Rough Seas at Santa Rosa Island

The weather delivered gale force winds all week threatening to cancel our second LARRC Charter this year on the Pacific Dawn. The weather forecast promised a dip in the winds for Friday night (April 13th), enough so that we might be able to get out to the islands and fish before the winds came back up. I picked up Jim Carlisle around 1:30 p.m. and we drove to Oxnard in heavy Friday night traffic. We took the coastal route and enjoyed a lovely sunset over the ocean. The seas looked choppy but not so rough that we couldn’t fish.

We arrived and signed in at Capt. Hook’s Sportfishing around 4:30 then put our gear on the boat and headed to dinner. We enjoyed sushi and tempura at the local seafood court a short walk from the landing. Big Al and Tom Carlisle joined us. After a leisurely dinner, we returned to the boat, set up our gear and waited for the safety seminar before turning in for the night.

Pat Cavanaugh (the boat’s owner and Captain) headed the boat out around 9:30 p.m. with a quick stop for bait before leaving the harbor. There was no doubt when we reached the open seas. The winds may have come down but the seas didn’t know it yet. I frequently found myself above my bunk instead of in it. It was a slow trip to the islands due to the rough water. The seas didn’t subside until we were tucked in close to the back side of Santa Rosa Island sometime around 2:30 or 3:00 in the morning. I must have slipped into a deep sleep when we got behind the island because I didn’t awake until 5:00 a.m. I rarely sleep past 3:30 when fishing.

Squid making was in progress when I got up but the squid were not cooperating. Pat chose to move the boat to shallow water and let us try our hand at white seabass before moving out to deeper water to fish for reds. The white seabass were a “no show” and the reds and other rockfish were reluctant but bit well enough for us to fill our sacs. We had to work at it but the rewards were worth it. Jim, Tom and I fished the bow as usual. It’s a bit rougher in the bow but there are less people fishing there and we work well together.

Pat Cavanaugh in the Wheelhouse

The weather was choppy all day but fishable. As Pat moved the boat to deeper water, we lost the protection of the island. At one point the winds were gusting so strongly that the drift was too fast for us to get our bait down before we drifted off the spot. Pat anchored on the spot long enough for us to catch enough fish to finish off our trip. We headed towards home around 2 p.m. The galley was open for a last meal before a nap.

The rough seas were evident as seen in the following photo.

We had following seas on the trip home. This was fortunate as the winds were gusting to 40 knots when we returned to harbor. It may not have been a perfect day on the water but it certainly was a good day with decent fishing and great comradery.