New Boat, No Name Yet

[Shewillbemine]

Went out recently (posted a report about it).

Caught some fish at Catalina Island (wish we were in SD/Mexico instead because of the massive tuna gang bang down there).

One thing I'm glad about from this last trip is that my RP knots held out. Of course they were only bass and barracuda, but it's a good start. Best test was probably when I would backlash my surface irons and they stayed on.

 

[Shewillbemine]

When you're not fishing or boating, you spend a lot of time prepping and tying knots.

As I wait for my next trip out, here's a couple of things I added to my stuff bag.

The first is a new hat from Warbaits. It's a brand that I've fished for quite a few years now. I like the military theme of the brand and what the owner is all about. It's a massive plus that he's also a SD guy.

This is one of two line tying devices (they come in a pair) I purchased from Boat Outfitters. I tend to use them for tying heavier line so I can get better torque.

 

[Shewillbemine]

I've been out of it for a while, due to a combination of bad fishing weather (on days I can go out) and looking after my dog (Harvey), whom we recently had to put down. I made a separate thread about him on Personal News so I won't belabor the point here as it makes me too sad.

I've only gone inshore the past few times because I wanted to bring my dog along (he wasn't strong enough to be offshore for too long). The fishing has been Meh since Dana Point has lost most of its kelp. I can still find suspended bass but it's not as fun as trying to fish kelp lanes and stringers. San Onofre has also lost most of its kelp. If anything, I've just been practicing fishing with live sardines to gain experience feeling the bite that way.

I jealously watched all the fishing reports of wide open yellowfin (and some bluefin) down south. The last time I went, I had a buddy boat but our radios couldn't connect. He killed it next to a sport boat and I wasted gas looking for fish.

I'm thinking of going out next week just to shake the blues, although the fish are too far right now. Reports show that the pelagics are quite west now (just south of San Clemente Island) and I'm not down to go that far out, especially on my boat.

I'm gonna see if Catalina will give out some yellowtail action, which is honestly my favorite fish to fight anyway. Gotta shake off some of the blues.

 

[Shewillbemine]

I got the idea to buy some snaps for bass fishing, since I like changing my lures a lot in order to find the right pattern.

I saw these on Amazon and got the smallest ones. They looked a little flimsy, but they held up well during my first trial today.

Caught with Snap On

 

[InDeepShip]

Look at the TA Clips they sell them on the kicker website

 

[Shewillbemine]

Look at the TA Clips they sell them on the kicker website

I'm gonna buy those. They just couldn't get delivered in 1 day fro Amazon Prime.

 

[Shewillbemine]

I posted a recent fishing report about catching limits of yellowtail and calling in several boats at the 277 Bank.

It allowed me to dust off my fish cleaning skills and practice filleting. I only took 7 yellowtail but, in retrospect, I should have fully limited at 10 (I released a whole bunch). That's because everyone becomes your best friend when you have fresh fish!

Here's the relatively best fillet of the bunch.

Obligatory boat shot in my favorite lane at Dana. I like it because it provides more wind protection and almost no one uses it because they don't like the tight backup space. Perfect for me.

I also ordered a 9 inch Tapering Flex Bubba Knife. My knife from RWBlades is great but it's not for filleting. I have an older Rapala that still worked decently here, but it's seen better days. Hence, I wanted to start over.

 

[Shewillbemine]

It's been a minute since I last posted on this thread. Life happens, especially with this whole COVID-19 and quarantine deal.

I've gone on a few local trips on my boat and one local trip on a buddy's boat. Nothing crazy and definitely nothing truly offshore.

As with any start of the fishing season, I look over my rig to ensure everything is in tip top shape. To my dismay, when I connected my trailer to my truck, the lights didn't work. I had noticed a few weeks before that the back left taillight had non-working diodes.

I researched the replacement process and bought the lights. However, I also learned that I should diagnose other things first, especially the simplest things that might be causing an issue. For the record, since I knew some diodes were already busted, I knew I had to replace the whole thing anyway. What I wasn't prepared for was for ALL the lights to stop working.

After some YouTube videos, I set out to test my hitch connector. It came out intermittently working on the tester, so I knew the issue was on my tow vehicle and not the trailer itself. I made a thread about it and was glad that I found the issue on the same day. I bought a few things off Amazon to help me diagnose and fix the issue. I was also quite happy to save the hundreds of dollars a few pros quoted me.

Here's pics of tools I used in the process.




And of course, a few inshore fish pics to keep things fresh. Some of these were keepers (measured) but the pics don't do it justice.

 

[Shewillbemine]

We've got an offshore trip planned next week (first one this year on my boat) and I'm buffing my "what if" tools.

Ordered some things via Amazon and still thinking of getting a few more things. I also made a thread here asking about a spare prop for my Yamaha F150XB. You never know.

Propeller Wrench


Spare Engine Stop Lanyard



Assorted Wrench Set for the Boat


Allen Wrenches


Spare Spark Plugs


Zip Ties for Random Uses

 

[Shewillbemine]

Excited to see all this tuna activity down south! Planning a weekday trip with some buds and we're all salivating. Hope to put up a successful fish report in a few days.

 

[One_Leg]

Your fillets look pretty good.

You should watch some yellowtail filleting videos. You will not waste as much flesh if you do it the right way. You cannot fillet YT like most other fish due to their bumpy spine.

 

[Shewillbemine]

Your fillets look pretty good.

You should watch some yellowtail filleting videos. You will not waste as much flesh if you do it the right way. You cannot fillet YT like most other fish due to their bumpy spine.

Good advice, thanks!