Per Cowboys request I copied and pasted my original post. Here ya go Gary. Didn't have too many photos of you so I put one up front and center.
Here is my original post...
My annual 10 day long range trip is about a month later than the past trips which if fine since it may give us a better shot at the big boys. Below is a summary of my fighting tools followed by my report summary and lots of photos. Hope you like it. Grab a leftover turkey sandwich and drink and read on…..
My rods are mostly Calstar or Seekers and reels I lean towards Shimano with some Penn’s in the mix. 10 Day trips are especially hard to gear up for since I may need rigs that range from 30-130lb outfits but will probably use 40 and 50 lb rigs the most. My outfits, by line rating, go something like this: 30, 40 x 3, 50 x 3, 60 x 2, 80, 100, and 100 lb for a total of 12 rigs. Rod selection is by model #: 670, 610, 610, 700h, 700h, 6465h, 765l, ml, m, and h, 6463xxxh, and a 9ft jig rod. Reels are Toriums, Trinidads, Tiagras, Penn YTS and 50s 2 speeds. I know that 12 rigs sounds like a lot but its nice to have back up rigs and if you like fishing iron and jigs, these require separate setups, especially for wahoo. If you only fish bait, then you could probably do fine with half as many rigs and the boat has heavier rigs for trolling.
For terminal tackle, hooks, and jigs I probably take way more than I need but now that I have stuff for various types of rigging, why not bring it. The tackle lists provided on the long range websites are adequate for your basic needs and all long range boats have a pretty well stocked tackle stores on board.
For the last couple years, I have been experimenting with different brand and style of hooks. No big ah hah!! moments except I now am a firm believer in ringed hooks. I haven’t quite decided which J hook is my go to hook but I have no complaints with the Mustad 94150, Eagle Claw 118, and VMC Tuna Tamer. For circles, I used both Mustad and Owners. The Owners are a bit easier to pin a bait on but the Mustads are cheaper and work just as well. I’ll probably go with Owners in the future and look for deals at the next Fred Hall show.
Fishing Report. November 16-26, 2008, Qualifier 105
Day 0 – Way too Early
My buddies Bryce, Jeff and Normie pick me up at 4:45 am and we are at the landing by 5:30 am to meet the rest from the Boss Hoag-AHI open charter 10 day trip on the Q105. Way early for all of us but when we get there, things are pretty busy. Six long range boats coming in off 10 day trips plus locals going out to hit the kelp beds. We wait our turn and board around 11am. After a stop at the bait dock and numerous scoops of dines, we are finally off on our fishing adventure. Most of the long range fleet is already ahead of us so our destination for tomorrow is undecided. Offshore conditions are absolutely incredible. Not a ripple on the ocean for miles. That night while in my stateroom, I actually counted the number of times we hit a “swell”. Official count was exactly three and those were probably boat wakes. Yeah it was pretty flat calm.
250 scoops please.
Day 1 – Traveling South
Just a travel day south to get in position for day 2. We spend the day rigging up our rods, tying on jigs, and hooks. We make a brief stop outside San Benitos for a quick hit but get only one yellowtail tagged and a few bonies which are released. We don’t stay long and resume heading south. Capt Joe tells us we will be hitting paddies tomorrow looking for dorado and wahoo. Weather remains awesome.
Day 2 – Offshore Paddy Hopping
We get into the kelp paddy zone and find 2-3 dozen good size kelps but most hold nothing. We find 2 with good concentrations of keeper size dorado. I tag 4-5 and released just as many fish in the 10-15 lb range. Normally I’d probably hold off on tagging dorado but the trips we saw offload had few dorado so I decide to keep some. On one stop I do get a solid hookup on a hoo with a short drag burning run on my 50 lb rig and things are looking good but I get bit off above my wire leader. I’m thinking another hoo chased my bomb hanging out of the others mouth and clipped my line. My buds aren’t fairing much better, between the 4 of us we get our share of bites but none stick. We trolled by a few paddies holding smaller dorado and they charge up the boat wake into the chum line but we don’t even bother stopping. We get 4 skins on board for the day along with 90 dorado. Not a bad start but I know we can do better and Capt Joe points the Q105 towards the Uncle Sam bank for tuna and yellowtail tomorrow. Reports have been very good from other boats that stopped there and been good for the last couple of weeks.
Trolling trolling trolling by another paddy. Anyone home?
Simply an awesome steak!! As good as any high end steakhouse!
