Blog Layout
2015: Trip #7 on the Fortune (2.5 Day)
10/2/15 - 10/3/15
Download the PDF here.
Scribe: Chris Lund
Club Members
Luke Berson
Paul Casillas
Mike Trunk
Chris Lund
George Miller
Bill Parks
Murphy Parks
Ron Shrout
Brian Wynne
Hayden Claisse
Mike Zinniker
Guests
Steve Rauch
Joe Gigante
Ichiro
Carl McKinley
Jim Chio
Eric Lund
Jack Proctor
Pre-Game
Hayden got things started by being the first to arrive at 1:30pm, beating out Brian W. by a narrow margin. Hayden likes his tackle box in just the right spot…more on that later. Everyone else followed for an 8:00pm departure, leaving us enough time to enjoy some food and beverages at Mitch’s. The Fortune was already docked, so we were able to load our gear as we arrived. With the help from the crew it was an easy task.
Before we hit the bait receiver everybody wanted to be ready to target the exotic wahoo that have been in our local waters. To be successful at this task, Luke wanted everyone to be on the same page. Luke did a great job at making sure that all anglers had at least one or two weapons to catch a wahoo via chrome jigs, wahoo bombs and wire leader hooks.
The boat arrived at the bait receiver around 8:00pm and loaded up on some quality sardines. We didn’t have any anchovies like we thought we might have, but the sardines were in good condition. While at the bait receiver captain Bruce gathered us at the bow for our game plan. Bruce wanted us to be ready for wahoo by trolling marauders and having our jigs and bombs ready for the kelp paddies. (Who would’ve thought we would be getting a wahoo 101 seminar from Captain Bruce on a 2 ½ day trip.) Bruce also covered how to fish the very popular flat fall jigs for the tuna that we’re likely to encounter at the kelp paddies.
The weather outside was unfavorable. Our first half game plan was to fish an area called the corner, 27 miles from Point Loma. Since we weren’t going too far that night we hung out in the comfortable confines of the harbor. It was a relaxing couple of hours while we ate, drank, and rigged up, all to the beat of the D.J. Mike Trunk. We left the harbor around midnight for a bumpy ride out to the corner.
1st Half
We got the first half kicked off at 6:00am. The first 3 trollers were rigged with marauders hoping to find wahoo while looking for kelp paddies. Not an easy task with 4 to 6 foot swells and the wind blowing 10 to 12 knots. I could go through all the clichés like, fish have tails, should have been here yesterday, It’s called fishing not catching. Bottom line is, after many trolling rotations, we didn’t find kelp with anyone home until 1:00pm.
We found two bigger size kelp paddies close to each other and all anglers got busy catching football size yellowfin tuna and smaller yellowtail. The final tally for this stop was 19 yft, 1 dorado. (the smaller yellowtail were released.) We looked around the same area for nothing. Then we returned later to these same paddies for 4 more yellowfin tuna. It was time to head for San Clemente Island where we would be anchored for night.
While Hayden was relaxing in the galley a couple crew members decided that his tackle box needed to be safe. So with every strap, bungee cord, and tie down on the boat, that tackle box would have survived a major hurricane.
After arriving at the island, with time running out in the first half, Paul C. took the jackpot with an 18lb yellowtail using a sardine on a dropper loop. It was a beautiful fall night at this off shore island for a decent pick at the calicos and a very tasty lasagna dinner.
2nd Half
With a break in the weather outside, we were off to the famous Tanner Bank. The anchor went down at 7:00am and it wasn’t too long before Eric and a couple others got things started with some yellowtail. Ichiro got one of the first bluefin of the morning. Using 20 to 25lb setups, we had a slow pick at the bluefin tuna throughout the day. Unfortunately, so did the hammerheads! They got several of the bluefin tuna as well as Luke’s better grade yellowfin tuna. The only silver lining to this was that it led to some delicious sushi and poke’ for the galley. Thank you chef Murphy! The flat fall jigs, yoyo jigs, and fly lined sardines all were successful for catching yellowtails. Most that were kept were a little bigger than rats with a lot being released.
Murphy decided to get some revenge on one of these pesky sharks. He rigged up with wire, a balloon and a chuck of tuna. After a 45 minute battle and some over and unders, the 300lb hammerhead was successfully brought to leader and cut loose. It was awesome to see the eyes on the side of the head staring back at us. We all called it a day at dusk and headed back to Point Loma. Total for the day was; 14 bluefin, 76 yellowtail and 1 hammerhead shark. Second day jackpot went to George Miller for his 25lb bft. A “Shrout” out to Ron for getting a real deal yellowtail!
