short version:
1.75-then-2-day trips, starting with a full moon: fishing, for the most part, sucked (not for lack of trying). things turned on for a good night bite on our last night. got three (one was a handoff from the crew), gilled and gutted weights: 155.2, 88.4, 54.8. bigger news: islander is easily my favorite boat/crew/galley, and i just can't say enough how much i enjoyed them.
Long version:
i had planned on a weekend of chores and parenting when i got an email from Juliet of islander sportfishing (she knew i wanted to check out the boat before our october charter): "hey, we have two trips this weekend, gonna run for sure but both have really low numbers. would you like to sign up?" so i did some frantic juggling, poor planning, terrible packing… and voila! After a 6hour drive I made it to the landing by 6:50 and got onboard at 6:59 for our 7:00 departure! back-to-back trips, so stoked! Here’s the daily rundown:
Friday night- I was the last guy on the boat, bringing the total to 12. bait was pre-loaded so we pushed off on time and went straight for the grounds. First observation: the heads are really really nice; spacious, clean, more like a nice studio bathroom than a head. Then I went downstairs where I got stateroom K to myself, unpacked a little, and did a little peaking around for another pleasant surprise: nice bunks, most rooms have sinks and drawers, little sealed port windows, individual lights for each bunk, strong AC, and outlets. Andrew was down there, making sure all the rooms were cherry and everyone was happy moving in. Then I came upstairs and was greeted by Alex the chef, who noticed I was winded and offered me a refreshment (I took a craft beer but they have domestics and sodas and bottled waters); I noticed behind him a spacious grill, clean cutlery and pots, and tons of space for prep (which would later be used to tremendous effect!). finally I went outside to look around: On the big wide walkarounds, rods go at an angle due to limited space (but I grew to appreciate this cuz the reels don’t rotate/jangle), and there’s big flat spaces on either side of the house entry for tackle boxes (might get tight with 28 passengers? Kind of unpleasant when people keep rods in their tackle boxes, as it really crowds the overhead in that high-traffic area). The bait tanks are big and modern, with spectacular shallow and wide hand-wells. Captain John did a quick safety/planning talk (I was charmed when he invited everyone to enjoy the upper deck and feel free to ask him questions directly at any time), and then I went out to rig up. I did the usual voodoo and was about to finish up when deckhand David came by with a plate: “we just cut into a fresh wheel of parmesan, would you like some chunks?” I chuckled, cuz my grandmothers were both Italian and I know this is a good luck ritual at the start of a big endeavor, and Alex told me later it’s also a ritual in restaurants. Anyway, I ate a bunch of fresh Parmesan chunks, brushed my teeth, and slept like a baby until around 1am.
Saturday- around 1am Captain John came on the PA and from my bunk i heard, “I’ve been looking for a couple hours but so far nothing. Same for the fleet. We’ll keep looking.” I went up to find a few over-coffeed passengers eager to fish the night bite (kinda near the border/226/302 area), but it never materialized, and I mostly slept. we dropped on one or two schools but they quickly dispersed so we bailed fast with zero action. I didn’t stay up long. Around 5am I came back up, had some coffee, and watched the sunrise with beautiful clouds on the backside of the Coronados. Captain John explained that few schools were located and practically zero tuna were boated that night, the whole fleet had struggled, so we would be heading south to poke around in the tuna zone from about a week ago (what I would call the outer/north Ensenada trench?). That day turned out to be a decent whale-watching trip… down an hour or two… nothing on the sonar… head back north looking for kelps… catch a few rat YT (4-15lbs?)… then back south to meter around after dark for nada… and around midnight we pointed back for SD. Boat got a total of 31 YT, I mostly hung back, missed a couple bites, got a decent one which went to the galley… 1/0 CB on 30# and 2/0 CB on 40#... but i get to fish BOLA in a few weeks so i wasn’t really interested in these smaller YT, and it was what I would call a bad tuna trip; they just weren’t around. captain was clearly frustrated, crew was clearly bored, and a few of the passengers were clearly bummed. weather didn’t help, a little breezier than expected, maybe flirting with 20kn in the afternoon?
