2026: Trip 2 - Thunderbird 2 Day

Trip #2:

Boat: Thunderbird 2 day
Departs: Thursday, July 9th
Fishing: July 10th & July 11th
Returns: July 11th PM

Not a Bad Trip

The day came for trip # 2 on board the Thunderbird. This trip would provide us with excellent weather as the cast of D.W.R.R.C members waited to see what the future held. A new component to the week leading up to our trip was the introduction of sardines at the Newport Bait Receiver. These had been largely missing throughout the Southern California Bight in recent weeks so the potential of having them in the bait tank helped add to the excitement of the trip.

Joining us on trip # 2 would be Capt. Chris May, 2nd Capt. Steve Raby, Carmelo in the galley, and the three deckhands were Jose, Jared, and Austin. A slightly different crew then the club had become accustomed to having on board, but a very worthy bunch of skilled individuals none the less. The members on this trip were:

Bill Parks
Dan Schumacher
Jason Trask
Robert Pearson (Pat & Mike A. guest)
Jim Bertella
Ryan Burson
Luke Burson
Mike Barton
Rowan Nolan (Ryan’s guest)
Ron Shroud
Kevin Kom
Bryan Upcraft
Gary Thompson
Andy Sienkiewich (Welcome Back!)
Brian Drazba
Patrick Thunyakij
Mike Allen (Scribe)
Chris Lund
Paul Morgan
Paul Casillas
Michael Harris
Frank Monzon
Brendan Hanley

Day 1: The club members boarded the T-Bird in our normal organized manner, and we were at the bait receiver at 9pm loading up on a nice grade of lively sardines. We made our way to San Clemente Island in nice and calm seas and arrived at the West Cove at 3:45am. As I approached the deck to a dozen or so members working through their morning rituals of coffee and conversation. Capt. Steve had a mild squid float going where he was able to capture 10-15 pieces a scoop. As the morning would go on Capt. Steve would eventually plug the bait tank with Squid as a legitimate float eventually came to the starboard side of the T-Bird. Joining us at the cove were 3-4 private boats, a Squid boat that I heard was Greg Obymako, and no other Sportfishing operation was in sight.

As the group would belly up to the rail with dropper-loop squid, the first bite of the morning would be Paul C., who proceeded to lose the battle due to a knot failure. Next up would be Jim B. and the fish on the other end would earn its freedom after a short fight ending in it becoming unbuttoned. At this point the club members then got with it as both Frank M. and Kevin K. would get bites and land their fish. From their my notes indicate that Gary and Jim landed their fish, and it was time for me to forgo my scribe duties and start focusing on fishing. The fish coming over the rail were a very nice grade of Yellowtail! Most were 30+lbs. and a few were pushing toward 40lbs. Fishing in the dark allowed for heavy lines, many were fishing 50lb-60lb. Capt. Chris would call out when a school would swim through, and the club members kept the crew busy with directing traffic on the deck and working through the occasional tangle. It was not a ripper bite where everybody was bit at once, but the action was steady enough to keep everybody engaged and waiting as the next bite could be theirs.

In speaking about the T-Bird crew, I feel obligated to share a story that happened during one of my bites. I was unfamiliar with Jared, the deckhand, as this was my first club trip of the year. As my fish started working its way up the port side and towards the bow, I couldn’t help but hope that the fish would not go near the anchor. If you haven’t had the pleasure of working around the anchor of the T-Bird, it is not for the faint of heart and is very difficult to do in the daytime, let alone at night. Due to the placement of the anchor under the bow the practice of navigating around the anchor rope usually requires a pretty lengthy stretch while holding on to the bow rails and hoping you don’t miss the transfer of the rod and reel. Well, my fish wrapped around the anchor rope, and I was ready to let the fish earn his freedom when Jared grabbed my rod and dove over the bow of the T-Bird and hung his entire body weight by his feet on the bow rails. It all happened so quickly that I watched in utter bewilderment as to what I was seeing. My mind immediately went to me having to yell for the Capt. and let him know his deckhand just went overboard. I started thinking back to the safety speech and where Carmelo said the throw ring was. The next thing I know, Jared is yelling for me to grab the rod and get the fish as far away from the bow as I could. I grabbed the bow rail, reached as far as I could, and grabbed the butt of the rod and reel. I asked if he needed help getting up and he just yelled to get the fish away from the bow, so I listened and ran the fish back down the port side. I looked over for a moment to see Jared doing a reverse sit-up and getting himself practically to an upright position and off the bow rail. Still in shock to what I saw, Jared quickly got to the gaff without hesitation and proceeded to gaff my fish and bring it over the rail. By this time a few other members had made their way to the bow while fighting their fish, so I dragged my Yellowtail like a dog down the starboard side and to the bait tank. On the way by Capt. Chris said that the Yellowtail was all of 30lbs. Bill Roecker once said that you call tell the merit of a deckhand by how hard he/she works to land your fish. I have heard stories of deckhands swimming underneath the boat to untangle lines and I am sure everybody has an amazing deckhand story they could share. That was by far the most daring and incredible thing I have ever seen a deckhand do and something I will likely never forget. Some people are just built differently, and Jared is certainly one of them!

