Trip #7 Thunderbird 1.5 day Departure Sept 14th Return Sept 16th AM I know that the arrival to the landing indicates the start of our trips, but I would like to take a minute to mention that it really starts with emails from the charter master. Usually this is Luke or Roy. It’s nice to get info on things like the weather, what’s been biting, what to bring, and our destination options. It helps for deciding on what rig up for when getting ready for the trip. So, we are thankful for that. Pre gaming dockside is always such a big part of the total trip experience. And this time was no exception. The usual early arrivals were Hayden, Ryan, Jeffy, Gary, Tony, Roy, Cory, John, Steve, Andy S, and me, somewhere in the middle. The rest would arrive throughout the afternoon without anyone arriving too late. This is when time is passed with topics ranging from family, sports, food, health…. You name it. And of course, fishing! It’s great getting to talk to members that you know well and a good opportunity to get acquainted with a newer member that maybe you haven’t had the opportunity to fish with until now. I got to know Cory S and Brian D.  The dockside gathering is always full limits of camaraderie and good times! After everyone broke away in various dining destinations, it was time to board the Thunderbird. It was in later conversation that I heard Goofy mention that we take way too long to get this accomplished. I for one don’t care if it takes too long because I appreciate that it gets done in a orderly and calm fashion. Well somewhat calm! We arrived at the bait receiver to load up on some great bait. Maybe some of the best bait I’ve seen in a while. This would prove to be beneficial later. Although, I guess it never hurts to have quality bait! Of course, this is the time that everyone starts to rig up. Our game plan options were somewhat limited. The resent wind and lack of reports out west of SCI and Tanner Bank didn’t sound really promising. Captain Jeff just returned from down south with some success on BF for the overnight open party trip. So that’s where we would be headed. We departed the bait receiver at 10:00 pm and were told we would to be in the zone at 2:00 AM! So after rigging up for fly line, sinker rigs, and deep water jigs, that didn’t leave a whole lot of time for some sippin and bull shittin but we managed to squeeze it in. The ride down was absolutely beautiful with a nice gentle roll. We arrived right at 2:00 AM and of course this time of night means metering fish deep and dropping your choice of knife jigs, flat falls, or sinker rigs. It didn’t take long for Jeff to start broadcasting “fish at 180 to 240”! At 2:20 AM Saif and Cody were bit on the knife jigs and successfully landed their 30lb to 40lb bf. The funny thing is, these were the two guys to jump on the trip when two very last-minute spots opened. They must have known something! Good for them! At 2:30 we were on the hunt again with Jeff metering fish here and there, but it was a little slow. At about 4 o’clock and the same depths, we had some bitters! Saif and Ryan got things going, Saif on a knife jig and Ryan on a polka dot red rip roller. The bite continued to about 5:30 and the anglers that I know that had success were Saif with 3….and if you haven’t figured it out yet, he’s a very good angler, Kevin, Brian U, and Gary, I apologize for those that I left out. By 6 o’clock we had 15 Blue fin all about 30 to 40 lbs. I was told by Captain Chris that we were at the 141 off La. Jolla/ Carlsbad area. Now it’s gray light and on the prowl. We can turn our focus to fly line, sinker rigs, and smaller colt snipers. All fine by me! It didn’t take long to find BFT that wanted to get with it. “Biter” “Fresh one” were being yelled with frequency! This might of been one of the best surface BFT bites I have seen. I mentioned the quality of our bait and it sure paid off. It was not time for a long soak. If you didn’t get a bite right away, change to a lively one and get bit. Seems like most bites came on 25 to 30lb with some getting bit on 40lb. Everyone had the chance to pull on a fish and of course there were some hot sticks. Saif, BJ, and Ryan. Good on Ryan for hooking and handing two fish to Junior angler, Lucas, who did a fantastic job fighting and landing the fish. This will prove to be good karma for Ryan later in the day. Like earlier all the fish were in that 25 to 40lb range. Hayden did a great job hanging in there with a bigger grade but unfortunately as it was in the death circle, and it came in contact with the bottom of the boat and broke free. Heartbreaker for sure but Hayden you did great. Of course, it’s All hands-on deck by the crew and they were on their game. At about 8 o’clock it was limits for members and crew and time to stop fishing. Jeff called in the Freedom to take over the bite and as we were pulling away, it didn’t take long to hear them yelling “biter”! So now it’s 8 o’clock and we are good on BFT, and we need to decide on a game plan for the rest of the day. Our two choices were head down south for some YFT, which there has been some decent reports but heavy boat traffic, or head west and hope for some yellowtail and calico at SCI. Roy called everyone in the galley for a hands up vote and it was determined that we were off to the island. We arrived at SCI at 11:00 AM and started looking around the east end backside. The island, weather, and conversation were awesome! The fishing? Well, it didn’t pan out so well. Jeff tried various spots tight to the island and conditions seemed ok, but the results were minimal. Every time Jeff dropped the hook the sea lions were grey hounding towards the boat. We picked at some calico’s, but they never really got with it. Hayden did catch one smaller YT which seems to me he does this with regularity when things are slow! After Jeff expressed his distain of the island, I believe his words were, “I hate this f…ing island”! We were off to find some tuna. He said we had room for a couple more but if we get into them then we were going to have to catch and release. It wasn’t too long until we spotted some jumpers not too far from the east end of the island. They looked to be bigger models and I believe there were four hooked. One broke off, one was released, and two were landed. Great job from Tony and Ryan! Tony’s weighed in at 81lbs and Ryan’s, fly lining on 50 lb , weighed 93lbs! So Ryan’s good karma for handing off fish earlier paid off with JP and the patch. With Hayden’s official happy hour light glowing it was time for various adult beverages, breaking down gear, and Goofy’s pork chop and mashed potato dinner. It was an excellent trip with a great BF bite, a great group of fishermen, and crew. It was also especially nice to have Jeffy back on board and in good health. He still couldn’t pull on fish, but he was there to support and be a big help. And for Mike C, keep your eye out for dragon fly’s. You never know where they might show up! One last thing. If you aren’t too keen on being the scribe, I suggest you go to the sign-up meeting! Tight lines, Chris L