A bit of chaos several weeks prior to departure due to the great uncertainties about conditions, so Capt Mike offered to extend our 5-day to a 7-day by either leaving earlier or coming back later. Would have been nice but no can do given people's booked flights and/or schedules; it was highly commendable and generous that he made the offer. The only thing that was possible was to leave at 9AM vs. the original 11AM...every little bit helps.
One member in our group of 26 had a bad fall en-route to Ensenada and had to disembark to get medical attention when the boat did the obligatory check-in. We later got word that other than some major bruises and some disorientation, he didn't have anything broken. Not the best start for any trip but it could have been worse so we left for the overnight run to Guadalupe.
The following is an account to my best "fuzzy" recollection given the numerous stops made and my snoozing in between...
About 1-2 hours after dawn Wednesday we set out some trollers; mine went out with a cedar plug. After a few false positive stops, my setup ended up being the only one out as we got to the island. About ten minutes after turning northwards around the island, Capt. Mike called for a chum line and I start winding in my jig when I hooked up to a juvenile YT. Though it was released, I felt good for breaking the skunk for the boat. We ended the rocking and rolling day (including night fishing) with 10 YT and a bunch of hog Calicos.
Started the next day with a scratch bite like the previous day until 8AM when the bite went WFO for an hour and a half and we picked up 45 YT. I got two on flyline and here's a picture of my first one:
(http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/Amadeus_Surf/DSCF1398_zps8y96zdqw.jpg)
...and my second:
(http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m153/Amadeus_Surf/DSCF1402_zpsi1zrfffu.jpg)
After that it went back to being a scratch bite for the rest of the day with the wind and water smoothing out gradually. Picked up more YT, Calicos, and rock fish (the dinky Calicos and the rockfish all went back). Capt. Mike sighted YFT at two stops but they had lock jaws. At the start of night fishing two more YT were picked up with a third popping off. Since the few macs we had all got picked up by YT, about 6 of us fished sabiki's for macs and got 30-40 for our efforts.
Friday also was a scratch bite day but we did have ONE 30lb YFT by our one and only female angler on-board landed at the same spot where they were sighted the previous day. I managed another two YT; one on dropper and one on flyline.
Scratch bite on Saturday until late morning when the boat started the return trip back to Ensenada and it was back to the routine of trollers, chum line stops, and a scratchy bite. After 3pm, the trollers picked up three schoolie YFT and one more on a surface iron. Capt Mike tried to put us back on that school but it wasn't meant to be and he called it trip a bit after 4pm.
Boat total was 75 YT, 5 YFT, and a bunch of Calicos. The largest YT was 65 lbs confirmed at Five Star; the rest were 25 lbs or larger.
Two notable observations while at Guadalupe: (1) the "taxman" was not seen once, and (2) the sea lions were only a "minor" annoyance unlike the experience the Shogun trip that returned three days before our trip left.
My setups that landed my four YT:
- Daiwa SMF170H on a Okuma Oceanic OC-C-701MH 20-40 Lbs with 50lb braid, 40lb mono top shot, and 40lb fluoro leader got three via flyline.
- Daiwa Sealine 400H on a Okuma Catalina CT-T-601MH 30-60 Lbs with 65lb braid, 50lb mono top shot got one on dropper loop. Was very surprised that I didn't get rocked given I only did 5 cranks back up after hitting bottom.
A lot of us got away with using less than the "recommended" 60lb minimum--probably because it was early in the season.
Not the most optimal conditions or most productive trip, but I got Guadalupe off my bucket list and landed four decent sized YT...and that's good enough for me.
Good report brother.....and congrats on scratching one off the bucket list....Bill
I got one good sized YT (30+ lbs??) on a 35 year old senator 112H with 30 lb mono and sabre rod during the WFO bite. 4-5 anglers hooked up at once and I think all were landed. Crew was amazing directing traffic.
Pete
Don't forget Dave caught a 65# giant!!
It was nice getting to fish with everyone again. Hopefully, I'll see you guys next year!
I thought the biggest yellow was the one Lauren got?
Quote from: MarkT on June 19, 2017, 02:38:34 AM
I thought the biggest yellow was the one Lauren got?
Somebody caught a 65#
Nice, sounds like a fun filled adventure.
They weighed that big one with Ed's and checked the scale against another one. It came in at 48# on a scale with a max of 50#. I was surprised since I figured it was well over 50#. Maybe it was and the scale was actually bottomed out when reading 48#..
What Porthos said "65 pounder certified by five star fish processors" that was a slug!
Anyone has an update on Gerry?
When we got back to San Diego, his friend that dropped him off said he was still being held for observation there and would be transferred to a hospital in Burbank later this week. No broken bones. I forgot to pass off the reel that he won in the raffle, but have decided to give him a couple weeks to recover before trying to get it out to him. Left an unopened bottle of crown on the boat too, dang, what a drag it is getting old! (Break out to an old Stones song).
Thanks Warren for the update.
Quote from: Hamachi on June 20, 2017, 03:20:31 PM
When we got back to San Diego, his friend that dropped him off said he was still being held for observation there and would be transferred to a hospital in Burbank later this week. No broken bones. I forgot to pass off the reel that he won in the raffle, but have decided to give him a couple weeks to recover before trying to get it out to him. Left an unopened bottle of crown on the boat too, dang, what a drag it is getting old! (Break out to an old Stones song).
glad jerry is on the mend. regarding the crown, if you call them, they might save it for you til next year!
I can pick it up this Friday if it's available and get it to you on Saturday...