REDFISH ON THE BLACKFISH!

I got a special invite to go fishing for rockfish with Steve on the Blackfish owned and operated by Mitch Christensen and Michael Harkins.  The Blackfish is a 38-foot Cabo Yacht, run as a 6-Pak fishing charter boat, operating out of Davey’s Locker in Newport Beach.  Jim Carlisle and Keith (Steve’s friend) also accepted Steve’s invitation.  Fumio and Jeff were too busy with holiday commitments to join us.  Steve was looking for one more person to go so I brought Shig Kondo along as my guest.

Departure time was 5 am Monday December 11th.  We were fortunate to have both owners for our charter.  Mitch informed us that we would head straight to San Clemente Island and fish 400 to 500 feet deep.  The plan was to catch our limits of rock fish then fish for calico bass or halibut.  Sounded great to us so we settled into the salon for the 2.5 hour trip.

Most of us napped until the sun came up. Our weather was cool with wispy high clouds which made for a beautiful sunrise.  The seas were calm as we traveled at a speed of about 22 knots, arriving just before 8 am.  Mike had set up our gear for us while we slept so we would be ready to fish as soon as we arrived.  Very nice to have someone knowledgeable rig my tackle for me.  

 

As the engines slowed, I willed my body to carry me out on deck where I expected to be greeted with cold weather.  What a pleasant surprise that there was no wind and just the cool air outside.

We each grabbed a rod, already baited with squid, and upon the Captain’s instructions, we dropped our rigs to the bottom.  It seemed to take forever to reach the bottom but when we did, we were greeted with very aggressive big fish that shook the line all the way up.  It took me 7 minutes to bring my fish up but it was worth it.  I had one very large Vermillion rock fish.  Mine wasn’t the only one either.  Everyone brought up big reds.

Mitch did a great job keeping us on that spot long enough for us to catch nearly limits of reds before they quit biting.  Mitch took us to a couple other spots for us to finish out boat limits.  Then it was decision time – stay at Clemente and fish the kelp line for calicos or head to Catalina for halibut.  Halibut fishing won the vote.

 

Before heading to Catalina, we received a bucket of fresh dead squid from a light boat, and a generous gift of live sardines from the Eldorado.  Then we settled in for the hour or so ride to Catalina.  Along the way we had lunch – sandwiches courtesy of Steve and rice balls courtesy of Shig’s wife, Yuko.

 

The weather continued to get better until we were fishing in shirt sleeves instead of our jackets.  As we approached Catalina, Mike got us all rigged up with 20-pound fluorocarbon halibut leaders. The leader had a small J hook on top, a small treble trap hook attached to it and 1/2 to 3/4 ounce slider on the top. 

 

Mitch worked the boat in shallow waters (10 feet deep at times) close to the island searching for biting fish.  We drifted over several areas until we reached one that wanted to bite.  It must have been a “time of day thing” because they just didn’t bite until late in the day.  Once they started to bite, we picked up 6 legal halibut and released several shorts.  I wasn’t lucky enough to catch a halibut but Shig, Steve, Jim and Keith all caught legal halibut.

With the last halibut hitting the deck, the clock indicated it was time to return home.  Mitch kicked up the engines and Mike pulled out the fish and filet board.  It was a little over an hour trip home.  Mike had just finished fileting our catch when we entered the harbor.  It was getting dark and the harbor was buzzing with people celebrating the season. Boats were all decorated in holiday cheer ready to board their passengers for the nightly boat parade.

 

Once docked, we unloaded our gear and  I stood by the gear at the top of the docks while everyone else got the cars.  Mitch put the fish in a cart and brought it up to the top of the dock where I was waiting.  It was crowded with cars and people waiting to board one of the cruise ships so it took a while for the cars to reach the dock.  Eventually we got all our fish and tackle in our cars and were on our way home. 

It was a fantastic trip!  One of my best trips for big reds.  Kudos to our two captains, Mitch and Mike.  They were professional, personable and did a great job.  Thank you Steve for putting the trip together and inviting me along.  

This trip also had special meaning for me because I got to fish with Shig again.  My first fishing trip was thirty years ago on Shig’s fishing charter boat named the New Hustler II. I didn’t catch a fish.  Over the next few years, Shig was kind enough to teach me how to fish and to respect the fish we caught.  I had no idea which fish were edible, what they were called nor how to filet and cook them.  I’m very grateful for his kindness.  I’ve had many years of fishing joy since then thanks to Shig.