As Good as it Gets!

We boarded Rail Time at 6:30 pm June16th.  Gary put the boat in gear and made a quick run to Catalina.  Jake instructed us to get our gear ready to fish seabass as soon as we get to the island.  Typical set ups – 60 pound dropper loop outfit, 40 pound leadhead or sliding sinker rig with an ahi twist hook.  Jeff, Steve, Jim, Rick and I set up our rods and reels as instructed.

It was a fast crossing arriving just after sundown.  Gary anchored up next to another boat owned by a friend of his.  They had just landed another seabass and were finished for the night.  We put our lines in the water but as happens all too often with seabass, they quit biting.

Gary suggested we get some sleep and we’ll try this spot again in the morning.  Gary and Jake filled the bait tanks with live squid while we slept.

We got up early the next morning and tried again.  Unfortunately, we had the same result. Gary decided to make the run to San Clemente Island and fish for some yellowtail.  We decided to take a nap during the trip over.

Gary checked out a few spots until he got us set up in a spot where he said all the conditions were perfect.  We started catching big calico bass right away.  They were a whole different class of bass.  It wasn’t long until the yellowtail showed up.  The yellows were hard fighters especially on 30 pound line.  Then Jeff caught a seabass on a Dinohead.

I changed out my slider for a Dinohead then watched Jeff catch another seabass.  He was using two squid and would just drop the leadhead off the corner and let it drift down.  I tried the same thing and got bit.  Jeff had figured out the secret. 

It was a wide open bite on seabass ranging from 20 to 45 pounds.  We lost several to either lobster cages, kelp or rope on the bottom.  When I ran out of the Dinoheads, I switched to a Gitzem and it worked too.  At some point Gary asked us how many seabass we want to keep.  We each said “3”.  Gary said we need to release the rest as we already had 15 seabass in the hold.  After a half hour or so of releasing fish, we decided to go looking for halibut. 

Gary put us on several drifts at different spots but Steve was the only one who succeeded in catching one.  We did have our black seabass visits.  Jeff and Jim brought theirs to the boat for release.  Mine peeled off 300 yards of line making my reel side plates too hot to touch.  Gary broke it off for me.  My connections held. The 30 pound fluorocarbon was the weak point.

At sundown, Gary anchored in a cove where we spent the night.  Jake pulled all the fish out of the hold.  We took photos.  I kept two seabass whole for Shig and Jake filleted rest. 

I bagged the fish for Jake while Steve and Jeff helped seal bags and sort them into egg crates.  Rick and Jim brought me a glass of wine to sip while we processed fish. 

After processing fish, we had Ziti Pasta, Lemon Parmesan Chicken and a mixed green salad.  For dessert we had Ice Cream Sandwiches.  It was the perfect ending to a great day of fishing.

We all slept in the next morning until long after daybreak.  It was a calm day with an occasional glimpse of the sun.  We fished several spots ending up at the cove where we caught our fish the day before.  The current had changed.  We caught a couple yellowtail and enough calico bass for us each to take some home.  Around 2:30 pm Gary set the boat on a course for home.  Gary backed the Rail Time into its’ slip at 5:30 pm. 

We unloaded our gear then Jake brought the fish out to our cars.  Shig was waiting when we got in.  I gave him his two whole seabass and a yellowtail.  He said he was feeding the whole family seabass the next day.

Gary proved again what a great captain he is.  Everything was perfect.  I am again thankful to have the opportunity to fish with such a great group of anglers and on a great boat.