Arrived at the 43 and put out the lines. Headed West and hooked up on the smallest albie I have ever seen. Felt bad gaffing the poor sucker, but had to get the stink off the boat. Shortly thereafter a double, then a triple and my first quad on the boat. The quad caused a god awful tangle since I had a newbie on board. Had to hand line the 4th when my newbie assumed the previous bent rod was just a tangle. We all learn the hard way I suppose. Cut the shit out of my hand but got a chuckle bringing a nice fat one to gaff.   All our fish were on the troll, biggest was 27 lbs. Caught mostly on black and purple feathers. A couple on the abortion. To tally up, since we lost count we had 23 on board.  We realized we were in trouble when the stern started to ride very low in the water and the bow was jacked up in the sky. Come to realize that the bilge pump wasn't working. Kept tripping the circuit breaker. Water was starting to flood into the cuddy. Unfortunately we can't readily access the bilge plug. Very low in water accessible from outside. Thought it wise to head home early (12:30pm). Had a hard time getting on plane. 2 buddies had to sit on bow. Had to dump bait tank. Dump all ice in fishholds and pump out water. Shifted everything forward. Got boat on plane and as the water rushed back to the stern, my bilge access hatch broke open from the inside out. I was acting all cool and in control, but inside I was sweating a bit. Had my buddy bail a little. Boat was making a good 20 kts. Made it back to MB, pulled the plug and a small lake poured out.

My buddies were stoked, they had a blast, I was alittle un-nerved, but satisfied my girl once again brought me home safely.
The coordinates: N 32 34.299 W 118 08.073   N 32 34.154 W 118 09.942     N 32 35.281 W 118 11.620  
water temp 64.8 degrees  We must have made a commotion because a party boat was tailing us after we got about 10 onboard. Then another one showed up. My recommendation: Go west, find the colder water. Don't catch too many fish (there is a lesson to learn here!!!!). And carry a spare bilge pump.  tight lines, geo-fish 

J.D.'s Big Game Tackle      Saturday, June 30, 2001,
INNER WATERS SAN MATEO POINT TO THE MEXICAN BORDER INSIDE SAN CLEMENTE ISLAND- 930 AM PDT SAT JUN 30 2001 TODAY WIND LIGHT...BECOMING W 15 KT IN THE AFTERNOON WITH WIND WAVES 2 FT. SWELL W 4 FT. AREAS OF MORNING FOG. TONIGHT WIND W 10 KT WITH WIND WAVES 1 FT...BECOMING LIGHT LATE. SWELL W 4 FT. AREAS OF FOG. SUN WIND LIGHT...BECOMING W 15 KT IN THE AFTERNOON WITH WIND WAVES 2 FT. SWELL W 4 FT. AREAS OF MORNING FOG.

Overcast and calm, some leftover lump from yesterdays wind, 4 thousand boats out fishing this morning, the radio is active with the mornings chatter.

We just got 2 inside the 43, about 25lbs, boats fishing the "Ridge" found paddies but no yellows.

Report: S.D. albacore      Larmo    ALLCOAST    Jun-30-01, 08:05 PM (PST)
Fished below the upper finger/475 knuckle (31.58 & 117.13) for easy limits of regulation size (12-25lb) albies. Bait was weak anchovies (it didn't matter)    We worked into the area from the west and found the fish about 8:00 am. The day consisted of  about 6 jig strikes. Four were the typical single/double jig strike with maybe a single bait fish. One was a 1/2 hour stop for 8 bait fish. One was a 2 hour stop for lots of bait fish. We had a school come underneath the boat that showed on the fish finder as 40 feet (from 50 to 90 feet) of solid "red". (the strongest return on a color sounder). They bit everything, live bait, dead bait, plastic swim baits.   If i were going out tomorrow i would start in this zone and work towards the 238. Lots of talk on the radio about bluefin around the 238. (jumbo bluefin)

Highlights for the trip
1. Watching a mako "consume" a hooked albacore right next to the boat.(Those sharks can swim FAST)
2.Almost no WIND and little swell. A small bump in the early AM which layed down nicely throughout the day. An easy run home up the "inside" of the islands. For a change i like the fact that the weathermen were wrong.(i think the threat of rough seas kept the crowds down today.)

Report - Albies 19 miles SD 6/28     SeaDancer     ALLCOAST      Jun-29-01, 12:09 PM (PST)
LAST EDITED ON Jun-29-01 AT 07:23 PM (PST) 
Thursday - June 28th:  
Summary:   Caught 22 Albies 15-30lbs, from 19 miles to 37 miles off Pt Loma, about 250 degree heading from the point. Only 1 small fish (5lbs) and the rest over 15. Would have caught more if weather wasn't so nasty, and I had one more experienced fisherman on board. I have a 26 foot Sea Ray, "Sea Dancer", but I would have been more comfortable on a 60+ foot boat. About 3/4 of the fish were caught on jigs and 1/4 on bait. Stopped trolling at 19 miles/3pm when we got the last fish, but water temp looked good for a few more miles while coming in. It's possible that albies may be just outside the 9 mile bank (worth a look). Water is too warm at the 9MB (70+) for albies. Took green water over the bow a couple of times when I wasn't paying attention and doing other things, like staring too long at GPS, FF, Radar, etc.

General Details:  My initial plan was to run out about 40-45 miles, SW of the 43, down to the East Butterfly, based on various reports and Terrafin charts. I spoke to Tom Patierno, Captain/owner of the "Limitless", and he told me that the water was really rough and wind blowing 24 hours straight, but that this would probably enhance the albacore fishing by cooling the water down a bit. He also gave me some updated fishing into. The commercial fleet was going southerly rather than westerly. I elected to go WSW.   

Launched at 3:30am at Shelter Island, picked up live bait, and departed Pt Loma Buoy about 4:30am Thurs AM. Excellent cured bait, about 90% anchovies and 10% sardines. Plan was to run out SW of the 43, between the 43 and the east Butterfly. There three of us on my boat, with one beginning fisherman, together with a former commercial fisherman that had responded to my Allcoast Rideshare posting (Ed Greenshields of Yucca Valley, an Allcoast Member, and very good fisherman). I did not want to get caught too far south with rough water, for the return trip.    Water was extremely rough, about 6 foot seas, some up to 8', and 20-25 knot wind, from the west to southwest. It had been blowing all day Weds and all night, and into the morning, non-stop, and very choppy also. The entire fleet went southerly, whereas, I went out at about 250 degree heading, essentially beating right into the bad stuff, in the dark.  Lots of tugs are towing barges into SD harbor from the north, so be very careful going out in the dark, and don't cut between the tug and the barge. Also, be sure not to make your right-turn before the last bouy, or you'll be cutting right-through the Pt Loma Kelp, and either get stuck of overheat your engines.  

Although it was bad going out, I knew that it would at least not be so bad coming back in, with following seas, unless I ended up fishing more southerly than the Butterfly. It was so rough that I broke a VHF antenna mount and one of two bait tank brackets (fortunately I have two VHF radios and two antennas, and, two bait tanks). I lost 75% of my bait in one bait tank when it broke, and transferred what was left to the other. Still had plenty of bait for chum and hook bait.

Fishing:
I finally stopped running out about 6:30 am when my body couldn't take the pounding any longer, about 30 miles out. Water was about 66.5 degrees and really nice blue-purple color. Saw bait in the water that looked like sauries, and some birds also scouting the area. Area looked really "fishy" so I decided to start fishing right here. First fish on within 10 minutes. Had 10 fish on the boat by about 9am. Lots of fish on meter over a very large area, about 100 feet to 200 feet down. With lots of chum, it would have been wide open. Then, at 9:30am, I discovered that had NO MORE FISH (my fish bag got ripped-off by rough seas, and I lost all fish). We started our fishing trip all over again. Caught 12 more fish, for a total of 22 Albies landed. Lost a number of fish due to light line, rough seas, and so on. Fished a couple of paddies with nobody home.

Did not see a single boat all day, other than freighters, cruise ship, and Navy boats. We had the entire area to ourselves, and caught most fish within a small area. 80% of fish were caught on mini-jigs and 20% on bait, including both anchovies and sardines. Had fish crashing all around us half a dozen times, but I was busy gaffing fish, bringing in loose lines, chumming, driving the boat, and so on. Very difficult fishing in rough seas like this, with blood and water all over the deck. The seas did not get any better as the day went on. The only radio chatter that I heard was how rough it was. I tried to call-in other Allcoasters, but nobody responded.

Lowest water temp was 65.5 and highest temp was 66.7. Mostly 66.5 to 67.7 all day in this area. Excellent albacore conditions. Lots of fish on the meter. Most fish were caught in 66.3 to 66.7 water.

Best Jigs:
"Loose Cannon Jet Head" mini-jigs, black and green, and blue and silver. The only place that I've found these is at Mako Matts Marine in Huntington Beach (714)840-0696. He's only got a few left if you need any.

Also, got one fish on a really old but trustworty, all-black feather, white pearl head, with real thick feathers and prism tape. Got doubles and triples on these Loose Cannon mini-jigs. We did not try cedar plugs, zucchini, mexican flags, etc., but these may have worked also.    Jigs fished way back seemed to get bit slightly better than those closer in.

EXACT LOCATION: Lat Long:
MOST FISH: center of 2 mile radius: 32.30.668 N / 117.57.177 W....   This is about 37 miles from Pt Loma, and south of the 43 a few miles, west of the 267, northeast of the east Butterfly.   Northern Edge: 32.30.642 N / 117.57.042  Southern Edge: 32.27.296 N / 117.59.581   CLOSEST FISH: 32.33.809 N / 117.37.743W    This is 19 miles from Pt Loma, about 250 degree bearing or so. Location is north of the 224 and 267, in Mexican waters. 

