How Bad Can it Be?

We departed Friday afternoon on the Shogun for a 3-Day Freezer special. A freezer special is where you catch so many rock fish (because they are easy to catch) that you fill the freezer. Not this trip!

Norm Kagawa was our Captain and ran the trip. Bruce Smith was our second Captain. Pat and Randy had the Galley covered and did a wonderful job considering the conditions.

Twenty-Six of us awoke Saturday morning to 20 knots winds and rough seas at Colonet (down the Baja Coast). We made drift after drift in 300 feet of water for little or nothing all morning long. By 1:30 in the afternoon, I had one salmon grouper for 7 hours of fishing. I gave up and watched a movie in the galley then went to bed. I didn’t even bother to get up for dinner as I was too tired to chase my plate around the table just to eat.

Sunday wasn’t much better except the fish bit slightly better. I ended that day with 4 reds, 2 lingcod and 4 starry rock fish. My roommate, David Choate, suffered with a 24-hour flu on the trip and slept much of Saturday as well. He was out on deck Sunday making up for lost time.

David

Here are a few photos. That lump in the belly of the lingcod I’m holding is a whole 3 to 4 lb. octopus.

Most everyone had a good time in spite of the weather. The trip home was a slow ride and difficult for the crew as they were filleting fish on the back deck. We arrived at dock a couple hours late but no one minded.