2019 Trip Reports

ThunderBird 2day trip#8 Anticipation has struck all anglers with high hopes of Tuna and possible yellowtail on this trip. As we waited there were all anglers telling stories of past fishing trips and what methods were effective the previous days. I was very informative on my lecture on how to get bit because I have been pre fishing the club trips and have been doing very well on the catching. The Thunderbird was coming in a little later then usual because the bite had been a later in the day kind of thing so we had lots of time to bond and touch. GAME PLAN … Tuna south of point loma pretty much the same plan that has been so successful for the entire month. Yellowfin and Bluefin were pretty abundant if you found the right school to stick with the boat. We loaded some prime sardines from Newport Landing barge then we were off to Dana Point to fill the rest of the tanks with more sardines. Now seeing some cured worms in the tank always makes me feel a little better about the outcome of the next day. 5:30am I wake up and put on my fishing outfit and stumble into the galley. There were only 3 anglers up (maybe a few more) awaiting the rising sun. I went into the wheelhouse only to find out we were barely out of San Diego and it would be a few hours until we hit the upper zone. We hit the zone and Jeff stops on a very small meter mark and they start chumming. Now most anglers were fishing 20# outfits because the Yellowfin were small and line shy. I believe Bj gets the first real bite and it looks to be a bigger fish then those Yellowfin. Gary gets bit on a bird and yells like he hooked a whale or something. IT was pretty funny. I decided to go up to 25# test seeing Bj is in a battle. I get bit instantly and know this is a bigger fish too. We battled for quite some time until I landed a Beautiful 40lb Bluefin (first fish on the deck)hahaha.. Bj pulled the hook but that happens when we fish light line for big fish. We traveled all over the place for not much luck until we see a whale with fish on it. I think we landed 1 yellowfin but they put on quite the show. Anyhow it was getting into the afternoon hours and Jeff sees a nice breezer ahead..We throw bait and they respond well to the chum and I hook up again this time on 30# because that battle on the single speed is tough. I landed another nice one (this was how it was for me for most of the day). I believe we move on to another school and they Responded very well for us. This is where I lost count of who got what and so on because I was literally hooked up all afternoon so I couldn’t keep track of the chaos of what was going on. Anyhow we drifted for hours on this school hooking up fish after fish loosing fish after fish. Hot anglers were of course Ryan,Roy,Ron and myself.. They each landed 4 and I landed 11. Our final count was 36 Bluefin and 2 Yellowfin Ryan won day 1 jp with a beautiful 58 lb bluefin and I came in second again with a 52 lber.. All fish were 35 to 58 lb beauties with 2 smallet yellowfin. Day 2 …………Tanner bank We tried tanner for anything and it just didn’t have anything on it … Rockfishing time. We did some drifts for rockfish and filled up the sacks. We had 4 lingcod come aboard 2 by Brian 1by Ryan and 1 by John..JP went to Brian Upcraft with a 25lb lingcod .. There is really not much to write about day 2. We dropped baits and jigs to the bottom if it got heavy you had a fish..thats it J.R

Trip 7 Report August 29- 30, 2019 DWRRC On Thursday afternoon, 23 members and guests gathered on the Newport Landing’s public water front walkway in anticipation of a 2-day outing on the new Thunderbird. Mike Castillo – you’re the best Mike - gets up at 2:30 am to smoke pork butts. Delicious smoked pork, Hawaiian bread rolls, Famous Dave’s pickles and Roy’s BBQ sauce are served on the public bench before curious onlookers. Silence overcomes anxious anglers devouring the feast in mere minutes. Beers miraculously appear cleverly concealed in cozies to ensure that no one suspects. Mexican licenses are secured at the landing office and the new simplified boarding process is deployed: Board by twos in order of sign up; Pick you bunk and mark it with a bag (but do not drop a tackle box in tackle box storage heaven); (2) Return to the dock; (3) Return to the boat in order of your arrival; (4) Get sweet tackle box storage and rod holder spots as quick as you can (no pushing or elbowing please); (5) Most important, deliver your snacks to the galley; (6) Sign up for the jackpot and bag number; (7) Exhale. In the dark tackle is rigged with small hooks; the tanks are loaded with Newport Harbor sardines and topped off in route with Dana Point sardine cousins. We cruise down coast arriving Friday morning in sight of Point Loma to join a dispersed fleet of sport and private boats hunting Yellowfin tuna. The ride down is calm and we sleep well. Delicious breakfast pancakes and eggs are gobbled while whisky mysteriously materializes in coffee cups. The trolling team munches meat sticks and cheese set out by Goofy. Alas, it was neither our day nor anyone else’s day as we experience double “NBs” at every stop – “No Boils, No Bites.” Great fishing last week! Goofy serves up pastrami burgers and chicken salad sandwiches as the Thunderbird turns west for Bluefin tuna. The seas are bouncy; jackets and long pants are donned; the boat is rocking and rolling in sight of SCI, Jeff calls out the fish depths. Yikes, no biters again. The sun sets; Hayden’s cocktail hour beacon lights up; we head into calm Pyramid Cove for a dinner of huge steaks grilled on deck, served with large baked potatoes and salad. Upon popular request Klondike bars appear; then quickly disappear. Thirsty club members marvel at the Thunderbird’s automated ice dispenser. Lots of good talk in the galley spurred on by spirits and wine before wobbly anglers hit the sack for a comfortable night’s rest. The crew makes squid overnight. Tom participates in the squid round up. Saturday morning fishing starts in the dark. Bill Parks hauls in a barracuda that sets the mark for the day’s jackpot. Goofy stuffs us with steak and garlicy potato giant burrito breakfast. Members note the much quieter than accustomed anchor chain setup allows uninterrupted sleep. The Thunderbird heads out in the grey a few miles off SCI in pursuit of the elusive Bluefin. Despite some boils, it didn’t happen. Sadly we are blanked again. At 10:00 am Thunderbird arrives at the southeast corner of SCI where we scratch up a few small calicos and sheepshead – Bill’s barracuda still dominant. We make stops moving up the island as pesky sea lions repetitively drive us out. We pick up a few meager bass and by noon move into yellowtail territory. Four modest yellowtails are caught on bait and jigs. Nick now has the jackpot contender. We make a few more unproductive stops before turning the bow toward home. The return trip experiences more bounce but is uneventful regarding fish. We arrive to a bustling Newport Harbor at 7:30 pm. Boat traffic is heavy as we maneuver to the dock. A small box with a few fillets is brought out. I grab mine and begin driving through heavy Labor Day weekend traffic on Balboa Blvd. Despite empty ice chests, anglers assert it was a good time. With very little catching, this trip report is expected to be brief. We should have such catching-luck in a flu epidemic. As consolation, Mother Nature provides sightings of blue whales, dolphins, a juvenile bald eagle (not yet bald), a pod of orcas and even a few jumping Bluefin tuna. Birds pooped all over my parked car. Wait, there is breaking news:

