Thanks Jason for letting me back on BD, thought my 1st post back should be a fish report so here you go:
2007 Thom Hultgen Memorial 8-Day Trip
Dates: 6/22/2007 to 6/30/2007
Boat: Royal Star, Capt. Randy Toussaint at the helm
This was the second time that I have had the privilege of being a part of the Thom Hultgen Memorial 8 Day Trip. Last years trip was epic and I expected nothing less this time. This trip was first put together last year by George Daniels as a way of memorializing his father, Thom Hultgen, who first got him into fishing and partnered with his son George on many long-range trips over the years.
6/22/2007
I was late getting to the boat, I had the privilege of watching my two daughters graduate from Middle School, and therefore was the last one running down the dock at 11:30 A.M. to catch the boat. After taking on bait and fuel, Capt. Randy came down and gave us the talk, safety, rigging, etc. It seems that we would be running directly to Cedros, as the boats there on five day trips have reported epic Yellowtail fishing. Capt. Randy said we could expect to be there sometime around 11-12 P.M. tomorrow. We broke out the chairs on the back deck, had a few adult beverages and began relaxing as we traveled south.
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6/23/2007
Woke up this morning to Chef Drew’s Eggs and Corned Beef Hash, man that guy can cook. It appears that Capt. Randy had received some new dope from the Excel that they have had epic Yellow Fin Tuna fishing at Alijos Rocks and had over 100 Yellow Fin Tuna in the RSW between 2 P.M. and sundown the previous day. Capt. Randy has changed course and we will be traveling today straight down toward Alijos with visions of Yellow Fin Tuna on the brain and an expected arrival time of 10 A.M. tomorrow. The guys began rigging, and the usual top shot making clinics took place. As usual, the fun and games began with the “Phantom Rigger” striking first on Charter master George:
6/24/2007
The sunrise was killer, and as we traveled the Rocks began to come into view around 10 A.M.
After Capt. Randy got us located, it didn’t take long until Bill “Saltydawg” , got on the fish with this tuna going right around 50# or so:
Dink Yellowtail and Yellow Fin Tuna from 20-60# was the order of the day. I had a nice 25# model on the skip jig with a 93H Ulua and 40# on a Tor20 (Calplate/Carbontex drag upgrade). It was a blast watching the tuna blow out on the skip jig and the kite. Later on that evening, I got my but handed to me by a nice grade Yellow Fin Tuna on 25# string:
There were several nice tuna caught all day, everyone had a blast culminating with Chef Drew’s nice Roast Chicken Dinner.
6/25/2007
We continued at the Rocks until about noon or so with the bite degrading to a very slow pick on the Yellow Fin Tuna. Jerry had a nice 72# fish that would end up being the jackpot winner.
Some of Corb and the gang:
40# Yellow Fin Tuna for George on a 10’ Harnell and Calcutta 400 w/15# string:
The guys that were dropper looping got paid off handsomely, with several 40# and larger Yellowtail, including this 57.7# for my friend Cuda:
Capt. Randy told us this afternoon that the Yellowtail bite at Cedros seems to have degraded so with that in mind he said we would be traveling to the Thetis Bank arriving there sometime the next morning.
6/26/2007
What can I say, the Thetis Bank rocks!! All you wanted Yellowtail on the surface plug. The boys were swinging the 10footers with reckless abandon. I had the time of my life, with two pigs on the 10footer surface plug and multiple 30# + as well. WFO is an understatement, just phenomenal fishing:
20# + Yellowtail for Corb on a Diawa Luna 300 w/ 10# string and a Bass Pro Stick
By the end of the day, we had put 266 QUALITY Yellowtail in the boat. With this in mind, Capt. Randy decided to head offshore in search of some pelagics the next day. The targeted area was to be the Rosa Bank.
6/27/2007
We are offshore and running and gunning kelps and meter marks. We have stopped on several kelps for small do-do and a handful of tuna (around 25 Yellow Fin Tuna to around 25#) this would prove to be a long day with less success than we had hoped for. Chef Drew helped ease the boredom with quality snacks and meals all day. Capt. Randy announces that we will be heading up the line toward Cedros arriving sometime around 3 A.M. on 6/28 for an anticipated WSB bite in the gray.
6/28/2007
I woke up to the anchor being dropped at Cedros. I elected to get another hours sleep and boy would that prove to be a mistake. When I stepped out on deck at 4 A.M. I was greeted with the news that the first bait that had hit the water after the anchor resulted in a 63# WSB. The Yellowtail showed up as well with several nice dropper loop Yellowtail landed to 40#. I had three on the long rod and surface plug but only landed one due to getting “sealed” by the rabid dog population of Cedros.
Later that morning, Mike “MikeyLikesIt” would get his first legal WSB going just a tad over 57#:
As afternoon approached, we were cruising around the lee side of the island, when a very excited Capt. Randy said over the hailer, “You guys aren’t going to believe this”. For a well-respected veteran skipper to have that kind of excitement in his voice, I knew this was going to be epic. Here’s what Capt. Randy said on the Royal Star site:
“The day culminated with the most incredible show of 30-40lb yellows that I've ever seen when thousands of fish pushed a ball of sardines up against the beach then directly through us. At one point we had these big yellows boiling 360 degrees around us out to 100 yards while everyone onboard had one on. An incredible experience, especially considering we were in only 30 feet of water.”
There were literally thousands of LARGE Yellowtail crashing the boat, I saw guys on the surface plug get snapped off on 50#. I had two SLUGS on the long rod/surface plug. This was the most epic thing I have ever seen fishing. There was not a fish under 30# in this group of fish. Crystal clear water with an unreal show from Mother Nature. The entire boat was bent with a giddy Capt. Randy announcing over the hailer while laughing his butt off: “Let’em have it boys!!” We turned the bite over to the guys on the American Angler and began heading up the line with visions of Albies on the way home.
6/29/2007
Woke up to Chef Drew’s awesome banana pancakes. We trolled all day with spots of good and bad water till about 3:00 P.M. when Capt Randy said he had some deep meter marks. The crew threw bait, and the Albie bite was here. About 10 bait fish on that first stop. Multiple stops later till around dark, we had put around 100 Albies in the boat. I had 3 on bait. The final stop just went Richter with Capt. Randy throwing full brailers of bait into the water stirring up boils around the entire boat. After getting our fill of Albies, Capt. Randy called it a trip the trudge up the line began into some rather angry water.
6/30/2007
We arrived in SD Bay around 6:00 A.M. and began the process of unloading fish and gear. It went smoothly with everyone chipping in. Me, Corbett (Guero67), Dayle, and Jerry, threw our fish in the back of Dayle’s 1 Ton and drove over to World Famous where we waited for our fish to be cut and bagged. I processed around 355 pounds of fish for just around 90 bucks or so. I finally got home around 1 P.M. very tired.
So that was my trip, I had a blast. I want to send a big thank you to George, Cuda, and Corb for helping to make this trip possible….you guys are phenomenal friends.
Ebbie would go...
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