2018: Trip 7 Thunderbird (1.5 day)
DWRRC Trip Repor
Trip #7- 8/23-8/25- 1-1/2 Day Trip
Scribe- Gary T.
NOTE- This is a long report so you might get two beers in hand.
Club Participants- Brian W., Andy W., Tom H., Gary T., Paul C., Tony B., Steve L., Bill P., Bill H., Tom A., Ron S., Joe S., Ron H., Luke B., Ron R., Tim S., and Stewart F. (sort of- more later)
Crew- Jeff, Brian, Ricardo, Steve, Goofy
This trip actually started on Aug 18th when Luke sent out his first pre-trip update. I think we all appreciate the effort in the Club leadership keeping all of us apprised as best as possible of what we may expect or to look to for an upcoming trip. With providing weather and wind forecast updates, fishing conditions and what fish are where as best as can be ascertained, and recommended tackle and equipment to bring, we all benefit from these updates. As such, I think we all should thank them for providing such a valuable benefit to all of us in the club so we can always be best prepared. (Even if some of us hate fishing with flat falls….but who could that be?????)
The Scribe arrived at Davey’s Locker at 2:35pm on 8/23 with Tony B. in tow, and some of the usual suspects were already there- Luke B., Brian W. and Ron H. Joe S., Steve L., and Tom H. followed with everyone else filtering in, EXCEPT Stewart F. By 7:00pm, and still no Stewart who was number 3 on the bunk sign up list, a little anxiety set in. Was Stewart OK? Did something happen to him? Or was it just everyone wanted their bunk? In any event, Luke finally made positive contact with him and determined that Stewart had forgotten that he was on this trip! So, we ended up going one short with 16.
One little note here about early arriving- the scenery. The whale watch boats can, at times, carry some real “talent”. It is always useful to observe that “talent” as they embark and disembark those boats. We must ensure that we maintain all of our skills at the highest level, and observe for new innovations in “fishing”, if you all know what I mean…..
During the waiting period, the usual things we all do took place. The rigging table was in full operation with Luke and Brian holding class, reels were put on rods, lots of small talk, BS talk, sea stories, and the usual shuck and jiving going on, dinner treks here and there, beer drinking, and the highly anticipated wait for Goofy’s arrival. We always anticipate lots of words of wisdom when Goofy arrives with his galley supplies, and this trip was no exception. We all gathered around him at his 6:25pm arrival and engaged in the usual discourse- what do you know, when will the boat be here, where are we going to fish, what’s for dinner, etc.. When it was all said and done, nothing was resolved as usual.
At one point the manifest signup sheet had to be put on hold because Bill H, dropped the pen through a crack in the wood planks on the pier, and we had to wait for him to find a new one. I hear he targeted that pen drop as if he was casting a mackerel into a hole in a rock chasing a bass. Anyway, we dodged a bullet there when he got a new pen. Can’t leave the dock without a completed manifest.
Finally, the boat arrived around 7:30pm and the anticipated wait for Jeff to come up and give us a quick rundown on the “plan” came and went. Jeff was not on the boat! Brian had run the previous trip, and Jeff snuck down to the boat from the other gangway. As we still figured he would come up at some point to fill us in, we eagerly awaited. As we waited, we finally drug Andy and Tom H. out of the bar who had been hustling a couple of blonds from what we were told. I cannot confirm the truth of this though. Anyway, Jeff never came up and at 8:45pm, he hollered at us to load up. We were all wondering now what was up. We loaded up and left the dock at 9:00pm.
The bait at the receiver was pretty decent with a mix of good size sardine and smaller sardine. A few mackerel mixed in. We loaded 3 tanks full and left the harbor at 10:30pm. And still no word from Jeff on the “plan”. Finally, Jeff comes on the PA and says he has no idea what we are going to do. The weather is up on the outside so the outer banks were off the table, the fish south are too far, and the Navy has San Clemente Island all jacked up all day (or so the schedule said). Soooo…. the “plan” was to try the large Bluefin on the backside of SCI first thing in the morning, watch the wind, and then go from there. And with that we all headed to bed for the ride out, which turned out to be not too bad. We went around the west end and then down the backside of the island looking for fish.