RECOMMENDATION:  If I were going out this weekend, I would run out to the "closest fish" lat/long about 19 miles (or stop sooner if 65.5 to 67). If temp and water color looked good, I would start trolling towards the "most fish" lat/long, south of the 43. Once you find an area of fish, box the area for 30 minutes or so, then move-on if nothing happens. The fish are moving around, probably chasing bait. Why go 35-40 miles if you only have to go 20-25 miles? We caught most of our fish within a few square miles. I don't like to leave fish to look for fish.  Work the area between the "northern" edge and "southern" edge also, until you find the fish, and then don't go far once you find them.

KELP PADDIES:
Water was too rough to spot any unless you were really close and about to run over one. Only saw a few that were unproductive.

YELLOWTAIL, DORADO:
None in the area we fished - you need to go to warmer water to the south.

9-MILE BANK:
70 degree water. Marlin soon??

ONE MORE TIP (Safety):
With rough seas, keep the boat in gear with jig fish on so that you don't get broadside to the swells, and to help keep the hooked fish on tight line, with no slack. I keep the autopilot "on" for proper steerage and angle relative to the swells. At times when I didn't do this, it got very difficult to keep from being thrown around and slipping on the blood and water on the deck, and we lost a few jig fish that came off on slack line (since we sometimes will leave one trolling rod w/fish "on" in the rod holder to keep the school around, so we can fish bait, gaff other fish, etc.). The albie school will stay with the boat even if its in-gear and slowly moving. If you don't have autopilot, keep someone at the wheel whenever possible, in these conditions, and watch especially for larger and steeper swells that come along that can cause a big surprise. Go with a buddy boat also for safety, and to increase your odds of getting into a good batch of fish. Carry a sea anchor in case you lose power and must drift. Good Luck out there... Craig Gilbert "Sea Dancer" - HB "Amigo" - Cabo

INNER WATERS SAN MATEO POINT TO THE MEXICAN BORDER INSIDE SAN CLEMENTE ISLAND- TODAY WIND LIGHT AND VARIABLE THIS MORNING...BECOMING W 10 TO 15 KT WITH WIND WAVES 2 FT AFTERNOON. SWELL W 4 FT. AREAS OF MORNING FOG. TONIGHT WIND W 10 TO 15 KT WITH WIND WAVES 2 FT...BECOMING LIGHT AND VARIABLE LATE. SWELL W 4 FT. AREAS OF FOG LATE. SAT WIND LIGHT AND VARIABLE IN THE MORNING...BECOMING W 10 TO 15 KT WITH WIND WAVES 2 FT AFTERNOON. SWELL W 3 FT. AREAS OF MORNING FOG.

This morning the heat inland has created a slight westerly at 5knts or less with some low cloud cover against the coastline and extends offshore, there was a left over lump on the seas.

It's pretty nasty, from the 209 to the outside, if it doesn't get much worse we can stick it out. no kelps yet, we'll put em' in on the 43 unless we see anything different" 8:55am

"A guy 6 miles off Pyramid, he just had a double hook-up" 9:05am

2' to 4' and 15 knts on top of it

we just came off a real nice stop on the 43, a half dozn fish, got to go thery up again, 9:38am

"We just got out first strike, 14 1/2 miles from the Head, on a straight line to the 43, just put out one jig , before we could get the others out we got bit,. a few white caps, not bad 9:40am

Water seems to be calming down, it's the same as it was on the 209 this morning, it's looking better all the time now. 10:06am

66.8, 67 on the 43

Great Showing!    Badger      ALLCOAST      Jun-29-01, 10:54 AM (PST)
Tuna are now 20 to 30 out of Morrow on a 270 heading. Keep in mind that these fish are just moving in. Temp breaks look best at 40 out.   Thanks to all for the great turn out for the Mellow Boy and Deke   Wells in Avila last night. The Avila Tuna Club fed 160 people out of the 200 that showed. The tally at the end was $6,500.00 not including the bar tab (1500 or so) or checks folks are sending in. I will post the total when I Hear. Deke was speachless, I don't know if it was the booze or what. Everyone started crying so I had to bail.  Special thanks to Avila John, Robolo Ray, Jr. Bentz, Del & Anita out of Portside Marine at the sling. If you missed the opportunity you can still donate checks payable to Deke Wells,   C/O Portside Marine,PO Box 280, Avila Beach, CA 93424. Please include your boat name and Allcoast member so I can report back. Great Job Everyone,  Regards,   Jimbo/Badger

baby fishing    Affordable Marine     Date: Thu, 28 Jun 2001 21:36:16 -0700
Dennis- got a late start on Sunday to the 425. The boys did not show up until 7:00am even though they knew the boat was leaving at 6:00am. But there was no sense at leaving with out a crew( and someone to share the gas cost ). We got a double hook up at 9:45am on a mex flag and a zuc and landed two nice 20lbs albie. But we did a badddd thing. The next hook up we landed a small one. Being that this was our first trip out of the year, it was hard to throw anything back. To document the crime we actually took a picture. (see attached) Hopefully we will escape justice for this one act of first of the season excitement. The only problem is that the little one won't leave. any advice on how to get my life back to normal( I'm even willin to turn my self in at this point )? Ken Hydrotherapy

Report: 6/28 at the 425      Boiler Maker    ALLCOAST       Jun-28-01, 08:48 PM (PST)
Fished the 425 area today for 3 albies and 6 yellowtail. Started out at the 425 before greylight. Water temp was 64.7 to 65.7 near the high spot. Trolled the area with other boats for nada so decided to stick with my plan. Headed south toward the 32 line. About 10 miles south we got our fish hookup- small albie. Trolled the area (32.04 117.16) and scratched up two more albies. The wind started picking up so I decided to troll back towards the 425. The wind chop was a bitch with waves coming over the bow every few seconds at troll. Found the mother of all patties at about 32.06 117.14. Trolled by it and two small yellows rip the jigs. Move in for the first pass and start to chum. There is a total assault of good grade yellows charging the boat. We break off 4 at first (these are my first tails of the season). Pulled out my cal star 8' jig stick with 20# and bait up. Next thing I know a tail rips 100 yards off my reel. Awsome feeling and fight. 30 minutes later a 30 pound (28 as wieghed at the dock) hits the deck. We end up with 6 tails with 3 over 20#'s. BY this time its 1100 so we troll to the 425 for nada !! Start to head in from the 425 at 8 knots with swells crashing over the bow every 3 to 5 seconds. 4 hours later and soaked to the bone we got our catch to the dock. What a long and miserable ride back. To end it all my water pump goes out againX( Met an allcoater at the dock but I was kinda out of it after the long ride so I didn't talk much...Sorry LandShark usually after a good fishing day I can't shut up. Summary for the day 3 albies to 15#'s 6 yellows to 30#'s. The albies are in the area south of the 425. Most people had to scratch them up but some had mexican limits. I'm tired so please make corrections as you see fit.  Jerry (Boiler Maker)

WED Fishing     Affordable Marine       Thu, 28 Jun 2001 22:15:15 -0700
Dennis, Thanks for the great site, I check it nightly. Left Shelter Island @ 4:00 AM, got some nice bait and was lking for a smooth ride to the 43. Once we got arount the point the harsh reality set in. A very bumpy 2 hour plus ride. It sure paid off though. We saw meter marks deep between 100' and 200' 2 miles short of the 43, started trolling in 67 degree water. We got our first single jig strike by 7:30, 4 miles SW of the 43, a small 12# Albie, we managed to get a single, double or triple hook up every 45 min to an hour. Ended up with 9 Albacore between 12# to 22# by 1:00 PM. We started to head home, pulled all the fish out to fillet and BAM, BAM double hook up right over the high spot, and landed 2 more fish both were 30#. Ended up with 11 Albacore, 1 Bonito. Only 2 on bait, 5 on natural cedar plugs and 4 on jet heads, green/black and purple/black. My father met us out there on his new Grady White around noon with a couple of sickies, he stayed within one mile of us for 3 hours and he did'nt get one hook up. Sorry Dad. Very wet ride home, great fishing trip. Chris on the LONG GONE.

Wed Fishing      Affordable Marine       Thu, 28 Jun 2001 13:32:24 -0700
Went out on a buddy's house Tuesday night to start fishing the West Butterfly at sun up. Single Jig strikes on dark colors produced 5 small Albies (mostly @ 8# with the biggest @12#) and a paddy gave up two small YT. Water was 66ish and winds strong. By 8 AM decided to troll north toward the 43 in search of bigger fish. Scratched up a few more small albies on the way off the butterfly but no more action until the 43. Some boats reported bigger 25/30 # albies there but we didn't find any. There were several paddies in the 43 area holding YT but not all of them were hungry. We did manage 8 nice ones off of one paddy a couple miles south of the #'s. Final score for 6 people: 10 YT, 9 Albies. Seas were really too bumpy for the small boats, but there were a few brave and wet diehards out there doing it! Ken - normally on the "Money Pit"

Thanks VA      hukedup      ALLCOAST         Jun-28-01, 07:17 PM (PST)
Was in the Ensanada Rodeo with Pops & a good buddy.Left towards Todos 10 miles past,started trolling got huked up on a 33lb YFT,started trolling some more to no avail. Started to head back to the Coral but the GPS had taken a turn for the worse,so we tried to get to land on our own before calling out,fuel was going down,Pops back was going out,and daylight was leaving,picture that scenario.Had to find a place to drop anchor with the little fuel we had left, so we had something to work with.Called VA they couldn't make it out for a few hours, so the Mexican Navy C-86 battleship found us with their panga with 4 soldiers & 4M-16's, it wasn't pretty, but nevertheless they were great, they gave us 20gal of gas, told us to stay in their sight.Then around 5:30am the radio said this is VA do you still have "BAD TO HTE BONE" with you,OOOHHH music to the ears.Skipper Milliken & his right hand man from Shelter Island asked for permission to take over,it took 3 times to ask, but the Mex Navy did.Then VA gave us 20 more gallons of gas,saying we were still 17 miles from the Coral,we had to still go around Punta Banda.We got there took showers and left for home.All in All I would like to say THANK YOU VERY MUCH TO THE MEXICAN NAVY (C-86),ALSO WITH MUCH APPRECIATION TO VESSEL ASSIST. (MILLIKEN out of SHELTER ISLAND)

Report 6/28 PSL/Avila Albacore     Robalo Ray     ALLCOAST      Jun-28-01, 08:10 AM (PST)
What a great day on the water, however, there was some talk of "Shoulda been here yesterday" as far as the bit was concerened. Fish were scattered from 17-40 miles, on a 240 past the weather bouy. We got five of eight hits, with two fish in the 20 pound class and the other three 12-15. All troll, just about every color got hit as predictable: Purple and black before noon, zuchini after.  Please be at or support the Mello Boy/Deke Wells Fundraiser this evening at the Port San Luis Yacht  Club, base of Avila Pier. See Benefit Fundraiser thread for more info.  Ray

Arriving in the area we soon got bit and managed a half dozen or so of these Marlin baits (great for the tuna tubes). All jig fish - no bait fish. We fished above, below and to the East of the bank. It is sad that so many of these current fish are in the 4-6 pd class and are the mainstay of the fleet counts. But every-so-often 8-12 pounders show up. The water was 68.5 above the 390 area and a break to just below 68 where the fish were. After scratching out about 8 "keepers" we decided to head up towards the area "10 miles below the 425." The wind had been up during the night, but no swells. During the day it blew 20-25 ALL day long and never laid down. But with the absence of swells it was tolerable.

