Went out again on Wed. 8/31. Weather forecast was for 4-6 foot swells and 5-10 knots of breeze... We launched at Dana Point around 3am, crew members Ryan and Art. Excellent ride out until we got past the south end of San Clemente Island, then it was victory at sea! We pounded into the swell another 5 miles to find a fleet of sportboats anchored up in 300 ft. The conditions were nautical to say the least. 8-10 foot swells, close together with 12 knots of wind already and it's only 6am. I only have 300 ft. of anchor rope - too deep for me to anchor and I was really hesitant about drifting so we decided to troll for a while. We tried for about an hour with no hits. The wind seemed to die down a little so we stopped the boat and tried a drift with some sardines. It was a little rocky rolly but the Kolo handled it and within a few minutes Ryan got bit and landed a 20 pound bluefin. A few minutes later Art is hammered using a small inshore rod that you would use for calico bass. He had braided line with #40 flouro but the small Saltist reel and light rod was no match for the big bluefin on the other end. Minutes turned into an hour, then 2 hours and still no sight of the fish. The drags on the reel is completely shot and the wind has picked up to 15-20 knots. Art looks like he is ready to collapse so I take the rod from him and tighten the drag all the way. It's do or die moment now, we need to get the hell out of here before the boat rolls over! I short pump and pull hard on the fish until we could see some deep color. I figured if Art could at least see the fish, adrenaline will kick in and he'll get it up. It works and I sunk a gaff into the beast. Fired up the engine and we hauled *** to the calm side of the island for some pictures.
We tried for a little while on the front side of SCI and caught a few bonito. Couldn't find any yellowtail so we headed home stopping on a few kelp paddies on the way for nada. I'm sure we could have got a few more if the weather was better but that's how it goes sometimes.