With Haydens cocktail light glowing, it was time to head back to Point Loma. We had a nice downhill ride while enjoying a steak dinner with of course a few libations.
It was my pleasure to fish with the following members and guests.
Latest Posts
Trip #8: Boat: Thunderbird 2 day Departs: Thursday October 3rd Fishing: October 4th, 5th Returns: October 5th pm Arriving at the dock a little later than I usually like to, the typical group as one would expect was all there. At this point I am starting to think that Hayden secretly lives at the landing, and only comes out of the shadows every couple weeks to fish with the club. It was overcast and on the cool side at the dock and I was beginning to regret only bringing shorts on the trip but figured with enough beer and maybe some stronger beverages I would find a way to stay warm throughout the trip. The fishing had either been wonderful or complete garbage the days prior, but everyone was hoping the optimistic that we would locate some hungry fish. After the standard, organized, boarding of the vessel we would call home for the next 2 days, we loaded up some great looking bait and off we went into the calm night. The plan was to head to Cherry Bank to hunt for the elusive bluefin. Our crew consisted of Carmello, Steve, and Jarid with Captains Jeff and Chris. It was my first trip without Goofy, and there was a calmness in the galley that felt very unfamiliar but also a feeling that something was missing. The forecast was absolutely wonderful with very little wind and a swell that was almost non-existent. After the guys all set their gear up, they disappeared one by one into their bunks. Day 1 - Friday Fishing began around 4am for some, with 2 bluefin being landed by Jim (81 lbs) and Ryan (87 lbs) just after 5am. Excitement was high with a couple of great grade fish coming over the rail, but we would soon lose that excitement. We continued to look for hungry schools, and look, and look…. We found several good schools swimming deep, but they would either disappear or avoid our bait like I avoid my mother-in-law. At about 1130 Captain Jeff decided it was time to take a break and drop deep for some taco meat. The rockfish grade was great with Luke pulling in the largest Salmon Grouper he had ever seen. It weighed in at 11 lbs, but I swear it looked bigger. We continued our taco quest until around 245 before resuming the look for the bluefin. We looked, and looked, and looked some more with zero success until dinner time. At this point, I figured if I wasn’t going to catch any fish I might as well catch a buzz. With a great dinner from Carmello consisting of chicken, rice, salad, the cocktails and conversations flowed into the evening until it was time to look yet again for these stupid fish. We looked, and looked, and looked some more. At some point only 4 were still standing. Jim, Cory, Ryan, and I were hanging out hoping to come across something to catch. We did our best to stay well hydrated, and that was about the only thing we were successful with late into the night. Of the 4, Ryan was the first to throw in the towel sometime around 2 or 230, I think... The remaining soldiers finally surrendered at about 315 and made our way to our bunks. Final count for the day was 2 bluefin and 52 rockfish. Day 2 – Saturday With a disappointing day 1 behind us, day 2 did not bring a change. We drove hundreds of miles looking, and looking, and looking. I think Captain Jeff was more disappointed than any of us. We sat around and ate what we could of the endless amounts of chips, which seemed to be the only snack option when people were shopping prior to the trip. On the upside, we had a great group of guys and some of the calmest seas that I have ever seen. Final count for day 2 was a big fat zero but I guess that’s the way fishing goes sometimes. We returned to a quiet dock, and disembarked with our snack size bags of rockfish, and headed home. Till next time, James Harris
Trip #7: Boat: Thunderbird 2.5 day Departs: Tuesday September 17th Fishing: September 18th, 19th Returns: September 20th am It all started on a pleasant Tuesday afternoon, Tuesday September 17th in fact. Tuesday is a fantastic day to get to the docks, because this Tuesday happened to be Taco Tuesday. Taco Tuesday is a great way to start anything of any importance, especially a fishing trip, two-dollar tacos and five-dollar margs to get things rocking while you’re still on land. This has been unscientifically proven to allow one’s sea legs to become accustomed to an imbalance of equilibrium, making for a smooth transition to the boat. We departed the dock around 8 pm with words of Tanner and Cortez slipping through the breeze and dancing upon our ears. Day 1 we arrived at Cortez bank around 5:30 am. After a night of getting rocked by large swells we awoke