After we had gone 4.5 miles we suddenly had a quadruple on creatures of substance. While the three of us were trying to fight the 4 rods "they" crached on the chum bait, boiling all over and even leaping out of the water chasing those poor little chovies. After boating the 4 jig fish (25-27 pounds) Kenneth hung another on bait we then had a nice bait stop with the smaller fish getting in on the action.

All told we caught about 25 fish, released 10 of the peanuts and kept our limits.The sad part of the fishing is - as mentioned above - so many of these "babies" are undoubtedly being sacked on the sport boats. One can only wonder what the average size of all the caught fish has been. And hope that the fish down below are becoming larger as we speak. From what I could tell the Sporties were fishing in the Double 220 area (too far for this nasty weather). We also saw Dorado chasing exploding schools of sauries and the ominous report of Skippies in today's count doesn't sound good for the summer. Oh well, there is always Morro Bay. Marty Morris ("Ken-Dan")

Report/ 27th    Aluminator      ALLCOAST      Jun-27-01, 06:06 PM (PST)
We changed our minds at the last min and went for the 43. We got beat up more than the tuna. Weather was a repeat of last Sat. The fish did show late in the morning and we kept 4 around 25lbs and farmed as many. Rapalas, feathers, and that funny looking Big Hammer seemed to do the job. Sorry D. I had to say that. 1 mile east of the high spot a triple, 1 more mile east a double and 6 miles east of there a few singles. It didn't sound like a red hot day for the 4-5 boats working the area. Did hear that some were caught SW of the 43 by 5 miles. I am still rocking and rolling. Tomorrow will be the inshore stuff and if it lays down I will try again Fri.  Dennis... We ran the rapalas in close and then the feathers back twice as far and keep the Big Hammer as far away from the boat as we could. Even picked up another while clearing lines on a P/B feather soaking from the outrigger.

Report 6/27 Albies at the 213      flp       ALLCOAST       Jun-27-01, 08:41 PM (PST)
I had family in from Utah and Washington and they had kids who had never fished before. They wanted to go fishing for albacore on the 27th and I was getting worried with the counts down and the fish scattered. I then noticed that on the 26th 976 tuna reported several boats with limits again so I called and got some numbers. We left at 11pm and went out with the rest of the fleet from point loma. Most of the fleet stoped west of the 390. We decided to head on down to the 213 and stoped south of the 213 at 31.45 and 117.53 We started picking up singles inmediatlyand lots of pesky bonito. We could not get a bite going on bait. The water was 67. We headed north east and hit a nice temp break at 31.50 and 117.43 it went to 66.5. We had all the kids hooked up on jig fish and as soon as they were done with the jig fish they each handled several bait fish. We would pick up and troll for 30 seconds and be hooked up again. We could not move more than a couple of yards and we would be right back into them. They were not large but just perfect for the group of first timers. We used 15 and 20 lb test line good jigs were small green jet heads. WE picked up limits of albacore and then we picked one yellow off of a paddie. It was very snotty out there and the waves were steep and close together. We were all by ourselves and only saw one boat once on the horizon. We beat our way to the coronados and then up the beach hame at 8:30pm and tired.  Floyd

Report: SD Monday     Landshark      ALLCOAST      Jun-25-01, 11:12 PM
straight chovies-no dines  looking for kelps,ran to the 371,then towards the 390. Stopped on 5 empty kelps. Started trolling towards the butterfly.Found another kelp with albies zipping around under it. They wouldn't touch 20lb. Dropped down to 15lb and got 2 fish then a blue shark moved in and no more chickens. A hour and a half later got a single on a zuker(lime green head,black/purple feathers). We trolled to the butterfly then started working back towards Pt.Loma. No more fish,so we pulled the jigs and looked for more kelps on the way in. Tried 4 or 5 empty kelps. At the ramp one guy had a 35 lb albie that he got just below the 230, his only fish. Another guy found a good kelp 33mi from the point,but more inside,below the 425,for about 7 yellows and 7 albies. Dfg guy said another guy had two flatheads from the 302.

Report: Saturday East Butterfly  REELZEN    ALLCOAST    Jun-24-01, 01:34 PM (PST)
Sorry for the late report, it was a long day. Went to the East Butterfly and started trolling about 10 miles shy. Had a double jig stop within 5 minutes, none on bait. Went on and about 8 miles shy of the spot had a triple jig stop and 2 on bait. Probably could had more on bait we had them boiling on chum all around us, but as soon as other boaters had seen us hooked up they came trolling all around us and one boat had got to within 50 feet of my boat and ran over my line I had out with bait. Got to love those weekend warriors. Fishing is suppose to be relaxing, but Saturday was not a good day to keep your blood pressure down. Left the circus and went on West, picked up 4 more on the East Butterfly high spot and 4 more out close to the Mushroom. Found a really nice temp break out between the 60 mile and the Mushroom but on caught 1 fish out there. Went towards the 421 and the water really warmed up alot to 69. At about 6 miles west of the 421 we found a patty loaded with yellowtail. Counts for the day - 15 Albies to 30lbs, 18 yellowtails to 25lbs. Seemed the bigger Albies where in 68 degree water and the smaller ones in 67. Water temp out at the Mushroom went down to 66 but hardly no life out there. On my way back to SD ran across some 70 degree water also. I heard a few Allcoasters out there but like Bravo-6, Aluminator and quite a few more but using the radio wasn't much of an option with everybody out there. I will be heading South Tuesday and Thursday to get away from the morons up closer to SD. Hope to see you out there.  Frank   REELZEN

Report: Sunday below the 43  Seapop    ALLCOAST     Jun-25-01, 08:25 PM (PST)
Went out Saturday night from Oceanside and ran down about 10 miles past the 43. Dropped in jigs at 6:00 and had almost instant hook up on a stray bonita. They took off and a few minuites later had a double albacore hook up and stop. Our first albacore ever on the boat. Worked the area of 65 to 66.8 degree water southwest of the 43 most of the day and ended up with a total of 15 albacore and 3 bonita. Didn't find any fish at all in water over 66.8. Heard other guys report that they got bigger fish in the warmer water but we didn't. Found fish around 118+06 and 32 30 line. Had a pretty fair number of boats in the area sunday but only one sportfisher. (The Truelune from Long Beach) plus the tailchaser from Newport.  For us a very satisfy day to break our cherry on the longfins.\ Half the fish we caught on zuccinis (I can't spell). Others were  on various lures and we had one fish on the slide on a channel island chovy. Tight lines  ... practice catch and release and stop when you have your limit

 Report: SW of 43 6-22 & 23    tre    ALLCOAST   Jun-24-01, 09:32 AM (PST)
SHORT AND SWEET:  Beat up and tired from 2 long days outta Newport. Day 1- fought something big for 1:15 minutes on 30#. Initial run @ 200 yards, never saw color then popped after making almost no ground for the majority of the fight.---Big Bluefin, Big Eye???  Got back to the slip @ 11:30 PM, departed again @ 4:30 AM. @ 10 miles more West than South of the 43 in 67-68 degree water I found an area holding fish and pulled 6 of the 8 in an hour between 1-2:00 pm. All singles on Zuchini, green/yellow, green/orange feathers @ 6.5-6.8 Knots. Nothing over @ 16-18 pounds (guesing) today. Had 6 guys on the 31'- 5, including myself, scored our first Albies ever. Rough water made for a completely wet ride home, but still ran at 23 Knots on the new diesels. Pictures-
http://www.momentoffame.com/snapshot.html?id=7310
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http://www.momentoffame.com/snapshot.html?id=7312

Albacore at the 60     Aluminator     ALLCOAST      Jun-24-01, 07:05 AM (PST)
It sure feels good to post again after 9 months of boat and out of town work!  Left San Diego Friday night with lots of other boats and headed to the 60 mile bank. Most of the others headed a little more North and when the sun came up we had the spot to ourselves. We looked for the cooler water but never found any less than 67-68.   Picked up the first one on a silver feather but none came to the live bait. Lots of small sharks on the paddies. So much radio traffic and crap that it was hard to talk 10 miles away. The seas were up a bit and made for the kind of morning that you had to be seated or holding on to something. As the day wore on it layed down and we started to work North to the Butterfly and picked up one more small tuna. From the radio info the fishing was sloooooow for many and with nothing better to do, tempers grew thin. I heard Sea Shepard calling the CG to file a report of a sport boat that charged him and turned at the last second and ran his lines over while he was stopped and fishing bait. Lots of paddy poaching and everything else that happens when ya get 100 boats together. Lots of our Allcoast family were down this way Sat and I am sorry that the radios wern't working better. It is back to mid fishing for us now and hope to get out a lot in the next two weeks. I will let ya know the new motor story when I get my gauges working and the tach calibrated. I love the Cummins!!  Dennis (ALUMINATOR)

