Farnsworth Bank and SCI Yellows!

Date:  Junes 24 and 25, 2026

Anglers:  Jeff Chuang, Brian, Jim Carlisle, Rick Uribe, Cathy Needleman and Jan Howard

Boat and Crew:  Rail Time owned and operated by Gary Adams and Eric as his second and deckhand.

Trip:  Two days fishing Catalina and San Clemente Islands

Catch:  13 yellowtail, 2 white seabass, 1 halibut, 1 calico bass plus many released fish which included small calicos, 1 beautiful leopard shark, bat rays, sheepshead, small white seabass, white fish, blue perch, yellowfin croaker, barracuda, etc.

Trip Details: Our trip began with a 5:30 pm departure from dock with instructions from Gary to set up our dropper loop and sliding sinker/leadhead outfit with nothing less than 40-pound test line.  Gary’s previous trip had heavy casualties of big seabass and yellowtail on lighter lines.  While setting up our tackle, we made a stop at the bait receiver.  Nacho had squid and sardines for us to fill our bait tanks.  That meant Gary and Eric could get some sleep instead of making bait.  Thanks to Rick, we had pizza to munch on for our dinner before hitting the bunks.

The next morning, Gary started up the engines around 5:30 to 6 am which was later than usual.  We were at Catalina Island and the search for game fish was on.  The search ended around noon when we reached the notorious Farnsworth Bank.  I’d been there before and remember well the sounds of fishing lines breaking when the big homeguard yellowtail cut themselves off on the sharp rocky pinnacles along the bottom of the sea.  I never had the opportunity to see one of those fish caught.  I certainly never landed any I hooked. 

Brian hooked up first and actually landed his 32-pound Farnsworth Yellowtail but not without the yellow giving Brian a run for his money.  Then Brian hooked another one and landed that one too even though he tried to hand it off to someone else.  Then I hooked a smaller one but just as tough.  With Gary’s help getting my fish to the bow, I was able to land a yellowtail at Farnsworth Bank!  Incredible surprise to me.  There was one other fish hooked but it managed to get away.  We were 3 for 4!  About as good as it gets at Farnsworth. The bite slowed then and Gary decided to make the run to Clemente.

Gary’s friend, John, arrived after us.  He anchored close to us in what turned out to be the seabass spot and started catching fish.  Unfortunately, the fish ignored our baits.  It was difficult to be sitting right next to the boat catching fish while we weren’t.  By days end, Cathy captured a white seabass and Brian landed a halibut while the rest of us released small calico bass, bat rays, sheepshead, mackerel, and a leopard shark.

We reset our gear for the next day and enjoyed our dinner of ribs and chicken  before hitting the bunks.  Gary reset the boat a couple of times so we would be ready for the morning bite.  I awoke several times with light from the squid boats shining in my eyes.  We were anchored on a squid nest.

I was up before 4 am having my coffee.  All our dropper loops were deployed waiting for a bite.  Gary came down, checked the lines then asked me to let him know if we got bit.  It was another hour or so before anything happened.  By then Jeff and Jim were up and on deck when my rod went off followed by the rest of the rods.  I grabbed my rod and started fighting the fish while Gary and Eric went to the bow with someone else’s fish.   My fish made a turn heading to the stern and by the time I got there the fish was going straight under the boat from the stern to the bow and nailed me to the back of the boat so I couldn’t move.  I yelled for help, but my calls went unanswered.  All I could do was wait for the fish to break me off, which he did.  I put my rod down and grabbed the next rod that had a fish on it and that fish did the same thing.  What a humbling experience. Jim told me later that both stern corner rods got bit the same time as mine and he thinks they joined my fish under the boat and "assisted" in the release of my fish.

Once the bite slowed, a couple more fish were landed and Jim even sent a fish over to the Thunderbird to add to their count.  When the waters calmed, Jim had landed two yellowtail, Cathy landed 3, Rick landed 3 yellowtail and 1 seabass, Jeff landed 2 yellowtail.  What total chaos it had been.  Eric said he only had time to put one sock on before his boots and race to the bow to help.

Once the bite was over, Gary took us searching for seabass or yellowtail around the island however he now said we could fish with any weight line we wanted.  Since we had 13 yellowtail, 2 seabass and 1 halibut in the hold, we could afford to lose fish now. 

We tried several other spots that looked very good but our catching time was over. Eric filleted our fish on the way home.  Jeff and I helped bag the filets.  We made good time and backed into the slip at Peter’s Landing around 5 pm. 

Thanks again to Gary for another uncredible trip and to Eric for all his help and support on deck.  I’m very appreciative of Jeff’s organization of these charters and the help I get from my fellow anglers.  I look forward to the next adventure.