Tunaslam
04-07-2013, 01:44 PM
Fishing on the Aztec, out of Seaforth Landing on a 1.5-Day trip: that left Friday evening on 04-07-13, returning Sunday at 5:30am. I arrived from work at 5:30 pm and boarded the boat around 6:15pm. We had a full load of 28 anglers, with crew being Johno, the cook, Jimmy and Jason on the deck and second ticket Matt, with Captain Mikey.
I had already looked at the weather forecast with reservations; high winds most of the weekend, 12 to 15 knots in the morning and worse in the afternoon. Captain Mikey stated his game plan, as a weather window existed before Ensenada and was really gnarly south of there. We baited up with some of those rare creatures, Anchovies, with some Sardines. Of course we were well loaded up with frozen squid.
I heard the anchor drop at 3am and woke up late for me at 5:20 am. It was a very pleasant drive down the coast. As daylight appeared, I was surprised to see we were anchored close to where I and my good friend Bill had just fished on Wednesday, near Salsapuedes. Cook Johno was up at 6am and stimulated our appetite with the aroma of Bacon on the grill. The coffee was outstanding as usual. I enjoyed a delicious breakfast plate, Bacon, Eggs, Potatoes, toast, while others did the same or had great Burritos.
The seas were calm and we had only a hint of breeze. At 6:30 am Captain Mikey announced that we going to move out to some hard bottom, a few miles off the coast. Once again I recognized the area as one we fished recently to retreat from the wind. We fished in depths of 180 to 210 feet. The fish were not on the chew, as a few Starries, Bank Perch, small Coppers and short Lings were caught. We set up several more drifts in the same area for similar results. My karma was totally off, as on my first drop, I hooked a decent fish and half way up, it takes drag, what? Then my line rises to the surface, only to see a darn seal playing with my rockfish. Trying to break free, the line broke and I lost a double Lucanus lure setup, yikes that hurts the pocket book! It was only 30 pound test line.
Captain Mikey said we were going to head out to deeper water and it would be a 45 minute run. We began a drift in deeper water and despite great marks on the meter the rockfish had lockjaw. Unfortunately we cleaned out the Nursery fish. Most of us hooked baby Starries, Three Spots, Bank Perch, Green Stripes and short Lings. A couple of anglers hooked keeper Bocaccio and a few Reds. We made a move to even deeper water, over 400 feet deep. The good news was the wind was quite nice, and a 1 lb. sinker got you to the bottom. The bad news was the fish did not want to chew. The few fish that were caught, that were decent size, coughed up mega portions of crab. So they were gorged with food.
I watched this young angler get bent over with a huge fish, and up came this dandy Bocaccio:
http://i1091.photobucket.com/albums/i394/tunaslam/100_2498680x510_zps99d03e53.jpg
My Karma continued at a poor pace, as my bunk number was 13? I just hit bottom with my Gangion and a 1.5 lb. weight and while reeling up the slack, I was stuck. I ended up losing the entire Gangion, despite a break off unit for the sinker?
I dropped down my favorite outfit; a Jax Jig and a Shrimp fly and managed to catch this nice Red:
http://i1091.photobucket.com/albums/i394/tunaslam/100_2501680x510_zps453fad64.jpg
Captain Mikey tried spot after spot, along a very large area of the lower Finger bank in depths of 300 to 450 feet. The fishing remained very slow, as numerous catches were primarily small fish, with occasional decent sized Bank Perch, Bocaccio and Starries. We did find one drift where everyone got hammered. It was mostly Bocaccio, with some Reds. I brought up three Bocaccio and a small Lingcod. This was the Jackpot Lingcod caught:
http://i1091.photobucket.com/albums/i394/tunaslam/100_2499680x510_zps0a93e10a.jpg
He also caught a nice Red:
http://i1091.photobucket.com/albums/i394/tunaslam/100_2503680x510_zps62aeae8e.jpg
The call for lunch stimulated the taste buds, as Cook Johno makes a mean hamburger. I ordered up the special, a Double Bacon Cheese Burger with Jalapenos. Gad was that good, and filling! Choked down with a cold Bud, oh yeah, I am a happy camper.
The wind did pick up at 1pm, although it was far better than expected. The current was very strong, and combined with the wind I went to a heavier sinker, and I promptly lost another three pound outfit, continuing my misfortune on this trip.
We easily caught limits of Bocaccio, as everyone seemed to catch a few. We probably had limits of Starries, when combined with other assorted Rockfish. The wind and current became more difficult to manage, so Captain Mikey headed in to shallower waters. We anchored up in the bull kelp off Descanzo Bay. I think some of the rookies had their best fishing here?
We caught more Reds in the shallows than offshore and added to the fish count with numerous Coppers, Tree fish, some Sculpin, bigger Johnny Bass, and more Starries. Captain Mikey stated we would remain anchored here until midnight. Dinner was up, as cook Johno outdid himself with another great dinner of Pork Tenderloin, Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Carrots, a great Salad and Lemon Bundt cake for desert.
We docked at 5:30am and I was home in Diamond Bar in time for church services.