We arrived over our first school of fish at 4:45am on 8/24, a few miles off the backside of the island, about the middle of the island. Most everyone was up and flat falls were flying everywhere, grinding, winding and giving it our all (yes even me- for 10 minutes). However, no bites, the fish disappeared and we went on the hunt again. Shortly thereafter our second stop on fish produced more of the same. So we continued in search mode. Weather so far was ok, but we were anticipating the wind at any time. At 5:45am, we stopped on another school. Same deal, same result. On the move again and at 6:25, another school and ditto.
Between stops, lots of weird discussion and witty banter took place in the galley, with Goofy expounding more words of wisdom, and then showing us what he keeps on top of the CLs in the beer cooler. Mike Trunk would be pleased……We can tell by now as the morning went on, and the wind starting to come up as expected, that Jeff was most likely up in the wheelhouse wondering WTF do I do now? In the meantime, we all chowed down on Goofy’s chorizo, egg and potato burritos for breakfast. At 7:30am, we stopped on another spot of fish, and got our first bite! Tom H’s sea chicken. After quite a fight, the sea chicken was on board. We didn’t keep it because Goofy said we already had enough chicken for lunch later. We continued our seek and destroy mission, working our way around to the east end of the island, while talking shop talk about reels in the galley and anxiously awaiting the next opportunity.
By 9:30 am, Jeff finally had enough and learned that the front side of the island would be available to fish as the Navy had apparently cancelled the closures. So off we went to check things out. We arrived at the corner spot at Pyramid after a short run and after a quick look, Jeff decided to give it a try.
As the anchor was settling back, the stern exploded with yellowtail and it was game on! These fish wanted to bite, and they did for about 20 minutes real well. And they put on one of the best shows we have seen in a while. Finally, the sea lions showed up and the fish got a bit spooked and slowed down. We picked away for a while before it finally died off. When the dust settled, we had 23 yellows in the RSW. I also was 4 for 5 on the sea pigeons so take that Tom H.! The conditions were perfect for this spot with the current running strong and in the right direction, and it paid off.
At 10:50am, we were on the move headed off the island looking for some yellowfin tuna that Jeff had said the purse seiners had been fishing for a couple of days. After a while searching with no luck, Jeff decided we should head back to the island and look for more yellows. Weather was flat calm at the moment but that would change later in the day.
We stopped briefly at the “Slide” spot for one yellow and a couple of barracuda, and at 12:45pm were on the move again up the island in search mode. The sun was out, winds were calm, and it was getting hot. Perfect front side conditions.
Next stop was the “Red Bluff” area above Steve’s Point. We had a decent hit on the yellows putting 14 down in the RSW along with a couple barracuda and a few bonito caught. Again, perfect current conditions, but the sea lions were a problem as usual. Once back on the move again, we had a good lunch of Goofy’s chicken burgers with cheese and all the trimmings on the burgers.
We ran all the way to Gold Bluff where the Outrider had decent yellowtail fishing in the morning. However, it was for nada, and the wind was now coming up, blowing down the island creating a wind against the current situation which can be problematic. At 2:35pm, we were on the move again back down the island, and the wind was following us all the way. We stopped at the “Sailboat Wreck” below Steve’s Point for 3 quick yellows until the sea lions set in. We put on more yellow before we blew out of there.
Our next stop was at Purse Seine Rock sometime after 3:00pm I believe. By this time, the wind was blowing pretty good down the island with an uphill current, and we were laying sideways to the wind because of it. But it didn’t matter. The yellows showed right away and were eating everything. Surface irons and fly lined baits were getting bit. And then it was the same deal when the sea lions showed up. But the pick bite was steady and lasted a lot longer. When it was all said and done, we put 35 more yellows into the RSW. We finally left Purse Seine Rock at 7:00pm and continued down the island.
We tried one bass spot after we left Purse Seine rock, but no bites. Conditions were too difficult to fish properly, plus we had pretty much blown through all of our big baits fishing the yellows. Ron H. still has the target on his back. We rolled into one more bass spot in tight in calm water to try and have a nice dinner.