Saturday 6/23 15albies       SeaShepard     ALLCOAST    Jun-26-01, 02:22 AM (PST)
Fished Sat between the butterfly and the 43 spot for 2 bones, 2 YT, and 15 albies from 10 to 25 pounds. Seas were a little choppy in the am but laid down pretty nice by afternoon. Great day on the water except for the $80 worth of jigs ripped off the lines. It was an absolute parking lot out there this weekend, but everyone seemed real considerate out of all the private boaters out there this weekend. Sorry for the late report had to get all my honey do's done when I got home. Here are a couple of photos I hope they come out Alright.
http://seashepard.freeservers.com/images/jun23-1.jpg
http://seashepard.freeservers.com/images/jun23-2.jpg

Saturdays tuna report        Smelt_one    ALLCOAST    Jun-24-01, 08:22 AM
Man....was it bumpy Saturday. What a difference a day makes. 140 miles round trip and the boat ran out of gas on the trailer (16 gal spare on board) Licking wounds today....glad it is not Monday. Headed to the butterfly at 3:30 am for the bumpy ride. Found a kelp (though we we not looking) about 8 miles short of the highspot and the yellows were buzzing the boat soon after some chum. You could watch your bait get slammed as it hit the water. My less experienced fishing buddy had trouble with backlashes and found out that ain't the way to go on a WFO bite. Got six quick fish on board with only one under ten lbs. We had a double and were off the paddy by about 100 yds and a big fvcking boat decides to pull in and fish. So what does he do...the rocket scientist parks his slut machine between us and the paddy....go figure. Not only that, he was closer to us than the paddy. We decide we had enuf anyways and moved...only to find another paddy about 300 yds upwind. LOL,,,and the yellows crashed us again.   We pulled out soon after...to get to the tuna. The last 10 miles out were a bit bumpy?.....and finally we were there and trolled for three hours for a bonita. All the way out here for a bone head. Not much was happening for the rest of the gang either .....few here and there.  We finally headed north west and ended up scratching three albs for the day.  Hit the gps for home at about 2:30 and it said 51 nm ......DARN!   Five hours to the ramp......averaging 18 knots and stpping for some paddys and also cleaning the fish.     GOT EXCEDRIN ?
http://www.momentoffame.com/snapshot.html?id=7303
http://www.momentoffame.com/snapshot.html?id=7304

Saturday: Rough but big fish!    Affordable Marine   Sat, 23 Jun 2001 19:05:18
Dennis, Left MCRD at 4:00am Saturday morning. Really rough right outside the point but I just kept rationalizing....it will get better outside....its just got to get better outside. No such luck. I have definitely become spoiled lately by the calm water...I had planned to fly out to the b-fly in 2 hours or so. Yeah right!!! After three hours of beating and soaking we were about 1/2 way between the 302 and the b-fly (117 55 / 32 25 vicinity)only 40 or so miles off shore we put out the spread. At the same point we hit a temp break from 67.5 to 65.6. Within 15 minutes we hit a single on an mini-mexican flag feather and pick up another on a purple haze fishtrap on the slide. These fish were big! One 25lb and one 30+. 15 minutes later we hit a triple on mini-mex flag, mini-purple and black and a full size blue and white jet. Again big fish.  We picked up 2 more singles on the mini-mex and another on the blue and white jet. We decided not to push our luck and to head in early. All fish were in excess of 20lbs and the biggest 3 were over 30lb. The mini feathers seemed to be the trick today. Good luck out there tomorrow! Alex on 21ft Bayliner Trophy (SharkBite!)

Saturday fishing    Affordable Marine    Sat, 23 Jun 2001 21:12:10 -0700
LEFT SHELTER ISLAND 4:30 AM--HEADED FOR THE BUTTERFLY--NADA--HEADED FOR THE 43--NADA--HEADED FOR HOME AT 3:30--6 MILES FROM THE 43---CAUGHT 1ST ALBIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 25#. FIRST TIMER FEMALE, REFUSED TO EAT HEART, TRIED TO EAT PIECE WITH WASABI BUT FAILED!! HAD A FANTASTIC TIME FIGHTING THE FISH AND CANNOT UNDERSTAND HOW WE CAN FISH ALL DAY AND NOT GET TIRED OF FISHING!!! BOB ON THE NUTWHACKER (I'M A VETERINARIAN)

Almost Butterfly 6/23       FishLounge   ALLCOAST    Jun-23-01, 05:41 PM (PST)
After getting some good reports from friend on how good and nice the fishing was the last couple of days I decided I'll try Sat and take a couple of newbies and get them thier first Albies. Left SI around four. The bait barge was a zoo. Boats on both sides and going in both directions. And it never fails someone always has to gun it right by the barge, this I will never understand. Got a healthy scoop of chovs /with some horse dines. Needed to make a trip back to the truck for a license. Finally cleared the bay and noticed it's a little bumpier than what was told to me. Set GPS for some numbers near the E-Butterfly. After the long up hill run to a spot 9 miles short of the butterfly where there was a huge paddy that was overworked by the time we got there newbie #1 got sick. First of 8 times. 8 TIMES!!!! My stomach hurts just thinking of it. Anyway after trolling that area for a while in rough weather I decided enough is enough for the two now green faced passengers. And of course as soon as we head oh 10 miles back it starts to lay down and we hear people catching fish at the E Butterfly. Long day on the water and no fish The best or worst part of the day was when we drifted for Butts in the bay and yep #9 He got sick in the bay!! Poor Kid..  I am amazed at the quick and drastic weather changes from day to day. Moral of the story is- if ya want to go fishing, do it then because the next day might not be so nice. Good Luck all   FishLounge

saturday butterfly     Landshark    ALLCOAST    Jun-24-01, 07:32 AM (PST)
Finally back on the water after 8 weeks. Had a valve problem with on 75 hours on the motor.   The last few days everyone said the water was flat,not today. The first 40 mi. had a bump,but the last 10 mi.were snotty. Not much of a swell but,lots of wind.   Started at some numbers that javahead posted. We got three singles. No bait fish. Got tired of fighting the wind and moved back inside to look for kelps.That was a mistake. Only saw one kelp that was getting pounded by 6 boats.Didn't see any more kelps. Only three fish(2-12lb,1-20lb).  I have the whole week off.Heading back out mon. and tues. to get some more before the water gets to warm. Heard several allcoasters on 72 but could get through.I think tunacious,total chaos ,bravo 6,aluminator were out there. If anyones out there monday or tuesday give me a holler on 72. 

Legacy Report: 30 albies / 3-guys  moorefish   ALLCOAST      Jun-23-01, 08:56 AM (PST)
Fished out of Mission Bay on Friday for 30 albacore to 25-pounds. Sport boats only averaged 1.5 to 3.0 fish per rod. Couldn't get any Northern sticks to join in the fun but enjoyed the company of two of Rory's close friends's, Troy and Brian. What a great bunch of hard working anglers! Nice to be on the water with some new friends catching fish. Started the day at 45-miles in 66.6 degree water. Brian lost one nice yellow on a kelp. No fish 'till 9am. Found em' and eventually left the smaller fish to try and find the bigger fish. Worked out to the Butterfly for multiple jig strikes. Best bait stop today yielded 5 fish on 'choves and 'dines. Released many of the smaller fish to bite another day plus a few nice ones due to pulled or straighened hooks, bad crimp, and should I mention one incredible tangle? Finished our day on a high note by getting into 2 stops for 6 fish in the 15 to 25-pound-class. Nice way to go out. A special thanks to Rory and his crew of Whaler 27 for calling us inside for a shot at some bigger units. The water is warming very fast so you know what that means; dorado for Diego with albies at Morro! Mike, Legacy

Thursday fishing      Affordable Marine    Fri, 22 Jun 2001 09:08:42 -0700
Dennis - we went out 12 miles southwest of the 43. Landed 8 albies in the 20-30lb range. Someone on the radio was giving out numbers 16 miles south at 3214-11801, and calling in everyone on epic bite. We arrived at noon with about 50 other boats including sporties and commercial guys. Fish we caught were the medium grade 12-17lbs. Boated 8 more and headed home over flat calm conditions. Great day on the water!!! Craig on the Vanator.