Trip 6 - Thunderbird August 15-17 Once again Hayden has arrived at 10:00AM and is first man at the landing, followed by Parks and the Burson clan. By six it appears the entire club is there. Team 805 arrived at the landing at 3:00 after a long 3 hour drive. We proceed to the drop off zone and we start unloading our truck load of gear for a two day trip. Suddenly Ruddy looks up at me with this sad puppy dog look and asks if I know where his reel bag is? HUH?, HOUSTON WE HAVE PROBLEM! Somehow we left his reel bag behind. Ruddy immediately calls his lovely wife Kathleen and starts sweet talking her like it’s his prom night. “OH BABY PLEASE” I thought I heard Ron mention something about a cruise and then somehow he convinces her that they could meet half way and she would bring his reels. The likeliness of this succeeding in rush hour traffic is like 1/100. We head over to the beer garden and Ron tells his sad tale to the club. I was impressed that he didn’t even shed one tear. The club felt bad for him and Parks is first to step up and he offers Ron the use of a couple kelp cutters. Before you know it he has 4 set ups and he is set for the trip. He calmly calls Kathleen before she heads out and tells her the good news that the club members have stepped up and saved the day. Isn’t it nice to fish with friends! For some reason I still think a cruise is in his future. Ron and I decide to enjoy some beers with our dinner at Newport Landing. We sit outside again hoping for another show at the dock. We leave disappointed, nothing/no one fell in the drink, but we enjoyed a great meal nevertheless. Jeff arrives at the dock around 7 and shares a dreadful report from the last trip. He informs us that we will be heading south to Mexico to chase YFT for both days. This is a change of plan and Luke steps into action and makes sure everyone has a two day Mexican license. Since we’re heading south we’re told the big BFT rigs will not be needed on this trip. Yet for some reason we all seem bring them aboard……..just in case …….(more on that later). We boarded in an orderly fashion and head to the bait dock. It’s nine o’clock, you know what that means? Hayden has turned on the strobe light and its happy hour. The crew starts loading the wells with some well-seasoned dines for what seemed like hours. All four wells are filled. Yet Jeff said that if we somehow run out of bait down south we will head up to Dana Point to bait up again and then head back south and fish the second day. Wow that is some statement as to how bad Jeff wants to catch fish and how bad the fishing must be at SCI. The BS & booze start flowing and we’re off to the tuna grounds. Jeff calls everyone into the galley for the low down. Get a lively bait, # 1 or 2 hook and light line-20-25lb and you will get bit. The evening party continues for another hour or two. Time to sleep. ​ We arrive at the grounds around 5:30 and start the trolling rotation. Goofy prepared pancakes, bacon and eggs for breakfast. Time to eat as we await for the tuna to play. At 8:30 Jeff finds a school and it’s off to the races for the next two hours. The corners are full speed with 12-15lb YFT. The first hour they were chewing 30lb and even some 40lb. During the second hour 20lb was the go to line. Some started throwing the popper on the bow and a couple tuna ate it. As we were consistently bent for two hours straight we found ourselves surrounded by about 20 Sea Lions, (AKA Parkers/Skiffs). These guys were aggressive and kept getting as close 50 feet away. Where are the seal bombs when you need them? The best part was that we were all bent and they sat there and watched us catch limits- classic! A Parker drifts up into our chum line – Jeff has had enough and gets on the horn to ask if they would like a cheeseburger to go along with our chum. They finally get the message and move along. I feel need to mention, that you would never see someone in a Grady do this. We would get the cheeseburger and a beer before we leave. ​ By 11:30 we ended up with nearly a 1 day limit……….NICE. Jeff decides it’s time to spread some Karma for the tuna God’s. As we leave them biting, he calls in the Fury for a hand off and they immediately hook 3 fish. Next move for us was to go outside and look for paddies. As we went hunting, Goofy set up some meat snacks which went along well with a cold one. We found a couple of kelps but nobody home. We were probably the 5th boat that hit them today. We head out of Mexican waters and Jeff puts us on another school and we get another 100 fish in an hour. Guess you could say it was wide open. Fish were chewing the paint off the boat and were hitting everything thrown at them. Besides bait, the colt sniper and flat falls were pretty effective too. Jeff once again shares the bite and calls over the yacht-Jack Pot. We hand off the school to them and continue to SCI to hunt blue fin. We cruise around SCI and Jeff sees some foamers of BFT. The blue fin put on a nice showing, but no biters. After a couple of hours Kevin Kom throws a colt sniper at a boil and its game on. After a 20 minute battle with a Tranx 400 on 30lb line, Kevin masterfully lands a BFT which taped out to 52.5 lbs. This came as a great relief to the crew as they no longer had to sort through 200 YFT to settle the jack pot. Nice job Kevin………….you gets da patch! We try for some giants that night…….. no current……….. no biters………… but we got beer –life is good. It’s about 9 o’clock and time for dinner. Tonight its tri-tip, baked potatoes, salad and ice cream bars. Goofy is starting to feel at home in his new galley. For some unexplained reason, Hayden failed to turn on the strobe light to signal happy hour. But as you might have guessed it didn’t stop this group. Wines were paired with dinner and shared among friends. Paul broke out his newly peat infused distilled creation (thanks Luke). Whiskies were consumed and beers were drunk. By 11:00PM it lights out. Time to get a snooze on – flat falls are on menu for 4:00 AM. In the writers opinion 4:00AM arrives pretty damn early. I stagger out of the bunk room and I see half the club on the rail cranking away. It’s time to get my boots on and start grinding – ITS COW TIME BABY! Jeff sees a couple nice schools under the boat and starts announcing the depth to target. Finally – BITER is yelled out and Ramsey is on. Chris quickly puts the hammer to the fish and lands a nice BFT in about ten minutes. It tapes out to 83.07 lbs. We continue to hunt for schools and make several stops but no biters. There is not enough wind to deploy the kite, but the crew did manage to get a balloon rig out. I should mention that the club has adopted the PV process for kite/balloon fishing. If one of the rigs gets bit, Jeff will randomly draw a number and that lucky angler gets to fight the fish. If the fish is landed, the meat will be evenly divided among the club. Sounds like a fair system to me. Jeff finds another school and Steve Lenker tries a sinker bait and gets bit. After a nice 20 minute fight he lands a BFT that appears to be from the same egg sack as Ramsey’s. It tapes out to 83.7 lbs. Goofy serves up breakfast……..you guessed it, tri-tip and potato breakfast burritos. Throw some pico de gallo on it and it was great. We continue to BFT fish but it’s not happening. At 9:00 we head to the west end to fish calicos. The conditions suck and we can’t get the YT or calicos going. Jeff decides to slide around front and see what kind of trouble we can find. We work our way down the island and find some YT boiling but no biters. We moved in close and got a decent calico bite going. Maybe 20 legal fish, but no contenders, the record is safe for another trip. The conditions were just not right at the island, dirty water and no current. At 11:00 Goofy serves up a new meat snack creation, smoked sausage, onions, and peppers over rice. ​ By 1:00 it’s time to call it a trip and head to the barn. Steve wins day two jack pot with his BFT. ​ Luke recommends that we may want to keep one rig set up just in case we come across some foamers. Unfortunately none were found and as we round Catalina it’s time to break em down. ​ We arrive at the landing around 7:00 and start the fish distribution. This was not going very well and was taking a long time. Finally Ryan stepped up onto the boat and got things moving, thank you Ryan. ​ Day 1 Jackpot goes to Kevin Kom with a 52.5lb BFT and day 2 goes to Steve Lenker with a 83.7 lb BFT. Well done gentleman. Everyone else took home 2 day limits of YFT. ​ To everyone’s surprise the traffic on the peninsula was not bad this Saturday night. Only took about 5-10 minutes to get off it and onto the freeway. Nice way to end another great trip with DWRRC and I’m looking forward to the next adventure. Tight Lines My Friends Tim

