Blue Dreams turn to Black & Yellow Success!

Tuesday, August 27th I took the Catalina Express from Dana Point to Avalon arriving around 11:15 am after a 90 minute trip.  I walked the short block to the Pavilion Hotel.  I was too early to check in so I left my bags and took a walk.

My first stop was at Lloyd's for Salt Water Taffy, an Avalon tradition.  I walked all the way to the Casino passing by the Avalon Tuna Club.  

Von's was next to grab a bottle of water and a snack for lunch.  I walked back to the harbor and walked to the end of the pier to have my lunch and wait for my room to be ready.  It was sunny with a light breeze and a beautiful view back towards the mainland.

My room was ready at 2 pm.  I checked in and checked out my room.  Coffee maker, refrigerator, TV, very comfortable bed and the room came with an afternoon wine and cheese tasting and breakfast buffet in the mornings.  Scott and his wife, Kara, arrived on the 3:30 pm express from Dana Point and Cathy arrived around 4 pm. 

Our first order of business was to get lunch, drinks and snacks for the next day's fishing.  Cathy and I walked to Von's and got sandwiches at the Deli, picked up waters, cold brew coffee, cookies and chips.  Our planning lacked a method to get the food back to the hotel.  I asked if we could leave a deposit and borrow a basket to get our food to the hotel.  Unfortunately, that was not possible.  The baskets have wheels that lock when they leave the parking lot.  We split the bags between us and managed to get it all to the hotel.

Cathy and I made it to the wine and cheese tasting  Around 6 pm we met up with Scott and Kara for a nice dinner along the boardwalk.  Brandon said there was no rush to leave early Wednesday as the fish haven't been biting until late afternoon.

We met Brandon at the base of the pier at 10 am.  He took Scott next door to get his fishing license then we took the shore boat shuttle to Brandon's 23 foot Grady White.  We stowed our gear below and Brandon said "Needles, get in your cage."  Cathy crawled into one of the bunks for the ride to San Clemente Island.  Brandon calls it her "Cage".  The bunk is more forgiving on the back than the bench seat in the cabin.

Our first stop was just past the quarry to get squid from G. Paul.  After getting a net full of squid, we headed to San Clemente Island where the bluefin tuna have been in recent days.

The trek to the island took about 90 minutes and was reasonably calm.  It was overcast and the seas had a light chop.   Visibility was good.  Brandon started glassing right away.  He spotted 3 bluefin tuna up on top about a mile away.  We stopped and set up the kite and flyers then headed that way. As is typical, the fish sunk out.  We deployed the kite and flyers and worked the area for an hour or so without seeing them again.

We pulled the kite and flyer back in then Brandon checked spot after spot all afternoon.  Around sundown, we made a drift in close to the island hoping for bass or yellowtail.  They were uncooperative as well. 

We headed back to Avalon arriving around 8:30 pm.  We quickly changed clothes and headed to the Lobster Trap for dinner.  It was a fun evening.

Thursday was an early morning arriving on the pier for the shore boat at 6 am.  We boarded the Grady White, stowed gear and headed east around Catalina Island.  We stopped to pick up more squid from G. Paul. We traveled a little further around the island trying for bass and yellowtail. 

Scott hooked into a big black seabass and after a 30 minute fight, brought the fish to leader.  It was the biggest fish Scott has pulled on.  We took photos of his fish and released it to fight another day.  I also hooked one, but mine broke off after about 10 minutes.  I hooked and released a petrale sole, and caught a couple short halibuts.  Brandon suggested we return to the island for lunch and go back out around 3 pm.

Cathy and I had lunch upstairs on the Boardwalk.  It was a peaceful lunch and the waiters were very attentive.  We met back up with Brandon  at 3 pm.  Kara decided to join us for the afternoon.  We took the shore boat back to the Grady and settled in.  We went back to the same spot we had fished in the morning (just west of Castle rock).  There were schools of big yellowtail up splashing around.  The locals were trolling rapalas for the yellows and succeeding.  One guy told us we would be catching yellowtail too if we were trolling.  Brandon said "we don't troll." 

Scott hooked and landed a legal halibut.  Finally he had something to take home in his new ice chest.  Then I hooked a yellowtail.  I was using a Curado (bass reel) with 30 pound fluorocarbon.  It was a tough fight on bass gear but I succeeded.  Brandon said it was 32 to 35 pounds.  I gave the fish to Scott to take home too.

We fished until dark before calling it a trip.  We headed in, showered then took a taxi to Buffalo Bills for a Mexican dinner.  We all said "Goodbye" after dinner as we all had different times and means to return to the mainland.  

The following morning I caught the Catalina Express to Dana Point where Mike picked me up. 

We didn't connect with the bluefin tuna but we had perfect weather the entire trip and still caught some game fish.  I had a fun time and am very thankful to have been included.  Thank you Cathy.