personally, i was stoked though, because i napped like 6 times that day, and i ate SO WELL! Alex made: eggs with bacon, homemade gravy over fresh biscuits, and cut fresh fruit; spicy shrimp and pulled pork rib tacos with beans and rice; MICHELADAS SERVED ON DECK WHILE WE WERE FISHING YT!; corn dogs for an afternoon snack; and salad (with real cesar dressing from scratch, with anchovies and big crutons), penne with pork rib ragu and fresh parmesan, homemade garlic bread, followed by real lemon merengue pie. i really enjoyed chatting with a couple passengers, especially Darren from La Habra (turns out, I would later meet his son, who’s a very cool dude). nota bene: Alex puts so much love and intention and attention into the food. it is definitely gourmet in terms of plating and presentation (especially for a galley), but more important for me, Alex takes pride in his food, and offers it with sincere hospitality. i would later find that everyone on this boat takes their work seriously, and they all take tremendous pride in their trips... but the food was my first clue.
Sunday- i woke up at 6 as we backed into the slip, watched everyone walk away with all their stuff, but i just left my junk and got a few hours to walk around, try to find something to need at the landings, and waste time on my phone. the boat was refueled and rebaited so we could all load by 9:30 and push off right before 11. i didn't have the usual distractions so i took a shower and then a nap. about an hour out of the harbor: BOOM! kale and lettuce salad with cherry tomatoes, shrimp, chips, and spicy jalapeño dressing! quick nap, then a couple kelp stops, and BOOM! fresh hamachi platters (with the galley fish i caught the day before). wander around, half-ass poke at patties for a couple YT, then BOOM! duck breast over baby potatoes with broccolini, fresh garlic bread, sun set out the window, then chocolate ice cream cake for desert! Tuna hunt was unsuccessful that night again, tried a half dozen fruitless stops until 2am but mostly just metering all over the place, best part was the baked leftover pasta with melted provolone on top (seriously the most amazing midnight snack i’ve had in a long long time, but on a BOAT no less?!), i think one boat got 1 fish and one boat got a few, but it was mostly tragic throughout the fleet. evening was pretty breezy, i’d call it 15kn winds over 4-5@10sec or so. not terrible, but just enough to keep me a little grumpy (i didn’t yak but i was kinda feeling it…).
Monday- well, I knew the food would be good! fresh blueberry pancakes with eggs and bacon and cut fresh fruit, 1-2 YT stops, nap, jerk chicken skewers over rice and veggies, kind of gave up on the YT stops here, nap, egg rolls with homemade chili sauce, nap, quick stop for a fleeting school (50# drop sinker rig, nada), nap, another quick stop for a fleeting school (same, nada, but getting excited to see a few good signs of fish), spinach salad with cherry tomatoes and I can’t remember what else, because we all rushed out to try for another fleeting school (nada, but again, more signs of fish... winkwink), then came back to the table for steak over mushroom risotto with homemade chimichurri (just like my grandpa used to make), buns, and asparagus, followed by insanely decadent ice cream sundaes over homemade nutty choc chip cookies, and then the fish showed up. breezy again, captain calls out big schools at 250-350’, drop a 500g jig, and right next to me, deckhand Brody says “biter! take this” and i have never accepted a handoff in my tuna life but i was kinda jonesing and everyone else was either inside or at the rails/bow, so I went for it. big fish, pulled a bunch of line, i had to get used to boat gear, ran me around the boat a few times, i was definitely overgripping and not thinking clearly and getting gassed, got close to leader when the fish ran hard and almost got in the prop, deckhand David jumps into action, snags the rod (these guys needed the numbers and had to get the party started so i’m sure they just didn’t wanna lose it… but it hurt my butt a little bit and i just kinda stood there making fists with my sore arms…) and runs around the boat one more time before handing back the rod a few minutes later, with the spool half down again… more grind grind grind, get it close to