RRIII Trip Log - Long Post - No pix yet

BTB · Dec-08-2004, 11:06 AM

After the boat returns, I'll get my camera and see if I have some postable pix. This trip was so hectic with all of the fishing, I didn't have a lot of time for picture taking, but I do have a few, sorry, will post later.

Red Rooster III – Rod & Reel Radio sponsored 15 days – 11/26-12/11/2004

11/26 - Day one:
Arrived at landing at 8 AM even tho the boat won’t leave until 1 pm. Unloaded gear, met Bry and the rest of the guys as they arrived, checked in to RRIII office and waited for the boarding call. Gates are locked and nobody is allowed past the gate without a badge, either passenger or visitor. Boarding went very smoothly. Carts were checked and gear loaded by the crew. We stowed our gear and left the dock at 1 pm – 5 hours behind the Excel. We picked up a load of sardines and headed South. Dinner was Porterhouse steak.

11/27 – Day 2:
Up at 6 AM for breakfast. Andy talked about where we were going and what to expect and what not to expect. He said that we should not expect the kind of fishing that they had last month at the Hurricane bank as it was fantastic and the best that he had ever seen. We passed out some of the goodies supplied by Rod & Reel Radio. $25 gift certificates, Owner hooks, Spro swivels and t-shirts for everyone. Andy said to make sure our bait making rigs were ready. We stopped at Cedros tonight and made about 800 pcs of Spanish and Green back macks.

11/28 – Day 3:
Today we rigged for BIG TUNA! Nothing smaller than 100 pound test. I rigged as follows:

Seeker 6455XXH, Avet EXW, 100 Izorline Catchy Lures Wahoo lure.

GUSA Dragon (50-100) rod ,Tiagra 50 LRS, 100# Maxima, 6/0 Owner Super Mutu ringed circle hook – no leader;

GUSA Beast 60-120, Int’l 50W, 100 Maxima, 8/0 Owner Super Mutu ringed circle hook;

(GUSA)/Hastings United Rods?? This is a prototype graphite composite 50 to 120# - 5’6”, Avet Calif Special open top 50 narrow, 135 Izorline, Bimini twist to Swiveled 12/0 chunk hook;

GUSA Trident (prototype) 100 – 150, Avet Quad drag T-Rex, 135 Izorline, 300# test leader to a 8/0 Owner Super Mutu ringed circle hook.

Seeker 6463XXXH 80-130, Int’l 70 BGS Coffed with low gear, 135 Izoreline, 300# leader to 12/0 Mustad.

SeekerXXXXH ARW 80 – 150, Int’l 80W, 250# Spectra, 200# Izorline, 400# double leader with 12/0 circle and 12/0 J hook for kite/squid.

Seeker 6470H, Newell 535 5.5:1, 50# Izorline, 8 oz Raider no wire.

GUSA prototype 40-60 six ft, Accurate 665 Narrow High speed 6:1 50# Izorline, wired to 7/0 mustad.

Bait rig – who cares?

Whew! I am as ready as I will ever be. We blew passed Alijos to the East of us and did not stop. We passed the Excel in the night also to the East of us. We stopped and made some nice big squid. I used a really big squid jig that I picked up from SQC Warehouse in Chula Vista. It’s about 12 inches long with a glow in the dark body about 1 ½ inch dia. I caught one squid that I think would go 4 pounds, nice!

11/29 – Day 4:

Man, am I getting bored! We aren’t even trolling. We had a nice big free raffle courtesy of Rod & Reel Radio and everyone got something; Wahoo bombs & Marauders, more t-shirts and hats from Owner & Anthoney Dockside services, Salt X, Spro swimming jigs, Owner super mutus & Jobu J hooks – Lots of swag.

11/30 – Day 5:

Yes! Yes! Yes! We’re finally at the Hurricane Bank. Wind 25 Knot, big slow swell, rain – I don’t care! First fish on sardine 100 pound I kept for Stan’s Sushi Bar. 2nd fish – not too bad 120 pounds or so for Wendy & released a couple 120 to 150. I used my big squid on the kite and got bit good. Most of the up and down battle was on the bow. About 30 minutes later Andy said, “Hey, it looks like you got your cow!” Then he says, “Well it’s close, we’ll know back at the dock.” I got to keep trying for the cow. I took a break and threw the bomb off the pointy end and picked off a small ‘hoo.

12/01 – Day 6:

