Rpt.- 3 Day trip on the First String ending 07-05-15

[Tunaslam]

I booked a 3 day trip on the First String, a 93’ Sport Boat out of H&M landing 6 months ago, as they are almost always chartered. I felt this was a sensational opportunity to benefit from Owner/Captain Brad Phillip’s exceptional fishing skills, also known as the Viper. In fact, Brad was the Captain on the Prowler in August of 1995, the day I caught a Tuna Grand Slam on a one day trip, which consists of a Yellowfin, Bluefin, Albacore and Big Eye Tuna. One of, if not the greatest fishing day of my life. I also caught a Skipjack, Yellowtail and Dorado that day.

Departure Thursday 07-02-15.

I left work in San Bernardino at 3:10 pm and headed south to San Diego; arriving at 5:45 pm. The only traffic that I incurred was 10 miles short of San Diego on the 163. Of course the parking lot in Point Loma was already full, so I unloaded my gear into a cart and left it next to the boat. Then I went looking for a parking space somewhere, finally found one at least ¼ mile away, oh well, that’s a Holiday situation we have to deal with?

The boat was scheduled to leave at 9pm and I was told loading would begin about 8 pm, yikes! Fortunately, time went by quickly. My stateroom partner arrived shortly after me and we exchanged a few good fish stories and other topics while waiting to board. There were only 19 anglers booked for the trip, out of the expected 35 scheduled.

We shoved off at a little after 9pm, taking about 1.5 hours to load the massive bait tanks with Lively Sardines and excellent Anchovies for chum. Meanwhile, Captain Brad had called us into the galley to define the game plan. He acknowledged that big Bluefin were being caught at the 43 and a few other areas inside US Territory and of course he was aware of Yellowfin being caught just 5 to 10 miles off the Point. However, being a Holiday weekend, how many boats would be competing for these fish locally?

Brad stated that the best Tuna fishing was 180 miles south, and there were few options in between. So he confirmed that we would be going long, and suggested that expectations for Friday’s fishing should be limited, as it is designated as a travel day, unless we encountered some Magic Kelp Paddies, or a surprise school of Tuna.

Day 1 Friday-07-03-15,

The forecast called for wind, 10 to 12 knots in the morning, then increasing to 15 to 20 knots in the afternoon. I got up at 5:30am, after a semi good sleep, as the air conditioning on the boat is so powerful, you would only be content, if you were an Eskimo? Extra blankets were a must. Next time I will bring a sleeping bag. Sure enough popcorn was already in play on the ocean.

The hot coffee was outstanding and Cook Greg served up a combination of breakfast choices: Sausage or Bacon and Eggs, Toast and Potatoes, or a Breakfast Burrito or any other Breakfast sandwich. I chose the Breakfast Burrito, yum yum.

Although we put trolling outfits out at grey light, we didn’t start trolling rotations until 7:45 am, as we were now 94 miles south and had been at full cruising speed until we reached a desired water temp. Although we stopped on numerous Kelp Paddies along the way, none yielded any fish, except 1 to 4 lb. rat Yellowtail, all released.

I was first to get bit at 8:20am. It was quickly a triple and I put the first Yellowfin Tuna of the year for both me and for the boat on the deck in quick order.



We landed all three Yellowfin Tuna with no bait fish. We continued trolling, and at 9am we had a double jig strike, again with no bait fish. Our next jig strike was at 11am, a single and nothing more. We were now over 115 miles south in 67.2 degree water.

Greg served up some incredible Double Cheeseburgers for lunch, or Chicken Breast or any other sandwich requests. The yell of hookup rang out occasionally, with three single stops for Dorado. Otherwise the Tuna were nowhere to be seen. We found porpoise a number of times, and none were holding Tuna. We came upon one school of Bluefin, which did not want anything to do with us, and we with them, as they were not legal in Mexican waters so far this year.

Some Do Do Pictures:



Did you notice the breaking seas in the background?



We trolled and trolled, stopping on about six Kelp Paddies, all of which yielded a few more baby Yellowtail. The winds were building significantly to at least 20 knots, to go with 5 to 6 feet swells and occasionally bigger. Fortunately we were going downhill, and only felt the effects of the winds and swells when stopping on a kelp paddy or for a hookup.

About 2:30 pm we got another double hookup on Yellowfin, and I got one of them.



Surprise we actually caught a Bait fish, which I think Sean caught, (I hope I got the name right) winning the Jackpot, as it was the only one caught today. Chris joins Sean with his trolling fish:





I got bit on bait, but it unbuttoned on me at gaff. On one kelp paddy, John one of the deckhands caught a Yellowtail on the iron, the only one of size caught today:



We had a few more doubles and singles on the Yellowfin Tuna, and that was it for the day, as we reached nightfall. I ended the day with three troll fish, not bad considering the less than 20 caught, although my third one was about four lbs. and I bounced it. My black and purple daisy chain cedar plug was the ticket.

Greg put out the salad bowls and dressing, as we waited for the main dish, Ribeye Steaks with Baked Potatoes and corn. Then Apple Pie was for desert.

Captain Brad continued to run south to reach the desired zone at 180 miles south, stopping to put out the sea anchor at around 10pm. The winds were howling, but the sturdy boat rested well under the sea anchor. It was a long day and everyone was quite tired, ready to hit the sack. Many showered and I decided to get up early to take mind.