DWRRC – Trip #5 Dates: July 25-27, 2019 Boat: Thunderbird Thursday July 25th The Burson clan arrived at Newport Landing at 2:30 pm, finding that Roy, Bill, Hayden and Gary had already arrived. Rumor had it that Hayden actually slept on the dock overnight, guaranteeing being first on the boat. It was a hot, extremely muggy afternoon that would require some beers to tolerate it. Thankfully Newport Landing Restaurant was fine with us using their covered patio to escape from the direct sun and crack into our coolers. Slowly but surely more and more members arrived, eager to load the boat and get on our way. Goofy arrived with provisions and a new addition for the boat, which would bring back some fond memories of a bygone era…a brand-new Weber grill. Yes, we were having steaks grilled over charcoal for dinner, a throwback to the Amigo days. Goofy required some assistance with hauling the provisions down the dock, with a few members offering their help. Paul took charge of the hand car that was filled to the brim. With a little over excitement, or maybe due to a few beers, the Paul cut a corner a little too tight on the dock and the handcart toppled over. Into the water went multiple bottles of mustard, a few large bags of shredded cheese and an entire bag of potatoes, which sank instantly. A few members having a late lunch/early dinner on the patio had a birds of view of the spectacle. Not to let Paul be outshined, Luke decided to test the corner of the dock which caused Paul to dump his load. Luke, putting his foot down on the dock realized this section really wasn’t secured all that well. With a little force, next thing we know the dock was breaking and Luke was going down with it. Nick, being right behind him, quickly grabbed Luke’s arm and pulled him back to avoid going in the water. Luke was saved by Nick’s quick thinking and I personally believe that Luke owes Nick a beer or two for this. The new bunk selection process works well and is orderly. Two at a time would go select their bunks, and as soon as they were heading back up the next two would go down. This took about 15 minutes to complete the bunk selection, and everyone appeared to approve of the process. Next up we loaded the on the boat with our fishing gear and started getting ready for the next days fishing. A quickish stop at the bait for sardines and we were on our way out to Santa Barbara Island. Friday July 26th Friday morning we woke up at Santa Barbara Island ready to fish. First fish of the day was caught by Tony, and was a 30 lb yellowtail caught on a dropper loop. A fine fish to start out the day with, however the location we were in would yield no other yellowtail. Quite a few whitefish were caught, in addition to Tommy hooking a bird, however these were not what we were after. A quick move to the other side of SBI would quickly change the morning. Getting the anchor down we got to work quickly and the yellows started to bite. Flylined sardines and surface iron were working well, and one after another we were all getting bit (well, most of us). By 9:30 am we had put about 30 yellowtail on the deck. The prior day had resulted in 1 YT caught, so we were all beyond excited for how this morning was playing out. The size of fish was good, ranging from the small size of 15 lbs to over 40 lbs! That’s right, another YT caught over 40 lbs this season. Ryan was the skillful angler catching this one, with it hitting 40.55 lbs on the spring scale. It taped out at 35.94 using the formula, resulting in a new leader in the season long Largest Yellowtail category. In addition to that one, there were at least three others caught that were over 30 lbs on the spring scale. These belonged to Mario Sr (33.5), Bill Parks (31.9) and Tony Beall (30.6). Congrats guys on the great catches! By 11 am we had put on another 10 or so yellowtail before the bite started to fizzle out. We switched gears and went to go find some bass. A few stops around the island resulted in some decent bass fishing. Bill Parks pulled out a nice calico that taped at 14x20.5, or just over 5 lbs. A new leader in the Calico category, but would it last? After a fishing a few more locations for bass and barracuda, Jeff made the move back to where we caught the yellows that morning. This resulted in 8-10 fish put on the deck, all between 15-20 lbs. Around 3 pm Jeff determined we would be making the move to San Clemente Island. With a 3 hour run ahead of us, many members took this time for a well deserved nap. Upon waking up around 6 pm, Hayden’s drinking light was in full swing. Beers, bourbons and wines were flowing. Goofy lit up the weber with an entire bag of charcoal, and it proceeded to burn hotter than hell. Testing the temp by placing the lid on the grill, it quickly hit 550 and we determined it would probably max out the temp gauge. The steaks would cook quickly tonight! Dinner consisted of steaks, baked potato and salad. The steak was great, as was the potato. The galley was hot, but not unbearable. After dinner it was back to more beer/wine, while the crew caught some flying fish that were around the boat. These will be used laster on in the season for tuna. Oh yeah, Goody gave Ryan a new nickname this night after hitting the bottle hard. You can ask him about in on the next trip. Saturday, July 27th 6 am and we had a few small (understatement) White Sea Bass on deck. Ron Rudrud and Mike Allen were the anglers who landed the first two, with Luke getting one a little later in the morning. (more on this later)! The Yellows started biting the dropper loop with squid, and boy were they some mean fish. They were all around 20-25 lbs, with a few standouts around 30 lbs. By 7:30 am we had about 30 fish on deck, all good grade yellows. Around 8:30 we made the move to fish some bass up the front side of Clemente. Great quality bass fishing with lots of legals being caught, probably 60 plus fish with a few smaller yellowtail thrown in the mix. The occasional barracuda was caught as well. 10:15 am Goofy lost track of time and thought it was time for lunch. Made the announcement and proceeded to start cooking burgers before someone told him what time it actually was. We kept moving up the front side of the island, fishing bass in various spots. One spot we were in real tight, and the boat kept moving closer and closer to the island. After two attempts to lay us close to the island and both times having us so close we would have ran aground, Jeff decided we needed to move on to a new location. Further up the island we kept finding great bass fishing spots, with another 20 or so yellowtail mixed in. Paul happened to hooked a smaller yellowtail, which was then in turn eaten by something much larger and his line started screaming off his reel. After about a 30 minute battle up came a (estimated) 100 lb Black Sea Bass. A beautiful fish, which was successfully released. In one of these stops (not sure exactly which one) Luke caught a calico that would challenge the leader board. Taping at 21x14.5, or 5.52 lbs, there was a new leader in the Calico category! Around 1 pm we made a final stop for bass, barracuda and two final yellowtail. In the 11th hour Roy and BJ pulled it off and caught thier first yellows of the trip, I am sure a weight was lifted off their back in that moment. We left the island from here and started the process of determining the largest fish for the day. Largest yellowtail was Mario Sr, with a fish weighing 33.4 on the scale. For WSB, determining the largest one would be a little more of a process especially considering the largest one of this trip would be in contention for a trophy. Ron and Mike had the larger two, and they looked like twins. On the spring scale Ron’s was larger, weighing in at 10.3 lbs. By tape, Mikes was larger being 32.72x16 (taping at 10.48lbs) to Ron’s taping at 31x15.5 (taping at 9.3 lbs). One final measurement on the teeter totter scale put Ron’s as the heavier fish. It was determined the teeter totter would be the deciding factor, and Ron’s was the larger fish and currently lined up to win a trophy. Day 2 final count: 52 yellowtail, 3 white sea bass, limits of bass End result: Total Fish count: 105 yellowatil, 3 white sea bass, limits of bass, however many barracuda you wanted Day 1 jackpot: Ryan Burson, 40.55 lb Yellowtail (on the scale) Day 2 jackpot: Mario Caporuscio Sr – 33.4 lbs Yellowatil (on the scale) Season leaders caught on this trip: Yellowtail, 35.94 lbs taped – Ryan Burson White Sea Bass, 9.31 lbs taped – Ron Rudrud, Calico Bass, 5.52 lbs taped – Luke Burson

