Pacific Queen 3 day Nov 8-11th...Anyone wanna join me????

[pjstevko]

Sold out!

[pjstevko]

With the inclement weather that moved in my trip got delayed by about 8 hours now making it a 2.5 day trip instead of a 3 day. I'm just hoping the weather doesn't shut down the bite.....

I'll start the drive to SD tomorrow early as I have a few last minute stops to make for terminal gear. I need to pick up some heavy duty swivels, crimps, large hooks, trebles and flying fish to make up a few flyline backpack rigs...... It's basically a kite rig with out the kite or balloon. You use foam to keep the flyer on the surface and let the boat drift away from it for a few hundred then engage the gear so the drift moves it along the surface......

I've never seen or done this tactic before but want to give it a shot..... The risk/cost could definitely be worth the reward!

[JK47]

My friend was on the Aztec last week and saw the backpack rig work.

[pjstevko]

My friend was on the Aztec last week and saw the backpack rig work.

With or without a balloon?

Do you know what # test leader was being used?

[JK47]

No balloon, just drop and drift. He didn't ask what the specs were, just said it looked like a heavy kite set up.

[pjstevko]

No balloon, just drop and drift. He didn't ask what the specs were, just said it looked like a heavy kite set up.

Thanks for the reply

[theswimmer]

Hey PJ have a great time and good luck !
I'll be surf fishing HMB heading south along the coast as you are driving .
Tight lines my good friend ,
Best,
Jonathan

[Swami805]

I have a couple friends who use the back pack rig on their private boats and have done really well.  I'm sure the crew will get you dialed in on it
Good luck, have a great trip!!!

[pjstevko]

Well it was a tough trip for me.... I fished hard and stayed at the rail until the bitter end but when it was all said and done I came home empty handed..... Actually 5 others got skunded as well....The boat ended the trip with 44 bluefin for 24 passengers over the 2.5 days.

The recent rain and wind really put a damper on the trip as we stayed tied to the bait dock Sunday night for 5 hours as we waited for the wind to die down before the long steam to the Cortez and Tanner bank in a strong head. We didn't make it to the fishing grounds until 3pm Monday afternoon and then started flying the kite which brought in around 6 good fishing including the biggest of the trip at 317#    As the sun set we started dropping the flat falls which was working good for some. I stayed up until 3am dropping flat falls trying to get bit but just couldn't make it happen.
I woke up at 6am on Tuesday and it wasn't long before we got on good school. The fish were biting decent and the drift lasted until around lunch. We found several other schools through out the day that brought in a few more fish. We put the kite out in the late afternoon and it brought in a few more fish. Once the sun went down the bite shut off and not one more fish was landed.

It didn't seem to matter what line I used or how I hooked my baits I never got bit..........sometimes that's just how it goes!

[JK47]

Thanks for the report and making a go of it.

[Tiddlerbasher]

Sorry you didn't get bit PJ but that's why it's called fishing and not catching

[mo65]

   Good report PJ...sorry to hear you never got bit...we all have trips like that. I'm still searching for a donor 210 or decent parts to finish your reel. Was wondering if you've come across anything yet...let me know if you do. Prices on eBay have been just ridiculous, I'm sure we can get a cheap donor sometime soon. I'll keep my eyes peeled.

[alantani]

sorry it didn't work out.   

[pjstevko]

I'm not mad at all as I tell the kids at work.... There's never a guarantee of anything!

Once I saw the big storm move through the previous days I knew it was gonna be a crap shoot. Between the wind and the rain the water temps dropped by 6 degrees which is never a good thing.....

I'm already planning for the next few trips once the schedule gets posted...... A 1.5 day Colonet trip in February and a 2.5-3 day trip in September!

Plus I'll do a little striper fishing in Connecticut in a few weeks when I go home to visit my mom. Then I'll be in Florida for work all of January and I'll spend all my free time looking for tarpon and snook......

Can't let a bad trip keep ya down, gotta keep your eyes forward and fish another day!

[Gfish]

Yehp!, good report. Sometimes it's a process of eliminating the no bite periods, methods and trips. They call it "fishin", not "catchin". I'll bet you still had some good experiences, though.
Sounds like maybe fire season in Florida?