Albie & YT Limits Thurs. 6-21 on the 60 mile bank.     Affordable Marine     Fri, 22 Jun 2001 08:05:49 -0700
Short version????????????????????????????????????????????? 15 Albies and a dozen Yellowtail for Gabe, myself and Gabe's 14yr old son. On Gabe's 22' GB Cat. Launched out of SI at 1:45am, cleared the point by 2:12 and headed for the SW portion of the 60 mile bank, 63 miles on a 210 heading. Checked in with Jeff King on the Reel King at 3am as agreed, Jeff was already on the 390 and he reported catching a 125lb Mako at night. We told him our plans and they elected to stay at the 390. Arrived 4:50 am could see the fleet in the distance, put the jigs in the water at 5:10am and trolled toward the fleet on a NW heading, we were about 8 miles from the bank. First jig stop a single on the B&W jethead at 6:20am, threw bait, no boils or nibbles. Continued on the same heading toward the Big Game 90 in a stop for at least an HR, about 1/2 mile from the Big Game, a triple jigstrike, on the B&W again, and B&R feather daisy chain and a cedar plug. Threw bait, threw a big hammer, instant hookup, boils everywhere, jumping fish, we had five fish going at the same time with 5 jigs in the water, a bait fish by Gabe and my big hammer fish, "utter chaos" landed my fish, gaffed by Gabe who put his rod in the holder with a fish on, gaffed a jig fish brought in by Ricky, gaffed Gabe's fish, Ricky started to wind in another jig fish, I grabbed the third jig fish after pulling in one of the empty jig lines, as did Gabe, then the jig fish came off the cedar plug, 4 out of 5 not bad, gaffed Ricky's second jig fish,4 out of 5 not bad. All three of us threw bait and all three hooked up again, landed all three, Gabe and I both unbuttoned the next two fish, but we were both on again the next cast, 2 more bait fish, end of this bite, 9 total on this stop, 10 on the boat, although we released one of the rats. By the way Jeff called me during the bite and that's when I unbuttoned my fish, told him it was WFO get over here and would call him with the numbers as soon as I could. We lost track of the fleet and boxed the area for another 4 single jig strikes all rats and released, I've caught bigger Calico Bass this year. Jeff arrived and we trolled together at a distance for a couple hrs before returning to the spot of our morning bite, it was now about 10 am, Jeff didn't have a fish on the boat except the Mako. I hear a call get over here it's WFO, six fished hooked. Can't talk too busy, I wasn't sure but figured it was Jeff and looked off in the distance and he was a about mile away right on our numbers. We arrived to see both Jeff and his friend pulling on fish, and Albies boiling and jumping clear out of the water everywhere, we slid up on them stealthily, but couldn't get bit and just like that they were gone. Trolled til noon and then pulled in the jigs and headed to the 213, this area seemed dead, Jeff got one more single during that time, they didn't have the gas to stay with us, so we bid adios, but kept in touch all day. The 213 was dead and the water temp out of sight, we caught our fish at the 60 in 66.5 degrees, it was soon up to 67.7 and it was 68.5 to 69.6 at the 213, although we found one pocket of 67 degree water with nothing. Boxed the area and headed NE 61 miles from the point, 2 hrs later at 56 miles a single jigstrike for out 15th fish. talked to Jeff no more Albies but they found some paddies for 4 YT. We kicked her up to 20 knots at 3;30pm, all our kelps were empty, and at 4pm 46.7 miles from SD, we found what looked like kelp in the distance a floating pilon, 2ft wide and about 16ft long covered with green moss and barnacles, what a navigational nightmare, woe to whoever hits that in the dark. As we pulled up close Yellows started crashing everywhere, we threw bait, I threw a CP105 scrambled egg lure and on the Yo Yo was instantly hammered. Both Gabe and Ricky also threw lures and both got bit and unbuttoned their fish, I put 3 fish on in a row, Gabe couldn't get bit on the jig threw out a bait setup and wham. I caught 2 on bait and Gabe ended up with his limit and Ricky with 2 for a total of a dozen. It was 5:30pm and we were 46.7 miles from home at the dock at 7:45pm and home by 10: 45, so tired I couldn't hardly stand up. Hit the hay at midnight after cleaning the fish. Yikes, what a day, incredibly water conditions, but the temp is going to chase the Albies away, I hope not? Screaming reels! Cory "Tunaslam"

butterfly albies...    chefboyrz   ALLCOAST       Jun-21-01, 05:28 PM
Stayed the night at San Clemente Island. At 0-dark 30 headed to the Butterfly, jigs in at 6:30, 1st strike at 7:00. It was consistent jig strikes all morning. Had limits by about 9:00. I have fished the area quite a bit and have never seen it this flat. They hit all jigs...cedar plugs, BP, mean joes, mex flags, I mean everything. Did not get many bait fish, it was just me and the old man and he has hard time getting down the bridge stairs. Singles, doubles and two triples. Loads of fun and a great day with my Pops!!! Go get'm guys!!!!!!!!!   RZ

Wow! What a day -- Thur 6/21    Shark_Meat    ALLCOAST      Jun-21-01, 11:41 PM
Bustered out to the 43 for a nice single albie 22 - 25 lbs; 1 more knockdown; and then nothing. The sea conditions all day were some of the finest I have seen in a long time -- even uphill. An unknown-allaround-good-guy gave out great numbers of continuous doubles and triples 18 miles south of us at 32 20 / 118 02 in 69.3 to 70.3 degree water. What a payoff. Thanks! You are awesome!  8 Albies (most between 18-26 lbs) 1 double all rest singles. A double on Dorado (lost one on the fly), but got one -- our first this season.   EVERYTHING that we hooked today was on trolled Fishtraps on light line (set long) except 1 big albie was taken on my proven lucky natural cedar plug. I am now a complete believer... I went through 7 Fishtraps in exchange for approximately 170 ibs of Albies/Dorado. What a tradeoff.     And now for the rest of the story....:  On the way home my left outboard just rolled back and died all of sudden 28 miles out of Pt. Loma. I thought it just flamed-out, but we showed plenty of fuel remaining and the right never flamed-out. Did my low oil alarm fail me? No there's oil in the containers and in the reservoir. I'm hoping all it is is clogged fuel filters.    I could only maintain 8 knots comfortably with the other engine. I even called Vessel Assist for NO Assist, but I did get placed on a comm schedule,... so I had that going for me, which was nice. Finally, I got the left engine back on line albiet with reduced thrust -- enough to get back on plane and sustain at least 24 knots. We got back at 1830 vice 2030 single engine.    What a day.  

Albacore Wed 6/20     Shark_Meat       ALLCOAST     Jun-20-01, 10:08 PM (PST)
Late start out of S.D. toward a good-tip-spot from yesterday... Pt Loma 193/73. First jig in the water at 0845 got bit by 0846 (after only one bite from my sandwich). Double on Yellowtail on Purple Mackerel Mauler and P/B Cedar Plug. One hell-of-a knockdown at 0920 again on the cedar that was spit out then nothing for a while except for 1 bonito.    Heard reports near the 43 (out of reach) and then west of 390 that were promising so we decided to investigate them and they proved very worthy 32 00 00 / 118 00 00 (working the 32 118 line) -- we were rewarded with 4 Albies 14-18 pounds (3 on Fishtraps long and 1 on Blue / White feather jethead long)   Thank you very much for the heads up, Skipper! It made the 201 Mile round trip worthwhile and the 258 dollar fuel/oil bill more palatable.

ALBIES  Affordable Marine   Wed, 20 Jun 2001 19:55:34 -0700 (PDT)
We started 3am. Anchovies-sardines mix. Got to the Butterfly about 7. We drug around for awhile. Saw different boats stopped for quite awhile. We were metering fish but they were DEEP. 100' and more. So we through all caution to the wind and sat on a meter mark. On of the fellows on the bridge (JACK) was calling out the depth of the fish . As we chummed he would call out the depth. 100', 90' 75' 60' 45' THEN singggggg. We landed some good sized white meats. 20 + # . So if you can't get them to come, HAVE PATIENCE. Chum a LITTLE at a time and all goo0d things will come to you. Managed 14 nice Albies and was home early. JULLIE DEE - Stay Well And Live Long   

Fish Report Wed 20th  Affordable Marine Wed, 20 Jun 2001 21:28:11 -0700
Me & Ski launched from SI and cleared the bait reciever (Chovies only) by 03:30 for the 390 again. Few speed bumps in the morning so we took our time. Jigs in by 07:30 on the #'s, first hook up 5 mi west. Continued west to the 180 line & the fish woke up. The 180 line was hot (fishing wise) all the way up to the 43 spot & above. The 390 bite started early then the 43 picked up and they were both good most of the day as well as east of the E-butterfly. We had 8 Albies in the box by 09:30. We had one Quad hookup, but the 4th one which hit just as the throttle came back got off. Hit a dry spell and headed north @ 11:00. Some folks west of the 43 were reporting limits by then (even though there are no limits on Albies in US waters). Some guys fishing out of Ensanada were wide open on YT & albies 10 Mi out of port and all of the Kelp down there was holding. Water temp on the 180 line was 66ish, but people heading in from the 43 were getting hit in 69 degree water also. We picked up 2 YT on a good paddy 45 mi from the point on the way in, but it was infested with small sharks so we moved on. Found more Kelp on the way in with fish that wouldn't go. We farmed more fish than we caught today, but still ended up with 10. Nice ride home at 25 KTS in the afternoon. Overall a very good day. Tight Lines...

390/Butterfly Albie Report 6/19      Red Drum      ALLCOAST       Jun-20-01, 01:14 PM (PST)    
Went out of Shelter Island yesterday with my buddy at 4am.  Started trolling about 6 miles shy of the 390 Bank. Came across a patty and caught a 10lb Yellowtail and lost 2 bigger ones to the kelp.   By 7am we got our first jig strike. A triple for 3 10lb Bonito. Trolled all around the 390 for the next 3 hours for nada. Then at 10:15 we finally got a 15lb Albie on a sardine Big Hammer around the north end of the bank.   We finally started to hear reports of other guys both south and north of us getting into the Albies. We were hoping it was a "Time of Day" bite and sure enough it was.  Made a move north to the Butterfly because some guys were getting into alot of fish. About 6 miles shy of the Butterfly we saw a jumper and put the jigs the water. Two minutes later we had a double. Soaked a few chovys for a couple of minutes and got 3 bait fish.  Made it to the southeast wing of the Butterfly and followed the edge of the bank north for some more double, triple and quadruple jib strikes. Left them biting at 1pm and headed back to Point Loma.  Heard some reports of guys doing very good about 7-8 south from the 43 Bank.  The wind was light and water was very nice. Made for a comfortable day on the water.  Can't wait for the Dodo's, Bluefin, Yellowfin and Big Eye to show up. HOOK-UP!!  Vince 

Wide Open albies/yellows, Tuesday     HBHardcore      ALLCOAST      Jun-19-01, 10:39 PM (PST)
I couldn't find anyone to fish with on Tuesday, so I decided to go fish with Harlan on the Galilean out of Fisherman's on the limited load overnight trip. There were twelve guys on the boat, and I made thirteen. What's that about thirteen being unlucky? I think not! I woke up at daybreak to a jigstrike and guys running around like chickens with their heads cut off. I threw a bait and got bit immediately. Unfortunately someone sawed me off, but I was confident. One jig stop later and the bite went wide open on everything you could throw at the fish. We all ended up with limits by 8:00 AM and ran further out for yellowtail later on. We found a school of breezers to eat the tuna feathers, and we put 23 on the deck that bit bait.  Almost every single bait I put in the water today got bit. I knew it was going to be a great day when I stepped on the boat and realized that not only did I forget my icechest, but I also forgot my Xtratuff boots.   I showed up with three setups (20,30, and 40) and a box of hooks and I was the high stick on the boat. I lost count after 15 albacore, and I ended up with 4 yellows.  We were headed for the barn by 10:30 A.M., with final counts as follows: 
13 Anglers: 120+ Albacore, 25 Yellowtail.
I also took the huge $65 jackpot with a 22+ pound albacore. Most of the fish were in the 12 lb. range with a few pushing 15-18. The water was beautiful cobalt blue, and the wind died down right after daybreak. Our first stops were approximately 63 miles SW of Point Loma. For those of you who have the range and are planning on going out tomorrow, the best counts came from the area surrounding 31.50/117.57 - all the way to the Mushroom.

