Hoop Netting in San Diego Bay

I met Jason at Fisherman's Landing at noon yesterday to prepare our gear for Lobster Fishing. We transferred my hoop nets and tackle to Jason's skiff then drove over to Shelter Island to launch his boat. Once the boat was in the water, we locked up our vehicles, jumped back in the boat and headed to the bait receiver. We got a half scoop of sardines for $25. We didn't know it at the time but it was barely enough bait for 5 nets and we had 10 nets.

Jason drove the boat back to Fisherman's Landing so we could finish getting our gear ready. After we set all the hoops on the dock, Jason repaired any torn spots in nets and I baited all the bait cages. When we realized we were short on bait, we began begging - hoping someone had some bait available. A crew member from the Condor gave us some frozen salmon heads and John Coniff (owner/Captain of the Islander) saved us a trip back to the bait receiver by giving us a smelly bucket of sardines and mackerel.  Thanks John!

Once our hoops were all baited up, we loaded them on the boat and took off to get our hoops set before dark. Branden and Jake Hensley (Excel crew members and friends) joined us. We set out our hoops in 40 feet of water around 5 p.m. and waited for dark. We had my four Ambush Nets (first time I've used them) and Jason's four flat hoop nets and two Eclipse nets.

We were at the beginning of the incoming tide which was due to peak at 4 feet around 10:37 p.m. We planned to pull nets every 30 minutes until midnight. To kill time between pulls, we did a little fishing, a little eating and a little beer drinking. I brought some tuna sandwiches (made with homemade bread and my canned tuna), chips, beer and homemade breakfast cookies so we could stay on the water and not need to head in for a food fix.

I made the first pull just after dark. Nothing! We waited another 30 minutes and Jake made the second pull and this was his first hoop netting adventure. He was rewarded with 5 barely short lobsters. It was a start. Branden made the next pull and got our first legal lobster. We were on the board. Jason did the next pull and nailed a couple more legals. I was back up and nailed 3 legals on my second pull. By midnight we had made 8 pulls, 3 each for Jake and me, 1 pull for Jason and Brandon and we captured a total of 8 legal lobsters. We all had the thrill of capturing at least one legal lobster and we also caught and released around 30 short lobsters, a guitar fish, a huge stone crab, several octopus, a stingray and small crabs lurking in our nets. I even had a tug a war with a sea lion when pulling one of my nets.

When we made our last pull at midnight, we emptied the bait cages and rolled up the ropes and headed back to the launch ramp. Jason, Brandon and Jake pulled the boat out of the water onto the trailer. I loaded my gear back in my vehicle then we all headed home. I drove into my driveway at 2:30 a.m. and was surprised when Mike met met at the door. He just said "it's about time!" Guess he woke up and got worried - even though he knew we were fishing at least until midnight and perhaps later.  I unloaded most the gear then hit the sack.  Clean up could wait.

It was a fun trip and we have a lobster dinner to look forward to. Can't wait!

American Angler Dream Trip

I arrived at Pt. Loma Sportfishing to board the American Angler (http://www.americananglersportfishing.com/fishing_reports.htm) at 5 a.m. on Wednesday, January 18th and found that I was number 15 in line out of 19 passengers. Some had been in line since before 2 a.m. in order to get a favorable tackle box spot. We each made our way up to Lori's office to make our final trip payment and receive our boarding pass. What a professional operation. Not only did we receive a boarding pass, but that pass was also a name badge and contained our Stateroom Number and our Fish Tag Number!

Boarding was well organized with crew members doing all the heavy lifting and assisting us in moving gear and clothing to our staterooms. For this trip, Brian Kiyohara was our Captain and we had a special guest appearance by Shawn Steward. Other crew members included Ray and Taro with Greg and Paul controlling the Galley (and they did a very nice job of it too).

