WELCOME TO RIVER DAVES PLACE

Calico? Yellowtail? 😁

Backlash

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Good afternoon!

The kids will be gone this weekend and my beautiful wife made plans on Saturday. She asked me what I was going to do since I would be home alone, and I told her "Nothing, probably just spend the day working on the house."

And then I thought about that for a moment. Nope! I've got a better idea! 😁

I checked all the landings in SoCal, and the fish counts seem to be improving. I wanted to run down to Dana Point or Oceanside, but everyone is booked full! Nothing available on Saturday from San Diego up to Newport Beach! 🀬 I even thought about renting a skiff at the Pavillion in Newport, and THOSE were all booked!

I finally found a spot on a boat out of 22nd Street Landing. So let's see if I can get lucky!

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Stand by.... 😎
 

ltbaney1

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Good luck out there, counts have been increasing. i float tubed HB harbor about a week ago and did pretty good. for the sportys i normally try to go during the week, it cuts down on the crowds and the groupon folk.
 

Backlash

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Thank you for the suggestions Gentleman. I might only be able to make one or two more trips this year, so I wanted to make the most of this one. Hence the reason I stayed away from the half-day offerings and focused on a full day.

I'm crossing my fingers to land at least one nice yellow, or a monster calico. Anything more would be icing on the cake! 😁
 

Backlash

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Merlin always impresses me. If you know, well, you know. 😎

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Backlash

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Hit me up next time. Midweek overnight is my preference if you can swing that.

Good luck out there today. πŸ‘

Be careful what you offer, you might inherit another family member who loves this sport! 😁
 

Backlash

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What a whirlwind of a day, but we had a great time!

So, me being the social butterfly as my wife puts it, I started chatting it up with the Captain of the Native Son, Aaron. What a great guy, and a helluva good skipper! We were talking about the days plans, and he had mentioned going to Catalina. That got me thinking about the guys who were skiing today. I mentioned the Cataline Ski Race to Aaron, and asked if they had left the harbor yet. He looked at me and "Well, shit. That changes that!" He put out a broadcast to the other charter boat Captains and alerted each of them. We wanted to steer clear of the racecourse, even though I was hoping for a few high speed fly-bys with the big Apache, Hallet and the Nordic. That would have been EPIC!!!!
 

Backlash

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At about the same time, the Captain got word of a sand bass bite off of Huntington Beach. So, just like that, we changed course and headed south looking to boat a few bass.

The number of shipping vessels off the coast of Long Beach is staggering. I want to say we counted 40 today. I have no idea how long they have been stacked up, but somebody needs to get to work unloading those beasts! 😁
 
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Backlash

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We drifted for a bit amongst the shipping vessel fleet, and a few folks landed some sandbass and some short calico bass.

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Nothing spectacular came over the rail, just the normal size fish. My wish anytime I get to go fishing is to simply catch one fish. Anything more than that is icing on the cake. 😁
 

Backlash

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The Captain did a good job of trying to keep us on the fish, but it shut down after a short period of time. So off we went in search of more.

He had been communicating with numerous other captains, and heard there were some schools of bluefin within range. Here's the problem with that.

95% of us who hopped on this boat, brought fishing gear suitable for bass and small yellowtail. 20-30 lb. gear at best. NOBODY had anything larger than a jig stick that was rated for big bluefin. What the hell, how often do you go out on a cattle boat out of San Pedro, and have the chance to chase big tuna?!?! Here we go!
 

Backlash

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I grabbed my biggest rod, an 8' Calstar rated 10-25lb., mated to an Accurate 197. My reel is spooled with 300 yards of 65 lb. Spectra with about 100yards of 20lb. mono on top. As the Captain motored towards the first giant school of bluefin, I was stripping all the mono off as fast as I could! I cut it off and tied on a short 40lb. section of floro. That's the same thing everyone else did, if they had anything CLOSE to suitable tackle! 😁

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Notice how empty this reel is! 🀣
 
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Backlash

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We split the group up into three sections. People tied on iron or some other jig, some people threw some weight and a live bait on, and some went with a fly-lined bait with no weight at all.

