...and we're back from the rockin' and rolling SOA July 1-4 3-day!

[Porthos]

Had the SOA crew played the "Victory at Sea" title sequence in a loop to welcome us aboard, they would have been just honest. Totally.

The conditions expectations and Capt's talk
12+ knot winds, 4' swells, and 6'waves. Capt. Brian's briefing was even worse...but another boat came in with a high count of BFT so that's where the boat will go. Go down below for some shuteye 'cause we'll be in for a long night.

The Fishing - Day One/1st night
Got to the area where the high count was reported (somewhere between Cortez and Tanner Banks) after 9:30 PM; appeared that a large number of the rest of the fleet had the same game plan as us. By then at least three people were chumming over side or into buckets with others getting very queasy. Start dropping jigs shortly after that. At the start of second drop at the starboard corner, my feet went out from under me but I caught hold of the rail and avoided landing on deck but still slammed my left rib cage into the stern rail; the pain level was relatively low so I knew I didn't fracture or break any ribs. Carried on to the fourth drop when I hooked up to a BFT 1/3 of the way up from the stern tuna shuffling left port side. Others to the left and right of me also hooked up, and chaos immediately ensued. Tangles started and a deckhand grab my rod and went forward to the bow. I followed, tripping and smashing to everyone else to the front where I was clear, only to shortly be pulled all the way back the way I came. Not entirely sure how I managed my line over/under everyone else's lines but I was more or less by myself at the port stern corner. Deckhand Luke and I both simultaneously saw color, but by that time I was struggling to gain on the BFT. He assisted by hand pulling the line between the line stripper and reel and after several pulls went for the gaff. I managed a few more short cranks on my own, and he gaffed the BFT mid-stern and got it boated!!! Did more drops on a few more stops until 2:30 AM, and I called it quits for the night.

The Fishing - Day 2
Started the cold day chasing boils and fish finder hits, working the way up north with San Clemente to the east. Chucking lures, dropping sinker rigs, and fly-lining for very little to show for it; a total of three BFT for the boat, none for me. Capt Brian made the decision to go back to where we were the previous night for more night action. It was very evident by sunset that it would be colder as well, so I made the decision to pass and went down below for shuteye after dinner. Woke up at 2AM and went to a darken and empty galley with the boat underway--a clear indicator that the night action was unfruitful and a decision was made to go elsewhere.

The Fishing -Day 3
Woke up to learn we went from U.S. waters to 40 miles South of Coronados and about the same distance west of Ensenada. Trolling and paddy chasing. Did not recall much if any action at the first paddy. At the second paddy, I landed my first YT fly-lining on the Monofil 27; a second pass yield my second YT fly-lining on the BG 6500. There was a significant drop in action on the third pass so we moved on. All the subsequent paddies were smaller with matching smaller grades of YT and dodos...rats. I hooked up to at least two dodos and two YT but either allowed them to self-release in the water or was cut off. By mid-afternoon, I called it a trip for myself since there was no desire to keep any rats, and broke down all my gear.

The gear used
Made a pre-trip decision to minimize gear/tackle purchases so this was the list:

• 40, 50, 60, 80, 100, and 130 lb mono leader
• AFW 411 lb swivels
• Owner Ultra Split Rings - Size 10 - 370 lb
• 3 each of 10, 12, and 16 oz torpedo sinkers

The tuna jigs came from my existing inventory, and after distilling all the insights from posts here and BD, this was the config of the one I used for my one BFT:

An ~400gm $5 clearance knife jig from CB in Huntington Beach + $1 CB assist hooks (3-pack) + AFW 411 lb swivel + Owner 370 lb split ring + $10 Esca blue blinking light...less than $20 total.

It turns out I was really, REALLY lucky because the assist hook at the top that hooked the BFT got its loop-thru chewed on and was close to failure (you can see the fraying).


The reels used

• Daiwa BG 6500 (top left)
• Fin Nor FST60 (bottom left; for casting 1.5 oz metal swim jig by the bait receivers)
• Penn Monofil 27 (center; full modded for 40lb)
• Daiwa 600H w/100lb ProSpec Metered (top right; knife jig)
• Daiwa 600H w/100lb white braid (bottom right; trolling)

The knots

• San Diego Jam
• Triple surgeons
• RP
• nail knot/nub/glue (hollow core connectors)

No knot failures

The fish

• BFT (bottom, 50+ lbs (gutted) on scale + 10% for guts = 55+ lbs)
• YT (top left and right, 32+ lbs total on scale)

The other three fish (dodo & lower two YT) in cart were caught by others...will let them tell their own fish stories.

The total BFT count for 24 anglers was 32; didn't bother to count the total YT or dodos since there were a lot of rats in the mix.

Rough trip overall given that I slipped once on the main deck, once on the upper deck while stowing away my rods, and banged about all over the boat from the turbulence. Skipped a couple of big meals just to avoid chumming later.

[CI_Seawolf]

Good job in tough conditions!  I have lost my footing before and had hard contact with the rail on my own boat before, no fun!  Amazing the assist hook stayed with the jig!   

[stoked4fishin]

Good job on a tough trip!

[MarkT]

I was one of the ones who was seasick. First time in 10+ years! I still caught 2 BFT on jigs the first night, ok, technically one since the second fell off the gaff and the hook pulled, but hey, I did my part! I caught the Dorado donated to Wai off a kelp paddy, and 4 YT, two were rats and released... I ain't no baby killer! Luke thanked me for releasing them. All my fish were given to others. I also came home with a cold! But my shower sure felt good when I got home!

[CI_Seawolf]

Mark, those multi hour stints at the rail drain you.... I had a serious cold when I got back from our trip in June too!

[Mjg378]

Sounds like a tough trip. Especially if Mark was seasick!! Glad your all back safe.   
Mike

[Hardy Boy]

Ted told me it was sporty and he saw more of the bunk then the rail. Well there is always next time. At least no one is complaining about all the weight they gained !

Cheers:

Todd

[MarkT]

True dat... I lost 2 pounds!

[Keta]

Ted told me it was sporty and he saw more of the bunk then the rail. Well there is always next time. At least no one is complaining about all the weight they gained !

Cheers:

Todd

Ted said he was not having fun.

[Rocket Dog]

I still feel the rocking ... it was good to meet everyone, even though the conditions left me green around the gills. everyone fished hard.

[Brewcrafter]

Good job everyone for hanging in there!  Even if you're not seasick, it is zero fun trying to fish while getting bounced all over (need 3 arms, one for the rod, one for the reel, and one to hold on to the rail).  And Kudos for the Yellowtail on that Monofil! - john

[pjstevko]

I managed to catch 1 bft on a knife jig and 4 yt on flyline sardines. I didn't get physically sick but felt "off" for the first 2 days. It was a tough trip in a lot of ways but the company was great!


I had no idea the bft count was that high.I thought it was around 17-18.....

[Porthos]

...I had no idea the bft count was that high.I thought it was around 17-18...

I saw 14, 15, and 3 on the count board under BFT...so I just added.

[pjstevko]

I believe it was a running tally per day... So 15 on day 1 and 3 on day 2... But I'm not 100% about it....

[Porthos]

The three on Day 2 were on different stops; a running total would have 1, 2, 3 but it was just 3...so I took the numbers as noted.