Ok, now back to the West Cove bite. As the night turned to gray light, the consistent bite continued. The grade was still nice, but more of the easier-to-manage size were now in the mix as the club continued to keep the crew busy and the deck littered with SCI Yellowtail. Ryan B. and Brendan H. both landed Yellowtail while switching it up and throwing the Fluke. I am sure a few others were able to connect with something other than a dropper-loop squid but those were the only two that I saw and jotted down in my notes. When the smoke cleared, we had 50 Yellowtail in the RSW and were off to do a couple quick drifts.

The drifts ended up being uneventful despite Capt. Chris seeing decent marks. The highlights were the random Red that Bill P. pulled up in 110’ of water, and the Sheepshead that was caught by Jason T. From there Capt. Chris pointed the T-Bird towards “The 9” and we were off to try our hand at fly-lining some sardines. We were debriefed about the rocks and kelp on the high spot of the 9 prior to arrival, so we knew that some combat fishing was on the horizon.

We arrived at the 9 at 7:05am to a water temperature of 67°F and dropped the hook along with the Freedom and Pride. Mike B. was the first to get bit around 7:25am and landed his nice grade Yellow while fishing 30lb. on a 2/0 J-hook. From there Michael H., Jason T., and Luke B. would follow up with bites and we kept a constant 1-2 fish going throughout the stop. By 8am Frank M. was 5 for 5 on the Yellowtail, and Ron S. was 6 for 6! The club had 12 more Yellowtail on deck by 9:30am, and 19 on deck at 10am. By 10:15am another 5 more were boated and the hook was pulled from the 9 at 11:00am with a total of 77 Yellowtail in the RSW! The 9 is notorious for taking anchors according to Club President Gary T. and the crew had their hands full for the next 15 minutes trying to free the anchor from the grasp of the structure. Meanwhile, the military was hard at work blowing up the island giving the members something to watch.

The crew prevailed and Capt. Chris made a move for a quick stop that didn’t work out and we were off at 11:55am to make a run down the island while Carmelo served up a Pork Chop, Eggs, and Potato breakfast plate in addition to the traditional Breakfast Burritos.

As we made our run to the next spot, the Seagulls were getting a little too close to the bait tank and Jim B. managed to grab one. Once he had it in his grasp, he had to decide what to do with it? Of course, Jim felt the best thing to do with it was to run it into the galley and throw it into the wheelhouse while Capt. Chris was navigating the T-Brid… Apparently Chris has a bit of a fear of birds and did not appreciate the gesture to say the least. A bit later while Jim was wearing his typical jeans, flip flops, and a tank top, Chris decided to show how much he appreciated the Seagull visitor by spraying down Jim with the deck hose after a little bit man on man wrestling. The bout lasted longer than the latest McGregor vs. Holloway fight…

We arrived at Spot #4 of the trip at 12:45pm. The stop would become short-lived as Gary would hook up only to have it eaten by a dog and we were off to seek our entertainment elsewhere by 1pm. The move was to head back to the 9 as Carmelo served up the ever popular and traditional Boat Burgers for lunch.

We arrived back at the 9 (Stop #5) around 1:45pm and by 2:15 we had added another 5 YT to our count in ripping current. Those who elected to drop to the bottom were treated with plenty of Whitefish and Sheepshead. As the stop continued, we were getting more Seagull and Cormorant bites than anything else, so the hook was pulled around 3pm and the decision was made to make the 40-mile run towards the Tanner Bank where the plan was to fish BFT in the dark. Our Yellowtail total for Day 1 AM run was 82, and Patrick T. was in position for the patch with a beautiful PB high 30lb+ Yellowtail! Patrick’s Yellowtail was just shy of the largest Yellowtail from trip 1, held by Michael H. Speaking if Michael, his fly-lining game was strong at the 9 as he seemed to always be hooked up.

On our way to the BFT Zone we made a stop on some foamers around 4:20pm. This stop would be quick as the “Bluefin were being Bluefin” and did not want to cooperate so we conituned on our way. Capt. Chris had communicated the game plan for the remiander of our trip. The plan was to fish for BFT at night until 1am then leave the grounds and head back to the West Cove to fish early AM squid ground bite then move on to the 9 again in hopes of adding to the Yellowtail count. As we continued toward the Tanner, we joined up with most of the fleet around 6pm. By 6:15pm we were working our first drop with marks at 180’-240’. We hung around for about 10 minutes then continued our search while Carmelo served up the first call for dinner in the galley. Dinner would consist of “Sunday” Pot Roast with mash potatoes and a freshly created salad as the sun started to work its way below the horizon.

