Channel Islands late report 4/4
Sorry this report is so late but I was out of town for the last week and didn't have time to post it before I left.
It stiil may contain some useful information.
My friend and fishing buddy Joe wanted some Rock fish for his freezer so I called Channel Islands sport fishing to get reservations for the two of us on board the Sun Rise for a day trip.
Joe drove from Riverside to my house in the West end of the San Fernando Valley on Tuesday afternoon and spent the night so we just had the short drive to Oxnard at 2AM to make the 3AM check in for the 4AM departure time.
The landing opened at 3AM and I got us signed in. They allowed a $6 senor discount off the $65 fare so that was nice considering both Joe and I are over 55.
Shortly before departure time the Captain informed us that the Sun Rise was taken out of service for repairs and we would be aboard the Cobra for the day.
Having never been on the Cobra I asked about bunks and was informed that the cobra does not have bunks. Now, one of the reasons I like the Sun Rise is being disabled, I normally need to lie down sometime during the day to rest my back in order to avoid pain.
But seeing how Joe had come all the way from his house and we had made the effort to get there at that hour of the morning we decided to go ahead with the trip.
What we were not aware of was the fact that the Cobra is a smaller boat than the Sun Rise and the is practically no place to sit down on board except the engine hatch cover and a very small bench below deck. Not ideal conditions for someone with a weak back.
Fortunately the seas were calm and the boat rode well out to the fishing grounds. Also the way the deck rail is positioned on the Cobra it is more comfortable to fish from than the Sun Rise that has a rail that leans out from the deck making it tiresome to fish as when leaning on the rail you are standing at an awkward angle.
On the up side of the day trip, the rock fish were more than willing biters on my Berkley Gulp blood red mullets, all Joe and I fished with all day tipped with a little cut squid.
We both limited on a mixed bag of rock fish although the fish were slightly on the small side.
We also both got limits of nice sized sculpin to add to our bags and Joe got one white fish while I boated three.
There were a couple of legal ling cod boated although one of them looked to me as if it had to be stretched a little. Myself the only ling I caught that day was about 12" so it went back in the water to grow for a later day.
Joe and I were the only limits on board, we were also the only ones fishing with Gulp.
On the trip back I ended up having to lie down in the floor below deck in order to rest my back, fortunately the other anglers on board seemed to understand my need and were careful not to step on me.
Overall I would say it was a decent trip, however the landing should have told us the boat we wanted was not available so we could have made the decision of whether or not to go before we were ready to embark. I feel this was somewhat unfair of them. So, if you plan a trip out of Channel Islands make sure to question them about what they are offering for your money before making the trip there.
