Crew: Captain Mike Lackey, 2nd Captain Gordon, Cook Dan, Deckhand Tim, Matt, Paul, Joe.
After months of preparation, anticipation and excitement, the day has finally arrived. October 4th, 2009. After spending over $500 on terminal tackles; selling, buying and trading rods and reels on bloodydeck, I finally got all the gears set up for my first ever long range trip. There was quite a disappointment for the Guadelupe Island Closure but I know I chose the right boat and I am confident that Captain Mike Lackey will be able to make the best out of the situation.
Woke up at 6 o’clock Sunday morning (October 4th, 2009), packed everything into my car and made a short stop at Farmer Boys for breakfast and on my way to Point Loma Sportfishing. There was no traffic at all and I made it to the big-3 parking lot by 8:30am. Luckily, I found a parking spot right in front of the landing. At about 9am, Captain Mike Lackey went on the loud speaker asking for passengers to check-in at his office. After checking in, I unloaded all my gears onto a landing cart and lined up along with the other anxious Vagabond passengers. At about 11am, we were called to board the boat. Mike informed us that the SAC are busting their asses trying to reverse the Lupe closure and that there is a high chance that the Lupe will re-open by late Monday afternoon. The crew loaded the bait tanks and slammer up with some beautiful sardines and off we went to start our 5.5day trip.
Day1:
Mike notified us of the windy and rough condition offshore and decided to hug the shoreline on the way out. We traveled all day and night with high hopes that the Mexican government will clear up the complication of the Lupe closure by Monday afternoon. Our plans were to fish Cedros Island first then decide accordingly to changes in condition and the Lupe situation
Day 2:
We were approximately 150-160 miles offshore at daylight. Waiting and hoping for the Mexican government to open up the Lupe…Mike strategically traveled in the route between Cedros and Guadelupe Island. Mike decided to fish on the way down to Cedros Island. We found a few kelp paddies before noon for a handful of Yellow Fin Tuna and dodos. At about 2pm, Mike found us a “golden kelp” loaded with football Yellow Fin Tuna and dodos in the 12-25 pound range. Aquarium-style fishing for one full hour. We released over 500 small Yellow Fin Tuna. I personally ended up with 2 20-25 pound class dorados and released over 25 Yellow Fin Tuna in the 5-15 pound class. Being a long range rookie, I made numerous mistakes and farmed 7 large dorados for the day. We traveled all night in route to Cedros Island since we did not receive any news regarding Guadelupe Island. Mike gave us a detailed seminar for fishing Cedros Island.
Day 3:
Mike anchored us on a ledge in approximately 120 ft of water. I hooked our first yellowtail of the day on 80# test dropper loop setup with a lively sardine. The bite was instant, within 10 seconds of reaching the bottom I was hammered. It was my first ever Cedros yellowtail, a 28 pounder. A few more were hooked and landed in the 20 pound range. Mike motored around and set us up on a spot loaded with yellowtail in the 15-30 pound range. I hooked and landed a 30 pound+ yellowtail on this stop. At around noon, Mike put us onto a WFO yellowtail bite and we landed over 100 yellowtail on this stop. I got a nice 35 pounder that eventually won 3rd place JP. This fish kicked my ass. A few BSB were hooked and released. Wind started to pick up and the bite slowed down. Before dark, Mike anchored us on another WFO yellowtail stop. Most yellows were in the 10-20 pound range. The eventual 1st place JP was hooked and landed; it was a fat 38 pounder. We fished for bait until 9pm. I fished the dropper loop that night until 1:30 am that yield me a sandbass and a rock.
Day 4:
Mike decided to fish the backside of Cedros Island until around noon and venture offshore for some Yellow Fin Tuna. Again, Mike put us onto another epic yellowtail bite. The yellows were 12-25 pounds biting ANYTHING with 10 seconds. They were thick! We finished by 11pm. We saw the Intrepid and Constitution in on that bite as well. We started our trolling and around 1pm, Mike and the crew found us a small pod of dolphins with 25-30 pound Yellow Fin Tuna jumping in distance. We got 1 baitfish and the school sunk out on us and disappeared. Mike didn’t give up as he boxed-in the area and we continued our endless troll. At about 5pm, Mike spotted the school again. We chased large bird schools and dolphins with the Constitution and the Intrepid until dark between San Benitos and Cedros. We ended up with about 20 Yellow Fin Tuna in the 25-30 pound range. I ended up with a nice 30 pound plus Yellow Fin Tuna. We anchored at Cedros for the night as Mike decided to chase the dolphins again the next morning to finish our trip. I fished that night again for nada.
Day 5:
Everyone woke up early and we were at it again. We trolled and trolled and trolled….picked up a few dorados and Yellow Fin Tuna. At around 9am, Mike found them. We got about 20 Yellow Fin Tuna in various dolphin stops. I got a smaller 20 pounder for the day and farmed another 3 fish. I hooked at least 5 birds in 3 stops; the boat hooked at least 20…as the birds were relentless with anything on the surface. The biggest fish (40 pounds) came on the troll. We searched around and called it a day at 11am. The 30-hour ride home was ROUGH. I had a nice 2 hour plus conversation with Captain Mike Lackey on the way in. He taught me a lot about fishing. He explained in details of mistakes I have made throughout the trip and why and how it happened. It is simply amazing how he loves to help and talk to his customers. We talked about his business, the Lupe situation and the fishing industry and he is one open, honest and stand-up guy. You can seriously tell that the crew loves working for him and vice versa. The Vagabond crew was top-notch and talented…it was unbelievable how well they work together…for instance, we were in a 6 way clusterfuck at the stern and Mike and the crew were able to save ALL six yellowtail without breaking a sweat.
If you have never fished the Vagabond, you are seriously missing out on something special.
I ended up with limits of yellowtail to 35#, 3 dorado to 25#, 2 yellowfin tuna to 30#, 1 cabrilla
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