Dana Wharf Rod and Reel Club Trip Reports

2025: Club BBQ

Wed, 31 Dec 2025 04:54:33 GMT

2025: Trip 8 - Thunderbird 1.5 Day

Mon, 13 Oct 2025 08:15:33 GMT

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.

As conversations started circulating about what the plans were going to be, the one thing that was well understood by everybody was that the wind was going to join for this trip as it has in past trips in October. We knew what kind of conditions we were going to be battling and with appropriate planning, Jim showed up to the landing in a full life vest. You can never be too safe and the tribute to Hayden was much appreciated as we waited for the Thunderbird to arrive back at the dock from their previous trip.

We did our boarding and safety speech thing and pushed off from the bait barge with a nice assortment of medium to large sized Sardines as we set off to seek our entertainment at Pyramid Cove. It was going to be too windy and nasty to try our hand at the Bluefin, so it was determined that day one was going to be spent fishing SCI for the very hit-and-miss Yellowtail. The crossing was bumpy and we arrived at the cove around 3am thanks to the nice cruising speed of the Thunderbird. At the cove were maybe 3-5 assorted sport and private boats as we set the anchor and deployed the squid lights in hopes of floating some candy. The squid never really floated for us so the early risers of Patrick, Jeff, Jim, Luke and I joined Capt. Chris in jigging up some squid. Thankfully the squid liked the jig and we were able to make a couple full hand wells worth. Luke was little to no help as he must have still been waking up and tied his squid jig up-side-down. He made several drops while the others around him easily pulled a piece or two until he discovered his mistake. I have enclosed a picture below of the correct orientation of a squid jig for those who are unaware. As the very early morning wore on more club members joined to help including Ed, Paul, and Ron.

The Fury joined up with us in the cove around 4:30am and passed off a couple of scoops of squid to help our cause as we transitioned to fishing dropper loops in search of a pre-gray night bite.

The pre-gray night bite never materialized and Ron hooked into the first dropper loop YT of the trip at right about 6am. That started our bite that was pretty much over by 7:30am. We had to work through a bit of a learning curve of tangles and getting our game together as we probably suffered a 30% casualty rate over the next one and a half hours. One YT that had earned its freedom from another angler elected to swim through Bill and Murphy Parks dropper loops at the bow and proceeded to tangle itself up. Jeff was quick to the rescue and within the tangle managed to somehow get the still connected free swimmer. Jeff handlined the 20-30# YT and was able to bring it aboard! I have seen a lot of things in my time on the water, but that was a first for me. When the dust was all settled on the first bite of our trip the club ended with 10 YT and a Halibut. Ron and Jeff led the way, each catching two YT from the stop much to the envy of those less fortunate. Most fish were caught on the dropper loop but Ryan did manage a YT on a squid tipped YoYo.

About the time we were pulling the hook and starting off for our next spot, the military came through and gave us and the rest of the fleet the boot… Jeff came on the speaker to let us know that we would be spending the next 12 hours of fishing a 3 mile stretch of the island with winds blowing 20-30 knots all the way…

Stop #2: We made our way towards White Rock and secured the anchor at around 8:45am. The water was nice and clean at 69°F and we fished the spot until 9:15 or so for lots of Calicos eating the fly lined Sardines. No real size to the Calicos as thoughts of taking down Jim’s reigning Calico title for the 2025 season were on everybody’s mind.

Stop #3: We made a run up the island a little bit to the next stop that Nate told me was called Waterfall. We fished the spot until about 10:30am for more Calico’s with a little mix of Bonita. This spot also yielded a younger model YT that Riley managed to bring to gaff for the 11th YT of the day.

Stop #4: We moved on to a reef area where we dropped the anchor and stayed for about 20 minutes until 11:30 or so. The area really didn’t offer much but Ryan did manage to catch a Blue Perch which we know would have made our Club President very happy if he were on board.

Stop #5: We arrived at another spot that was referred as Little Flower at noon. This stop produced much of the same assortment of Calicos and club guest Ozzie managed to score himself a YT, bringing the total up to 12 for the day.

Stop #6: As it was now past noon and Goofy’s boat burgers were starting to make an appearance. We ended up near a couple of military dive boats. We were greeted with more Calicos and the size was becoming legal with a few nicer models. The wind was continuing its beat down and getting ever stronger as we fished. It was here that the first bird bite happened with Patrick doing the honor.

Stop #7: The next stop wasn’t very eventful other than more wind and white caps. We were near the cove where Jeff was expecting the rest of the fleet to make their way towards this afternoon/evening. He wanted to get us set up on his alpha spot so we pulled the hook and made our way over to Pyramid Cove where we would stay for the night at around 4pm.

Once in the Cove many enjoyed watching the Pacific Queen attempt and re-attempt to get their anchor to stick. We had to do the same compliments of the wind that was blowing at a legit 30 knots at times. Bill was able to create a make-shift drinking light in honor of Hayden and the bar was open as we worked our way into Friday night and dinner on the hook at the alpha spot with thoughts of redemption for the early AM! Goofy served up Meatloaf as the night settled upon us.

Day 2: At around 4am, I made my way to the deck to find that Ron, Bill, Romeo, and Pat were already up and at the rail. Chris had been greeted with floating squid so our tanks were full and no rations would be put on squid use for the day. The cove was full with 15-20 Sport boats as Jeff’s idea that everybody was going to make their way rang true. Also joining us in the cove were a few Rizzo Dolphins. So here we go, we have floating squid and a ton of boat traƯic and Rizzo Dolphins roaming the cove as we get closer and closer to 6am which was about the time the action started the previous day. 6:25am hits and the first YT of the day bites Jeff (again) on the dropper loop. This is quickly followed by Steve hooking another! Both fish are landed so we are on the board so far with zero casualties. A quick look around and little to no action was happening on the decks of the surrounding fleet. As the morning rolled on Jim elected to switch to a white fluke and gets bit on his 2 nd cast. The fish kicked his butt as he fought the fish on his Tranx 500. Ultimately the fish came to gaff and our count was now 3 YT. As the sunlight came through Patrick was rewarded with another dropper loop YT. The fish was caught using a 40# fluorocarbon dropper loop that I guess is a thing that I wasn’t aware of, having always just used mono for the dropper loop. Patrick’s fish would end up on the gaff and the count was now 4 YT and pretty much no other action happening. Our thoughts for redemption or at least a little fish karma for battling the winds the day before would fall short for the time being.

Day 2, Stop #2: We pulled the hook and moved to the other side of the cove. This stop added another two YT to our counts as both Murphy and Ryan caught younger versions of YT on the surface iron. Sorry, my phone died so no pictures can be provided as visual evidence…

Day 2, Stop #3: We made another move away from the Cove and around to the frontside and shortly after getting the boat all settled on the hook, Luke hooked into a nice drag puller on a fly lined Sardine that elected to run straight down. We were in pretty tight to a reef and the fish on the other end of Luke’s line seemed legit as he moved throughout the boat and caught a bunch of line and tangles as he maneuvered his way to the stern. It was a bit of a cluster, but the crew did a great job of keeping Luke in contact with his fish which later came to gaff as a thin YT probably in the mid 20s. The Calicos were really starting to go when the Navy came running towards us and ultimately booted us off the spot…

Day 2, Stop #4: Jeff tried a new spot that he wanted to check out and no love was found so we quickly moved on.

Day 2, Stop #5: Anchored up and starting chumming to a nice flurry of Bass boils. The stern was in full action as lots of Calicos were on the chew. The bite kind of came and went and Jim managed to catch and release a YT on the bow while most were in the stern fishing the Calicos. Thank god that Calicos do not grow to be 200lbs… These things regularly eat baits that are pretty much the same size as them so I could only imagine what they would eat if given the chance to grow that large…

Day 2, Stop #6: This would prove to be our last stop at around noon. As the Thunderbird settled in tight to the island, the Calicos went oƯ for the next two hours! It was every cast with a fly lined Sardine. The mood on the boat got really serious and the concentration level intensified as we took aim at Jim’s Calico trophy. As the bite prolonged the quantity of nicer grade Calicos started coming over the rail. Plenty of four and five pound fish were being pulled over the rail and released. Those fishing squid on the bottom that were named either Oscar or Romeo got into several beautiful grade Trigger fish! It was nice to be out of the wind at this spot and it got hot as the bite went on. Several anglers tapped out and took refuge at the top deck where I am sure a beverage or two were consumed in the sun! The bite was great and all worked really hard to take down Jim’s Calico trophy. But in the end the best contender was landed by Ozzie (guest). Ozzie’s fish was a PB for him as he quickly released the fish after a couple of pictures. Congrats Ozzie! As the clock hit 2pm it was all said and done as we pulled the hook and headed for home. Jim’s Calico Trophy would remain in his possession and the usual ritual of breaking down gear and mixing in a nap were all being performed as we listened to the Dodgers take down the Phillies in game 1 of the Division series!

Day 1 Jackpot: Oscar with a 34# YT (Honorable Mention – James)

Day 2 Jackpot: Steve with a 32# YT (Honorable Mention – Patrick and Jim)

CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL!

2025: Trip 7 - Thunderbird 2.5 Day

Tue, 30 Sep 2025 03:58:13 GMT

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

Tue, 30 Sep 2025 03:15:45 GMT

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

2025: Trip 5 - Thunderbird 2.5 Day

Mon, 25 Aug 2025 18:44:41 GMT

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

2025: Trip 4 - Thunderbird 2 Day

Mon, 11 Aug 2025 18:44:02 GMT

Trip #4:

Boat: Thunderbird 2 day

Departs: Thursday August 7th

Fishing: August 8th, 9th

Returns: August 9th pm

Trip 4 started as usual with people arriving at Newport Landing at all hours of the day with anticipation of fishing. The preliminary reports from Gary Thompson were all too familiar to what we’ve seen this year. Bait was going to be an issue. And last but not least, was the fish seemed to pop up one day and then disappear the next. Nevertheless, everyone was ready to go.

Friday morning saw us anchored at the usual cove off SCI. Weather was OK; fishable, but not a lot of fish. But the ones we caught were quality yellowtail and white sea bass. The sea lions provided ample entertainment …err I mean frustration. We hopped around to a few spots picking up the occasional calico but not much. Day 1 jackpot went to Alex Arthur (Justin Becker’s Guest) with the patch going to Nick Burson for some chunky YT’s

Day 2 started much as it did Day 1 but the weather was worse than Day 1. We looked here and there with only 3 yellowtail to show for our efforts. Eventually, the Thunderbird turned towards offshore waters to try our luck at some bluefin. Unfortunately, the fish didn’t get the memo and we saw neither sign or had any bites. Mr, “Hey that’s my fish” Tom Hill was the lucky jackpot and patch winner for Day 2 with a 15# YT.

So, there you have it, not a, “Hey you missed a great trip” kind ‘a trip but per usual, the members of our club all seemed to enjoy doing what we do. It’s not always about the fish; it’s about the people and the experience. LOL! Who am I kidding…we all want more fish.

Until next time, step to the right/left and take up your slack.

2025: Trip 3 - Thunderbird 2 Day

Thu, 31 Jul 2025 08:54:45 GMT

Trip #3:

Boat: Thunderbird 2 day

Departs: Thursday July 24

Fishing: July 25 and 26

Returns: July 26 pm

Trip 3 started as usual with people arriving at Newport Landing at all hours of the day and anticipation for fishing high. The preliminary reports from Gary Thompson were not great. Bait was going to be an issue. Anchovies were sick, too hot for squid, and no sardines. Nevertheless, everyone was ready to go. Due to some late cancellations (bummer), there were 21 passengers on the trip.

Gary gave the pre-trip update before boarding with the news that we would make the ride down to Dana Wharf, where there were good sardines for bait. That was the good news. The bad news was that it was going to be a bumpy ride out and wind was going to be an issue, and we probably wouldn’t make it to San Clemente Island. Our initial destination would be Catalina. So, at 9pm off we went.

Friday morning saw us anchored at China cove at Catalina. I haven’t been with the club long, but my understanding from some of the older members is that the club hasn’t fished Catalina in many years. I was up at 3:30ish and there were a few hearty souls trying to make squid bait. 2-3 at a time on squid jigs, and eventually we had a decent amount of squid to go along with the sardines. Possibly a good sign.

Gradually all the fisherman got lines in the water, with most people dropping down by 5am, waiting for the fish to bite. Well, the yellowtail and white seabass were a no show. We did have a pretty incredible black seabass bite. A total of 6 were hooked, 3 broke off, and 3 were landed (all by Jim Bertella) and released.

At 7:30 Captain Chris decided to make the move over to San Clemente Island. We looked for kelp patties and bluefin on the way. Again, fish were a no show (there’s a theme happening here). Made it to Clemente about 11:30. We spent the rest of the day fighting winds at Clemente. Most of the fishing was close to the island with catch and release calico fishing, although a few nice ones were kept. A few small yellowtail were caught on bait, and one on a surface iron. On any other trip these probably would have been released, but beggars can’t be choosers.

Final count for day 1 was 9 yellowtail. Gary Thompson won jackpot.

We anchored at Clemente for Friday night. Overnight the squid came up and we woke to plenty of squid in the bait tanks. We started fishing early Saturday morning by dropping down for yellowtail. Once again, the fish were a no show. It wasn’t for lack of trying. All the passengers dropped lines and were giving it the best effort. Enthusiasm remained high. A small halibut was caught, along with a few barracuda.

At 7:30 we pulled anchor and started looking for bluefin. At 8, a small bluefin was caught on the troll by one of our guests. No other fish were willing to bite and we kept looking. No luck. At mid-morning, Chris set us up for some rockfishing drifts. Most of the fish caught were salmon grouper, but people at least had a shot to fill their bags.

After the rockfishing, we were back on the troll. We covered a wide area of ground. I believe at one point we may have entered into Mexican waters. We saw no bluefin during the troll. Finally, we had to start heading back to the landing. As we were heading north, we saw one our first and last kelp patty. It would be our last stop for the trip. On the stop, one yellowtail was caught using a colt sniper. Like the yellowtail on day 1, it wasn’t big (generous to call it 8 pounds), but it was a keeper and the jackpot fish (sad but true).

Final count for day 2 was 1 yellowtail, 1 bluefin on the troll, 1 halibut, and a couple of barracuda. Brian Drazba won jackpot.

Despite the rough weather and challenging fishing conditions. Captain and crew were great as always. Never gave up. And I believe all club members and guests had a good time. We can’t always have great days and it just gets us ready for the next trip.

Submitted respectfully,

Brian Drazba

2025: Trip 2 - Thunderbird 2 Day

Sat, 19 Jul 2025 21:01:27 GMT

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

2025: Trip 1 - Thunderbird 1.5 Day

Sat, 05 Jul 2025 20:49:36 GMT

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!

2024: Club BBQ

Wed, 12 Feb 2025 20:44:25 GMT

2024: Trip 8 - Thunderbird 2 Day

Wed, 09 Oct 2024 20:51:28 GMT

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

2024: Trip 7 - Thunderbird 2.5 Day

Tue, 24 Sep 2024 19:05:51 GMT

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

2024: Trip 6 - Thunderbird 1.5 Day

Tue, 10 Sep 2024 18:59:28 GMT

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

2024: Trip 5 - Thunderbird 2.5 Day

Sat, 31 Aug 2024 18:53:29 GMT

Trip #5:

Boat: Thunderbird 2.5 Day

Departs: Tuesday August 20th

Fishing: August 21st, 22nd

Returns: August 23rd am

2024: Trip 4 - Thunderbird 2 Day

Tue, 13 Aug 2024 20:35:42 GMT

Trip #4:

Boat: Thunderbird 2 day

Departs: Thursday August 8th

Fishing: August 9th & 10th

Returns: August 10th PM

“In every species of fish I’ve angled for, it is the ones that got away that thrill me the most”.

— Ray Bergman: The late Ray Bergman was born in Nyack, New York in 1891 & died

there in 1967. He wrote for "Outdoor Life" magazine for 26 years.

I am not going to bore you with the same deck foreplay that usually starts these scribe histories. Yes, Hayden showed up before dawn. Yes, guys dropped their bags and went to their usual watering holes and dinner spots.

What was unique is Paul forgot his tackle box. That, I would think, would be hard to do….but he did scurry home and get what ne needed. By the goodness of all on the deck, he was allowed to keep his place in line. Ian and I have “day jobs” so we did not show up to see the morning coffee being made at Newport Landing Restaurant. Instead we arrived at 6 PM. Getting a call from Roy asking if I’m still attending the trip was entertaining; glad he cared enough to make sure I was aboard! It was interesting that when we did arrive, all the gear was on board and bunks were taken. Now I know why you arrive early; my top bunk was not the best on board. Next time I will take conference calls while watching the Ferris Wheel! As I grabbed my bunk and dropped my tackle box, I noticed an earie tranquility on The Thunderbird. NO GOOFY! I am not an old DWRRC salty dog like the rest of this crew, but in my 3 years in the Club, Goofy has been a main-stay. Always there, always giving someone sh_t and certainly taking some too. That tranquil glow graced us the entire trip.

We left at 7 PM, picked up bait and started off to Cortez Bank. There was some hints of wind, but we decided to brave the elements. We arrived at the Bank around 5:30 AM and Jeff rolled us into some deeper water. We started fishing around 6 AM to a nice bite of Blue Fin. We had at least 2

loaded up consistently on that stop, with schoolies of 25-40 pounds. We dragged in 52 BFT on that stop with a few Yellow Tail coming aboard as well. Jim (6) Brian (4), BJ (6) and Saif were pretty active with nice numbers and good quality. Andy and Ryan pulled in some nice Yellows. It was good to see that Ryan could still pull on fish. His back, for the most part, held up while fishing for Pelagics. Fly line was the set-up of choice on this stop, but Yoyos and drop shots were also successful.

We moved off this part of the Bank and moved to shallow water as the bite seemed to taper off as we continued to fish that stop. There were some that thought we should stay….Captain Jeff made the right decision! At 8:30 we pulled up into more shallow waters at 120 feel and anchored. We were not alone, in looking around there were at least 10 other Sport Boats in the area sitting on the same shallow bank.

We moved off that anchor around 11 AM. We had to move as the boat LIMITED OUT on Blue fin with 104 boated (that includes the 52 from the earlier spot). We also bagged 35+ Yellow Tail! What was great about that stop was the quality of fish and the ability to catch YT and BFT at the same spot. If you had a Drop Shot on or you were Yoyo-ing, or fly line you were hooking up! It was an epic morning bite and one for the record books. Saif bagged 16 fish (10 BFT /6 YT) BJ- 11 (9 BFT/2 YT), Jim- 13 (11BFT/2 YT) and Steve- 10 (8 BFT/2 YT). These 4 guys caught 50 of the 145 fish caught…well done guys. (NOTE: I’m sure I missed another Big Hitter on this list, so apologies if I missed someone…I was too busy wrestling my own catch!).

Since everyone had smiles on their faces and a full fish hold, Jeff moved us to bottom fishing. The Bank always shines with Big Reds and a sprinkling of other cod mixed in. Jeff let the boat know that we were headed off to bottom fish and gear up for bite.

Everyone has their “ultimate” bottom set-up. I like the double dropper loop with a bunch of squid, Saif showed on deck with a large Blue Fin knife Jig. As I looked at the different rigs, I catch Mike with a dildo strapped onto his line! What the hell is that? The “tail” was long and the head would make any porn star blush. It did catch fish, but Mikey was bummed that his tail got eaten off. The knife jig stole the show as Saif brought up some huge cod monsters from the deep.

I was fishing next to Paul and, on the drop, he got nailed. He was fishing a Tranx 500, so coming up was not fun; but he pulled up 2 massive, beautiful reds that put a nice smile on his face! Unfortunately, Ryan did not have a smile on his face, the heavy swells and waves did a number on his back….not fun fighting those swells with a bad back.

We made 2 different drifts and brought in some beautiful fish; Reds, Bocaccio, Vermillion, and a few Sheephead. I caught a huge White Fish that I was excited to cook up when I got home. Guys who wanted to “fill their sacks” had that opportunity and we made quick time to leave the swells and white capped waves. A third drift was not warranted.

We headed to San Clemente (The Island, not the beach town) around 3 PM. Night fishing for Blue Fin was off the agenda with limits on the boat, so that offered up many options for the thirsty fisherman. Some started Happy hour early while others bunked down for a few hours. I decided to nap a bit and came up to quite a happy hour crew. It did not take long to join the party, Bourbon, tequilla and many wine bottles were found throughout the galley.

Carmelo, standing in for Goofy, did an awesome job on dinner. We had baked chicken with a purple rice and salad. The salad was worth noting as it was a mixed green with tomatoes and cucumber…nice alternative to the bland head lettuce we usually see on these trips. No Goofy drama with this dinner. The dessert bars got handed out and no one had to beg….I’m sure some missed the banter.

Day 1 JACKPOT Winner - Roy, who edged out Saif and BJ with a nice sized Blue Fin caught during the AM bite. Congrats Roy!

We woke at Pyramid Cove with lines being wet around 6. This Scribe did not see the sun till 7ish, but no harm was done…no fish landed. Jeff moved us out of the Cove to hunt Yellow Tail. He stopped at Gold Beach where

Hayden and Reilly caught 2 nice YT and we picked off a few Bonito and Calico. While at Gold Beach, Alex hooked a nice Yellow on his Yoyo and brought it to the rail, it was gaffed and “controlled” but as they moved it to the stern to lift it to the deck, the fish flipped off the gaffe and the jig! Go figure! Jeff did Alex right and gave him a Boat Yellow to make up for the gaffe (get it ha, ha). We left Gold beach and searched for other spots. We stopped on some Calico, stopped to fish YT, but never found a sweet spot till 11:30.

Thunderbird pulled onto “Runway” and the spot lived up to its name. We fished there for 90 minutes and brought in18 yellows and missed many more than we bagged. All of these fish were of high grade 20-30#. I was pulling on a nice Yellow when my spool went off with a huge run…quite a fish! Then I hear Mike yelling from the top deck that I was on a seal…. my Jackpot lust was lost.

We left Runway at 1 PM and started to head home. Bruce won the Jackpot and Fisherman of the Day. Congrats Bruce, great looking YT!

As we were heading home I was chatting with Jake intently (as you do with Jake ) on the port side of the rail. We were into a good story intent in conversation when….Crash…on my head and 50% of Jake, a cooler was emptied from above deck! Ice cold water allowed us to sober up and laugh at the “accident”…still wondering if that was an accident or prank, but fun no matter!

Our Junior Angler was Rowan, Ryan B’s girlfriend’s son. Great young man who was excited to be on his first overnight! He had some issues with waves and swells, but finally got his sea legs and enjoyed pulling in a few big fish. Great work by a future DWRRC Angler!

What an epic fishing trip with great quality and a crazy consistent bite throughout the 2 days. Thanks to the folks who helped me Scribe, hard to keep up on such an action-packed trip.

Dutifully submitted,

Justin

2024: Trip 3 - Thunderbird 2 Day

Mon, 29 Jul 2024 21:28:57 GMT

Trip #3:

Boat: Thunderbird 2 day

Departs: Thursday July 25th

Fishing: July 26th & 27th

Synopsis:

23 supper athletes forfeit their chances of Olympic Gold to participate in our two-day-fishing-trip departing Newport Landing on charter boat Thunderbird. Tom Hill’s grandson, Ari and three guests join us for the trip. The catch includes 25 quality Yellowtail, one super-sized Bluefin Tuna, 23 Calico Bass and a variety of miscellaneous species. Saif Liswi takes both Friday and Saturday jackpots.

