I had spent an hour typing up a play by play and when I hit the "post" button it told me I had timed out and erased my post....
Short version....Conditions were tough, weather sucked, very scattered schools, mostly a sinker rig bite, and the total for the boat was 33 bft for 29 people!
Nik, Juan and I all brought home fish. Mark doesn't keep tuna so he donated one his tuna catches to me and then I donated a fish to Juan.
It was too rough to take a lot of pics but I'll post the few I did take later tonight...
Mark, Nik and Juan feel free to post your versions...
Boat didn't sink, I didn't get swept overboard and didn't get sick or arrested. I caught a BFT and almost caught another, much bigger one that chewed through when the gaff was about to go in. That hurt, I'd much rather lose one in the 1st 10 seconds of the fight than the last 10 seconds, but hey, that's fishing! Overall, it was an ok trip. I was home by 7:30am yesterday.
Quote from: MarkT on April 18, 2022, 08:38:52 PMBoat didn't sink, I didn't get swept overboard and didn't get sick or arrested. I caught a fish and almost caught another, much bigger one that chewed through when the gaff was about to go in. That hurt, I'd much rather lose one in the 1st 10 seconds of the fight than the last 10 seconds, but hey, that's fishing! Overall, it was an ok trip. I was home by 7:30 yesterday.
It was a pleasure to meet and fish with you Mark. Thanks again for the fish donation, Juan and I greatly appreciate it!!!!
PJ, sorry to hear the weather sucked, that can make for a challenging trip. How are you liking your Speedmasters? I have a 40lb and an 80/100lb two speed, but I'm in the market for a 50/60lb reel and I'm curious to hear your opinion about the speedmasters. Rich
glad you all made it back safely!!!!
Quote from: rogan on April 18, 2022, 09:21:40 PMPJ, sorry to hear the weather sucked, that can make for a challenging trip. How are you liking your Speedmasters? I have a 40lb and an 80/100lb two speed, but I'm in the market for a 50/60lb reel and I'm curious to hear your opinion about the speedmasters. Rich
Rich I like my SM16ii but it hasn't gotten much use to be honest. It was my 50# bait setup but it'll now be my 50/60# sinker & dropper loop rig. I'm sure you'll get plenty of suggestions on a 50/60# reel but you should consider a SM16 as an option
Quote from: alantani on April 18, 2022, 10:12:17 PMglad you all made it back safely!!!!
Yeah it was rough out there. I think if the wind was 5 mph faster or higher wave heights they would have cancelled.
Sounds like a tough trip guys. Victory at Sea conditions are challenging at best. Bill
Aw come on, conditions weren't that bad. I didn't see anyone puking and waves weren't crashing over the house when heading uphill. I'd call it Tuna weather. The wind certainly made for a fast drift! One guy commented that the wind was laying down when we were looking around. I pointed out that we were going with the wind. Whatta ya know, It ramped back up as soon as we stopped and turned sideways to the wind!
Was anyone ill prepared ? As to semi-foul weather gear... that would be my luck ,unforeseen weather... and no Grundens in my sack.
Cool
It seemed like everyone was mostly prepared with at least heavy sweatshirts. Grundens weren't necessary but would have kept you warmer and drier.
I'd say more people could/should have worn deck boots but that's a personal choice....
Thanks for the info PJ & Mark T. Spring BFT trip for sure. What were they biting on? How did the night fishing go?
Not looking any better today
https://www.windy.com/31.786/-116.927/waves?waves,2022042506,31.792,-116.798,13 (https://www.windy.com/31.786/-116.927/waves?waves,2022042506,31.792,-116.798,13)
Nik was on the trip after ours and they limited out on bft. He said the bite was way stronger and they caught over 30 during the daylight hours.
Pics
very nice!!!!!
I was on the prior Pac Queen trip. Same condition and results. Lucky to get a 23#
Mick