Swat boat trip. This time north..........

[Which Way Out]

Well we all know how plans can change at a moments notice.

Sat. I was just chilling watching the 24 hr Le Mans race knowing the Swat crew was down south thrashing the water at gray light. Almost drove down to help out but got lazy and stayed home. However I did get the itch to go fishing. So I called a friend of mine and we planned to hit his local beaches during the afternoon tide on Sunday. I did mention that only one thing could change our plans.

A couple hours later The SWAT Hot Line Rang.

Yoda said be at my house at 5:30 am. Nuff said. I called my buddy and changed the plan. He was cool with it. It's fathers day and he has 5 kids so he didn't freak out. I told him if I catch what I hunting for I would give some to him.

I didn't sleep much Saturday night. I knew we were going for big fish as usual. We loaded up and were on the water by 6:15 am. Turned the corner and made bait. A mix of Sardines and Mac's. Now on the throttle for the run.

We set up and were fishing for about 90 minutes. Then during a time when I was sending my bait down after clearing off smeg, I hooked up.
At first I didn't think it was a fish. Maybe just some more smeg on the line. I tried to free it with a few quick pulls. Then I felt some Big head shakes. This has to be a fish. A Halibut no less. To tell you the truth it came right up to the boat and Captain Yoda aka Exfactor Mikey.... slams the gaff into it. I couldn't believe it. My PB Halibut ever. First ever on a boat as well.

The day started off well and looked to be one where the cooler would be full of fish. Well then the conditions changed. The sea life kinda disappeared. No more birds around. Only a few Seals now and then.

Many hours later we both were getting tired, so we headed for the barn. The water and weather was fantastic. Nice and quite with only maybe 4 or 5 other boats seen. A nice day for a Change.

Mikey thanks for everything. Sorry I lost that set of gear on the rocks. That was my dumb a** fault all the way. I knew better.
I 'll make it up to ya.



Oh did anyone want to see the Fish? I almost forgot.....

Just a nice little Flattie around 32".. Arthur if it was 40 or over you would of got the call
Also a shout out to all the fathers today. Hope you got out and fished as well.
And Dad, I miss ya.

[PONTOON]

Bill, it looks to me like there might be enough to share with your buddy.

Congratulations on the personal best halibut and I have a feeling your guide has plenty tricks up his sleeve to get the big ones. Great job out there guys!

[Newfishsmell]

I like the large print Bill, easier for me to read on my cell phone.
OH yeah ... another great catch there !

[crappiemike]

Nice to see the Exfactor up and running again..

Nice looking fish for sure....




Cm

[Wingnut]

Congrats Bill, that's a nice Hali. Now I want to see you pull one of those out of the surf.
Yoda's got the boat running!
You didn't miss much surf action this weekend Bill. The Hali action has been non-existent and the bigger model WSB has vacated the area.
But Jinbow got a nice TOAD though.

[murrieta angler]

Hey Bill,
Nice looking flatty for sure.
I thought, since yesterday was the first day the WSB limit went up to 3, that we were going to be looking at a 50#'er.
Thanks for the report,
Robert
<><

[bachiboy]

Now that's a great father's day seafood feast! Way to go Bill!!! Definitely some good eats there...enjoy! Beats the food poisoning I got for father's day seafood dinner.

[Which Way Out]

Bill, it looks to me like there might be enough to share with your buddy.

Congratulations on the personal best halibut and I have a feeling your guide has plenty tricks up his sleeve to get the big ones. Great job out there guys!

Thanks Terry and your right about Mikey, "plenty tricks up his sleeve" But we stuck with one method all day that has proved to be very productive in the past for him. Mike and I split the fish so we both had plenty to go home with, even a baggy for my buddy.

I like the large print Bill, easier for me to read on my cell phone.
OH yeah ... another great catch there !

I agree NFS the large print is easier to read on these old eyes
Thanks for the comment as always.
WWO

Nice to see the Exfactor up and running again..

Nice looking fish for sure....




Cm

Thanks Cm. My guess is you know Mike well.
Yes it was nice getting out on the boat after its been down for 8 months. She ran like kitten all day.

I just knew Mike would get a monster fish and the most I would get to practice was my gaffing skills. During the whole day I had my eye on the gaff knowing that Mike rarely gets off the water without a fish. I would put money on the fact he comes up with something very big soon.

WWO

[Which Way Out]

Congrats Bill, that's a nice Hali. Now I want to see you pull one of those out of the surf.
Yoda's got the boat running!
You didn't miss much surf action this weekend Bill. The Hali action has been non-existent and the bigger model WSB has vacated the area.
But Jinbow got a nice TOAD though.

Can we get back to the real stuff now?

So close to a big Hali a couple weeks ago.

Yea, also cool that I got to go on the maiden voyage. Mike has been really cool to hang out with. We even have a few areas of common history, but I have nothing on him as far as fishing. Geez the more I learn, the more I find out that I only have touched the tip of the iceberg. One good year of fishing with Mike would compute to at least 10 years of normal fishing.

Halibut, WSB you name it were going after em big time this summer. So stay tuned for more great reports here.
Alberts fish! Wow!!! You know how many times that place has be fished hard in the past 2 weeks? Albert just walks in and Schools you guys.....

Hey Bill,
Nice looking flatty for sure.
I thought, since yesterday was the first day the WSB limit went up to 3, that we were going to be looking at a 50#'er.
Thanks for the report,
Robert
<><

Robert, WSB-Halibut whatever. Sure I like the WSB, but when you go into seldom fished waters fishing 10 inch mackerels at 60 feet, who knows what you'll catch. Well except for Mike, he knows what were gonna catch.
And if the timing is right you will see a 50#er + before long. It might even be a 50 Hali and a WSB on the same trip I am that confident it could happen.

Now that's a great father's day seafood feast! Way to go Bill!!! Definitely some good eats there...enjoy! Beats the food poisoning I got for father's day seafood dinner.

Thanks Don.
I just give the fish to my wife most of the time. She knows what to do with em. Not sure I told you, she is from Kyoto

WWO