The trip:

8:00 pm Thursday: Anglers board the Thunderbird. We take on about 60 scoops of sardines at the bait barge. A small number of live squid are also in the tanks as we leave the harbor for San Clemente Island. Boat operations are conducted by captains Jeff and Chris, cook Goofy and crew members Collen, Steve and Jared.

3:00 am Friday: Boat arrives at Pyramid Cove and anchors up. Dropper loop fishing in the dark commences while an abundance of squid attracted to the boat lights is harvested. Alex losses the first biter from line rubbing the hull. At 3:20 am Bill Parks lands the first Yellowtail. A lull follows. At about 4:30 we distinctly smell smoke from the island’s wildfire. Then a red sunrise. At 5:20 am, Bob, Tony, Jeffy and Chris land nice grade Yellowtails. We are surrounded in the Cove by boats including the Fury, Eldorado and Aggressor. Jeffy’s fishing line is snagged by a jig cast from the nearby Fury. It is quickly released with no fuss. The bite stalls. We round the East end of the island to the leeward side.

8:30 am Friday: Fly lining and jigging produce Yellowtail, Calico Bass, Bonita Whitefish and Barracuda.

Noon to 2:00 pm Friday: Kevin lands a nice Yellowtail. We hopscotch with other sport boats northwesterly along the leeward side of the island. At various stops, we catch and release small Calico Bass, potpourri of island fish and more Yellowtail. We pass smoking vegetation on the ridge marking the edge of the island brush fire. A Navy helicopter operating overhead is dropping seawater on the fire. The Fury gives us sardines. We cruise past our old friend the Amigo, a boat the club had regularly chartered year’s back.

2:00 to 9:00 pm Friday: We make a 2 1/2 - hour northwesterly run leaving the west end of the island for open ocean where other boats are working the Bluefin. At 7:00 pm Kevin and Luke hookup. Large Bluefins overwhelm their tackle and breakoff. At 9:00 pm following a very tough fight, Saif lands a beast – a taped 148-pound Bluefin that would probably be another 15 pounds on a scale. Saif is exhausted. He wins Friday’s jackpot. A nice prime rib dinner with exuberant table-talk and wine follows as we head back to the island.

3:00 am Saturday. We arrive back at Pyramid Cove and start fishing the same spot. All is quiet until 6:00 am when Saif and Jimmy land two nice Yellowtail. Saif wins the Saturday jackpot giving him a clean sweep for Trip 3 – his fans hold up the broom.

6:30 am Saturday: Repeating the prior day’s strategy, we hopscotch with other boats along the leeward side of the island fishing bass and Yellowtail. I venture to say that maybe one out of twenty bass are keeper sized. To the east we see a Navy flotilla approaching the island.

1:00 pm. We lunch as the boat turns homeward bound for 7:00 pm arrival back at Newport Landing. The crew continues its excellent customer service helping us unload and collect our filleted fish. Driving out, traffic on Balboa Avenue is ugly as our cars creep off the peninsula with hordes of Saturday beach goers.

Best regards,

Andy Sienkiewich

2024: Trip 2 - Thunderbird 2 Day

Tue, 16 Jul 2024 21:20:23 GMT

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.

2024: Trip 1 - Thunderbird 1.5 Day

Mon, 08 Jul 2024 21:53:41 GMT

Trip #1:

Boat: Thunderbird 1.5 day

Departs: Thursday June 20th

Fishing: June 21st

Return: June 22nd am

The first trip of the year for the DWRRC was a 1 1/2 day that departed on June 20. There were 18 club members, 5 guests, and a junior angler. The reports from SCI had been good for YT. The weather was up outside and the BF was too far away so SCI was where were going to fish.

Jeff wanted to get away quickly to get a spot in the Cove. After getting bait we cleared the harbor close to 9 PM. Jeff already had lots of squid on the boat. The crossing to Catalina was pretty rough, sleeping was not easy. The ride from there to SCI was ok. We were worried about the forecast of wind for the day but that turned out to be wrong.

We arrived at the Cove just after 3 AM, anchored near a squid seiner, and quickly had to re-anchor because the seiner was wrapping squid and we were too close. Once repositioned guys got up and started fishing. Tony Beall was the first to connect with a beautiful ~35# YT. And that started what was to be an amazing YT bite with all the fish being BIG! Tony stayed hot landing 5 big YT. Others were hot too with many getting 3 or 4 fish. All but one fish was caught on dropper loop rigs, there was one yo yo fish. And guys were fishing heavy line, most fished 50# or 60#, some fished 80#. It did not matter. It was over by 6:30 AM. When the dust settled we had 43 YT, all between 25# to just over 40#. It was good, very good. Everyone said it was the best big YT fishing they ever had at SCI.

We then tried a couple of halibut drifts in the Cove without success.

The next move was to the lee of the island where YT were caught in recent days. Jeff tried many spots working up and back the down the island. We caught another 55 YT but nothing the size of the fish in the morning. They were between 5# and 17#, a few were lost to sea lions. Most on sardines, a couple on squid and one on the surface iron. We also tried for Calico Bass but they did not want to play. We caught some but it was hard to get a bite.

At the end of the day we moved back to the same area in the Cove hoping for an evening re-bite before we left for home.......that produced zip!

Goofy served a great dinner around 6 PM that allowed all to eat and then fish into the sunset and dark. It was a good tri-tip dinner. Wine flowed as usual.

Now the challenge was to determine JP/Patch. They got all the fish out and it was apparent that many of the larger YT were close to the same size. After much discussion, the Officers came up with a plan to get the larger qualifiers weeded out from the rest. It came down to 6 larger yellowtail, all were long and fat. The big fish honors went to Oscar's guest Ernesto Valdepeñas with a 41# YT. The patch was close also between Tony Beall and Nick Burson. After both fish were measured Nick's was the biggest by about 1# at 36# plus. The crew then started the filleting that would take all night.

Final fish count for the trip: 31 Bonito, 67 Calico Bass, 6 Sheephead, 1 Triggerfish, 98 Yellowtail (43 big ones!)

This was a great start to the DWRRC fishing season.....thank you Jeff and crew for an outstanding trip!

2023: Trip 8 - Thunderbird 2.5 Day

Wed, 04 Oct 2023 19:33:54 GMT

Trip #8

Thunderbird 2.5 day

Departure Sept 26th

Return Sept 29th AM

Trip 8, Our last trip of the year.

What a good to great trip with consistent fishing that largely stayed that way.

Day 1:

We left the bait barge around 10:30 and headed south. At 4:30 AM we stopped and 10-14 of us started dropping without any results. I quit around 5:00 AM and went back to bed. There were many boats around us but largely in the distance. At 6:30, grey light, there were fishing coming through at 150ft. With 80% of the group fishing there we had no bites. At 7:00 we started looking elsewhere. 8:10, one bite on the troll but came undone. Around 8:30 one fish was boated, a blue shark by Cory? but it wasn't tuna. We were fishing in shallower water. Patrick brought up a white fish.

Around 9:00, the BF decided to commence their work day. We soon had 3 fish hanging with me recalling it be Cory, Bill and Al to be bit first. The fishing was a continual pick with flurries of 3-5 fish hanging until 5:00, when Hayden turned on the strobe light, signifying cocktail time. Actually, I believe Hayden turned on the light a little after 4:00, following a fight with a fish for 20 minutes only to lose at the boat. The fishing was really nice and consistent with some folks crushing it. I only managed to get one in and just couldn’t get things going again. I did have an exciting bite on the retrieve, hooking a marlin on 30lbs test, which lasted about 6 seconds. High achievers included Cory with 6-8, likely 8, Al and Noah with 5 perhaps more, Oscar, Kyle, Roy and Bill with 3-4. I recall some slow fishing after 5:00 where a couple were hooked, I think. In any event, we finished the day with 53 BFT and 2 YF. Cory won the pool and the patch with a standout 79lbs fish. Most of the fish were in the 25-40lbs range.

¾ of the bait was pretty weak with ¼ being from a previous trip, that was exceptional. By end of day, the remaining bait was terrible. Jeff, without hesitation, headed back to port to replenish. The next morning, we woke up in the same area, or so I believe, with fresh, lively bait albeit a bit small but surely a game changer for day 2.

Day 2:

6:00 started dropping on a bait ball with 12 or so fishing but nothing happened.

7:45-8:30, scattered fish with BF boated. Smaller grade fish with the biggest maybe 25lbs. Again, we were in shallow water with many, many boats in sight.

10:00-12:00, we made two stops. First stop boated 9BF. Next stop 8BF and 15 YF.

Moved a bit and the consistent pick continued. By 2:30 the day 2 count was BF22 and 53YF.

We left at 3:20 with 24BF and 56YF and began moving north. A little after 4:00 the American Angler passed us off a biting school with a consistent bite that lasted until dark. We ended the day with 46BF and 57YT. Fishing was consistent all day long with many more fish caught than on day 1. I did much better boating 6. Cory must have had 10. The same folks as the day before did really well. The pool fish went to Romeo with a 40 lber, Patrick took the patch with a 38 lber.

What struck me the most on this trip, for whatever reason, was the delight on everyone’s face as they were hooked up. There was much joy on the faces of Ron, Hayden, Steve, John, Jeffy, etc. As for humor, we only got one joke out Tommy…it was his left handed punch line joke…if you know, you know, so I won’t spoil it as…we will hear it again! The smile on Tommy’s face was better, much better, than his joke but again, it was a trip of happy moments. Patrick provided quality entertainment, and I say that kindly, as he almost missed the last call for dinner while trying to see how many times he could walk a BF around the boat. After he lost count, he finally ended his 30+ minute battle with a beautiful, cookie cutter fish. I believe that was our last fish, with Patrick not wanting to end a day of stellar catching.

I look forward to seeing everyone at the picnic.

2023: Trip 7 - Thunderbird 1.5 Day

Wed, 27 Sep 2023 01:39:27 GMT

Trip #7

Thunderbird 1.5 day

Departure Sept 14th

Return Sept 16th AM

I know that the arrival to the landing indicates the start of our trips, but I would like to take a minute to mention that it really starts with emails from the charter master. Usually this is Luke or Roy. It’s nice to get info on things like the weather, what’s been biting, what to bring, and our destination options. It helps for deciding on what rig up for when getting ready for the trip. So, we are thankful for that.

Pre gaming dockside is always such a big part of the total trip experience. And this time was no exception. The usual early arrivals were Hayden, Ryan, Jeffy, Gary, Tony, Roy, Cory, John, Steve, Andy S, and me, somewhere in the middle. The rest would arrive throughout the afternoon without anyone arriving too late. This is when time is passed with topics ranging from family, sports, food, health…. You name it. And of course, fishing! It’s great getting to talk to members that you know well and a good opportunity to get acquainted with a newer member that maybe you haven’t had the opportunity to fish with until now. I got to know Cory S and Brian D.

The dockside gathering is always full limits of camaraderie and good times!

After everyone broke away in various dining destinations, it was time to board the Thunderbird. It was in later conversation that I heard Goofy mention that we take way too long to get this accomplished. I for one don’t care if it takes too long because I appreciate that it gets done in a orderly and calm fashion. Well somewhat calm!

We arrived at the bait receiver to load up on some great bait. Maybe some of the best bait I’ve seen in a while. This would prove to be beneficial later. Although, I guess it never hurts to have quality bait! Of course, this is the time that everyone starts to rig up.

Our game plan options were somewhat limited. The resent wind and lack of reports out west of SCI and Tanner Bank didn’t sound really promising. Captain Jeff just returned from down south with some success on BF for the overnight open party trip. So that’s where we would be headed. We departed the bait receiver at 10:00 pm and were told we would to be in the zone at 2:00 AM! So after rigging up for fly line, sinker rigs, and deep water jigs, that didn’t leave a whole lot of time for some sippin and bull shittin but we managed to squeeze it in.

The ride down was absolutely beautiful with a nice gentle roll. We arrived right at 2:00 AM and of course this time of night means metering fish deep and dropping your choice of knife jigs, flat falls, or sinker rigs. It didn’t take long for Jeff to start broadcasting “fish at 180 to 240”! At 2:20 AM Saif and Cody were bit on the knife jigs and successfully landed their 30lb to 40lb bf. The funny thing is, these were the two guys to jump on the trip when two very last-minute spots opened. They must have known something! Good for them!

At 2:30 we were on the hunt again with Jeff metering fish here and there, but it was a little slow. At about 4 o’clock and the same depths, we had some bitters! Saif and Ryan got things going, Saif on a knife jig and Ryan on a polka dot red rip roller. The bite continued to about 5:30 and the anglers that I know that had success were Saif with 3….and if you haven’t figured it out yet, he’s a very good angler, Kevin, Brian U, and Gary, I apologize for those that I left out. By 6 o’clock we had 15 Blue fin all about 30 to 40 lbs. I was told by Captain Chris that we were at the 141 off La. Jolla/ Carlsbad area.

Now it’s gray light and on the prowl. We can turn our focus to fly line, sinker rigs, and smaller colt snipers. All fine by me! It didn’t take long to find BFT that wanted to get with it. “Biter” “Fresh one” were being yelled with frequency! This might of been one of the best surface BFT bites I have seen. I mentioned the quality of our bait and it sure paid off. It was not time for a long soak. If you didn’t get a bite right away, change to a lively one and get bit. Seems like most bites came on 25 to 30lb with some getting bit on 40lb. Everyone had the chance to pull on a fish and of course there were some hot sticks. Saif, BJ, and Ryan. Good on Ryan for hooking and handing two fish to Junior angler, Lucas, who did a fantastic job fighting and landing the fish. This will prove to be good karma for Ryan later in the day. Like earlier all the fish were in that 25 to 40lb range.

Hayden did a great job hanging in there with a bigger grade but unfortunately as it was in the death circle, and it came in contact with the bottom of the boat and broke free. Heartbreaker for sure but Hayden you did great. Of course, it’s All hands-on deck by the crew and they were on their game. At about 8 o’clock it was limits for members and crew and time to stop fishing. Jeff called in the Freedom to take over the bite and as we were pulling away, it didn’t take long to hear them yelling “biter”!

So now it’s 8 o’clock and we are good on BFT, and we need to decide on a game plan for the rest of the day. Our two choices were head down south for some YFT, which there has been some decent reports but heavy boat traffic, or head west and hope for some yellowtail and calico at SCI. Roy called everyone in the galley for a hands up vote and it was determined that we were off to the island.

We arrived at SCI at 11:00 AM and started looking around the east end backside. The island, weather, and conversation were awesome! The fishing? Well, it didn’t pan out so well. Jeff tried various spots tight to the island and conditions seemed ok, but the results were minimal. Every time Jeff dropped the hook the sea lions were grey hounding towards the boat. We picked at some calico’s, but they never really got with it. Hayden did catch one smaller YT which seems to me he does this with regularity when things are slow!

After Jeff expressed his distain of the island, I believe his words were, “I hate this f…ing island”! We were off to find some tuna. He said we had room for a couple more but if we get into them then we were going to have to catch and release. It wasn’t too long until we spotted some jumpers not too far from the east end of the island. They looked to be bigger models and I believe there were four hooked. One broke off, one was released, and two were landed. Great job from Tony and Ryan! Tony’s weighed in at 81lbs and Ryan’s, fly lining on 50 lb , weighed 93lbs! So Ryan’s good karma for handing off fish earlier paid off with JP and the patch.

With Hayden’s official happy hour light glowing it was time for various adult beverages, breaking down gear, and Goofy’s pork chop and mashed potato dinner.

It was an excellent trip with a great BF bite, a great group of fishermen, and crew. It was also especially nice to have Jeffy back on board and in good health. He still couldn’t pull on fish, but he was there to support and be a big help. And for Mike C, keep your eye out for dragon fly’s. You never know where they might show up!

One last thing. If you aren’t too keen on being the scribe, I suggest you go to the sign-up meeting!

Tight lines, Chris L

2023: Trip 6 - Thunderbird 2.5 Day

Mon, 04 Sep 2023 22:07:42 GMT

Trip #6:

Boat: Thunderbird 2.5 day

Departs: Tuesday August 29th

Fishing: August 30th & 31st

Returns: September 1st am

Intro

The extra limited load blue supermoon, that's what I'm calling this one. We were all informed beforehand that 2 members could not make it. Then at the last minute, we had an additional 2 more who couldn't make it. 50% off any of the spots and still no takers, I couldn't believe that. Looks like we're going with 19, sweet! I'm curious how this blue supermoon will appear on Wednesday night. Looks like the next one won't be until next August, and the next super blue

moon won't be until 2037. Interesting fact: blue supermoons take place on an average of

10 years apart, but it could be more or less.

Departure and arrival

When you think you left early, leave earlier… Made our way to the Longfin for some tackle supplies and Krispy Kreme donuts for the club snack. The old man and I arrived at Newport landing at 3:30 p.m. It wasn't easy finding a parking spot due to street sweeping on Wednesday. Dropped off the gear and finally found one tucked away on Coronado St. We got humbled by how many members were already lined up, about 13. I believe Hayden was first in line and remember from my previous trip last season as a guest, this to be the same. Speaking of Hayden, my dad reminded him he is on every club trip this year. Then Luke said yeah, maybe he'll finally catch something. To be continued later… To kill time we had some food/spirits, rigged up a few things and conversated. While rigging up under the palm trees, my dad felt something land on him. I checked it out and noticed a nice little bird crap on him, awesome start haha. I talked to Bill about his 5 topic write-up, aka "DWRRC tough love." Excellent information and written up perfectly, good work Bill!

Fishing gameplan

Around 7 p.m., a 2-day charter was off-boarding and you could tell right off the bat they had tuff fishing. Word had it that it was mainly due to less-than-ideal weather conditions and beat up bait. Shortly after, we all gathered around and Luke went over all the intel he had gathered from Jeff regarding the fishing options. Since hurricane Hilary decided to recently butt in, the bluefin bite was spotty and for the most part we scratched that off the list. Our best options were to head down south and hit Kelps for small Dorado (5-8lb average) or head straight to Cortes bank for good grade yellowtail with a side of small bluefin being there too. We were informed there could be some rolly conditions after passing Clemente to Cortes, but it should be fishable. We all decided to meet in the middle and go to Cortes for day one and for those who did not have Mexican fishing licenses to purchase a single for day 2. Reports of good grade 50-90 fish days at Cortes made the vote easy. Luke mentioned with the good grade Yellowtail at Cortes someone could have a solid chance to break this year's leaderboards. Another reason we decided to fish Cortes on day 1 was due to bait quality. We were all informed that the bait on the previous trip did not hold well, and most died off. We all had sabiki rigs in case we needed to make bait since we would load the bait tanks on the light side.

Boarding, anglers, and crew

We started boarding around 8:30 with small groups going down at a time, bunks only.

Shortly after, we went down in small groups for rods and tackle. Once a small group put their

gear away, another one was whistled to come down. I don't know who whistled the groups to

come down, but dang they had the volume turned up on that thing. I overheard Tom was the

one who came up with this idea for onboarding, thanks Tom! In a perfect world, all other

landings would do it this way, IMO. Since we had an "extra limited load," we could keep 9 rods on deck this time around. Once we got on board, it was time for Goofies lifeless galley speech. On this trip he had decided to paint his toenails green for us, adorable. Those who wanted in on jackpot anted up, 17 participated. As far as the Anglers on board, we had Bill, Gary, Steve Sturm, Bob, Justin, Murphy, Luke, Hayden, Steve-guest, Tom, Tony, Craig, John, Ron Rudrud, Cory Steinwand, Mike Higa, Mike Harris, Paul Morgan, Bryce-guest. For the crew members we had captain Jeffy running the boat, Steve as the second, Goofers in the kitchen, on deck Carmelo, Collin, and Jose. After baiting up light and leaving the harbor, we saw a tonnage of microbait/dolphins just outside the harbor. Private boaters reported bluefin gorging on the microbait during the day and they had bites on surface jigs. Jeff made it clear we were not joining that zoo of a program, good call. Seeing that had us fired up and almost everyone rigged up a jig on a heavy rod in case we marked something along the way. During rigging, I couldn't help but notice some unique tackle bags/boxes. I found an awesome aftermarket improvement on a little roller nomad bag, skateboard wheels! This one is amusing, there was a jig from the crew dubbed "Barbie" hanging in the gallery. After rigging up, I found a mountain of snacks in the galley, pastry galore. Now I know everyone reads their emails cause this time there was almost a shortage of fruit.

Fishing day 1

Shortly after passing the south end of Nicolas parallel to our location, the weather picked up a

hair. Myself and a few others rolled out of the bunks. We arrived at Cortes Bank at approximately 7:25 a.m. and dropped anchor in about 100 feet of water. Goofy had fresh coffee brewed and his original breakfast burritos. As expected, the weather was rolly upon arrival but it was fishable. Our only 3 neighbors already on anchor were the Excalibur, Poseidon, and Top gun 80. The bait held up well and looked like some of the best bait I've seen in a while. Jeff was marking scattered fish, so things were looking on the up and up. A handful of us, including myself, started off with yo-yo jigs. After about 10 minutes on anchor, I could hear some flyline hookups in the stern. Of course Hayden was hooked up, that's right Luke… Right after those hookups a batch of fish swam under the boat, my dad and I hooked into fish on the jigs. Bonito for me and the right kind for him, yellowtail! After these 2 fish, the yo-yo bite dried up and flylining was the ticket for the most part. The grade of fish was around the 20lb mark and almost every bite came on the long soak. Hayden was on fire from the get-go, and I also kept hearing a spinner screaming. I finally looked over and it was Mike Harris with his treasured spinning setup. Bite was steady, and I also saw a few large football bluefin coming over the rail. Another person who was consistently hooked up was a guest angler, Bryce. I told him You're always hooked up what's the deal. He replied, well I've only been fishing 20lb so I'm paying for it lol. Steady bite then turned into a flare up for about 30 minutes and a smaller batch of yellowtail (12-14lb grade) came up into the chum in the starboard corner. We ditched the long soak and were fishing baits for only about 30 seconds. Captain Jeff saw what was going on and landed 3 fish in 10 minutes. I noticed sneaky Paul on the port side staying at it with the yo-yo jig and he was rewarded with his persistence, 4 nice yellows! While all this was happening, I spotted a dorado on the deck. How the heck did that guy end up out here, lmao. Well, that was fun back to the long soak… Saw a few more bites on the long soak and I believe I took one of the last ones before we pulled anchor due to low activity. My bait was way out there, and after the hookup I could tell this was a larger yellow. Loaded rod and big tail beats, Carmelo was standing by to gaff it. Looked big once he gaffed it, even bigger on deck. We pulled anchor at about 1 p.m. and Bill told me he would measure it. Now we were off to the deeper water for some cod drifts in long beach-colored water, remarks from Jeff. Now was the time to get your burger order in, nothing beats a boat burger! The first spot was kinda dry and short-lived. The second spot was much better, big reds coming over the rail in about 300ft. The classic double dropper loop was working fine, as were the heavy jigs, as long as they weren't scoped out. The third spot we hit was almost identical to the second spot. After putting some cod in the bags, we ventured off the bank a little after 3 p.m. to search for kelps or other pelagics. Nightfall hit, swing and a miss there. At the end of the day, Jeff informed us we would be heading south to do some kelping on day 2. The day one dinner Goofy made lasagna mac/cheese served with salad and Texas toast on the side. No dinner for me as I ate and pastry snacked too much throughout the day, but I heard it was really good. Since we weren't on the bluefin program, we all looked forward to a good night's sleep. Hit the deck before heading down to the bunks to check out the blue supermoon. Much brighter but looked like any other supermoon, too much visual hype on this one.