HOOKUP!!!!!!
 
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Backlash

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One angler tied into a nice size tuna which immediately headed for the floor of the ocean. He couldn't turn and was only able to apply so much pressure. He was using 25 lb. test on a Calstar 800L. 😲

The Captain was outstanding, and monitored this catastrophe closely. He realized what little line the angler had left on his reel, and quickly had everyone else pull their gear. He threw the boat into gear and began chasing the tuna down, trying to help the angler recover some line.

I've fished cattle boats for years, and this was the first time a Captain has ever done this. He stayed on this tuna working with the angler, for almost 35 minutes. They were able to bring the tuna back up to the surface, and it looked to be around 75 pounds. Two of the mates grabbed two big gaffs and reached over the rail to land this bluefin tuna.....
 

Backlash

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.....and the hook pulled out while the tuna was next to the boat. 😲

Tuna - 1
Anglers - 0

Try again! The Captain chased down the school and put us upwind of the school as they moved towards us. These tuna were easily over the 100 pound mark as we watched them thrashing the water chasing bait.

Everyone was set and cast out into the school as they approached. Some of us were on top with no weight, some were midway down into the water column and some guys were throwing irons and jigs.

When I realized the jigs and irons were getting more attention than live bait on the surface, I switched over to one of the few jigs I had with me.

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Then I heard the sound of someone else yelling HOOKUP!!

Well shit. Wind 'em in, because this guy didn't have the gear to overpower these beasts either! But damn if we didn't try! We repeated this same process again and again. This group of anglers hooked into six bluefin throughout the afternoon, and with each attempt, we were left empty-handed. It was not for lack of effort on the part of the Captain, the anglers or the crew. These were big tuna who simply outweighed the equipment we had available.

Another fish lost boatside.

2 - 0

After losing yet another, we sped off looking for the same giant school.
 

Backlash

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This process continued until the end of the afternoon. As we pulled up on the school, the Captain would yell out over the intercom to get the baits in the wat. We would all cast frantically trying to get whatever lure or jig we had, down in front of the school. Missed opportunity, cast again!

And then it happened.

One angler looked back, lifted his rod and yelled "Jig out!" As he cast for the horizon, all I heard was "Aaarrrgggg! You hooked me!!" And everything else stopped dead in its tracks.

His surface iron had found the back of another anglers head.

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The Captain and crew rushed over to Dave, and people started doing what needed to be done. So much for Dave's lucky straw hat! 😁

Dave's hat was cut away, involved lines were cut, and a scrap piece of Spectra was found laying on the deck. A few quick maneuvers and twists with the Spectra, and with a sudden yank, the jig was pulled out. Luckily, the injury was minor and only required a small bandaid.
 

Backlash

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Needless to say, it was a bonding moment for David and Joey. 😁

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We ended the day hooking 6 bluefin and landed none. They were just too big for the equipment we had. Who would have expected to chase multiple schools of bluefin tuna off the coast of San Pedro, fishing on a 3/4 day boat? None of us did! 🀣

All in all, a great day on the water!
 

regor

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Needless to say, it was a bonding moment for David and Joey. 😁

View attachment 1029599

We ended the day hooking 6 bluefin and landed none. They were just too big for the equipment we had. Who would have expected to chase multiple schools of bluefin tuna off the coast of San Pedro, fishing on a 3/4 day boat? None of us did! 🀣

All in all, a great day on the water!

What a freaking write up, thanks Backlash!!!
 

boatnam2

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I went out on the American angler last week, lots of action in the water but tough to get on, i think we put 50+ in the boat, all blue fin, 25# -139#'s.
 

Backlash

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Thank you Regor! I enjoy fishing and figured there might be a few others who share the same feelings.

