Tunaslam
05-09-2010, 07:08 AM
Fishing Saturday, 05-08-10, on Paul’s annual Birthday party charter on the Sport Boat Fury out of Dana Wharf. Both Paul and I were concerned about the weather forecast which called for high winds both Friday night and Saturday afternoon with a small window of calm in the morning. Captain Rich of the Fury stated that he was advised of several conflicting wind forecasts which covered San Clemente Island, where we wanted to fish. Rich indicated that one forecast predicted winds on the Westside of the Island of 20 to 25 knots while the East End was only 10-12 knots. He was willing to take a shot, and hope for the best. The weather forecast for Friday evening was already wrong, as it was dead calm in Dana Point at 8pm, which called for 15-20 knot winds until midnight. Our luck was holding, as the ride out to SCI was very pleasant, arriving about 3am..
We woke up to flat calm seas and only a hint of a breeze, anchored in Pyramid Cove. It was great to smell the hot Coffee brewing in the galley, as well as the Bacon cooking on the grill. That first sip and aroma is always special. I proceeded to order a Bacon and Eggs breakfast while I checked out how the 20 or so anglers were doing. So far only a Bat Ray and a few Perch had been caught.
I wished Paul a Happy Birthday, as he introduced me to several other fishermen and women, especially his mom, Bernie, who I remembered from last year. There were 34 anglers on board, with a crew of Skip, Shawn, Tyler, one other, plus Captain Rich. The call came for my breakfast, and boy was I hungry, yum yum, fine job Tyler.
Finished breakfast and tossed out a live sardine on my 20 lb. outfit, a Cal Star 870L, with a Saltiga 20 reel. I was bit instantly; however, it unbuttoned before I got it to the boat. Darn would have been the first fish caught, worth $115. Just after I lost my fish Jacob caught a small Calico Bass, and first fish honors. Jackpot entry was $15 each, $5 for first fish, and $10 for biggest game fish. There were 26 entered into the jackpot.
A few more casts and I landed my first Calico Bass of the day, a nice 14” fish with full spawning colors, you know that deep brown, and golden yellow color. This was the first of what turned out to be a sensational day of catching and releasing Calico Bass, as I ended the day catching and releasing some 51 Calico Bass to six pounds, shown below.
http://www.allcoast.com/photos/data/2/103504100_085810033.jpg
I caught numerous Calico Bass in the two to three pound category with a couple of fours, a 4.5 and 5 pound beauty, to go with the big’n. above.
We fished on our anchored spot until about 7am, and then made a move to the backside, west of China Point. As we pulled out of the Cove, and neared China Point the swells grew to 6 to 8 feet, and there was a steady 10-12 knot breeze. A couple of folks standing in the bow got an early unwanted cold seawater shower! Sit down folks and enjoy the E-Ticket ride up the backside.
Captain Rich anchored up on a reef right outside a huge kelp bed. As Shawn threw some chum, the Calico Bass began to boil off the stern of the boat. My first cast of a healthy sardine was inhaled, and up came a nice four pounder.
The Sheephead, Whitefish and Perch were very active under the boat as quite a few anglers elected to fish the bottom with a Dropper Loop setup. About ten to fifteen of us were fly lining sardines. Here’s a picture of some of the Sheephead caught.
http://www.allcoast.com/photos/data/2/103504100_086610043.jpg
A purty Sheephead.
http://www.allcoast.com/photos/data/2/103504100_086410041.jpg
Brad’s son got hooked up on a fish that took him to the bow of the boat, stupid Yellowtail, as the stern was loaded with weeds, and an easy escape path. The potential jackpot was on the deck, about ten pounds.
http://www.allcoast.com/photos/data/2/103504100_086210039.jpg
Brad and his son were very good at catching the numerous Calico Bass that inhabited this reef.
http://www.allcoast.com/photos/data/2/103504100_086010034-med.jpg
I caught and released about 25 Calico Bass in this area, as we spent most of the morning on this spot. We could see the birds working off our stern, port side, yet about two hundred yards away. They appeared to be Yellowtail. A couple of possible other fish were hooked but lost, so we won’t ever know what they were. Of course with one Yellowtail in the sack, we know the possibilities’?
At around noon the fishing slowed way down, and the winds were now over 15 knots. Captain Rich made a move back to Pyramid Cove. It was still quite calm in the Cove, and each spot we tried, we caught plenty of Bass, Sheephead, Whitefish, and Perch. In fact we caught some of the biggest Rubber Lipped Perch I had ever seen. Several Rubber Lipped Perch approaching three pounds. Wish I had captured a picture of one, darn?
One last move to the front of the Island, as the wind had found us in the cove. We fished until 2:30 pm, when the day was called. The front of the Island produced a few decent sized Bonito to five pounds; I caught four, giving them away to several of the passengers that wanted them. The front side Calico’s were mostly on the small size, of course that could be a time of day thing. There were certainly plenty of boils on the chum.
As we left the Island, the wind was now howling at near 20 knots, and it was very lumpy. I wanted to take a bunch more pictures, however, it just wasn’t a safe thing to do, as standing up was a challenge. Also the spray coming over the side of the boat was a bit wet and chilly. Here are a couple more pictures, before heading in for a dry seat in the galley.
http://www.allcoast.com/photos/data/2/103504100_086510042-med.jpg
http://www.allcoast.com/photos/data/2/103504100_086310040-med.jpg
http://www.allcoast.com/photos/data/2/103504100_086110038-med.jpg
A couple of hours after leaving the Island the seas settled down and the wind backed off, sweet! We entered Dana Point Harbor the way we left in flat calm conditions, so much for small craft warnings in the afternoon/evening? We were 34 happy anglers, having enjoyed a beautiful day on the water.