leader, circle starts to get sketchy around the anchor… and the boys take the rod again (i know: they read the situation correctly. i was gassed, i wasn’t focused, it was a solid fish and i was NOT inspiring confidence, so they did the right thing… but i was definitely chapped that it wasn’t me who finished the game). fast forward a minute, big fish on deck (155.2# GG), everyone hooting and hollering, and i pout away like a little bitch “no i don’t want a picture!” and they did all the gill/gut/bleed/RSW but i didn’t even want to see it and i will admit it wasn’t my proudest moment (plus that fish had really kicked my ass, like 40minutes or more, forearms FULLY PUMPED, i had NO TECHNIQUE)… but yeah. that’s the story of my first handoff fish, and my first crew assistance, which i was not ready to accept, for some stupid reason. BTW, a few minutes later Brody (half my age but twice the man) says “hey look, wanna check the stomach with me?” because we’d been wondering if they eat or not during those full moon nights (and it appears that no, they don’t, cuz the gut was completely empty!), but he worked like a real adult and got me distracted with something different to snap me out of my funk, just like i did with my kids when they were having tantrums. what a bro. well, i sat out a stop to regather myself and hydrate and rest my forearms, i think the boat landed another fish or two and lost a better one on that stop, and then I came back to fish on the next one. Brody and I both hooked up at the same time, side by side, and he handed off to another passenger while i got my fish to the boat all by myself (apparently i had to prove that to myself; it was 60# so probably just what i needed to restore my confidence without really having to work hard). I think two similar fish were landed on that stop and everyone was having a good time. a stop or two later, after a few more fish came on, i landed a third fish, 100#, and i was grateful for Tyler and David’s assistance keeping my rod tip safe at the stern corner as the fish was really working those tight circles. By then it was past midnight, i think we had one more good stop for one or two more fish. then about an hour of scattering schools and empty stops, and headed back home by around 2am. i think the boat finished with 13 YT and 11 BFT? i slept like a pile of bricks.
Tuesday- we hit the docks right before 7. extreme stoke as everyone walks off the boat, more stoke when the fish come out, people take pictures, hassle with fish processors, exchange numbers in the parking lot… i chatted with the crew and captain a bit more about my upcoming trips with them, and then it was time to go. loaded my fish into kill bags and cooler, loaded ice and salt, and drove home. unpacked, cleaned things, added more ice, and slept before a jarring first day back at work. as i write this, the fish is very cold and ready to cut tomorrow. i'm betting the islander will dock tomorrow morning with a fat load of tuna.
my fish G&G weights are 155.2, 54.8, and 88.4. i used the “12% rule” to estimate live weights.
Some takeaways-
!- Islander is my favorite boat. Everything on this boat screams pride in ownership and sincere grind-ethic. The captain, the crew, the chef, the heads, the galley, the rooms, the bait, everything. They gilled and gutted every fish, they worked hard to minimize losses, they kept everything clean and accommodating… Despite some lumpy water and scratchy fishing, i am SO grateful for an unforgettable experience.
?- my butt hooks were tearing out more than i’m used to, and i’m not sure why.
>- I fished 500gr the whole time. deeper fish, more wind… don’t waste time with lighter weights. there were people fishing 250gr knives and after a minute or two it looked like they were fly-lining.
...- personally, I gotta be OK with receiving a handoff fish (i’ve handed fish to plenty of friends and strangers, why should i be too proud to receive them?), and I gotta admit when i’m getting my ass kicked (i know i’ve seen other people get their asses kicked, and sadly, it’s kind of obvious some times). this is surely old news to many of you, and clearly mundane to the pros who work these boats day in and day out, but for me, it was a big lesson.
I gotta get some sleep but i'll probably circle back and edit this tomorrow.
