Final Trip of the year - 10 Day on the RP 10/1 - 10/11

[bigggfish]

Call me crazy, but I did almost back to back trips.  I got back from an 8 day on the Independence (already reported) and then went out for 10 days on the Royal Polaris.  I basically learned to fish on the RP 20 years ago back in the day when Steve Loomis and Rollo Heyn were on the boat.  I hadn't been on the boat since due to kids college obligations and such.  The good news is the boat hasn't lost a step.  Other than showing her age, the crew is still top notch and they know how to maximize the fishing experience for each angler.  Since ours was a 10 day trip we got a little of the best of both worlds.  We got the option of Wahoo fishing on the Ridge or Alijos Rocks AND the opportunity to spend 4 full days at Guadalupe Island.  Only 4 boats have Guadalupe permits and man that is a treasure.  I hadn't been to the Lupe in 15 years and it was everything I remembered.

We travelled the first two full days (we had to make a stop in Ensenada to check in for Guadalupe and immigration which took about an hour) and the decision was made to go to the Rocks since we would be there alone and the first boat to be there after the Rocks had a full day of rest.  The trip down was a bit bumpy but not intolerable.  The two days we fished at the Rocks was scratch but enough to keep us busy.  We managed 84 wahoo up to 44 pounds and lost a lot to sharks.  We also had a pesky marlin bite to deal with. (I lost 4 wahoo bombs to marlin).  So, we had fun.

Then we made the run up to Guadalupe.  Our 4 days at Guadalupe we like fishing on a lake. Even if there was wind, the water was flat.

Day 1 in Guadalupe.  We woke up making bait close up to the Island and then ran up close inside the big Rock on the South end of the Island. The hot ticket this day was the Kite.  The wind was up so we managed to put up two kites and we managed to get through two full kite rotations.  Most every kite fish was caught.  We also managed several bait fish and topped the day off with a few dropper loop Yellowtail up to 40 pounds.  Yours truly managed 3 Tuna and 1 Yellowtail.  The Tuna were all 55-125# with the average fish being 85#. We had very little trouble with sharks.

Day 2 the bite slowed down and the sharks moved in. We travelled up and down the South end of the Island and made a few drifts and anchor stops.  I spent 3 hours on the kite in one period and was eventually rewarded with a good sunburn and a 130# yellowfin.  We made several more stops that day and we ended up with about 33 fish for our effort with about 20 more lost to a 400-600 pound great white shark.

Day 3 was like day 2.  The only real difference was this day we had to deal with the biggest Mako shark I have ever seen.  I lost 2 big yellowtail and a half a tuna to him.  Towards the end of the day we made "The Move".  We moved outside the big rock on the South Side of the Island to the 29 fathom spot targeting yellowtail.  They were there.  It took 100# test to get them off the rocks (for 30# - 40# fish) but I personally broke off 4 on 100#.  To our surprise the Tuna were also there and we caught 70 before dark closed in. We had to then move in to make several tanks of mackerel.

Day 4 We wasted no time and went back to "the spot".  It took a while for the current to straighten out and for the skipper to get us anchored up correctly, but when we did it was one of those "good problems"..."do I fish yellowtail or tuna".  So we dedicated the starboard side of the boat to yellowtail.  You started in the bow with a 24 ounce dropper loop, big scad mack, and if you weren't bit or broke off by the time you got to the stern you started over.  The stern was dedicated to bait fishing for Yellowfin.  We also had two kites going on the starboard aft corner.  We finished this epic day with 110 Tuna (75-126#), 84 Yellowtail (most in the 30-40# class) and we lost a lot to a big mako and a couple great whites.

For the trip I caught 10 Yellowfin form 55# to 131#, 7 Yellowtail 26-42# (and a few I gave away), and 2 wahoo.  I saw the awesome biosphere and geoscience of Guadalupe.

If you get the chance to go Guadalupe Island in your life, TAKE IT.

Jim

[Shark Hunter]

Nice Fish Jim.

[David Hall]

Serious fishing back to back trips Jim, are you trying to see if you can get it out of your system?
It only works for a day or two.  I've tried.
Anyway sounds like it was a fantastic trip. 
Thanks for sharing, I've always wanted to see Guadalupe.