Trip #7:

Boat: Thunderbird 2 day

Departs: Thursday, September 24th

Fishing: September 25th and 26th

Returns: September 26th pm

Why can’t we be friends?

Cast of Characters:

1. Bryan Upcraft

2. Ryan Burson

3. Tony Beall

4. James Harris

5. Oscar Ochoa

6. Luke Burson

7. Mike Allen

8. Mike Higa

9. Tom Hill

10. Paul Morgan

11. Frank Monzon

12. Bill Parks

13. Shelby guest of Tom Hill

14. Rick F guest of Frank Monzon

15. Jimmy guest of James Harris

16. Mike L guest of Mike Allen

17. Chris N guest of Paul Morgan

18. Lucas N guest of Alex Arthur

19. Mark G guest of Mike Higa

20. Saif Liswi

21. John Simmons guest of Frank Monzon

22. Chet Prak guest of Frank Monzon

23. Patrick Thunyakij

Thunderbird Crew:

Capt. Chris May, Capt. Steve Raby, Goofy, Jared, and Austin

A special Thank You to all the D.W.R.R.C members who brought guests on this trip to ensure that it was a Go! Guests made up 9 of the 23 anglers on board and they were all very capable fishermen and a pleasure to fish with.

Per the normal trip deportation day, the group got there early to hang outside the landing and commensurate prior to hitting the deck of the Thunderbird, which was already tied up at the dock. Our club president was there collecting the $75 fuel surcharge that has been imposed due to the high cost of diesel fuel. Having the T-Bird already at the dock made the embarkation process far less hectic as we were able to put our gear and personal items on earlier rather than later.



After putting all our personal items on, most headed off to grab some dinner. Many hit up the Get Mex restaurant which never disappoints. Other enjoyed some Thai food and some elected to drink their dinner. As we made our way to the bait barge we all waited with much anticipation as to what we would have available to us. We ended up with tanks full of large Sardines and we were all loaded up and headed to the Osborne by 9:45pm in flat calm seas.

DAY 1: As the anchor came tight at the Osborne it was time to wait for the sun to come up as Capt. Steve informed us that nothing has been biting in the dark. That didn’t stop some as they were able to get the Bullet Tuna to go. Mike H. and Paul M. led the way as we all admired the first Tuna of the trip around 5:50am. The Bullet Tuna are a unique catch for the Southern California Bight but they have made their way up with the warm waters that have taken over our coast. The water temperature at the Osborne was 72°F with a very nice current for our trip. Capt. Steve indicated that he has not seen them up here since 2009 and they offer plenty of fun as they school up well and will hit pretty much anything including the small metal jigs that many anglers were using to keep our bait supply strong



As gray light hit around 6:30am, it wasn’t long for our first Yellowfin Tuna (target species) to hit the deck. The lucky angler to connect with the first YFT was James’ guest Jimmy.



As the morning went on, it would be another guest that would provide some quick entertainment. Frank’s guest Chet would hook into a Marlin on 40# that would almost spool him before he made the wise decision to stop the spool and let the Marlin have its freedom. The crew had indicated that they had hooked 8 Marlin on their last trip so this came as no surprise. As the clock hit 7am some more YFT started to hit the deck. Our club president would be the first member to boat a YFT as Ryan also hooked up with something mysterious that he wasn’t able to move. Around 7:05, Jared while working from the top of the bait tank, started the very fun technique of Popper fishing. He connected within a few casts and opened the eyes of many of the anglers on deck who had never tried this technique in the ocean. Jared indicated that his fish bit on two pops and then dead sticking. From there the YFT would continue to have a punker bite throughout the morning. Many anglers would enjoy the action as the Skipjack would now start to join the rotation. One cool bite that I got to observe aside from YFT blowing up on the Popper was James’ guest Jimmy catching a YFT on a 3/4oz metal jig (Megabait) while fishing a lightweight Spinning outfit. A move that I am sure would have gotten the appreciation of Michael Harris (who wasn’t on board) as he is our resident coffee grinder afficionado. 



