We Paid our Dues!

Jack said let's go fishing Wednesday, June 20th and as always, I jumped at the chance. We should have had an inkling of the day ahead when the Egret sitting on the motor at the bait receiver seemed to be saying "where's the fish?"

We launched as usual and were on the fishing grounds by 8:30 am. It was calm and nice at first then the wind started to blow and it became cold again. What's worse, the fish were not biting. We drifted over and over again for halibut but we didn't even get a raked bait for the entire day. We weren't unhappy as a day on the water is reward enough. Plus, eventually, we would be fishing when the fish do bite and we would be happy we had Paid our Dues!

We went back out on Tuesday, June 25th. We were going to fish the calicos but Jack's neighbor told him about a spot he used to dive that had big halibut on a sandy bottom. We changed our minds at the last minute and went back out to try the new spot and drift for halibut. We picked up some beautiful sardines from Jeff at the receiver. Very healthy bait.

What a beautiful day - bright sunshine with very little breeze. The water was at 64.4 degrees and we had a light chop. At first we drifted in 35 feet of water with a slow, long drift using 2 ounces of weight. After a couple drifts, we decided to move to deeper water - 60 feet to start the drift. As soon as my bait hit the bottom, I was bit. I put it in gear and then there were big head shakes and I knew it was a real fish for a change. I was in no hurry - I just enjoyed the fight. Soon, my fish came to the surface and there was no doubt that it was a legal halibut. Jack grabbed the gaff, stuck it and it was on the boat - a nice 13 pound halibut!

We moved back out to 65 feet of water for another drift and as soon as we hit the 59 to 60 feet where I caught my fish, Jack hooked up. When his fish surfaced, it was a beautiful 19 pound halibut. Wow, two drifts and two halibut. Jack moved the boat back out and as we drifted over the 59 foot depth, I hooked another halibut - just slightly larger than my first - 14 pounds. Wow! Three drifts and three halibut.

We called Wayne and told him he better get over here fast as the fish are biting. Wayne was fishing a little south of us in his kayak. He reached us fairly quickly and he managed a 20 inch halibut - a little short to be legal. Unfortunately, Wayne failed to connect with a legal halibut before he felt he should head closer to the harbor.

We continued to drift for another hour or two. What started as a slow, south drift had picked up as the day moved on. We went to 3 then 4 ounces of weight to stay on the bottom. The red tide moved in as well making the waters look muddy. With 3 beautiful halibut to process and a deliciously bloody boat to clean up, we decided to head back to dock around 12:15 pm. We were happy we had Paid our Dues.

We dropped the ice chest with fish off at Tim's and put our leftover bait in his receiver. Next we took Jack's boat to his dock and had it lifted on his trailer. While Jack cleaned the boat, I drove over to Tim's (Dana Point Kayak Center) and filleted the fish. I got the better end of the deal as Tim helped me fillet the fish. Fresh fish is always the best and we had so much fish, we decided to share. We gave fish to Tim and Michelle who works for Tim. We also gave Wayne a bag of fish then Jack and I split the rest.

I phoned my granddaughter, Ellen, and had her and her boyfriend, Ryan, come for dinner then sent a bag of fish home with her for her other grandparents. And I still have fresh halibut in the refrigerator. What a wonderful day! Thanks again Jack for the opportunity to fish with you.

Islander & Kayaks

Friday afternoon 22 fishermen converged on Fishermen's Landing in San Diego littering the dock with Kayaks, bait tanks, fish finders, batteries, tackle, nets and gaffs. All this for a day and a half trip to San Clemente Island aboard the Islander.

Our Chartermaster, Tim Boyer, who owns Dana Point Jet Ski and Kayak Center (DPJSKC), and Jack Voss arrived at the landing shortly after Jim and me. Jim picked me and my gear up on his way to the landing.  (Thanks Jim).  Tim was supposed to bring my kayak with his and Jack’s but he had another angler (Dan) bring my kayak instead. Dan arrived before Tim and Jim's eagle eyes spotted my kayak on Dan’s truck as soon as we arrived which spoiled Tim's plan to tell me he forgot my kayak.  Thanks again Jim for sparing me the anxiety until Tim fessed up to the joke.

Captain John Coniff and crew loaded all our kayaks on the boat and strapped them down. How they managed to do it is beyond me especially since there were 7 Hobie Pro Angler kayaks (the largest Hobie kayak that is more like a small boat). Actually, our trip was the last trip that the Pro Angler kayak's will be allowed on the Islander as they take up too much room and are too heavy for the crew to launch.

Once we got all our gear on board, a few of us walked down to Mitch's Seafood at Pt. Loma for dinner. Jim and I had the white seabass tacos which were delicious and Tim had the Fisherman's Stew which Tim said was great too.

Once we were all back on board and settled in, we headed to the bait receiver. While at the receiver, Captain Coniff gave the safety speech and informed us that San Clemente Island will be open and we would be sitting in Pyramid Cove at daybreak Saturday morning. Weather was predicted to be completely calm.

