k3vin_kim
11-15-2010, 07:22 PM
So, from my last Eclipse trip, i was so impressed by the captain and crew i told my manager at work (Jim) all about it and i convinced him to take a 1.5 day with me. Now that the Eclipse is up here in Orange County, 10 minutes from Irvine, we got our reserved our spots and eagerly awaited work to end on Friday 11/12.
Everything on this trip went our way. SUPER light load of 13 anglers. I actually met up with 3 cool guys i met on my last Eclipse trip - Ernie, Larry and Donald.
So, we all load up on the boat around 8pm and sign in. As we leave the dock, Torey the main deckhand comes down and gives us the speech. After that, Captain Rick comes down and gives us "the choice".
He says, "okay guys - as you know, Santa Barbara has seen a few Yellowtails still swimming around but it hasn't been as hot as it was last week. Tomorrow being Saturday, i'm afraid of SBI being bombarded with private and charter boats. I was planning on starting off the morning at SBI for a shot at some YT and WSB and then making a 3 hour ride down to San Nick for some all day codding action... OR we can put on the blinders and make a run for San Nick and cod all day long. It's up to you guys"
and before he could finish his last word, we all unanimously agreed "SAN NICHOLAS!!"
Captain Rick smiled and said, "I was hoping you guys would say that... well in that case, i know exactly where we're going and exactly what we're fishing for so here's the deal. I'll take you to the spots and you guys PLUG THE FISH HOLDS - deal? Deal.
Jim and i then got our gear ready. Rock cod rig on the 40# - Single dropper loop on the 30# and Sliding sinker with 3/0 on the 25#. We were fishing 300 ft to 60 ft of water.
The water was FLAT FLAT FLAT - allllll day long. It was surreal - almost... eerie how amazingly still the water was. What a waste of a patch.
Went to bed at 10pm. Woke up at 6 to the smell of Churizo and eggs, potatoes and sausage, bacon and hot coffee (William is the FRIEKIN' BOMB chef - if you don't want what he cooks, he'll give you an array of different things he'll make for you. Cooked to order when you want it).
Peered outside to see San Nick for the first time in my life. The appearance is not anything drastically different from Clemente but the codding WAS to say the least. No boat traffic at all - we saw the Ranger 85 out there, thats IT.
Lings, Cabbie's, Goats, Reds, Whites, Chocolates, Starry's, Blues, Boc's... FLYING over the rail. Some being bounced, some being gaffed. WFO on whatever you wanted.
Target fishing at it's finest. Want a Ling? Full live squid or Sardine on the bottom. Want a Red? Full dead squid on the bottom. Want a huge White fish? Double strips.
I swear - just as soon as it hit bottom - BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM.
My manager Jim caught - the BIGGEST Cabezon that i've ever seen. The picture you see doesn't do it justice. The thing was kicking and screaming when it hit the deck and it was SEVERELY OBESE. After coming back up from the fish hold at the end of the day, it lost weight (you know what i mean, the fish doesn't look as big or lively after sitting in the brine for hours).
We made 4 drifts - each lasting about an hour to 1.5 hours. Captain Rick would give us a heads up - "okay guys, you're gonna feel a little drop here so keep your lines tight" or "okay guys we're coming up on a high spot so if your line goes slack, reel it in some to keep your lines tight."
Since my return to fishing, i promised myself to stay in the water as long as possible to make each trip count. So there i stood - with my FNN t-shirt on (and the lucky charm that my gf gave me) and had the best codding trip of my life.
After about 11am, the deck hands (Torey, Victor and Steve) didn't even bother asking me what my number was - they just went for the #7 tag. Which btw, ran out of tags by the end of the day.
Before it got dark, the cap said we've move in REAL close to the beach to try our luck at flatties. We made 2 quick drifts with no love. Cap said the water was just too cold for Hal's.
But whatev... i was soooo exhausted and so were all the other guys.
Okay so my final count?
6 Lings
6 Goats
6 Reds
20 Assorted Cods
When we were all done, Captain Rick came down and he was so pleased with our numbers he had a special treat for us on the drive back home.
After Will cooked an amazing Chicken Fettucini Alfredo w/fresh veggies and dinner roll (and chocolate cake) - the deckhands changed the channel on the Satellite TV and we watched Manny Pacquaio beat the CRAP out of Antonio Margarito.
What a memorable and utterly awesome trip.