Day 1 fish count:

61 yellowtail
56 vermillion
22 misc. rockfish
14 bonito
6 bluefin
1 dorado
1 sheepshead

Jackpot/patch honors on day 1: This scriber, 33lb yellowtail

Fishing day 2

Day two we woke up to flat calm weather and overcast. Paul and I put out our trollers, hopeful

for a lucky strike. Another breakfast burrito and coffee to start off the calm morning. No biters

on the first kelp we came across in the morning. Shortly after, Bill informed me that my troller

was dragging a small dorado. Even with a light drag set, no line came off the reel. While the boat was moving I reeled it in and noticed my spectra/mono was all twisted up. The spectra was so twisted it snapped, I decided to retire that reel for the trip. About 30 minutes later, we came across our second kelp. 3 small Dorados were bounced on board, little to be had in this zone. About an hour later, we finally got some intel from another boat up north. They were fishing a kelp loaded with Dorado. We were all optimistic, but Jeff wasn't buying it. Got to the kelp around 11:30 a.m. and of course, a private boater was practically anchored on the kelp. Nearby we saw the Pacifica, which we assumed was our intel source. This kelp was loaded with 5-8lb Dorado (Jeff yelled out 15lb old glory grade) and the bite was steady for all of us. After the first pass, we hit it again to clear out our small fish syndrome. We started making our way up the line towards the south end of Clemente. I put a fresh reel on the troller and sent it out. Time for another boat burger, along with some appetizing smoked yellowtail that Gary brought on board. About 25 miles from Clemente, second captain Steve marked a school of tuna 60 feet below the boat. As I wound in the troller, I felt something hit it. It didn't stick but I kept the same retrieve and it got hit again, small football yellowfin on board. 17 miles away from the island, we hit a kelp and landed a few more small Dorado. Once we got to the island, we anchored up on the backside of China Point. Jeff marked a nice school of yellows but only some small Calicos were landed. As soon as the engines fired up, Justin and Mike Harris hooked up on yellows. Both were landed and very close in size but Justins edged it out. By this time, it was almost dark so we pulled anchor and we went a few miles west to try for bluefin. For dinner Goofy made Tri-tip, scallop potatoes and a salad on the side, delicious. 11 other boats were in this zone but we only stopped once for a couple scattered marks. Low on time, Jeff decided to check out Mackerel Bank on the way home. Most of us poured some cocktails and broke down our gear leaving one heavy setup rigged just in case. Once we passed through the uninhabited bank, it was time to wrap it up and get a nap in before arriving at the dock at 4 a.m.

Day 2 fish count:

141 dorado
13 calico bass
2 yellowtail
1 yellowfin

Jackpot/patch honors on day 2: Justin Becker, 17lb yellowtail

Trip highlights

For my first trip as a new club member, it was cool to get better acquainted with other

members. The amount of knowledge and experience as a group is unmatched. As an added

bonus, Bill informed me that my yellowtail is currently in the lead as this year's largest.

I look forward to future trips and shooting the breeze with more members, tight lines!

2023: Trip 5 - Thunderbird 2 Day

Sat, 19 Aug 2023 20:47:11 GMT

Trip #5:

Boat: Thunderbird 2 day

Departs: Thursday August 10th

Fishing: August 11th & 12th

Returns: August 12 pm

Trip 5 began with a wonderful surprise visit at the dock by the one and only Jeff Hinrichs. Jeffy looked great and it was awesome to hear that he will be fishing with us soon. All the best to you Jeffy!

The voyage heading out was smooth and our bait was some of the best I have ever fished with. We headed towards a zone on the back side of San Clemente Island and started to patrol the area around 4:30am. There was heavy boat pressure and we counted 57 boats parked in this area. The bluefin were squirrely. They would respond to the chum and then disappear. We started to get bites around 6:30am on the fly lined sardines and sinker rigs. The quality of bluefin was outstanding with 60-100lb models coming out of the water. I was fortunate to land a bluefin on 80lb test on the sinker rig. It was stick and move fishing for a while. We continued to pick isolated fish for parts of the morning and a little bit into the afternoon. Ryan and Bill caught 100lb class fish on the fly line. We also had some casualties. Jeff tried hard, including a move out west to get out of the parking lot, but we could not find willing schools.

We continued the hunt the rest of the day and it was tough fishing. The weather was world class though. Before you know it, it was dinner time with Goofy serving us his signature bacon wrapped pork loin.

That evening, Captain Chris continued to box the same area we fished throughout the day looking to get the nighttime bite started. Late into the night we were able to hook standout fish. Luke connected with a 90lb class fish brought up on a 7-minute fight. The night was capped by Junior Angler Kitt Lockwood hooking a 93lb bluefin. Congratulations Kitt! The face of joy on that kid will be ingrained on me. It validated our decision to invite junior anglers on our trips.

We ended the day with 13 nice grade bluefin and 2 yellowfin. Jackpot honors went to Jim Bertella on a 110lb bluefin caught that morning. The man is simply a terminator...

Just past midnight, Capt. Chris decided to make a big move and run towards San Nicolas Island. This area had been productive on Trip 4 and it was worth a shot. We pushed within 18 miles of the island and could not find what we wanted. Chris made the U-turn and pointed towards the zone we had previously fished for most of the trip. Around 2am, we found the right school. Those who paid their dues at the rail scored. Most of the fish were caught between 150ft-360ft. Heavy knife jigs were the ticket. Several standout fish were picked in this stop with guest angler Saif Liswi pulling out a 142 pounder and this was the jackpot fish for the day. Yours truly also got on the action with two fish. This bite continued into the early morning. This would be the last bluefin bite of the day. We ended with 13 bluefin. Paul Casillas obtained a patch for his 74lb fish. Well done, Paul!

Jeff made the call to hit the yellowtail spots on the Clemente West End and front side. Hayden connected with a nice sized yellowtail. We also made the traditional calico bass stop with a decent bite and fun for all. The bonita also made an appearance. The return trip was made under spectacular weather and glassy conditions. What a treat.

Overall, we had a great group and even though the volume did not materialize, we got standout fish. As always, there were valuable lessons to be learned. I truly treasure these trips and appreciate all of you. Until next time, tight lines....

2023: Trip 4 - Thunderbird 2 Day

Mon, 31 Jul 2023 20:30:32 GMT

Trip #4:

Boat: Thunderbird 2 day

Departs: Thursday July 20th

Fishing: July 21st & 22nd

Returns: July 22nd pm

(Note: the assigned Scribe had to cancel, a replacement was not assigned, and this is from memory without the benefit of notes.)

We departed on Thursday, July 20th for our 2-dayer with high expectations. The fishing had been good and the weather looked good as well. The group gathered like usual with some getting there before noon, others just after noon, and bulk around 4 or 5 PM. The group consisted of:

Luke Burson / Bill Parks / Ron Shrout / Jim Bertella / Bob Wheeler / Brian Drazba

James Harris / Tom Hill / Paul Casillas / Jake Chutney / Ed Chutney / Oscar Ochoa

Hayden Claisse / Paul Morgan / Michael Harris / Cory Reinmiller / Ellanie Reinmiller Gary Thompson / Pastor Dave / Kevin Kom /Mike Barton / Dan Schumacher / Jeff Allen Oscar's guest

Jeff would be our Captain with Steve as the Second, Goofy and crew on deck.

As we loaded bait everyone geared up for bigger fish in the dark. The bait looked good but the focus was on heavy gear, heavy jigs, and the anticipation of bigger fish.

It was a smooth ride to the area north of SCI towards San Nicholas Island. It was not a secret where the fish were the day before. In the dark, it was easy to count over twenty boats. It seems we were a little late to the party, some boats that got them got them earlier in the night. We did get one small shot at fish in the dark landing a couple. They were school-size fish, they liked the “sinker bait rig” which was a sign of things to come.

Jeff started looking and I really do not know exactly how long it was before he found a school that wanted to stay with the boat and bite our bait. It was good fishing. You had two choices to get a bite: 1) find a good swimming bait that went out and down, or 2) use the sinker rig down about 150’. It turns out the sinker rig was pretty automatic……at least for Jim Bertella. The flyline baits were getting bit on 25#, 30# and 40#.

We did some severe damage on that school of fish, made a move and Jeff found another that played the same as the first. Jim continued to put on a clinic with his sinker rig. Some others tried it with success. After a few hours of catching ~100 BF all around 25#s, we had our 2-day limit. There was a stand-out 57# BF caught on that “Jim Bertella” special, congrats Jim. Bill had another standout he hooked on lighter line that took him around the boat many times and unfortunately, it picked up some loose flylined spectra that when trying to untangle things the wrong line got cut. Bill handled it like a pro but he was disappointed. We had our 2-day limits on the boat so we headed to San Nicholas Island to finish the day.

(For those on upcoming trips, how good was Jim Bertella’s sinker rig?? He got close to 40 bites, not all stuck, and many bit the sinker. Jim was high with close to ~15 BF……something to think about. With fame comes responsibility, feel free to ask Jim questions about his rig, his hook, his leader, his sinker, his depth markings, how he holds his mouth, the color of his socks and if he wears boxers or briefs……..it all plays into his success.)

At Nic we started drifting for halibut and we caught two…….I only wish I knew who caught them. One was just legal and the other was bigger….hopefully the pictures will tell a better tale. We then went coding and it was good. Everyone got as many as they wanted including some 2-day limits. We ended the day anchored at San Nicholas where Goofy and Carmelo served what I think was the best dinner we have had on the Thunderbird – Pork tenderloin with scalloped potatoes. All agreed that it was excellent.

Day 1 Jackpot / Patch – Jim Bertella, Bluefin Tuna 57#

About 2 AM we started for Tanner Bank to target Yellowtail. We got there just as the Shogun was getting there. We anchored next to each other, close enough to hear their group every time they hooked a fish. We had great current but there just was not a large volume of YT. There might have been as many Bonito as YT. We worked hard to get 10 fish, all on flylined baits. We had 4 that were in the mid-20s’ with Paul Morgan getting the largest. At 11:30 AM it was time to head for home.

Day 2 Jackpot / Patch – Paul Morgan, YT 25#

It was an excellent trip with outstanding weather.

Now for the highlight of the trip, as part of our new program of bringing a junior angler on all trips, having Cory Reinmiller’s daughter, Ellaine on the boat catching her first tuna was special. She was a good addition to the group and was the last person fishing Friday night on anchor catching whitefish after whitefish. She handled the BF just fine and was a pleasure to fish next to at the rail. Sometimes we make changes that work, this one, bringing junior anglers is working GREAT!

Your anonymous scribe

2023: Trip 3 - Thunderbird 1.5 Day

Tue, 11 Jul 2023 20:22:30 GMT

Trip #3:

Boat: Thunderbird 1.5 day

Departs: Thursday July 7th

Fishing: July 8th

Returns: July 9th am

“ Limits are a secret blessing, and bounty can be a curse. ”

Twyla Thorpe*

Well, Trip 3 was pretty epic. We struggled to fill the boat with members, so had 6 guests on board. We certainly got our value out of this trip with Boat limits of Bluefin and calico with a great mix of high-grade YellowTail. We also had our fun with Bonita, Barracuda and sand bass rounding out the trip.

We started fishing at 4 AM, for some of us 4 AM came quick as the Newport Deck Party had clouded our brains a bit. We started 15 miles Southwest of San Clemente Island droppping knife jigs and flat falls with both Captain Jeff and David (guest of Chris) each landing a 30-40# grade BFT. We fished there for some time, but no other action followed. You could hear the frustration in Jeff’s voice over the boat loud speaker to “roll em up”.

From 5 to 8:30 we went on a boat ride, with Jeff apologizing that nothing is worth stopping for. He spent quality time in the tuna grounds looking in familiar spots and doing all he could to find the schools. However, optimism was soon in the air as Jeff announced that one of his buddies, a 6-pack Captain of the Blackfish, turned him onto a bite and he was going to meet up and see what we find.

So, 6-packs, by names sake, have 6 people aboard. The bait tank matches that small load. Our Thunderbird holds 25+ people, and the bait tank of the Thunderbird matches that number too, so off Scuba goes and starts chumming this school and the BITE IS ON!

My guest, Alex Norkus, had a rough night with the rollers, so he was in bed trying to feel better. I landed one then found his bunk and rolled him out of bed saying “you can miss this bite!”. Before he could even take a leak, I handed him a live rod and he was off to catch his first Blue Fin and first “real” pelagic! Thanks to the Thunderbird Crew for helping the tenderfoot throughout the trip.

So based on the grade of fish we were pulling on 30-40#, a 30# set up was the magic set-up. Brian broke off 3 times with 25# and moved up. Everyone communicated and helped drag 80 Bluefin over the rail from 8:30 to around 9:45. Many caught 2 or more and Jeff rightly called off the catching (not the fishing) at 9:45. Brandon boated the lone Yellowtail on that stop, but more YT was in our future!

The Crew was pretty psyched, as you can imagine, and there was a rumor that we were headed back to the Newport Harbor happy with our fill. That rumor went sideways as Jeff looked to motor us close to SCI and put us on YT and Calico to finish out the trip.

As we motored, the talk of the boat was set-ups…”what are you rigging up”. What weight? Dropper loop? Yo Yo? Small flat Fall? Colt Sniper? We all tied up our favorites and went to SCI to see what we could drag into the boat.

Early lunch came and Goofy did his best to not smile while we recommended the quests ask Goofy for Provolone cheese and spicey mustard on their burgers. Those jokes never get old…… to us. After lunch we had a few Calico Bass stops with Luke, Brian and Bill bringing on some nice sized Calicos. We had plenty of keeper sized Calicos on these stops, as well as some fun Bonita and Barracuda mixed in. Everyone enjoyed a strong bite.

Tommy’s Grandson, Ari, joined the trip and bagged a trifecta; he caught Calicos, YT and Bluefin. Not bad for a 11 year-old-ish junior angler. He did a great job working the boat, taking some schooling and learning on his first overnight trip. Hats off to Luke, Bill and others who really mentored Ari as Tommy tended to his bag limits  (Actually Tom was a great, attentive Grand Dad and should be very proud!).

Around 4 PM the hunt was on for Yellowtail.

We worked the SCI “hot spots” and were very successful. Of note, Mike Harris pulled out 2 very nice Yellows, around 25#, even fighting them on those silly spinners! Jeff moved us in and out of these spots and we ended up with 20 on board by the time we headed home. Of note, we saw so much boiling action from the YT but few bites. The fish are out there fellas.

The great thing about this trip was the quantity, quality and action we had for a 1.5 day. Great work by Jeff to put us on fish and this group landed them! It was a special trip and one I will not soon forget…great memories. Thanks DWRRC!

Steve Richard won Jack Pot with a 41.8# BFT

Bill Parks earns patch with 35# BFT at tape. Though this was close with many of these fish being in that same weight class.

Twyla Thorpe: Twyla Tharp is one of America's most important contemporary dance choreographers. Since graduating from Barnard College in 1963, she has choreographed more than 125 dances, five Hollywood movies, directed and choreographed two Broadway shows, written two books, and received numerous awards.

2023: Trip 2 - Thunderbird 2 day

Sat, 01 Jul 2023 20:24:41 GMT

Trip #2:

Boat: Thunderbird 2 day

Departs: Thursday June 22nd

Fishing: June 23rd & June 24th

There were days leading up to the trip when I was wondering if we were going to get off the dock. At one point at about a week out the Windy app was forecasting 25+ knot winds, not the best conditions. As we got closer to the 23rd things improved some but it was still going to be challenging. It was decided by the Club, and Jeff that Bluefin fishing wasn’t going to be a very enjoyable experience. We decided instead to head to SCI and fish the Yellowtail, Calico Bass, Bonita, and occasional Sheep Head. This decision I was greatly in favor of as I wasn’t particularly interested in fighting a triple digit fish on a rolling deck with a bad back.

I arrived at the dock around 3:00 PM to find the usual suspects already holding down the fort. I’m sure Hayden had arrived first then was followed by Luke, Bill, Tommy, Mike, Gary, Roy, Ron, and Jeff. I was the tenth to arrive. Not too long after I got there, a couple of us made our way over to Great Mex for some dinner and a Cadillac Margarita. They make an excellent Cadillac by the way. As we neared 6:30 most of the members and guests had arrived. Due to lack of club member participation we had a large number of guests on the trip, six in total. Thank you to those club members who rallied some friends to make this trip a go. I would like to thank one guest, Michael Yunich who CNC’s custom surface irons and brought a big bag of jigs he was handing out to members and guests. His gesture was beyond generous. We boarded in our usual orderly fashion and headed to the barge to load up on bait. Jeff made the call to wait for the wind and swell to die down before leaving the harbor. The ride over was bit sporty, but nothing too harsh.

Several of us woke up around 5:00 and headed out on deck in hopes of a grey light bite. We were blessed with some live squid, but not a lot of it. This turned out not to be a big deal as the fish weren’t in the mood for the candy. I and several others pinned a squid on the dropper loop in the hopes of a grey light White Sea Bass, or Yellowtail. As it turned out Bill Parks was the only angler to hook a fish. He made pretty quick work of getting his fish to the boat only to have his line part very close to gaff. Oscar and his son Romeo got to work and put a few Sheephead in the bags, but other than that it was a slow start. Jeff decided it was time to pull the hook and get looking around. We worked both kelp lines up toward the point and inside the bay for no love. I suspect with the way the wind had been blowing that the water temp on the backside was low compared to the front. We eventually moved around the east end and started working our way west up the front of the island. Around 8:00 Jeff put us on a school that wanted to bite and we put on 10 Yellowtail that weighed in around 8-9lbs in quick order. I myself had a good little run and went 3 for 5 hooked on the Yellowtail, lost one to the reef, and another on a pulled hook. Chris May put on a bit of a clinic hooking one Yellowtail after another. Romeo our guest angler and his dad Oscar both got Yellowtail on the Colt Snipers. Around 9:00 the bite started to shutoff and the final count for the stop was 29 Yellowtail, 38 Bonita, and 1 Baracuda. We spent the next hour working around the front of the east end, but couldn’t get them going again. It was tough conditions as we had wind against current all morning. At 10:30 we moved to the kelp at the very east end. The current and wind were finally moving in the same direction. Unfortunately the current was a little too fast at over one knot. We caught a few Calico, but no Yellowtail. If there was a little less current it could have been great bass fishing. From 11:30 to 2:00 we worked the front side of the island and were able to land a few more Yellowtail until the whisker wall moved in and completely shut down the bite. 2:45 to 4:00 we continued to catch bass and put on a few Yellowtail. We had gone through most of the bait so we needed to make a decision. We could spend the night battling the wind and seas and try for the trophy Bluefin, and head for the barn in the morning, or make a run back to Newport for more bait. The club decided the later was the better option. The jack pot was weighed and Roy and I were too close to call on the balance scale so we went to the tape measure. Unfortunately for me the tape measure rarely shows me any love and the patch went to Roy. Roy’s fish 9.2lb, Jeff’s 9lbs, and mine 8.56lb. I went from too close to tell, to third place. We might need to find a Yellowtail formula vs. a Yellowfin formula. Of course had I won I’d be all for the current system.

Saturday morning we were back in the cove. To the surprise to many on the boat, including myself, several of the guests decided to get off the boat while we were back in Newport for bait. The fishing was far from epic, but it wasn’t bad either. Possibly these guys might not be hardcore enough for membership in our club? The trip back over to the island was surprisingly smooth given the amount of wind. We tried the grey light bite again with both Sardine and Squid. Neither worked, and we really caught no fish to speak of. We worked our way around the east end again to fish the south end of the front of the island. We were able to locate the Yellowtail again and the bite was a plunker. I personally was really struggling and couldn’t get a bait to swim. We had stronger wind against the current again, which wasn’t helping matters. On a positive note two of the guests that didn’t get off the boat caught their first Yellowtail which is always a pleasure to see. 2:30 we moved in tight for a great Calico bite. I was able to knock Tony Beall out of first place for the year’s biggest Calico with a 6.8lb fish. My glory was very short lived as Luke landed a 7.9lb Calico about 10 minutes later, which turned out to be the Jack Pot fish. This was some of the best bass fishing we’ve had at the island for some time. We ended up putting together a decent day and ended up with trip totals of 49 Yellowtail, 38 Bonita, 1 Slime Stick, 5 Calico Bass, 13 Sheephead, and 1 Whitefish. We’ve all had better trips with the club, but as of writing this, things are looking up. The Yellowfin have started to move into our zone and the bigger grade Bluefin are being taken in US waters. I am really looking forward to fishing trip 4 with some great friends.

2023: Trip 1 - Thunderbird 2 day

Wed, 28 Jun 2023 22:07:16 GMT

Trip #1:

Boat: Thunderbird 2 day

Departs: Thursday June 8th

Fishing: June 9th & 10 ^th

It’s finally here. The kickoff to the DWRRC 2023 fishing season.

Two promising days of fishing adventures aboard the Thunderbird.

Jeff Markland and Chris at the helm, Goofy in the galley, Steve, Colin and Beck keeping us all in line, ready at the bait tanks, helping with tangles and on the gaff when the action starts.

I love fishing with this club and on the Thunderbird.

To begin this adventure, I secured a Primo parking spot at the end of Adams Street.

Not as good as Tom Hill's front parking spot on Adams Street, but I will take it any trip.

It is good to be on Balboa peninsula at the landing.

A glorious sunny day after all the May gray and June gloom we have been having.

It was great to meet and greet longtime friends from the DWRRC fishing family.

One of the first people I encountered was Gary (New Eyes) Thompson.

Now showing without glasses sporting 20 / 20 vision. I do believe he might be wondering why he did not do this sooner. A few $$$$ to Gary, however he now needs sunglasses as the world is so much clearer and brighter.

It’s always good to say hi to Hayden. Rumor has it Hayden was in line before 10 AM.

I say hello to Ryan, the Beall’s, Tom Hill and Bill who was our charter master and. I’ve never heard Bills phone ring so much.

I need to send huge a shout out to Newport Landing for making this trip possible by filling several openings we had on trip one. This trip was in jeopardy of being cancelled. Thank you to all who made this possible and thank you to the anglers who joined us on this trip. And to the club members that helped fill these spots. It was a good mix of anglers that fit in well with the club.

I secured a spot on the rail, set up my chair and joined the group in the shade.

Lots of catching up, rigging going on, decisions on setting up the big stuff, jokes.

More members were making their way in as I took a walk pier to pier.

Dang, my feet dislike walking on concrete.

A very clear day to see Catalina and up the coast to Palos Verdes.

Upon my return, I caught up with Patrick T and Justin to share a few of their beers and jokes with them. Thank you guys.

We had a special guest join us on this trip. Mike Thompson. He had with him one of our junior anglers, Jason, his grandson. Another junior angler was Morgan Clay.

I looked up and noticed the Thunderbird was in.

The crew was busy readying for the first DWRRC trip of the 2023 season.

Many made their way for their favorite pre boarding dinner.

Some for Mexican food. Justin and I did Thai. Muy Bueno.

As time neared to depart, we did the orderly bunk assignment and getting gear on board.

It seemed we were on our way in no time and at the bait receiver well before 9.

Tanked up on good quality and size of Sardines.

There was also limited live squid for pre gray fishing on day one and two.

It was a smooth ride out.

I sat around chit chatting and sampling bourbon until late.

During a conversation with Mike Thompson, he talked about when he was running fishing trips.

It was not about catching the biggest fish. It was all about making sure his customers had a great trip.

A good rule to live by.

Time for shuteye. Cortez was our destination for day 1.

Day 1

At Cortez around 6 AM.

Pretty much overcast and cool all day long.

The Thunderbird was the only boat on the Cortez Bank.