Day 3 – The Ridge
We are anchored up on a high spot at the Uncle Sam bank before sunrise. I get up on deck and see a few others soaking bait already. I get ready for the day and eat some fruit while watching others fish. Doesn’t take long before someone gets bit and that’s all I need to see. I grab my 30 lb rig and toss a bait in. Takes a few minutes for the dine to swim away and then I feel my bait get slurped up. Toss the reel in gear and set the hook. Cool…Fish on. Ends us being a 10 lb Yellow Fin Tuna. Kind of on the small side but considering we didn’t see any last year I tag it. The Yellowtail really start to bite and I deck 2 before the first call for breakfast. After I sit down for breakfast and get back on deck, it’s mostly Yellowtail coming on board so I switch yo yo 6x jr iron in the green sardine color. 3 drops and 3 tails, what more could you want. After that, something changes and the Yellowtail bite fades but the tuna get going good. Get a lively dine away from the boat with a 4/0 hook and 40 lb test and you were sure to get a bite. I decided to try the test the limits of my Torium 20 and fished it with a short topshot of 40lb Pline mono and it did fine matched with one of my 610 Calstars.
Chef Chris helps out on deck too!
Something I’ve never seen before were big trigger fish under the boat. I think I got 4 flylining a sardine and most were over 12 inches and fat. No pictures of these guys unfortunately because we just shook them off. I tried circle hooks for a while but couldn’t seem to get bit so I went back to J’s and started hooking tuna up again. Funny thing is my buddy had the opposite problem. No love with J’s but did fine with circles. Go figure. Anyhow we had 200 Yellow Fin Tuna and 87 Yellowtail by lunchtime. Not too shabby right? Tuna ranged from 10-35 lbs and Yellowtail were in the 10-15 lb range. With a nice catch on board and everyone tagging some fish, we pulled the pick around lunch time and headed south toward Thetis Bank to look for wahoo aka skins or skinnies. Trolling was mostly a bust for the afternoon and for most of the trip for that matter. We continued south towards Mag Bay to prospect for bigger grade tuna at the lower banks and also search for wahoo and dorado.
A photo worthy fish.
Jeff with a nice fish
Day 4 – Mag Bay
We did our tour of duty prospecting areas for the bigger grade yfts offshore of Magdalena Bay. Covered lots of water with good looking conditions but very little sign of anything biting. Everyone puts in their time on trolling rotations but it produces nothing. After lunch Capt Joe points us east closer to Mag Bay where we immediately see positive signs of life. Big spots of working birds, mammals, and several yachts working a big area. We make a stop on a floating pallet for about 2 doz dorado but they are on the small side so I don’t keep any. We do get some wahoo with the dorado but they are dinks, 12-24 inches. I get one on the bomb and release it. We slide up on working birds and get some hookups that turn out to be marlin. For those of us that saw this last year we wind up and watch the others pull on the spikes. Its cool the first few times you pull on a marlin but they just trash your lighter outfits so I am content to just watch. After a short tug of war, the marlin are released we head north where the Red Rooster found some good tuna fishing off pods of porpoise.
In trolling jail
Scott on a marlin
We catch up with the porps about an hour later and when we slide up on them, get immediate hookups on bait. First stop only produced 4 tuna but the next shot produced hookups for the whole boat. Talk about chaos with most everyone in the stern hooked up with 15-30 lb tuna. I went up to the bow and dropped a sardine over the side and get bit right away. Two of my buddies dropped in with iron and hang fish so on our next stop and I toss a chrome jig in off the bow and get short bit but nothing sticks. By the now the sun is setting so we can’t fish anymore and head back to the Uncle Sam Bank for the night.
Cocktail hour
Rack of Lamb dinner.
Day 5 – Uncle Sam again.
The morning finds us back on the northern part of the Ridge and it’s a copy of Day 3. The tails show first and bite then the tuna come in and take over. I hang 3 tuna with 2 in the 30-35lb range and 2 Yellowtail. I donate one of the Yellowtail and tag the rest. After 3 hours of steady action Capt Joe decides to pull the anchor and we head offshore towards Alijos Rocks aka the Stones. The Indy found some better grade tuna at the Stones in the last few days so we hope to pick up some 50-100 lb tuna.
We find one paddy where Norm gets a nice hoo and I hook up a bigger model dodo on a bomb. I land the fish and give it to Norm who needs some dorado. We do another troll stop on a wahoo that bit a black and orange Marauder but the stainless steel hook ring breaks at deep color. Heart break for Dave because this was his first long range trip and that would have been his first wahoo. We continue traveling to the Stones and will be there at first light tomorrow. We are threatened with catching squid tomorrow morning at 4am but the call never comes.