1.75-then-2-day trips, starting with a full moon: fishing, for the most part, sucked (not for lack of trying). things turned on for a good night bite on our last night. got three (one was a handoff from the crew), gilled and gutted weights: 155.2, 88.4, 54.8. bigger news: islander is easily my favorite boat/crew/galley, and i just can't say enough how much i enjoyed them.
Long version:
i had planned on a weekend of chores and parenting when i got an email from Juliet of islander sportfishing (she knew i wanted to check out the boat before our october charter): "hey, we have two trips this weekend, gonna run for sure but both have really low numbers. would you like to sign up?" so i did some frantic juggling, poor planning, terrible packing… and voila! After a 6hour drive I made it to the landing by 6:50 and got onboard at 6:59 for our 7:00 departure! back-to-back trips, so stoked! Here’s the daily rundown:
Friday night- I was the last guy on the boat, bringing the total to 12. bait was pre-loaded so we pushed off on time and went straight for the grounds. First observation: the heads are really really nice; spacious, clean, more like a nice studio bathroom than a head. Then I went downstairs where I got stateroom K to myself, unpacked a little, and did a little peaking around for another pleasant surprise: nice bunks, most rooms have sinks and drawers, little sealed port windows, individual lights for each bunk, strong AC, and outlets. Andrew was down there, making sure all the rooms were cherry and everyone was happy moving in. Then I came upstairs and was greeted by Alex the chef, who noticed I was winded and offered me a refreshment (I took a craft beer but they have domestics and sodas and bottled waters); I noticed behind him a spacious grill, clean cutlery and pots, and tons of space for prep (which would later be used to tremendous effect!). finally I went outside to look around: On the big wide walkarounds, rods go at an angle due to limited space (but I grew to appreciate this cuz the reels don’t rotate/jangle), and there’s big flat spaces on either side of the house entry for tackle boxes (might get tight with 28 passengers? Kind of unpleasant when people keep rods in their tackle boxes, as it really crowds the overhead in that high-traffic area). The bait tanks are big and modern, with spectacular shallow and wide hand-wells. Captain John did a quick safety/planning talk (I was charmed when he invited everyone to enjoy the upper deck and feel free to ask him questions directly at any time), and then I went out to rig up. I did the usual voodoo and was about to finish up when deckhand David came by with a plate: “we just cut into a fresh wheel of parmesan, would you like some chunks?” I chuckled, cuz my grandmothers were both Italian and I know this is a good luck ritual at the start of a big endeavor, and Alex told me later it’s also a ritual in restaurants. Anyway, I ate a bunch of fresh Parmesan chunks, brushed my teeth, and slept like a baby until around 1am.
Saturday- around 1am Captain John came on the PA and from my bunk i heard, “I’ve been looking for a couple hours but so far nothing. Same for the fleet. We’ll keep looking.” I went up to find a few over-coffeed passengers eager to fish the night bite (kinda near the border/226/302 area), but it never materialized, and I mostly slept. we dropped on one or two schools but they quickly dispersed so we bailed fast with zero action. I didn’t stay up long. Around 5am I came back up, had some coffee, and watched the sunrise with beautiful clouds on the backside of the Coronados. Captain John explained that few schools were located and practically zero tuna were boated that night, the whole fleet had struggled, so we would be heading south to poke around in the tuna zone from about a week ago (what I would call the outer/north Ensenada trench?). That day turned out to be a decent whale-watching trip… down an hour or two… nothing on the sonar… head back north looking for kelps… catch a few rat YT (4-15lbs?)… then back south to meter around after dark for nada… and around midnight we pointed back for SD. Boat got a total of 31 YT, I mostly hung back, missed a couple bites, got a decent one which went to the galley… 1/0 CB on 30# and 2/0 CB on 40#... but i get to fish BOLA in a few weeks so i wasn’t really interested in these smaller YT, and it was what I would call a bad tuna trip; they just weren’t around. captain was clearly frustrated, crew was clearly bored, and a few of the passengers were clearly bummed. weather didn’t help, a little breezier than expected, maybe flirting with 20kn in the afternoon?