After running some errands with my amazing wife, I spent the afternoon washing all my equipment down. I wiped everything dry and put a quick coat of spray wax on my rods and oil on my reels. Believe it or not, one of these rods is over 22 years old. 😎

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I had cleaned my filets when I got home last night, and cut off the remaining bloodlines and less favorable red meat. I patted them all dry with paper towels and stuffed them into a Ziploc bag. Into the fridge they went.

Today, I mixed some breadcrumbs and spices and cut the filets into manageable pieces. I whipped some eggs up for an egg wash and threw the filets in the egg batter. Then I coated all of the fish with the breadcrumb mix.
 

Backlash

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My Grandfather was a lifelong outdoorsman, fisherman and man of the sea. Nothing ever went to waste, and no matter what it was, he could cook it. Fish, steak, poultry, etc. He would steam oysters, fresh caught clams and mussels, lobster, shrimp, crabs..... It didn't matter. Squirrel, possum, rabbits, birds, deer......the man knew how to cook.

He passed away when I was a little boy, but I distinctly remember him frying fish. So tonight, I tried my best to replicate one of his meals. Simply put, fried fish.

Started off with one of his deep fryers that I got from my Grandmother. I filled it up with peanut oil and heated it to 300Β°.

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I even put brown paper down on my dirty table, the same way that he would. Only he used tan masking tape instead of blue painter's tape. 😁
 

Backlash

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Boom! Time to eat!

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The younger boys handled the toasted sourdough and my wife whipped up everything else. The fish turned out pretty damn good!

Thanks for following along! I hope you all enjoyed it! Now it's time to go put some new line on all my reels!

Until next time..... Stay safe! 😁
 

boatnam2

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The best thing about fishing right now in san diego is how close the bite is, if you had the stamina you could fish for literally 30 hours on the 1 1/2 day boat.
 

Backlash

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I was really hoping to get on a boat further south....but everyone was booked up solid from L.B. down to San Diego. It was a last minute trip, so I didn't have a lot of time to plan things out. Nice fish too!! I don't dare show my wife....she'll say "Why couldn't YOU bring some of those home for me?!" 😁
 

boatnam2

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I was really hoping to get on a boat further south....but everyone was booked up solid from L.B. down to San Diego. It was a last minute trip, so I didn't have a lot of time to plan things out. Nice fish too!! I don't dare show my wife....she'll say "Why couldn't YOU bring some of those home for me?!" 😁
Its crazy, stuff is booking out for next year. Most the people on the boat i was on booked for same trip next year. Pretty cool to get a chance in local water in the 3/4 day, Nice story telling backlash, I wish you could of landed one. Anyone going out, better bring a 80# set up, just never know.
 

Backlash

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That's the last time I leave half my gear at home, with the misconception of "We're only going to be fishing for bass or maybe a small yellow this trip." Boy was I wrong!!! 😁
 

wildone

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Aaron is the best captain around. Glad he's back on the Native Sun. He gave it up for a while running private boats. Had many a good trip with him at the helm.
 

Backlash

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I've never been on a boat where the Captain worked that hard to look for fish, catch fish, then do whatever necessary to try and get fish over the rail. He is a standup guy and a helluva Captain. He will do well as long as he keeps up that level of commitment. πŸ‘
 

boatnam2

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Tried booking a few trips next summer on american angler, already booked up. I may do the Mexican Rivera on the red rooster.
 

Wedgy

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I've never been on a boat where the Captain worked that hard to look for fish, catch fish, then do whatever necessary to try and get fish over the rail. He is a standup guy and a helluva Captain. He will do well as long as he keeps up that level of commitment. πŸ‘
Just being on the water when a bite is Epic. The Blue Pacific lays in wait. Living the Dream and Thanks for sharing. Next time.
 

Wedgy

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AwesomeπŸ‘Œ

Every year Tile Trends Anaheim office took us out of every landing from Dana Point to San Diego. The overnight trips were epic. Caught my first Albie on a rough trip. Next time out of H&M was also rough, we laid up overnight at the Islands.
Everyone caught a load of C Bass over the kelp beds. So I thought that was a pretty cool trip as well.