At 8pm Capt. Chris called out that he was metering fish at 240’. That stop didn’t materialize but we were definitely in the zone and our time would come. And that bite would come around 9pm when a lone cry would come from the bow where Kevin K. was hooked up to our first BFT of the night. After a nice battle on the right gear with the crew at his side managing any potential tangles, Kevin’s fish came to gaff and was brought on-board. The nice grade BFT taped out with a length of 59.5” and a width of 41.5” that calculated out to 128.1lbs and a new personal best for Kevin! Congrats!

We would continue our search for about another 20 minutes and club members Ryan B., Luke B., and Jason T. would come tight on this drop. Ryan would land his fish first and it would tape out with a length of 58”. The width was never measured on Ryan’s fish due to it being 1.5” less in length compared to Kevin’s. Jason’s fish would hit the deck next and taped out at 59.5” length x 40” width giving it a calculated weight of 122lbs. Lastly, Luke’s fish would come to gaff with a 60” length and 39.5” width calculating out at 117lbs. So here we are, it’s 9:30pm and the club is 4 for 4 on the better grade Bluefin! Of the four BFT, 2 were caught on a 300g tungsten jig, and 2 were caught on 300g lead jig (West Coast Jiggerz, I believe).

Our next stop would come about a half hour later at 10pm. This would be my lucky stop as I would connect shortly after Patrick had connected just 10’ up the port side from me. Jason T. would connect once again and Rowen joined the fun on a hook and hand from either Luke or Ryan (my notes didn’t say which). All 4 fish would come to gaff on this stop pushing our total to 8 for 8!

Patrick’s fish would measure out with a length of 58.5” and a width of 40.5” which would calculate out to 120lbs and another PB for Patrick!

Jason’s 2nd BFT would eventually come to gaff. But it would take the first gaff and clean break the hook off. Jason was quick to recover after the fish went apeshit and would eventually hit the deck with the broken hook still connected. Jason’s fish would tape out at 57” length!

Sorry Rowen, but unfortunately I was busy dealing with my BFT, taking photos, and helping with measurements and I did not get any pictures or details on your BFT…

It is now 11pm and the 2nd Capt. Steve decided to come tight on BFT #9 of the trip. He made quick work on his BFT, showing what countless hours on the deck of a Sportfisher can bring to your fish fighting technique. It also doesn’t hurt that he is a larger individual. Luke also hooked up on this stop and his fish was doing the long horizontal run away from the boat indicative of the characteristics of a larger model. With much anticipation we we waited to see what Luke had connected with only to find a 60lb grade BFT come to gaff. Still a nice and manageable grade of fish and I am sure no one would complain about sitting down to sashimi, poke, or a seared helping from that BFT. My notes indicate that the club was now sitting at 10 for 11 BFT landed. They did not indicate who that angler was that busted our perfect record but I am sure they know who they are

as they are reading this. ^-^•●

So far our stops had been very manageable with no more then 3 hook-ups coming at any given session. That was about to change come our 11:30pm stop! On this particular stop the club members would hook 6 BFT, and the deck would become much more chaotic. The lucky anglers who drew strikes were Bill P., Patrick T. (fish #2), Michael H., Rowen (on another hook C hand from either Luke or Ryan), Jason T. (now on fish #3), and Club VP Brian U. Thankfully the grade of BFT at this stop would be in the 60-70lb. range so we were able to limit the madness in terms of casualties. BUT, we were not without any casualties as our club VP would ultimately come unbuttoned. All other members who were fortunate to hook BFT landed their respective fish to bring our total to 15 for 17!

Day 2: As we left that nice and sucessful stop, we were shortly rewarded with another announcement from Capt. Chris that we were upon another meter mark of fish. It was now midnight and here we go with another 8 hook-ups! The lucky anglers were Brendan H., Frank M., Ryan B., Michael H., Capt. Chris, Luke B., Jason T. (weird…), and Rowen on a non-hook C hand fish! This stop would take us a bit longer to navigate as the the grade in all was much nicer pushing into the low 100lbs. It was at this time that I looked at my cell phone to note that the time was midnight so I mentioned to Jose that it was time for him and the crew to hit the rack for the night and not to worry about the 8 BFT that we had going. He laughed and immediately got to work with Jared, Austin, and 2nd Capt. Steve on controlling the deck of the T-Bird. This conversation would prove to be important as any of the BFT landed on this stop would fall into Saturday’s record for the patch.

