Prowler Overnighter 6/13

[deanhall32]

Went out on the Prowler on an overnighter after seeing some good counts on the yellowtail the day before.
Arrived at Fishermans Landing and noticed that the Prowler was the only overnight boat going out. It was almost eerie to see an empty landing in the middle of June knowing well that in one month things will be frantic. I was even able to get a parking spot in the front row right next to the landing.

The boat left an 9 PM and Captain John ( who was subbing for Buzz) told us we would be heading 72 miles south and do some kelp paddy hopping.

Gray light came fast and we were up and trolling. We found a few paddies in the morning and even saw a few yellows but nothing would bite. We continued on and picked up a half dozen yellows and bonita- all on the troll.

Around 10AM we stopped on a paddy for nada and we were ready to put the jigs back in the water when this guy on the bow hooks up with something that took him straight down. He fought this thing for at least 30 minutes and even started pissing people off because we were ready to head on. The majority of people felt he had foul hooked or tail-wrapped a yellow. When the fish came to color we saw that it was a huge opah. The deckies put 3 gaffs into it and hauled it overboard. The thing was frickin huge! The fish was estimated to be between 75-85 lbs. and was the highlight of the day.

We trolled the rest of the day through green water and water that was 1 degree colder than the day before. 15 of the 21 people on board wore the big white stripe down our backs including myself.

It was a gorgeous day to be on the water!!

Boat tally:

21 passengers

7 yellows -all troll fish
3 bonita- all troll fish
1 75-85lb opah- on a blue and white iron

My tally:

0 for 0
0 bites
0 fish
5 coors lights
1 bacon and egg plate
1 cheeseburger

[victor101]

Sorry u got skunked dean...You will get em next time!

What kind of perch is that big red one?

[4g63power]

Hey coach..I was on the grande today..will give you a holler next time I head down there..damn that's a huge opah though

[Oz]

sorry to hear homie u had that huge white stripe going for. we know u will get back out there and rebound :Cool:

i bet that was some good sashimi man.

[Liteweight]

Sorry to hear about the white stripe today.
The Prowler has always been my favorite boat to fish. Been fishing w/Buzz since about '82 (the New Lo-Ann) being my second favorite). A recent back injury has kept me from fishing the last couple of years (I sure do miss it alot!). Will be interesting to see if the crowds come back this year when the tuna bite kicks into full gear. Last year's passenger counts weren't too good (according to some of the guys on the boats I know).
Thanks for posting the report.
Robert.

[deanhall32]

Hey coach..I was on the grande today..will give you a holler next time I head down there..damn that's a huge opah though

Hey Jimmy.

I was gonna go on the Grande until Sansou talked me out of it. LOL. I would have gone with you. Hit me up next time. Did you get one of those yellows?

[deanhall32]

sorry to hear homie u had that huge white stripe going for. we know u will get back out there and rebound :Cool:

i bet that was some good sashimi man.

It was such a nice day that the skunk doesnt matter Oz but thanks for the condolences. It was nice fishing a different boat anyways.

[deanhall32]

Sorry to hear about the white stripe today.
The Prowler has always been my favorite boat to fish. Been fishing w/Buzz since about '82 (the New Lo-Ann) being my second favorite). A recent back injury has kept me from fishing the last couple of years (I sure do miss it alot!). Will be interesting to see if the crowds come back this year when the tuna bite kicks into full gear. Last year's passenger counts weren't too good (according to some of the guys on the boats I know).
Thanks for posting the report.
Robert.

Yeap. The Prowler is a fishing machine. Nice and wide on the sides so when 2 fat guys pass each other there is no friction. The bunks are nice and long and the galley has A/C. Nice fishing boat.

[JapanRon]

Hi deanhall32,

You got skunked on a paddy-hoppin, pelagic fishy trip !! Ohhhhh what a surprise !! Just kidding ..... my good buddy ! When I saw the numbers for an over-nighter, I thought it might have been a tuna trip !! Just kidding again.

Feast or famine .... whatta ya gonna do ?! Sounds like the load was light and that usually means a good time fishing .... regardless of the catching.

Poor Opah (in Japanese they are nicknamed Mr Mombo) they are so curious and interesting. I wish folks would leave them alone and let them go. They are considered to be good luck omens.

Better catching next time,

JapanRon

[sansou]

Hey Dean, what did I tell you? Go on the overnighter, NOT the 3/4 day Grande! LOL LOL. (you can punch me later) Ok, so it turns out the Grande went 1 YT per angler..... Sorry dude, if its any consolation, the YT were small at the Coronados and it was a parking lot.