to a sea that was not all that happy to have us and not very willing to give up the fish. It was on the tougher side of things, but we still managed to scrape out a pretty good haul of fish. With a tally of 47 fish caught from good sized yellow tail to smaller blue fin from 20 lbs to the largest being 55 lbs caught by our Junior Angler Lucas Harris. Now, I believe, young Lucas learned a valuable life lesson on this trip, if you don’t gamble you can’t win. The next biggest fish, patch recipient, and pot was caught by Steve Sturm! Day 1 ended with a trip back to the bait barge because the bait was not great. Day 2 we arrived at Cortez bank around 5:50 am. As we were now a well-rested contingent of hardened sea slappers, everyone was extremely eager to get a line out. With rods in our hands and lines in the water, Bonita and small yellowtail began to come over the rail. After 3 hours of Bonita, El Capitan, Jeffe, decided it was time to make a move to Tanner. And this was well received. We arrived to Tanner and it began to sprinkle which was nice. At Tanner we caught yellowtail and smaller bluefin. The night bite wasn’t very bitey, El Capitan made a great effort moving multiple times to try and get us on the fish to no avail. Mr. one cast one fish, Mike Castillo caught the biggest blue fin of the day receiving the patch and pot. Light lines, small hooks and bait that was less than willing to be sacrificed in the belly of monsters make for tough fishing but it’s always great to be out on the water. Adios Brandon Lockwood
Trip #6: Boat: Thunderbird 1.5 day Departs: Thursday September 5th Fishing: September 6th Returns: September 7th am Trip 6 kicked off as it routinely does the usual suspects being at the dock, possibly before sunrise for all I know. My dad and I arrived at the dock around 2pm on Thursday with almost no traffic on the peninsula due to school being back in session. The weather at the dock was beautiful but we knew there was some wind ahead on the Tanner and Cortez Banks but that was really the only option as that’s where the fish have been basically all summer. Captain Jeff told us he wasn’t sure where we were going to start but it was going to be a bumpy ride out. After getting bait we were headed west. When we woke up, I was informed that Jeff took us to the Tanner Bank and was looking for fish. We stopped on a couple spots of fish and eventually got the anchor down and tried to get a bite going with no luck. Around 9:00 AM, we made the hour and 20-minute run to the Cortez Bank. The fishing improved once we got there but it was still a grind and we were soon anchored up in about 150 feet of water. The next 3 and a half hours were classic plunker bite fishing. Light line, small hooks and a hot bait would be rewarded with bites. There was a good mix of bluefin and yellowtail biting and the weather really improved from the ride out and was better than forecasted, but still a bit breezy. The final count for the morning was 14 Bluefin (8-15lbs), 14 Yellowtail and 4 bonito. At 1:30PM, with the bite really slowing down Jeff decided it was time to make another move towards the northwest end of Clemente; that would not only put us closer to home but get us in position for an afternoon/night bite on some better grade bluefin. With that being said most of the boat went down to get some rest. After the nap it was time to enjoy some beers in the sun on the top deck of the boat. Things got interesting when Bruce spotted bigger tuna splashing nearby. The crew jumped into action, setting up the kite and sending out flyers, while others used fly lines and sinker rigs. There were some standout moments: Hung, Bruce’s guest, landed his first bluefin on a dropshot rig with 40lb test after a tough fight and Kevin Kom quickly pulled in a solid bluefin on a 50lb fly line. Last but certainly not least, Rico worked the flyer like a pro, and at one point, we had two bait fish and two kite fish going at the same time. We had a close call when two kite fish got tangled and broke one of the fish off but when the first fish was gaffed the braid of the broken off fish was wrapped around it. Jeff and Scuba Steve jumped into action to try and save it. Jeff wrapped the braid around his shoulder and hands, and Steve spliced the line back to the rod, letting us bring in the fish. Our junior angler Lucas was pumped after the catch. This description truly doesn’t do it justice and was one of the most impressive things I’ve seen done by a crew. After the heroic save, we went a perfect 5 for 5 on 70-130 lb fish. The kite fish were caught by Mike Barton, Ron Shrout and Lucas, our junior angler. With the sun starting to set and a few hours left to fish, Jeff kept the search going while guys were having Carmelo’s pork loin and mashed potatoes in the galley. He told us we were going to