Before I made it up top, talk was that New Eyes Thompson already had two on board working on a third one.

I do believe he may give us a run for the money going forward.

Way to go Gary.

We fished Cortez for most of the morning putting on a fine showing of Yellow Tail.

Finned bait, yoyo and surface irons were doing the most to capture.

Stop One yielded 6 YT.

A few more stops yielded 24 more YT.

Many anglers were getting in on the action.

There were a few in the group that were hot in catching more than one.

I do believe Gary now has 20 / 20 Fish Ray vision.

Jim Bertella was a hot stick. Junior angler Morgan was doing well for himself.

Captain Chris was doing his part to hook up and hand off.

When we moved to shallower water (60 feet), more than one of us was rocked by some larger grade fish.

Just could not get the fish to turn.

If you could get a sardine to swim away from the boat, odds are you were going to get bit or have some very nervous fast swimming bait.

I saw Mike Thompson on more than one fish of these a few he handed off to Jason.

Then I witnessed a once in a lifetime event.

Mike asked Jeff to tie Fluro on to his rig. I did not check if he was using a circle hook.

This was a good decision as he got bit shortly after that.

Unfortunately, this was a larger grade fish that eventually made its way to the depths and the dreaded rocks.

on the starboard bow, I hooked my only YT to be gaffed.

Scrambled egg Sumo Jr. about halfway up on the retrieve, 30 lb. line, gaffed on the port corner on the rail.

I will say a decision I made last year to change out the less than optimal factory treble hooks on my colt snipers to quality single hooks was a less than optimal decision.

I lost a few on the drop and had a few long line releases on the retrieve after short lived hooks up.

One that I was sure I would land, let loose after several seconds on the line.

Mike T pointed out after witnessing this, "It sucks to be you".

Not totally as I did get bit, however I did thank Mike for pointing this out.

It is so cool when we are on a bite and the crew really gets into it yelling FISH ON THE BOW!!!!!

FRESH ONE!!! CRASHING FISH UNDER THE BIRDS!!!! ANOTHER ONE!!!!! THAT ONES ON YOUR BAIT!!!!

Especially Jeff. He is like a kid at Christmas. His enthusiasm is contagious and gets the rest of us fired up.

Action slowed on the yellow tail so we geared up and moved for some rock fish.

This was a great stop for quality fish being brought up on some long drifts.

I tried to talk Tony to put his reel in low gear during the long retrieve when pulling up twin quality fish.

He refused and cranked them up slowly in high gear. Way to go Tony.

After a few very productive drifts, we had our fill and looked around for a few more cooperative yellow tail.

We had one hit and miss on the YT.

That was the cue for heading to SCI in search of the elusive Blue Fin Tuna.

A bit of bourbon may have been shared during this trek.

A few stories surfaced. One story Tommy shared was about a member nick named Sawzall.

I spoke with Charlie Uhl late last year and he told me of this nick name bestowed upon him.

After the journey from Cortez to SCI, Jeff said he saw no activity of Blue Fin on the way to SCI and into BFT waters.

Nada. Squat. Zilch. Nothing.

The decision was made to head into the island in search of some fishy action.

Where we eventually settled in for dinner and fishing in the cove.

Dinner on Friday was a treat. Tri Tip that was medium to medium rare, very tender and tasty.

Accompanied by a side of scallop potatoes, salad and dinner rolls. Thank you Goofy and crew for a delicious dinner.

Yes, there was even a wide selection of red wine being offered.

After dinner, Tommy casts the inevitable question, Hey Goofy, Hayden was wondering if there are Klondike Bars for dessert?

Goofy went off asking is that the best we can do with the same lame question.

Hayden then offered, Hey Goofy, Tommy wants to know if there are Klondike Bars for dessert.

Goofy allowed us to trade dirty dishes and silverware in exchange for a Klondike Bar.

For those interested, after dinner drinks consisted of bourbon supplied by Patrick T. and some pretty good jokes by many.

Many fished late into the evening in hopes of picking up a Yellow Tail, WSB or anything else wandering close by.

Tom Hill did manage to catch a barracuda as did another.

Most used Squid on a dropper loop or slider. When I attempted to use fin bait, Captain Chris asked me why I was fishing for Sea Lions. I switched to Squid.

The sea dogs were merciless grabbing squid off the bottom resulting in more than one excited angler to curse the dogs once it became apparent what was on the other end of the line.

Notable quote of the day from Hayden.

Jeff, Get the F out of my way.

The Junior anglers are very good fishermen.

I missed the play by play that Gary gave when a fish handed off was overtaken by a sea lion.

It was said to be an epic tale.

Day 1 tally

34 Yellow Tail (several weighing in the mid-twenties)
1 Sheep Head
A few white fish. One very sizable one.
Reds for all who wanted to play.
Day 1 Jackpot went to this scribe. I am grateful for two-speed reels.

Day 2 started in the cove pre light. Squid on Dropper loops.

No action to speak of.

We then headed towards China Point about 6 AM.

The weather was pretty much the same as day 1.

Overcast, a bit warmer with brief filtered sunshine throughout the day.

Dare I say the finned bait on day two was in very good shape and live squid was available for those wanting to use it. We were amongst the Amigo, Fury, El Dorado and a few private boats.

And the yellow tail were playing.

Yells went out, hook up. Fresh one. Another One. Fish on the bow. Crashing behind the boat.

The action kept up for a good while and we made a good showing.

However, the dogs were ever present.

Jeff moved off to find some willing fish and to get a brief reprieve from the sea lions.

We found some bonito. Bill seemed to have their number. Or they had his.

One was bonito hooked on the troll. More yellow tail were located and the game was on again.

Fresh one. Fish on the bow. Fish under the birds. All in all, a good day of fishing.

Tony landed the first sizeable Calico of the season.

4 pounds 10 ounces.

Day 2 tally was:

38 Yellow Tail
6 Bonito
1 white fish
1 legal sized catch and release Calico (Tony Beall).
Bill Parks took honors for big fish.

As the trip was coming to an end, during our trip back to Newport, Jeff Spotted crashing blue fin.

Some very sizable fish were showing.

Jeff put us in position for those still rigged to make various offerings.

Blue fin being Blue Fin, ignored everything thrown their way and disappeared.

It is still exciting to see these beasts crash the surface. Awesome

It was a smooth ride back in.

We were back at the dock by 6:30 PM.

Gear back to our vehicles, fish picked up.

All said so longs, see you next trip and so on.

Getting off the peninsula was a breeze compared to years past.

This was a great kick off trip for the 2023 fishing season.

Thank you to the club officers that once again keep this experience going forward.

And to the crew of the Thunderbird.

The Anglers:

Ryan Burson, Patrick Beall, Patrick Thunyakij, Bruce Granse, Tony Beall, Bill Parks, Jim Bertella, Justin Becker

Tom Hill, Gary Thompson, Hayden Claisse, Jeff Hinrichs – Scribe, Jeff Granse (BGg), MikeThompson, Joe Gigante

Saif Liswi, Richard Meyer, Jeffry Rice, Ion Danes, Kevin Piero, Christopher Pratt, Ken Diaz

Junior Anglers: Jason T (Mike T) and Morgan Clay.

2022: Trip 9 - Thunderbird 2 Day

Mon, 10 Oct 2022 22:15:24 GMT

DWRRC Trip #9 Report Final Trip of 2022: Thunderbird 2 day, October 6-8, 2022

by Ron

The final trip of the year and the weather has finally cooperated. Seven days ago it looked breezy blowing 10 to 20 knots but daily it started to improve. Then on game day NOAA said it was under 10 all the way up and down the coast all the way out to and including SCI. This was to be the forecast for the next two days. Wow, what a change. Thank You!

Well by 6:30 Thursday evening all 22 members and guest were here ready and eagerly waiting to get on the boat. Their gear was lined up in order of arrival some of which arrived early afternoon but most came between 5:00 to 6:30pm. It’s fun to see guys put their reels on, greet one another with a friendly hand shake, talk about how they’re doing, have dinner together, and talk about what they expect from the trip. It’s amazing how fast the 3 to 5 hours goes while waiting for the boat to come in when you’re together with friends.

The members and guest on the trips are our club president Luke, club secretary Ryan, club treasury (me) Ron (we have club a quorum) Michael Harris, Ian Parker, Hayden Claisse, Tom Hill, Kevin Kom, Bruce Granse, Jim Bertella, Nick Burson, Bryan Upcraft, Steve Lenker, John Lenker, Steve Strum, Justin Becker. The guests are: Matt Eckstrom, Nigel Parker, Sean Edward, David Weeks, Bob Raschke. Thank you, for joining and filling out our trip.

If my notes serve me correctly, we boarded the boat around 8:30pm in an orderly fashion and started to put hooks on, gearing up for the next day's battle with whatever fish that wanted to commit suicide. Goofy gave his galley speech at 9:00 on our way to the bait receiver and at about 9:10 we started to load up with hopefully cured sardines. At about 10:30 we were underway to the backside of SCI with an ETA of about 4:00am. Jeff announced that they’ve been catching YFT and BFT 30+ pounds so be ready sometime after sunrise. BTW the crew for our trip is Captain Jeff, Steve (second skipper), Goofy (cook and backup deck hand), Carmelo, and young deckhand Collin.

The first stop was at 4:30 by Steve where he metered fish around 240 and 8 guys dropped down but nobody wanted to play. The next stop was around 5:30 and it seemed like we could see a little grey but again the fish didn’t want to bite. Jeff metered fish for a few stops after sunrise but no go. Then we spotted dolphin around 7:30 and then it was game on. Several YFT were caught between 25 and 40 pounds on the fly line and sinker rig. Yours truly caught one on the fly line on a simi long soak right after I said maybe I should be fishing with 30# and not 40# line but I still got caught!

About 8:45 we had another stop and picked up another 6 YFT, all good grade fish in that 30-to-40-pound range.

Now here comes the fun around 10:00am, Ryan decides to rig up with 80# line on 8oz sinker with heavy rod and reel and lets out big ugh and said “I’m on a big fish”. That was an understatement, because over the next 1.45 hours he did a masterful job of fighting and landing a 253-pound BFT. This writeup can’t do or explain how well Ryan did in fighting that fish. It took him around the boat several times, past other anglers fishing without tangles and under the boat. I’m just thankful I didn’t hook that fish because I hooked a 35# BFT right after he hooked his in the same area.

My notes show around 1:00 we got some fresh bait from the Fury. Thank you very much: we could tell the difference when that bait came up. We really needed that.

For several hours we drove around seeing formers and out of the water jumpers, but they would sink out by the time we would get close to them. Jeff was metering fish in the 300 to 380 range, but they wouldn’t bite.

We drove around again looking for signs of life but nothing was found, so about 6-7:30pm we started Goofy’s Tri-Tip dinner along with wine before and after dinner.

Then shortly after dinner almost everyone started to rig from the nighttime tuna jigging. From about 10 to 11, two small BFT were caught by Luke and Ryan. Then for some reason a small BFT decided to hit Ryan’s and Luke’s jig at the same time, which proved interesting.

Then things got really interesting. I’m not sure about the order of things happening, but Nick caught a 195 BFT and landed it in 15 minutes, talk about a suicidal fish. Then Justin lands a 185# BFT but his takes 1-hour 15 minutes and he did a great job. I think both of these fish are personal bests. Way to go Nick and Justin! Then Ryan lands another big boy, but it was done after midnight so it counts in day #2 JP, and it’s a 180# BFT and it took him about 10 minutes. GREAT JOB GUY! As far as I know the only heart break was Matt when he was on a big fish for a few minutes and his spectra separated, sorry Matt.

The morning of the 2nd day started off at 6 but grey light was closer to 6:40 and almost everyone was up and ready to do battle. Jeff announced we would look around but stared toward SCI and look for YT in the direction of China Point and Pyramid. About 9, Jeff said there’s YT but they’re just not biting so at 9:45 we looked at another location where Luke hooks and lands what turns out to be the only YT for the trip.

Around 10:30 we move to the front side making out first stop at Little Flower where the conditions are very good with 73 degree water but no fish. 11 we decide to start looking for kelp paddies. Porpoise and some signs of life to where we can catch Dorados, YT or more YFT. I believe a few more YFT we caught as well as the only 2 Dorados by Mike Harris and Bryan Upcraft. Jeff kept looking but nothing was found so we called it a trip and a season for the 2022 DWRRC fishing club.

The final count for the final trip of the year:

39 Yellowfin Tuna to about 50 pounds (Jeff said 60)
8 Bluefin Tuna to 253 (Thanks to the Burson’s that caught 5 of them)
2 Dorado
1 Yellowtail

Jackpot honors go to Ryan Burson for the 253 BFT on day one, and 180* BFT day two

Scribe note: This being my first write up after being in the club for almost 40 years wasn’t that bad; I might consider doing it again in the next 40 years. Who knows! Ron

2022: Trip 8 - Thunderbird 1.5 Day

Tue, 27 Sep 2022 23:52:41 GMT

DWRRC Trip #8 Report: Thunderbird 1.5 day, September 22-23, 2022

by Anonymous

This trip was the most unique trip of 2022, over half were guests! It seems like it would have an "open party" feel but that turned out not to be true. When Jeff arrived it was discussed where to go and a decision was made to start at SCI and maybe fish the BF Friday night. That day Jeff had pretty good YT fishing at SCI. We loaded bait, it was questionable, and off we went. The ocean was nice so the ride to the island was easy.

We started in the Cove for not much, made a couple of moves in the area, and decided to check out some spots on the leeward side. This produced a few YT on yo-yo jigs, dropper loops, and a few flylining. The next move was up the island to where the Apollo was getting a few. This was a better stop and more YT were caught. We then made a big move to the "9" off the west end and that proved to be a good call. We put on another 30-plus YT. Mostly flylining, some on heavy 50# line, others on surface iron, and a few on dropper loops. Many boats joined us, then the current backed off and the fishing slowed. Jeff then made a move to the Runway area but it did not produce. Next was a big move all the way down to Eel Point and that was the hot stop of the day. Another 40 or so YT were caught and at times the fishing was simply outstanding. We started to run out of bait but we had enough YT. We ended with 83 YT, average size was 20# with a standout by John Lenker at 27#s.

Our next option was to try for BF. We worked out way off the backside of SCI hoping to find BF but did not find any. It was now almost dark and we kept working toward the west end and then out to where the entire fleet was fishing. We counted 18 boats and nobody was doing much. Jeff finally found a school and in the first 5 minutes we had 3 hook-ups....Tom Hill, guest Tom Navlan and Bill Parks. All three hit the deck pretty quickly. Bill's was the biggest (Patch/JB winner) at about 45#s, Tom Navian's was next at about 40# and then Tommy Hill with 20#er. We kept trying but that was it..........a few more schools but nothing stuck.

The weather was great, the bait was far better than we expected and the YT fishing was really good! It is rumored that two of the crustier, older, grumpy, long-time members might have accounted for 30% of the YT. Just a rumor but Gary Thompson was keeping score because he had a little more time than the others so he might be able to verify the rumor to be true.

Anonymous Scribe

2022: Trip 7 - Hurricane Cancellation

Tue, 13 Sep 2022 02:35:25 GMT

Trip 7 Report: Thunderbird 2 day, September 9-10, 2022

Unfortunately our trip was cancelled due to a Hurricane!

Some Local Media coverage

Tropical Storm Kay reaches San Diego County with high winds, high temperatures and the promise of heavy rain

Hurricane Kay lashes Baja, headed very close to Southern California

2022: Trip 6 - Thunderbird 2 Day

Tue, 30 Aug 2022 02:22:05 GMT

Trip 6 Report: Thunderbird 2 day, August 25-27, 2022

As we were approaching this trip the fish counts had been something we all dream about. Limit style fishing on kelp paddy dorado and mixed yellowfin down near/south of the border, steady dorado fishing in our northern local zone and reports of some pretty good bluefin fishing out west behind SCI.

Arriving at the dock the usual activities were happening, catching up with friends we haven’t seen in a while, drinking beers and getting leaders and tackle prepared. When jeff arrived at the dock he informed us that the bite down south had moved too close to the Coronado Islands and going that far south would hinder our chances to come back up north and get a night bite on bluefin. With that being said, we opted to stay north and fish the more local dorado in the morning and see where the day went from there.

Day 1:

We did not have to motor very fair after picking up bait. Our night captain was Chris for this trip and he got us into the zone around 2 or 3 in the morning and shut the motors off while we all slept and waited for day light to start looking for the right paddy. It did not take very long to find the first kelp paddy with jumpers all over it. On our first drift past it we were able to pick off a couple fish. We continued to do this a few times and chase open water schools of dorado. Around 10am we had 30+ dorado in the fish hold and slowly but surely started making our way north west while stopping on the few paddies that we saw on the way up and there were 4 “San Diego 10 pounders” that we pulled off one of them.

As we made our way up the front side of the island, we started to get our tuna gear ready for the night bite with sheer excitement because jeff had let us know that the boats out there the night before had some pretty good scores on fish from 70-160 pounds. While rigging goofy was cooking up some burgers in the galley beers were being had and naps were being taken getting ready for a long night.

We arrived on scene right on time with about an hour or so before dark and Jeff was doing his thing in the wheelhouse figuring out where these fish were and let me tell you it did not take long. We had stopped on a couple school before dark that didn’t bite, but shortly after dinner and now the sun down Jeff found some very eager fish. Around 8pm these fish decided to let their guard down. “BITERRRRRR” as the first fish was hooked for the rest of the night, we had fish hanging. When we moved, we only had to idle for a few minutes at the most before Chris or jeff found another big school. For the entire night we hear them over the PA “They or on us 180-240.” By the time midnight came we had our limits for day one on 70–160-pound fish. Oscar Ochoa and a guest Taylor Rodriguez put on a clinic that night landing 9 fish each helping us out for our daily limit. Another stand out fish was caught by Ian Parkers 83 year old father Nigel. He was at the rail all day and night and he was able to land a beautiful butterball of a bluefin on 50 pound test to boot! As the clock struck midnight the daily jack pot however went to Tim hill on a 100 plus pound fish.

Day 2:

Day 1 essentially ran right into day two as we were still fishing at midnight. It was the same story as we kept fishing into the night. The crowd was thinning out on the deck as it got later into the night but the fishing remained pretty much full speed. The last stop of the night Bill parks who I had spoke with earlier in the day was saying “it’s been a while since I’ve pulled in a big one.” Well, he did just that and boated a 200 pound bluefin on 60 pound test! With fish all over the deck and the fish hold completely stacked we had to leave them biting and the boys on deck Brian and Jose went to work and started filleting the fish into the sunrise and beyond as we made our way into the island.

A lot of us slept in that morning due to a late night of dropping and winding. When the boys were done filleting fish, we started catching calico bass and other island critters before the first school of yellows swam through. They were biting our nearly dead bait and a few guys getting some on surface irons. At about 12:30 jeff let us know that it was time to head home. When the dust finally settled our final fish count was 38 Dorado, 17 Yellowtail, and 76 Bluefin tuna from 50-200 pounds.

This was a very memorable trip for me and getting to share the experience with this group is very special. I always look forward to these trips to share time with my dad whether we catch fish or not but this trip provided memories for a lifetime getting to pull on these fish so close to home with a great group of guys.

Jake Chutney

Day 1 Jackpot: Tom Hill

Day 2 Jackpot: Bill parks

2022: Trip 5 - Thunderbird 2.5 Day

Tue, 16 Aug 2022 01:53:53 GMT

Trip 5 Report: Thunderbird 2.5 day, August 9-11, 2022

This trip was the Club's only 2 1/2 dayer and it fished in the middle of the week. And who would have guessed that it would be the first trip to fill during the sign-ups? It was also a trip with all members. The groups included the following: Roy Patterson, Steve Strum, Stewart Finley, Riley Dyer, BJ Dyer, Mike Castillo, Brian Wynne, Brandon Lockwood, Paul Casillas, Mike Higa, Paul Morgan, Nick Burson, Bill Parks, Murphy Parks, Ron Shrout, Jeff Stephens, Jeff Hinrichs, Hayden Claisse, Steve Lenker, John Lenker, Michael Harris and your scribe - Luke Burson.

This trip was the first time we departed on a Tuesday night and that created a new wrinkle for all. Wednesdays are street cleaning days so everyone had to park on specific sides of the street or risk being towed. It worked out fine but made parking a bigger challenge.

And yes the usual suspects were there for breakfast to be in line first. Hayden of course followed by Brian Wynn, Jeff Henrichs, and a few others. Again it looked like we were departing on a 10-day long-range trip.

The Thunderbird returned a little early because they had a stellar trip fishing Dorado off kelps. Our plan was to try and do a repeat. We would be going south to start the day looking for kelps and dorado. It was a smooth ride in calm weather.

Our first kelp was spotted at 6:45 AM but nobody was home. It did get everyone up and ready to fish. At 7:00 AM Nick spots a patty that the crew missed but again nobody was home but there was another close by. This one broke the ice with Steve S getting the first dorado followed by Stewart F getting the second. Paul C did a masterful job of hook and release except he never saw the fish. Bill also got bit on his "pattened" sinker rig but again the dorado got away. We were on to find the next patty and it did not take long......7:45 we found one holding fish. We hit it 4 times for 6 YT, 8 Dorado, and 3 BF. The BF were nice fish.....pushing 30#s. This patty also had a breezer of tuna nearby but they simply breezed right on by. This patty produced a lot of action for all.

Kelps were getting harder to find and the ones we did find were empty. Right around 11 AM a monster kelp was found and on 2 passes it produced 12 YT, 5 Dorado. Then things went dry.....and dryer. Jeff decided to make a 35-mile move. While traveling a few guys trolled and two small Dorado were caught but nothing else. Then a significant patty was spotted right at 3 PM. That one turned out to make the move a good call. We got well quickly putting the finishing touches on the day. Our total for day 1 was 68 YT, 30 Dorado, 3 BFT, and 7 YFT. A decision was made to not cut the fish that night so the JP / Patch winner would not be known until the next night. The three BFT were bigger than all the other fish.

Day 2 started at 5:00 AM with the boat moving toward the east. We did not find a kelp until 8:00 AM. This kelp only produced Dorado for Nick B and Mike H. There was an odd occurrence after those fish were landed. Steve L decided he wanted a picture so he borrowed a fish. I have never thought about a picture with someone else fish before, still wondering about that one. At 10:30 AM we were in an area with a few kelps but they produced little, just 2 Dorado. Jeff marked lots of YT on one of the patties but they were not interested. A short time later another kelp that yielded 2 more Dorado and a larger YT, maybe JP / Patch contender. Then it finally happened just after 1:00 PM a kelp with fish that wanted to go for about 10 minutes. During that time we landed 25 YT, for a few minutes it was WFO. As the day went on we found a few more kelps with both dorado and YT. We ended the day with 14 Dorado and 64 YT. Day two turned out to be pretty windy and at times a bit uncomfortable.

The two-day total was 180 gamefish.

Like most trips some guys were hot and others struggled. Here is a recap by angler without naming names of total fish caught: 20, 16, 16, 14, 13, 13, 12, 11, 10, 10, 10, 9, 8, 8, 8, 7, 7, 6, 5, 5, 4, and 3. Yes, there are 22 numbers and the total seems to exceed the 180 gamefish count kept track of in the galley. Hey, we are anglers.......truth and reality rarely meet!

Now for the JP / Patch winners: Day 1 was a ~28# BFT caught by Brandon L who narrowly beat out Roy P (probably was an honest 30# fish before being fileted, all the BF were gill and guts before going into the fish hold). Day 2 was a hefty YT caught by Paul M who narrowly beat out me (by the way it was not taped or weight because there was a monster caught earlier in the year)

Congrats to both Brandon and Paul.

