Isla Guadalupe or Bust...!

[thorhammer]

The Desert Flower is kickin butt and taking names! Well done!!!! And I mean the fishing not the fish!!!!!!!!!! Eat that ahi while he's still looking at you !!!   Pics pics pics!!!!!!

Looks like a great trip!!!!!!!!


J




















1

[Dominick]

The Desert Flower
J

The Desert Flower... Good one.      I love it.  Dominick

[David Hall]

well done, nice fish you gotta be tough to pull in those fish, but it's a glorious pain,  rest up.

[SoCalAngler]

YFT... plus five more up to 75 lbs... these things are BRUTAL, I am whipped black and blue.         

~A~

Well done!

The tail looks clipped was that a troll fish?

[wallacewt]

good stuff aiala
was you comfortable with your rod & reel gear?

[Aiala]

Well, I am finally home safe and sound, and not too the worse for wear, although I must admit that those tunas gave me a workout the likes of which I have seldom (if ever) experienced. I ended up with half a dozen of them, probably totaling something north of 300 lbs, which will yield me around 120 lbs of fillets... enough to share with all my friends and neighbors and still have enough to last me until my next trip in June, an 8-day aboard ROYAL STAR again. (Conflicts with SOA, alas, but so it goes.) Oh, and one yellowtail around 20 lbs... caught on the very first drop with a purple-and-black yoyo iron. (I won't be sharing him...!) Thought I'd get a bunch more, but it didn't happen... c'est la vie. 

I really appreciate everyone's encouragement and good wishes... I know you would have enjoyed the trip as much as I did. It meant a lot to know that the AT crew was pulling for me... I needed it!   

I must apologize for the dearth of pictures, but actually the ones I posted already pretty much covered it; one YT, and several YFTs. I would've taken more, but the fish were coming on so strong that the deck crew was constantly busy and didn't have time to stop and take a lot of photos.

Anyway, briefly, here's how the trip went:

We left San Diego mid-morning and headed south to Ensenada to clear Mexican customs. We got there around 4:30, and were boarded by machine-gun-toting soldiers and a sniffer dog. It took about an hour for them to thoroughly inspect the vessel and get all the paperwork sorted out, whereupon we headed back out to sea bound for Guadalupe. Captain Brian Simms told us that the wind was going to come on strong during the night, up to 30 knots from the northwest, and by gosh he was dead right. We woke up to some pretty heavy seas, pitching and yawing in the trough. Rock 'n roll! But by noon we were in sight of the island, and once we got in the lee things calmed considerably.

We started fishing around 1:30 pm, and after my one yellowtail and a few others the tunas started hitting. I hooked up right away, and landed two pretty quickly. Right about then the first huge great white showed up and chomped one of the other angler's tuna at boatside, leaving a head that weighed about 20 lbs. (This scenario would unfold repeatedly throughout the trip... it's called "paying the Tax Man".)     These monster sharks are magnificent and frightening beasts, all teeth and attitude. Seeing them in their natural state was something I've wanted to do since I was a kid... Now that I have, I can say it was worth the wait.

After a great dinner (food aboard ROYAL STAR is simply outstanding) we went to sleep tired and happy. Next morning dawned much calmer, the wind backed off, and the tunas started biting right away. I managed to land four, which frankly kicked my butt. At this juncture I have to say that this business of rail fishing isn't entirely my cup of tea; my back ached, my hands got bruised and raw, and half the time I couldn't gain any line despite winding for all I was worth. Perhaps it's a function of my advancing years, but as I recall, the old lift-and-wind-down method, complete with belt and harness, was far less taxing on my body. If I ever do get a chance to fish for these size tuna again, I'm going to bring a Cal Sheets International 30 --with lugs-- and a kidney harness.   
 
At any rate, I was done in by then, and retired to the showers. The following day was bright, sunny, hot. Since we already had lots of tuna, Brian decided we would look for some yellowtail, so we cruised all the way down south to Tuna Alley, trolling up the trip's lone wahoo along the way. The scenery was beyond spectacular, but the YTs weren't cooperating due to lack of current, so we reversed course and returned to our productive tuna spot. Sure enough, they were still on the chew, and rods went bendo on all sides. I hooked up too, to a powerhouse tuna, who pinned me fast to the rail and defeated every attempt I made to retrieve line. After forty minutes of this, suddenly my line went POP!... the Tax Man had struck. Damn!   

I took a break to grab a soda, then flung another fat sardine and WHAM, an even more powerful and intractable tuna took off for the horizon, sizzling braid off my HX at an alarming rate. I somehow got him stopped, whereupon he headed for the depths and pinned me to the rail again. By this time I was seriously running out of gas, but I was determined to get this guy and kept reeling, gaining mere inches, until after another forty minutes... POP goes the Tax Man... again!   

Well, that was it for me. I could barely move, I was so drained, and I decided that it was time for me to retire my tag number. I racked my gear, hit the shower, and emerged greatly refreshed in time to miss the epic bite of the trip as 100-to-150 lb YFT came blasting through eating everything in sight until darkness fell... sigh! But the truth is, I couldn't have handled any more, and I was already more than satisfied with my catch.   

On our trip back, the ocean was gentle as a pond... amazing how conditions could change so quickly. Through Ensenada with its guns and dog again, then back home to San Diego where we quickly cleared customs and then had to wait for over an hour while the ROYAL POLARIS off-loaded her fish at the only available dock space. I had already arranged to have my fish processed (BTW, the tail-clipping is done to indicate which fish are going to the processor) so I loaded up my car and after goodbyes all around to the crew and passengers, headed back to Palm Springs, content and still feeling the familiar rocking motion of the boat.

So that's it... until next time!   

~A~

[swill88]

An absolutely great report! Thanks.

[Steve-O]

Wow! Quite a trip. Would have loved to have been on top of the boat watching all the action especially when the great whites came rolling through.

Do I want to do this?  Not really sure a yes will come out of my mouth.

Glad you survived the Tuna dishing out their best.

You have my respect and admiration and are a treasured asset on AT's forum!

[STRIPER LOU]

Awesome report and a trip that will not be forgotten. Nice work Aiala!
...................Lou

[Shark Hunter]

Congratulations Aiala!
Thanks for taking us along. Sounds like you had a good time.
You are home safe and that's what really matters.
I would have loved to tangle with the Tax Man.
You need to get you a Harness to go with that belt.
It makes life much easier.

[Alto Mare]

You did great Aiala! thanks for sharing your adventure with us and also for showing us how its done
Glad you're home safe.

Sal

[Aiala]

I would have loved to tangle with the Tax Man.

Mr. Shark, I'm sure you would! But since even the Godfather would be hard-pressed to handle one of these leviathans, maybe you'd better get yourself one of those massive Everol 20/0s... 

Then, to simulate the experience, just hook up to the nearest passing freight train (and wear a harness, LOL)         

~A~

[thorhammer]

The Desert Flower
J

The Desert Flower... Good one.      I love it.  Dominick

Another member came up with that designation previously, not to mention her bling display case looks like a garden!

[johndtuttle]

Congratulations Aiala!
Thanks for taking us along. Sounds like you had a good time.
You are home safe and that's what really matters.
I would have loved to tangle with the Tax Man.
You need to get you a Harness to go with that belt.
It makes life much easier.

Fishing for GWS is illegal in the eastern Pacific as far as I know. Remember, they eat seals. They are our friends .

[RowdyW]

Fishing for GWS is illegal in the eastern Pacific as far as I know. Remember, they eat seals. They are our friends .
[/quote] But IF you HAPPEN to hook one you still have to bring it in to remove the hook.