have to work hard at it as the fish they had been seeing in this area was in wolf packs. The first few stops were quick as the fish that were located kept on the move. Slowly but surely, Jeff started to work away from the fleet and it paid off on the first stop. At 9PM the boat stopped on a school that was from 270’- 400’ and just as my jig got to 400’ I was able to get the first bite of the night and was able to boat it, but not before it swam off the gaff at 50 miles an hour with my reel in free spool. Shortly after that fish hit the deck, my dad was engaged in battle with a bluefin of his own and was able to make quick work of it. Micheal Harris was the next to join the party and got one on a flat fall with a little flashback to 2016 nights. They do in fact still get bit. There were a few more hooked on that stop that found eventually their freedom due to various reasons. There were a few more stops, but no bites and at midnight it was time to turn the boat back towards Newport and get some much earned rest in flat calm seas. The final count for the trip was 23 Bluefin (8 from 75-130lbs), 14 Yellowtail and 4 Bonito. Jackpot went to Kevin Kom with his fly lined 80 pound bluefin. All in all, the fishing was tough but as always this group of guys always manages to put a good score of fish together. It is always a pleasure to fish with this club and create lifetime memories. It is a highlight of my summers and look forward to it for many years to come. Tight lines, Jake Chutney
Trip #5: Boat: Thunderbird 2.5 Day Departs: Tuesday August 20th Fishing: August 21st, 22nd Returns: August 23rd am
Trip #4: Boat: Thunderbird 2 day Departs: Thursday August 8th Fishing: August 9th & 10th Returns: August 10th PM “In every species of fish I’ve angled for, it is the ones that got away that thrill me the most”. — Ray Bergman: The late Ray Bergman was born in Nyack, New York in 1891 & died there in 1967. He wrote for "Outdoor Life" magazine for 26 years. I am not going to bore you with the same deck foreplay that usually starts these scribe histories. Yes, Hayden showed up before dawn. Yes, guys dropped their bags and went to their usual watering holes and dinner spots. What was unique is Paul forgot his tackle box. That, I would think, would be hard to do….but he did scurry home and get what ne needed. By the goodness of all on the deck, he was allowed to keep his place in line. Ian and I have “day jobs” so we did not show up to see the morning coffee being made at Newport Landing Restaurant. Instead we arrived at 6 PM. Getting a call from Roy asking if I’m still attending the trip was entertaining; glad he cared enough to make sure I was aboard! It was interesting that when we did arrive, all the gear was on board and bunks were taken. Now I know why you arrive early; my top bunk was not the best on board. Next time I will take conference calls while watching the Ferris Wheel! As I grabbed my bunk and dropped my tackle box, I noticed an earie tranquility on The Thunderbird. NO GOOFY! I am not an old DWRRC salty dog like the rest of this crew, but in my 3 years in the Club, Goofy has been a main-stay. Always there, always giving someone sh_t and certainly taking some too. That tranquil glow graced us the entire trip. We left at 7 PM, picked up bait and started off to Cortez Bank. There was some hints of wind, but we decided to brave the elements. We arrived at the Bank around 5:30 AM and Jeff rolled us into some deeper water. We started fishing around 6 AM to a nice bite of Blue Fin. We had at least 2 loaded up consistently on that stop, with schoolies of 25-40 pounds. We dragged in 52 BFT on that stop with a few Yellow Tail coming aboard as well. Jim (6) Brian (4), BJ (6) and Saif were pretty active with nice numbers and good quality. Andy and Ryan pulled in some nice Yellows. It was good to see that Ryan could still pull on fish. His back, for the most part, held up while fishing for Pelagics. Fly line was the set-up of choice on this stop, but Yoyos and drop shots were also successful. We moved off this part of the Bank and moved to shallow water as the bite seemed to taper off as we continued to fish that stop. There were some that thought we should stay….Captain Jeff made the right decision! At 8:30 we pulled up into more shallow waters at 120 feel and anchored. We were not alone, in looking around there were at least 10 other Sport Boats in the area sitting on the same shallow bank. We moved off that anchor around 11 AM. We had to move as the boat LIMITED OUT on Blue fin with 104 boated (that includes the 52 from the earlier spot). We also bagged 35+ Yellow Tail! What was great about that stop was the quality of fish and the ability to catch YT and BFT at the same spot. If you had a Drop Shot on or you were Yoyo-ing, or fly line you were hooking up! It was an epic