The crew of Matt, Jimmy and Jason worked their tails off to provide excellent service to all, kudos guys, you did a great job! Cook Johno you once again kept us all incredibly satisfied with your super meals. Thanks so much Captain Mikey for the great effort. I can’t wait for our next adventure together.
Hook up!
Cory
I had already looked at the weather forecast with reservations; high winds most of the weekend, 12 to 15 knots in the morning and worse in the afternoon. Captain Mikey stated his game plan, as a weather window existed before Ensenada and was really gnarly south of there. We baited up with some of those rare creatures, Anchovies, with some Sardines. Of course we were well loaded up with frozen squid.
I heard the anchor drop at 3am and woke up late for me at 5:20 am. It was a very pleasant drive down the coast. As daylight appeared, I was surprised to see we were anchored close to where I and my good friend Bill had just fished on Wednesday, near Salsapuedes. Cook Johno was up at 6am and stimulated our appetite with the aroma of Bacon on the grill. The coffee was outstanding as usual. I enjoyed a delicious breakfast plate, Bacon, Eggs, Potatoes, toast, while others did the same or had great Burritos.
The seas were calm and we had only a hint of breeze. At 6:30 am Captain Mikey announced that we going to move out to some hard bottom, a few miles off the coast. Once again I recognized the area as one we fished recently to retreat from the wind. We fished in depths of 180 to 210 feet. The fish were not on the chew, as a few Starries, Bank Perch, small Coppers and short Lings were caught. We set up several more drifts in the same area for similar results. My karma was totally off, as on my first drop, I hooked a decent fish and half way up, it takes drag, what? Then my line rises to the surface, only to see a darn seal playing with my rockfish. Trying to break free, the line broke and I lost a double Lucanus lure setup, yikes that hurts the pocket book! It was only 30 pound test line.
Captain Mikey said we were going to head out to deeper water and it would be a 45 minute run. We began a drift in deeper water and despite great marks on the meter the rockfish had lockjaw. Unfortunately we cleaned out the Nursery fish. Most of us hooked baby Starries, Three Spots, Bank Perch, Green Stripes and short Lings. A couple of anglers hooked keeper Bocaccio and a few Reds. We made a move to even deeper water, over 400 feet deep. The good news was the wind was quite nice, and a 1 lb. sinker got you to the bottom. The bad news was the fish did not want to chew. The few fish that were caught, that were decent size, coughed up mega portions of crab. So they were gorged with food.
I watched this young angler get bent over with a huge fish, and up came this dandy Bocaccio:
http://i1091.photobucket.com/albums/i394/tunaslam/100_2498680x510_zps99d03e53.jpg
My Karma continued at a poor pace, as my bunk number was 13? I just hit bottom with my Gangion and a 1.5 lb. weight and while reeling up the slack, I was stuck. I ended up losing the entire Gangion, despite a break off unit for the sinker?
I dropped down my favorite outfit; a Jax Jig and a Shrimp fly and managed to catch this nice Red:
http://i1091.photobucket.com/albums/i394/tunaslam/100_2501680x510_zps453fad64.jpg
Captain Mikey tried spot after spot, along a very large area of the lower Finger bank in depths of 300 to 450 feet. The fishing remained very slow, as numerous catches were primarily small fish, with occasional decent sized Bank Perch, Bocaccio and Starries. We did find one drift where everyone got hammered. It was mostly Bocaccio, with some Reds. I brought up three Bocaccio and a small Lingcod. This was the Jackpot Lingcod caught:
http://i1091.photobucket.com/albums/i394/tunaslam/100_2499680x510_zps0a93e10a.jpg
He also caught a nice Red:
http://i1091.photobucket.com/albums/i394/tunaslam/100_2503680x510_zps62aeae8e.jpg
The call for lunch stimulated the taste buds, as Cook Johno makes a mean hamburger. I ordered up the special, a Double Bacon Cheese Burger with Jalapenos. Gad was that good, and filling! Choked down with a cold Bud, oh yeah, I am a happy camper.
The wind did pick up at 1pm, although it was far better than expected. The current was very strong, and combined with the wind I went to a heavier sinker, and I promptly lost another three pound outfit, continuing my misfortune on this trip.
We easily caught limits of Bocaccio, as everyone seemed to catch a few. We probably had limits of Starries, when combined with other assorted Rockfish. The wind and current became more difficult to manage, so Captain Mikey headed in to shallower waters. We anchored up in the bull kelp off Descanzo Bay. I think some of the rookies had their best fishing here?
We caught more Reds in the shallows than offshore and added to the fish count with numerous Coppers, Tree fish, some Sculpin, bigger Johnny Bass, and more Starries. Captain Mikey stated we would remain anchored here until midnight. Dinner was up, as cook Johno outdid himself with another great dinner of Pork Tenderloin, Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Carrots, a great Salad and Lemon Bundt cake for desert.
We docked at 5:30am and I was home in Diamond Bar in time for church services.
The crew of Matt, Jimmy and Jason worked their tails off to provide excellent service to all, kudos guys, you did a great job! Cook Johno you once again kept us all incredibly satisfied with your super meals. Thanks so much Captain Mikey for the great effort. I can’t wait for our next adventure together.
Hook up!
Cory