Till next time -
KK
p.s. - BIG THANKS to Captain Rick for putting us on the fish AGAIN - and especially to the crew who worked so hard serving us from beginning to end of the trip.
27060270732707227070270692706827067270652706327062 27074
Everything on this trip went our way. SUPER light load of 13 anglers. I actually met up with 3 cool guys i met on my last Eclipse trip - Ernie, Larry and Donald.
So, we all load up on the boat around 8pm and sign in. As we leave the dock, Torey the main deckhand comes down and gives us the speech. After that, Captain Rick comes down and gives us "the choice".
He says, "okay guys - as you know, Santa Barbara has seen a few Yellowtails still swimming around but it hasn't been as hot as it was last week. Tomorrow being Saturday, i'm afraid of SBI being bombarded with private and charter boats. I was planning on starting off the morning at SBI for a shot at some YT and WSB and then making a 3 hour ride down to San Nick for some all day codding action... OR we can put on the blinders and make a run for San Nick and cod all day long. It's up to you guys"
and before he could finish his last word, we all unanimously agreed "SAN NICHOLAS!!"
Captain Rick smiled and said, "I was hoping you guys would say that... well in that case, i know exactly where we're going and exactly what we're fishing for so here's the deal. I'll take you to the spots and you guys PLUG THE FISH HOLDS - deal? Deal.
Jim and i then got our gear ready. Rock cod rig on the 40# - Single dropper loop on the 30# and Sliding sinker with 3/0 on the 25#. We were fishing 300 ft to 60 ft of water.
The water was FLAT FLAT FLAT - allllll day long. It was surreal - almost... eerie how amazingly still the water was. What a waste of a patch.
Went to bed at 10pm. Woke up at 6 to the smell of Churizo and eggs, potatoes and sausage, bacon and hot coffee (William is the FRIEKIN' BOMB chef - if you don't want what he cooks, he'll give you an array of different things he'll make for you. Cooked to order when you want it).
Peered outside to see San Nick for the first time in my life. The appearance is not anything drastically different from Clemente but the codding WAS to say the least. No boat traffic at all - we saw the Ranger 85 out there, thats IT.
Lings, Cabbie's, Goats, Reds, Whites, Chocolates, Starry's, Blues, Boc's... FLYING over the rail. Some being bounced, some being gaffed. WFO on whatever you wanted.
Target fishing at it's finest. Want a Ling? Full live squid or Sardine on the bottom. Want a Red? Full dead squid on the bottom. Want a huge White fish? Double strips.
I swear - just as soon as it hit bottom - BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM.
My manager Jim caught - the BIGGEST Cabezon that i've ever seen. The picture you see doesn't do it justice. The thing was kicking and screaming when it hit the deck and it was SEVERELY OBESE. After coming back up from the fish hold at the end of the day, it lost weight (you know what i mean, the fish doesn't look as big or lively after sitting in the brine for hours).
We made 4 drifts - each lasting about an hour to 1.5 hours. Captain Rick would give us a heads up - "okay guys, you're gonna feel a little drop here so keep your lines tight" or "okay guys we're coming up on a high spot so if your line goes slack, reel it in some to keep your lines tight."
Since my return to fishing, i promised myself to stay in the water as long as possible to make each trip count. So there i stood - with my FNN t-shirt on (and the lucky charm that my gf gave me) and had the best codding trip of my life.
After about 11am, the deck hands (Torey, Victor and Steve) didn't even bother asking me what my number was - they just went for the #7 tag. Which btw, ran out of tags by the end of the day.
Before it got dark, the cap said we've move in REAL close to the beach to try our luck at flatties. We made 2 quick drifts with no love. Cap said the water was just too cold for Hal's.
But whatev... i was soooo exhausted and so were all the other guys.
Okay so my final count?
6 Lings
6 Goats
6 Reds
20 Assorted Cods
When we were all done, Captain Rick came down and he was so pleased with our numbers he had a special treat for us on the drive back home.
After Will cooked an amazing Chicken Fettucini Alfredo w/fresh veggies and dinner roll (and chocolate cake) - the deckhands changed the channel on the Satellite TV and we watched Manny Pacquaio beat the CRAP out of Antonio Margarito.
What a memorable and utterly awesome trip.
Till next time -
KK
p.s. - BIG THANKS to Captain Rick for putting us on the fish AGAIN - and especially to the crew who worked so hard serving us from beginning to end of the trip.
27060270732707227070270692706827067270652706327062 27074