Just returned from our 11th annual Hoos Tuna Run & Gun aboard the Intrepid - 15 Day
We had a very successful trip starting off with 4 days of travel to Hurricane Bank in nice weather. After a couple days there catching a decent number of wahoo, and a few good sized tuna on the troll and flyline, we decided the signs of big tuna were just not there and decided to make the move up to the Lower Banks were we spent time at the Potato Bank. 3 other boats were already there, and none had caught a single tuna and soon those boats departed. Marlin on the other hand was wide open for everyone. We caught marlin on fly line, sinker rigs, the kite and jigs, in crazy numbers. We gave it the college try over the next 48 hours and hooked up a couple monsters but only landed one 263#er.
As the quantity was not there we decided traveled up to the Thetis Bank and the 38 spot along the Ridge. We found good fishing on 25-35# yellowtail, so we stuck around for a couple days. These fish were big and mean and we probably had a 30-40% loss rate between getting rocked, tangles and busting line until we stepped up our gear. 80lb spectra and fluoro was the minimum required to wench these beasts up above the rocks.
Our next move was to the upper end of the Ridge where we found more yellowtail, some mid grade tuna and an occasional dodo. We ended the trip fishing cod and rock fish as we traveled back to San Diego. All in all we plugged the boat will all the meat everyone wanted and got to pull on many big fish (albeit Marlin). In addition to a great time had by all we had almost flat calm conditions from the time we left HB until we returned to SD. Crazy good weather, with cloud cover and mild temps. We were very thankful for out weather.
On a final note, we were not sure what to expect with Brian Torres' departure as head chef. He was an awesome chef and great person that we spent many years with. He is now on to new and exciting things with his future restaurant. He his not someone that can easily be replaced. That said Chef Christian Biscocho with Ed Carillo (helping out as assistant on this trip) absolutely knocked it out of the park. The food was unique and refreshing and definitely not something I was expecting from past experiences, however I can honestly say it was amazing. Yes we had the prime rib, filet mignon, lasagna, & wagyu burger standards, but things like Pho, Fish Soup, a Chicken Stew dish and other new additions were phenomenal. If we couldn't have Brian, we could not have had a better replacement than Christian. Big Props to the deck crew, the galley crew and the captain for such a great trip.
Already looking forward to 2023.
We had a very successful trip starting off with 4 days of travel to Hurricane Bank in nice weather. After a couple days there catching a decent number of wahoo, and a few good sized tuna on the troll and flyline, we decided the signs of big tuna were just not there and decided to make the move up to the Lower Banks were we spent time at the Potato Bank. 3 other boats were already there, and none had caught a single tuna and soon those boats departed. Marlin on the other hand was wide open for everyone. We caught marlin on fly line, sinker rigs, the kite and jigs, in crazy numbers. We gave it the college try over the next 48 hours and hooked up a couple monsters but only landed one 263#er.
As the quantity was not there we decided traveled up to the Thetis Bank and the 38 spot along the Ridge. We found good fishing on 25-35# yellowtail, so we stuck around for a couple days. These fish were big and mean and we probably had a 30-40% loss rate between getting rocked, tangles and busting line until we stepped up our gear. 80lb spectra and fluoro was the minimum required to wench these beasts up above the rocks.
Our next move was to the upper end of the Ridge where we found more yellowtail, some mid grade tuna and an occasional dodo. We ended the trip fishing cod and rock fish as we traveled back to San Diego. All in all we plugged the boat will all the meat everyone wanted and got to pull on many big fish (albeit Marlin). In addition to a great time had by all we had almost flat calm conditions from the time we left HB until we returned to SD. Crazy good weather, with cloud cover and mild temps. We were very thankful for out weather.
On a final note, we were not sure what to expect with Brian Torres' departure as head chef. He was an awesome chef and great person that we spent many years with. He is now on to new and exciting things with his future restaurant. He his not someone that can easily be replaced. That said Chef Christian Biscocho with Ed Carillo (helping out as assistant on this trip) absolutely knocked it out of the park. The food was unique and refreshing and definitely not something I was expecting from past experiences, however I can honestly say it was amazing. Yes we had the prime rib, filet mignon, lasagna, & wagyu burger standards, but things like Pho, Fish Soup, a Chicken Stew dish and other new additions were phenomenal. If we couldn't have Brian, we could not have had a better replacement than Christian. Big Props to the deck crew, the galley crew and the captain for such a great trip.
Already looking forward to 2023.