Nice Mahi Mahi
Normies skin
Day 6 – The Stones
We arrive at Alijos at first light. The American Angler and Excel are already anchored up but will be leaving. We hear the other boats only got one wahoo but we make an obligatory troll around the Rocks before we anchor up. No jig strikes so we set up outside of the Excel. A few eager newbies toss out a bait before the boat has a chance to set back on the anchor but most of us are in no hurry and wait and see what develops. After a few minutes Capt Joe announces he is seeing fish nearby on his meter so I go for my 50 lb rig (Trini 40, 4/0 hook and 700H rod) and get a bait in the water. With the chance of 100lb tuna, 50 lb is about the minimum line class I would recommend. Two guys next to me get bit and as one passes by me tugging on his fish, my bait gets hammered. When I get him under control it feels like a good one and turns out to be in the 35 lb range. Bite definitely starts gaining some steam. It’s not long before the crew starts flying the double trouble bait rigs (2 sardines on 2 circle hooks) under the kite behind the stern. Fun stuff if you’ve never done it and at times the baits don’t even make it half way out before a tuna blows up on the sardines. Kind of like watching your bobber go underwater while fishing for bluegill only you’re using big 2 speed reels and circle hooks on 200 lb leaders.
I wouldn’t call the day wide open fishing but steady action from sunup until sundown. We go through a full kite rotation (everyone gets a chance to fly the kite!). Unfortunately all the kite fish are the same grade we are getting flylining. A school of skippies mix in with the tuna and are jumping on kite baits so the skipper shuts down the kite.
Most of us are being selective of what we tag and the smaller fish either released or given to crew or another passenger. From my log I estimate I kept 4 yfts (25-35 lbs), and released or gave away another 8 yfts and skippies. As the sun started to set I decided to land one more fish to end the day so I get serious about getting a bait out in the zone. We get a late evening hit of tuna but you needed to soak a good bait 50-70 yds back. After some patience, my bait gets hammered up by a good tuna and the fight is on. Unfortunately Tiburon is cruising around. Oh well…makes for some interesting photos. One bite and a 30 lb tuna is cut in half. Byrce and another passenger (Dave) hooked into the bigger yfts but both were lost. Ed landed big amber jack during the day. This was one of four new species of fish that I observed during our trip. The other 3 I did not get pictures of so they are still a mystery. No official fish count for Day 6 but its safe to say they were biting good and I think everyone got all the action they wanted. We have plenty of tuna so now its time to start working our way north and look for some more Yellowtail. San Pablo area will be our destination tomorrow.
Boss with a nice tuna
Eds amberjack
Jeff with another tuna
Bryce and Normie bendo in the corner
Pretty colors ...and tasty pokie!
Shark bit.
Day 7 – San Pablo
We hit San Pablo bay highspots for about 50 Yellowtail in the 10-15 lb range. We try some other areas but don’t see any sign of Yellowtail. Since a couple boats are 1-2 days ahead of us, the others spots we could try have already been hit so Capt Joe opts to pass on these spots and we make way for Cedros Island. Sometime before midnight we are anchored up at Saint Augustin at the south end of Cedros. A few try their luck but there is no structure close by so it’s just mackerel and bonito.
Geared for Yellows
Day 8 – Cedros Island
My buddy Bryce put it best when he said he hated this part of the trip since it signaled that our trip was winding down. At least we had one more full day of fishing and we all planned on taking full advantage. Unfortunately the reports from other boats (RP and Indy) were not all that good but typically if you got a Cedros yellow it would be better than 20lbs and 30 lb typical.
Sunrise at Cedros
As the sun rises we start fishing around working birds on the lee side of Cedros. In addition to Yellowtail, the 3 B’s mix in with the yellows so you never know what you’ll hook when you cast a bait or drop heavy iron to the bottom. 50 lb test is standard for this zip code cuz you’re the tails are quick to turn and burn back into some scary kelp and rocks. Byrce gets the hot hand in the morning by hooking and landing 6 tails, 2 of which are legit toads in the 30 lb range. He’s fishing a kelp cutter rig (short topshot of 65 lb flouro tied to spectra) on a Calstar rod and Accurate 2 speed. After having the great fortune for the last few days, my karma peters out and I can only manage the 3 Bs for the morning. We work the bird schools for a couple hours but the bite fades and we begin working to the north. On one drift we set up on a likely hali spot. Normie and I drop in a sardine on a dropper loop rigs and Norm’s bait doesn’t make it to the bottom before it gets hammered and its for sure no hali. After a short battle his fish is gaffed and it’s a Yellowtail in the 35 lb range. A short time later I finally get a keeper yellow but its not even close to the grade that Bryce and Normie.