Trip #4 The Fortune out of 22nd Street Landing, July 5 – 7, 2019 “ It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” -- Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities, All DWRRC members were survivors of the latest earthquakes in the southland AND were filled with optimism for the hunting of tuna—YFT and BFT . . . and a few YT would be a good thing as well. However, the squid gods were not smiling on those searching for bait that night!! Further, the hunting grounds were the infamous “Depression Reef” areas – possibly not a good omen of where our minds were headed! Hayden set the pace with his usual arrival at the landing at 9:25am which was rewarded with two open spaces in the close-in parking lot!! He caught up on his reading of periodicals and listening to an audible book : “Mr Trump’s Wild Ride” by Major Garrett -- being semi-retired offers such flexibility. Others started arriving after Hayden enjoyed his lunch on the landing at about 1:30pm. When Axel was aboard the Fortune, some of us, including Bill Parks, Paul Casillas, Gary Thompson & myself were able to get our tackle boxes, rods’n’reels aboard along with duffle & tackle bags. Then Axel/Jordan took the Fortune for fuel, as other members arrived just as the boat was leaving. All were boarding by 6pm -- getting tackle and stuff stored away in the bunkroom and setting up tackle for the next morning. This included: Mike Z., Chris L., Stewart F., Steve S., Andy S., Steve L., John L., Roy P., Gary T., Bill P., Hayden, Ron H., Dan H., Nick H., Paul C., Oscar O., Geoff D’Sena, and, last on the list, but certainly not least, Joe Stassi, the Club’s Senior Alumni Emeritus!! As we pulled away from the dock and headed to the bait barge, Steve provided “Lite Snacks” with emphasis on Lite. This was a bit of a surprise given the pleasant memories of the chilidogs with cheese and onions on the first Fortune Trip. But certainly no one was going hungry and no one would be struggling to survive to breakfast in the morning – I guess Steve wanted us lean and hungry – well at least hungry for breakfast!! “Let him think that I am “more man than I am and I will be so.” ― Ernest Hemingway, The Old Man and the Sea So the gin, bourbon, and vino began flowing . . . as much was exchanged about the possibilities for hunting tuna on the next morning. The impact of the recent earth shaking on the targeted species seemed to be overlooked, or possibly ignored in hopes that such beliefs were without merit. “Now is no time to think of what you do not have. Think of what you can do with that there is” ― Ernest Hemingway, The Old Man and the Sea Later in the nite there were only 40 pieces of live squid to be had, so the cold fresh dead were brought up from the chiller. “Why do old men wake so early? Is it to have one longer day?” ― Ernest Hemingway, The Old Man and the Sea At Pyramid Cove at 4am the next morning some excited fishermen were out on deck with dropper loops and egg drop sinkers providing squid -- live and dead – to those bottom feeders. About a dozen other boats of various types & sizes were also in pursuit of YT. Gary’s dropper loop creatively hooked a bonito, and someone brought in a white fish. But NO yellowtail were hungry and willing. “My big fish must be somewhere.” ― Ernest Hemingway, The Old Man and the Sea So off we went to the Depression Reef area. During the move all enjoyed Steve’s breakfast of eggs-to-order, bacon, and biscuits’n’bourbon gravy with plenty of coffee on the flat seas of the Lake Pacific. Then humorous and not-so-humorous jokes by Mike Z and Stewart entertained all as many thoughts of YFT and BFT were contemplated. “If the others heard me talking out loud they would think that I am crazy. But since I am not, I do not care.” ― Ernest Hemingway, The Old Man and the Sea At 9am we started trolling rotation with four boat rods and lures in the first and second waves in the Fortune’s wake. We spotted dolphins with a few YFT tagging along and brought the Fortune to rest. So bait fish, lures, jigs of all sorts were cast out, but the tuna retired to the calm waters below what was now a glassy surface with little wind. So trolling resumes. “Why did they make birds so delicate and fine as those sea swallows when the ocean can be so cruel?” ― Ernest Hemingway, The Old Man and the Sea At 10am the engines surged as we rushed in hot pursuit of tuna chasing baitfish on the surface. Again, as we approached and offered snacks (chum) and other tempting treats, the tuna retreated to the lower depths without submitting to such temptations. “It's silly not to hope. It's a sin he thought.” ― Ernest Hemingway, The Old Man and the Sea Trolling resumed and then stopped again at 10:45am with no wind and glassy ocean surfaces . . . no bites, and no hook-ups. Then Steve announced “Hot Rail Delivery” of chocolate chip cookies still warm from the oven -- needless to say the sweet flavors were a pleasant diversion from the bitter taste of no bites!! At about this time another stop led to two hook ups on baitfish about 15 minutes apart. The first was by Bill Parks which with 30 lb leader on a Talica 10II reel, the fish was the right species and apparently of good size as it dove down in its attempt to escape. Fifteen minutes later, the second hookup was by Nick Henry on 40 lb leader and a similar diving occurred and the fight was on. “Luck is a thing that comes in many forms and who can recognize her?” ― Ernest Hemingway, The Old Man and the Sea The rest of us just worked to keep out of their way as they went round the boat and back and forth at the rail several times for about 40 – 50 minutes. “Fish," he said, "I love you and respect you very much. But I will kill you dead before this day ends.” ― Ernest Hemingway, The Old Man and the Sea Words of constructive criticism and coaching were offered by those who watched the two fishermen stress and strain against the pressure by both fish. “I may not be as stong as I think, but I know many tricks and I have resolution.” ― Ernest Hemingway, The Old Man and the Sea Bill and Nick worked hard to out wit their opponents and avoid the traps and tangles posed by the rest of us around the rail. “Fish," he said softly, aloud, "I'll stay with you until I am dead.” ― Ernest Hemingway, The Old Man and the Sea At about Noon, first Bill got his tuna to the boat and two gaffs pulled the fat BFT over the rail. The measurements suggested about a 87.5 lb fish, but the formula was thought to be understating weight so 90+ lbs seemed to be a better estimate. About 15 minutes later, Nick brought his BFT to the boat and again two gaffs pulled it over the rail. This was a slightly slimmer model estimated to be about 70 lbs. Small, really small hooks, strong baits well-selected and relatively lite leaders by Bill and Nick seem to be the secret to their hook up successes. “It is good that we do not have to try to kill the sun or the moon or the stars. It is enough to live on the sea and kill our true brothers.” ― Ernest Hemingway, The Old Man and the Sea So now we are off again in search for more tuna surface activity as Steve served an excellent lunch of cheeseburgers with all the fixins and potato salad. The continued flat ocean made for a pleasant meal and break from repeated frustration of chasing tuna on the surface that only wanted to tease