San Felipe Bob
09-24-2018, 10:01 AM
Catalina Island on 9-2-18.
Slow trolled dines on East end.
My wife’s rod gets lit up and it’s game on!
10 minutes later she brings this 15 pounder to gaff.
High fives all around!
Set up another slow troll and head for home (slowly).
20 minutes pass..This time my 11 year old son is holding my wife’s rod and my rod is in the rod holder.
My rod gets lit up this time. I click my Saltist 50 into gear and give it a couple cranks, but the fish is just peeling the line off...fast..so stoked....fish on!.. Then all of a sudden I lose all my drag pressure...about that time my son says very calmly “I think I’m gonna need a little help”.. I look over to see him doubled over and about to get pulled in.. I call out to my wife to lend a hand. I tell my wife and son that they we are going to have to work together since our lines appear to be tangled and I think we are both hooked on the same fish.. Now both rods have line just screaming off the reels. Next thing I notice is my wife’s line zipping east and my line headed south with no drag other than my thumb, which is getting pretty hot by now. Then I realize and shout out “DOUBLE HOOK-UP!!”.. I tell my wife to go the front of the boat and hand her back her rod..”Ok sweetheart..you gotta handle this one because I need to McGuyver my reel”. Upon closer inspection, I realize the star drag treads have stripped out..Quick thinking.....I grab a lanyard cord and wrap it between the handle and the star..Bingo..I now have about 3 lbs of drag pressure...Keep in mind...my fish has been pulling line off the reel for at least 7 minutes so far..
Wouldn’t you know it....I’m about to start making ground on my fish and I hear “GAFFFFFFF!”. “Hurry...!Im getting tired!”
So I set my rod in the holder and head to the front of the boat to gaff her 2nd Yellowtail. She see’s deep color and yells ”I think it’s a SHARK”. I take a 2nd look and yell “ It’s not a shark...It’s a big Yellowtail!”. Meanwhile....line is just zinging away off my reel. Lol. 4 or 5 trips around the front of the boat and I sink the gaff in the belly of nice sized Yellowtail.
The next few minutes were a bit of a blur. I remember telling my wife “Sweetheart..you are gonna have to deal with this one on your own...I’ve got to go reel my fish in with a broken reel”. She says “OK”.
Now I get to do some old school reeling...thumb on spool for added drag pressure whilst pumping the rod to gain some line back. Good thing my fish was getting tired...lol. 10 minutes goes by and it’s ready to be gaffed...Rod in one hand gaff in other..at the last moment I hand my rod to the wife and stuck our 3rd Yellow.... As I set the fish on the deck I realize our 2 boys 10 & 11 years old are still wrestling with my wife’s fish. It was hilarious.. My fish ended up weighing 15lbs and Stephs 2nd Yellow was 20lbs. 50lbs of Yellowtail.
Not bad for a family of 4 in an 18’ inflatable boat!
So much fun!
“An Adventure of a Lifetime”
51484514855148651487
Cheers
SFB
Slow trolled dines on East end.
My wife’s rod gets lit up and it’s game on!
10 minutes later she brings this 15 pounder to gaff.
High fives all around!
Set up another slow troll and head for home (slowly).
20 minutes pass..This time my 11 year old son is holding my wife’s rod and my rod is in the rod holder.
My rod gets lit up this time. I click my Saltist 50 into gear and give it a couple cranks, but the fish is just peeling the line off...fast..so stoked....fish on!.. Then all of a sudden I lose all my drag pressure...about that time my son says very calmly “I think I’m gonna need a little help”.. I look over to see him doubled over and about to get pulled in.. I call out to my wife to lend a hand. I tell my wife and son that they we are going to have to work together since our lines appear to be tangled and I think we are both hooked on the same fish.. Now both rods have line just screaming off the reels. Next thing I notice is my wife’s line zipping east and my line headed south with no drag other than my thumb, which is getting pretty hot by now. Then I realize and shout out “DOUBLE HOOK-UP!!”.. I tell my wife to go the front of the boat and hand her back her rod..”Ok sweetheart..you gotta handle this one because I need to McGuyver my reel”. Upon closer inspection, I realize the star drag treads have stripped out..Quick thinking.....I grab a lanyard cord and wrap it between the handle and the star..Bingo..I now have about 3 lbs of drag pressure...Keep in mind...my fish has been pulling line off the reel for at least 7 minutes so far..
Wouldn’t you know it....I’m about to start making ground on my fish and I hear “GAFFFFFFF!”. “Hurry...!Im getting tired!”
So I set my rod in the holder and head to the front of the boat to gaff her 2nd Yellowtail. She see’s deep color and yells ”I think it’s a SHARK”. I take a 2nd look and yell “ It’s not a shark...It’s a big Yellowtail!”. Meanwhile....line is just zinging away off my reel. Lol. 4 or 5 trips around the front of the boat and I sink the gaff in the belly of nice sized Yellowtail.
The next few minutes were a bit of a blur. I remember telling my wife “Sweetheart..you are gonna have to deal with this one on your own...I’ve got to go reel my fish in with a broken reel”. She says “OK”.
Now I get to do some old school reeling...thumb on spool for added drag pressure whilst pumping the rod to gain some line back. Good thing my fish was getting tired...lol. 10 minutes goes by and it’s ready to be gaffed...Rod in one hand gaff in other..at the last moment I hand my rod to the wife and stuck our 3rd Yellow.... As I set the fish on the deck I realize our 2 boys 10 & 11 years old are still wrestling with my wife’s fish. It was hilarious.. My fish ended up weighing 15lbs and Stephs 2nd Yellow was 20lbs. 50lbs of Yellowtail.
Not bad for a family of 4 in an 18’ inflatable boat!
So much fun!
“An Adventure of a Lifetime”
51484514855148651487
Cheers
SFB