Thanks Paul for the invite, I think everyone caught plenty of fish, and some went home with a darn big stack of filets. All in all a fantastic trip together. Happy Birthday, hope to spend a few more days on the water this summer with you.
Hook up!
Cory
We woke up to flat calm seas and only a hint of a breeze, anchored in Pyramid Cove. It was great to smell the hot Coffee brewing in the galley, as well as the Bacon cooking on the grill. That first sip and aroma is always special. I proceeded to order a Bacon and Eggs breakfast while I checked out how the 20 or so anglers were doing. So far only a Bat Ray and a few Perch had been caught.
I wished Paul a Happy Birthday, as he introduced me to several other fishermen and women, especially his mom, Bernie, who I remembered from last year. There were 34 anglers on board, with a crew of Skip, Shawn, Tyler, one other, plus Captain Rich. The call came for my breakfast, and boy was I hungry, yum yum, fine job Tyler.
Finished breakfast and tossed out a live sardine on my 20 lb. outfit, a Cal Star 870L, with a Saltiga 20 reel. I was bit instantly; however, it unbuttoned before I got it to the boat. Darn would have been the first fish caught, worth $115. Just after I lost my fish Jacob caught a small Calico Bass, and first fish honors. Jackpot entry was $15 each, $5 for first fish, and $10 for biggest game fish. There were 26 entered into the jackpot.
A few more casts and I landed my first Calico Bass of the day, a nice 14” fish with full spawning colors, you know that deep brown, and golden yellow color. This was the first of what turned out to be a sensational day of catching and releasing Calico Bass, as I ended the day catching and releasing some 51 Calico Bass to six pounds, shown below.
http://www.allcoast.com/photos/data/2/103504100_085810033.jpg
I caught numerous Calico Bass in the two to three pound category with a couple of fours, a 4.5 and 5 pound beauty, to go with the big’n. above.
We fished on our anchored spot until about 7am, and then made a move to the backside, west of China Point. As we pulled out of the Cove, and neared China Point the swells grew to 6 to 8 feet, and there was a steady 10-12 knot breeze. A couple of folks standing in the bow got an early unwanted cold seawater shower! Sit down folks and enjoy the E-Ticket ride up the backside.
Captain Rich anchored up on a reef right outside a huge kelp bed. As Shawn threw some chum, the Calico Bass began to boil off the stern of the boat. My first cast of a healthy sardine was inhaled, and up came a nice four pounder.
The Sheephead, Whitefish and Perch were very active under the boat as quite a few anglers elected to fish the bottom with a Dropper Loop setup. About ten to fifteen of us were fly lining sardines. Here’s a picture of some of the Sheephead caught.
http://www.allcoast.com/photos/data/2/103504100_086610043.jpg
A purty Sheephead.
http://www.allcoast.com/photos/data/2/103504100_086410041.jpg
Brad’s son got hooked up on a fish that took him to the bow of the boat, stupid Yellowtail, as the stern was loaded with weeds, and an easy escape path. The potential jackpot was on the deck, about ten pounds.
http://www.allcoast.com/photos/data/2/103504100_086210039.jpg
Brad and his son were very good at catching the numerous Calico Bass that inhabited this reef.
http://www.allcoast.com/photos/data/2/103504100_086010034-med.jpg
I caught and released about 25 Calico Bass in this area, as we spent most of the morning on this spot. We could see the birds working off our stern, port side, yet about two hundred yards away. They appeared to be Yellowtail. A couple of possible other fish were hooked but lost, so we won’t ever know what they were. Of course with one Yellowtail in the sack, we know the possibilities’?
At around noon the fishing slowed way down, and the winds were now over 15 knots. Captain Rich made a move back to Pyramid Cove. It was still quite calm in the Cove, and each spot we tried, we caught plenty of Bass, Sheephead, Whitefish, and Perch. In fact we caught some of the biggest Rubber Lipped Perch I had ever seen. Several Rubber Lipped Perch approaching three pounds. Wish I had captured a picture of one, darn?
One last move to the front of the Island, as the wind had found us in the cove. We fished until 2:30 pm, when the day was called. The front of the Island produced a few decent sized Bonito to five pounds; I caught four, giving them away to several of the passengers that wanted them. The front side Calico’s were mostly on the small size, of course that could be a time of day thing. There were certainly plenty of boils on the chum.
As we left the Island, the wind was now howling at near 20 knots, and it was very lumpy. I wanted to take a bunch more pictures, however, it just wasn’t a safe thing to do, as standing up was a challenge. Also the spray coming over the side of the boat was a bit wet and chilly. Here are a couple more pictures, before heading in for a dry seat in the galley.
http://www.allcoast.com/photos/data/2/103504100_086510042-med.jpg
http://www.allcoast.com/photos/data/2/103504100_086310040-med.jpg
http://www.allcoast.com/photos/data/2/103504100_086110038-med.jpg
A couple of hours after leaving the Island the seas settled down and the wind backed off, sweet! We entered Dana Point Harbor the way we left in flat calm conditions, so much for small craft warnings in the afternoon/evening? We were 34 happy anglers, having enjoyed a beautiful day on the water.
Thanks Paul for the invite, I think everyone caught plenty of fish, and some went home with a darn big stack of filets. All in all a fantastic trip together. Happy Birthday, hope to spend a few more days on the water this summer with you.
Hook up!
Cory