Guys with lots of fish share with others as the fish for both days were cut on the way home. The crew cut all the way back \ to the dock pulling an all-nighter on deck.

It was a fun trip with lots of action and lots of fish!

Scribe Luke

2022: Trip 4 - Thunderbird 2 Day

Fri, 05 Aug 2022 02:07:19 GMT

Trip 4 Report: Thunderbird 2 day, July 28-29, 2022

With bleak reports from San Clemente Isle and the tuna grounds, the group as a whole(with 7 guests filling in), opted to chance the" not so great" weather forecast and head to the infamous Cortez Bank. That option was really what Capt Jeff was recommending, fore he had been there recently and had seen masses of Yellowtail that didn't want to bite.

Arrived about 7am to the bank after a pretty bumpy ride into the weather. Again, seeing lots of fish, the first stop yielded only one Yellowtail, for Paul Morgan, landing a nice 25lb Yellowtail on the yoyo iron. Michael landed a nice coffee grinder fish on a slow troll into the next drift, followed by an attack of 10lb plus Bonito, fun but not what our crowd of "fish snobs", as Capt Jeff called us, wanted to sack.

We continued this routine, for the remainder of the day, with the group landing 13 out of a probable 30 hookups. Fair numbers for the quality of fish we encountered on that rugged terrain.. Captains Chris and Jeff put on a clinic on the surface Iron, landing 5 of the 13. Impressive, although the sonar showing the approaching mass of fish, in their wheel house, is pretty helpful. At one point Jeff was announcing over the PA, that he was seeing the biggest volume of Yellowtail he had ever seen, in one school, at Cortez, we stopped on that school, and no love!! Jeff's comment was about the "year of dissapointment". Lots of fish showing, very few bites. The weather turned out to be very fishable, better than forecast.

A couple quick drifts for Reds, and we were on our way elsewhere.

I don't think Hayden's drinking light ever appeared, but that didn't seem to matter much, the adult beverages seemed ample, before, during, and after the indulgent teriyaki chicken breast, white rice and broccoli dinner(pretty sure that was the same basic dinner as on the last trip.) But most all were ready and anxious to get up during the dark hours to fish flat falls and knife jigs in hopes of a big Bluefin.

The JP went to Brian Wynne for a Yellowtail right at 30lbs.

Day 2
After motoring from Cortez, thru the evening to the North, looking for Bluefin that were absent, for a night bite, we were off on an "audible", by Capt Jeff, to the Butterfly Bank, motoring from 5pm to 4am.( We are pretty fortunate to only be charged $30 for a fuel surcharge, with $6 diesel) Waking to nearly flat calm seas on the Butterfly Bank, with the intention of a kelp patty search.

The first patty encountered, was right at the Mexico border, the bite went stupid, and so did the anglers. Wide open pandemonium. Lots of saw-offs, tangles and 'fishermen' with blinders. Dodos, Yellowtail, and even a peanut YellowfinTuna.

2nd patty. One Yellowtail for Jeff Hinrichs, better quality, close to 20lbs.

3rd stop went wide for Yellowtail. Huge volume of Yellowtail, quality fish, mostly 12 to 16lbs, (San Diego fleet calling these fish 15 to 30lbs.) Time to head for the barn, with 80 miles to travel. Everyone is happy, left em biting.

Final score for day 2: 129 Yellowtail, 7 Dorado,1 YellowfinTuna.

Ron shrout gets JP with a 20lb Yellowtail, edging out Jeff H for the honors.

Bill Parks

2022: Trip 3 - Thunderbird 1.5 Day

Tue, 12 Jul 2022 01:48:59 GMT

Trip 3 Report: Thunderbird 1.5 day, July 8th, 2022

I was really looking forward to trip three since returning from trip two.

This is a 1 ½ day trip returning in the wee hours of Saturday morning. Getting off the peninsula at that time will be a breeze.

During trip two, Paul Morgan encouraged me to learn how to tie the FG knot after I had an RP knot fail on a black sea bass.

I was up until 1:30 AM Thursday morning working on new knots.

Upon arrival at Newport Landing in the 1 PM hour timeframe I found myself close to the front of the line on the rail. Low and behold, Hayden was cooling his heels in the shade.

It was great to see Chris Jr and Elijah all the way in from Texas.

Upon unloading my precious cargo, I discovered I had left my CPAP at home. DOH!

Ahh, a golden opportunity for a round trip home, to give Chloe another hug and kiss and to drive to a coveted fishing trip for the second time in one day. Nirvana.

As I was heading home, I saw Luke and someone I did not recognize unloading gear. It was Ryan with a lot more facial hair than I last saw him. Montana has done him good.

With my CPAP securely in tow, upon my return to the peninsula, I only made one pass to secure a parking space in what seemed like another county.

The crowd had grown with the usual early arrivals and more. Stuart made a guest appearance and was mingling.

Luke was making the rounds gathering bounty for our fuel needs.

Groups of friends were finding each other and the comedy show of throwing barbs and insults was just getting under way.

Justin introduced us to Ian’s dad Nigel who joined us as a guest.

What a delightful gentleman. Quick and witty and as it turned out, quite a capable angler.

I overheard conversation that the fish now seemed bigger than several years past, where the tackle was straight mono that was typically 15 pound, with 20 pound being the largest line used. I had a flashback of fishing with Charlie Uhl and 15 lb. pink Ande. Within a few moment, Chris Jr produced a spool of pink Ande. Wow man.

Not too many years ago I was using all mono with fluoro leader.

What turned the tide for me to upgrade to better gear and spectra was an unfortunate encounter with California’s finest DFG A-Hole. A 20 minute last minute outing at the end of the day and forgetting to mash the barb on a fly resulted in a $500 fine. My Bad. I don’t know why that set me off. I still love to fly fish. And I now have much better saltwater gear. Thank you, DFG A-Hole.

Stories were shared with beers and friendships that have been forged over the years continue to grow.

Many made way to find a meal before the journey this evening.

It was good to get reacquainted with those I had not fished with since last year.

Justin and Ian introduced me to Mint Leaf Thai Cuisine. Pretty good curry. Who knew?

As the day grew later, the Thunderbird materialized in the harbor, docked, disgorged its anglers and made way for fuel.

As the Thunderbird returned, all seemed to stay close and a bit anxious to be aboard and underway.

As the time grew closer to depart, Luke gathered intel from Jeff.

Some spots a bit too windy, too far for our trip, no fish and so on.

It was decided to pick the Goldilocks location of just right. At San Clemente Island.

SCI has an area with willing Yellow Tail. It was an area that a few days earlier was about 2 miles wide that has dwindled in size and is now about a mile wide.

There was talk of procuring squid on the journey, unfortunately, that did not pan out.

Boarding for bunks was quick and orderly.

As was the new and improved process for boarding with gear. Thank you Tom Hill for making this recommendation.

Chris Lund graciously offered help with my 9 foot Shimano Teramar rig. A gentle reminder that I made it to Hogans a few hours before he did when Luke told us it was for Sale.

After all were aboard, most were busy rigging readying for the early morning activities close at hand or getting ready for a short night sleep.

Off to get bait at 9:15

At the receiver some were getting an early start on the action.

I saw a few bass brought up and I am sure there were more.

The bait consisted of sardines with a mix in size, most in the larger model sizes with a few mackerel thrown in.

Seemed to be in very good condition. This is a plus for the bait burning bunch we are.

We all gathered in the Galley for Goofy’s safety briefing and gave him our full attention and respected what he was saying. After all this is for the safety and wellbeing of all of us. After that was over, back to the shit show.

Jeff gave us the low down on the next day target. What to rig for. Dropper loop, fly line, light slider.

No BFT action anticipated on this trip.

While we were getting bait, I thought I heard Mike C. said he got picked up by a BFT.

Under way at 10:50

After finishing rigging for 20 to 50 lb. set ups, it was off to bed for this scribe.

4:30 First stop Outside Lost Poin

Squid lamp overboard. Chris was overseeing activities.

It did not take long. Sea dogs present and accounted for.

No squid. One flying fish netted after collision with side of boat.

Trying to get the flyers without a bang on the noggin is an exercise in futility.

Those things are wired spooked. Any movement from above and they are out of there in less than a heartbeat.

Several anglers offered finned bait and frozen squid. Small nibblers, a few non yellow tail, sea lions and not much else. No mud marlins on the squid.

After what seemed like hours (it wasn’t that long), we pulled anchor and headed in direction of China point.

Time to retie and be ready for dropper loop, fly line, slider and iron. Been there, done that.

We made a few more stops. Still hounded by the dogs, water color/clarity off, wind and current not quite ideal.

Jeff was looking to put us on a spot that would allow us to fish for more than a short while.

Somewhere in all of this action breakfast plates and burritos were served, snacks and coffee were going around.

Thank you Goofy, breakfast was muy bueno.

At one of our stops, sharp eye Mike C pointed out a bald eagle circling one of the outcroppings.

Somewhere along the way, willing yellow tail were encountered. Thing are looking up.

Many nice calicos made it to the deck. Many released with sore lips, a few stayed aboard.

Bonito, barracuda, calicos, sheep head, white fish.

The Yellow tail action was difficult. Many hooked, many lost to the sea dogs and structure.

Goofy announced melon in the galley. I am not sure who the contributor was. Yummy.

More yellow tail and our guest Nigel showed us how to hook and land a few. He went 2 for 4.

Bill Parks was able to get one past the sea lions. Steve Strum put two on board.

tJeff kept moving up and down the island where allowed. I heard names like Flower Point, Church Rock, China Point, Lost Point, BFE. We tried several spots. Back and forth as options were limited.

We saw crashing fish. Some were yellows, some bonitos. More hookups, more heartbreak.

We were catching fish, some nice calicos, mix of bonito, barracuda, sheep head, white fish.

.Goofy served lunch sometime in here. Special of the day. Pastrami burger. Belly buster and goooooooood.

This was a two stop burger. Thank you Goofy.

Throughout the day it seemed like we passed the Amigo at least twenty times.

We saw the Islander kayakers out and about. I am not sure I would want to be out there in a kayak with multitude of sea lions in the water. Especially if I caught a fish. A sea lion could easily ruin your day in a kayak.

Jeff put us in close to the island in a few spots. Real close. And a few shallower spots.

During one of his maneuvers for the right position to drop anchor, he told us to hold up.

He looked back and saw 22 baits in the water, over the bull horn, he asked with dismay in his voice, “What are you doing?”

2 PM the call went out for meat snacks in the galley.

Later in the day, Jeff put us on frigging awesome Calico spots.

The calico fishing was the best I have experienced in the past four or five years.

Beautiful fish with deep coloring. Several nice sized fish were caught.

I was looking around and saw BJ bringing a sizable brute in from the shallows.

Then Bill Parks masterfully landed the leading contender on frozen squid.

Measured 21 ¾ X 15½ . What a beaut. Nice fish, nice fish. Beautiful colors.

Congratulations Bill.

We continued to fish into the evening and through dinner time. And continued.

Frozen squid was the ticket with a well placed cast.

Earlier on this last stop, a few leopard sharks were hooked. Luke hooked into a larger one that had him running around the stern for a bit.

Steve Strum brought in a baby moray eel. I did not see it, however I am sure like all moray eel pulled out of the water, it was pissed.

I heard rumor a few lobsters showed on the bow.

Dinner was nutritious and delicious as always, served with a variety of red wines shared with friends

Kudos to Goofy and those that assist with the meals.

Klondike bars made an appearance and quickly disappeared.

All in all a very good fishing trip

Yes, we were dogged by the sea lions.

Gary said he went 0 for 3. Chris Jr. mentioned 0 for 2.

I am sure others were mugged by the dogs.

The calico fishing did make for a memorable trip.

As I have said in the past, I feel very blessed and fortunate to be a part of this unique club.

Being on the water with this group of anglers is what make these trips for me.

Catching fish is icing on the cake.

Catching a yellow tail, tuna or big Calico. Orgasmic.

Halibut would be good too.

Nigel Parker won the Jackpot with the largest fish

Bill Parks was the patch winner and now has the largest Calico for the year to date. Close to 8 pounds.

We headed home and were back in the harbor between 4 and 5.

We all managed to find our vehicles, pick up our gear and fish, say good byes, see ya next trip and head on out

Chris Jr and Elijah were making a local stop then driving back to Texas. I am beyond those days of driving like that. I need my less than beauty sleep.

I am so looking forward to the next adventure.

I want to thank the DWRRC officers, charter master, crew of the Thunderbird and all who make these trips possible. And the group of great people to enjoy this with

Your humble scribe,

Jeffy

The Anglers

Gary Thompson

John Lenker

Chris Lund

Bill Parks

Jeff Hinrichs

Ryan Burson

Luke Burson

Hayden Claisse

Steve Lenker

Chris Ramsey JR

Mike Castillo

Murphy Parks

Elijah Ulrich

Mike Higa

Andy Woodhill

Jeff Stephens

Steve Strum

Justin Becker

Nigel Parker

Ian Parker

BJ Dyer

Tom Waller

Thunderbird Crew

Jeff, Chris, Steve, Goofy and ????

2022: Trip 2 - Thunderbird 2 Day

Thu, 07 Jul 2022 13:17:32 GMT

Trip 2 Report: Thunderbird 2 day, June 23-25, 2022

Scribe - Justin

“There are some days I take my violin (rod and reel) out and it feels dreadful, like nothing is responding, and I want to sell it and get rid of it. And the next day suddenly the skies open up and the sound (bite) is glorious again. So it's like a relationship: There are good days and bad days.” — Joshua Bell, Violinist and Composer

I found a good quote to start off reviewing a very unique DWRRC trip #2.

As we arrived, we had zero idea where we were headed and waited for our fearless leaders to help us find where the fish were biting. We followed the fishing reports earlier in the week, we expected high Yellowtail counts and a good bite. The Blue Fin had not gotten far enough North to warrant a trip South, so we agreed on Santa Barbara and Saint Nick.

Loading was painless and we all got tied up as we headed out to the Islands. Knowing there was not any Tuna fishing (evening activities) the whiskey came out, but nothing too over-the-top, just some good BS and excitement for the morning.

We started out early, setting alarms for 4:45 AM knowing the gray morning bite had been good for Sea Bass….Santa Barbara had some wind and rough times, but nothing severe. So, we put the time in and well…nothing. Bryan caught a white fish that went into his bag soley to capture the biggest fish…this is how the morning went. Jeff certainly did his part and looked high and low for biters, but there were no takers in that fine morning.

With 3 Mikes on the boat (Mike Harris and 2 guests, Mike Klepper and Mike Vas, both guests of Paul Morgan), it was easy to just call everyone Mike and get through the trip. Paul explained that he only hangs with Mike’s as he struggles with name recall. The banter in the kitchen was high as Goofy and Gary were on many topics throughout the trip. One memorable conversation was about ladders, so when the fish don’t bite, you tend to pull out any available topic for conversation.

In one stop, with zero fish from the stop, we got the “wind em up” from Jeff. Gary reels in his “naked” hook and catches a white fish. That too went in the bag, just in case!

At 9 AM, the decision was to bail on Santa Barbara Island. We opted to take the 3-hour ride over to San Clemente and see if our luck could change. It also set us up well to fish Day #2. We motored off with the majority of the group getting a nap in or discussing ladders in the galley.

That afternoon we stopped at a few Calico grounds on the North side of the Island, we had some luck with some Calico getting through the Sea Lions, but it was not fun fighting those dogs throughout the afternoon. We fished through dusk and that too was fruitless. Tony came up with the FISH OF THE DAY, a 4# Calico. That, my friends, was it…a few white fish, some small Calico and Tony’s winner.

Goofy served up some good dinner, and banter about NOT moving his salad bowl. TriTip, Baked Potato and a properly placed salad made for a satisfying filling meal. Wine was shared, and a chosen few were rewarded Klondike Bars.

We passed a few more bottles of the drink of choice and began to wonder what Day #2 had in store. My decision was to head to the bunk early and pray for a new, better day. Most did the same as we woke up the sound of……

DAY #2

Fish On! Yellow Tail on the boat at 4:45 AM by Chris, the night Captain. The call to the group went out and everyone scrambled to get a line in the water. We had live squid on the boat and most fished dropper, egg sinker or lead head.

The deckhands were busy pulling in more squid as the heavy squid light attracted a ton of bait. They netted 4-5 scoops of squid and had that ready for a new day of action.

5 AM- Chris brings his second YT on board
5:30 Nick brings in a nice 30# YT
5:50 Bill drags in a big Yellow, which eventually contended for the fish of the day.
6:10 Roy pulls on and delivers the fish of the day! A super fat 40# or so Yellow!

This stop was pretty good with the group picking off a good sized YT here and there. We also seemed to connect on some large Black Sea Bass, as many guys got broken off. I was lucky enough to land an 80# black Sea Bass that we struggled to bring back down into the sea.

Scuba (the deckhand that helped me with the Black Sea Bass) asked that I loosen the line so he could work. He used the 10’ push pole to push the fish below, trying to get the air to escape from its body cavity. He did this 4-5 times but the fish rolled over, showing its white belly…defeated. So, Scuba grabbed a filet knife, jumped the rail and stabbed the BSB in the side, allowing the air to escape…..finally the big guy found his way. Interestingly, Scuba kept the hook and line in, waited for the fish to be 300 feet out and yanked the line free. As Scuba said “even people can get stabbed and live to tell about it”, so we think the same for the BSB.

Finally, the bite slowed and Jeff called us to reel em up. That is when Nick struck again and had another hanging…..That stop from 5-8 AM was a great start to an awesome day on the water.

10 AM stop, Nick could not be stopped, he outfished the whole boat! On this stop we had Bonita, Calico and an occasional Baracuda.

11 AM to noon-ish was a great YT bite with the group doubling the YT fish count. Nick, Bryan, Pat Kelly (my guest), Jimmy, Mike Harris and many more scored on this stop. Paul “pull-the-hook” Morgan had 5 pulled hooks on the day. Certainly not normal for such a strong fisherman! He will seek his comeuppance on the next outing!

We headed to Calico fish for the end of the trip and that too had a decent mix of Yellows. It was fun watching the stern fill with elbows, trying to get the best spot to throw baits into the shore…many good-sized Calico!

The call came at 1:45 PM that we must head home, but all had a great time and felt like we got our revenge on the fishing gods. All caught fish (as there were many bonita, Calico, white and Rock fish caught throughout the second day).

My favorite memory of this trip was Romeo, the son of Oscar Ochoa. Oscar has done and continues to raise a great boy. At 11 years old the kid can FISH! and knows his rail side manners. Romeo landed a yellow as well, and had a great time learning from the many experienced anglers on the boat. He was very observant and did a great job of being part of the action, but not getting in the way….at 15 he will take every trip patch and jackpot, mark my word!

Winners:

Day #1 – Tony- 4# Calico (At least he caught one and got it through the Dog Gauntlet)

Day #2 - Roy – Congrats to Roy in beating out Bill by ¼ inch “girth” of the fish…that was a fat one!

Fisherman of the trip- Nick Burson. Not only did he outfish his “old man”, but he outfished the entire boat with 4 nice YT and a bunch of other catch and release.

21 total Yellows caught…..not bad for a ¾ day haul!

Respectfully submitted….Justin

2022: Trip 1 - Thunderbird 2 Day

Sun, 03 Jul 2022 05:29:37 GMT

Trip 1 Report- Thunderbird, 2 Day Trip- June 9-11, 2022

Scribe- Gary Thompson

Let us start off by stating- “It was the best of times, and the worst of times”. Meaning the camaraderie of the members and guests on this trip was fantastic. The fishing, well not so much (except the REDS).

The usual suspects arrived early as always with Hayden leading the way and your scribe with his guest grandson in tow right behind. The remainder filed in with all participants arriving by 7:00pm. The Boat was in a bit early so we were able to board by 8:30pm.

The plan for the first day from Jeff was to see if we could get some squid at Catalina from a light boat and if successful head to San Nicholas Island to try for some exotics and other stuff that lives there. Otherwise, we would check out the Tanner and Cortez. Day 2 would be TBD depending on Day One.

Good looking bait at the receiver, loaded up and cleared the harbor at 10:00pm. Nice traveling weather and very nice throughout the trip.

As unluck would have it, we struck out on the squid at Catalina so off we went to the outer banks.

Day One

Arrived at the Tanner Bank at 5:45am, start looking around. First boat to look here this year. Water was off-color and loaded with sea lions and bait. So Jeff didn’t stop and headed for the Cortez Bank at 6:05am. We arrived at 7:45am and tried the lower end. No fish. Left about 8:30am and headed to the 9-fathom spot where we found better water, 61 degrees and a cleaner green.

We anchored about 9:20am and Ryan B and the scribe hung yellows immediately. Ryan got his. Nice fish. The scribe handed his off to his grandson and shortly after a sea lion ate it! Damn bastard! Nothing after that. At 9:50am we started looking around again. Tried a couple more spots of fish to no avail, so we headed out to the deeps and picked away at the reds for a couple hours. Pretty decent steady fishing and everyone got what they needed.

After that we ran back up into shallows around 4:00pm and chased some breezers to no avail. Note that there was fish to be had, but not a lot of volume and cold water hampered the effort. Maybe later this year it will be productive.

We headed to San Clemente Island around 5:15pm. Enjoyed a nice Goofy dinner of lots of salad, lasagna, chicken alfredo and rolls all in nice traveling weather.

Only one Yellowtail caught by Ryan so 1st day patch and jackpot went to him with a 31 lb fish.

Day Two

We arrived at the island, Sand Dunes area, around 9:00pm the night before. The crew made a small amount of squid, but enough to fish with for the day. At 5:15am Paul C landed a nice white sea bass. Let the day begin! A short time later Bill P followed up with a nice yellowtail. But that was it. Nothing more.

We started working down backside checking out bass spots. Just a few captured at one spot. Conditions were fine but the sea lions were obnoxious and wouldn’t allow us to get anything going. We spent most of the remaining day traversing the island down the back, through the cove and up the front. Not much anywhere. Virtually nothing to show except a couple bass and a halibut. We did stop on a spot of yellowtail below Goldbluff, we went 0-2 and that was it. We moved back down below the sailboat spot, found another school but no real joy. Picked a few bonito and bass, lost one yellowtail. Jeff called it a trip at 2:00pm and we headed home.

Paul nailed the patch and jackpot with his white sea bass with a 37 lb fish.

Arrived home around 7:00pm, unloaded, the customary goodbyes were had and all looking toward their next trip. All in all, with the exception of the reds, fishing pretty much sucked. But that is why they call it “fishing” and not “catching”. And remember this from a well-known long range boat captain- “You can’t catch if you don’t try”. So until next time…..

2021: Trip 9 Thunderbird 2 Day

Fri, 24 Sep 2021 00:51:58 GMT

Trip 9 - Thunderbird - 2 Day, September16-18, 2021

It was your average Thursday night as we all got prepared for what we thought was your typical trip out

on the Thunderbird. As we all prepared for the trip Thursday evening some already at the dock and the

other stragglers trickling in, Tommy was headed towards the dock to get his spot in line when his tackle

box decided it was its day to fall apart. With good laughs and help, we were able to get him back up and

running and ready for this wild ride we were all in store for.