As the BFT from this stop would begin to start hitting the deck, we would end up going 6 for 8. The fish on the other end of Ryan and Brandan would earn their freedom. I saw Ryan’s spit the hook while at color with the gaff ready… such is fishing I suppose. All others would land their respective fish which would bring our team total to 21 for 25! Before I get into the details of the three larger models, I would like to make a comment about the great crew of the T-Bird. They all worked hard through the stops and Jared and Jose would act like surgeons shortly after the BFT would hit the deck by bleeding and removing the gills of the catch before sending it into the RSW.

As for the three stand-outs from that stop, Frank’s BFT would tape out with a 60” length and 40” width, calculating out to 120lbs! Next up would be Luke’s BFT which taped out at 59” length with a 41.5” width. That would calculate out to 127.01lbs! And lastly, Jason’s BFT would tape out with a 62” length and 40.5” width, calulating to 127.11lbs! Jason’s rod would suffer a broken tip during the battle but the glory of the catch will live on. That would make both Luke and Jason a top the board with each utimately landing 4 BFT each. Luke did hook and hand an undisclosed amount to Rowen but I still count them against his total. Well Done Gentlemen!

A quick shout out for Rowen’s fish. This would be his first BFT that he would hook and land all on his own! A special moment that I am sure he will not forget anytime soon. Landing a fish on a hook and hand is one thing, but to earn the title of angler one has to do all on his own. Congrats Rowen, and welcome to the life!

The stop had concluded and it was now 12:25am on Saturday and it was time to point the T-Bird back towards SCI. Congrats to all that connected in the night and a special thank you to those who were worn out from the Yellowtail and libations of the day and decided to sleep through the BFT night fishing! Additional congrats to our Day 1 jackpot winner Kevin Kom on his P.B C Patch winning 128.1 BFT. That fish also put him atop the leaderboard for the Club Trophy as it stands while I write up this report.

Capt. Steve placed the T-Bird about 200 yards south of where we parked in West Cove on Day 1 (I must admit that I was not up for the hook drop). I woke up and got on deck around 4:45am to stories of the brief WFO moment that was had by those who were fortunate enough to live it. We were joined at the cove with the El Dorado and Tru-Line and a host of additional private boaters. As the story was told to me by Kevin, Capt. Steve was on the deck by himself till aroud 3:30am and had hooked and gaffed himself 3 quality YT before Kevin could grab a gaff and stick his 4th. Kevin then would go on to drop down himself and get greeted with an immediate dropper loop hook-up! Once I was on deck and a little more awake, I noticed a mild squid float happening off the starboard of the T-Bir. Brian D. would later tell me that he was 3 for 3 on the YT and to quote Bill Roecker again “they were biting like nails”. Congrats Brian! Club guest Bob would also join the early morning action and get another Yellowtail for himself. The bite would ultimately shut-off by 4am and we would hang around till 6:10am before pulling the hook and heading back to the 9 with 19 YT added to the RSW. Sorry for not having all the details on the anglers who would contribute to that total.

For our second shot at fishing the 9, I elected to watch from the top deck and take notes rather then fish. I was still pretty tired from fishing the day before and my freezer would be filled to the max with the fish that I had already caught. Below is a timeline of this 1 hour 20 minute fly-line Sardine stop.

With nice sized Sardines in the bait tank and after much pleading with the Captain, the decision was made to go and fish some Bass until we had to leave for the landing. At around 8:25am we arrived at an area near West Cove and dropped the hook along side a kelp lined area. Some bass started to get with it, but so did the Sea Lions as this spot would become a nice warm-up for the club and we would pull the hook after 25 minutes and continue the hunt elsewhere as we made our way around the corner towards the Northwest Harbor.

We arrived and anchored up at Northwest Harbor at 9:20am. This stop would not produce but we were treated to another show of military action on the island that was pretty close to where we were. So with no fish biting, and the ongoing military activites, we were off to another location.

As we continued our way around to the front of the island we arrived at our next spot around 10:15am (Spot #5). This would end up being another short-lived stop as the Bass being caught were of the younger variety so we only stayed for 15 minutes. The next stop was a short distance away and we would get started around 10:35am (Spot #6). It was on this stop that the sun started to shine through the morning marine layer and the bite would get better with several measuring 15”-19”. It was at this spot that Paul C. would catch and release his P.B Calico measuring 19” in length.

Congrats Paul!

Spot # 7 would be a quick 10 minutes as it did not want to cooperate and we would arrive at our next stop (Spot #8) around noon. We would hang around this spot for 20 minutes as it had a decent pick and strong current. My notes don’t have anything noteworthy beyond that so we would head to our final stop (Spot #9). We would fish this last stop for 30 minutes, until 1pm. We had a decent pick at the Bass here with the Calicos measuring 12”-17”. A Bald Eagle was also calling this area home and could be seen flying overhead throughout the stop. As 1pm came upon us, our quest to take down Club President Gary’s 5.1lb Calico (approximate 22” in length) would have to be left up for another trip.