morning bite and one for the record books. Saif bagged 16 fish (10 BFT /6 YT) BJ- 11 (9 BFT/2 YT), Jim- 13 (11BFT/2 YT) and Steve- 10 (8 BFT/2 YT). These 4 guys caught 50 of the 145 fish caught…well done guys. (NOTE: I’m sure I missed another Big Hitter on this list, so apologies if I missed someone…I was too busy wrestling my own catch!). Since everyone had smiles on their faces and a full fish hold, Jeff moved us to bottom fishing. The Bank always shines with Big Reds and a sprinkling of other cod mixed in. Jeff let the boat know that we were headed off to bottom fish and gear up for bite. Everyone has their “ultimate” bottom set-up. I like the double dropper loop with a bunch of squid, Saif showed on deck with a large Blue Fin knife Jig. As I looked at the different rigs, I catch Mike with a dildo strapped onto his line! What the hell is that? The “tail” was long and the head would make any porn star blush. It did catch fish, but Mikey was bummed that his tail got eaten off. The knife jig stole the show as Saif brought up some huge cod monsters from the deep. I was fishing next to Paul and, on the drop, he got nailed. He was fishing a Tranx 500, so coming up was not fun; but he pulled up 2 massive, beautiful reds that put a nice smile on his face! Unfortunately, Ryan did not have a smile on his face, the heavy swells and waves did a number on his back….not fun fighting those swells with a bad back. We made 2 different drifts and brought in some beautiful fish; Reds, Bocaccio, Vermillion, and a few Sheephead. I caught a huge White Fish that I was excited to cook up when I got home. Guys who wanted to “fill their sacks” had that opportunity and we made quick time to leave the swells and white capped waves. A third drift was not warranted. We headed to San Clemente (The Island, not the beach town) around 3 PM. Night fishing for Blue Fin was off the agenda with limits on the boat, so that offered up many options for the thirsty fisherman. Some started Happy hour early while others bunked down for a few hours. I decided to nap a bit and came up to quite a happy hour crew. It did not take long to join the party, Bourbon, tequilla and many wine bottles were found throughout the galley. Carmelo, standing in for Goofy, did an awesome job on dinner. We had baked chicken with a purple rice and salad. The salad was worth noting as it was a mixed green with tomatoes and cucumber…nice alternative to the bland head lettuce we usually see on these trips. No Goofy drama with this dinner. The dessert bars got handed out and no one had to beg….I’m sure some missed the banter. Day 1 JACKPOT Winner - Roy, who edged out Saif and BJ with a nice sized Blue Fin caught during the AM bite. Congrats Roy! We woke at Pyramid Cove with lines being wet around 6. This Scribe did not see the sun till 7ish, but no harm was done…no fish landed. Jeff moved us out of the Cove to hunt Yellow Tail. He stopped at Gold Beach where Hayden and Reilly caught 2 nice YT and we picked off a few Bonito and Calico. While at Gold Beach, Alex hooked a nice Yellow on his Yoyo and brought it to the rail, it was gaffed and “controlled” but as they moved it to the stern to lift it to the deck, the fish flipped off the gaffe and the jig! Go figure! Jeff did Alex right and gave him a Boat Yellow to make up for the gaffe (get it ha, ha). We left Gold beach and searched for other spots. We stopped on some Calico, stopped to fish YT, but never found a sweet spot till 11:30. Thunderbird pulled onto “Runway” and the spot lived up to its name. We fished there for 90 minutes and brought in18 yellows and missed many more than we bagged. All of these fish were of high grade 20-30#. I was pulling on a nice Yellow when my spool went off with a huge run…quite a fish! Then I hear Mike yelling from the top deck that I was on a seal…. my Jackpot lust was lost. We left Runway at 1 PM and started to head home. Bruce won the Jackpot and Fisherman of the Day. Congrats Bruce, great looking YT! As we were heading home I was chatting with Jake intently (as you do with Jake ) on the port side of the rail. We were into a good story intent in conversation when….Crash…on my head and 50% of Jake, a cooler was emptied from above deck! Ice cold water allowed us to sober up and laugh at the “accident”…still wondering if that was an accident or prank, but fun no matter! Our Junior Angler was Rowan, Ryan B’s girlfriend’s son. Great young man who was excited to be on his first overnight! He had some issues with waves and swells, but finally got his sea legs and enjoyed pulling in a few big fish. Great work by a future DWRRC Angler! What an epic fishing trip with great quality and a crazy consistent bite throughout the 2 days. Thanks to the folks who helped me Scribe, hard to keep up on such an action-packed trip. Dutifully submitted, Justin