Not all of the boats did as well as we did. Many of the fish were metered and them given a smal brailer to get them to come up, and once they were up, they seemed to stay up and under the boat for at least 30 minutes, if not more. The fish are still scattered about quite a bit, so it may take a little work to find the right school, but the fishing is fast and furious when you do. I'll be headed out this weekend for another trip, but on a private boat, perhaps my own. By then I'm sure the numbers will be different.  All in all, a beautiful day, and much more than you could hope for on any party boat. Watch out for the scavengers at the landings right now, though! - Chris

Monday albies      happyhunter        ALLCOAST      Jun-19-01, 10:37 AM (PST)
Left SI 2:00 A.M. on Steve's 25' Farallon. Picked up a couple scoops of mostly chovies and headed out on a +/-200. Saw water up to 69.7. Water had been very gradually cooling when at about 58 miles finally found a decent temp break of .7 (65.4) Put in jigs, and it was instant hook-ups. Four guys on board including my grandson Kevin, and we all caught as many as we wanted. They hit every color jig we put out there, and chovies too. Water was sloppy and uncomfortable (Kevin got sick ) till midmorning when it started laying down. Early fish were the small ones, but the later it got, the larger they became (maybe we should fish after dark ). Great day with friends and family. Good luck, Bruce

Saturday below the 390      Z      ALLCOAST     Jun-18-01, 04:12 PM (PST)
Clif Scott, Paul Seckendorf, Chris Martin, and I went out Saturday on Clif's 26' Trophy, Great Scott. Ended up with 11 albies (12 to 18lb) and 3 YT (8-10lb). Overcast and cool all day but the seas were pretty flat and got flatter as the day went on.  Readers Digest recap:  met at boatyard at midnight, cleared the point about 1:30 w/ 2 scoops of nice chove and few dines, it was pretty flat so we ran straight to the 390 at around 22mph (Clif drove and we slept), got there around 4:15, too dark so we drifted and slept for about an hour, started trolling round 5:15, worked our way to the SW because the water was still a little too warm (65.5), found a break to the upper 64's about 8 miles past the 390 and then trolled SE along that toward the 1010, first single jigstrike at around 8, another about 8:30 followed by 4 bait fish, never got more than a mile or so from there without a jigstrike and usually a baitfish or two, had a lot of jumpers and puddlers up on top, bite died about 10:30 or 11:00 and we headed home at 11:30, ran the 62 miles home in 2.5 hours. 
Important details:  Mostly single jigstrikes (one double) even though we did the 10 count in an attempt to load them up. We pulled only purple/black (feathers, jetheads, daisychains) until mid morning and then picked one on blue/white and one on Mex flag. The 3 YT came on slow trolled dines thru the puddlers we saw during our second jigstop. All the fish were in 64.4 to 64.7 water. We had more bait fish than jig fish (especially when you count the 3 we farmed on light line). I checked their stomachs when I cleaned them and they were mostly empty (except for a few that were plugged with our fresh chummed chovies) so I guess they're pretty hungry.   No customs at SI when we returned (probably because we had actually filled out our declaration forms for the first time), just one DFG guy that asked how we did but didn't even look at our catch.   There were only a few boats visible around us when we first started hooking up and by the time we left, it was a parking lot (50+ boats). From the radio, sounded like that was the spot and not much else going on. I was pretty amazed to see guys that far down in little 17 footers (must have had a bunch of jerry jugs on deck).  Z   got fish?

6:30 a.m. Now What?    jj       ALLCOAST       Jun-17-01, 07:25 PM (PST)    
Fished on my buddy's boat out of S.D. Left S.I. with a great 2 scoops of anchovies (maybe a dozen died all day) and cleared the Point at around 2:30. Headed for the 1010 trench.   Started trolling at around 5:45 or so. Water was about 64.9 if I remember right and we were right over the trench. Two lines in the water when the p/b cd 14 goes off. Skipper has a deer frozen in the lights look and didn't take the boat out of gear for what seemed like a hundred yards. But in his defense he was trying to rig up his own rod when the line went off. By the time the boat was stopped the fish was off. We threw bait but nothing. Kind of bummed.  

Started the troll again. I think we got all rods in the water. This time it was my p/b chrome jet head. Tossed bait and the fish were boiling. Fish started small but kept getting bigger. Probably up to about 25 lbs. or so on the bigger fish. By 6:30 we would have had limits but kept throwing them back. It was insane. Decided to troll and look for bigger fish so switched to single hooks for easier release on the troll fish. We even picked up and ran a few miles just to get away from the smaller fish. Even then it didn't take more than a few minutes to get bit. It was straight C&R until mid morning or so. I have no idea how many fish we caught but we figure in excess of 40. Finally got one to fill the limit that went over 20 lbs. Then it was off to look for yt.  We were actually trolling looking for paddies when I saw some boils off the starboard side. Turned the boat towards them and as we got close one of the rods goes off. Turned out it was a yt. Not a paddy in sight. Tossed bait and the fish were everywhere. Instant hook up on anything tossed in the water. The fish stayed with the boat for close to an hour. Even picked up an albie on bait (released). We didn't keep count but we kept 8 and figure as a total we must have caught over 20 easy. Fish went up to about 15 lbs.  Strangest catch of the day was a scad on the iron. Never seen one before. Albies fought hard for their size. We were pretty surprised. Nice sea conditions. Water was as warm as 70' on the way in. Great time on the water.

1010 albies (very few)      sushiholic        ALLCOAST       Jun-18-01, 06:24 AM (PST)
I am developing a pattern here. Went for the "hot" area the 1010 trench, all the reports were in favor of that decision. Looong run down there, trolled for 6 hrs, way longer run home. the Area once again was not hot for me. we trolled around others that consistently got stopped. we matched their speed spread etc...to no avail. well eventually we got stopped twice in short order a single and a double (one unbuttoned) then continued to work the area doing what we had been doing, but no mas.

Stopped at a monster paddy, wide open yellows, managed to boat two. I had a crew of a regular and two Danish tourist farmers (did not even know how to hold a pole) I did it Cabo charter style, I hooked them, and handed off, they farmed them. My regular bud kindly handed over his TN30 on a grafighter to one of these guys (I pictured it going overboard and felt sick) and proceed to soak a chovie on an old back up fenwick and jigmaster I had in the cuddy. He start yelling and the fenwick is doubled over, the line going straight down, big fish, he tightened the drag too much to stop it, and pop, the line broke. I am thinking large albie or bluefin.

The long boat ride home was a nightmare. headed in at 1 (punched in MB on the gps and it came up with 72 miles, at that time barely able to make 12-15 mph's it was going to be a long ride in nasty windy cornering seas. came in SOAKED, black and blue, and sore all over. Managed to stay on the "mechanical bull" for 4 ½ hours. Will be awhile before I do that trek again, like  a week ? -Sushiholic   Fishing is so much better than working

Bellybuster Albie special       Jim Day         ALLCOAST      Jun-16-01, 11:15 PM (PST)
Some boats raise fish some don't. Norms 18 Parker can do the job......   Last Norm and I fished tuna we had the best fishing I've ever seen. Up north out of Avila we ran into a good bite of high grade tuna. I had my first strike as I set my first rod out, then baited fish after 40lb fish till we quit at 9:00 from exhaustion.  What the fish missed today in size they made up for in pure aggression and numbers.

Left Shelter island for the 1010 at 3:00 AM by 6:30 were almost there. To be honest we all were having doubts. It's a long ride and Norms Parker is small. The last thirty minutes were hard to take, We wanted to fish "NOW!". All the guys yelling "HOOKUP!!!" on the radio didn't help much. We stuck to it and I'm glad we did. The 1010 aleady had ten boats on it when we got there. Just short Norm metered fish. He said: "What do you think?" I said sure and grabbed a stick. As I put out the first stick I thought about Avila, actually held on an extra second. I sure wanted that rod to go. Should of held on just a little longer, when I reached for another stick it got slammed. 

A little of history repeating itself,  I had no rods to clear so I handed off the rig to my nephew. Steven's a smart Kid and a quick study. He's never fished offshore before. I handed him the rod told him to keep the line tight and lay it level on the reel. He said OK and didn't have to be told twice. My collor hooked chovie made it two feet from the skiff before he got nailed. Sure love a good bait bite. Norm tossed one and hooked up as well. Within ten minutes we had five fish on the deck. Two baitfish for me, one for Norm and one for my Nephew who managed to deck his fish, grab a bait rod, then hook up while I was busy with one of mine. I was too busy to be proud right then but I am now, the kid did good.

Cleaned up, iced the fish then started up again. This time I actually managed to get four sticks in the water before the strikes started. The place was obviously just loaded. Fish after fish smacked the jigs, but didn't hook up. We had maybe ten strikes in a hundred feet or so then hung. Steve's and mine this time a maylay ensued: fish were fought, jigs spit, bait thrown, reels screamed. fifteen minutes later later we had four more albies bleeding on the deck.

For our third try we just headed back toward the first strike zone. Didn't make it too far. An instant jig strike followed by four more bait fish. 13 fish within 100 feet of each other all in under an hour. I don't think I've ever seen so many fish in such tight area. Absolutely unreal.

