Reel Repair by Alan Tani

After the SOA July 5-7 cancellation went out, the most immediate option I found was the Tribute out of Seaforth.

Hmm...it's been 12 years since my last "combat fishing" trip, and that was also on the Tribute. After fishing the SOA charters since 2014, this latest trip was a distinct reminder of why there was no eagerness to voluntarily deviate from the "SOA tradition"

30 anglers on a boat shorter than the SOA, crypt-style bunks, and...sigh..."combat fishing"...it hadn't changed one bit. Left dock at 11AM, started fishing at 4pm, continuing until 3AM. On the fourth drop with the Penn 16VSX and a plain Jane, 16oz cigar trolling sinker, configured with a single 10/0 circle assist hook, I landed a 67lbs BFT that put up a fight as if it was a much bigger fish. It was my one and only fish because it was tangle city under rolling conditions from that point on. I continued to fish until both my 100lb and 80 lb top shots were cut off, and I was disinterested in retying to rejoin the fray.

The bite shut off at around 3AM so the decision was made to go chase down a previously marked big paddy for YT. No love here since the four paddies encountered had no one home. Enroute back to Seaforth, several schools of football BFTs were encountered with several landed including a 40lb model. Aside from these, it was Bluefins being Bluefins with their scattering to approaching boats.

With the boat returning in the later PM, none of the fish processors made any efforts to meet the Tribune so there were no brick-and-mortar options. One of the trip members did have a lead on a mobile fish processing that recently started: filetfactory@gmail.com, 951-370-5049...$1.80/lb, 5 mil bags. Since it was the only option I bit the bullet, and the service was fast.

The Tribute captain and crew were good but it was still..."combat fishing" as I remembered it.

So looking forward to getting back on the SOA next year...

yeah, it's easy to forget how nice we've got it. 

What is combat fishing? Is it just lots of tangles or were people also being pricks about it?

At times both Jason.

Quote from: Keta on July 08, 2025, 01:39:48 PMAt times both Jason.

Yeah Jason - Lee sums it up perfectly, and for me - a hard no.  And let me make it clear I am NOT bagging on boat owners/operators - it is their business to run as they see fit; it's a tough business to be in. I have the ability (as others) to vote with my $$$.  But I think a contributing factor is that many boats will try to keep their rates as low as possible, and part of doing that is filling the boats as full as possible making for crowded fishing conditions, and to run shorter trips more frequently - its all about passenger throughput. - john

Quote from: JasonGotaProblem on July 08, 2025, 11:56:51 AMWhat is combat fishing? Is it just lots of tangles or were people also being pricks about it?

1. Lots of fishermen fishing close enough that they start interfering with each other.  A classic example is elbow to elbow fishing on a river during a salmon run. It doesn't have to get nasty for it to be called combat fishing.  I think this is where the phrase originated.

2. A group situation where the people fishing next to you start treating you as an adversary.  A classic example is a party boat with a full load and a bite going on with larger fish and/or lots of drift/current.  Everyone has to work together, but it just takes a couple of knuckleheads to screw things up and then everybody starts getting mad at everyone else.  A deckhand's nightmare, and an unfortunately common experience.

I am not very interested in doing those long range trips, but if I did, I would sign up for Alan's trips or something similar.  Having a group that is all on the same team and supportive can make a world of difference.

-J

Too many anglers on a relatively small boat. Some not used to being at sea, some not really into fishing. I've watched people start getting irritable as the motion sickness starts to settle in, then some of those get too sick to fish.
I love being out on the ocean, helping some who are inexperienced, but some are beyond help and can turn the experience into a drag.
Once, I just told a complaining guy; "look I have no influence with the Captain, you'll have find others suffering like you are and start a mutiny if you wanna go back in".

Yikes 30 anglers on an 80ft boat seems a little too much, glad you got one at least in that gong show.

The only difference between river combat fishing and boat combat fishing is you can only move about 75% the length of the boat away when offshore. River combat fishing you can move much further away even all the way back to your casa. Boat regardless of how big get very small when there is just one bad apple aboard much less when more than one. Thanks Alan for all your organization and patience. We all should appreciate how great we have it. Very under rated and underpriced if you compare to most other alternatives and that's what this thread is all about.

Jason,

Another thing is a lot of people on the "budget boats" are novice at best, I know that's painting with a broad brush, and I'm by no means God's Gift to Fishing. However, when things get crazy the novices, won't listen, won't move, won't keep their line in front of them, and turn into spectators. 

I get we were all novices at one point, but most get it figured out on the first day or even trip. There are a lot that don't though.

Combat Fishing with people who know what they are doing isn't so bad, but it can be miserable when you're on a boat with those that don't, and it only takes a few to mess things up for everyone.

Steve

Quote from: Crab Pot on July 08, 2025, 08:32:56 PMJason,

Another thing is a lot of people on the "budget boats" are novice at best, I know that's painting with a broad brush, and I'm by no means God's Gift to Fishing. However, when things get crazy the novices, won't listen, won't move, won't keep their line in front of them, and turn into spectators. 

I get we were all novices at one point, but most get it figured out on the first day or even trip. There are a lot that don't though.

Combat Fishing with people who know what they are doing isn't so bad, but it can be miserable when you're on a boat with those that don't, and it only takes a few to mess things up for everyone.

Steve

Right Steve, and again, there are many contributing factors.  You do not have to go too far back in time when trips of the "Overnight - 3 day Range" meant paddy hopping for yellowtail and rockfishing.  But the last several years have been a blessing with the Bluefin in range of the short run SoCal boats.  Enough so that many of the true Long Range boats started to sacrifice longer trips for multiple shorter ones (well, and other factors.  5-6 day trips were pretty much Guadalupe Island.  With Guadalupe closed - turn that slot into two 3 day trips for local bluefin...).  Also you have the "Charter vs. Open" trip.  I had tons of fun fishing bunk boats back in the 80's-90's, and my printing company would charter a boat every summer and everybody on the boat knew everybody else.  (Don't remember what it's called today but several years we were on the Cherokee Geisha for oldtimers that remember).  You can be on an absolute tub but it's a whole different vibe when you are fishing with people you have to see back on shore as opposed to 30+ complete strangers trying to get their money's worth on an overnight.  (Also had a printing charter on an absolute tub named The Crusader.  Awful trip.  Bonita and barracuda.  Lunch was a #10 can of cheap Chili with the lid cut off and the can thrown directly on the burner of the galley stove (hey, why dirty a pot if you don't have to?))  We are blessed to have Alan as a Chartermaster and a good boat.  Those October trips are a bargain, especially for someone that may have never done an actual long range trip before.  No reason to be intimidated over experience level and no reason to stress not having enough/the right gear - anything you could need will probably be on the boat with someone. - john

I'm out .... no interest. The SOA is as crowded as I want.

Todd

Quote from: Hardy Boy on July 09, 2025, 01:45:05 AMI'm out .... no interest. The SOA is as crowded as I want.

Todd

Just book on limited load trips then.  24 on a 80-90ft boat is pretty decent unless there's a few of "that guy" types that don't listen to deck hands or other anglers.

All it takes is one.

Short trip where people think every drop is their only chance at a fish, yeah, it's all about me! Rude, aggressiveness... the very definition of combat fishing! Not my thing!