A quick break from the report to provide a few more details about the Popper of choice for all the Tackle Junkies who are reading this. The Popper was from a Japanese manufacturer named Noeby. I have provided a picture and the specs, a quick google search indicated that it could be purchased pretty consistently overseas. Jared informed me that he and another buddy bought over 100 of them and have sold them throughout the summer to trip guests. Watching him and Capt. Chris consistently hook YFT with this offering made me a believer and many club members and guests got very proficient with this technique. I lost count of how many Frank hooked with this technique but my notes stopped keeping track at 8 YFT and 1 Skippy. James also joined the action with 2 on the Popper and I apologize to any of the others who were sucessful using this technique as watching a football YFT blow up on a surface bait never gets old.

Here is a quick snap of the rod details that were used for throwing the Popper in case anybody was curious or wanted to look into getting a set-up for this type of fishing. The reel of choice was the TranX in either 300 or 400 size with a short top shot of 60-100# FC on a buttoned down drag to make quick work of these YFT and to ensure the Popper does not get busted off.

Now back to the action. As the group of anglers was making pretty clean work of the YFT and Skipjack with flylined Sardines, Capt. Chris would come over the loud speaker to inform us of YT schools being metered on the bottom. It was on one of these annoucements that club president Bill would take notice and connect with a YT that was not more than 40lbs (41 ¼” x 22 ¾” on the tape) on a mint colored YoYo. Bill’s hard fighting YT would go on to be the patch and JP winner for Day 1. Congrats Bill!

Around 11:15am the bite really got going. The bulk of the fish would be caught between 11:15am and 2:45pm. It was a consistent bite and the only question would be what Tuna would be hooked. You could tell prety quickly when it was a Skpijack vs. a YFT as the Skipjack are far faster swimmers and offer a far more erratic battle. Some anglers would be blessed with hooking majority YFT, while others couldn’t seem to get away from hooking a Skipjack. The fish were biting lighter line presentations between 20-30# FC on small #4 hooks and if you could find a smaller Sardine in the well it would usually result in a fish despite its appearance. Goofy was serving up his delicious Boat Burgers and the bite would roll through until the decision was made to pull the hook and start trolling around 3:10pm as we made our way back to San Pedro to get more bait (micro anchovy and Sardines) with plans to return to the Osborne for day 2. Our day 1 totals would be 72 YFT, 16 Skipjack, and 2 YT.

As we arrived at the San Pedro bait barge it was time to reflect and eat! Goofy grilled up some excellent steaks with potatoes and salad. The meal was topped off with the always appreciated Drum Sticks for dessert. Happy Hour was in full swing and to say that the wine and other libations was flowing would be an understatement. It has been a very long time since I have been a part of a Happy Hour on deck that would go so strong that I woke up with a hangover and foggy memories of the conversations and comraderie that had been shared the evening before. Good times were certainly had by all! 

Day 2: We arrived back at the Osborne and were greeted with more flat calm conditions as we bellied up next to the Amigo. The Amigo is always a welcomed sight as the club spent many years on the deck of this fine fishing platform with Capt. Mike Thompson or Shano at the helm. A quick view around the T-Bird and you could certainly tell that it was Saturday at the Osborne by the many private boaters and Sportfishers on the high spot.

As the crew started to chum the mico-chovy the Bullet Tuna were quick to come in and offer the opportunity for the anglers to get their skills correct. It was pretty much every cast for these migratory visitors and the first other fish of the trip would come for club president Bill with a Skipjack around 7:30am. Yesterday the Skipjack took several hours to find us but that was not looking like the case today. Mike H’s guest Mark would put the first YFT on the deck for Day 2 around 7:37am and from there the bow of the T-Bird would put on another consistent bite on the Poppers. Frank and his guests would put on a nice showing via the Popper from the bow while the others worked flylined baits from the rest of the boat. The Skipjack were biting so well that I managed to hook one on a bare hook while retrieving back to the deck after reeling off my Sardine when it stopped showing the motivation to swim. This bite would continue till around 8:30am when it started to dwindle out.

