j-bone
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- Apr 22, 2015
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So we had our annual work fishing trip on the Pride out of Seaforth in San Diego. This is a limited load charter. We had 15 guys. Half had never been fishing off shore and some had never caught a fish bigger than a 1-2lb trout. Short story is we landed 20 Yellow Fin Tuna (Ahi). They were all in the 80-100lb range. As those of you that know, this kind of fishing is unheard of for an overnighter out of San Diego.
The long story is, we departed around 9pm on August 21st and loaded up with fresh bait. The bait was lively and well cured but on the small side. We then got our brief from Captain Steve. He told us that he had stumbled across a school of large YFT about a week ago and was having luck finding it every day since. The school was made up of 80-150lb fish. He told us they were line shy, and would not bite anything over 30lb test. He told he would not wake us up in the morning until he found the right school. Many of us were up early, but we did not begin fishing until around 7am. I'm not sure of the exact location, but were could see San Clemente Island about 10-12 miles to the North of us. While he stopped on many deep schools, the fish would not surface with the chum that was tossed out. Then, he makes the announcement for everyone to get rods and be ready. He thought he found the school. Deck hands were tossing sardines out. Captain Steve was announcing the fish were coming up. At this time, only about 6-8 of us were on the deck and ready to go. He says, they're at 150ft, 100ft, 75ft. Toss 'em out boys! We let our live bait go. He says we should be getting bit soon. Sure enough, me and another guy get bit. They run like a bat out of hell. My drag was a little tight and my line snapped within 30 seconds. Grabbed another rod and get hooked up again. Only the two fish on at this point. The others didn't get bit. (Rookies)
After about 30 minutes, the other fish charged the boat and spit the hook. Now I was the only one hooked up and the school had moved on. After two hours of fighting the fish, he went under the boat and the line got hung up on something. At my surprise, the deck hand and captain dove in the water and got the line cleared. While the line scuffed the bottom of the boat, it became nicked up pretty badly. We loosened the drag to prevent the line from breaking. Once the damaged line made it back on the reel we tightened the drag back up. This process repeated about 3-4 times until the fish began doing his death circle near the surface. Two well-placed head gaffs and the deck hands finally had the fish on deck. It was just over 100lbs. I was physically beaten up and ready for a break.
Now it was just after 9 am and we were in search of the school again. It took about an hour, but when we found it, 9 rods bent immediately. I wasn't ready for another fight yet so I hooked up two fish and handed them off right away. After a short break, I decided it was time. Threw a lively sardine in the water and got bit right away. For some reason, I had the touch. Anyways, two hours later I had my second on the boat. It was about 80lbs.
I was done! I felt like I just went 12 rounds in the UFC, then got into a car crash on the way home. I realized I'm getting old.
While the fish were still boiling the surface for the sardines thrown out as chum, they became very line shy and would not bite. Captain Steve began using a balloon rig and hooked up an about 4-5 over the course of a couple hours. Each time, he had someone who hadn't landed a fish yet bring it in.
In the end, everyone landed one fish and a few of us landed two. It was an epic trip. These fish are VERY rare for San Diego waters. These fish are mean and angry. They don't give up easy.
All I can say is the owner/crew on the Pride are among the best I've ever seen. Our crew was made up of Captain Steve, Mike, Jan (Yan), and Jodi working the kitchen and the rail like a champ. They know how to find fish, and with all the newbies on board, they earned their pay in clearing all the fouled lines. We had several occasions where 3 lines were crossed while all three were hooked up. Due to their skill and patience, not a single fish was lost due to crossed lines.
If this is your thing, get out there ASAP. Who knows how long it will last.
The long story is, we departed around 9pm on August 21st and loaded up with fresh bait. The bait was lively and well cured but on the small side. We then got our brief from Captain Steve. He told us that he had stumbled across a school of large YFT about a week ago and was having luck finding it every day since. The school was made up of 80-150lb fish. He told us they were line shy, and would not bite anything over 30lb test. He told he would not wake us up in the morning until he found the right school. Many of us were up early, but we did not begin fishing until around 7am. I'm not sure of the exact location, but were could see San Clemente Island about 10-12 miles to the North of us. While he stopped on many deep schools, the fish would not surface with the chum that was tossed out. Then, he makes the announcement for everyone to get rods and be ready. He thought he found the school. Deck hands were tossing sardines out. Captain Steve was announcing the fish were coming up. At this time, only about 6-8 of us were on the deck and ready to go. He says, they're at 150ft, 100ft, 75ft. Toss 'em out boys! We let our live bait go. He says we should be getting bit soon. Sure enough, me and another guy get bit. They run like a bat out of hell. My drag was a little tight and my line snapped within 30 seconds. Grabbed another rod and get hooked up again. Only the two fish on at this point. The others didn't get bit. (Rookies)
After about 30 minutes, the other fish charged the boat and spit the hook. Now I was the only one hooked up and the school had moved on. After two hours of fighting the fish, he went under the boat and the line got hung up on something. At my surprise, the deck hand and captain dove in the water and got the line cleared. While the line scuffed the bottom of the boat, it became nicked up pretty badly. We loosened the drag to prevent the line from breaking. Once the damaged line made it back on the reel we tightened the drag back up. This process repeated about 3-4 times until the fish began doing his death circle near the surface. Two well-placed head gaffs and the deck hands finally had the fish on deck. It was just over 100lbs. I was physically beaten up and ready for a break.
Now it was just after 9 am and we were in search of the school again. It took about an hour, but when we found it, 9 rods bent immediately. I wasn't ready for another fight yet so I hooked up two fish and handed them off right away. After a short break, I decided it was time. Threw a lively sardine in the water and got bit right away. For some reason, I had the touch. Anyways, two hours later I had my second on the boat. It was about 80lbs.
I was done! I felt like I just went 12 rounds in the UFC, then got into a car crash on the way home. I realized I'm getting old.
While the fish were still boiling the surface for the sardines thrown out as chum, they became very line shy and would not bite. Captain Steve began using a balloon rig and hooked up an about 4-5 over the course of a couple hours. Each time, he had someone who hadn't landed a fish yet bring it in.
In the end, everyone landed one fish and a few of us landed two. It was an epic trip. These fish are VERY rare for San Diego waters. These fish are mean and angry. They don't give up easy.
All I can say is the owner/crew on the Pride are among the best I've ever seen. Our crew was made up of Captain Steve, Mike, Jan (Yan), and Jodi working the kitchen and the rail like a champ. They know how to find fish, and with all the newbies on board, they earned their pay in clearing all the fouled lines. We had several occasions where 3 lines were crossed while all three were hooked up. Due to their skill and patience, not a single fish was lost due to crossed lines.
If this is your thing, get out there ASAP. Who knows how long it will last.
I've run the 181, 182, 43, 138, 277 routine at least 8 times this year and have found plenty of BFT/YFT, but none wanted to play. We're heading out to Pyramid this weekend for a rock cod trip, maybe we'll venture a bit south and see what we find. Congratulations!!