We took a rest and assessed the situation. Obviously we were going to get our limit on the next pass. I tried calling some Allcoasters in but everyone near by was on fish so it was pretty pointless. Did manage to chat with Capt Sport. I guess SWAG had plans, he said they might head our way but were already working the 390. All the guys nearby were slaying ten to twenty pound fish. One (I believe Samurai) had been on one bite for over an hour Down at the 220 but wanted bigger fish, so did we!!

Since no-one seemed to interested in coming, and we were essentually at the limitbefore 9:00 again) we decided to head outside. I figured we might work the ridge for a stray Bluefin or Yellows. WE could of stayed and released but we decided to take our chances.... Kind of the ultimate leave fish to find fish thing

Headed out to the 213 only to find more Albies. Completely wide open, but same quality. I did hook one fish that might of been a higher grade on a mean joe green bigeye feather. I was fishing thirty and had trouble lifting him above deep color. At an rate he spit and the rest were in their teens. Moved on out to the 450. Same fish with even smaller in the mix. In fact the further North we went the smaller they got. I know this doesn't jive with what some of the guys said but hey; it's the way it was for us.

By the time we made the "Hot sw 390 bite area we were catching Albinito's: tiny albacore too small to have long fins. I'd been fishing 17lb fluro for a while, Norm the animal he is switched to fifteen. They got so small I hung up the rod and broke out the camera.  On about the third stop of micro tuna we called it a day.

The run back was just beutifull. Sunny, warm, very flat. Talked to Bravo6 who never made it to the fish (problems) and fealt bad for him. It was a great day. We could of used a paddie with some yellows but certainly could'nt complain. If I had it to do over again I'd of stuck to the first spot and played with the bigger variety (catch and release).

Well tried to do the right thing and find other fish. Like I said: I can't complain. Brought home fourteen albies between ten and twenty released maybe double that, and certainly fished the most wide open bite I've seen out of SD in years.

Here's some pics:
http://www.momentoffame.com/snapshot.html?id=7175
http://www.momentoffame.com/snapshot.html?id=7176
http://www.momentoffame.com/snapshot.html?id=7179
http://www.momentoffame.com/snapshot.html?id=7177
http://www.momentoffame.com/snapshot.html?id=7178
...and last but not least:
http://www.momentoffame.com/snapshot.html?id=7180
All and all a very good day.  Tight lines Jim 

Bellybuster Albie special      ohfishal      ALLCOAST      Jun-17-01, 05:28 PM (PST)
Headed out of Pt. Loma around 5am with Scubapro (Roger) trolled the 302 for nothing. Headed toward the Butterfly and got tired of running, so threw out the jigs again. The day started very slowly, our first jig strike came around 9am on a black and purple cedar plug. Trolled for another hour before getting another single on a green and black feather. Picked up another single another two hours or so later near the 390 on a blue and white feather. Got some numbers that put us about 2.5 miles south of the 390 and got two more singles about 5 minutes apart (one on green and black the other on black and purple Yo-Zuri). Worked our way back toward Pt. Loma and about 8 miles from the 390 got a triple jig strike. Landed two of the three and picked up a bait fish out of that stop as well. Due to fuel constraints we decided not to troll anymore and head in. We stopped at the Coronados to relax and clean our fish. Got back to the launch ramp around 6pm.    Final count 8 albies, 7 were between 20-32lbs and one dink at around 9 pounds.  Overall a nice day on the water, calm seas and overcast almost the entire day. We ended up with about 15 gallons of fuel left over so we could have trolled a few another hour or so to try for limits, but didn't want to push it. Afterall 8 fish was plenty.  We called Starboard list a few times, but got no response. Though we did hear other Allcoasters out there, Noworries, Sharkmeat, etc. Hope you guys did well also. Matt (ohfishal) 

390 Wide Open      SWAG       ALLCOAST      Jun-17-01, 08:52 AM (PST)
I was just too tired last night to post. I got home at around 9:30pm after not getting any sleep the night before and putting on over 200 miles on the "Knot Know".    It just doesn't get any better than this. Plently of Albies and yellowtail out there. The better grade of Albacore have moved in now. No lack of opportunity here! We departed around 0400. Got the right size chovies but they were not cured very well and some rolled early. The plan was to start near the 213. About 12 miles Southeast of the 390, found a paddy. Brailed some bait...the yellows charged the boat...everyone got bit. After a few fish, I got a solid hit, the rod went bendo, but what's this? Up came a 19lb Albie...Brailed some more bait...albies boiling...bait in the water and now we are hooked on Albies. Farmed some here and then they sunk out. I tried to get some boats in there to help us raise them again, but no takers.   Okay, no need to go any furthur...hung around and boxed the area for the rest of the day. Multiple stops produced boilers around the boat and we would pluck one or two on a stop. Trolled the dark colors since it was hazy overcast. Caught fish 4-12 miles South of the 390 in 66-67 degree water.   Took 3 Allcoasters: Capt. Sport, JimSan, Tailchaser These guys filled up the fridge with all sorts of goodies!  All kinds of snacks too! The yellowtail jerky that Tailchaser brought was GREAT! Also the Sweet Corn that Capt. Sport brought was really good. JimSan brought all kinds of drinks and snacks that kept me fueled all day. Another great day on the water with some great company. Thanks guys for sharing in the adventure!

Wide Open at Double 220 Sat     Samurai       ALLCOAST      Jun-17-01, 03:12 PM (PST)
Talked to Bob Vanian Friday nite and got numbers from him for Friday's bite. Left Point Loma at midnite Friday nite, stopped just short of Bob's numbers on a 1/2 degree temp. break, down to 66.5 (my gauge is probably .6 deg high). Got bit as soon as we started putting trolling lines in the water at 6:00 am(probably 1 minute or less from when we started). Ended up that stop 3 hours later with 75 albies (63 released) and 2 open water yellowtail. The albies were 10-15 lbs, with a couple of 18 lb fish mixed in. They bit the fishtraps well; chovies were bit instantly. Could have done much better, but most of us (5) used 20-25 lb. line for sport; they would have bit 40.   Scratched the rest of the day, troling from the Double 220 1/2 way to the Upper 500, then back, then up to the 390. Although there was a good bite at the 390 ( or just south of it )for others, it must have been a time of day bite; we just scratched fish. Ended the trip with 90 albies (24 kept) and the 2 yellowtail. Back in to Pt Loma Saturday nite late. Great trip. Tom.  

Saturday 302 Albie Report    Albiebac      ALLCOAST     Jun-16-01, 08:20 PM (PST)   
Started out at the 302 this morning in hopes of not having to go too far, and managed to pull 11 Albies out of there. We basically had three different jig stops (multiple hook-ups) throughout the morning, and picked up bait fish at each stop. The first stop saw all rods go off at 7:00am, so we knew the fish were in the area, so we stayed. Only one fish of the day was under 20 pounds, the rest were 20-25 pounds. It was not as WFO as other areas, but it also wasn't as far. Sea conditions were terrific.  -Eric (Albiebac)  

390 Report for 6/17       Russ       ALLCOAST      Jun-17-01, 07:44 PM (PST)    
Rod (High Spot) & I launched in his boat at 0400 from the SI zoo. On the way out we picked up a generous 1/2 scoop of chovies (2 dines in the mix) and headed to the 390. Water was Tuna Blue and 66 degrees. We passed the 390 due to negative reports (Radio said the 1010 was hot) and continues SW. Our first numbers 31.57.00 & 117.54.00 gave us a beautiful temp break from 65.8 to 65.1. Out went the feathers & daiseys (Green & purple/black) and a few minutes later we had our first double. That was followed by 2 on bait. Cruised some more SW and got another double & more bait fish. Still 65.1 degrees. Boxed in the area & the bite died down (Temp started to rise). Headed North to 31.58.00 & 117.50.00 and started hooking up on singles & doubles. Rod spotted a small patch of kelp at 31.58.469 & 117.53.006 and we proceded to pull Albies, Yellowtail and Blues off that paddy for an hour. One Mako boat was watching us but couldn't spot the paddy & didn't call us on 72. We were one yellowtail from our limit & turning the paddy over when they poached it.. Tis the season... We lost it in the chop & headed back to the barn. 60 miles off Pt. Loma & could only average 12 MPH. Very long & wet ride back. We ended up catching 14 Albacore (4 released), 9 Yellowtail & 3 Blue sharks (Released).  With the chovies being small (4-5") I had to go with light line. Caught most of the bait fish with my Penn 525GS & Calico Special 8' Rod. Albies went up to 18# & YT went up to 13#. Jig fish were on purple/black Hootchie rig, Purple/black Zuker, Small Purple/black jet head, and a Green Zuker.   Many thanks to Rod (High Spot) for the trip today!! Also, thanks to those boats that generously gave out the above numbers!!  Good Luck,   Russ

On Tuesday the dreaded two word combination "North-West" hit with full force - just like the wind and the morning report was for the pits. Since we were committed to make the trip on Tuesday night "committed" seemed appropriate. But encouragement came from the fleet with the report that the ocean was laying down in the afternoon and the bite picked up. In addition, the weather report was not too bad except for morning South-East winds.  And so - baited up with very nice mixed anchovie/sardine bait we cleared the "whistler" buoy about 0300. Possibly an omen it was blowing out of the south-east coming straight up the channel - with one white cap after another. But after turning # 5 and heading in the direction of the 390 we never saw another white cap for the day. It was a little sloppy with the swells coming from the west, but we moved along at 12 knots without a problem. Incidently, the weather all morning was fine and as the day progressed continued laying down until it was plain "beautiful." Because of slightly late departure we started trolling at 5:45 well short of "the spot." No bites, no birds, no bait - no life. At 0720 we arrived on the numbers. No longer were there 60 boats in the area - only one!. When the GPS said "0.1 miles" I announced that we were right on the spot. Within 5 seconds we were bit followed by 4 bait fish - all in the 10-12 pd range. Shortly thereafter a single jig fish. Later a kelp patty yielded up 6 'tails. We kept on working the area, mostly 1-2 miles south and east of the bank and picked up 3 more of the 10-12 pders. And then, for a few hours,  it was steady 3-5 pders, no bait fish (they weren't big enought to bite the 'dines), and we released about 10 or 12 of the critters.

