Monday Morning Musings - SOA Trip

Started by Wally15, June 22, 2015, 03:56:47 PM

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Wally15

This was my first long range trip, and only my 2nd time fishing the Pacific (1st was a 1971 day trip out of Monterey).
I was pleasantly surprised by:
1) The quality and quantity of the food. I gained 4 lbs in 5 days, and I skipped a few meals.
2) How well everyone got along, and how everyone shared info and helped out. There was not a "that guy" on the boat. Everyone paid attention to their lines, and tangles and cutoffs were minimal. Nice to be fishing with a bunch of Pros.
3) How clean they kept the boat, and how well the crew assisted everyone. Very organized operation. I WILL bring a pair of Wellies/galoshes next time. Wet tennis shoes get old quickly.
4) The weather - I was expecting it to be much warmer and did not bring enough long pants and long sleeves. What happened to sunny southern CA? Got back to south GA and 97 degrees and 85% humidity.
5) I didn't bring any fishing equipment with me. Alan's loaners are a lot better than my personal stuff. Plus I got to try out many different rod/reel combos. Really like the Mak 10 2 speed. I had never fished an Okuma before. And Phenix makes a very nice rod. 7' is about my limit on rod length. Alan's 8'er's gave me fits casting effectively.
6) We caught very few small fish, compared to my Gulf and Atlantic experience.
7) I bought earplugs but didn't need them. I was berthed mid-ship. Scott, my roomie, slept the most on the trip, and I slept the least, which is normal for me.
8) Hook size - I'm used to fishing 5/0-8/0 circles in the Gulf. The Owner 3/0 ringed J hooks were really effective. I'll have to check to see if they are legal in the GoM.
9) Other than Thursday night, the Pacific was truly pacific. I was expecting much rougher sea conditions. That was my longest boat ride ever.

I wasn't surprised by this, but both Tani's are truly class acts, as was everyone else on the trip. I now have 24 new friends.

Not so pleasant surprises:
1) Sea lions - they do what dolphins do in the Gulf, except they don't take off with your fish at 30 mph and spool you.
2) I need to vastly improve my skill at jig fishing and yo-yoing. It's humbling watching Ken get one every cast and me wearing my arm out to no avail (you are a "fish-hog", Ken  :)). I only caught one or two small YT's on iron, so back to fly lining I went.
3) Other than absolutely slaying the YT's, we didn't catch that many other species. Probably 99% of our total catch weight was in YT.

All-in-all, a wonderful trip and experience. I'm already planning to save up my spare change and do it again next year. So consider yourself warned in advance.
Mike


Sweet dreams and flying machines in pieces on the ground.
"Fire and Rain"
James Taylor

Steve-O

Thanks for this report and for including any "bad" with all that GOOD.  I'm a Southern Boy myself from NC, GA, TN, FL, etc and know humidity like you do.

I fish Alaska each year for my Annual Fishing Trip but this one is starting to create an itch that needs scratching.

Now if it was YFT's instead of YT's being caught like that, I would go ahead and ante up and get into the queue.

glad to hear you enjoyed yourself.

Steve

johndtuttle

#2
Quote from: Steve-O on June 22, 2015, 05:06:50 PM
Thanks for this report and for including any "bad" with all that GOOD.  I'm a Southern Boy myself from NC, GA, TN, FL, etc and know humidity like you do.

I fish Alaska each year for my Annual Fishing Trip but this one is starting to create an itch that needs scratching.

Now if it was YFT's instead of YT's being caught like that, I would go ahead and ante up and get into the queue.

glad to hear you enjoyed yourself.

Steve




Alan can best speak to this but the trip was set up as an "inshore" trip and in Baja waters that is going to be dominated by Yellowtail usually for the most consistent action.

Other inshore trips target the unbelievable Calico Bass action, other trips get into good White Sea Bass bites.

It all depends on the year and time of year.

Tuna can also be WFO but the predominate fish around right now are BFT that have lockjaw feeding on red crabs or Anchovies. Point being that time spent offshore in the Spring can be hit or miss and Alan wanted more guaranteed action that Yellowtail are often only too willing to provide so this trip focused on inshore.

August and September are better months for Tuna and Dorado offshore.

;)

alantani

mike, it was great fishing with you.  my father sends his regards.  he also has a small gift for you.  it's on order and will take a month, don't buy any fishing reels before that.  thanks!  alan
send me an email at alantani@yahoo.com for questions!

Steve-O

#4
 JT,thanks for the insight on that. My last 16 years of trips have been Alaska only with the exception of the Alligator Gar C&R trip down in TX in 2011 (that year I did AK twice and TX!  ;D).

Prior to that I fished North Carolina inshore (up to 20 miles out) on day charters but it was from the south beaches and never out to the Gulf during family vacations.

We love our Salmon and Halibut feasting but now and then my wife says " you should go catch a Tuna for us"....what a gal! ;)



PS- didn't mean to side track the OP thread...but it is related to the trip in general.

JoeyFortina

#5
It was a pleasure to fish with you and pass the days playing 31 with you as well!!!

p.s. I agree, there was WAY to much food!

edtani

Hi Mike, had a lot of fun fishing with you.  Ha Ha, Jimmer laid the wood to us(NO, not that kind of wood).  I was asking myself "why do I have a picture of an angry Chihuahua?".
I remember now, Keith's joke about the sleeping gorilla in the tree.

alantani

 ;D

Quote

A man walked into his back yard one morning and found a gorilla in a tree. He called a gorilla-removal service, and soon a serviceman arrived with a stick, a

Chihuahua, a pair of handcuffs and a shotgun.

"Now listen carefully," he told the homeowner. "I'm going to climb the tree and poke the gorilla with the stick until he falls to the ground. The trained

Chihuahua will then go right for his, uh, sensitive area, and when the gorilla instinctively crosses his hands in front to protect himself, you slap on the handcuffs."

"Got it", the homeowner replied. "But what's the shotgun for?"

"If I fall out of the tree before the gorilla", the man said, "shoot the Chihuahua."


send me an email at alantani@yahoo.com for questions!

Keta

Quote from: edtani on June 30, 2015, 07:16:25 PM
Hi Mike, had a lot of fun fishing with you.  Ha Ha, Jimmer laid the wood to us(NO, not that kind of wood).  I was asking myself "why do I have a picture of an angry Chihuahua?".
I remember now, Keith's joke about the sleeping gorilla in the tree.

Jimmer is a fishing machine and a good guy.
Hi, my name is Lee and I have a fishing gear problem.

I have all of the answers, yup, no, maybe.

A man who carries a cat by the tail learns something he can learn in no other way.
Mark Twain

stoked4fishin

Can't say enough about this trip.  For me, it was epic!  It was a blast passing the few slow hours playing 31 with the guys!
See everyone again next year!

edtani

Ha Ha, Jimmer.  So Warren gets a Yellowtail facial.  Jimmer says "hey, lets put some fish eggs in Warren's beard and start a hatchery".
Posting that one for posterity.

johndtuttle

Quote from: stoked4fishin on July 01, 2015, 02:59:04 AM
Can't say enough about this trip.  For me, it was epic!  It was a blast passing the few slow hours playing 31 with the guys!
See everyone again next year!


Now you know how the Long Rangers get spoiled. ;D

Rivverrat

I really hope my son Luke & I can make one of these trips....It would be so different from what I'm used to. My son has some physical issues but I think he might make out all right. I'm going to start showing him some pics & see what he thinks. Then check & see what kind of money it would cost because I really have no idea how much or affordable it is.