The weather window I was waiting for finally arrived this week, so my friend Don Elm and I headed over to Catalina for a few days of fishing and hooping. We launched from Huntington Harbor Wednesday morning and picked a full scoop of cured medium ‘dines from Nacho.
The ride across was smooth until about 5 miles out from Long Point, where the wind picked up a bit for some chop – but it laid down nicely about 9:30 for the rest of the day! We put out some small bright green rapalas and trolled down to the East End, where we found breaking fish hammering small bait.
These turned out to be 3 to 8-pound bonito running some sauries in 62.5-degree deep blue water, and they were pulling some serious drag! Don landed the big boy – a solid 8-pounder – after a pretty epic fight. We had a blast catching these bruisers and they were all caught on the rapalas. They did not seem to want our fly-lined ‘dines. We had the whole area to ourselves, not a single other boat in sight! Even the locals at the “bark park” (AKA Seal Rocks) did not bother us!
It was getting late, so we headed over to our hooping spot. I installed an Ace Line Hauler Brutus Max last week and was eager to give it a try. Let me tell you – for us old guys, this thing is the bomb! It pulls the hoop just as fast as we can do it by hand, maybe even faster. It’s a back saver.
Bugging was a bit slower due to the full moon and the crawl was about over by 9 PM when the moon got overhead, but we managed 8 nice legals and released 35 shorts. DFW officers from the vessel COHO boarded us and were thorough but very nice while checking our licenses, coolers and measuring the bugs. They sent on our way wishing us good luck. It must have been a slow night for them, because we saw ‘em a bit later and they asked us if we caught any more bugs – I told them about how they jinxed us, and they left with a chuckle.
Thursday morning was a bit windy early, so we fought our way up to the Isthmus to try for some rockfish. There was nothing biting except white fish, so it was back down to Avalon to get some ice and then off to the bone-yard for some more fun. It was about as perfect a day as can be - warm, flat calm and willing fish – all to ourselves. Gotta savor these moments.
That night was perfect too. Clear with no wind. We topped off our lobster limits early, including 2 big boys. We picked up a mooring and had a few drinks to celebrate. Friday morning the ride back to the barn was calm with a west swell following us home. It was a December Island trip to remember!
Good luck and stay safe out there!
Typical bonito
Don's 8 pounder!
Me with a lit up bone
One of the bigger bugs
Lobsters in their natural habitat - my bait tank!
The line up....
The ride across was smooth until about 5 miles out from Long Point, where the wind picked up a bit for some chop – but it laid down nicely about 9:30 for the rest of the day! We put out some small bright green rapalas and trolled down to the East End, where we found breaking fish hammering small bait.
These turned out to be 3 to 8-pound bonito running some sauries in 62.5-degree deep blue water, and they were pulling some serious drag! Don landed the big boy – a solid 8-pounder – after a pretty epic fight. We had a blast catching these bruisers and they were all caught on the rapalas. They did not seem to want our fly-lined ‘dines. We had the whole area to ourselves, not a single other boat in sight! Even the locals at the “bark park” (AKA Seal Rocks) did not bother us!
It was getting late, so we headed over to our hooping spot. I installed an Ace Line Hauler Brutus Max last week and was eager to give it a try. Let me tell you – for us old guys, this thing is the bomb! It pulls the hoop just as fast as we can do it by hand, maybe even faster. It’s a back saver.
Bugging was a bit slower due to the full moon and the crawl was about over by 9 PM when the moon got overhead, but we managed 8 nice legals and released 35 shorts. DFW officers from the vessel COHO boarded us and were thorough but very nice while checking our licenses, coolers and measuring the bugs. They sent on our way wishing us good luck. It must have been a slow night for them, because we saw ‘em a bit later and they asked us if we caught any more bugs – I told them about how they jinxed us, and they left with a chuckle.
Thursday morning was a bit windy early, so we fought our way up to the Isthmus to try for some rockfish. There was nothing biting except white fish, so it was back down to Avalon to get some ice and then off to the bone-yard for some more fun. It was about as perfect a day as can be - warm, flat calm and willing fish – all to ourselves. Gotta savor these moments.
That night was perfect too. Clear with no wind. We topped off our lobster limits early, including 2 big boys. We picked up a mooring and had a few drinks to celebrate. Friday morning the ride back to the barn was calm with a west swell following us home. It was a December Island trip to remember!
Good luck and stay safe out there!
Typical bonito
Don's 8 pounder!
Me with a lit up bone
One of the bigger bugs
Lobsters in their natural habitat - my bait tank!
The line up....
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