Day 1 game plan was to head out to Tanner’s bank and search for the almighty bluefin, hope to find

some schools and land some good grade fish on deck. As the Thunderbird departs from the dock, we

head out to the bait barge and score some very good size bait with a nice mix of all shapes and sizes. As

we load up the bait Cody Ramsey lands a little sand bass but was able to get the skunk off the boat. As

we wake up, we arrive at the bank around 7:30AM – 8AM and anchor on a goldmine. BITER!!! Bill Parks

get bent and pulls in and lands a 40-50lb beautiful Bluefin Tuna. 25lb pound line. Chris Ramsey then gets

a bite, and it was taking him for a ride of his life. Faught his fish for an hour and a half and as we get

color and call for a gaff the fish darts under the boat and breaks off. He wasn’t going to let that one get

away. We ended up bringing in about 28 BFT all great sizes ranging from 40 – 100 pounds from this first

stop. We left this area around 1:30PM as the fishing died down and headed to find another great spot.

Now it is 6PM and the count is now 40 BFT and 1 Yellowfin tuna. As we head to the galley for a dinner

and a few drinks the day is coming to an end…so we thought. It is now 9:30PM and we are driving

around hoping to get that night bite. Well, we found it. 9:45PM comes around and Chris Ramsey gets

the first bite, then Ryan gets bent, then me, then him then you...a huge school came through and if you

were down there (240 – 300 ft down) you were getting a bite. A majority of the boat was out there until

12-1AM all fish ranging from 120 pounds up to 200+. What a Friday we all had!

Day 2 game plan was to stay at the bank and see if we can land some more good size fish. 6AM rolled

around and BITER…Chris Ramsey was bite again. Absolutely slays the fish and lands it within an hour. It

is now 7AM and the kill box is full. We literally didn’t have any more room for fish and its only 7AM. We

continue to fish and stay at the bank for as long as we could but due to us being so far away, we had to

leave at 10:30AM to head back to the dock.

We ended the trip with 58 total bluefin all ranging from 40 – 200+ pound Bluefin Tuna & 1 single

Yellowfin Tuna. (Thanks BJ) Chris Ramsey was able to make a redemption from Trip 8 and won jackpot

for not only Friday but for Saturday as well. All around it was a great trip for everyone.

2021: Trip 8 Thunderbird 1.5 Day

Thu, 09 Sep 2021 00:08:31 GMT

Trip 7 - Thunderbird - 1.5 Day, September 2-4, 2021

Following the epic counts of quality fish put up on trip #6 and #7, those of us on trip #8 had high hopes for back-to-back-to-back successful trips. Early in the week our hopes diminished when Luke sent out an email with the latest news from Jeff. Counts at SCI and the offshore banks had slowed and were tapering off. Another email from Luke on the morning of our departure painted an even bleaker picture which left us having to take a vote at the dock as to where we’d fish and what we’d target. The decision was made (almost unanimously as there were a few members that will remain unnamed that wanted to fish SCI) to head to Tanner and Cortez to pick at the schools of bluefin that ‘may’ still be in the area.

With our destination decided upon, we went through the rituals of bunk selection and loading gear before departing the dock at approximately 8:30 PM. While stopping for bait on the way out, members gathered around their gear and tackle boxes rigging up everything from 20# fly line outfits, to mid-weight set-ups with colt snipers and flat falls, to the 100# combos in case the ‘cows’ decided to bite. We were not treated to the quality bait we had earlier in the season. A mix of ‘chovies’ and smaller sardines would be our ammunition with some larger sardines mixed in. Once the bait tanks were full, we exited the harbor only to be greeted by breezy and choppy conditions. The overnight boat ride was bumpy to say the least. I can’t speak for all those onboard, but I was nearly rolled out of my bunk on several occasions throughout the night.

We arrived at our destination well after dawn which provided plenty of rest for those that stayed up late taking part in the shared libations late into the evening the night before. First lines were in the water around 9:00 AM with the tuna kite gliding overhead. Jeff was metering scattered fish in the area and it wasn’t long before Jim B. and Hayden had ‘freshies’ on their line. Unfortunately, Hayden was the victim of a sea lion attack while Jim was able to avoid the same fate and land a quality Yellow Tail. Brian U. and Luke B. hooked and landed ‘schoolie’ BFTs fly lining on light tackle.

I’ll pause the story here to address the topic everyone surely wants to know. The BFTs and YT mentioned above were the only jackpot eligible fish caught on the trip. Brian’s hot streak of patches continued as he edged out Luke to claim the jackpot. From what I heard, Luke has yet to ‘patch’ for the season. Sorry Luke.

While we drifted and anchored throughout the morning we were treated to boiling bluefin around the boat but the bite never materialized. Three of us however were fortunate enough to have our numbers pulled to fight and land fish hooked on the Kite. Chris L. was the first up and it was clear from the beginning that it was a big fish. Chris did his best to put the hurt to the fish. The fight lasted nearly 1.5 hours with Goofy lending a hand. While Chris was hooked up another fish bit the kite bait and Greg (Luke’s guest) had his number pulled. Greg gave it a valiant effort early and eventually handed if off to the crew for the final push to bring it to the boat. Chris’s BFT taped at 202 lbs while Greg’s taped at 165 lbs. We continued our search for the scattered schools of tuna. Before too long the kite hooked up again and stopped the boat. Luckily for me my number was called. Having never fought/landed a fish of this size the fight felt like David v. Goliath (me being David). I gave it my all for 25 minutes or so before handing it off to the crew. I felt enormous pressure to not lose the fish given the scarcity of fish put on the boat by this point. The fish taped at 188 lbs. The 3 big fish were personal bests for us all.

The counts were rounded out by a sampling of rockfish that were accumulated while drifting and anchoring throughout the day. It was clear by 1:30 that the prospect of more fish on deck was not promising. It was not for a lack of effort put forth by the anglers or the crew of the Thunderbird. It just wasn’t our day.

Jeff pointed the boat towards Newport Harbor around 7:30 and unlike the first night, our overnight cruise was smooth and comfortable. We arrived at the dock around 4:30 in the morning. The members agreed that any fish caught on the kite would be shared amongst the group. Everyone went home with fresh BFT to enjoy.

The ocean calls to us.

Salt air and comradery.

A bounty we seek.

Until next time,

Nick H.

2021: Trip 7 Thunderbird 2.5 Day

Sun, 29 Aug 2021 14:42:58 GMT

Trip 7 - Thunderbird - 2.5 Day, August 18-21, 2021

Since I didn’t get to the landing until about 3:00, I didn’t see who beat Hayden to the #1 spot, but someone did. Giving the trip an unusual vibe right away. t was warm and beverages were passed around to keep everyone smiling. The T-Bird showed up about 7:30 and we started loading up an hour later.

With all of the local Tuna action seen the last week, bait has been and was in short supply. No cured bait available. We loaded up with the available Sardines. Actually, despite the “freshness” of the bait, Jeff said it looked pretty good. There was talk about having to go back and reload for day 2, but that didn’t turn out to be necessary. Jeff laid out our options of either starting out at the Cortez Bank or at the West End of San Clemente Island. Since we were not confident the bait would last, we agreed that SCI was the smart play.

Day 1 Thursday Morning – West End of San Clemente Island

We awoke on the anchor well before gray light. A few were fly lining sardines for nothing. The first bites came about 6:10am. A couple of Barracudas. 5 minutes later, Luke caught a small Bluefin. Then a plunker bite for more small BFT and some nice sized Yellowtail. By about 8:15 we’d landed 15 Bluefin, 18 Yellowtail and a single Dorado that Tony had willed onto his surface iron. The bite was slowing and Jeff moved us a short distance away for another 8 Yellows but only 1 more Tuna.

About 9:00am we pulled anchor and started SW looking for kelp paddies and what they may hold. Only about 15 minutes later we find one and pulled 5 Dorado onboard. Not big fish, but not Doritos either. The day was looking pretty good. Already three gamefish species and it’s still early. Three hours later, we’ve seen a lot of empty kelps. Tom Hill coaxed one Dorado onto his hook only to get bit off. Over the next we added two more Do-Do’s to the count and two tiny Blue Sharks. Lots of empty kelps and two hours later, Jeff spots three finning Marlin. He slows and we throw baits to them but they ignored our offerings and sunk out. A few more little Dorado were caught including the reverse Jackpot fish by Luke. A 1 ½# Dorito.

We were near the Butterfly Bank by 5:00pm when Happy Hour started. Oscar, who had been on the gyros most of the day, spotted a huge kelp. Jeff set us up for a drift passed it and chaos ensued with most everyone hooked up at once. 43 Dorado were landed with some losses due to angler errors and the frenetic swimming of those fish. We made another drift on the kelp for only one stupid Dorado. So, 44 dorado were added to our day’s total. By 6:00pm we were almost to the Mushroom Bank and hit another kelp for 14 more Dorado. Some nice ones in this bunch. Up to about 20#. That was it for Day one. Good fishing with terrific weather. Calm seas and nearly windless all day.

1st day totals were: 26 Yellowtail, 16 Bluefin and 69 Dorado

Brian Wynne had best fish and won the patch with a 27# Yellowtail.

Jeff looked at the bait and decided it would hold us for Day 2 and the call was made to head for the Cortez Bank overnight.

Day 2 Friday Morning – Cortez Bank

Again we awoke on the anchor in the dark. A few other boats were anchored around us. The Top Gun 80 and the Success were closest. The weather had improved from excellent to terrific. Flat and glassy all day long. The first bite didn’t come until about 6:30am. A bonito. Then the Yellows started to bite. From 6:30 to 7:10 we caught 11 Yellows and 1 small BFT. We pulled anchor and moved a couple of times to escape the Boneys and Sea Lions. At 9:40 we started a decent bite for 18 more Yellows and 5 Bluefin. It slowed and about 10:00 Jeff made a move to the West End High Spot on the Cortez. Also a 9 Fathom mark on the map. It was a good move with 57 more Yellowtail and 5 Bluefin added to our totals. And some of these Yellows were larger models. Our bait situation was getting bad with mostly red, dying Sardines left in the tank. But if you found one that would swim, you got bit. And by 1:30 we’d landed another 4 Yellowtail. At 1:45, our bait gone, we started a slow run back to SCI to see if we can jig up some Bluefin.

The Cortez counts 90 Yellowtail, 11 Bluefin and a bunch of Bonito released.

We got to the West End of SCI about 7:00pm and started looking around. There hadn’t been much large Bluefin seen lately and most of us were thinking we would get in early, when at 9:15 we stop on some meter marks. Dropping flat falls and knife jigs down to 180’ to 300’ to the fish 5 Bluefin from about 70# up to about 130# were landed. Then some bigger models moved in and 5 more were multi-gaffed by the crew. These fish were from 107# to 210#

Brian Wynne again caught the Jackpot fish at 193# taped weight. Chris Ramsey brought in the biggest one at 210#, but he let BJ pull on it for a while and that disqualified him from the JP.

An awesome surprise ending to an excellent Club trip.

Two Day Totals:

117 Yellowtail

69 Dorado

37 Bluefin Tuna

2021: Trip 6 Thunderbird 2 Day

Sun, 15 Aug 2021 22:41:27 GMT

Trip 6 - Thunderbird - 2 Day, August 5-7, 2021

We should have known that trip 6 was going to be special when Brian took the 1st position in line ahead of Hayden by showing up at 9:30AM. That’s right AM. Slowly guys would get in line to form a wall of rods and tackle with many bunches of 9-10 rods apiece. People would comment that there was a lot of fishing “stuff” for so little fishermen.

I arrived at 3:30pm and took my #16 spot in line. Luke, Nick, Brian, Hayden, Ron Shrout and his guest Dave were lounging in their camping chairs, waiting for the rest of us to arrive. Mike Thompson and his wife, Susan came by to wish us luck and left to enjoy a nice dinner at the dock. At 6pm, a bunch of us walked down to the “Great Mex” for some local Mexican food and then waited for the Thunderbird to return from an overnight trip. Bill Parks and Ron Shrout spoke about when the Dana Wharf Rod and Reel club was more of a drinking club back in the 90’s. With the help of Luke Burson and a few others, it became the fishing club of today.

When Captain Jeff arrived, we had two options. We could chase the BF tuna that were southeast of Catalina Island, or we could head out to San Clemente Island to fish for the local YT. Jeff had returned from his overnight with some success at San Clemente catching YT. The BF tuna were very iffy, but it was an option. It came to a vote and the tally favored YT at San Clemente Island.

After getting our bait that turned out to be so-so, we left the harbor and motored out to the island.

Day 1

As it turned out, fishing for YT was the right call. A few of us began fishing at 5:30am with Caption Jeff anchored up against the reef at Pyramid Head. Nothing happened until 7am, when a switch went off and we found ourselves with 4-6 fish hooked up often with YT. These fish were found on the surface with flylined bait and surface irons. There were no rats in this school, as we landed 18-25lbers with regularity. But some of the guys found even bigger fish that they couldn’t turn and there were many that were lost to the reef. By 10:30am, we had boated 76 YT.

Chris Ramsey was having a memorable day with 11 fish boated in that flurry, one of which ran into his surface iron and weighed in at 33lbs.

We decide to make a move, and picked at a few more YT. Captain Jeff decided to move the boat back to the other side of Pyramid head later in the afternoon, and we landed another 51 YT with some of the hookups getting rocked just like before. Again, these were quality fish. Roy landed one that topped the scale at 34.8lbs, and we thought it would be the jackpot winner, until member Jeff gets picked up and lands a YT weighing 35.5 lbs on the scale, and measured 44” long and 24 ¼” girth, calculated 32.4lbs. This wins the jackpot for the day and also earns Jeff a patch for Day 1.

Day 2

After a discussion with Captain Jeff, Luke informs us that the BF tuna fishing has been very slow, so we decide to park overnight at the island, and continue our carnage of YT on Day 2. At 7am, the YT show up again, and this time there is a huge contingent of other boats in our space. There are even little skiffs that motor up to our chum line, frustrating the crew.

As we pick at the YT, Brian Upcraft picks up one on the surface iron, and after a pretty tough battle, he finds himself on the bottom, fighting to save his iron from the reef below. Unfortunately, the fish wins and he is left with only shredded line.

Soon after, there is a boil in the corner, and Brian is encouraged to toss his bait in that direction. He tosses his bait, but it seems to be too late. However, 20 seconds later, he’s on again, and he can tell that he’s on to something big. After a good fight and avoiding the reef, he lands a “Huge” YT, weighing in at 41lbs, measuring 25”x45”. It’s so big, he could put his fist in its mouth. It’s the biggest one of the 27 boated YT that come over the rail on Day 2. We also released an addition 5, so in the end we boated 152 YT on the trip with 5 additional caught but released.

At 1:30pm, Captain Jeff, surprises us with a decision to take our last 4 scoops of bait to see if we can pick up some BF tuna. We start motoring towards the southeast side of Catalina Island to see if we can find some foamers. After two hours, we run into the fleet of 15-20 boats trolling an area with marks of BF. We see a couple jumpers, so we toss some of the bait left in the tank to see if we can bring them to the boat. On one of the stops, Jeff and Nick pick up BF which are estimated to be about 20-22lbs. Luke had one at the boat, but it rolls and saws him off before Captain Jeff can get a gaff into him.

Cody is bit on 20lb test line, and the fight takes longer than he wishes, but in the end he boats a 15lb yellowfin tuna. With no more bait, and just a 2 ½ hours to the dock, our trip ends at 5pm.

Congrats to Chris Ramsey, who boated 24 YT, and Cody added another 14, making the team of Ramsey’s total of 38 YT boated.

Captain Jeff and crew get a gold medal for an epic trip of YT fishing topped off with a couple BF and one YF tuna.

Tight lines………. Mike Higa

2021: Trip 5 Thunderbird 2 Day

Wed, 04 Aug 2021 20:43:07 GMT

Trip 5 - Thunderbird - 2 Day, July 15-17, 2021

The Burson clan arrived at Newport Landing to find Hayden, Brian Wynne, Mario Sr and Mario Jr already waiting in line. I am fairly sure Hayden arrived before sunrise. Slowly but surely more members arrived, taking up there spots on the dock and settling in for the many hours wait until departure. The amount of gear piling up clearly indicates we are professionals. Comments overheard from passersby include “There must be some sort of competition going on” and “They must be heading out for a loooong time”. We could have easily been heading out for a 6 day trip with the amount of gear, and beer, brought. Gotta be prepared for anything!

With the summer sun blazing, it was a quick and easy decision to crack some cold beers to cool off. Parked in the shade of the Newport Landing building, we spent a few hours catching up with each others lives and talking about the trip to come. The Thunderbird arrived around 7:30 and as the passengers disembarked Luke went to talk to Jeff. There were a few options of where we could go, however ultimately it was decided we would head to the Cortes Bank for day 1. We quickly went through the order for bunk selection, boarded the boat , and began rigging gear. A few more beers were had, before one by one we headed to bed eager to start fishing in the morning. No need for an early wake up call, we would arrive in the zone around 7:30-8:00 am am the following morning.

Friday, day 1

With a rare opportunity to sleep in, most members were up by around 7 am. We still had a little ways to travel, so it was prime opportunity for those who drank a little too much the night before to double check their knot work.

Around 8:30 am we had our first bite, Yellowtail on the surface iron by Luke. Quickly, a few more were hung on yo-yo jigs and sardines. A few members seemed to have a little better luck than others, with four landing multiple fish. Between 8:30-10:00 there were 13 Yellowtail caught, with hot sticks being Michael H (3), Gary (2), Mario Jr (2) and Luke (2). For the next hour or so we tried a few more spots without success. It was not for a lack of effort, as many of us began to feel like we had cranked these jigs for what seemed like a distance of many miles. One more yellowtail was brought on board around 11:30 am, bringing out total to 14 fish for the day so far.

We made another move around noon and a few anglers were able to capitalize. Another 6 yellowtail were brought on board, these being a slightly larger grade from the ones caught earlier. While we were now up to 20 fish on the day, we did suffer quite a bit of casualties. It seemed like for every two fish landed there was one that was lost.

Jeff made the decision to switch gears and load us up on some rockfish. As Jeff made the move, we geared up to catch some tasty taco meat. Slabbed sardines were the bait, and it worked fairly well for all the rockfish you could want. We made roughly 6 drifts, each time being successful. With gunny sacks full, and everyone having more than enough rockfish to take home, it was back to searching for yellowtail. A move south was made, and we came across a breeze of fish. A few members were quick to hook up, however ultimately all of them succumbed to pulled hooks or broken line. There was one bonita caught, which seemed to put up a pretty good fight.

Now was the time for everyone’s favorite offshore activity…making bait. Sabiki rigs tied on, it ended up being the easiest bait making session I can remember. Literally every drop, just 10 feet under water, would load you up with 4-5 mackerel. We very quickly filled a tank, and were happy to have the extra bait for the next day. With mackerels loaded up, it was time to start heading towards San Clemente Island for day two.

Day 1 results:

Yellowtail: 20
Bonita: 1
Rockfish: lots

Determining the big fish on the day required measuring 6 fish, all taping out between 24.45-26.29 lbs. Final results:

Day 1 big fish and patch winner: Brian Wynne, Yellowtail taped at 26.29 lbs.

Saturday, day 2

Very early morning for some, not so much for others.

We awoke at the island, with hopes of making squid. Mario Jr was up first, around 1:30-2 am (yes, you read that right). Myself and Luke were up around 3:30 to find Mario Jr netting squid one at a time, with about 25 sitting in the handwell. At 4 am, lines were in the water with dropper loop setups. One squid per person was the rule, as squid was limited. Not much action at this time, but we were hopeful that would soon change.

Around 5 am the squid decides to come up to the boat in a massive volume. Second-ticket Brian quickly got the crowder and, with the help of Mario Jr, went to work. Nets full of squid made its way over the rail and into the tank. There would be plenty of squid to use, now we just needed the fish to cooperate. The Freedom was called over and a few scoops were passed their way, and Karma would soon come our way.

5:30 am, first bite. Along the port side, starting in the bow, one by one we were getting bit. Having that line start ripping out is much better at waking you up than coffee. There were about 5 or 6 fish initially hooked and quick work was made to get them on deck. You didn’t know long the bite would last, and wanted to get on the board, then get another piece of squid back down as fast as possible. Thankfully the fish bit for more than just this first wave, and some lucky anglers were able to catch their first and drop back down to immediately hook up again. What a morning rush!

The bite lasted for about 40 minutes, where after the first initial hit there was a steady one to two fish hanging. Ultimately we ended up landing 19 yellowtail with the following anglers landing two each: Tommy, Brian W, Luke, Ryan, Nick and Michael H. By 8:30 we had almost matched our previous day’s fish count. Additionally, a rather large Black Seabass was caught by Bruce, which was successfully released to live its life.

We moved out to some kelp to fish some bass, and honestly it is not much to write about. We put the effort in, but had little bites. We tried without much cooperation from the fish.

Around 10 am, off China Point, we got back into some yellowtail. The key here was the mackerel we caught the day before. These were some meaner fish and they loved chomping on those mackerel. The anglers using lighter line ran into problems, as the structure below was one of the nastiest spots around the island. You really needed heavier gear to stop the fish from getting to the rocks, and to beat the seals. About 12 yellowtail were hooked, and half were lost to the rocks, failures or the giant seal hanging around. Those that were landed were quality fish, a few that would later be in competition for the largest of the day.

While heading around the south end of the island crashing tuna were spotted off shore. With a quick turn of the boat, hopes were high we would get into an epic bluefin bite. But, the bluefin had other ideas. The schools had been worked extensively by the 6-7 boats in the region and did not want to cooperate. As soon as we would get up to them, they would sink out. Huge breezers, huge foamers., crashing fish everywhere jumping fully out of the water. We chased the schools, trying to get one to stick. Jeff positioned us well many times, having schools literally swim to us and surround us. We were throwing all kinds of jigs, fly lining sardines/mackerels, sinker rig sets up, you name it. However they would just continue on their way, ignoring our hooked baits and jigs while occasionally chomping away at our chum. We did end up with 4 bluefin being landed, all in the 25-28 lb. range. Those that didn’t land one were frustrated and envious. That's bluefin fishing!

Those four anglers who landed a bluefin are: Jim, Brian W, Oscar and Ryan.

By now it was time for the trip to be called and for us to start heading back home. The crew cleaned the fish, while the passengers cleaned out the beers from their coolers.

Day 2 results:

25 yellowtail
4 bluefin

Determining the big fish for day 2 had us measure three Yellowtail and two Bluefin. The Yellowtail ranged from 23.25-29.44 lbs., while the Bluefin measured were close at 27.34 and 27.93 lbs. Final results:

Day 2 big fish and patch winner: Ryan Burson, Yellowtail taped at 29.44 lbs.

We got back to the dock around 7pm, and made record time getting unloaded. I think we were in the car heading home around 7:30. All in all, it was a great time on the water with a great group of Club members. It's always fun sharing stories, drinking good wine/beer/whiskey, and hearing Tommy stumble through his legendary jokes. And of course, catching a few fish helps.

Trip totals:

45 Yellowtail
4 Bluefin
All the rockfish you could want
Most of us also caught a decent buzz.

Those of you on trip 6, see you on the dock in 2 weeks.

- Nick Burson

2021: Trip 4 Fortune 1.5 Day

Tue, 06 Jul 2021 00:26:51 GMT

Trip 4 - Fortune - 1.5 Day, July 2-3, 2021

Arrived at 22 ^nd street landing at about 2:10 PM, a few members where already there chatting and enjoying the pleasant afternoon Luke, Roy, Hyden, John to name a few - unconfirmed reports suggests Hayden was the first to arrive. While waiting to board Jeff H. got a call that he’s mother had suffered a fall and had to leave to be with he’s mom - prayers go out for a speedy recovery.