us as they dove down when we approached. “You did not kill the fish only to keep alive and to sell for food, he thought. You killed him for pride and because you are a fisherman. ― Ernest Hemingway, The Old Man and the Sea We made similar frustrating “stops with no, nada tamales” at 1pm, 1:10pm, 1:45pm, 2pm, 3pm (2 stops). UGH!! WHY HAVE THE TUNA GODS FORSAKEN US??? Misery loves company!! “No one should be alone in their old age, he thought.” ― Ernest Hemingway, The Old Man and the Sea At 3:10pm Steve put out two trays of snacks – one with a variety of thin sliced meats (salami, ham, etc) and one with several types of cheese and a bowl of crackers. The fishermen basically inhaled these treats hoping to model such behavior so that the tuna would imitate us all – no such luck !!! At 3:40pm we stopped and heard Bob’s warning that this looked like heavier tuna on the sonar screen. But these apparently bigger models were not hungry – so down they dove and left us hanging baits and dragging jigs. “Perhaps I should not have been a fisherman, he thought. But that was the thing that I was born for.” ― Ernest Hemingway, The Old Man and the Sea At 5:15pm Hayden turned on the Drinking Light to officially signal time to relax, although a few sneaked in early. As Hayden sat sipping his Makers Mark on the rocks, Mother Nature suddenly sent a wave under the Fortune and tipped over his glass!! Such misfortune was embarrassing in the face of fully satisfied tuna all around but none interested in our offerings nor challenging us for sport!! At 6pm we came upon a kelp patty with a few Dorado seen around, but our past experience was repeated – many baits were cast forth, but none were chosen !! EXCEPT ONE – but it was lost back in the kelp so some suspected this to be a yellowtail with this typical behavior!! So we headed for Catalina, enjoyed a variety of spirits as we anticipated dinner. At 7 pm Steve began serving an excellent bill of fare _- TriTip Roast slices, mashed potatoes with bourbon seasoned gravy, and asparagus wrapped in bacon – and cheese cake for dessert. At this point some took a nap anticipating fishing for WSB at Catalina. “Now is no time to think of what you do not have. Think of what you can do with what there is.” ― Ernest Hemingway, The Old Man and the Sea We arrived at Catalina at about 11:30pm with just under half of the fishermen on deck. Yours truly gave this night fishing – which I do not enjoy – a one hour trial – then went back to my bunk – others continued. I returned on deck at 5am and heard that all types of bottom feeders had been hooked and released along with one lonely 12” WSB. So all broke down their gear, stored tackle, and sat down for Steve’s breakfast of pancakes and sausage served at 6am as we headed for San Pedro. Bill Parks kept his BFT whole for the weigh-in (actually 87.0 lbs – just ½ lb below the formula.) at the dock for the contest . Nick’s BFT was filleted on the way back. We arrived at the 22nd Street landing at 7am. Only Bill and Nick had to deal with their fish, the rest of us were free of that burden. “But man is not made for defeat," he said. "A man can be destroyed but not defeated.” ― Ernest Hemingway, The Old Man and the Sea All were looking forward to our next adventure at sea together !! “Only I have no luck any more. But who knows? Maybe today. Every day is a new day. It is better to be lucky. But I would rather be exact. Then when luck comes you are ready.” ― Ernest Hemingway, The Old Man and the Sea Sounds like something our fearless leader, El Presidente Luke, has said in the past as well!!

DWRRC Trip Report 2019 Trip #3- 6/21-6/23- 2 Day Trip Scribe- Gary Thompson NOTE- It took this scribe 4 double Palomas to get through this report, so I take no responsibility for any typos, questionable facts or other representations contained herein. Club Participants- Refer to the sign-up sheet, although there were a couple of last-minute changes. Crew- Jeff, Brian, Steve, Chris, Goofy As usual, this trip started a few days earlier with Ryan B. filling us in on the proposed plan and the weather. (Luke B. decided he would rather be in Europe visiting various drinking establishments as part of his family visit). Ryan followed up with updated information before the trip and we were all well prepared. Thank you, Ryan, for the great updates. The Scribe arrived at Newport Landing where the new boat now runs from at 2:45pm on 6/21, and observed some of the usual suspects had already arrived. We learned that Hayden C. had arrived at 10:45am! Geez Louise I guess he really wanted head of the line privileges! There were about 6 of us there by 3:00pm while the rest filtered in throughout the afternoon. M. Trunk had his usual load of CLs but didn’t have one open and under consumption. We wondered if he was not feeling well, then he confessed that he didn’t want to get busted by the local law enforcement who patrol this neck of the boardwalk. Eventually he relented and popped one open, along with a few other folks. Mario Jr. outdid Trunk on the beer though. He brought 76 cans! At 3:40pm, Mario Jr. had a line in the water (as usual) from the quay wall. One little note here about early arriving- the scenery. Since the whale watch boats run out of Davey’s, the scenery was not as “talented” on the boardwalk at Newport Landing. However, there was still plenty of worthwhile activity in this regard to ensure that we maintain all of our skills at the highest level, and observe for new innovations in “fishing”, if you all know what I mean….. By 5:00pm everyone was scattering to their favorite haunts for dinner, most at the Mexican place on Balboa Blvd. Good food for the price. By 6:00pm, everyone was here and now just waiting for the boat. Word is SCI sucked, and has for several days, so we will not be fishing there at least for the first day. Weather forecast for both days looks very good so we have options. Oh, I can’t go on without mentioning Tony B. whining about work. Typical lawyer. I keep telling him he needs a job that doesn’t ever interfere with fishing, like my job. HAHAHAHAH! The boat arrived around 7:30pm and the anticipated wait for Jeff to come up and give us a quick rundown on the “plan”. The plan is Cortez Bank first day, then go from there. With the boat at Newport Landing, and Wiggy having fixed the bait receivers, the crew was able to load bait there, thus alleviating a stop at the bait receivers at the jetty. The bait appeared cured also and held up well for the entire trip. We also had about 25 scoops of live squid on board already, and some mini macks mixed in with the sardines, so we were pretty well set. After the crew loaded bait, we loaded up, and left the dock at 9:20pm. We cleared the harbor at 9:40pm. Flat calm seas and next stop, the Cortez Bank, 9.5 hours away. While transiting the harbor, Goofy gave his customary safety speech consisting of informing all where the ice was for the drinks. Then we all traded the usual obligatory insults with Goofy and settled in for the next two days. Goofy also laid out a tray full of those little “mini wienies” and told us all to eat hardy. Needless to say, there was a bit of discussion surrounding this “snack”. Immediately upon departure from the harbor, Tony B., Tom H., and yours truly decided it was time to break open the Jack Daniels. As such, we were now officially in “fishing” mode. Day 1- Well at 3:45am, nature called for this Scribe, as we were just passing SCI. Too bad as it was flat calm and I was having a nice snooze in this nice ride. Anyway, Boo Boo (Brian) was in the galley getting a drink he concocts of “wake me up” stuff, and I grabbed a cup of coffee. I figured, I’m awake so that is it. I told Brian that I was going to fish with 20lb and he just laughed at me. Now why would he do that? Well, I decided to rig my 30lb as well, “just in case”. What I also noticed in the galley was some interesting “decorations” that had been installed in the night. More on that in a minute. After I finished rigging up, I went back to bed only to be awoken at 5:30am by THREE alarm