The water temp was 64.2-.4 all day. By noon we figured out the sport boats were south-east of us at about 52-55 up and 35 out. There was report that the Prowler was doing well just above the 295. It was getting kind of late to run to their area and so we started trolling north. Gradually, we picked up a few more of the 10-12 pders. Then - mixed albie and 'tail bites and the numbers were climbing. When it looked like things were slowing out came the fillet board and knoves - with the lines still out. Of course, as soon as you start cutting - you get bit. And this time - quite a bite. A quintuple, all bigger fish and they charged the boat inhaling bait as they came. We (five of us, Harry Okuda, John Ashley, Dr. Ken, David Thomas, and this one) hung one after another and all quality fish. The two largest were  about 27.4 and 27.3 with all about 20 pds and up. This area was 8 up and 37 out - not an area known for structure of any kind. Final score was "limits" (would you believe 27?) of Albacore, about 12 of the peanuts released, and a handful of 'tails. And, of course, all of  this action took place outside of the Mexican 12 mile coastal limits And it sounded like the sporties did quite well - wherever they might have been.  And the weather forecast is, apparently, for anouter "high" moving in with excellent weather for the rest of the week. So, if you make it out - good fishing to one and all. And, no - we weren't alone all day. As the hours passed we saw possibly a total of 6 boats here and there. I think a lot of people heard the report from Tuesday AM and stayed home. Marty

Nothing new on the "marlin on the 43" report from last week, nor has there been anything new on that front. But keep your eyes open, and let us know if you see something.

In my last report, I mentioned the incredible winter we had at the  Offshore Fishing Forum. It is truly humbling to see both the quantity of postings, and the quality of both the messages and the people posting them. We literally have the cream of the offshore fishing world sharing their talents and experiences with our visitors.

Which brings me, in a typically roundabout manner to my point: We in Southern California live on the fringes of an offshore fishery. Yeah, we catch some tuna and scratch out a few marlin, but compared to the home waters of our worldwide posters we might as well be landlocked. They spend a lot more time and a whole lot more money to catch much larger and more challenging fish. If anyone had a reason to keep things to themselves in the name of competition, it would be them. And yet, while they happily share their experience to help make us all better fishermen, most of our local billfishermen jealously guard information as though it were the crown jewels. Seem whacked to you? Me, too.

So, here's a challenge for my fellow SoCal fishermen: Get over yourselves. Look, I know you come here - I read the access records. You know how useful SCMO is, but just can't bring yourself to be a part of things. I'll have more to say on this in a End of the Line editorial I'm writing, but for now, get over it. If Bart, Peter, Apiwat and so many other world class fishermen can come out and play, so can you. No one will think less of you - in fact, you just might become a hero to the many who come here and will learn from your words. No one is asking you to betray secret dope - heck, I don't even do that. Just answer a question at the Marlin Club once in a while or post the occasional report at the Trip Reporter. It'll feel good - trust me!    Stan Ecklund Jr.

Monday albie report SD       Reel Nasty    ALLCOAST     Jun-11-01, 09:04 PM (PST)
Followed the fleet out sunday night to the general area of  31 55 482 and 117 35 397. pretty much all you wanted. 12 party boats all fishing in this general area. Unforyunately, the seas were up= 6+ swells close together. Headed for home at 10:00 am with a sea sick land lubber. Managed 12 fish 2 guys and a 10 year old kid. Same grade of fish on temp breaks. Black and purple small feather ran behind bright green hoochie daisy chain.  Couldn't find a paddy for my life today, had a tank of perfect sized macks hoping to serve some lunch on a paddy but no luck.   John "Reel Nasty"  

 Also on the 390 on Sunday 6/10     Brad2bmpt      ALLCOAST   Jun-11-01, 10:42 AM (PST)
Launched out of Point Loma at about 2:30am picked up some chovies and headed for the 390. Got there about 5:00am and put the trolling lines in th water ad headed Sw on a 230 heading had our first of many double hookups on the albies at abot 5:20 am. landed both 17 and 21lbs. Water temp 64.5. continued down same heading and had only a few short strikes until we headed back north toward the 390 and found the school of smaller albies 8-15lbs. South og the 390 and slightly west I believe 32.02 and 117.507 or so. Got hookups wih every pass through it seemed. tried to keep them coming to the boat by staying on the throttle for a few seconds after the first strike usually bringing on one or two more onto the troll lines. Had the best luck with the Zuchinni, blk and purple and they also hit the blue/white as well. Had a couple of bait hookups but had lines snapped. Also picked up a few yellows on the troll on the zuchinni and blue/white/orange both about 15lbs.

Bite slowed at about 9:00 there so we trolled northeast of the 390 where the radio chatter took us. At 32.04 and 117.489 we found another group with some bigger fish 15-20lbs. Ok well bigger for the day!!!! Had a quad hookup, then a double, and then a single all within about 40 minutes. By this time we had our limits so we headed toward Point Loma looking for some paddies but nobody was home at any of them. Ended the day with 15 albies and 2 yellows with one Albie released(too small) all fish taken before noon.

The water was indeed rough leading to a bit of sea sickness on our boat as well. All in all a great day of fishing. Sorry for the late post but way too tired after te long day on the water and the drive back up to Pasadena. Brad

What a differnce a day makes.       Clutchcargo    ALLCOAST      Jun-10-01, 10:48 PM (PST)
Fished Sat. and Sun. at the 390. Sat. was nice greasy calm and even hot at times. Fished with Bo and a friend of his on the Fish Lounge and brought home 13 albies. Our first stop produced the to largest wtih one jig over 26 and a bait fish a 29.8#  All said a very enjoyable day on the water. Highlights were watching all the boats speed into the Boilermaker after he gave at # for hot bite he was on. Also watching Bo's friend learning how to reel in fish. The best thing heard on the radio was the woman saying to the dude with 5#er he better throw the chicken in the water. We're not talking about fish either. Shut up the radio for a bit, probably because everyone was laughing to hard to talk. On the way home I saw SWAG with his new Blackman and he invited my friend Jason and me to go fish Sunday.

Sun. was a whole different game. I showed up tired and hungry eating the breakfast of old champions Hostess donuts. Thinking it would be nice like the day before I didn't prepare like I usually would and later payed for it. As soon as we left the bay I noticed it was bumpier than the day before. The farther out we went the worse it got. After tieing the jigs on on began to notice I wasn't feeling that hot and took some generic Bonine. At our first stop we put 5 in the boat, but the clean up wasn't helping me or my friend. We continued to fish in that wonderful slop of wind swell and chop. Then we had a little starter problem that was eventually figured out by Harvey. I celebrated this by trying to creat a nice hostess chum slick. This was after Jason had already done his best to do the same. But wtih the starting problem figure out we started fishing again ending the day with 13 in the fish hold/small bedroom. wwould be nice to fill that locker! Highlights of the trip;noticing that yellow stuff from my stomack didn't burn a hole in Harvey's swimstep(2nd time), starting the boat, getting to ride on a very nice boat, boiling fish 5' off the stern, and catching more albacore. The fish are out there, but today was completely different than yesterday. I'm not going to say anything wasa better, because in two days I heard and seen those fish bite everything put in the water. To those going out good luck and be careful. John   p.s. after you puke, things aren't so bad!

Sunday on the 390         WJW     ALLCOAST     Jun-10-01, 10:04 PM (PST)
I had the pleasure to be invited on Red Drum's (Vince) very nice 23 Striper to fish the albies today.   Left Ventura at 9:30 last night and at mid-night arrived at the Point Loma West Marine parking lot to meet up with Vince and his buddy Russ. They were sleeping in the boat and rig so I sacked out for a couple of hours in the front seat of my car. At three am we woke up and launched, baited, and cleared the harbor by about 4:00.    We arrived at the the 390 just about 6:00 am. The weather was a bit sloppy with a relative close/steep 5-6 foot swell (est) and 10 mph breezes. Unfortunately, Russ was throwing up within ten minutes of putting the lines out and remained very sick all day long. (By the way, don't fish with Vince if you tend towards motion sickness. He will not come in early. He is die hard and a little nausea will not result in a ruined day of fishing.)   We trolled around for a few hours putting a about four smnall ones on the boat by 11 am until we hit the motherlode area. There was a temp break about 5 miles SW of the high spot. That's where we found the fish. While fishing this area we rarely went more than five minutes between jig stops. The best action was on the fish traps of various collors run well back. The blue & white and blk/purp feathers worked well also. The rapalas (cd14) were also hot. Once we had 12 on the boat we decided to start trolling towards Pt. Loma in hopes of either running across some patties with yellas on them, or running into a new area of albies. We did neither, but it didn't matter as 12 fish between the three of us was plenty. The one area was definitely the hot one as strikes were few and far between out of that zone. There was no question that if we had wanted to we could have stayed in the hot area and easily hammered out limits in short order. They're out there guys.  Made it back to Pt. Loma by 2:00, cleaned fish inside the point, and back home to Ventura by 7:00. Long day.  The fish were mostly the smaller grade (about 5lbs or slightly better). One fish was about 15. We were trolling with 20lb test so they were all pretty fun. I managed to impale myself on a Rapala treble hook, requiring a bit of Vince's surgical skill to get me unstuck. (I keep forgeting to change out those damn hooks)
http://www.momentoffame.com/snapshot.html?id=7107
http://www.momentoffame.com/snapshot.html?id=7108
Sure was fun to pull on some tuna again.  Bill

Albies chewed hard      SWAG    ALLCOAST      Jun-10-01, 10:56 PM (PST)
Decided to take my new (to me) boat out for the first tuna hunt today. Had a prize crew with John (ClutchCargo) and Jason. It was quite a baptism. Red Decks all morning...no crowds, few boats and hungry albacore.  We decided to sleep-in and left San Diego Bay around 5:30. According to the radio, we did not miss much early morning action. Got into the area near the 390