Bryce with a 30 lb class yellow
Brian with a morning yellow
We make it to the north end of Cedros where there is some good habitat for yellows but the RP and Indy are in the same area so our options are limited. We get into some big slimers but no Yellowtail. It looks like our trip is going to end with a whimper rather than a big whack on big yellers. Some start to break down rigs resigned to the end being near. Capt Joe decides on one last move back to where Norm and I got our yellows before we waive the white flag.
Normies toad
Persistence pays off. Iron biter but wait there's more to come...
Not too much is happening at first but since this is our last stop and crew brails 4-5 big scoops of sardines. After about 15-20 minutes a couple passengers hook some toad yellows. The ones that are decked are all solid fish. One last chance at redemption so I grab my wahoo rig that I switched to a heavy bait rig (CS 700H, Trini 30, 50lb mono, 50lb fluoro leader, 4/0 ringed J hook). I get a good dine and make a long cast off the stern and wait. My bait swims right to a big waiting Yellowtail and its ON BABY!!! No doubt it’s a good one since my drag is pretty tight and its still pulling line but I turn him after some hard pulling. I put heavy pressure on the fish and feel big headshakes and tail beats so its definitely a homeguard…… and soon a big yellow is on the deck. The bite is going good so I grab my backup 50 lb rig but I think the drag was a bit too tight and I pull the hook on my next bite. I go back to my rods and pickup my first outfit. The leader seems to be in good shape so I cast out again and am rewarded with another toad yellow. Most of my buddies have given up fishing and are just watching from the cocktail sipping area but my hootin and hollering is too much for Bryce, I hear him curse me and he grabs his outfit and gets in on the tail end of the bite. When the bite finally shuts down and the sun sets we have about 30 of these toads on the deck and I have a BIG SMILE on my face. Very pleased with the sundowner bite.
Last shot at yellows
As expected, Capt Joe says that’s the end of our trip and we will start heading home. Normally I would try to grab a quick shower before dinner and change into some dry clean clothes but I was too stoked so I settled for a beer with Bryce and others from my charter group as we all waited for our prime rib dinner.
Dinner
Day 9 – Traveling Home
Although we could have probably fished a few more hours, Capt Joe said fishing was done and I didn’t hear too many complaints since we found fish just about everywhere we tried.
I spend the day cleaning reels, stripping off line, reading, and watching a few films. I am pleasantly surprised that the reels I used the most (Tor 20, Trini 30, Trini 40) have very little water inside and need minimal maintenance.
Traditional last dinner on the Q105. Thanksgiving feast a day early
The gang.
Day 10 – At the Dock
I would rate this as a very good trip. Much better than our previous 2 trips but missing numbers of wahoo and bigger tuna. Of course our very good trip was overshadowed by the catch made by the Royal Star and Red Rooster. I would have liked to have a shot at the bigger tuna but in retrospect, we still had plenty of fun with what we found and probably only about half of the 24 passengers were truly had the right gear and skills for pulling on big tuna. The rest were either newbies or had some very old gear than probably would have exploded on a 75lb tuna and a joke for pulling on cows.
I had a great time hanging with my charter group as always. We all caught up on things and had a great time fishing and passing time sipping adult beverages. Since this was an open charter, there were some new faces on board but we all had a good time and no issues with any knuckleheads. A few newbies to long range were on board and got the hang of things pretty quick and could not believe the incredible fishing.
Q105. On deck the crew was very good. Some of the deckhands were filling in for some of the regular crew so they may not have been familiar with how the Q105 works but they were all experienced deckhands from other boats and we lost very few fish to tangles. Food was awesome. We had major complaints last year but that lame cook is gone and Chris and Cappy are true chefs and lots of fun on deck. I took some pictures to show their work.
I don’t know the official fish count but its something like limits of Yellow Fin Tuna, 200 Yellowtail, 5 wahoo, 1 amberjack, 100 dorado, 1 pinto bass, 2 marlin (released) and a handful of misc fish people kept. Lots of skippies, small Yellow Fin Tuna, Yellowtail and 3 B’s released.
My count was limits of Yellow Fin Tuna (15), 14 Yellowtail, 5 dorado. Released skippies, small Yellow Fin Tuna and Yellowtail, 3 B’s and 1 small hoo. I kept a bit more fish than I normally do because of the lack of tuna last year and I may skip the 2009 trip next year due to conflicting work issues. Not to worry though…in place of the 10 dayer, I/we are seriously discussing a 15 dayer in early 2010. Poor me.
The end.
Paul A.K.A. Fishnfu 
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