clocks going off. Good lord I thought the boat was sounding general quarters! Well anyway. I rolled out and headed to the galley where several folks were already admiring and discussing those “decorations” I mentioned earlier. Now so as to keep this report politically correct, we won’t describe what these decorations were, but we all deduced that there was only one person that could have been responsible- Trunk. That was confirmed a bit later when Trunk crawled up from the bunkroom with a shit eating grin on his face. The kind of “cat that ate the canary” grin. He then proceeded to blame it all on Andy W. HAH! Goofy got up and just stared a bit and proceeded to ignore it all, for now. Word came down from the wheelhouse that our ETA was 7:00am. Boat was flying in this good weather at 10.5-11 knots. Goofy served up a really good breakfast of pancakes, bacon and eggs. Very tasty. We arrived at the bank at 6:55am, on the lower end, and dropped anchor at 7:05am. A couple fish showed but no bites. A live squid was a guaranteed whitefish or sheepshead, but we weren’t there for that. On the move at 7:45am up the bank to the west. Nice calm weather but heavy mist and wet conditions. Arrived at the 9 fathoms spot a few miles west of Bishop Rock at 8:45am. Good sign and show of yellows and large bonito. We went 7-12 on the yellows. I went 0-2 on yo-yo jigs. Both bit on the sink, and both pulled the hook after being on for a while. WTF was that all about? We also landed several large bonito in the 10-14 lbs. range. I got one of those too and they definitely tug hard when they are that big, especially on 20lb. Parks landed a bruiser yellow that weighed 41.75 lbs. on the spring scale, but only taped at just under 35 lbs. It was a skinny fish and the girth measurement was not as proportional as it should have been for its length. Thus, the low taped weight due to the formula. We were on the move again at 10:20am, looking around the area of the 9 fathoms spot, then headed back south down the bank. Jeff wanted to see if those fish that were there earlier were ready to bite. We got the anchor down about an hour later and proceeded to catch- nothing. No boils, no bites, nada. Jeff decided there was no point chasing shadows any longer so it was time to “stuff the bags” with some nice Reds. Oh Yeah! Goofy served up an excellent BBQ pork sandwich for lunch while we were traveling out to the deep-water areas. Over the course of the morning, Goofy had decided that the new “decorations” in the galley were most likely not suitable for their regular cliental that rides the boat, so he slowly removed all of them over the course of a couple hours. By lunch time, they were all gone. Oh well. We fished several spots in deep water in various areas, and did well. Drift was very good in the calm water and made fishing deep pretty easy. Very few tangles. We ended up very well with a large quantity of nice Reds, some Chucks and Boscos, and miscellaneous other bottom dwellers. We also added 4 nice ling cod, one each for Parks, Ryan B., Tom H., and yours truly. And those lings were mean. Both Ryan’s ling and mine pulled drag! We wrapped up a good fun day around 5:45pm and took off for SCI to try and get in right at dark and try for some squid and maybe a few dark evening fish. We finished the day with 7 yellowtail, 4 ling cod, limits of reds and assorted rockfish, and a handful of stud bonito. Patch and Jackpot for the day went to Parks with that brute yellow! We did have one passenger casualty for the day that I must mention. Yours truly the Scribe got skewered in the leg by a Red spine when Chris dropped it on my leg. The spine went straight into a surface vein on my leg and it looked at first like it had hit an artery. I was bleeding like a stuck pig! When we determined it had just hit a vein, all was good. Luckily the spine didn’t break off so a little hydrogen peroxide and a good band aid, and it was back to fishing. No rest for this wicked scribe when fishing for cods! During the afternoon, and on the way to the island, we enjoyed some of the best snacks ever I felt on a DWRRC trip, due in a great part to Ryan’s pre-trip plea of “NO CHEEZ-ITS”. We had quite a variety of chips, crackers, salsa, various salami and other meats and cheeses, and smoked salmon. And of course, the cocktail hour was in full swing with the Jack Daniels, other whiskeys, and all the connoisseur wines flowing. We were then rewarded with an excellent tri-tip dinner, along with baked potato with butter and sour cream, rolls, and salad. All you wanted. Definitely a great meal and well appreciated. Some of us retired shortly thereafter, while others stayed up partying. My only question was- would the “interior decorator” return? I had a premonition that I relayed to a few of the guys that the yellows were going to bite the next day. They had been off the bite for so long, they were due. Was I right? Keep reading and we will see. Day 2- We arrived at Pyramid Cove around 9:15pm the night before, but no squid or fish in the dark. The Cove was full of boats, approximately 40, due to a yellowtail tournament that day. What a fricking parking lot. And it was cold and heavy mist early in the morning, almost rain. The good news is we still had plenty of squid for the day. Early risers caught a few legal barracuda in the dark, but that was all. We were all wondering with all the boats, what this day would bring. And by the way, the “interior decorator” had not returned. Not long after grey light, we got a good hit on the yellows on the dropper loops. They were all nice fish in the 20-30lb range. We threw on 18 in about 45 minutes before they quit. I even got one! Finally! After yesterday’s fubar for me, I was beginning to wonder. When it died out, we moved out to the China Point ridge. Fish splashed around a bit, Mario Jr. got one on the surface iron, and that was it. Boat traffic was horrendous. Lots of Googans in their Parkers (Captain Jeff likes Parkers- HAHAHAH!), the Islander had their kayak fishermen out, and we even had spearfishermen in the water. What a fricking zoo it was! At 7:45am we pulled anchor and headed off to happier hunting grounds. Jeff’s plan was to spot hop up the front side and be in position by around noon at the west end. Thus, we spent the next several hours “spot hopping” up the island. Breakfast on the run was a nice plate of bacon, eggs and potatoes. But there was then something about someone asking for a burrito and the next thing you know everyone that hadn’t eaten yet was eating burritos. I’m not sure how that happened, but from what I understand, is was kinda funny. Goofy was just shaking his head. Between stops, lots of weird discussion and witty banter took place in the galley, with Goofy expounding more words of wisdom, as we traveled the front side of the island searching for conditions, fish and no sea lions. We found plenty of all three, however, fish did not want to even show. One issue we did have was it was overcast. And we know what that means at that island. As Wiggy would say, “no sun, no fun”. ​ By 11:30 am, we anchored up at the ridge and kelp at the upper end of Northwest Harbor hoping to get something going. By this time there was some light winds and we had a side current, but the sun was out. There had been fish in there a few days prior so we were hoping for the best. And it paid off in spades. The yellows showed right away and were eating everything. Surface irons and fly lined baits, both sardine and squid (with a very small slider) were getting bit. The bite was steady and lasted for quite a while. It was typical yellow fishing. Fish would come through in spurts, splash around, we hang a few and then they swim off for a bit. Repeat the cycle many times this day. Additionally, due to where we were positioned, we had excellent bass fishing for anyone that wanted to catch one, mostly legal fish. The squid was working well on the bass, and they were also eating the jigs. Of course, the yellows though were the prime target. Mario Jr. was smoking it on the jig nailing 5 