For those curious, here is the list of current 2026 club records as it stands at the end of Trip 2 and publication of this trip report:

Largest BFT – Kevin Kom at 128.1lbs
Largest Calico Bass – Gary Thompson at 5.1lbs
Largest Halibut – Jeff Hinrichs at 30lbs
Largest Yellowtail – Michael Harris at 35.Glbs
Largest White Sea Bass – Luke Burson at 32.8lbs

As we headed back to Newport Landing in flat calm seas, here are a few pictures of the club’s BFT and YT catches. All in all, I think most would agree this was… Not a Bad Trip!

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Fresh fish laid out on ice at a market, with silver bodies and yellow fins visible.

2026: Trip 1 - Thunderbird 1.5 Day

July 8, 2026

Trip #1: Boat: Thunderbird 1.5 day Departs: Thursday, June 25th Fishing: Friday, June 26th Returns: Saturday, June 27th AM Leading up to the trip, the forecast had us a little concerned. Wind was expected to limit our options and potentially make for a challenging day. Fortunately, as often happens in fishing, the stars aligned. We departed around 9:00 PM after receiving reports of a hot bite near Catalina, which became the game plan for the morning and allowed for a shorter run. The destination proved to be Silver Canyon on Catalina's backside west end. Around 4:00 AM, I wandered up on deck to find a good number of anglers already fishing. Luke was bent on a fish that eventually hit the deck as a white seabass (WSB), and I was told Gary had already landed a yellowtail (YT) while Jeffy had put a huge halibut on the deck. I joined the action shortly thereafter. The bite was a bit slow initially, but then things started to happen. Three of us were hooked up simultaneously, resulting in two WSB hitting the deck, including a beautiful 44-pound fish landed by Waleed, Saif's son. Mine unfortunately wasn't one of them. After several minutes of fighting what felt like a quality fish, it made its way to the stern, wrapped three or four other lines—including another angler who was actively fighting a WSB—and eventually threw the hook. Disappointing, but that's fishing. Shortly after first light, the bite erupted for many. Captain Jeff began calling out fish moving under the boat, and chaos—in the best possible way—ensued. Everyone was fishing squid on dropper loops, and fish seemed to be intermittently everywhere. I apologize for not being able to accurately credit every catch because I spent much of the next several hours either hooked up or preparing to get bit again. By 10:00 AM, the scorecard was remarkable: 39 Yellowtail 3 White Seabass 2 Halibut 26 Lost Fish A special mention goes to Jeffy, who landed a beautiful 31-pound halibut. These were not school-sized fish. Most of the yellowtail ranged from roughly 25 to 40 pounds, and fighting multiple fish of that caliber before breakfast was both exhausting and unforgettable. For many of us, it was one of those dream mornings that keeps you coming back. Most anglers had opportunities. A few did everything right and simply never got the bite—a reminder that fishing can be humbling even when the boat is surrounded by fish. Several anglers had outstanding days. Luke was among the high hooks with five fish: four yellowtail and one white seabass. I finished with four yellowtail, three during the morning frenzy and another 12–15 pound fish later on a fly-lined sardine. Bill also brought in some big yellowtail and hooked a fish on the fly line that unfortunately came unbuttoned. Jim B. also had an excellent trip with multiple fish, and several anglers finished with more than one yellowtail. After the yellowtail bite slowed, we made several additional stops looking for fly-line fish before shifting our focus to calico bass. We headed to the kelp beds around San Clemente Island, where the calico fishing was excellent. Several quality fish came aboard, including at least a couple stretching beyond the 20-inch mark. The weather was pleasant, the ocean was cooperative, and it was simply a beautiful afternoon to be on the water. Later, while casting a spinner for calicos, I hooked something considerably larger. It nearly spooled me before finally breaking off. We'll never know what it was, but it definitely got my attention. To finish the day, we returned to the same Catalina area where the morning action had occurred, hoping for a classic sundowner bite. Unfortunately, it never really materialized. We released a juvenile black sea bass of perhaps 30 pounds, caught a few calicos, and I heard reports of a leopard shark and a few sand sharks. While the evening lacked the excitement of the morning, there are certainly worse ways to spend a sunset than drifting off Catalina with friends. One of the highlights of the trip was watching our junior anglers. Gary's grandson successfully landed a yellowtail after Captain Jeff handed him the rod during a hookup. Leedo, Saif's son, not only landed a yellowtail but also the trip's jackpot-winning 44-pound white seabass and finished with an impressive catch that included two yellowtail. He fished with tremendous enthusiasm from start to finish. James Harris had another young guest angler aboard who joined in on the action and boated at least one YT. It's always encouraging to see the next generation discovering what makes this sport so special. The crew deserves tremendous credit. At times there were three or four large yellowtail hanging simultaneously, creating the kind of organized chaos that tests even experienced deckhands. They worked hard, stayed positive, and kept things moving smoothly throughout the day. The snacks were outstanding as always. A special thank-you to Jim B. for the smoked salmon and tartar sauce appetizer and to Sharif for the chilled crab dip, both of which were excellent. Perhaps the biggest factor in our success was having live squid available. Without it, I honestly believe the trip could have been a completely different story. A special thank-you goes to John "Halfday" Fisher, a close friend and longtime mentor of Captain Jeff, whose squid nest provided the bait and whose report the day before helped point us toward the Catalina bite. The sardines worked as well for calicos, although they were absolutely enormous—some of the largest I've seen. When all was said and done, we enjoyed one of those special days that reminds us why we make these trips. Big fish, good friends, beautiful weather, enthusiastic junior anglers, great appetizers, and memories that will last far longer than the fillets in the freezer. The final tally was an impressive 40 yellowtail, 3 white seabass, 2 halibut, and 27 lost fish. Interestingly, the scorecard barely changed after 10:00 AM, which illustrates just how extraordinary the morning bite really was. What the numbers don't reflect is the excellent calico bass fishing we enjoyed throughout the afternoon. On a personal note, I finished with yellowtail weighing approximately 40, 35, and 31 pounds, along with a smaller fly-line fish in the 12–15 pound range. The catch was enough to earn my first club patch, barely surpassing Bill's monster. Congratulations to Waleed, Saif's son, who took the jackpot with his outstanding 44-pound white seabass, the largest fish of the trip. A sincere thank you to Captain Jeff, the crew, and everyone aboard for helping make it such a successful and enjoyable outing. Hopefully Trip #2 is just as memorable.