Cocktail hour for the most part began around 7:30pm., much later than usual. We miss Hayden’s cocktail alarm system. Hurry back Hayden! Goofy, again, served up a great dinner of pork chop steaks, au gratin potatoes, salad, rolls, and Klondike bars for desert. Very filling after a long day of fishing hard.
We must give credit to Andy W. and Tony B. here. Well after dark, while everyone else is breaking down gear, eating dinner, drinking libations, cleaning up, and getting ready for the ride home and a night’s rest, those two were still at the rail bass fishing. Even Luke finally said it was time to quit, but not those two!
After dinner, and around 9:30pm or so, the crew and Luke settled the jackpot/patch and the crew set about cleaning fish. And Tony and Andy were still fishing. True dedication I must say.
The lucky jackpot/patch winner turned out to be yours truly the Scribe. I got lucky again, in spite of not wearing my dilapidated shoes and lucky pants with the holes and seams torn out. Maybe I should get some new shirts now?
We left for home at 10:15pm and with a smooth ride home, we arrived at the dock around 4:10am Sat. morning. We all unloaded from the boat, hustled for our vehicles, loaded up our gear and fish, said our goodbyes and any final insults, and headed home looking forward to the next trip.
All in all, given the weather outlook when we left the dock, and the uncertainty of the island, we can honestly say that some one was looking out for the DWRRC on this trip. I think we really did pull a rabbit out of the hat. For the last several weeks, there hadn’t been any yellows on the front side of the island, and now, it was loaded. Jeff believes a new batch has moved in, and coupled with lite fishing pressure recently due to everyone fishing the outer banks or the backside, we got in on the ground floor. Bass fishing wasn’t very good, but we really never targeted them due to the conditions and the fact that the yellows were biting.
Final Trip Score- 76 yellowtail and a handful of barracuda, bonito and bass kept. A quick note here- I did not take note during the trip of how many each person caught, but I believe a couple of high liners had 6 or 7 fish.
Some observations-
Sea Lions- The sea lions were being their normal obnoxious selves on every spot as usual. However, I do not believe we lost a fish to them. They picked at our baits and spooked the yellows as usual, but were disinterested in eating them. Not sure why at times they are like this, but we benefited by it on this trip. However, if they had not been around at all, I think we could have doubled our fish count. Those fish were very eager to bite on 3 spots, but as soon as the dogs moved in on the spot after 10 or 15 minutes, the spooked yellows would back off to a pick.
Yellows Biting After 3:00pm- Now this may sound strange, but that last bite we had at Purse Seine Rock, which was our best overall bite, all came after 3:30pm and lasted until the sun went behind the island. It is very unusual for this to occur as for some reason, the front side yellowtail fishing is always very slow by that time in the afternoon. When we returned Sat, I asked my brother what he thought of that because I had never seen a bite that late. He said it was extremely rare and he had only seen that happen once in all his years fishing the island. So, I guess we experienced a bit of history as well as some good karma on this trip.
Epic Battle of the Day- No doubt the epic battle of the day was Andy W. and the Blue Heron. It was the classic surface iron attack as the Blue Heron decided it was time to take on Andy’s jig. It was an EPIC struggle as the Blue Heron and Andy battled for supremacy, but in the end, Andy slayed the day. However, in recognition of the Blue Heron’s heroic effort, it was decided that it must be set free to live and fight another day.
Final Observation- For those of us that will be fishing the next trip on the Thunderbird, it will be the last club trip on this boat. As you all are aware, my brother Wiggy and his partners in crime have purchased another boat and the T-Bird is up for sale. We have had a good 3 (4???) years on the T-Bird and certainly look forward to fishing the new boat next season. As of Sat, 8/25, the boat was enroute from Homer, AK, had crossed the Gulf of Alaska, and was in Ketchikan, AK headed south. It should be in Newport within the next 10 days. After it arrives, much work will be performed to set it up for SoCal fishing as it was a halibut and salmon boat before. I for one am looking forward to watching the outfitting of this new boat.
And that ends my report for Trip #7. Signing off.
Gary T.
Latest Posts
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
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!
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
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
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