The engines turned down around 4:30 in the morning but John waited until closer to 6 to anchor up.

As folks finished breakfast, I started setting up my kayak. I made it in the water about 6:50 am. I peddled around the boat until my bait tank was primed then slid back up to the boat for some fresh bait - live sardines.

I headed south towards the kelp and fished for Calicos. I caught at least 6 big ones that I had to drag out of the kelp. They were fun. Jim showed up a little after me and he caught a variety of fish using squid. While we were catching calicos, Jack was catching halibut. He caught two and released the smaller of the two. His keeper ended up taking jackpot even though it wasn't the largest fish on board.

We got the call for lunch at noon so I headed back to the boat. Lunch was burgers (which I don't eat) so I just had the burger fillings (mushrooms, cheese, lettuce and tomato). The seas were calm but the weather was cool so several of us put extra clothes on before going back on our kayaks after lunch.

While we were fishing in the cove, the military set off several explosions which frightened us and left big tufts of smoke above the Island.  I guess when the Island is open that doesn’t mean they won’t be setting off explosives.

John moved the boat up the island about a mile down current so we fished our way to the boat. I tried fishing for halibut for the afternoon but without luck. Around 4 pm the cable on my peddles snapped. Fortunately I was close to the boat so I called it a day. I put my gear away then showered and had a bowl of chowder and a beer until the rest were back on board.

As we were chatting and waiting for dinner, one of the other passengers caught a yellowtail. Although it was the largest fish of the trip, it wasn't caught on a kayak so it didn't qualify for jackpot. There was also a halibut that was larger than Jack's halibut, however, the angler wasn't in the jackpot.

Rick and Adam were our chefs on the trip and the food was great as always. The chowder was spectacular and the ribs for dinner were delicious and so tender they fell apart. I don't know if it was the wine with dinner or the 9 hours on the water, but we all were tired and hit the bunk by 8:30 pm. The channel crossing was smooth and flat calm which is why I didn't awake until 3:30 Sunday morning.

We got back to Fisherman's Landing at 7 am Sunday morning. The crew unloaded the kayaks and we unloaded our gear. We stowed our gear in the cars and headed home. Jim dropped me off at home then I headed back to DPJSKC to wash down my kayak and lock it up. Dan had already unloaded it for me. Thanks Dan. Jack and Tim got back to the center before I left and Jack insisted I take some of his halibut. Now I can make Mike delicious fresh halibut for his Father's Day dinner. Thanks again Jack.

It was such a delightful trip. The crew was superb - friendly and very helpful. The anglers were mellow and just plain fun. I can't wait until next year's trip.

Cold and Rough Again!

Tuesday found Jack and I fishing for halibut without the success of last week. The weather was supposed to be warmer with calm seas. Unfortunately, neither the weather nor seas cooperated. Water temperature was 66 degrees, the skies were overcast and the 12 knot winds made it feel colder that it really was.

We fished the same area north of the red buoy with dropper loops and sardines.

I also dropped down a leadhead with squid a couple times until I snagged a lizard fish and put that outfit away. Jack caught a nice leopard shark and a juvenile black seabass.

It was obvious to us that the fish were not biting so we called it a day at noon.

Halibut!

I got the opportunity to fish with Jack again last Friday. We launched the boat and grabbed bait at the receiver then headed towards the headlands. The weather was predicted to be nice but it ended up being cold, windy, and rough.

We headed north of the Ritz Carlton and drifted for halibut in 65 feet of water. We started with 2 ounces of weight on our dropper loops but as the wind picked up, we had to add a couple more ounces. The sun came out shortly before noon and the water warmed up to 66.5 degrees.

I caught a nice sand dab, a short halibut (the size of the sand dab) and a sandbass that could only swallow half the sardine it bit. Jack, on the other hand, caught two legal halibut just over 28 inches and a nice calico bass. I almost lost Jack's first halibut when I netted the fish, dropped the net and fish back in the water when it kicked, then lunged for the net almost going in myself. At least the fish was saved!

We fished late then had to buck the chop and swell from the strong south wind to get back to harbor. Jack suggested I clean the fish while he cleaned the boat which I was only too happy to do. Jack was so generous, he shared his halibut with me. It was delicious too. It was a great day on the water!

Bass not Ghosts!

We had a fun day out on Jack's boat Tuesday. We grabbed some squid from Tim's receiver then we picked up some live sardines and pinhead anchovies at the bait receiver. The weather was cool with a few clouds in the sky but very pleasant. Water temperature was around 65 degrees.

The water was a little choppy on the way out to the headlands but not too bad. We set up for our first drift just off-shore of the Ritz Carlton drifting south and towards shore.

We worked the area for a couple hours fishing a combination of dropper loops, sliding sinkers, leadheads with squid, sardines or anchovies. Jack caught two short halibuts and a sandbass on sardines and I caught two 16 inch sandbass using fresh dead squid. We released them all.