Group of eight men standing under shade structures outdoors.

2025: Club BBQ

December 31, 2025

White boat sailing on blue water with a brown cliff in the background.

2025: Trip 8 - Thunderbird 1.5 Day

October 13, 2025

Trip #8: Boat: Thunderbird 1.5 day Departs: Thursday, October 2th Fishing: October 3th, 4th Returns: October 4th pm Thunderbird Crew: Capt. Jeff Capt. Chris Jose Nate Goofy Cast of Characters: Bill Parks Steve Morgan Riley Dyer Jim Bertella Justin Becker Jacob Richards Luke Burson Paul Morgan Mike Allen (Scribe) Patrick Thunyakij Bruce Granse Kevon Kong Michael Harris Ryan Burson Oscar Ochoa Ed Chutney Jeff Allen Andrew Ron Shrout Murphy Parks Romeo Ochoa James Harris Ozzie Baktiari Arriving for a trip in the month of October at Newport Landing is a far easier experience then one would have in the summer months of June – September. The dread of driving through the neighborhood in hopes of an empty space large enough to accommodate the larger trucks that many of the club members own seems to dissipate as the offerings are far more plentiful. While the welcomed views of summer also tend to be less abundant, the ensemble of club members arrived with plenty of time to catch-up on some conversations and enjoy a beverage or two.

Man on boat at night holding a large tuna fish, smiling.

