glumace
04-27-2010, 02:52 PM
After getting out 2 weeks ago with the large charter group (38 people, view the full report on FNN here (http://fishingnetwork.net/forum4/showthread.php?45272-Catalina-Charter-on-the-Tide-Change-4-11)) I did on the Tide Change two weeks ago to Catalina I was looking forward to my first trip out on the Spectra out of Spectra Sportfishing and get some me time fishing in. This was just a family fun trip, 1/2 day local rockfishing shake down cruise with a few of my friends and family that owner Billy Keleman put together for us. Other than my cousin Jason, son Jonathan and I everyone else was either new to fishing or had only a few trips out.
Got down to Pierpoint Landing and met up with everyone around 5:30am and got out of the dock right at 6:00pm.
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_kmJKY6zLH3s/S9Ymi42mnII/AAAAAAAAFa0/2xMwQBvg_gU/s400/IMG_5389.jpg
The Spectra is an impressive boat, with a ton of room on deck, big bait tanks and a full kitchen and bunks for everyone. She has a unique tower and stack, so she is not hard to miss when out on the water.
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_kmJKY6zLH3s/S9YmmyZacvI/AAAAAAAAFb4/yevf0q4QqBU/s400/IMG_5406.jpg
Billy and Ted were on board to help out and we hit up the bait barge for some scoops of sardines and small macs. I tried for some macs or tommy cod for Jonathan to play with but no love at the barge.
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_kmJKY6zLH3s/S9YmneIN39I/AAAAAAAAFcA/3Y8TH5KOmEQ/s400/IMG_5407.JPG
Bait looked great and we settled in for a ride out to a sweet spot that they have for rockfishing.
http://lh6.ggpht.com/_kmJKY6zLH3s/S9Yml0rcLmI/AAAAAAAAFbo/n3weS8H3tuM/s400/IMG_5400.JPG
Billy took care of everyone's rigs as we headed out. Large hooks on a dropper loop, some rods 2 hooks some 1 hook and an 8oz torpedo sinker. I got to fish with spectra for the first time rockfishing and let me tell you, I'm now a convert. I could tell the difference with the hit vs. the mono that I had on my rods. Most of the big fish came off the rods rigged up with spectra and very large hooks.
Got out to the spot and did the first drift. If you missed on the first drop you had to wait till we moved back and repositioned on it again. First fish up was Gus and a nice salmon grouper (bocaccio).
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_kmJKY6zLH3s/S9YmpgWLkXI/AAAAAAAAFcc/_j6KxZc3u9s/s400/IMG_5422.jpg
I lost one on this drift while bringing it up, but made up on the next drift. All these fish were big quailty salmon groupers, I would say all personal bests for this area. Billy and Ted worked hard putting us on these fish and it paid off.
Another nice fish.
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_kmJKY6zLH3s/S9YmqtefaKI/AAAAAAAAFcs/Qskl_nplAzk/s400/IMG_5424.jpg
Ready to drop when they say so...
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_kmJKY6zLH3s/S9Ymq9Hmy2I/AAAAAAAAFc4/8IMWBSnB__4/s400/IMG_5425.JPG
My son Jonathan's first salmon grouper, and a limit to boot on one drop!
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_kmJKY6zLH3s/S9YmrMx5cOI/AAAAAAAAFdA/WR1hKKB7q30/s400/IMG_5426.JPG
http://lh6.ggpht.com/_kmJKY6zLH3s/S9YmsW6y1aI/AAAAAAAAFdQ/cLW3CKkdXXk/s400/IMG_5431.jpg
http://lh6.ggpht.com/_kmJKY6zLH3s/S9Yms4oMEiI/AAAAAAAAFks/AzT6DRHpTnw/s400/IMG_5432.jpg
On the second drift Gus hooked up on a beautiful red snapper, one of the bigger models I have seen locally in a long time.
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_kmJKY6zLH3s/S9Ymtfn5AvI/AAAAAAAAFko/GSrcURLqQ6E/s400/IMG_5433.jpg
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_kmJKY6zLH3s/S9Ymuau5aGI/AAAAAAAAFdw/Ln7uyDAjFK4/s400/IMG_5434.jpg
Hook up!!
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_kmJKY6zLH3s/S9Ymwd_THGI/AAAAAAAAFeQ/ZpZzXPxBEi4/s400/IMG_5446.JPG
Hook ups!!!
