2/13/10 Winter YT on the Apollo

[sansou]

Wife: My parents are coming in to town.

Me: That's nice. (spoken unconvincingly)

Wife: Before you pout, as my Valentines gift to you....go dissapear for the weekend fishing.

Me: Say no more, and give your parents my highest regard. (again, unconvincingly)


So, I made my way on to the Apollo, a boat which I had not stepped on in a long while.

I was reminded again at how well kept it is, and how nice the bunks are (pretty large). Most importantly, the crew, cook and the captain (no "JJ" this trip, but the 2nd ticket) are very nice people and customer service oriented to a fault. The food was very good, and plentiful. Top notch operation. The sun had set and the skipper still had us fishing, even though he said "last drift" maybe 8 drifts ago. Gotta love that.

We got to the grounds a tad late (8 am), and were met by the Pac Voyager, BG90, Voyager, and I think the Constitution. A few iron yellows were being reported. It took us a couple drifts, and by that time all but one other cattleboat had left the grounds. All of a sudden, as if a light switch had been turned on, the yellows started hammering the iron. People were hooking up left and right, some winning the battle, some losing them to pinnacles & sea fans and whatever else the YT could zig zag through.

By mid morning, we had boated 39 YT before the bite shutoff. Yours truly had ZERO. I was completely snakebitten. Did I run over a nun or something on the way to the landing? Geeeez.....

One part of me was laughing it off, but the other part of me was wondering what the heck was going on? The fish Gods must have had fun, because I carried that skunky smell even when I was rockcodding.
I must have sorted / thrown back (or given away) a half dozen wormcaccio and starries before I got to see a measly red. When it rains, it pours....

By late afternoon, the boat had limits of cod. I barely scratched away at 5 reds that I wanted to keep, the rest of the assorted fish I either tossed back or gave away. Never saw a lingcod, even though I spent the better part of an hour focusing on them using jax/mogambo/big cut bait/ Tady 15...etc.

The skipper decided he wanted to give us one more shot at iron yellows at the highspot. This time around, I asked a fellow FNNer (Mike "Ymin") what the secret of his success was, and he told me he had a lucky scrambled egg 6x heavy that scored 4 fish for him already. I snipped off my skunky blue/white with black spots 6x Jr., and he insisted I put it on, and sure enough it produced a few for me.

Redemption! The curse had been lifted !! Thanks Mike!

For you technically minded, the fish were often hanging 30 to 60 feet off the bottom (the popular highspots range from 220 to 180 deep). They ate all different color jigs, and in fact Mike caught one a plain white with red nose. Another guy had a Tady 15 and managed one....go figure. Recommend bringing rope (50lb) for yo-yo, as you are not paddy fishing offshore. We landed a total of 51 yellowtail, which is an exceptional count for this time of the year, for that area.


http://i282.photobucket.com/albums/kk274/sansou/2010%20Apollo%20Colonet%20trip/2010ApolloColonettrip426.jpg
Longtime no see! For you new FNNers, this is Bob "L.A. Smoker". He was in the process of yellowtailing and he pulled this old can up....ha ha!! I give him tons of credit and patience as he worked the Lucanus all day long, even though the fish that day were having none of it.

http://i282.photobucket.com/albums/kk274/sansou/2010%20Apollo%20Colonet%20trip/2010ApolloColonettrip427.jpg

http://i282.photobucket.com/albums/kk274/sansou/2010%20Apollo%20Colonet%20trip/2010ApolloColonettrip428.jpg

Mike "Ymin", working on what would turn out to be a jackpot yellow. This particular fish put up one heck of a fight. Went 28lbs on the digital. He caught a total of five yellows, of which he handed one of them off to a fellow angler "Barbra" (Gold Coast Lady Anglers). It was good karma cause his fish held up for jackpot. Nice job!

