Four Island Ghost Chase!

The trip began long before boarding the Endeavor. Group Text Messages were exchanged sharing weather predictions, tackle suggestions, carpooling plans, and recent catches info. Even last minute texts regarding an earlier departure time just added to the excitement of the trip.

Chartermaster and our fishing trip benefactor, Cathy Needleman, recommended we all meet at Andrias Restaurant close to the landing.   Jim and I arrived first, then Scott Schiffman.  I ordered two Halibut and Chips dinners plus an order of onion rings for Jim and me.  We were surprised each order had 5 large pieces of deep-fried halibut, which was more than we could eat. 

Thankfully, Cathy, Jeff and Steve arrived shortly after our order arrived and helped us.  We were able to feed five of us from two dinner orders. 

We headed on over to Ventura Sportfishing, the landing that is home to the Endeavor and Pacific Dawn, two of my favorite boats.  We signed the manifest in the office and lined our gear up along the sidewalk until crew invited us to board.  

Once all our gear was on board, Tucker, the Endeavor Captain/owner, introduced our crew (Alex in the galley, Daniel, Johnnie and Jeremy on deck and Justin, Tucker’s brother and second Captain).  Tucker informed us we were headed to Santa Barbara Island where the seabass bit that morning. 

We departed around 7:15 pm and picked up some anchovies for chum before leaving the harbor.  We made a stop along the coast so crew could scoop some squid for bait.  The squid was jumbo sized - larger than I’d ever seen.  The ride was a bit bumpy and the bunkroom was cold so I didn’t sleep very well.  We arrived early morning and began fishing as soon as the anchor was down.  We fished the grey light through sun-up without a single seabass bite.  Unusual for us this year, but it was our turn to hear the phrase “You should have been here yesterday.”

Tucker decided to make a run to San Nicolas Island to see if the seabass had made a move to there.  We fished all day without catching a single seabass.  That was OK with us though because yellowtail, sheepshead, calico bass, whitefish and black seabass were biting all day long!

Fumio was the yellowtail expert.  He was on fire!  Every time I looked up, he was hooked up!   Not only did he catch 5 or 6 yellowtail, he also caught an 11 1/2 pound whitefish that we thought could be a record for California.  Unfortunately, we learned later it was a pound shy of that record.

 

Jeff decided to get his exercise pulling on blacks.  He must have had at least 3 that decided to grab his hooked bait.  When he wasn’t pulling on blacks, he was pulling on his own batch of yellows.  Jeff wasn’t the only one to be terrorized by black seabass.  Steve had a yellowtail that a black seabass tried, unsuccessfully, to steal leaving teeth marks along one side.  He also had a big halibut eaten at gaff by a 300 pound black which was witnessed by Tucker.  Jim was harassed as well.  He brought his whitefish to gaff just when a black came up and swallowed his entire fish then had the nerve to spit it back out.

As usual, we had our share of nuisance rays on the line long enough to give us the hope we had hooked a white seabass; only to come to gaff flapping its wings as if to say “fooled you again” then racing back to the depths sporting some precious Dinoheads as lip jewelry.

I caught mostly junk fish except for one nice yellowtail on a dropper loop and a big calico bass Fumio estimated was 5 to 5 1/2 pounds.  Yes, I released it to go back and produce little calicos. We had some trophy sheepshead too, one of which weighed 15 pounds caught by Steve cementing his nickname “Sheepie”. 

Around 7:30 pm Tucker informed us we were making the long run to San Miguel Island where the seabass bit pretty well that morning.  We re-rigged gear for the following days adventure and freshened up for dinner.  Alex served us some delicious prime rib (cooked sous vide), mashed potatoes and asparagus.  Then it was time to sleep.

Wednesday morning found us at the rail early again.  Not all of us though.  Some of us (me) let Fumio and Cathy do the exploring while we cheered them on.  They were menaced by sea lions that thrashed their dropper loops.  By daybreak, the sea lions had backed off and we were all fishing.  Then we heard that disappointing phrase again: “You should have been here yesterday.”

It was colder this morning.  The marine layer was thick and it was misting.  My hands were so cold they were numb.  Jeremy saved the day when he brought out a package of hand warmers for us.

Tucker worked his tail off searching for white seabass around the island and even made a jump to a reef off Santa Rosa Island (our fourth island this trip).  When that didn’t work, we headed back to San Miguel because Tucker was told that the seabass started biting.  Not for us!  They stayed true to their nickname "Ghosts."  We knew by then that seabass were avoiding us this trip.

As a last resort to put fish on the boat this day Tucker put us in a drift for halibut.  Jeff nailed one right away then hooked and landed a second.  He even caught a chucklehead on the drift!  Shortly thereafter, Scott caught a halibut too.  On the last drift I hooked up.  It was a good fish, pulling drag on 40-pound test.  I was excited as it was my only fish for the day.  I reeled slowly enjoying the fight and not wanting it to end too soon.  My fish game to gaff and it was a 9 pound whitefish! Trip was over and I had one yellowtail and one whitefish. Did I fish poorly or was it my time to pay my dues?  I don't know or care as I had fun anyway!

It was 2 pm and we had a 6 hour ride ahead of us.  Alex prepared shrimp tacos for a late lunch and crew pulled fish out of the hold for pictures then filleted all our fish for us.  

Everybody except me spent the travel time napping. We arrived back to dock by 8 pm.  We loaded our gear in our vehicles while crew brought our fish up.  Fish was sorted and iced down then we were on the road towards home.

Even though I only caught two fish, I had a great trip and still had more fish than Mike and I could eat fresh.  I ended up sharing yellowtail fillets and yellowtail ceviche with Shig and folks at my salon.  A big thank you to Jeff for sharing halibut with me.  It’s one of Mike’s favorites. 

Our trips aren’t over when we depart the landing.  The fun continues with texts joking about trip events and sharing photos after we return home.  It's a nice way to continue the fun.    

Tucker and his crew did an outstanding job and provided us with a wonderful and fun trip plus we all took fish home.  And a huge thank you to Cathy for including me on her charter.  You put together a great group of anglers on your trips.  Thank you friend!