We called it a day just after slack tide, headed back to dock and cleaned up the boat. Thanks again Jack for a fun day on the water.

Pacific Dawn June 2012

I met up with Jim at his work Thursday afternoon. Steve, Jim and I headed north to Ventura Sportfishing to board the Pacific Dawn on our last LARRC rockfish charter of the year. The boat was in when we arrived so we loaded our gear and headed next door to try the new restaurant "Rhumb Line". We were chased out by the hostesses advising us that without reservations, no one was allowed in the dining room - even though it was empty! We headed back over to Andrea's for dinner.

Pat Cavanaugh was our Captain backed up by ManDog, with Danny and Mo on deck and Glenn in the Galley. Jim and I handed out the Goodie Bags that Bob Hoose sent. A last minute urgent meeting prevented Bob from joining us. Everyone was aboard and gear set up early so Pat pulled the boat away from dock around 8:30 and headed towards Santa Rosa Island. The plan was to try for squid then fish white seabass in the morning. It was a little bumpy on the way out but not bad enough to keep me awake.

About 4 am, I heard the anchor drop and got up. Crew were jigging for squid. Little by little, passengers got up and contributed to the effort. It was quite difficult to snag the little suckers - I managed only one in an hour.

Jim informed me that he had purchased my JP spot and that I better fish hard. Just before daybreak, we put our dropper loops down with one live and one dead squid to try for the ghosts. I put the clicker on my reel and set it down to let the boat's action attract the fish. I grabbed another rod with a sliding sinker and fished with that. I fished very hard per Jim's admonition. One white seabass was caught for all our effort and I was not the lucky angler. We fished for the seabass until 10:30 before heading to deeper water for the rockfish.

Pat set us up in 300 feet of water. Conditions were horrible! Choppy with a wind so strong that the drift was so fast it was difficult to reach the bottom even with a 16 ounce sinker. I started with 80# spectra and a 40# mono gagnion with shrimp flies. I struggled with that rig and dropped down to lighter weight spectra and finally reached the bottom.

Eventually I started catching fish - but they were all salmon grouper when everyone else was catching reds. It didn't take long for me to realize that Jim had put the hex on me by buying my JP spot. He actually put the hex on himself too because for each of my 25 or so salmon groupers, he caught baby lings no bigger than 10 to 12 inches.

Conditions deteriorated making it even more difficult to fish. Once a fish was hooked, it was like dragging a couple 5 gallon buckets of water to the boat while trolling at 5 knots. Needless to say, it took plenty of muscle power to wind the fish in and stand on a bouncing deck.

Late in the day, Pat moved us East, just out of the wind and I finally caught a couple reds - enough for steamed red and some sashimi. I was happy then. We fished until 3 pm trying to fill the sacks. It worked as everyone had limits even though they were not the quality reds and rockfish of the previous two trips.

Glenn made me a grilled cheese sandwich then I napped from 5:30 to 7:30 while crew processed our fish and cleaned the boat. We got back to dock at 8 pm, unloaded our gear, grabbed our fish and headed home. I got home by 10:30. I expect in a couple days my body will feel the beating it took trying to fish in such difficult conditions but I’ll have some delicious fresh reds to console myself.

Chasing Ghosts!

Word was out that big white seabass were marauding along the coast from Dana Point to San Onofre. Jack invited me to chase after them with him in his 18 foot Whaler. I was thrilled with the invite.

May 22nd: Last week we left Dana Point Harbor around 8:30 am and motored to the headlands to make bait. After trying for bait around the Red Buoy, we found our bait just north of the buoy. We managed a couple dozen mixed mackerel (Spanish and Green Backs). We anchored up along the kelp line and flylined our mackerel. The only thing biting that day was the bait.

We did see birds working an area off shore about a mile from where we were fishing. One of the sportboats raced over there to check it out but the birds dispersed just as the boat reached the commotion.

We called it a day just after the slack tide and headed in. We cleaned the boat and made plans to fish again the next week.

May 27th: Now we had more definitive information on the seabass; they were just below San Onofre at Box Canyon in 60 to 80 feet of water biting live squid on circle hooks with a half ounce sliding sinker.

Jack put his Whaler in a slip the night before so we could depart early the next morning because the storage facility doesn't open until 8 am. We met at 6:15 am, loaded our gear and headed south to the fishing grounds. It wasn't difficult to locate with 30 boats anchored in the area.

We called the squid boat (Miss Astrid from Ventura) on Channel 11 then idled up to his Starboard. For $60 he passed over a full scoop of live squid. We anchored up in 80 feet of water and baited up. The weather was beautiful - very little breeze with a light overcast until around noon.

We saw fish swim through on the meter from time to time until around 10 am then the meter went blank. At noon, with the slack tide and only a handful of boats left, we called it a day as well. As we pulled the anchor, Jack's rod went off giving us a quick shot of adrenalin. Unfortunately it was just a ray.

We certainly experienced the events that give white seabass the nickname "Ghost".  Not to be deterred, we are making plans to chase them again next week.