Funjunkie74
03-02-2008, 08:13 PM
Okay...so like the true fishing junkie that I am, the Funjunkie and his buddies went out on the Icon for the Annual "Pot Of Gold" Halibut Derby hosted by the Icon and Long Beach Sportfishing.
Although it was rockfish opening weekend, we opted to do the halibut drift in pursuit of the elusive, California Halibut.
Well, long story short...it eluded us today. Although I did manage to land one...it was one...I said ONE inch short!!! ARGH!!! First comment out of everyone's mouths...STEP ON IT!! LOL!!
So, here's the story.
-----------
7:30am Load up and leave the house.
7:40am B20 calls "I just woke up..." GET READY!!!
7:50am Decided to give Kevin a friendly wake-up call...but he was already awake and on his way to getting breakfast.
8:10am I arrive at the landing.
Kevin just parked his car.
B20 was not there yet.
LA Smoker (Bob) was...
8:45am We're on the Icon, setting up. Greeting some OG fishermen, chatting it up with some new faces and looking forward to a day of fishing.
But...where's BOB?
8:55am The boat is getting ready to leave...I call Bob. No answer.
9:00am The boat leaves the dock...no Bob.
9:30~9:40am We arrive a Nachos to find...er...ah...no BAIT?!?! He kept saying "I called...we have no bait..." Capt. Shaun (amazingly) kept calm, p-ssed out of his mind, dealt with it and loaded whatever bait was available.
WE'RE OFF!!
Well B20, if you know, has a slight obsession with breakfast burritos. He fell in love with the breakfast burritos on the Spitfire...and ever since...when we talk about fishing...on a boat...B's talking about the breakfast burrito. So what's the first thing he does?
http://tsuribaka.us/photos/2008/20080302/HPIM1070.jpg
Yep...we're not even out of the HARBOR!!! LOL!! Eat up B, you're gonna need it!
So...for anyone who has endured a Halibut Drift trip knows...it may not be everyone's cup of tea. It's a lot of standing around and nothing happening. Definitely not for the adrenaline junkie!!
Well unfortunately...from here till 5pm...there's nothing much to talk about. We drift, we fish. We drift, we fish. We drift, we fish. We move. We drift, we fish. But pretty much fish only come over the rail every 30 minutes or so and not always a halibut. If I recall correctly, there were about 11 or so hook ups but only 3 keepers. If we weren't on a halibut drift trip, this would be considered the slowest day of fishing!!!
http://tsuribaka.us/photos/2008/20080302/HPIM1073.jpg
We did, however, get greeted by a beautiful fish...
http://tsuribaka.us/photos/2008/20080302/HPIM1074.jpg
Well, my fellow anglers.
This is pretty much the whole story. No excitement. No glory for me or the boyz. But it's fishing and I enjoyed it.
Next week is the Fred Hall Show!
I'll be at the Kencor booth on Friday and Saturday. Stop by and say hi!
FJ74
Although it was rockfish opening weekend, we opted to do the halibut drift in pursuit of the elusive, California Halibut.
Well, long story short...it eluded us today. Although I did manage to land one...it was one...I said ONE inch short!!! ARGH!!! First comment out of everyone's mouths...STEP ON IT!! LOL!!
So, here's the story.
-----------
7:30am Load up and leave the house.
7:40am B20 calls "I just woke up..." GET READY!!!
7:50am Decided to give Kevin a friendly wake-up call...but he was already awake and on his way to getting breakfast.
8:10am I arrive at the landing.
Kevin just parked his car.
B20 was not there yet.
LA Smoker (Bob) was...
8:45am We're on the Icon, setting up. Greeting some OG fishermen, chatting it up with some new faces and looking forward to a day of fishing.
But...where's BOB?
8:55am The boat is getting ready to leave...I call Bob. No answer.
9:00am The boat leaves the dock...no Bob.
9:30~9:40am We arrive a Nachos to find...er...ah...no BAIT?!?! He kept saying "I called...we have no bait..." Capt. Shaun (amazingly) kept calm, p-ssed out of his mind, dealt with it and loaded whatever bait was available.
WE'RE OFF!!
Well B20, if you know, has a slight obsession with breakfast burritos. He fell in love with the breakfast burritos on the Spitfire...and ever since...when we talk about fishing...on a boat...B's talking about the breakfast burrito. So what's the first thing he does?
http://tsuribaka.us/photos/2008/20080302/HPIM1070.jpg
Yep...we're not even out of the HARBOR!!! LOL!! Eat up B, you're gonna need it!
So...for anyone who has endured a Halibut Drift trip knows...it may not be everyone's cup of tea. It's a lot of standing around and nothing happening. Definitely not for the adrenaline junkie!!
Well unfortunately...from here till 5pm...there's nothing much to talk about. We drift, we fish. We drift, we fish. We drift, we fish. We move. We drift, we fish. But pretty much fish only come over the rail every 30 minutes or so and not always a halibut. If I recall correctly, there were about 11 or so hook ups but only 3 keepers. If we weren't on a halibut drift trip, this would be considered the slowest day of fishing!!!
http://tsuribaka.us/photos/2008/20080302/HPIM1073.jpg
We did, however, get greeted by a beautiful fish...
http://tsuribaka.us/photos/2008/20080302/HPIM1074.jpg
Well, my fellow anglers.
This is pretty much the whole story. No excitement. No glory for me or the boyz. But it's fishing and I enjoyed it.
Next week is the Fred Hall Show!
I'll be at the Kencor booth on Friday and Saturday. Stop by and say hi!
FJ74