2025: Trip 7 - Thunderbird 2.5 Day

September 30, 2025

Trip #7: Boat: Thunderbird 2.5 day Departs: Tuesday, September 16th Fishing: September 17th, 18th Returns: September 19th am Thunderbird Crew: Jeff Markland- Captain Steve Raby- 2nd Captain Carmelo in the Galley Jose & Nate on deck The fishing schedule for 2025 has two 2 1/2 day trips and Trip #7 was the second one. Historically the 2 1/2 dayers fill quickly at the Annual Sign-Up Meeting. This was not the case this year as this trip only filled to about half during the Lottery and the rest of the spots were taken by guests. Here are the members who were on the trip: Gary Thompson, Steve Morgan, Mike Barton, Alex Mesko, Mike Higa, Bill Parks, John Lenker, Steve Lenker, Kyle Shimigawa, and Luke Burson (trip scribe). That is 10 members and the other 13 were all guests. The Club owns the following a big thank you for committing guests to this trip because without them this trip would have put a financial burden on the Club of $8,125. And the Club simply does not have those funds so the trip would have been cancelled. A special thank you to Mike Barton with 5 guests, Steve Lenker with 3, Mike Higa with 2, guests, Steve Morgan with 1 guest, Bryan Upcraft with 1 guest, and Luke Burson with 1 guest. And all the guests fit in perfectly and made it a good group to fish, sleep, and eat with for 2 1/2 days. As the trip approached Gary sent out information a week before with information about the trip. At that point the weather looked good and the fish counts were encouraging. As the trip got closer Gary sent out more information with the weather holding plus the Thunderbird getting limits on their weekend 2 1/2 dayer. All were feeling pretty optimistic about two things that had been missing on previous trips……nice weather and good fishing. On the day of departure, the usual members arrived early to ensure that they would board first to secure the tackle spots that are important to them, Others started to drift in throughout the afternoon. All were challenged with parking because of the local Wednesday street sweeping. Some were luckier than others but everyone found a parking spot. And then to our surprise the Thunderbird arrived close to 4 PM and it was obvious why…..very good fishing. To be specific they had back-to-back multi-day trips with limits of BF. And the buzz for all on the dock was pretty strong. They caught the fish at the Cortez, some at night near SCI but most during the day on bait. We asked about the bait and the group did not have good things to say. We quickly put two and two together that the fishing must be pretty good to do that well with poor bait. And another important item……NO STINKING FULL MOON! Jeff indicated we were headed back to Cortez and to save a little time we were going to take the direct course line around the east end of SCI. We’re expecting a flat smooth ride, we quickly learn that our course line had us in the rolley trough. It turned out to be anything but smooth. Our crew for the 2 1/2 trip was Jeff as our Captain, Steve as the 2nd Captain, Carmelo in the galley with Jose and Nat on deck. We have fished with them many times before so we knew we were in good hands for the 2 1/2 days. We stopped to load bait and to our surprise, that bait looked pretty good. The size could have been bigger as it was all medium to small-medium baits but it looked good. That even increased the anticipation of what was to come. As it turned out about 60% turned red while the rest was good bait. For the next two days, you really had to pick through what was in the hand wells to find the good ones. As we rolled into the “Bank” there was a pretty good electrical show to the west from about 3 AM to 5 AM plus some slight rain. And we could see some boats in the distance. We would learn that we would not be alone at Cortez Bank but because of the way the fish were spread out it would not make a difference. Jeff got the anchor down close to the position that they had success on the last trip and it took a little time for the fish to find us……and they did. It was a slow pick for the next 4 or 5 hours. Occasionally we would have 2 for 3 going but most of the time it was one at a time. The conditions were perfect, a strong current in the right direction and some breeze to keep the boat a little crossways to the current. Jeff said the conditions were perfect. As the morning continued there were two ways to get a bite: 1) hot bait close to the boat, or 2) long soak behind the boat. Although detailed records were not kept it seems that the hot baits close to the boat got 4 to 5 times the bites compared to the long soak. This getting bit close to the boat with hot baits was shared with all as it was working great for a few: light line (20#), small hooks (#6 or #8), the best bait in the well, and then give that bait 30 seconds, and if no bite wind in and do it again. And if the bait did not “swim” then cut your losses and wind in to do it again. Some fished that way and were rewarded, others continue to soak their baits. It was a little frustrating that so many were locked into soaking baits when the other method was working so well. It just must be too much work to change baits every 30 seconds and it is easier to soak them behind the boat. The few anglers who changed baits quickly did pretty very well while others did not……that’s fishing. The fish seem to leave us around 2 PM so Jeff decided to go looking in the direction of SCI. By heading back toward SCI we would have a shot at bigger fish at night. We ran all the way back to within 5 miles of SCI and never saw anything on the electronics. When it got dark the effort changed to working the area where the BF had been at night but after about 5 hours of looking without a single mark on the electronics Jeff decided to head back to Cortez to fish the same location we were in that morning. Carmelo prepared an excellent dinner of marinated chicken, basmati rice, and a Greek-style salad. And of course, it was finished with Klondike Bars. Jeff turned down swell to make it easier to eat but once dinner was over he reversed course and it was pretty bouncy. Most stayed up hoping for a shot at bigger BF but that never happened so everyone went to bed for the ride back to Cortez. Day One - 46 BF, 12#s to 49#s, JP to Todd (guest) 49#s and Patch to Mike Higa 33.4#s. The ride back to Cortez seemed to flatten out but it started to rain and would continue until about 8 AM. We also again had a “Mike Castillo” special event…… dragonflies, thousands of dragonflies. They were everywhere including some in the bunk room. The two heads had more than you could count. All commented that it was good that Mike was not on this trip. It was the most anyone had ever seen on the water. The morning of day two started similarly to day one. The short soak with a hot baits was again working but so was the longer soak. The fish catching was spread out among all fishing. And there were some consistent bigger models in the mix, still the 12-15 pounders but more of the 20 pounders and 30 pounders. Jeff moved the boat a few times, we drifted some, and also anchored in deeper water. While drifting and in the deeper anchored spots a few fish were caught on the “drop shot rig” but most were caught flylining. At times time guys fishing 25# and 30# got bit as well as the 20#. We worked this well into the afternoon when it was ROCK CODDING time. And we did not have to travel but a few miles. Jeff set the boat up on a spot that produced for the last trip and it was good. Almost solid Reds, just a few other fish mixed in. Most guys fished bait (fresh dead squid), some fished jigs. The bait clearly outfished the jigs. We did this until it was time to head home to Newport. During the course of the day, the weather got better and better. Our ride home was very smooth. Carmelo prepared Tri-Tip, mashed potatoes, and a green salad. The desert was ice cream. After dinner, all broke down gear and went to bed pretty early. Day Two - 34BF, 12#s to 33#s, JP and Patch to Mike HIga 33.#s (same size as day 1). Also 92 Reds! Note: Mike won the patch both days and also won one on an earlier trip……3 patches this year for Mike Higa, well done! We got back to the dock about 4 AM, did our standard offload, distributed the fish and everyone went home happy with BF and Reds. It was an excellent trip. Trip total - 80 BF and 92 Reds (four short of boat limits). This was one of the better trips of the year for the DWRRC. Luke “Just one more cast!”