As the lull was setting in Capt. Chris would once again come over the loud speaker that he was metering YT on the bottom. Taking notice was Oscar who dropped down a purple tinited 6X Jr YoYo and connected with what would become the Day 2 JP and patch winner. Congrats Oscar! His fish, like Bill’s the day before, would go no bigger than 40lbs. Oscar was feeling camera shy after the fish came to gaff but I did manage to grab a few shots of his battle and Jared modeling his fish for the report.

We would remain on the hook until around 10am when would try a few drifts for nada. From there the decision was made to start trolling at 10:30am. After about 10 minutes of trolling Capt. Chris would meter a school that would justify a stop and chum. As we were on the slide from stopping the boat, Alex Arthur’s guest (not on the trip), Lucas would provide some entertainment for all as he hooked into a Striped Marlin while sinking out a brand new 40g Blue/White Zakana Jig.

While Lucas was fighting his Marlin on the bow, Mike H. would also hook up on a Marlin from the stern. Mike’s Marlin would make a few jumps to give visual confirmation that it was a Marlin and Mike elected to break off his fish. Meanwhile Lucas was very much connected to his Marlin and proceeded to get as comfortable as he could while his fish would give a nice aerial show.

Lucas would continue to stay connected with his Marlin and over the next 20 minutes, he and Jared would tagteam his catch as the decision was made to keep this fish if given the opportunity. That opportunity would eventaully come around 11am as the Marlin would ultimately come to gaff for a very happy and tired Lucas! Congrats Lucas on a catch that I am sure you will remember for a lifetime!

Once on deck and bonked out before it went nuts, the bill and the tail were cut off with a saw by Jared and given to Lucus as a keepsake. It was at this time that Oscar informed Lucus that he needed to take a bite of the tail meat as it was a time honored tradition for those who have caught their first Marlin (kind of like eating the heart of your first Tuna)… I performed a quick google search of this and I apologize Lucus for the results of my search. The same search did confirm that eating the heart of your first Tuna is a recognized thing…

Despite everything, Lucus was a sport and took a big bite out of the Marlin’s tail section while many of us questioned Oscar on his evilness. A good time was had by all and we continued our troll on our way back to Newport Landing around 12:15pm. While we were stopped from the Marlin, the Pacific Voyager would also hook a Marlin and the anglers and crew were treated to another aerial showing as that Marlin would make a nice long jumping run away from the boat of the Sportfisher. One other note to the fight of Lucus’ Marlin was that a private boater thought it would be cool to get a little close to the T-Bird while we were hooked up. Capt. Chris came over the loud speaker to inform the niave captain that he was getting a little too close and a bevy of other communication tactics were deployed in the direction of the private boater who ultimately became a non-event and wouldn’t change the outcome of this Marlin. A little plate of Marlin Shashimi was curated by Jared and shared along with some soy sauce for everybody to try. It was very good and an expereince that I doubt I will ever have again so thank you to Jared and Lucus for sharing the catch!

As we made our way back to the Landing, many made their way to the sun deck of the T-Bird. We were treated to nice and flat calm seas and sunny skies as the libations and stories were deployed and a feeling of success was shared. On the trip back we were greeted by a young Tern that hithchiked a ride for a bit and even took perch on Paul M’s shoulder for a bit. I was unfortunately unable to get a picture of that in time. It is pretty cool the things we are fortunate to witness while spending time on the water…

Our final count for Day 2 was 23 more YFT, 1 YT, and 1 Striped Marlin! Once again I would like to say Thank You to all the guests who came out in support of this trip and the memebers who extended them the invitation! 



That’s all I got for this one, hope you enjoyed – Mike Allen (scribe)