Always love the colors on them Opa. Never caught one....I guess there's no targeting them, it's sheer luck if you get one to bite. I ate some one time at the Brigantine...it tasted "walnutty"...wasn't to my liking.

[Oz]

It was such a nice day that the skunk doesnt matter Oz but thanks for the condolences. It was nice fishing a different boat anyways.


yea i know u have fun regardless homie. always good 2 switch up things every now and then. :Cool:

[That Dang Guy]

All opahs are incidental catches. They are becoming more and more frequent over the last few seasons. I'm not quite sure what I would do if i caught one. I hear it's a fantastic eating fish with very different and distinct meats depending on the cut of fish.

I'd be tempted!

[deanhall32]

Hi deanhall32,

You got skunked on a paddy-hoppin, pelagic fishy trip !! Ohhhhh what a surprise !! Just kidding ..... my good buddy ! When I saw the numbers for an over-nighter, I thought it might have been a tuna trip !! Just kidding again.

Feast or famine .... whatta ya gonna do ?! Sounds like the load was light and that usually means a good time fishing .... regardless of the catching.

Poor Opah (in Japanese they are nicknamed Mr Mombo) they are so curious and interesting. I wish folks would leave them alone and let them go. They are considered to be good luck omens.

Better catching next time,

JapanRon

Thanks for reading JapanRon,

Yes, for some reason I like to get on a boat heading into Mexican waters in the hopes of catching tuna or yellowtail. Even if it means getting the skunk once in awhile, it is still worth it. There is nothing like sleeping on a boat in the anticipation of waking up and being in the middle of the ocean ready to drop some trolling lures. I would much rather do that then arrive in a parking lot at 4 AM just to secure my spot on a rail and fish waters with the same old guys once a week. That's just me.

Coach

P.S. My girlfriend is Japanese and she thought the opah shoud have been released too....

[4g63power]

Hey coach...they were all 8-9lb firecrackers...I got 2..my buddy caught a 4lb sandie at bait reciever and that probably was the most exciting part of the day haha...next time for sure bro

[really_drunk]

great report DH !! sorry bout the skunk...hmm only 5 coors lights??? imma have to drive to SD n whip u into shape!!! :ROFL:

[ghetto dad]

Nice try Coach......you have ALL summer to repeat and surpass your carnage last summer....I know you will do it!!!

GD

[DavidE]

I dunno how much Opah is considered good luck, but Morimoto made some bomb dishes when Opah was the secret ingredient!! Im tryin for one every tuna trip I take. Well hoping is more like it!!

Way to get out there coach.

[Astrolux]

The Prowler is an awesome boat!! Too bad about the skunk.

[cappo]

5 coors lights
1 bacon and egg plate
1 cheeseburger

Quite a low count for you buddy. Oh well beats any day being at school right. Hope u get into them next time man.

[deanhall32]

great report DH !! sorry bout the skunk...hmm only 5 coors lights??? imma have to drive to SD n whip u into shape!!! :ROFL:

RD- Just shoot me a PM next time you wanna come on down.

[deanhall32]

I dunno how much Opah is considered good luck, but Morimoto made some bomb dishes when Opah was the secret ingredient!! Im tryin for one every tuna trip I take. Well hoping is more like it!!

Way to get out there coach.

I actually got a piece of the opah sashimi. Tasted very mild and firm and had the color of a light shaded salmon. I have had good luck since!! Hey, do you still know that guy?

[deanhall32]

Nice try Coach......you have ALL summer to repeat and surpass your carnage last summer....I know you will do it!!!

GD

Thanks GD. I'm just hoping it's still early in the season and not me!! Still think you can slip away from the landing and get down here for an overnight tuna trip this summer???

[deanhall32]

The Prowler is an awesome boat!! Too bad about the skunk.

The Prowler is a fine fishing vessel! Super clean with all the right fixins..

[deanhall32]

Quite a low count for you buddy. Oh well beats any day being at school right. Hope u get into them next time man.

What are you trying to say Juan? That I like to drink beer?? I usually come in second place on the galley tab and actually did this time too. It was a pretty straight-laced group. See you down here!!