I was too tired to keep up my journal, so from now on it’s from memory. Things were happening so fast and furious I had no time or energy to update my log. Then my laptop took a header off the top bunk and the case is sprung so I was afraid to turn it on until I get back, so here’re my memories of the rest of the trip.
I think that this day was the best/worst of the trip. 200#+ fish were hitting the deck. I kept trying for the cow and I released 6 fish from 150 to 180. I now have enough fish in the hold for me and my friends and all I want is the COW. I needed a break so I went up on the bow and threw the wahoo bomb. Four big sickle fins came out of the water and raced for my bomb. So here I am, Newell 535 5.5:1 reel, 50# Izorline and an 8 oz gold & red Raider. I cranked as fast as I could to AVOID getting bit, but, too late. I got ripped by what we estimated at release an 180# big boy. He ripped to the stern as fast as any wahoo and I ran down the starboard side, tripped on the deck hose, skinned up my knees and handed the rod to Fernando, the deck hand. When I caught up to him, I told Fernando to break it off because I had no desire to fight this fish on this tackle. We hammered the drags as hard as we could but the line wouldn’t break. Fernando put his pliers handle in the spool for increased pressure, still the line wouldn’t break. We looked at each other and shrugged our shoulders and headed back up to pointy end of the boat. I pried on the rail and thumbed the spool and slowly the fish started coming. Julio came up and said, “Wow, nice fish. Lemme pull on it.” So Julio cranked on it for a while. We got it to the surface and cut it off. I could not have done it without Fernando and Julio. So then Fernando says, “Pretty cool. Everyone else is using big reels and heavy line. We got a big one on 50# test!” The cork wrap on my 6470H is destroyed by the rail work. I don’t know about the reel. Later I changed the line and checked the drags. Everything looks good and I caught another ‘hoo on the rig.

12/02 – Day 7:

This is all kind of a blur. One fish after another released until I could fish no more. I went down to my stateroom for a rest but I couldn’t sleep. I put another bait in the water and got slammed by a 160 that I released. I began to wonder how many fish I had to release before I found another cow. It was brutal. A big whale shark cruised by. A hammer head chased my bait all the way to the boat, really pissed off because he couldn’t catch it. He kept swinging his head from side to side for more vision and he would see the bait and charge. I cranked like heel to keep it away from him. Good time to take a break. That night Brian the deckhand threw a scoop of sardines off the stern and all hell broke loose. White water and sickle fins as far as you could see, nobody was in the water as it was very late, and everyone had been fishing hard since about 3:30 AM.

12/03 – Day 8:

. Out of frustration, I kept another fish about 130. I released one fish today that kept making circles even after it was released. It swam off a ways and started circling again then it took off. Almost as dazed as I was from all of the hard pulling.

12/04 – Day 9:

It was raining warm rain in the morning. Andy said that we only had room for two more big fish. Only three of us were fishing. Bry put on his raingear and asked if he could borrow my heavy outfit – Seeker 6463XXXXH, Int’l 80W, 250# Spectra, 200# Izoreline top shot, 400# leader with a 12/0 J hook. I said yeah and as soon as he picked it up, Julio brings on a 4 pound skippy and shoulder hooked it to Bry’s rig and let it out. It got picked up and about 45 min and four gaffs later a nice cow (maybe 250) hit the deck. I choose the GUSA Trident and Avet Quad drag TREX with 250 spectra and 135 top shot. I waited for a skip jack and pinned it on. I flylined it out about 50 yards passed the top shot and it got picked up. I swung hard four time after the line came tight and I was on for about 2 min. The hook didn’t set in the right place. The rest of the day was very frustrating for me I fished hard, but no cow. We trolled around the Excel and picked up about 13 wahoo. Were done with the big fish. I have to hope that the first one I got will go 200, I don’t know, I’ll know Saturday.

12/05 Day 10:

Travel day. We’re heading up to the 10 day area between Mag Bay & The Stones. Uneventful day. Recuperating.

12/06 – Day 11:

Lots of paddies with no one home. Picked 6 ‘hoo off one paddy worked it hard. Bry and I got one each. Not good fishing at all. We are headed to Cabo for the fly back.

12/07 – Day 12:

Cabo San Lucas! We had the final raffle and awarded the side pot prizes: $100 in processing from Mario at Sportsman Seafood, Another $100 in processing from Mario at Sportsman Seafood. $75 in fish processing from Anthony’s Dockside services, Graphite USA rod for 1st wahoo, Graphite USA rod for 1st wahoo on day 11.
The sun is shinning and the Cabo turistas are out in force. I decided to fly back early with Andy and we caught the 2 pm Alaska Airline flight to San Diego.

We’ll, now I’m just waiting for the boat to return Sunday morning, should be around 10:00 AM after they make the U.S. Customs stop.

Credits:

The Red Rooster III is more of a yacht and most of us got private staterooms. Captain Andy Cates is from a fishing family (Dad Nick) and really knows his stuff. He makes good decisions. Capt. Julio, Is a fun guy to be with (always smiling) and really has learned the business, Spike, some of you may know from the Q boat where he worked before, knows his stuff and is very helpful. Brain is red headed, big and really strong. If you need help knocking a fish on its butt, Brian’s your man. He rigged most of my gear just because I asked him. Fernando is quiet but is always there when you need him. I would not have survived the trip without Fernando. I would have survived the trip without Jorge, the cook, but he made it all better every day with his creations from the Galley. I especially liked the fresh Wahoo Parmesan. Last but not least, Jose in the galley was always there to make sure that you got exactly what you want out of the galley. For example: he mixed my dietary Crystal Lite fres every day and made sure it was at my table for every meal. He even brought coffee for us to the table at breakfast.

Red Rooster III is really a class act.

Next year’s trip is already set:

LIMITED LOAD to 20 passengers.
Trip #27
Departs Friday November 25th
Returns Saturday December 10th with an early fly back from Cabo option that I really recommend.
Price is $3,800
Sponsored by Rod & Reel Radio which means lots of sponsor stuff for everyone. The trip is already signing up fast.