Participants included:

Andy Sienkiewich

Ron Rudrud

Ron Henry

Nick Henry

Jeff Stephens

Joe Stassi

Luke Burson

Chris Arechaederra

John Lenker

Steve Lenker

Steve Strum

Roy Patterson

Hayden Claisse

Jeff Hinrichs

Bill Parks

Michael Harris

Oscar Ochoa

Alex Mesko

Crew
Bruce (captain)

Tommy (cook)

Jeff

Michael

The plan was to leave early by 6PM. The Fortune that had been docked at the landing left briefly at about 4 PM to gas up when it got back was able to get a few scoops of squid courtesy of the Freedom that was docked right behind (good start).

We proceeded to board in our usual a very organized fashion there was plenty of room for tackle boxes and fishing rods (thank you Luke for letting us know ahead of time what the fishing plan was so we don’t take unnecessary equipment), we enjoyed some good snacks and sandwiches that the Tommy had prepared for us.

By 6:30 we were in our way to a bait barge called San Pedro Bait where we loaded up the tanks with good size sardines. As it turned out, most of these nice little creatures did not get to perform their duties. By 7:30 we set sail for the fishing grounds.

The captain did he’s usual talk making everyone familiar with the boat safety features and told us that our best chance was to go to San Clemente Island to fish for White Sea Bass and Yellow Tail starting at a place called West Cove; Other options to fish for Tuna close to San Diego or White Sea Bass by the Channel Islands were too far and the weather was a factor.

By 9PM most of us hit the bunks except for few that stayed later to finish up whatever alcohol was left.

It was a very smooth ride throughout the night or was it that we were just too tired to notice the bumps? By 2:30 AM we woke up to the noise of the anchor dropping. Some of us got up & some were already up in the galley.

The crew started to make squid using their nets. The squid were so thick that they clogged the recirculating water pipes to the bait tanks a couple of times (an example of too much of a good thing can be bad).

The crew made room for the squid by sacrificing some of the sardines from the bait tanks; Now we had plenty of squid.

Way to go guys!

The fishing had started early, the first bite by yours truly was a fairly good size Sea Lion at the bottom on a dropper loop with live squid (did not count for the jackpot & was released).

At about 4:20 AM Bill Parks started what appeared to be a very promising day with a 20+ lbs yellowtail, shortly followed by Michael with a nice white sea bass in the mid 20’s and then Luke with an approx. 30 lbs white sea bass.

There were a few other hook ups but surprisingly nothing landed.

By 6 AM we had 7 Hook ups but only three on the deck.

Bruce decided to move and look around, our second stop by 8 AM produced a couple of Sheepsheads.

Our third stop was in a kelp area with no biters.

Time for breakfast of Ham and eggs on English muffin with gravy and potatoes (very good).

We continue to make several stops throughout the morning with not much success other than a calico here and there.

The afternoon turned out to be a bit better with 4 white sea bass, a couple YT, lots of calicos, a trophy size sheepshead courtesy of Chris and assorted bottom dwellers including a big Blue Perch by (name withheld).

Luke brought to the surface then released a Black Sea Bass that was estimated by some at approx. 200 lbs on 40# test (a masterpiece of angling), that might not have been the only one - Andy hooked up to what appeared to be a BSB that broke off a 60# test line.

By late afternoon we came back to the West Cove area where we started fishing in the morning but not much else happened.

The trip ended with an excellent Tri Tip dinner capped off with a great tasting lemon cake.

By 8:30 PM most of us were done for the day. Three decided to fish until the end – Steve, Bill and Luke. There was one more WSB hooked and landed by Luke, it was the same size as the ones caught earlier. Bill got a short bite and that was it. At 11 PM the anchor was pulled and we headed for home as the Fortune had another trip planned for the following morning.

Fish count:

7 White Sea Bass
3 Yellow Tails
41 Calico Bass
29 Sheepshead
12 White Fish
1 Bonito
1 Blue Perch (released)

Congratulations to Luke he won the jackpot with the White Sea Bass.

Congratulation to the crew for their hard work including Tommy for the great tasting food.

Alex

2021: Trip 3 Thunderbird 2 Day

Mon, 21 Jun 2021 15:50:27 GMT

Trip 3 - Thunderbird - 2 Day, June 18-19, 2021

I made sure to not be the last once arriving since I was the last one on Trip 2. After getting situated & meeting all of the talented anglers on our trip I could tell by the order of tackle that Hayden appeared first at the docks again. Second was Gary & his guest from Trip 2, his UTI.

By the way, the landing has the unicorn Daiwa SK Jigs and probably sold $1000 worth of jigs from our trip alone. We had a long journey past “SCI” to Cortez Bank with all of the newly collected tuna jigs. Captain Jeff found some yellowtails but they were all scattered due to the lack of current. We started fishing at 7:30 AM with the beautifully

cured bait and caught some yellowtail with that & the irons.

The bite shut down for a moment & Gary was able to get them to bite again after dropping down to 20 lb line. We all followed suit & were able to produce a good amount of quality yellowtails towards the 30 lb class throughout the day. We took turns targeting yellowtails & rockfish as the conditions kept changing.

The Ramseys strike again on the jackpot! Cody broke what appeared to be a 3 way tie of 30 lb slug yellowtails & took the jackpot / patch with his catch on the surface iron.

We finished Day 1 with 72 yellowtails & a great mix of quality rockfish/bottom fish. That night the crew was able to fill the remaining tanks with some healthy sized squid.

Unfortunately, we had a small window to fish on Day 2 due to the long haul back from Cortez Bank & were able to get 4 yellowtails. Big fish honors when to guest Chris (who also put on a surface iron clinic catching a full limit of YT, all on the surface iron) and the patch went to Bryan Upcraft with another quality YT. Fortunately, Gary announced that he finally urinated normally but still hasn’t decided what color pants to buy.

Patrick

2021: Trip 2 Fortune 2 Day

Mon, 07 Jun 2021 21:43:45 GMT

Trip 2- Fortune- 2 Day, June 3, 2021

Well, the title of this trip reads Trip 2, but in reality, it was the first trip of the year as Trip 1 was a weather casualty. During my research for this write up, I always find Hayden is always first at the dock. Hayden was not on this trip and the Capos are the new Hayden getting there are at what, noon or so? I have to say that hanging at the dock is such a treat. Watching Mario Jr. casting lines, drinking coldies, and making new friends. I met new member Justin on his first official trip and found out we attended Purdue University at the same time I attended there. What a small world. And he is a Chicago Bear to boot...

We finish boarding around 7pm and after Captain Bruce gave us a thorough safety run down, the options on the table were to go to San Nic for white seabass, or Cortez for yellows and rockfish. The intel we got was that there were bruising yellows being caught and no one was fishing the bite. The weather was perfect to make the run from San Pedro and the call was made to fish Cortez. Captain Bruce mentioned that most of the success was coming on the yo-yo and live bait. We all set up gear and ate a pizza snack. The cured bait we loaded at the receiver was beautiful and of great quality. The usual suspects stay up hanging out and then it was time to hit the sack. We had a great evening.

After a beautiful night cruise with no swell, we arrive at Cortez and lines go out at 6am. Chef Tommy prepared delicious breakfast burritos to get us fueled. Mario Jr. lands the first yellow on the jig. He proceeds to put a jig clinic the rest of the day and finishes the day with 5 yellows. Jake also became a multi fish winner getting 2 of his own on the jig. The two kids caught half the haul. Very impressive. Mario reminds me of the Bratt Pitt fly fishing role in the movie A River Runs Through It. His skill at getting bit and tossing the jig is unmatched. A sight to see. Second Captain Sean, threw a jig on his 10-foot Seeker Ulua and proceeded to destroy a 40 lb class yellow. I swear it took him 5 minutes. What a beast... My friend and new member Justin took first day big stick honor making history as the first member to get a patch on his first official trip with a 30 lb yellow. Congrats Justin! We ended up landing 14 quality yellowtail on the first day after a good number of casualties with yellows spitting the jig. The conditions were tough for bait fishing, as we had very little current and flat water.

After the yellowtail session ended, we start the second half of the day moving around the high spot and stopping for rockfish. We landed great quality reds and 11 lings. Brandon and I were lucky enough to land our first lings ever and we were super stoked. Tony landed 2 of them and Mario Jr. got a large one too. There was a good amount of ginormous sheepshead caught on this stop. After the sacks were loaded, we decided to make bait for the next day and it was mayhem at the bait tank! We scored huge amounts of Spanish mackerel for the next day.

As we started to make the evening move to the backside of San Clemente Island, Chef Tommy made us a delicious Tri tip dinner with ice cream for dessert. The bonding that goes on at the dinner table is what memorable memories are made of. It is such a great ritual and, in my opinion, it gels the club together. Fun times...

Next morning, we fish the back side and we attacked the goat farm. One sheepshead after another. We used dropper loops with frozen squid and that was the ticket. We made a move to the usual front side spots for the calico fishing but the lack of current affected the bite. We did score on them though. Second day honors, went to Mario Jr. With a 12lb. sheepshead. After the session ended, it was time to start the trip back.

I have to say that it is such an honor to fish with this club. There is a great deal of goodness to it. May we stay together for a long time.

2020: Trip 7 Thunderbird 2 day

Tue, 25 Aug 2020 01:56:01 GMT

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!)

2020: Trip 6 Thunderbird 2 day

Sun, 09 Aug 2020 01:44:06 GMT

Trip 6 Thunderbird 2 day

Scribe: Mario Jr.

August 6th boat departs, well before that it starts at the boardwalk. Surprise, surprise Hayden is yet again the first member there! By dusk just about every member is there. Everyone is hyped up on what’s in store to come. But we have options, which is nice to have. If we as a club pick wisely… Go south and fish the zone that’s been hit hard and has fish that’s had a few off day’s and could bite any day now? Fish the back side to the ridge off of Clemente? Or go to the tanner? The choice was made and we decided to place that burden on captain Jeff to decide. (Now we don’t have to blame ourselves if we don’t catch them!) But mostly because Jeff is on the water everyday and we trust in his decision making. So we go to Clemente and fish for bluefin. Great!

Finally board the boat and the last minute top shots and hooks are tied on. Light line 20#-25# maybe 30#, small hook. Stupid bluefin stuff. Fish could be 12-50 pounds. Sounds fun! Then typical island gear consisting of 30 pound fly line, dropper loops, surface irons and yo-yo jigs.

3:45 am boats finally comes to its first stop and it’s on a sonar school. Immediately hop out of the bunk and go up top. Kitchen sink was the tactic until someone could get bit and narrow it done for the rest of us. Flat falls of all sizes, sinker rigs of all sorts, fly line baits hit the water. And all for nothing. 5:45am boats in gear and on the move. 6:15 boat slows down the throttles, battlestations was taken around the bait tank. Bluefin boiled in the chum line! so it was go time. Toss em back! Two immediate hook ups on the slide! Then a third as the boat comes to a stop. Few more might of been hooked but all said in done after about 20 minutes on the stop, 3 bluefin hit the deck. 25-30 pounders, solid fish on the 20-30 pound line. 7:00am boat stops again (third stop) and short hit and run style fishing, right when we slide up we get a couple to go and then they sink out for no reason. Something we’ve all seen and been a victim to. We managed to get 4 more bluefin and our first yellowfin on the boat. Start thinking this could be a good day, as long as we manage to get 5 or so fish a stop and we’re stopping every 30 minutes. Might be a good scratch fishing day and we’re one school away from “the school” that could be our one stop shop.

After some breakfast beers and burritos the boat slows down again and finds another sonar school. Mix bluefin and yellowfin We get 7 in about 30 minutes. Decent morning so far, it’s only 9:30 and we have 8 bluefin and 8 yellowfin and plenty of time to go. All we need to do is go search for another school. So we go searching. Keep searching...while you’re at it search some more. It was at that point you get the feeling of damn this ocean is pretty big after all. Boat never stopped again but one last time around 3:45pm. Nothing got hooked though. Looks like I spoke too soon to when I said this could be a one of those killer scratch days. Lucky to get what we did, the Thunderbird got the second highest fish count in the fleet. By fleet I mean SoCal. Every boat from Long Beach to San Diego was tuna fishing… that’s why we let Jeff make those decisions on where to fish sometimes! Now head to the island and salvage a decide sun downer bass bite.

Get to the island and right in tight with the kelp line inside of pyramid. Fish bass come over the rails, nothing crazy in size but fun size to catch. Few yellows move through and the kelp made short work of them. Lose 3 yellows. Hmmm there’s yellows and people are breaking off on the 25-30 pound test in the kelp. Better use 40 pound. Go mid ship to the deeper end of the kelp and bam a few more come over the rail. 8-12 pounders, 3 yellows before dark in about a 30 minute span. Little icing on the cake after hearing we had the second highest tuna count.

For those of you that don’t know, there’s this crazy member named Mario Jr. Who will fish any hour the boat is stopped and is known to fish through the night. It paid off, after dinner around 10pm a dropper loop yellow hit the deck, solid 12 pounder. Naturally a few others take notice and a the stern is fanned out with dropper loops. About 30-45 minutes later 2 more hook ups and we land those! End of the day we total 8 bluefin 8 yellowfin and 6 yellows. And the patch goes to Luke with 33 pound bluefin.

Day two and last day to fish, we pull anchor and start hunting. Stop right away and Gary hooked the first fish, solid 20 pounder and we get a couple more of the 8-12 pound stuff. Next stop about 7:30 we get into them to come up in the chum pretty good. We end that stop with another 6-8 fish. Then we go in for a bass sesh.yough bite for even a bass... Catch some decent 4-5 pounders but nothing worthy to measure. Or a short. Nothing really in between. Then throw in a few surprise yellows in the kelp line.

11:15 the call was made to start to head back in a little early, mechanical prevention related issues but with only 2 maybe 3 hours left to fish. It wasn’t worth the risk and we weren’t missing anything, yellows weren’t really there and where did all the epic bass fishing go? So with that being said, it was an easy pill to swallow that we were going to head back a little early. Ended with roughly dozen yellows and patch honors goes to Bill Parks. (Good luck finding room on your jacket for this patch!)

2020: Trip 5 Thunderbird 2 day

Sat, 18 Jul 2020 16:00:47 GMT

DWRRC, Trip #5, July 17, 18 (2 day)

We left the harbor at 11 pm with many of the usual cast of cretins, criminals, and dope fiends (u can assign urselfs) and guest Chris Arechaederra of CCA, with the destination being the area near the USA/Mexico border and hopes of vast quantities of tuna. As you will hear, the tuna didn’t have the app. Jeff at the helm, Boo Boo #2, with Goofy, Cole and Rico in the galley and on the deck.

Jeff started metering fish deep around 6-7 am, with no response to chum and no bites. Other boats in area, all slow. Several stops on breezers of tuna but with no luck with bites, and no real response to chum.

We finally had some luck with Mr. Ramsey’s favorite fish, nice sized bonita, eager to bite but didn’t invite their friends (tuna) to join in. Several stops on these until everyone had had enough. At about noon, stopped on a large B/F breezer, and despite several anglers claiming to hit them on the head with colt snipers and the like, no hookups.

Took a vote on whether to have tuna (bonita) salad sandwiches or some sausage concoction Goofy was putting together for lunch, and the ratfish won out, and, actually was not bad ( I think Luke rigged the vote). Goofy being a waste not/want not type of dude, we got the sausage in burritos the next morning (either that or it was portions of his cut off fingers, or worse).

At this point, Jeff decided to cut our losses and head to an area off San Clemente where larger bluefin (140-200lbs) had been biting, about 4 hours away. Somewhere during our voyage to SC we found a kelp with a few biters, Luke Bill and Mario Jr?. About 3:30-4:00 pm we finally found some B/F willing to bite for a few lucky anglers. Gary hooked up with what he described as Moby Dick (it was probably a 30 pounder), who proceeded to spool him, much to the delight of some of his friends??. BJ also hooked up twice but didn’t keep them on. Finally Cody and Bill hooked up and both landed nice fish. Cody about 60+ lbs and Bill about 70+

Spent the nite in China cove with no further action. Plenty of booze was consumed but brought no solace.

Jeff’s plan for day 2 was to leave in the dark to secure a good spot in Mosquito Cove on the lee side where yellowtail had been biting on previous days-you can probably guess how this is going to go. As light appeared, Nick and Chris landed 10-12 lb yellowtails but the bite was very slow and we left to chase Calico bass at many of our favorite spots. Bass action was pretty good but no real standouts until Hayden landed a whopping 20 incher for the club lead, only to be unseated by Chris with a fish ¼ inch longer a short time later, probably about a 5 pounder. One of the best spots, which I did not recognize, produced quite a few 3-4 lb calicos. When I asked Jeff the name of the spot, he said it was Tommy’s unmentionable, liking it to Roy’s crack.

We made one last shot at Mosquito Cove and Jeff and Tony both hooked nice yellows. A sea lion liked Tony’s fish more than him and left with the beast, bummer. Jeff landed his and won the 2 ^nd day jackpot.

Final results:

Two Bluefin, a bunch of bonita, 6 yellowtail, lots of calico bass but none of epic size (sorry Hayden and Chris)
Day 1 jackpot to Bill with 70+ Bluefin; Day 2, Jeff with a nice yellow
The rest of us went home with what would make the cat angry.

Goofyisms:

“The Thompsons are all rich”
In response to a comment from someone “That’s the nicest thing another man has ever said to me”
And my personal favorite: “The only thing Tommy brings to the picnic is an empty grocery bag”

2020: Trip 4 Fortune 1.5 day

Sat, 04 Jul 2020 16:38:41 GMT

Fortune, July 3rd, 1.5 day

Hayden may have had breakfast on the dock, as he arrived to get in que around 9 a.m. The remaining 17 boys arrived with all the normal BS. The masked excitement was about the previous week of white sea bass fishing which Bruce had been doing real well on.We're told he didn't do so well today.

We board the Fortune at 8pm. Shortly after we hit the bait receiver, Lori, the cook, set up a nice load of chili dogs for the group. Bruce gives us a safety seminar, then proceeds to talk about the fishing, the decision to return to San Nicholas Island, give us the dope on how the fish have been biting, excetera. About three scoops of squid we're left over from the previous trip, but Bruce wanted to stop at Catalina and try to make more. Didn't really happen.

We woke up to very calm seas at San Nicholas Island with what appeared to be plenty of squid, and really nicely cured sardines. The routine was going to be to sit and wait for the White sea bass to come through, the current was running well. They just didn't show for us. Mike Allen was the first to hook up a Yellow Tail. Throughout the day we put on six more yellowtail and had a nice round of Rockfish and about a dozen lingcod. Fishing was on the slow side. But most everyone stayed on deck and fished really hard throughout the day. Around 4 p.m. Bruce tried to pull the hook but as soon as he fired up the engines, Tommy Hill got bit, we wait another 15 minutes, fires up the engines again, Oscar gets bit, wait another 15 minutes, fires the engines again, Luke is on. Oscar and Luke both got their fish.

Bruce was headed for Catalina to try and make some more bait, and see if we could scratch out a white sea bass in the dark. Lori really put together a nicely prepared, tri tip dinner, for us. Conditions, at Catalina, just didn't happen for us. I think there was one Barracuda caught along with miscellaneous sharks, skates and rays. 4am, headed for home. That's the trip.

Fishing scores, Mike Allen one yellow, Hayden-1 yellow, Bill-1 yellow, Mike Higa (previous member)-1 yellow, Oscar -1 yellow, Luke -2 yellowtail. Cody first legal halibut 15 lb, congratulations Cody. Chris Jr? Gary Thompson wasn't able to land his hundred pound Sheepshead.

Beautiful weather. Lots of rail time, with good conversations. Good foodand drink. A pleasure being alive and doing what we love.

JP + Patch -A surprise winner, Luke with a very pretty -23 lb yellowtail.

That's the trip.

P arks

2020: Trip 3 Thunderbird 2 day

Mon, 22 Jun 2020 16:27:15 GMT

Thunderbird 2 Day

June 18-20 2020

Day 1: San Clemente Island -Jackpot winner: Cody Ramsey 43 pound yellowtail (Club Record)

—After receiving some live squid from the LB Carnage we headed out towards the island. We arrived in the dark and immediately began to fish. Not before too long we hear the first yells of “hook up” and excitement stirs among the boat. Unfortunately the first few fish hooked were lost. It wasn’t even grey light yet another fish was hooked. This fish happened to be the fish that won jackpot and became the new club record (39.5 taped 43 on scale). Tommy Hill landed an adorable harbor seal pup and a few betrayscame up in the grey light. Once the sun came up the dropper loops went away and the sardines went out. Sea Lions were a bit of a menace taking a few fish but its been much worse in the past. Out of nowhere a massive breezer of yellowtail pops up off the bow. We pull up on the breezer and it game on. Over 50 yellowtail were in the RSW before noon. We then dropped anchor on another spot and landed another 30 or so yellowtail. We then went off the island to fill the bags up with some beautiful reds. A few more yellowtail were landed later in the day. A bad cast by Luke took a chunk of fiber glass off the canopy of the boat. Cole was disappointed... Excellent first day of fishing for everyone.

Day 2 -Jackpot winner: Kevin Kom 32 pound yellowtail

—We started the second day in the same spot as the first. It was a slow pick on the dropper loop early in the morning. After a slow bite we again chased around breezers of fish and took full advantage of it. It was a wide open yellowtail bite with any decent bait getting destroyed by puddling yellows. People were hooking up on the top with surface irons and bait and even on the bottom with YoYo jigs. After that madness we went in to fish some calico in some shallow water. The calicos didn’t want to cooperate unfortunately. We ended the trip with 138 yellowtail and 168 rockfish. Kevin took home the Day two jackpot honors with a beautiful 32 pound yellowtail. Couldn’t ask for a better first trip for the DWRRC.

-Cody

2019: Trip 8 Thunderbird (2 Day)

steve@ezpages.pro (Steve Westfall) — Mon, 30 Dec 2019 23:20:33 GMT

ThunderBird 2day trip#8

Anticipation has struck all anglers with high hopes of Tuna and possible yellowtail on this trip. As we waited there were all anglers telling stories of past fishing trips and what methods were effective the previous days. I was very informative on my lecture on how to get bit because I have been pre fishing the club trips and have been doing very well on the catching. The Thunderbird was coming in a little later then usual because the bite had been a later in the day kind of thing so we had lots of time to bond and touch.

GAME PLAN … Tuna south of point loma pretty much the same plan that has been so successful for the entire month. Yellowfin and Bluefin were pretty abundant if you found the right school to stick with the boat. We loaded some prime sardines from Newport Landing barge then we were off to Dana Point to fill the rest of the tanks with

more sardines. Now seeing some cured worms in the tank always makes me feel a little better about the outcome of the next day. 5:30am I wake up and put on my fishing outfit and stumble into the galley. There were only 3 anglers up (maybe a few more) awaiting the rising sun. I went into the wheelhouse only to find out we were barely out of San Diego and it would be a few hours until we hit the upper zone. We hit the zone and Jeff stops on a very small meter mark and they start chumming. Now most anglers were fishing 20# outfits because the Yellowfin

were small and line shy. I believe Bj gets the first real bite and it looks to be a bigger fish then those Yellowfin. Gary gets bit on a bird and yells like he hooked a whale or something. IT was pretty funny. I decided to go up to 25# test seeing Bj is in a battle. I get bit instantly and know this is a bigger fish too. We battled for quite some time until I landed a Beautiful 40lb Bluefin (first fish on the deck)hahaha.. Bj pulled the hook but that happens when we fish light line for big fish. We traveled all over the place for not much luck until we see a whale with fish on it. I think we landed 1 yellowfin but they put on quite the show. Anyhow it was getting into the afternoon hours and Jeff sees a nice breezer ahead..We throw bait and they respond well to the chum and I hook up again this time on 30# because that battle on the single speed is tough. I landed another nice one (this was how it was for me for most of the day). I believe we move on to another school and they Responded very well for us. This is where I lost count of who got

what and so on because I was literally hooked up all afternoon so I couldn’t keep track of the chaos of what was going on. Anyhow we drifted for hours on this school hooking up fish after fish loosing fish after fish. Hot anglers were of course Ryan,Roy,Ron and myself.. They each landed 4 and I landed 11. Our final count was 36 Bluefin and 2 Yellowfin Ryan won day 1 jp with a beautiful 58 lb bluefin and I came in second again with a 52 lber.. All fish were 35 to 58 lb beauties with 2 smallet yellowfin.