personally, i was stoked though, because i napped like 6 times that day, and i ate SO WELL! Alex made: eggs with bacon, homemade gravy over fresh biscuits, and cut fresh fruit; spicy shrimp and pulled pork rib tacos with beans and rice; MICHELADAS SERVED ON DECK WHILE WE WERE FISHING YT!; corn dogs for an afternoon snack; and salad (with real cesar dressing from scratch, with anchovies and big crutons), penne with pork rib ragu and fresh parmesan, homemade garlic bread, followed by real lemon merengue pie. i really enjoyed chatting with a couple passengers, especially Darren from La Habra (turns out, I would later meet his son, who’s a very cool dude). nota bene: Alex puts so much love and intention and attention into the food. it is definitely gourmet in terms of plating and presentation (especially for a galley), but more important for me, Alex takes pride in his food, and offers it with sincere hospitality. i would later find that everyone on this boat takes their work seriously, and they all take tremendous pride in their trips... but the food was my first clue.
Sunday- i woke up at 6 as we backed into the slip, watched everyone walk away with all their stuff, but i just left my junk and got a few hours to walk around, try to find something to need at the landings, and waste time on my phone. the boat was refueled and rebaited so we could all load by 9:30 and push off right before 11. i didn't have the usual distractions so i took a shower and then a nap. about an hour out of the harbor: BOOM! kale and lettuce salad with cherry tomatoes, shrimp, chips, and spicy jalapeño dressing! quick nap, then a couple kelp stops, and BOOM! fresh hamachi platters (with the galley fish i caught the day before). wander around, half-ass poke at patties for a couple YT, then BOOM! duck breast over baby potatoes with broccolini, fresh garlic bread, sun set out the window, then chocolate ice cream cake for desert! Tuna hunt was unsuccessful that night again, tried a half dozen fruitless stops until 2am but mostly just metering all over the place, best part was the baked leftover pasta with melted provolone on top (seriously the most amazing midnight snack i’ve had in a long long time, but on a BOAT no less?!), i think one boat got 1 fish and one boat got a few, but it was mostly tragic throughout the fleet. evening was pretty breezy, i’d call it 15kn winds over 4-5@10sec or so. not terrible, but just enough to keep me a little grumpy (i didn’t yak but i was kinda feeling it…).
Monday- well, I knew the food would be good! fresh blueberry pancakes with eggs and bacon and cut fresh fruit, 1-2 YT stops, nap, jerk chicken skewers over rice and veggies, kind of gave up on the YT stops here, nap, egg rolls with homemade chili sauce, nap, quick stop for a fleeting school (50# drop sinker rig, nada), nap, another quick stop for a fleeting school (same, nada, but getting excited to see a few good signs of fish), spinach salad with cherry tomatoes and I can’t remember what else, because we all rushed out to try for another fleeting school (nada, but again, more signs of fish... winkwink), then came back to the table for steak over mushroom risotto with homemade chimichurri (just like my grandpa used to make), buns, and asparagus, followed by insanely decadent ice cream sundaes over homemade nutty choc chip cookies, and then the fish showed up. breezy again, captain calls out big schools at 250-350’, drop a 500g jig, and right next to me, deckhand Brody says “biter! take this” and i have never accepted a handoff in my tuna life but i was kinda jonesing and everyone else was either inside or at the rails/bow, so I went for it. big fish, pulled a bunch of line, i had to get used to boat gear, ran me around the boat a few times, i was definitely overgripping and not thinking clearly and getting gassed, got close to leader when the fish ran hard and almost got in the prop, deckhand David jumps into action, snags the rod (these guys needed the numbers and had to get the party started so i’m sure they just didn’t wanna lose it… but it hurt my butt a little bit and i just kinda stood there making fists with my sore arms…) and runs around the boat one more time before handing back the rod a few minutes later, with the spool half down again… more grind grind grind, get it close to leader, circle starts