http://i282.photobucket.com/albums/kk274/sansou/2010%20Apollo%20Colonet%20trip/2010ApolloColonettrip429.jpg

http://i282.photobucket.com/albums/kk274/sansou/2010%20Apollo%20Colonet%20trip/2010ApolloColonettrip430.jpg

http://i282.photobucket.com/albums/kk274/sansou/2010%20Apollo%20Colonet%20trip/2010ApolloColonettrip432.jpg

http://i282.photobucket.com/albums/kk274/sansou/2010%20Apollo%20Colonet%20trip/2010ApolloColonettrip433.jpg
L.A. Smoker "Bob" !! This guy got the entire boat motivated and laughing. Fun guy to fish with for sure!

http://i282.photobucket.com/albums/kk274/sansou/2010%20Apollo%20Colonet%20trip/2010ApolloColonettrip434.jpg
Finally I catch a fish.....

http://i282.photobucket.com/albums/kk274/sansou/2010%20Apollo%20Colonet%20trip/2010ApolloColonettrip435.jpg
Couldn't have asked for any better sailing conditions this weekend.

http://i282.photobucket.com/albums/kk274/sansou/2010%20Apollo%20Colonet%20trip/2010ApolloColonettrip436.jpg

http://i282.photobucket.com/albums/kk274/sansou/2010%20Apollo%20Colonet%20trip/2010ApolloColonettrip437.jpg

http://i282.photobucket.com/albums/kk274/sansou/2010%20Apollo%20Colonet%20trip/2010ApolloColonettrip438.jpg

http://i282.photobucket.com/albums/kk274/sansou/2010%20Apollo%20Colonet%20trip/2010ApolloColonettrip440.jpg

http://i282.photobucket.com/albums/kk274/sansou/2010%20Apollo%20Colonet%20trip/2010ApolloColonettrip439.jpg
Congrats Mike!

http://i282.photobucket.com/albums/kk274/sansou/2010%20Apollo%20Colonet%20trip/2010ApolloColonettrip441.jpg
This is going to be a particularly tasty fish....


You gotta love southern California. T-shirt weather in the middle of winter, and tough fighting iron yellows.

[Native Gal]

Winter YT, very nice indeed. Jackpot YT was sweet.
Thanks for the xlnt report Sansou.

NG
:Envious:

[mexican_fisherman]

nice job on those hard pulling yellos..... can't wait to go out in the water and get some quality fish like yours

[webmaster]

Wife: Before you pout, as my Valentines gift to you....go dissapear for the weekend fishing.

Does she have a sister??????

[lalo56]

Nice YT Rich!

[fisherman from long beach]

what a women,tells you to get lost when the inlaws are comming.and then you catch some yellows,nice report and good pics for sure.theres a pic where a guy is standind in the middle of the pile of fish with open toe sandles,wth.true fisherman for sure,but yuck!

[victor101]

Very nice winter Yellows and Congrats on the JP Mike. Thanks for the write up Rich. That last stop made your day!

Good Job NBU!

[murrieta angler]

Way to go Sansou!!
Enjoyed the pics very much, as well as the report.
When I saw the report Saturday, I was enviuos of the people on that boat. Low and behold, there were some FNN'ers!
I admire you for asking for a little help. As the older people get, most don't swallow their pride and ask?!? Go Figure!!
Looks like your year is starting out good and I hope it keeps up throughout the year.
Robert

[Troutman65]

Nice fishing trip Rich. Congrats on beating the Skunk.

[hbomb]

WoW Nice report..... Gotta love Cali weather, nice job out there...

[BIG0FISH]

thanks for the nice report.
some of those reds are monsters!!

[troutdog]

Great report Rich, way to punk that yellow skunk....great set of pictures too!


TD

[JapanRon]

Hi sansou,

Most excellent report and pics !! Thank you much !! Lite load like that must have been a kick. Anybody fish the rubber ? If he reads this reply, 'L.A. Smoker' way to go on the stick-with-it !! I know exactly what the deal is and appreciated somebody else out there has the same take (well at least that trip) as myself.

Anyways .... sansou .... glad you managed all those fish. As I know this is kinda your kind of fishing .... I hope there are a lot more such reports from you on a banner years' fishing !!

