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.