2025: Trip 6 - Thunderbird 1.5 Day

September 30, 2025

Trip #6: Boat: Thunderbird 1.5 day Departs: Firday September 5th Fishing: September 5th - September 6th Returns: September 6th, AM Thunderbird Crew: Jeff Markland- Captain Steve Raby- 2nd Captain Jose & Nate on deck Carmelo in the Galley To everyone’s surprise the first to arrive on Thursday to get head of the line privileges was of all people Tony Beall! Damn! As the afternoon wore on into the evening, the remainer of the group made their way to the dock. The Thunderbird rolled in around 6:30pm and it was clear, fishing had been thoroughly trashed due to poor weather offshore. They fished San Clemente Island for two days for a handful of yellowtail, but good calico bass fishing. After I wandered down to the boat, and speaking with Jeff, confirmed the weather was forecast to be poor where the tuna had been, and they disappeared, and we would be relegated to fishing “an island or two”. So what did that mean? Well a very reliable squid light boat source had reported to Jeff that day that he had seen a large volume of yellowtail at Santa Barbara Island that same day. So Jeff said we will head there first and check it out, then scour the previous tuna grounds west of San Clemente Island later as we head to San Clemente Island to fish for bass and hopefully some yellowtail there. So off we went. We already had a few scoops of squid on the boat and the sardines we got were very good. Travel out was rather sporty as we had wind and swell and were traveling at a poor angle due to the course line required. 60 miles of shit weather does not make for sleeping very well. We arrived at Santa Barbara Island around 4:10am on the squid grounds and fished a couple areas in the front and back of the island for nothing. Screaming current- Dropper loop needed 16 oz to hold bottom in only 100 feet of water. There was no sign of the yellowtail from the day before. It figures. Around 8:45am Jeff said he had enough, pulled the plug and we headed to the next island via the tuna grounds. An interesting note was the wind had backed off and by 9:00am, it was actually pretty pleasant on the water. Spent the next several hours traveling and scouting the tuna grounds where the fish had been. Stopped on one spot on the sonar and had some fish under the boat for one missed bite on Luke’s drop shot rig. Arrived at the “9” on the west end of San Clemente Island to start. Heavy current and every sea lion at the island were there. Saw a couple Yellowtail boils but no bites. Moved to the north kelp at Northwest Harbor and the bass bit well for 20 minutes or so until the current backed off and the kelp floated. After that fished a number of spots “spot hopping” down the front side the rest of the day, a couple good bass bites and some pick bites, but no yellowtail to be found. A couple boils here and there but no volume or any biters. And all the sea lions we wanted. We were the only sportfishing boat there so we couldn’t “share the wealth” with anyone. The wind had come up again around mid-afternoon and made things pretty difficult as it was wind against the current all afternoon. Ended up in Pyramid Cove and fished in there until it was time to head home. Carmelo put out a very good dinner of tri-tip, potatoes, asparagus and salad, topped off with our usual Klondike Bar desert. Left for home at 10:00pm and another “sporty”, no sleep ride until inside Catalina. Arrived at around 4:15am, everyone unloaded and that was it! Trip total-NO “gamefish”, near boat limits of calico bass, some kept and most released, 1 really micro bonito, 1 barracuda, TWO Blue Perch! Also some miscellaneous whitefish and sheephead mixed in. Needless to say the old fixing axiom does apply to this trip: “You should have been here yesterday, wait until tomorrow” JP & Patch winner- Bill Parks- 4.5 lb Calico Bass One item that I find encouraging is the calico bass fishing at the island. The percentage of legal (14 inch) and above fish is way up from the past, and although the bite is not fully consistent, if you work at it, you can get some decent ones. Also, it seems the quantity of calicos is increasing as compared to the last couple of years. I am convinced that the 14” size limit which allows the spawners to grow enough to spawn may actually be contributing. Time will tell. Well that’s it! Next up, 2.5 day trip leaving Tuesday 9/16 returning Friday early morning 9/19. Your Scribe (Again)- Gary Thompson

A boat deck with a large haul of various fish, including tuna, after a fishing trip.

2025: Trip 5 - Thunderbird 2.5 Day

August 25, 2025

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