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_kmJKY6zLH3s/S9Ymwsb8X9I/AAAAAAAAFeY/ekYq3_4qnu0/s400/IMG_5447.JPG
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_kmJKY6zLH3s/S9YmyKn-4sI/AAAAAAAAFes/yBnV642MbmU/s400/IMG_5449.JPG
And the end result, happy camper!
http://lh6.ggpht.com/_kmJKY6zLH3s/S9Ym0ao-VKI/AAAAAAAAFfM/GSCElaMEMGI/s400/IMG_5456.JPG
First one ever...
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_kmJKY6zLH3s/S9Ym0iVjJMI/AAAAAAAAFfU/Wi9L877RCdo/s400/IMG_5457.JPG
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_kmJKY6zLH3s/S9Ym1H7-wkI/AAAAAAAAFfc/eSflxiaORSA/s400/IMG_5459.JPG
Owner Billy and a big boy...
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_kmJKY6zLH3s/S9Ym1mRIsOI/AAAAAAAAFfk/jrh1zIv1yQE/s400/IMG_5460.jpg
Some of these fish were almost as big as Jonathan.
http://lh6.ggpht.com/_kmJKY6zLH3s/S9Ym1444TrI/AAAAAAAAFfs/W63wn-1Fnaw/s400/IMG_5461.jpg
Jonathan and Billy again...
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_kmJKY6zLH3s/S9Ym4UDoaHI/AAAAAAAAFgY/7K_Thz__FnA/s400/IMG_5471.jpg
Kiss for good luck...
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_kmJKY6zLH3s/S9Ym3WKQ2JI/AAAAAAAAFgE/LPcnRqyl5R4/s400/IMG_5466.jpg
Henry's first salmon grouper.
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_kmJKY6zLH3s/S9Ym6jZsBTI/AAAAAAAAFhA/eMUO3AGazJg/s400/IMG_5483.jpg
Jason and I went down with some whole dead squid to see what we can pull up and he got his biggest for the day, 26 inches long.
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_kmJKY6zLH3s/S9Ym8osQXPI/AAAAAAAAFho/oDEjkcosvNQ/s400/IMG_5494.JPG
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_kmJKY6zLH3s/S9Ym9ATCH6I/AAAAAAAAFhw/j-jPpcQPiTA/s400/IMG_5499.JPG
We got our limit in a few passes and packed it up to find some other fun.
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_kmJKY6zLH3s/S9Ym7BtwffI/AAAAAAAAFhI/eHM_0oC1t78/s400/IMG_5484.JPG
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_kmJKY6zLH3s/S9Ym9hWQgnI/AAAAAAAAFh8/DDNlwwubcuw/s400/IMG_5504.jpg
Looking for more fish!
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_kmJKY6zLH3s/S9Ym9_wSOuI/AAAAAAAAFiE/XireNzJt53U/s400/IMG_5508.JPG
http://lh6.ggpht.com/_kmJKY6zLH3s/S9Ym_Jgf6dI/AAAAAAAAFic/QglVWnd7z8U/s400/IMG_5513.jpg
Just to give you an idea of how big these guys were...
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_kmJKY6zLH3s/S9Ym_snWrcI/AAAAAAAAFik/KeBL_KGgaZU/s400/IMG_5514.JPG
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_kmJKY6zLH3s/S9Ym_zbuIQI/AAAAAAAAFiw/7qklFl58pLk/s400/IMG_5515.JPG
We tried a few more stops looking for reds and other rockfish but nothing panned out. The water temp was around 57 degrees so it was slow. Decided to head back in and hit Izor's before calling it a day. All morning it was grey and overcast, but as flat as a lake. Got to Izor's and it cleared up to blue skies. There were about 10 other boats out there with us as well.
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_kmJKY6zLH3s/S9YnAcNchpI/AAAAAAAAFi8/XJtpj8QDCQQ/s400/IMG_5517.JPG
We tried a few spots anchored up but with no love. Got a few bites and Jonathan brought in the last fish of the day, a little rockfish.
http://lh6.ggpht.com/_kmJKY6zLH3s/S9YnBmHBEfI/AAAAAAAAFjM/tNLPDwXUHvk/s400/IMG_5522.JPG
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_kmJKY6zLH3s/S9YnCoGXZdI/AAAAAAAAFjc/cw3wJZv3WsM/s400/IMG_5524.jpg
Called it a day around 1pm and headed back to the barn. Ted took care of the filleting and everyone went home with a nice bag of fish, plus some nice heads for fish soup.
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_kmJKY6zLH3s/S9YnEQlv0II/AAAAAAAAFj4/Pcleyam79_s/s400/IMG_5529.JPG
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_kmJKY6zLH3s/S9YnF4MX5DI/AAAAAAAAFkQ/k4T0lJZbv00/s400/IMG_5533.JPG
This was the best local rockfishing trips I've ever been on and I would like to thank Billy Keleman again for putting this little taste test together for my group. I look forward to booking 1/2 day and overnight trips to the island with him. He runs a top notch operation on a beautiful boat that is a great platform for a 6 pack trip, comfortable and tons of room! He will be running out of Long Beach through June 30th then moving the boat down to San Diego starting July 1st.