or so on his surface iron. When it was all said and done, we put 34 more yellows into the RSW. I personally went 3-4 out of this batch. The one that got away was a funny deal. It was on for a while, got in the kelp, and I pulled the hook trying to get it out. And then a calico ate the bare hook! Too funny. I ended up 4-7 on the yellows for the trip, but should not have lost those two on the first day. Frustrating to say the least. At the end of the day, we had bagged 53 yellowtail, and although only a few were kept, all the legal bass you wanted. The Patch for Day 2 went to Ron S. with a nice yellow, and the jackpot went to Mario Jr.’s guest Ed C. with his best ever yellow. So, once it was all said and done for Day 2, I guess my premonition was correct. But even a blind squirrel finds a nut once in a while. We left for home at 1:30pm. Cocktail hour for the most part began right away on the way home. Tony B., Tom H. and I polished off the Jack Daniels, and others did there thing as well. A great Philly Cheesesteak sandwich for lunch, then it was nap time for most as a fitting end to a good day. With a smooth ride home, except for some wind the last two hours, we arrived at the dock around 6:45pm. We all unloaded from the boat, hustled for our vehicles, loaded up our gear and fish, said our goodbyes and any final insults, and headed home looking forward to the next trip. All in all, this was a very good 2-day trip with lots of good fishing, although at times slow, and lots of fun. Especially some of the interesting “antics” that do occur on these trips. I sometimes wonder how Jeff and his crew can actually put up with us. Final Trip Score- 60 yellowtail, 4 ling cod, a handful of barracuda and bonito, some bass kept, lots of legal bass released, and lots of nice Reds! Some observations- The Cortez Bank is always a crap shoot. You just never know. We had good weather, decent current and good water conditions, plenty of fish, but just off the bite. It happens, but it was certainly worth the shot we took. And you can’t go wrong with the bottom fishing. The sea lions were being their normal obnoxious selves on every spot as usual at SCI. They picked at our baits and spooked the yellows as usual, but for the most part, were disinterested in eating hooked fish this trip. So, in that sense we got pretty lucky. We only lost a couple to them that I can recall. Not sure why at times they are like this, but we benefited by it on this trip. Lastly, some observations about the new boat itself since I have now fished two trips on her. As we all know, a lot of work was put into the boat during the winter to prepare it for fishing in Southern California waters. And the work has paid off. Bait capacity in the four bait tanks is tremendous- Jeff estimates 80 scoops of sardines is now capacity. Also, much easier to segregate bait when two or more types are available. The fish hold is much more accessible, twice the size as the previous boat, and the same refrigerated salt water spray system. It is also shallower so fish aren’t stacked on top of each other as bad as the other boat. Fish kept very well in it. The bunkrooms are very nice with good air conditioning, bunk curtains in each, and lights and electrical in most bunks. Bunks are also larger than older boats and can accommodate all of the big guys like me and others. The galley and dual seating areas are very nice and spacious, with comfortable seating capacity of 24 in the main upper seating area, and 6 in the lower area. The galley itself is very nice and has allowed Goofy to expand his menu options for our group. He has lots of storage space in the refrigerator, freezers, and dry storage with a large beer/soft drink cooler. And a unique ice dispenser as well for our evening libations. He seems to enjoy his new galley very much. The tackle storage is good with plenty of space, and more than enough rod holders (yeah right). The one drawback which I believe they will work on is the anchor and getting a fish around it. Definitely need crew assistance. The boat seems to take the weather well, although we have not yet had a real test, but coming home on this trip, the wind did kick up and the ride was fine. The boat drifts pretty well also. Some items we might suggest to Wiggy to be added/improved next year. Two main priorities- a new hood fan over the grill, the one they put in is a piece of garbage. And the “monkey bar” on the cabin aft overhang. The overhang may or may not need to be cut back as it does not seem to hinder casting jigs or bait from the sides near it. Careful casting is all that is necessary. A few minor items- mirrors, paper towel dispensers and trash cans in each head. Sliding side windows in the upper galley seating area since there is no air conditioning there would be nice. One on each side. One final thought for the club officers. As you contemplate the passenger load for next year, in conjunction with the cost increase, I suggest sticking with 20 as maximum. Both trips so far had 20 and there were times when it did seem crowded. 22 or 23 may be too many. But that is just my observation. ​ And that ends my report for Trip #3. Signing off. Gary T.​

DWRRC Trip 2 – 2 Day Trip on the Fortune, Cast off June 6 th , fished June 7 th and 8 th June 6 th 2019. The 75 th anniversary of the D Day invasion. Events that happened June 6th many years ago, the sacrifice by all allow us to have the freedom to be at sea on the Fortune to pursue a passion we all have. Thank you does not seem enough. Short version: Day 1. 10 Yellow Tail - Mario Sr. JP Winner - 10 pound Yellow tail. Steve Lenker new Calico leader 4.8 pounds Day 2. 3 Yellow Tail – Ryan Burson JP Winner – 15 pound Lingcod. Beer required version: I arrived later than planned as I was driving up from San Diego Thursday morning and I still had to change the line on my reels before heading to San Pedro. Stopped at Hogan’s for last minute supplies, paying homage and thanks to the folks there. Recommendation they made last year were spot on. Once prepped and the car loaded, the traffic gods were kind on the trek from South Orange County to 22 nd street landing. When I arrived around 5-ish, the well-oiled machine known as the DWRRC was already onboard getting ready for Fridays activities. A familiar sight was Super Mario fishing from the boat. A buzz of activity rigging line, swapping stories, greetings, stowing gear, rods, BS’ing, last minute phone calls home, etc. As I was on my final trip schlepping my stuff from the parking lot, Steve Lenker walked up behind me and asked, “Hey Jeffy, you need some help?” I always need help. Always a friendly greeting from club members and crew. Crew of the Fortune. First Bob, Second George, Axel, Alex and stand-up comedian / galley slave Steve. The anglers and consumers of fine spirits, wine and beer Bill Parks, Matt Kindsfather (Ryan’s Guest), Luke Burson, Mike Trunk, Brian Wynne, Ryan Burson, Steve Lenker, Hayden Claisse, Joseph Gigante (Mike Trunks Guest), Ron Henry, Roy Patterson, Tom Hill, Gary Thompson, Andy Woodfill, Mario Caporuscio Sr., Super Mario Caporuscio Jr., Jeff Hinrichs (scribe doody) and Joe Stassi – Joining as a guest. Looking fit and ready to go. Andy was the last to arrive with Silver Bullet provisions that hopefully would make it to Saturday afternoon. Now we had the Trunk and Andy factors to add to the entertainment level that would start peaking Friday evening as Matt was battling a brute during dinner hour. As I was assisting Trunk carrying the valued cargo to the boat, I informed him there was a two-beer corkage fee for assisting him. He informed me that was an issue as there were only 72 beers available. I left it at that. The Caporuscio’s appears to be well stocked with Cerveza’s and Jack. Plans were to be under way around 6 PM and we were. All aboard and accounted for. Off to the bait receiver for a fill of sardines. Chef Steve served wieners and bean-less chili with Mac salad whilst the tanks were being plugged. Delicious. We left the receivers at 7:11. Under way to some very calm seas. The weather promised to be a cool evening. It was. We were looking to fish SCI in search of Yellow tail, perhaps the legendary white sea bass and whatever else we could entice to bite. 1:30 AM At the cove circling for squid. Gary in the galley sipping coffee, Mario Jr. ready to go. Does he ever sleep? 