JapanRon

[sansou]

Just wanted to share some pics with you guys of a New Year's luncheon I attended, and what my friends did with the rockcod I had brought them that was "gill-n-gutted".

http://i282.photobucket.com/albums/kk274/sansou/2010%20Apollo%20Colonet%20trip/2010ApolloColonettrip442.jpg
Lots of Vietnamese style dishes.

http://i282.photobucket.com/albums/kk274/sansou/2010%20Apollo%20Colonet%20trip/2010ApolloColonettrip443.jpg
This was incredible. They went all out and bought $$ of abalone and cooked it with mushrooms. Divine.

http://i282.photobucket.com/albums/kk274/sansou/2010%20Apollo%20Colonet%20trip/2010ApolloColonettrip444.jpg
Thai beef salad.

http://i282.photobucket.com/albums/kk274/sansou/2010%20Apollo%20Colonet%20trip/2010ApolloColonettrip445.jpg
Red Vermilions that I caught saturday, steamed w/herbs!

http://i282.photobucket.com/albums/kk274/sansou/2010%20Apollo%20Colonet%20trip/2010ApolloColonettrip446.jpg
Close up of the fish

http://i282.photobucket.com/albums/kk274/sansou/2010%20Apollo%20Colonet%20trip/2010ApolloColonettrip447.jpg
Have you ever tried this stuff? It's like a steroidal cactus fruit. "Red Dragon Fruit".

http://i282.photobucket.com/albums/kk274/sansou/2010%20Apollo%20Colonet%20trip/2010ApolloColonettrip448-1.jpg
Red Dragons sliced up. The texture & small seeds reminds me of kiwi.


Thanks you all collectively for the kind comments. Looking forward to hopefully putting a few more saltwater reports out there before the end of the year!

[marzocchi]

Yum dragon fruit. I miss eating those and the cherries that look tomatos in asia.

[fisherman from long beach]

thanks ,im hungry now,

[cjmedina]

sweet report dude

[cappo]

Wow talk about right place and right time. Way to go guys. Dang Ymin where u been?
Awesome report Rich.

[Oz]

mmmmmmm awsome food porn rich :LOL::Cool:

good to see the fish are still chewing & that you, bob an everyone got in on some. only bob could pull up something other than fish :LOL: i think he pulled up a jacket last year :LOL:

congrats on the JP mike.

[Wingnut]

Awesome trip Rich... Winter Yellows, wow!
That food looks familiar... had some of that myself on Sunday... yummy! :Big Grin:

[J12]

my gosh my man great job slaying the yellows out there. YEEHAW look at that last few pics with all the fish slain. I really gotta hop on these YT opportunities still haven't caught one yet.

[ymin72]

Nice report Rich, glad we finally met.
No wonder you were'nt hanging any fish.... Cant catch a fish with a camera... J/K thanks for all the pics.
Vic, Juan, and Os gotta get together soon and kill some fish.
Actually this was my 2nd trip on the Apollo this year. Last one didnt fair so well. I went 0-1 and Bob went 0-2. The boat went something like 0-11 last time out. Im glad we had better hookup to landing ratio this time out. I think we lost only a handful this time out.
What can I say about Apollo that other dont know already. Anyone who fished this area knows its mostly a morning bite on YT's. Only Apollo had the knowledge to go back after limiting out on RF for more YT's. And did it pay off big time. We got another dozen hour before the sundown.
Anyone thinking about a trip down to Colonette, get on Apollo. Heck of a boat and great crew.
And tell them The Koreans (Rich, Bob, Mike, and Mke) said show me how its done.

[ymin72]

Almost forgot, what worked on this trip?
Salas 6x, not the 6x jr but heavy 6x in any color.
Put your head down and wind like crazy til your arms go numb then crank some more, this time even FASTER.
Listen to the captain as he'll let you know where the fishes are hanging out. No need to wind to the top if they are only 30-60 foot off the bottom.
Also look over and see who got bit and how much line he has on his reel. Full spool of line, they're biting near the top. Down to the spectra, go deep and stay deep.
Good luck out there guys.