Our Charter Master was Ben Frazier of Avet Reels. Ben brought jigs, bait makers and t-shirts for everyone. He also raffled off a couple reels as well as providing reels for the Cribbage Tournament winner and for the jackpot fish caught on the trip.

We settled in for the four days travel required to reach the Clarion Island Buffer zone, our fishing destination. The weather and seas were both cold and rough as we started our travels. The weather gradually warmed the further south we went but the seas remained confused. Along the way fishing tackle was assembled and most the guys enjoyed a cribbage tournament while others read books or watched DVD's on their personal DVD players.

We were thrilled to awake Sunday morning with the island on the horizon. Winds were still blowing 15 knots but the weather had warmed up considerably. Brian had us put out the trolling jigs while he determined where he wanted to anchor up for our best opportunity to catch big tuna. 47 wahoo hit the deck before the boat was anchored. Although most were small, more like large barracuda, we were pleased with our catch.

Ben caught the first and only cow this day - a nice 225 pound yellowfin tuna.

Monday found us at the rail early and it really paid off. 6 cows hit the deck including my 286 pound personal best tuna. But the real story of the day was Dynamo Dan's tuna that took a back-up rig then died and sank to the bottom of the ocean before noon.

Brian had a crew member hold Dan's rod all day to ensure the line didn't snap until we finished the fishing day and the anchor could be pulled to try to retrieve the line and Dan's rod and reel. After considerable winding of line onto the back-up rig, Dan's rod and reel finally surfaced. Another 600 yards remained to be wound back on Dan's reel before the line got heavy and Dan started to raise the dead tuna from the depths. What a surprise when the fish actually surfaced and weighed 312 pounds on the boat's scale. Even more surprising, this was Dan's first long range trip!

Tuesday dawned with 20 knots winds which made fishing less enjoyable. We began releasing fish under 200 lbs. as we were trophy hunting now. Randal landed a 255 that also required a back-up rig to subdue the fish.

Wednesday the winds finally began to subside. Glenn landed two cows, Ben caught another cow and Gaylan cut off a 200 pounder. I caught a 62 pound wahoo on a chunk baited on a 9/0 circle hook using 130# monofilament. What a beautiful fish.

As the days passed, the cows kept hitting the deck. Fishing was good, very good and not just for us. The Royal Star, Red Rooster III, and Excel were all within a quarter mile of each other and us. They were all having success landing cow tuna over 200 pounds with a couple 300 pounders being caught as well.

Just before dinner each night, Brian would have a fireside chat with us informing us of his decisions and reasons for the moves he made. He also told us the secrets of success for the lucky anglers that day and the scores made by the other boats.

I fished with a 50 foot top shot of 130# Berkley Big Game monofilament, topped with a 3 foot 130# Berkley fluorocarbon leader to either a Mustad 8/0 39942 circle hook or a Mustad 10/0 7691 hook. There was no need to drop down to lighter line as the fish bit the 130# just fine. I only used about a dozen sardines the entire trip as they usually caught a bird or a needle fish which were both a nuisance. I divided my time between fishing with salamis and chunks having equal success with both. My 286# tuna was on a salami and I had a 190# tuna that came on a chunk.

Saturday, our seventh and last full day of fishing, had another surprise in store for us. Ralph Mickkelsen caught his sixth 300 pounder, a 306 pound yellowfin hooked on the kite with a salami.

Brian let us fish a couple hours Sunday morning before calling it a trip. A couple more 200 pounders were caught then the last fish of the trip hit the deck at 320 pounds! Dennis Saylors joined the 300 pound club. What a way to finish the trip - 24 tuna over 200 pounds and 3 over 300 pounds.

We had calm seas for the first three days travel towards home before the last day got rough. We arrived at 6 am Thursday morning to crowds anxious to see our beautiful catch. And beautiful it was.

Fisherman’s Processing handled my fish for me and what an excellent job they did too.  I took home some delicious tuna and wahoo.  Seared ahi, sashimi and sushi followed.