1:45 AM sounds like crowders going over. Anchor out and engines off. Learned from Gary later the crew was able to scoop a considerable amount of squirters before the dogs showed thier ugly mugs and scared the ink out of the squid. That sounds like a sad Western Outdoors’ News song, Squid before Sea Lions. Of the sea lions, Thompson said, Trunk can Punk em, then Gary would Plunk em, whatever that means. Off we went to find a no dogs zone with no luck. The crowd at the rails grew slowly pre-dawn. Thoughts were on White Sea Bass. Action was almost non-existent, however picked up when the dogs wanted to play. We don’t need no stinking dogs. Pretty slack current not happening. Gonna be overcast and cool all day. 6:15 AM Awesome biscuits and gravy courtesy of Steve. (The highlight of early morning was breakfast) Moving around to get away from the dogs and find some current. Finally found some of the right fish to play. Forktails were showing in small numbers. And the heartbreak of the dogs taking them. However, a few anglers prevailed over evil. Then Gary was on something big. Maybe a WSB. Sea Bass, yes, White, no. This is the same area Gary hooked and released another BSB a few years earlier, on the same rod and reel. This was a considerable battle that was finally over when the beast surfaced. Some upper estimates of two hundred pounds were murmured. Well done Gary. Not even the sea lion wanted to mess with this fish. The crew took action to ensure the fish was back on its ways to the depths. We moved between the Cove, LA Basin, and back. Mario Sr. picked up a nice YT on fly lined squid. There were a few more YT’s, goats to be had, cuda, white fish, bonitos, blue perch and a few birds. Sometime during all this movement, Steve served an awesome lunch of Pastrami sandwiches, slaw and mac salad. Moved over to Pyramid. Calicos for many on dines and squid. A few Yellow tail. Tough to keep from the sea lions. Farging Iceholes. Then I saw Matt bring up what looked like a blue gill of the sea. I was informed this was a Blacksmith Perch. What do I know? Steve Lenker was on fire using Hook Up Bait. He is deadly using those. He landed what appears to be the leader Calico for the year. Taped at 4.8 pounds. (or was that 4 pounds 8 ounces). 19.75 inches long, 14 inches girth. Mario also landed a sizable calico. 20 inches long, 12.5 inches girth. Luke hooked something that looked like it was going to spool him before it came unbuttoned. Hayden picked up a Yellow tail despite inviting 4 of his closest friends to tangle along. We were on a good spot of small yellow tail when the Fury radioed to come on over and take these wretched sardines from us. First steady action all day and we had to pull away. As can be, we were burning through bait pretty fast, so the offer was welcomed. We stopped at the Fury to relieve them of several scoops of sardines before they headed back to port. When we returned to the hot spot, it was over. Pulled into a calico spot for dinner. There was plenty of action for calico’s and other squid loving fish. Dinner was served for the first sitting. Still steady action on the calicos. Then it got interesting. Ryan’s guest Matt hooked into something sizable. Very sizable. Humbling sizable. To the bow and ripping line with little slow down. A ton of line before it slowed down. Speculation of what quarry was on the end of the line. Big sea lion, big mud marlin, black Sea Bass, thresher? Since it did not surface, this ruled out a Sea Lion. And it did not run like a ray. Several members instructed Matt of how to gain line on this beast. Other offered colorful words of encouragement. Very graphic and at times disturbing words of encouragement were thrown his way. Matt was torn between toughing it out and handing this over to someone else. This dragged on for 10 minutes, then 20 minutes, then 30. Matt was gaining ground with help from Ryan coaching him. When it looked like there might be some headway this formidable foe took all the line gained and more. Matt still hung on. After several more agonizing minutes, Matt relinquished the battle to Ryan. Ryan put the screws to this, only to have the hook pull after several more minutes of battle. Speculation was a thresher. Not to miss reporting on meals, dinner was pork loin, green beans and rice. A fine selection of wines provided by many. With a cheesecake chaser. Another fine meal. All told I believe there were 10 Yellow tail taken Friday. Mario Sr. took top honors with a 10 pound yellow tail JP. Off we were back to the cove for more squid then to Tanner for Yellow Tail. ETA for Saturday morning fishing was 5: 30 AM. A bumpy ride to the bank. Words of wisdom during the pursuit of tuna If it smells like fish, it’s a dish. Day two: Sunny all day. We were in position at 5:50 AM. We were not the only boat in town. Out went the surface irons, yoyo irons, fin bait, squid, anything and everything. Long soaks. Some salmon grouper, white fish, goats. Trunk made the adjustments to get the forktails to bite. He went two for three on yellow tail. Ryan a hook up on a yoyo iron, that came unbuttoned. I was soaking a fin bait next to Ryan, he got bit and landed what looked to be a JP contender. When I asked him why he got bit and I didn’t, he told me his bait was prettier than mine. Enough said. We moved around to find more willing targets to no avail. Breakfast Burritos or eggs and taters and pork your way for breakfast somewhere along the way. Then the decision was made to target some reds before heading back to port. Somewhere in the middle of this, Steve served a large silver platter of brownies. Joe Stassi was right in the thick of things. It was very cool to see him wind up a very nice pair of reds. Several nice sized reds were put onboard. Made a few long drifts that netted several reds and various other species. Among those was a pair of Ling Cod. First it was Luke who pulled in what appeared to be a 12 pounder. Not to be outdone, Ryan landed a 15 pounder. More reds then it was time to head back to San Pedro. Burgers and steak fries for lunch. Day two tally Three Yellow tail Two Ling Cod. Reds Ryan took top honors with a 15 pounds Ling Cod JP that outweighed his Yellow tail. Some mental notes I made from boarding through both days. I noticed how Ryan really took the time to prepare and to mentor Matt on the finer points of fishing and catching. Everything from the differences of the rod and reel set up, when to use the 25 or 30 set up, how to hook the bait, how to fish the bait, how to properly set a hook. A class act Ryan Some other notables: Gary having the hurt put to him by a sizable BSB and still have enough energy to land a blue perch. Joe Stassi going at the reds like the youngster he is. Trunk making the adjustments to get the YT’s to bite. The amount of beer required to keep Andy and Trunk fishing. Mario Sr and Mario Jr, not to be out done on the beer and Jack, ouch. Brian, thank you for checking in on me. Hayden, it is great to have you fishing with us. Oh, the stories. The great crew. Comedian chef Steve always on the prowl to see if we were paying attention by bumping the butt of the fishing poles during a soak. Words of wisdom during the pursuit of tuna (cont.) If it smells like cologne, leave it alone. For you bird watchers: Bald Eagle and Albatross. Lessons learned, again and again and again. Always have a rod and reel set up ready for the trip home. We encountered two different stops of sizable crashing tuna. Ryan and Super Mario were ready. Mario got picked up on one of the stops. Chef Steve and other crew members also on them. Very smooth ride home. Rounded the north end of Catalina, on a spectacular day sail boats plentiful. In port somewhere around 8 PM. Time to put a fork in it. This trip was done.