daveg456
08-18-2008, 02:56 PM
Drove down to Seaforth Sportfishing in Mission Bay for a charter on the Endeavor. Got there around 7:30 after a scenic drive down PCH to Dana Point and then along the North County coast of San Diego. Hey, I had some extra time so why not check out the scenery. Stopped at Cardiff State Beach to check the surf and by coincidence, the nice sunset. I think it should be a law that if you are not in a hurry and you're driving in an area where you can see the sunset you are mandated to pull over, connect with nature and watch the sun set. Believe me, I'm not gay but my boyfriend thinks I am.
Leave the dock around 9PM with 19 anglers and get some sardines. We hear the fishing has been slow. It could have something to do with the full moon which I think means the fish can feed at night so they aren't as hungry during the day. That's my theory at least. The plan is to head SW about 50 miles where the fish are hanging. Since the boat usually cruises at 10 MPH, he dialed down the diesels to about 6 MPH to save gas and get there in plenty of time before the sunrise. Get to the spot and drift until it gets light but through the night, fish have gathered under and around the boat so guys are fishing and pulling in a few bluefin and albacore. I get a good size BFT around 30lbs. here. We hang there for a few hours and then start trolling. And trolling and trolling. Anyways, we get some jig strikes and catch a few fish with each stop. We hardly see any kelp and the ones that we do find are mostly hammered. Towards the middle of the day, we find a decent kelp patty with some dodos on it. All of them were babies so we threw them back except mine and another that was deep hooked. I hook one that's probably one pound and was going to release him but he was hooked deep and bleeding so I kept him. I caught another one about 2lbs and let him go. Ended up getting late so we trolled towards home when we come on another school. At this point, it had been really slow with about five guys had no fish so I was happy with my one tuna and the baby dorado. But on this stop, I get a couple of more. As soon as the boat stopped I hooked a 10lbs albacore. After that, I cast out and hook a nice yellowfin tuna. This one fought pretty good and ended up being about 25lbs.
All in all, for a slow day, but I did ok. 1 BFT, 1 YFT, 1 Albacore and well, we just won't count that one. I used 20lb test the whole time with no flourocarbon. Most of the others were using 25 with flouro and I think that made a difference. You can definitely tell that the sardine swim a lot better with the lighter line and still got bit even without the flouro. The other side of the coin is that we got a 45 lb BFT that I may not have been able to get if I was using the 20lb but it doesn't matter too much if you don't hook anything. The weather was nice with calm seas and a light breeze. Ended up getting back to the dock around 8:30.
Total count for the boat was 13 Albacore, 11 Bluefin Tuna, 2 Dorado, 6 Yellowfin Tuna for 19 anglers.
We charter the Endeavor around 5 times a year which includes a couple of winter trips to the Colonett for rockfish and sometimes, good yellowtail fishing and I have to say that the captain and crew are one of the best on the coast. I've known Dave, the captain/owner since we were kids and he always works to get us on fish and are usually the last boat back to the dock because he'll take you out farther and stay out longer(check the Endeavor ETAs on the Seaforth fish counts) so that you have a successful trip. I know this is true for every charter so if you're ever looking to book a boat, I would highly recommend them. Once you go on a boat that knows what they're doing, you realize you get spoiled and think twice before going on any old open party boat. There are some excellent open parties, the Mirage up north comes to mind(which like the Endeavor, rarely has an open party trip since they are chartered all the time), but if you can get a group of friends together for a charter, even if it costs a little bit more, you will realize how important a good boat, captain and crew is to your fishing enjoyment, regardless of how the fishing is. Pretty much all the boats at Seaforth are good and you can't beat the plentiful free parking.
Drinking some sodas, hanging out on the ocean, doing some fishing and cracking on your friends all day and laughing your *** off. What more do you need?
http://www.endeavorfishing.com/
http://www.sportfishingreport.com/fish_counts/seaforth/fishcounts.php
Leave the dock around 9PM with 19 anglers and get some sardines. We hear the fishing has been slow. It could have something to do with the full moon which I think means the fish can feed at night so they aren't as hungry during the day. That's my theory at least. The plan is to head SW about 50 miles where the fish are hanging. Since the boat usually cruises at 10 MPH, he dialed down the diesels to about 6 MPH to save gas and get there in plenty of time before the sunrise. Get to the spot and drift until it gets light but through the night, fish have gathered under and around the boat so guys are fishing and pulling in a few bluefin and albacore. I get a good size BFT around 30lbs. here. We hang there for a few hours and then start trolling. And trolling and trolling. Anyways, we get some jig strikes and catch a few fish with each stop. We hardly see any kelp and the ones that we do find are mostly hammered. Towards the middle of the day, we find a decent kelp patty with some dodos on it. All of them were babies so we threw them back except mine and another that was deep hooked. I hook one that's probably one pound and was going to release him but he was hooked deep and bleeding so I kept him. I caught another one about 2lbs and let him go. Ended up getting late so we trolled towards home when we come on another school. At this point, it had been really slow with about five guys had no fish so I was happy with my one tuna and the baby dorado. But on this stop, I get a couple of more. As soon as the boat stopped I hooked a 10lbs albacore. After that, I cast out and hook a nice yellowfin tuna. This one fought pretty good and ended up being about 25lbs.
All in all, for a slow day, but I did ok. 1 BFT, 1 YFT, 1 Albacore and well, we just won't count that one. I used 20lb test the whole time with no flourocarbon. Most of the others were using 25 with flouro and I think that made a difference. You can definitely tell that the sardine swim a lot better with the lighter line and still got bit even without the flouro. The other side of the coin is that we got a 45 lb BFT that I may not have been able to get if I was using the 20lb but it doesn't matter too much if you don't hook anything. The weather was nice with calm seas and a light breeze. Ended up getting back to the dock around 8:30.
Total count for the boat was 13 Albacore, 11 Bluefin Tuna, 2 Dorado, 6 Yellowfin Tuna for 19 anglers.
We charter the Endeavor around 5 times a year which includes a couple of winter trips to the Colonett for rockfish and sometimes, good yellowtail fishing and I have to say that the captain and crew are one of the best on the coast. I've known Dave, the captain/owner since we were kids and he always works to get us on fish and are usually the last boat back to the dock because he'll take you out farther and stay out longer(check the Endeavor ETAs on the Seaforth fish counts) so that you have a successful trip. I know this is true for every charter so if you're ever looking to book a boat, I would highly recommend them. Once you go on a boat that knows what they're doing, you realize you get spoiled and think twice before going on any old open party boat. There are some excellent open parties, the Mirage up north comes to mind(which like the Endeavor, rarely has an open party trip since they are chartered all the time), but if you can get a group of friends together for a charter, even if it costs a little bit more, you will realize how important a good boat, captain and crew is to your fishing enjoyment, regardless of how the fishing is. Pretty much all the boats at Seaforth are good and you can't beat the plentiful free parking.
Drinking some sodas, hanging out on the ocean, doing some fishing and cracking on your friends all day and laughing your *** off. What more do you need?
http://www.endeavorfishing.com/
http://www.sportfishingreport.com/fish_counts/seaforth/fishcounts.php