Thanks again Billy for a great trip!
Got down to Pierpoint Landing and met up with everyone around 5:30am and got out of the dock right at 6:00pm.
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_kmJKY6zLH3s/S9Ymi42mnII/AAAAAAAAFa0/2xMwQBvg_gU/s400/IMG_5389.jpg
The Spectra is an impressive boat, with a ton of room on deck, big bait tanks and a full kitchen and bunks for everyone. She has a unique tower and stack, so she is not hard to miss when out on the water.
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_kmJKY6zLH3s/S9YmmyZacvI/AAAAAAAAFb4/yevf0q4QqBU/s400/IMG_5406.jpg
Billy and Ted were on board to help out and we hit up the bait barge for some scoops of sardines and small macs. I tried for some macs or tommy cod for Jonathan to play with but no love at the barge.
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_kmJKY6zLH3s/S9YmneIN39I/AAAAAAAAFcA/3Y8TH5KOmEQ/s400/IMG_5407.JPG
Bait looked great and we settled in for a ride out to a sweet spot that they have for rockfishing.
http://lh6.ggpht.com/_kmJKY6zLH3s/S9Yml0rcLmI/AAAAAAAAFbo/n3weS8H3tuM/s400/IMG_5400.JPG
Billy took care of everyone's rigs as we headed out. Large hooks on a dropper loop, some rods 2 hooks some 1 hook and an 8oz torpedo sinker. I got to fish with spectra for the first time rockfishing and let me tell you, I'm now a convert. I could tell the difference with the hit vs. the mono that I had on my rods. Most of the big fish came off the rods rigged up with spectra and very large hooks.
Got out to the spot and did the first drift. If you missed on the first drop you had to wait till we moved back and repositioned on it again. First fish up was Gus and a nice salmon grouper (bocaccio).
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_kmJKY6zLH3s/S9YmpgWLkXI/AAAAAAAAFcc/_j6KxZc3u9s/s400/IMG_5422.jpg
I lost one on this drift while bringing it up, but made up on the next drift. All these fish were big quailty salmon groupers, I would say all personal bests for this area. Billy and Ted worked hard putting us on these fish and it paid off.
Another nice fish.
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_kmJKY6zLH3s/S9YmqtefaKI/AAAAAAAAFcs/Qskl_nplAzk/s400/IMG_5424.jpg
Ready to drop when they say so...
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_kmJKY6zLH3s/S9Ymq9Hmy2I/AAAAAAAAFc4/8IMWBSnB__4/s400/IMG_5425.JPG
My son Jonathan's first salmon grouper, and a limit to boot on one drop!
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_kmJKY6zLH3s/S9YmrMx5cOI/AAAAAAAAFdA/WR1hKKB7q30/s400/IMG_5426.JPG
http://lh6.ggpht.com/_kmJKY6zLH3s/S9YmsW6y1aI/AAAAAAAAFdQ/cLW3CKkdXXk/s400/IMG_5431.jpg
http://lh6.ggpht.com/_kmJKY6zLH3s/S9Yms4oMEiI/AAAAAAAAFks/AzT6DRHpTnw/s400/IMG_5432.jpg
On the second drift Gus hooked up on a beautiful red snapper, one of the bigger models I have seen locally in a long time.
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_kmJKY6zLH3s/S9Ymtfn5AvI/AAAAAAAAFko/GSrcURLqQ6E/s400/IMG_5433.jpg
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_kmJKY6zLH3s/S9Ymuau5aGI/AAAAAAAAFdw/Ln7uyDAjFK4/s400/IMG_5434.jpg
Hook up!!
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_kmJKY6zLH3s/S9Ymwd_THGI/AAAAAAAAFeQ/ZpZzXPxBEi4/s400/IMG_5446.JPG
Hook ups!!!
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_kmJKY6zLH3s/S9Ymwsb8X9I/AAAAAAAAFeY/ekYq3_4qnu0/s400/IMG_5447.JPG
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_kmJKY6zLH3s/S9YmyKn-4sI/AAAAAAAAFes/yBnV642MbmU/s400/IMG_5449.JPG
And the end result, happy camper!
http://lh6.ggpht.com/_kmJKY6zLH3s/S9Ym0ao-VKI/AAAAAAAAFfM/GSCElaMEMGI/s400/IMG_5456.JPG
First one ever...