to get sketchy around the anchor… and the boys take the rod again (i know: they read the situation correctly. i was gassed, i wasn’t focused, it was a solid fish and i was NOT inspiring confidence, so they did the right thing… but i was definitely chapped that it wasn’t me who finished the game). fast forward a minute, big fish on deck (155.2# GG), everyone hooting and hollering, and i pout away like a little bitch “no i don’t want a picture!” and they did all the gill/gut/bleed/RSW but i didn’t even want to see it and i will admit it wasn’t my proudest moment (plus that fish had really kicked my ass, like 40minutes or more, forearms FULLY PUMPED, i had NO TECHNIQUE)… but yeah. that’s the story of my first handoff fish, and my first crew assistance, which i was not ready to accept, for some stupid reason. BTW, a few minutes later Brody (half my age but twice the man) says “hey look, wanna check the stomach with me?” because we’d been wondering if they eat or not during those full moon nights (and it appears that no, they don’t, cuz the gut was completely empty!), but he worked like a real adult and got me distracted with something different to snap me out of my funk, just like i did with my kids when they were having tantrums. what a bro. well, i sat out a stop to regather myself and hydrate and rest my forearms, i think the boat landed another fish or two and lost a better one on that stop, and then I came back to fish on the next one. Brody and I both hooked up at the same time, side by side, and he handed off to another passenger while i got my fish to the boat all by myself (apparently i had to prove that to myself; it was 60# so probably just what i needed to restore my confidence without really having to work hard). I think two similar fish were landed on that stop and everyone was having a good time. a stop or two later, after a few more fish came on, i landed a third fish, 100#, and i was grateful for Tyler and David’s assistance keeping my rod tip safe at the stern corner as the fish was really working those tight circles. By then it was past midnight, i think we had one more good stop for one or two more fish. then about an hour of scattering schools and empty stops, and headed back home by around 2am. i think the boat finished with 13 YT and 11 BFT? i slept like a pile of bricks.
Tuesday- we hit the docks right before 7. extreme stoke as everyone walks off the boat, more stoke when the fish come out, people take pictures, hassle with fish processors, exchange numbers in the parking lot… i chatted with the crew and captain a bit more about my upcoming trips with them, and then it was time to go. loaded my fish into kill bags and cooler, loaded ice and salt, and drove home. unpacked, cleaned things, added more ice, and slept before a jarring first day back at work. as i write this, the fish is very cold and ready to cut tomorrow. i'm betting the islander will dock tomorrow morning with a fat load of tuna.
my fish G&G weights are 155.2, 54.8, and 88.4. i used the “12% rule” to estimate live weights.
Some takeaways-
!- Islander is my favorite boat. Everything on this boat screams pride in ownership and sincere grind-ethic. The captain, the crew, the chef, the heads, the galley, the rooms, the bait, everything. They gilled and gutted every fish, they worked hard to minimize losses, they kept everything clean and accommodating… Despite some lumpy water and scratchy fishing, i am SO grateful for an unforgettable experience.
?- my butt hooks were tearing out more than i’m used to, and i’m not sure why.
>- I fished 500gr the whole time. deeper fish, more wind… don’t waste time with lighter weights. there were people fishing 250gr knives and after a minute or two it looked like they were fly-lining.
...- personally, I gotta be OK with receiving a handoff fish (i’ve handed fish to plenty of friends and strangers, why should i be too proud to receive them?), and I gotta admit when i’m getting my ass kicked (i know i’ve seen other people get their asses kicked, and sadly, it’s kind of obvious some times). this is surely old news to many of you, and clearly mundane to the pros who work these boats day in and day out, but for me, it was a big lesson.
I gotta get some sleep but i'll probably circle back and edit this tomorrow.
! Great report . I will give them a try.
