8 Day on the Independence 9/17- 9/25

[bigggfish]

Perty Dern Good Fishin,

Started end of day two twilight at Cedros Island for pretty much nothing.  We only fished for about an hour.

We travelled South to San Pablo over night to sneak by a developing tropical storm on the Ridge Below and out to Alijos that was forecast to move up and in behind us (just to show what a good Captain looks out for).

It was a good move because we woke up to a pretty good Yellowtail bite in the morning off San Pablo.  They came in flurries and were in the 15-18# class and we managed about 150 before the current changed and it was time for us to make a move south.

Next morning found us on the North end of the ridge and it didn't take us long to troll up Mr. Wahoo.  For the remainder of the day it was Us versus the Wahoo as quick as possible before the Grinners moved in.  The sharks were thick and hungry.  I dare say if you put your big toe in the water, it would be gone within seconds at times.  We also had many a carp (marlin) hookup and some small (15-20# tuna in the mix).  At the end of the day we had near 100 wahoo for our work.  The toll on our gear was severe.  There are many sharks swimming around with Jimmy bombs dangling from their lips.  We also lost a LOT of Marauders.  So, we slid a little farther south to the Thetis, ate some Blackened Yellertail. Drank some wine and thought we were going to bed.

The fish had other thoughts.  I slid out after dinner first and dropped down to the bottom with a 16 ounce dropper loop.  I didn't hit the bottom.  Brought up a 30# Tuna.  Next drops was a 25# Yellowtail and the night bite was on.  Pretty much every drop was a 25-30# Yellowtail until midnight when the current changed and everyone tuckered out.

Day 5 we moved further South off the entrance to Mag Bay.  The Wahoo were waiting for us.  We trolled em up and had several drifts where they found us.  These were the jumbo models 45-60#.  They bit bait, bombs and jigs.  Bombs and jigs rigged with hight test (130#-200#) fluorocarbon did a bit better, but the jig loss was much higher of course.  We ended the day with all over 100 Hoos.  Then to top it off, the skipper found a tuna spot I don't think had ever seen a boat before.  We managed to all get our limit of Tuna within about an hour.  They weren't big (15-35#) but the volume allowed us to be selective about what we kept.  It was literally aquarium fishing with the fish right at the boat 360 degrees.  We cleared one corner and anyone that wanted to got a chance to give it a go at jackpoiling.  So, we all cleaned up for a nice dinner, cocktail and a rest..........or so we thought.  Just like the day before, I slid out and dropped down and was immediately on with a 30 pound yellowtail and so the night went just like the last one.  Fish bit till midnight.  In the midst, I got a trophy that weighed out at the dock at 39.6#.

Day 6 we headed north.  Beat up, bruised up and tore up.  We made a pass for Hoo at the high spots and managed about 30 more.

We did a little dabble for bass and halibut on the way home to use up the few remaining tickets we had left, but they didn't want to bite much and we were pretty happy just resting.

If your headed out, I hope you have half the trip we had.

As far as the Indy and her Crew go, there ain't any better.  I've been on about 25 long range trips and this is a first class operation.

Tight Lines.

[Shark Hunter]

Nice!

[Tightlines667]

Holy Mackerel!



Good trip....

Good report...

Thanks for sharing!

[Dominick]

Holy wahoo... Dominick

[conchydong]

 Awesome. I am jonesing for another LR trip. It has been 6 years for me.

[steelhead_killer]

massacre!

[David Hall]

Wow that was exciting.  A boat load of fish, a bunch of broken and lost gear and a mass of worn out fishermen.
Does it get any better than that?

[alantani]

i've heard it's a great boat.  thanks for the report!

[DFT]

Congratulations for doing extremely well on your trip.  May I ask what rods and reels you used to land those wahoos?

[Ron Jones]

Well,
Beings how wahoo are mackerel you are both right!
Ron

[hurt locker]

Congratulations on your trip and thanks for the report and pictures.

[bigggfish]

I caught most of the wahoo on bombs or hopkins (old school jigs) using an AVET LX6/3R spooled with 50# P-Line Braid and 40#Izorline Mono Topshot  ON a   Penn Rampage 3080 7' 6" Rod.  I also caught some on Penn 25NLDS and 40NLD2 bothe with 40 or 65# braid backing and 40# Izorline Topshot. The 25NLD was on a Penn Rampage 2040 and the 40NLD was on a Penn Rampage 3080.  I caught the bait fish (2) on Penn 60 NLD 2 Speed with 50# Max Cuatro and 50# P-Line Topshot and wire leader on a Penn Rampage 2050 rod.

[Bill B]

Congrats brother on a job well done...great report and photos....Bill

[Aiala]

I've heard it's a great boat.

Same here. Maybe at some point you could look into chartering it for a second (longer) AT trip than the June SOA? Room for more guys...

~A~

[DFT]

Thanks for the info.  I will have two rigs for wahoo fishing next month on my 7 day trip on the Searcher.  One 50# on the Tiburon SST 8 and one 40# on the Andro 12s.  I hope I can do well as you did.