Day 2 Saturday 07-04-15,

We woke up to 25 knot winds and 6 to 8 foot swells, oh boy, not ideal conditions for fishing? I chose to have a BLT with sausage and egg for Breakfast.

Although the day started out slow again, we caught our first Yellowfin earlier. We perhaps got a hookup every half hour or so and added a few baitfish. I caught my first bait fish, only about 8 lbs. though. There were two size schools of fish, 5 to 8 pounders and 12 to 15 pounders, with maybe the biggest reaching 20 pounds.

My stateroom buddy Larry with a nice baitfish:



Larry with another one and one very happy angler in the foreground:




Today’s kelp paddies yielded bigger models of Yellowtail. Here is I think Rick with the jackpot fish for the day, a cool 25 pounder:



Lunch was a choice of Sandwiches, served with fresh ice cold watermelon slices.

We hit the mid-day blahs, and scratched up a few fish here and there. I added one troll fish to go with my baitfish, again a smaller model. The winds were backing off, thank goodness, now down to about 12 knots, and with much smaller swells. We remained in the general area, where previous days fishing had been excellent. There were two other boats with us, and they were experiencing similar results. Hopefully we were going to find them on the chew late in the day?

Around 4pm, I was up to troll, and we were heading for a Kelp Paddy. We never made it there, as we had our first triple of the day. These were all the bigger models, 15+ pounds. After landing my troll fish, my first bait in the water was slammed, it took a healthy run and while working him back in, and the hooked pulled, darn! We had a few going so I got a bait out right away. Again I was hammered and this time the hook held. The nice fish took some solid runs and did the deep color shuffle. As I worked it closer to gaff, a nice Yellowtail appeared. I also noticed others landing Yellowtail too. I guess we were near the spotted kelp paddy?

Jim and I with nice Yellowtail in the 18 to 20 pound range:



No more hookups going so the Captain said wind them up. I always slow pump my bait back to the boat and half way in got bit again. Another nice Tail over 15 pounds. Chris and I with our conquered species:



Smile Cory:



That’s better:




Afternoon snacks consisted of pizza treats.

It was still lengthy periods between hookups, and we found few more kelps holding fish as late evening was fast approaching. At 7:30 pm we had a quad and I was once again fortunate to be part of the party, landing my third troll fish for the day. It was game on, as all baits hitting the water were instantly inhaled. Brad shouted grab the heavy gear, the eating the paint off the boat. We were in the traditional sun down ripper, although there never was any sun?

I caught three Yellowfin Tuna on this stop, and lost several to pulled hooks, darn circle hooks weren’t doing their job! The bite stopped when it was pitch black, always fun to follow a fish when you cannot see your line. The crew were outstanding in guiding us through it successfully. We put 45 to 50 fish on in this last bite, about time we found a decent school that stayed with the boat. I ended the day with six Tuna and three solid Yellowtail. Not too shabby.

Now that’s more like it:



Captain Brad announced we were still 180 miles south of the Point, an expected 20 hour run uphill. This would leave little time for fishing on Sunday, however, he would do his best to put us on some fish.

Dinner was served late to a very tired, yet happy group of anglers. It was an amazing group, everyone worked well together, followed their fish, did the two step tuna shuffle and all got along. We enjoyed Spaghetti with a very tasty meat sauce and an Italian sausage with salad and garlic bread. Desert was coconut and lemon cup cake.

Lights out for me at 10 pm. As I was totally spent.

Day 3 Sunday-07-05-15, The Dead zone!

Woke up to calm seas, how nice, now that we were out of the fishy area? Breakfast was more of the same, all good. At 6am we were still 100 miles from the point. We never started trolling rotations as it was up to whomever wanted to and given there were no hookups right on up to lunch time, no one cared. Also the boat was at full cruising throttle.

I enjoyed a nice Chicken sandwich for lunch with some more watermelon. Hard to believe that it was at 3pm before we found our first decent size and only kelp paddy of the day, of course holding absolutely nothing.

There were afternoon snacks served with dips and chips.

Talk about a huge dead zone, over 100 miles of such. We went over the 238 Bank and out near the 302 Bank, before calling it a day, about five miles outside North Coronado Island, with an ETA of 6:45 pm. No fish caught today and the jackpot was given to the well-earned crew. Although not the most fishy 3 day trip I have been on, certainly a great group to fish with and Captain and crew that gave it their all!
Hook up! Cory

[TUNAVIC]

Nice way to spend a few days,I've fished a couple of 3day trips on that boat when Paul and Mark were running it,sweet platform for sure,nice to see you scored the first couple of days,thanks for the report,and always nice pics!

Cya Tuna Vic

[catfishkid1]

Great post........you guys sure had a good time out there, and very nice looking fish.

[webmaster]

Good job Cory! Can't wait for that stuff to move up the line.....

[dpaulus9]

great report cory.

[bobabocker]

looks like a fun if not butt kicking trip! glad you got to go out there and kill some fish.

[bachiboy]

Great report Cory! Brad's one of the best in the business. Don't know that I've known too many captains that want to put fish on the deck more than him. Glad you were able to tally some numbers on a tough trip.

Don