[JapanRon]

Hi deanhall32,

4am !! Are you kidding ..... the diaper brigade gets there waaaay earlier than that ! There's something about getting to the landing when it's all quiet and fresh and you have the place to yourself. Getting a place on the boat where you can fish exactly the way you want, be surrounded by guys that know what they are doing, and rarely get in tangles resulting in lost fish. Taking time to load one's stuff, rig up outfits for the day while BSing with old friends, confident that 3/4s of the time will not be spent trolling for hours .... er .... mornings ... er .... days .... for periods of 30 seconds of insanity. (my experiences on open-party, 1-Dayers where I even caught fish. ha ha) Ah yes, losing fish on tangles (even doing the tuna shuffle and following fish), listening to all the murderous screaming of kill 'em, slay 'em, etc, yelling, and best of all the chest-beating, jump and bump .... how well I remember. Charters with a bunch of old guys ... now that might be different !! :)

Yep .... our worlds, in this particular case, are/were quite different .... both having different positive and negative aspects. I guess we should count ourselves lucky to still have a divergence of fishing venues from which to choose.

As you obviously feel, fishing is fishing and a peek at other venues is always welcome. Me too ! Keep those reports comin' ...... I can go on one of those trips through you without the (my own) aggrvation!

your buddy,

JapanRon

[ghetto dad]

Thanks GD. I'm just hoping it's still early in the season and not me!! Still think you can slip away from the landing and get down here for an overnight tuna trip this summer???

:ROFL::ROFL: Dean, there IS a "multiquote" feature on here brother!!

Yeah man, I thought I told you.....i AM in for at least ONE tuna trip down there this season..probably a Sunday-Monday trip...I will let you know

GD

[deanhall32]

Hi deanhall32,

4am !! Are you kidding ..... the diaper brigade gets there waaaay earlier than that ! There's something about getting to the landing when it's all quiet and fresh and you have the place to yourself. Getting a place on the boat where you can fish exactly the way you want, be surrounded by guys that know what they are doing, and rarely get in tangles resulting in lost fish. Taking time to load one's stuff, rig up outfits for the day while BSing with old friends, confident that 3/4s of the time will not be spent trolling for hours .... er .... mornings ... er .... days .... for periods of 30 seconds of insanity. (my experiences on open-party, 1-Dayers where I even caught fish. ha ha) Ah yes, losing fish on tangles (even doing the tuna shuffle and following fish), listening to all the murderous screaming of kill 'em, slay 'em, etc, yelling, and best of all the chest-beating, jump and bump .... how well I remember. Charters with a bunch of old guys ... now that might be different !! :)

Yep .... our worlds, in this particular case, are/were quite different .... both having different positive and negative aspects. I guess we should count ourselves lucky to still have a divergence of fishing venues from which to choose.

As you obviously feel, fishing is fishing and a peek at other venues is always welcome. Me too ! Keep those reports comin' ...... I can go on one of those trips through you without the (my own) aggrvation!

your buddy,

JapanRon

Very nicely spoken JapanRon.

[LA Smoker]

Nice opah.... a dream fish for many.

[Bucket bay]

I love that boat fished it last year good times god job Dean.

[tunafisherman]

Thanks Dean, some body has to go for the tuna and get skunked at least it wasn't me this time. Going down on the 25th to give it a try. Opha's are neat fish last year on my July trip a guy got one that went 98lbs. He was on 25lb. line and was mixed in with thr albacore.

[Ricky-Ray]

Thanks for the report Dean. Sorry to hear about the skunk but it's early and there's going to be a skunk every now and then and I think that's what makes us wanna go back. WE WANT REDEMPTION!!!!! hahahahaha

Hope to fish with you soon.

[Fisherman57]

Sorry about the skunk Dean.... but still a good report!

I wish I coulda seen that big Opah in person.... (but that would involve finding the time to go fishing)..... :Head Bang:


57

[ghetto dad]

Damn..imagine how many replies you would have gotten Coach if you would have actually CAUGHT something....

GD

[deanhall32]

Sorry about the skunk Dean.... but still a good report!

I wish I coulda seen that big Opah in person.... (but that would involve finding the time to go fishing)..... :Head Bang:


57

Thanks 57 and I was just kiddin about your 57th b-day. Happy 56th.

[Wingnut]

That Opah is one cool looking fish. Bummer about the skunk Dean, you'll nail them next time. Very nice report. :Cool:

[pineapple express]

dang coach.. i recall you saying on a trip last year about not getting much response
on your posts. looks like your mr. popularity nowadays... not to mention your reports
have gotten better & more detailed...lol. i want on opah so bad...!!! that guy is stoked.
mahaloz for the report, keep them reports coming.
PE