Day 2 …………Tanner bank

We tried tanner for anything and it just didn’t have anything on it …

Rockfishing time. We did some drifts for rockfish and filled up the sacks. We had 4 lingcod come aboard 2 by Brian 1by Ryan and 1 by John..JP went to Brian Upcraft with a 25lb lingcod .. There is really not much to write about day 2. We dropped baits and jigs to the bottom if it got heavy you had a fish..thats it

J.R

2019: Trip 7 Thunderbird (2 Day)

steve@ezpages.pro (Steve Westfall) — Fri, 30 Aug 2019 22:15:39 GMT

Trip 7 Report

August 29- 30, 2019

DWRRC

On Thursday afternoon, 23 members and guests gathered on the Newport Landing’s public water front walkway in anticipation of a 2-day outing on the new Thunderbird. Mike Castillo – you’re the best Mike - gets up at 2:30 am to smoke pork butts. Delicious smoked pork, Hawaiian bread rolls, Famous Dave’s pickles and Roy’s BBQ sauce are served on the public bench before curious onlookers. Silence overcomes anxious anglers devouring the feast in mere minutes. Beers miraculously appear cleverly concealed in cozies to ensure that no one suspects.

Mexican licenses are secured at the landing office and the new simplified boarding process is deployed:

Board by twos in order of sign up;
Pick you bunk and mark it with a bag (but do not drop a tackle box in tackle box storage heaven);

(2) Return to the dock;

(3) Return to the boat in order of your arrival;

(4) Get sweet tackle box storage and rod holder spots as quick as you can (no pushing or elbowing please);

(5) Most important, deliver your snacks to the galley;

(6) Sign up for the jackpot and bag number;

(7) Exhale.

In the dark tackle is rigged with small hooks; the tanks are loaded with Newport Harbor sardines and topped off in route with Dana Point sardine cousins. We cruise down coast arriving Friday morning in sight of Point Loma to join a dispersed fleet of sport and private boats hunting Yellowfin tuna. The ride down is calm and we sleep well. Delicious breakfast pancakes and eggs are gobbled while whisky mysteriously materializes in coffee cups. The trolling team munches meat sticks and cheese set out by Goofy. Alas, it was neither our day nor anyone else’s day as we experience double “NBs” at every stop – “No Boils, No Bites.” Great fishing last week!

Goofy serves up pastrami burgers and chicken salad sandwiches as the Thunderbird turns west for Bluefin tuna. The seas are bouncy; jackets and long pants are donned; the boat is rocking and rolling in sight of SCI, Jeff calls out the fish depths. Yikes, no biters again. The sun sets; Hayden’s cocktail hour beacon lights up; we head into calm Pyramid Cove for a dinner of huge steaks grilled on deck, served with large baked potatoes and salad. Upon popular request Klondike bars appear; then quickly disappear. Thirsty club members marvel at the Thunderbird’s automated ice dispenser. Lots of good talk in the galley spurred on by spirits and wine before wobbly anglers hit the sack for a comfortable night’s rest. The crew makes squid overnight. Tom participates in the squid round up.

Saturday morning fishing starts in the dark. Bill Parks hauls in a barracuda that sets the mark for the day’s jackpot. Goofy stuffs us with steak and garlicy potato giant burrito breakfast. Members note the much quieter than accustomed anchor chain setup allows uninterrupted sleep. The Thunderbird heads out in the grey a few miles off SCI in pursuit of the elusive Bluefin. Despite some boils, it didn’t happen. Sadly we are blanked again. At 10:00 am Thunderbird arrives at the southeast corner of SCI where we scratch up a few small calicos and sheepshead – Bill’s barracuda still dominant. We make stops moving up the island as pesky sea lions repetitively drive us out. We pick up a few meager bass and by noon move into yellowtail territory. Four modest yellowtails are caught on bait and jigs. Nick now has the jackpot contender. We make a few more unproductive stops before turning the bow toward home. The return trip experiences more bounce but is uneventful regarding fish. We arrive to a bustling Newport Harbor at 7:30 pm. Boat traffic is heavy as we maneuver to the dock.

A small box with a few fillets is brought out. I grab mine and begin driving through heavy Labor Day weekend traffic on Balboa Blvd. Despite empty ice chests, anglers assert it was a good time. With very little catching, this trip report is expected to be brief. We should have such catching-luck in a flu epidemic.

As consolation, Mother Nature provides sightings of blue whales, dolphins, a juvenile bald eagle (not yet bald), a pod of orcas and even a few jumping Bluefin tuna. Birds pooped all over my parked car.

Wait, there is breaking news:

Newsflash: Burson and Burson take jackpots.

Friday: L Burson experiences an L of a fight bagging an ornry skipjack.

Saturaday: N. Burson restores family honor when a yellowtail takes him from stern to bow.

Newsflash: Lucky Alex’s luck runs out. He farms a large skipjack Friday morning; his Colt Snipper with a bent hook releases a big Bluefin Saturaday morning; and his line snaps on a big halibut Saturday afternoon. The Bursons prevail.

Newsflash: Happy birthday Stewart

Newsflash: Life is stranger than fiction as Gary breaks down his same tackle two separate times on a singular boat ride home. Will it happen again?

Repetitive news: The Thunderbird gang of Jeff, Goofy, Brian, Cole and Steve provide first class service to us club members and our guests. As usual, the Thunderbird gang are well apreciated. They are great!

Over and Out.

Your humble Polish scribe, Andy Sienkiewich.

Nostrovia!

2019: Trip 6 Thunderbird (2 Day)

steve@ezpages.pro (Steve Westfall) — Sat, 17 Aug 2019 22:07:16 GMT

Trip 6 - Thunderbird August 15-17

Once again Hayden has arrived at 10:00AM and is first man at the landing, followed by Parks and the Burson clan. By six it appears the entire club is there. Team 805 arrived at the landing at 3:00 after a long 3 hour drive. We proceed to the drop off zone and we start unloading our truck load of gear for a two day trip. Suddenly Ruddy looks up at me with this sad puppy dog look and asks if I know where his reel bag is? HUH?, HOUSTON WE HAVE PROBLEM! Somehow we left his reel bag behind.

Ruddy immediately calls his lovely wife Kathleen and starts sweet talking her like it’s his prom night. “OH BABY PLEASE” I thought I heard Ron mention something about a cruise and then somehow he convinces her that they could meet half way and she would bring his reels. The likeliness of this succeeding in rush hour traffic is like 1/100. We head over to the beer garden and Ron tells his sad tale to the club. I was impressed that he didn’t even shed one tear. The club felt bad for him and Parks is first to step up and he offers Ron the use of a couple kelp cutters. Before you know it he has 4 set ups and he is set for the trip. He calmly calls Kathleen before she heads out and tells her the good news that the club members have stepped up and saved the day. Isn’t it nice to fish with friends! For some reason I still think a cruise is in his future.

Ron and I decide to enjoy some beers with our dinner at Newport Landing. We sit outside again hoping for another show at the dock. We leave disappointed, nothing/no one fell in the drink, but we enjoyed a great meal nevertheless.

Jeff arrives at the dock around 7 and shares a dreadful report from the last trip. He informs us that we will be heading south to Mexico to chase YFT for both days. This is a change of plan and Luke steps into action and makes sure everyone has a two day Mexican license. Since we’re heading south we’re told the big BFT rigs will not be needed on this trip. Yet for some reason we all seem bring them aboard……..just in case …….(more on that later). We boarded in an orderly fashion and head to the bait dock. It’s nine o’clock, you know what that means? Hayden has turned on the strobe light and its happy hour. The crew starts loading the wells with some well-seasoned dines for what seemed like hours. All four wells are filled. Yet Jeff said that if we somehow run out of bait down south we will head up to Dana Point to bait up again and then head back south and fish the second day. Wow that is some statement as to how bad Jeff wants to catch fish and how bad the fishing must be at SCI.

The BS & booze start flowing and we’re off to the tuna grounds. Jeff calls everyone into the galley for the low down. Get a lively bait, # 1 or 2 hook and light line-20-25lb and you will get bit. The evening party continues for another hour or two. Time to sleep.

We arrive at the grounds around 5:30 and start the trolling rotation. Goofy prepared pancakes, bacon and eggs for breakfast. Time to eat as we await for the tuna to play. At 8:30 Jeff finds a school and it’s off to the races for the next two hours. The corners are full speed with 12-15lb YFT. The first hour they were chewing 30lb and even some 40lb. During the second hour 20lb was the go to line. Some started throwing the popper on the bow and a couple tuna ate it. As we were consistently bent for two hours straight we found ourselves surrounded by about 20 Sea Lions, (AKA Parkers/Skiffs). These guys were aggressive and kept getting as close 50 feet away. Where are the seal bombs when you need them? The best part was that we were all bent and they sat there and watched us catch limits- classic!

A Parker drifts up into our chum line – Jeff has had enough and gets on the horn to ask if they would like a cheeseburger to go along with our chum. They finally get the message and move along. I feel need to mention, that you would never see someone in a Grady do this. We would get the cheeseburger and a beer before we leave.

By 11:30 we ended up with nearly a 1 day limit……….NICE. Jeff decides it’s time to spread some Karma for the tuna God’s. As we leave them biting, he calls in the Fury for a hand off and they immediately hook 3 fish. Next move for us was to go outside and look for paddies. As we went hunting, Goofy set up some meat snacks which went along well with a cold one. We found a couple of kelps but nobody home. We were probably the 5th boat that hit them today.

We head out of Mexican waters and Jeff puts us on another school and we get another 100 fish in an hour. Guess you could say it was wide open. Fish were chewing the paint off the boat and were hitting everything thrown at them. Besides bait, the colt sniper and flat falls were pretty effective too. Jeff once again shares the bite and calls over the yacht-Jack Pot. We hand off the school to them and continue to SCI to hunt blue fin.

We cruise around SCI and Jeff sees some foamers of BFT. The blue fin put on a nice showing, but no biters. After a couple of hours Kevin Kom throws a colt sniper at a boil and its game on. After a 20 minute battle with a Tranx 400 on 30lb line, Kevin masterfully lands a BFT which taped out to 52.5 lbs.

This came as a great relief to the crew as they no longer had to sort through 200 YFT to settle the jack pot. Nice job Kevin………….you gets da patch!

We try for some giants that night…….. no current……….. no biters………… but we got beer –life is good.

It’s about 9 o’clock and time for dinner. Tonight its tri-tip, baked potatoes, salad and ice cream bars. Goofy is starting to feel at home in his new galley. For some unexplained reason, Hayden failed to turn on the strobe light to signal happy hour. But as you might have guessed it didn’t stop this group. Wines were paired with dinner and shared among friends. Paul broke out his newly peat infused distilled creation (thanks Luke). Whiskies were consumed and beers were drunk. By 11:00PM it lights out. Time to get a snooze on – flat falls are on menu for 4:00 AM.

In the writers opinion 4:00AM arrives pretty damn early. I stagger out of the bunk room and I see half the club on the rail cranking away. It’s time to get my boots on and start grinding – ITS COW TIME BABY!

Jeff sees a couple nice schools under the boat and starts announcing the depth to target. Finally – BITER is yelled out and Ramsey is on. Chris quickly puts the hammer to the fish and lands a nice BFT in about ten minutes. It tapes out to 83.07 lbs. We continue to hunt for schools and make several stops but no biters.

There is not enough wind to deploy the kite, but the crew did manage to get a balloon rig out. I should mention that the club has adopted the PV process for kite/balloon fishing. If one of the rigs gets bit, Jeff will randomly draw a number and that lucky angler gets to fight the fish. If the fish is landed, the meat will be evenly divided among the club. Sounds like a fair system to me.

Jeff finds another school and Steve Lenker tries a sinker bait and gets bit. After a nice 20 minute fight he lands a BFT that appears to be from the same egg sack as Ramsey’s. It tapes out to 83.7 lbs.

Goofy serves up breakfast……..you guessed it, tri-tip and potato breakfast burritos. Throw some pico de gallo on it and it was great. We continue to BFT fish but it’s not happening. At 9:00 we head to the west end to fish calicos. The conditions suck and we can’t get the YT or calicos going. Jeff decides to slide around front and see what kind of trouble we can find. We work our way down the island and find some YT boiling but no biters. We moved in close and got a decent calico bite going. Maybe 20 legal fish, but no contenders, the record is safe for another trip.

The conditions were just not right at the island, dirty water and no current. At 11:00 Goofy serves up a new meat snack creation, smoked sausage, onions, and peppers over rice.

By 1:00 it’s time to call it a trip and head to the barn. Steve wins day two jack pot with his BFT.

Luke recommends that we may want to keep one rig set up just in case we come across some foamers. Unfortunately none were found and as we round Catalina it’s time to break em down.

We arrive at the landing around 7:00 and start the fish distribution. This was not going very well and was taking a long time. Finally Ryan stepped up onto the boat and got things moving, thank you Ryan.

Day 1 Jackpot goes to Kevin Kom with a 52.5lb BFT and day 2 goes to Steve Lenker with a 83.7 lb BFT. Well done gentleman. Everyone else took home 2 day limits of YFT.

To everyone’s surprise the traffic on the peninsula was not bad this Saturday night. Only took about 5-10 minutes to get off it and onto the freeway. Nice way to end another great trip with DWRRC and I’m looking forward to the next adventure.

Tight Lines My Friends

Tim

2019: Trip #5 Thunderbird (2 Day)

steve@ezpages.pro (Steve Westfall) — Sat, 27 Jul 2019 21:52:00 GMT

DWRRC – Trip #5

Dates: July 25-27, 2019

Boat: Thunderbird

Thursday July 25th

The Burson clan arrived at Newport Landing at 2:30 pm, finding that Roy, Bill, Hayden and Gary had already arrived. Rumor had it that Hayden actually slept on the dock overnight, guaranteeing being first on the boat. It was a hot, extremely muggy afternoon that would require some beers to tolerate it. Thankfully Newport Landing Restaurant was fine with us using their covered patio to escape from the direct sun and crack into our coolers. Slowly but surely more and more members arrived, eager to load the boat and get on our way.

Goofy arrived with provisions and a new addition for the boat, which would bring back some fond memories of a bygone era…a brand-new Weber grill. Yes, we were having steaks grilled over charcoal for dinner, a throwback to the Amigo days. Goofy required some assistance with hauling the provisions down the dock, with a few members offering their help. Paul took charge of the hand car that was filled to the brim. With a little over excitement, or maybe due to a few beers, the Paul cut a corner a little too tight on the dock and the handcart toppled over. Into the water went multiple bottles of mustard, a few large bags of shredded cheese and an entire bag of potatoes, which sank instantly. A few members having a late lunch/early dinner on the patio had a birds of view of the spectacle. Not to let Paul be outshined, Luke decided to test the corner of the dock which caused Paul to dump his load. Luke, putting his foot down on the dock realized this section really wasn’t secured all that well. With a little force, next thing we know the dock was breaking and Luke was going down with it. Nick, being right behind him, quickly grabbed Luke’s arm and pulled him back to avoid going in the water. Luke was saved by Nick’s quick thinking and I personally believe that Luke owes Nick a beer or two for this.

The new bunk selection process works well and is orderly. Two at a time would go select their bunks, and as soon as they were heading back up the next two would go down. This took about 15 minutes to complete the bunk selection, and everyone appeared to approve of the process. Next up we loaded the on the boat with our fishing gear and started getting ready for the next days fishing. A quickish stop at the bait for sardines and we were on our way out to Santa Barbara Island.

Friday July 26th

Friday morning we woke up at Santa Barbara Island ready to fish. First fish of the day was caught by Tony, and was a 30 lb yellowtail caught on a dropper loop. A fine fish to start out the day with, however the location we were in would yield no other yellowtail. Quite a few whitefish were caught, in addition to Tommy hooking a bird, however these were not what we were after. A quick move to the other side of SBI would quickly change the morning.

Getting the anchor down we got to work quickly and the yellows started to bite. Flylined sardines and surface iron were working well, and one after another we were all getting bit (well, most of us). By 9:30 am we had put about 30 yellowtail on the deck. The prior day had resulted in 1 YT caught, so we were all beyond excited for how this morning was playing out. The size of fish was good, ranging from the small size of 15 lbs to over 40 lbs! That’s right, another YT caught over 40 lbs this season. Ryan was the skillful angler catching this one, with it hitting 40.55 lbs on the spring scale. It taped out at 35.94 using the formula, resulting in a new leader in the season long Largest Yellowtail category. In addition to that one, there were at least three others caught that were over 30 lbs on the spring scale. These belonged to Mario Sr (33.5), Bill Parks (31.9) and Tony Beall (30.6). Congrats guys on the great catches!

By 11 am we had put on another 10 or so yellowtail before the bite started to fizzle out. We switched gears and went to go find some bass. A few stops around the island resulted in some decent bass fishing. Bill Parks pulled out a nice calico that taped at 14x20.5, or just over 5 lbs. A new leader in the Calico category, but would it last? After a fishing a few more locations for bass and barracuda, Jeff made the move back to where we caught the yellows that morning. This resulted in 8-10 fish put on the deck, all between 15-20 lbs.

Around 3 pm Jeff determined we would be making the move to San Clemente Island. With a 3 hour run ahead of us, many members took this time for a well deserved nap. Upon waking up around 6 pm, Hayden’s drinking light was in full swing. Beers, bourbons and wines were flowing. Goofy lit up the weber with an entire bag of charcoal, and it proceeded to burn hotter than hell. Testing the temp by placing the lid on the grill, it quickly hit 550 and we determined it would probably max out the temp gauge. The steaks would cook quickly tonight! Dinner consisted of steaks, baked potato and salad. The steak was great, as was the potato. The galley was hot, but not unbearable. After dinner it was back to more beer/wine, while the crew caught some flying fish that were around the boat. These will be used laster on in the season for tuna. Oh yeah, Goody gave Ryan a new nickname this night after hitting the bottle hard. You can ask him about in on the next trip.

Saturday, July 27th

6 am and we had a few small (understatement) White Sea Bass on deck. Ron Rudrud and Mike Allen were the anglers who landed the first two, with Luke getting one a little later in the morning. (more on this later)!

The Yellows started biting the dropper loop with squid, and boy were they some mean fish. They were all around 20-25 lbs, with a few standouts around 30 lbs. By 7:30 am we had about 30 fish on deck, all good grade yellows.

Around 8:30 we made the move to fish some bass up the front side of Clemente. Great quality bass fishing with lots of legals being caught, probably 60 plus fish with a few smaller yellowtail thrown in the mix. The occasional barracuda was caught as well.

10:15 am Goofy lost track of time and thought it was time for lunch. Made the announcement and proceeded to start cooking burgers before someone told him what time it actually was.

We kept moving up the front side of the island, fishing bass in various spots. One spot we were in real tight, and the boat kept moving closer and closer to the island. After two attempts to lay us close to the island and both times having us so close we would have ran aground, Jeff decided we needed to move on to a new location. Further up the island we kept finding great bass fishing spots, with another 20 or so yellowtail mixed in. Paul happened to hooked a smaller yellowtail, which was then in turn eaten by something much larger and his line started screaming off his reel. After about a 30 minute battle up came a (estimated) 100 lb Black Sea Bass. A beautiful fish, which was successfully released.

In one of these stops (not sure exactly which one) Luke caught a calico that would challenge the leader board. Taping at 21x14.5, or 5.52 lbs, there was a new leader in the Calico category!

Around 1 pm we made a final stop for bass, barracuda and two final yellowtail. In the 11th hour Roy and BJ pulled it off and caught thier first yellows of the trip, I am sure a weight was lifted off their back in that moment.

We left the island from here and started the process of determining the largest fish for the day. Largest yellowtail was Mario Sr, with a fish weighing 33.4 on the scale. For WSB, determining the largest one would be a little more of a process especially considering the largest one of this trip would be in contention for a trophy. Ron and Mike had the larger two, and they looked like twins. On the spring scale Ron’s was larger, weighing in at 10.3 lbs. By tape, Mikes was larger being 32.72x16 (taping at 10.48lbs) to Ron’s taping at 31x15.5 (taping at 9.3 lbs). One final measurement on the teeter totter scale put Ron’s as the heavier fish. It was determined the teeter totter would be the deciding factor, and Ron’s was the larger fish and currently lined up to win a trophy.

Day 2 final count: 52 yellowtail, 3 white sea bass, limits of bass

End result:

Total Fish count: 105 yellowatil, 3 white sea bass, limits of bass, however many barracuda you wanted

Day 1 jackpot: Ryan Burson, 40.55 lb Yellowtail (on the scale)

Day 2 jackpot: Mario Caporuscio Sr – 33.4 lbs Yellowatil (on the scale)

Season leaders caught on this trip:

Yellowtail, 35.94 lbs taped – Ryan Burson

White Sea Bass, 9.31 lbs taped – Ron Rudrud,

Calico Bass, 5.52 lbs taped – Luke Burson

2019: Trip #4 Fortune (1.5 Day)

steve@ezpages.pro (Steve Westfall) — Mon, 08 Jul 2019 21:34:15 GMT

Trip #4 The Fortune out of 22nd Street Landing, July 5 – 7, 2019

“ It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” -- Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities,

All DWRRC members were survivors of the latest earthquakes in the southland AND were filled with optimism for the hunting of tuna—YFT and BFT . . . and a few YT would be a good thing as well.

However, the squid gods were not smiling on those searching for bait that night!! Further, the hunting grounds were the infamous “Depression Reef” areas – possibly not a good omen of where our minds were headed!

Hayden set the pace with his usual arrival at the landing at 9:25am which was rewarded with two open spaces in the close-in parking lot!! He caught up on his reading of periodicals and listening to an audible book : “Mr Trump’s Wild Ride” by Major Garrett -- being semi-retired offers such flexibility. Others started arriving after Hayden enjoyed his lunch on the landing at about 1:30pm.

When Axel was aboard the Fortune, some of us, including Bill Parks, Paul Casillas, Gary Thompson & myself were able to get our tackle boxes, rods’n’reels aboard along with duffle & tackle bags. Then Axel/Jordan took the Fortune for fuel, as other members arrived just as the boat was leaving.

All were boarding by 6pm -- getting tackle and stuff stored away in the bunkroom and setting up tackle for the next morning. This included: Mike Z., Chris L., Stewart F., Steve S., Andy S., Steve L., John L., Roy P., Gary T., Bill P., Hayden, Ron H., Dan H., Nick H., Paul C., Oscar O., Geoff D’Sena, and, last on the list, but certainly not least, Joe Stassi, the Club’s Senior Alumni Emeritus!!

As we pulled away from the dock and headed to the bait barge, Steve provided “Lite Snacks” with emphasis on Lite. This was a bit of a surprise given the pleasant memories of the chilidogs with cheese and onions on the first Fortune Trip. But certainly no one was going hungry and no one would be struggling to survive to breakfast in the morning – I guess Steve wanted us lean and hungry – well at least hungry for breakfast!!

“Let him think that I am “more man than I am and I will be so.”