Hey guys,
Jumped on the Pac Dawn out of Ventura Sportfishing Sun night. We only had 9 guys so it was like a private charter ! Boat got in late cause they stayed late for the last trip. We were told that we had plenty of time and that capt had the option to stay late on our trip if need be.
New to the Pac Dawn this year is Capt Mike Loust. On deck were his son Charley, Brad, and Aiden (spelling?). In the galley was "Laura from Agoura" a very personable gal on her third trip since starting with this group.
Anyway Mike layed out the game plan. Head to the islands, set up for seabass in the early morning, and fish rock fish in the afternoon if need be to put something in the sacks. We already had squid and sardines in the tanks so off we went. Guys rigged up with typical island setups. Single dropper loops about 3-4 feet up from the sinker. Sliding sinker on 5/0-8/0 hook depending on the brand/style. Leadhead and squid. Also the new "Fluke" and leadhead. We all hit the bunks. The boat has a nice bunk layout for a small boat. There are a couple of "big bunks" in the front. And the rest are lined up perpendicular to the center stringer (fishbone style). Made for great sleeping
.
Anyway, a few hours later we were dropping anchor at our first spot on a squid nest.
The squid started to float a little but there were a couple of seals that kept swimming thru them so they never came up to the surface. We'd mark a few fish but no bites so after awhile we moved on. As grey light approached, we anchored or drifted on several schools but no takers as the seabass were doing their best "bluefin" imitation. We would get some of the usual bycatch of whitefish, rockfish, and 1 small halibut.
After a few hours, we lost conditions so we moved a little off the island to fish rockfish. I had my slowpitch gear but on the suggestion of Brad, I went old school and fished single 16 oz dropper topped with a 6 oz lead head and big swim bait. Started drifting in 300'. We had some wind so the drift was fast ! I heaved my setup downwind and hit bottom just as I was straight up and down. Everyone got bit as soon as they hit bottom ! After a nice fight and slow ride to the surface I had a nice Lingcod on deck along with some nice reds, boscos, and boccacios from the other guys. Second drop and bingo ! Got my lingcod limit.
Even though the depth wasn't too bad, the wind and current make the drops and retrievals longer. But the fish were bitting !
It wasn't limit style fishing but the quality was there for sure.
Mike wanted to get a second shot at the seabass so we only did a few drifts. At the very end of the last drift a one guy hooked a Monster ! I'm sure lots of the guys on here have caught bigger but this was the biggest ling I have seen in local waters. Capt Mike even took a pic with it.
We were lucky enough to get enough lings so that everyone on the boat got to take at least one home so that was pretty cool.
After a short drive back to the island. We resumed our search for seabass and halibut. Seabass we did not find but we did scratch some butts !
Most were very nice sized. One lucky gentleman boated a nice one. He then dropped back down and placed his rod in a rodholder. He bent down to pick up his fish to take a picture when his rod went off immediately. He got to get his picture holding 2 nice butts
Capt Mike stayed late for us to fish a little longer and we ended up with 8 nice flatties along with a few nice sized whitefish to round out our rockfish score. Mike and the crew were great. Looking forward to fishing with them again soon. It's just starting to get good up in the Channel Islands.
Take care guys
Jumped on the Pac Dawn out of Ventura Sportfishing Sun night. We only had 9 guys so it was like a private charter ! Boat got in late cause they stayed late for the last trip. We were told that we had plenty of time and that capt had the option to stay late on our trip if need be.
New to the Pac Dawn this year is Capt Mike Loust. On deck were his son Charley, Brad, and Aiden (spelling?). In the galley was "Laura from Agoura" a very personable gal on her third trip since starting with this group.
Anyway Mike layed out the game plan. Head to the islands, set up for seabass in the early morning, and fish rock fish in the afternoon if need be to put something in the sacks. We already had squid and sardines in the tanks so off we went. Guys rigged up with typical island setups. Single dropper loops about 3-4 feet up from the sinker. Sliding sinker on 5/0-8/0 hook depending on the brand/style. Leadhead and squid. Also the new "Fluke" and leadhead. We all hit the bunks. The boat has a nice bunk layout for a small boat. There are a couple of "big bunks" in the front. And the rest are lined up perpendicular to the center stringer (fishbone style). Made for great sleeping
.Anyway, a few hours later we were dropping anchor at our first spot on a squid nest.
The squid started to float a little but there were a couple of seals that kept swimming thru them so they never came up to the surface. We'd mark a few fish but no bites so after awhile we moved on. As grey light approached, we anchored or drifted on several schools but no takers as the seabass were doing their best "bluefin" imitation. We would get some of the usual bycatch of whitefish, rockfish, and 1 small halibut.
After a few hours, we lost conditions so we moved a little off the island to fish rockfish. I had my slowpitch gear but on the suggestion of Brad, I went old school and fished single 16 oz dropper topped with a 6 oz lead head and big swim bait. Started drifting in 300'. We had some wind so the drift was fast ! I heaved my setup downwind and hit bottom just as I was straight up and down. Everyone got bit as soon as they hit bottom ! After a nice fight and slow ride to the surface I had a nice Lingcod on deck along with some nice reds, boscos, and boccacios from the other guys. Second drop and bingo ! Got my lingcod limit.
Even though the depth wasn't too bad, the wind and current make the drops and retrievals longer. But the fish were bitting !
It wasn't limit style fishing but the quality was there for sure.
Mike wanted to get a second shot at the seabass so we only did a few drifts. At the very end of the last drift a one guy hooked a Monster ! I'm sure lots of the guys on here have caught bigger but this was the biggest ling I have seen in local waters. Capt Mike even took a pic with it.
We were lucky enough to get enough lings so that everyone on the boat got to take at least one home so that was pretty cool.
After a short drive back to the island. We resumed our search for seabass and halibut. Seabass we did not find but we did scratch some butts !
Most were very nice sized. One lucky gentleman boated a nice one. He then dropped back down and placed his rod in a rodholder. He bent down to pick up his fish to take a picture when his rod went off immediately. He got to get his picture holding 2 nice butts
Capt Mike stayed late for us to fish a little longer and we ended up with 8 nice flatties along with a few nice sized whitefish to round out our rockfish score. Mike and the crew were great. Looking forward to fishing with them again soon. It's just starting to get good up in the Channel Islands.
Take care guys
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