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TroutChaser
07-07-2007, 05:34 PM
This report will cover 2 days of fishing this week. Both days Wed and Fri were spent onboard my 15ft smokecraft (2006, 40hp) launched from CIH. Since I am relatively new to the area and my knowledge of ocean fishing is still a bit limited (see user name :lol: ) this was a week of exploration and test runs for the newly acquired "Smoker".

Day 1= Wed
launched at 6:15 and ran into the MOO-MOO's going out to the feeding grounds. Since I followed em a lil last time :lol: I decided to try some new spots I got. Set the coords to the new GPS and off to the fingers area we went. We fished from in about 350 feet of water for a scratchy bite on Reds. I hook up and begin the long hull up with my little rockfish when something bigger hits and BENDO. Full of excitement at the arrival of the "hitchhiker" the battle ensues for about 20 LONG minutes untill..

http://fishingnetwork.net/images/tmp2/yuck.jpg


And if your wondering where the Sandies are??? and NO I didnt want to hold it up for a pic but it was big probably 30 pounds :evil: After our arms were sore we went to the Hueneme flatts area to try to find the sandies or maybee a hali. Drifted a long while, tried varies known/borrowed spots and got the big skunk. Called it a day early and got ready for the long night. CIH has an awesome fireworks show :wink:


Day 2: Friday
Left at 6:00 to see the local MOO-MOOs leaving harbor. As a tradition I like to hear the safety talk :roll: Today they would be going all the way to malibu and hour and a half drive for some pretty good calico/ sandie activity. Although were small in the "SMOKER" were seaworthy and wanted to test our distance so we decided to follow. An hour and a half later we arrive at to fish some huge paddies located in front of county line. As the Moo- moos anchor a lil back the smoker goes in :D we found a pretty good lil hole for our boat and motored into a WFO calico bite. We caught them on Krocs, on plastics (green whams/leadhead and fishtraps) and we caught them on squid. Sorry guys the action was so hot I didnt take any pics. most were 8-12 inches but a couple were decent keepers at 15 plus inches. Did I say keepers? ALL Calicos were safely released to catch another day. Then the bite slowed untill we ran into a bunch of these.

http://fishingnetwork.net/images/tmp2/ohshark!!.jpg


I even began catching them on my FW bass stick with 8 pound test. That was some BENDO. After a few hours we decided quickly head home...WRONG.. now to the downside..

My brother and I are experienced waterman and have a natural respect for the ocean. Having said this we just went 25 miles south in a 15ft aluminum boat. Since our departure the wind and chop picked up significantly :x This was not unexpected as we checked weather and have been watching the windswell all week. What it meant was an hour and a half was now more like 3 hours :evil: :evil:

We motored back between 3-6 miles per hour and had a couple interesting moments that the GF wont hear about. Although it took a LOOOONG time we did fine and returned home safely. A lesson for smaller boats= never rush things, slower is better. One mistake could mean the difference between a great trip and a horrible one. Ride the waves slowly and motor up and DOWN accordingly. The bow and the water line must NOT meet.

Looking back on the trip i am glad we did it but will pick a better day next time. Untill then I'll fish locally. If I'm 5 miles away and need to go 5mph it wont be to bad. However I got to thinking... we just went 50 miles round trip.. Anacapa is less than 15 isnt it 8) Of course timing is everything but what do you other more seasoned boaters think?? any smaller boats out there??

untill next time.. keep your poles BENDO.

DA CHASER

one_leg
07-07-2007, 06:22 PM
Anacapa is 12 miles from Ventura.

Se safe out there. The trout are few and far between in the Pacific.

One_Leg

JapanRon
07-07-2007, 09:28 PM
Hi TroutChaser,

Wonderful report. Great little adventure!

Thanks for the fun read.

JapanRon

deep color
07-08-2007, 09:02 AM
In a boat that small it's a good idea to head into the direction you think the wind is going to be blowing later. The ride downswell is usually a little easier. In so cal that usually means head north or west when you leave the harbor. Good luck!

lucky catch
07-11-2007, 07:11 PM
Sounds like a fun trip. It's always a ruff trip back from County Line in the summer. Launch at Marina Del Ray to get there and the return trip will be easy. Or go to the far west end of Anacapa or Yellow Banks at Santa Cruz at first light and fish til 11am. If you leave the islands by 11 the return trip is easy. The fishing probably shut down by then anyway. :beer: :beer: :beer:

Brad100
07-11-2007, 08:28 PM
I'm impressed! But, I'd be really careful in a boat that small... things can change really fast out there! Good luck!

Seatech
07-11-2007, 08:51 PM
Nice, but don't be fooled by the short few miles to Capa.

This was the crossing we came back in late last year and the wind had laid down by the time this pic was taken!!! Dead calm at Ventura Harbor 25+mph wind and 8+ ft seas 10 miles out, both ways!!

http://www.senortuna.com/pics/data/500/medium/IMG_1857.JPG

But it does kinda give you a rush makin' it!!!

Ed