[deanhall32]

Nice job on the hamachi.

[LA Smoker]

I agree with Mike... No wonder you missed the morning bite... you were too busy impersonating Ansel Adams there Sansou. I'm glad you didnt take the Hook N Hand even though I busted your chops for a good 5 mins on max volume. It was good to finally fish with you Rich. Good times were had by all on this trip. Voyager had 24 yellers on a 1.5, and Pac Voy ended up with 67 on a 2.5, so needless to say I'm very proud of the boat, crew and fellowfishermen/woman on this boat. We truly put the wood to em this weekend.

Thanks Japan Ron, I gave it a good honest effort. Although I did manage to get a nice red on the lucanus jig, it didnt perform as well as I was hoping, but I have a theory about that and will be testing throughout the year.

BTW Ansel Adams, no picture of the female deckhand??? You're no K3vin_Kim thats for sure, he wouldve been all over that. I like the food pictures though... I'm all over that.

[LA Smoker]

my gosh my man great job slaying the yellows out there. YEEHAW look at that last few pics with all the fish slain. I really gotta hop on these YT opportunities still haven't caught one yet.

You better do it quickly, Apollo only has 2 more weeks left down there. If you want to catch a yellow, now is the time. Pony up the $235.00 and go hang one while you still can.

[Ambassadorhawg]

Forget them Yellas and big 'ol Reds, I see a COW-COW!!!!

[PONTOON]

Dang Rich, you've got to give me a heads up on your reports. Trolly asked me if I'd seen this one yet? So, I had to search it out. Dude, I am jealous! That looks like it was an awesome trip! Congrats on the yellowtail!

[TroutOnly]

SANSOU DO I HAVE TO COME DOWN THERE AND SHOW YOU THE YO-YO,,,LOL,,,,GREAT REPORT AND PICS,,,,,,,,IN LOVE THE WAY THE Y/T's FIGHT AND TASTE,,,,,,,,,,,,,t/o

[trollmiester]

man ,i can just taste that sashami now. looks good i wish i had a small piece right now. lol what a great rip and thanx for the report.No catfish pictures. lollol

[ghetto dad]

Yo-yo fishing rules!!! Great report Rich!!! Good to see Ymin and FOB Bob fishin.....


GD

[bsp]

Dang, it's good to see the NBU guys are back, and congrats on a killer trip Sansou. That food looks awesome. Now what have Joe, Kevin, and Sammy been up to...

[eddiefishtaco]

Nice !

sushi!

[Liteliner]

Nice job on the yellows rich. You always get in on good fishing out there. I gotta try to get out there soon. Thanks for the report.

[Fisherman57]

Great report and photos Rich.........
Looks like perfect conditions and a nice load of fish overall.

Good job hanging' in there and scratchin' out a few.........

[flytyingreloader]

YT in February, can it get any better than that? Your wife is a princess--giving warning AND ordering you off to fish. I thought I was the only one so lucky.

[Santa Fe Eric]

Nice Report Rich,

Really makes me want to get my sea legs stronger!

[greg]

Rich - I was cruizing through the posts at BD and saw your pic with the YT and just saw your post here. That 6x scrambled eggs is a killer for winter YT. :Wink: You guys killed them Reds, too! :Big Grin: I will need to check out the Apollo one of these days.

Still need to fish with you :Rolls Eyes:

[Fishbones]

sounds like a great trip with reds and yellows...nice catch sansou

[BIGRED KILLA]

Nice job on the yellows Rich.


Bigred

[DEADROOTS]

Man!!! That's an old can!!!

[paDDy]

Nice going buddy! What a surprise you farming out on the first yt bite of the day. Am glad you got on them later in the day. Its like your rusty but you fish yt more than anyone I know, lol. San Q next month tell Paula now!

[lngbchfnhnter]

Nice job out there! To bad my trip got cancelled cuz of weather..oh well rescheduled at least. Hope we manage some yellows next month !
Great report!

[primo55]

Great report Sansou!! nice yellows!

[Bucket bay]

good job guys that is awsome fishing right there, I need to get my fix.