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_kmJKY6zLH3s/S9Ym0iVjJMI/AAAAAAAAFfU/Wi9L877RCdo/s400/IMG_5457.JPG
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_kmJKY6zLH3s/S9Ym1H7-wkI/AAAAAAAAFfc/eSflxiaORSA/s400/IMG_5459.JPG
Owner Billy and a big boy...
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_kmJKY6zLH3s/S9Ym1mRIsOI/AAAAAAAAFfk/jrh1zIv1yQE/s400/IMG_5460.jpg
Some of these fish were almost as big as Jonathan.
http://lh6.ggpht.com/_kmJKY6zLH3s/S9Ym1444TrI/AAAAAAAAFfs/W63wn-1Fnaw/s400/IMG_5461.jpg
Jonathan and Billy again...
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_kmJKY6zLH3s/S9Ym4UDoaHI/AAAAAAAAFgY/7K_Thz__FnA/s400/IMG_5471.jpg
Kiss for good luck...
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_kmJKY6zLH3s/S9Ym3WKQ2JI/AAAAAAAAFgE/LPcnRqyl5R4/s400/IMG_5466.jpg
Henry's first salmon grouper.
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_kmJKY6zLH3s/S9Ym6jZsBTI/AAAAAAAAFhA/eMUO3AGazJg/s400/IMG_5483.jpg
Jason and I went down with some whole dead squid to see what we can pull up and he got his biggest for the day, 26 inches long.
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_kmJKY6zLH3s/S9Ym8osQXPI/AAAAAAAAFho/oDEjkcosvNQ/s400/IMG_5494.JPG
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_kmJKY6zLH3s/S9Ym9ATCH6I/AAAAAAAAFhw/j-jPpcQPiTA/s400/IMG_5499.JPG
We got our limit in a few passes and packed it up to find some other fun.
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_kmJKY6zLH3s/S9Ym7BtwffI/AAAAAAAAFhI/eHM_0oC1t78/s400/IMG_5484.JPG
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_kmJKY6zLH3s/S9Ym9hWQgnI/AAAAAAAAFh8/DDNlwwubcuw/s400/IMG_5504.jpg
Looking for more fish!
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_kmJKY6zLH3s/S9Ym9_wSOuI/AAAAAAAAFiE/XireNzJt53U/s400/IMG_5508.JPG
http://lh6.ggpht.com/_kmJKY6zLH3s/S9Ym_Jgf6dI/AAAAAAAAFic/QglVWnd7z8U/s400/IMG_5513.jpg
Just to give you an idea of how big these guys were...
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_kmJKY6zLH3s/S9Ym_snWrcI/AAAAAAAAFik/KeBL_KGgaZU/s400/IMG_5514.JPG
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_kmJKY6zLH3s/S9Ym_zbuIQI/AAAAAAAAFiw/7qklFl58pLk/s400/IMG_5515.JPG
We tried a few more stops looking for reds and other rockfish but nothing panned out. The water temp was around 57 degrees so it was slow. Decided to head back in and hit Izor's before calling it a day. All morning it was grey and overcast, but as flat as a lake. Got to Izor's and it cleared up to blue skies. There were about 10 other boats out there with us as well.
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_kmJKY6zLH3s/S9YnAcNchpI/AAAAAAAAFi8/XJtpj8QDCQQ/s400/IMG_5517.JPG
We tried a few spots anchored up but with no love. Got a few bites and Jonathan brought in the last fish of the day, a little rockfish.
http://lh6.ggpht.com/_kmJKY6zLH3s/S9YnBmHBEfI/AAAAAAAAFjM/tNLPDwXUHvk/s400/IMG_5522.JPG
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_kmJKY6zLH3s/S9YnCoGXZdI/AAAAAAAAFjc/cw3wJZv3WsM/s400/IMG_5524.jpg
Called it a day around 1pm and headed back to the barn. Ted took care of the filleting and everyone went home with a nice bag of fish, plus some nice heads for fish soup.
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_kmJKY6zLH3s/S9YnEQlv0II/AAAAAAAAFj4/Pcleyam79_s/s400/IMG_5529.JPG
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_kmJKY6zLH3s/S9YnF4MX5DI/AAAAAAAAFkQ/k4T0lJZbv00/s400/IMG_5533.JPG
This was the best local rockfishing trips I've ever been on and I would like to thank Billy Keleman again for putting this little taste test together for my group. I look forward to booking 1/2 day and overnight trips to the island with him. He runs a top notch operation on a beautiful boat that is a great platform for a 6 pack trip, comfortable and tons of room! He will be running out of Long Beach through June 30th then moving the boat down to San Diego starting July 1st.
Thanks again Billy for a great trip!