The absolute best was the epic Yellowtail bite, with Captain Bligh out of O-side. Just outside Cardiff reef. Z,z,,,ZZZ, ZZZZZZZZ!!!! All. Day. Long.

The Capitain had started off the trip dressing us all down, as we stood on the dock with our gear, "What in the hell is this? Did you guys all line up at Kmart for your gear, or What?"

But he kept us on the fish all day, my last 'tail was being chased by a seal, the Captain had had enough. "Reel Boy!!! Reeeell!!! Holee smokes, he ran that sucker down, made him let go,, I got my fish over the rail with just a nick in the tail. Good Times.

We'd drink every single beer,, eat every sammich, candy bar and bag of chips on every boat we were ever on. When we loaded in Dana Point, the deck hand rolled a couple dollies of beer onboad. Carl said, "2? is that it? You turn around and go get 4 more dollies full, at least.

Alas. Blast from the past, as Tile Trends is no more.
Fun while it lasted. RIP Carl Peters.
 

Danger Dave

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Tried booking a few trips next summer on american angler, already booked up. I may do the Mexican Rivera on the red rooster.

Red Rooster III? Who's running the boat now?
 

Maw

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My youngest son got this #130 bluefin with a friend last Thursday, about 5 miles off the Cat west end. 2.5 hour fight because they went out with too small of tackle for the size fish. They're heading out to the east end tomorrow morning and going to work the Slide down, but this time taking two #50 rigs and a #130.


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Danger Dave

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Andy Cates is running the RR, i have never fished that boat or with him. but from what i hear good boat, captain and crew. family friend rides it every july for 10 days.

Wow. If I remember right his dad was running the New Lo Ann back in the late 80's, early 90's. I think John Grabowski was running the RRIII back then.
 

ltbaney1

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My youngest son got this #130 bluefin with a friend last Thursday, about 5 miles off the Cat west end. 2.5 hour fight because they went out with too small of tackle for the size fish. They're heading out to the east end tomorrow morning and going to work the Slide down, but this time taking two #50 rigs and a #130.


View attachment 1033694
very nice! do you happen to know what they caught it on? was it a lone swimmer or did they find a school of them?
 

Maw

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very nice! do you happen to know what they caught it on? was it a lone swimmer or did they find a school of them?

Plenty of schools that day, most though had lockjaw. They had been throwing poppers and live macks and sardines with no luck. They tied up a 48" spreader rig (Flying fish at the front, then a half dozen 9" squid on both sides, a 12" squid with the hook back 4' on the centerline) and got a hookup withing minutes.

They are at the 277 right now but are going to move up in a while and work the area between the Avalon and 14 Mile banks. Another member here got a couple of tuna there on Tuesday.
 

Maw

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I believe they took the Splash Drone with them this morning so they can get better views of the areas around them. Amazing the view you get from a thousand or so feet up.
 

regor

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Plenty of schools that day, most though had lockjaw. They had been throwing poppers and live macks and sardines with no luck. They tied up a 48" spreader rig (Flying fish at the front, then a half dozen 9" squid on both sides, a 12" squid with the hook back 4' on the centerline) and got a hookup withing minutes.

They are at the 277 right now but are going to move up in a while and work the area between the Avalon and 14 Mile banks. Another member here got a couple of tuna there on Tuesday.

Awesome to hear it from the private boater's aspect, thanks. πŸ‘
 

Maw

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They picked up two yesterday, right on the 277 for both. They've now learned the importance of taking a gun (50lb class tackle) to a gunfight. The little spincast was along to make Macks. Both fish taken on spreader rigs.

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boatnam2

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Andy Cates is running the RR, i have never fished that boat or with him. but from what i hear good boat, captain and crew. family friend rides it every july for 10 days.
Buddy went on it end of last summer and they killed it, he loves that boat.
 
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