name) were the ironmen staying at it until 2AM Saturday morning at the rail until it was time to head back to Tanner for hopes of a decent yellowtail bite. The total bluefin count was thirteen. Although these hearty fellows fished well past midnight all bluefin were caught Friday, meaning the jackpot would be one of the larger evening tunas, to be determined at a later date.

We were all hoping for a better yellowtail bite Saturday morning than we had Friday morning, and the day delivered. The bite was on sardines and continued fairly consistent with only a few lulls. There were a few fish lost to the dogs, but all and all it was a good morning of fishing with most of the tails being between twenty and thirty-five pounds. 

Bill Parks and I hooked the same yellow, which we successfully landed. It turned out to be the largest tail of Saturday but obviously was disqualified. Bill’s theory was he caught it first since he was using a mackerel as bait he let it run longer than normal giving it time to eat my sardine while on the run. I did not necessarily see that as a conclusive deduction since I also let the fish run before setting the hook, mostly because I wasn’t paying attention; therefore, the fish could have taken my sardine first. Anyway, the fish was not eligible for the jackpot, so it was a mute issue. Bill was kind enough to allow me to take the fish back to Colorado with me, thanks again Bill.

That said, Parks goes and lands a 28-pound tail anyway and takes day two’s patch and jackpot without my help. After being in this club for over twenty-some years I am so glad to see that Bill is finally getting the hang of this fishing thing.

Day two ends about 11:00AM and it’s time to count fish and determine jackpot and patch fish. Day one’s contenders are too close to determine with the scale alone, and too dang heavy. After much measuring and calculating the jackpot goes to James with a bluefin taping out at 124 pounds! Day two jackpot and patch goes to Bill Parks with his unassisted 33-pound yellowtail (taped at 28.3).

The ride back to Newport was calm, and we got back to the dock around 7:00PM. For me personally, it was great to see and fish with old friends and meet some of the new members, especially since I had not fished last year at all. Take care everyone.

-Mike Z.