This was one of the better vacations I have ever taken. I want to thank everyone who responded on my earlier thread and reached out in DM's for helping out. It was really the trip of a lifetime and I kind of want to do it again next year or the year after.
First - Rammstein 9/24
Next time Rammstein is in town, regardless on whether or not you like their music or understand German. Go. The fire displays alone are worth the price of admission to the concert.
Second - Mustang 1.5 Day 9/25 - 9/27
The seas were rough on Sunday. Lots of people were sea sick. The anti nausea pills I took with breakfast, lunch, and dinner worked. Never leave home without them. We woke up in the morning and headed for the first beaconed kelp in Mexican waters. Filled half of the boat limit of dorado and then headed to the second beaconed kelp and filled the other half. Limits of Dorado by 8 am. At the time, it was some of the best fishing I had seen. Simply, hook a sardine and toss it in the water. Then two seconds later you're hooked up. After the Dorado we hunted for Yellowfin Tuna the rest of the day. Only found 1 school that was willing to bite and the boat landed 14 of them and I was not one of the anglers that landed one. Still a great trip considering the conditions on the ocean. The best place on the boat at night was in the bunks. I thought the mustang had a better sleeping set up than the Ranger 85 even though it was a smaller boat. The breakfast burrito was decent, the burger on the Mustang at lunch was the best meal on both trips, and the lasagna at dinner was decent (probably not the best because it did make me a bit ill, but might be the red sauce on a rocky boat). The crew on the mustang was very good. The captain did all he could in the conditions to try and find tuna, but the conditions made it an extreme challenge. If you are looking for a good overnight / 1.5 day boat. The mustang is a great option. I did call point loma for fish processing before going on the boat and they said as long as it is not too much, they would be able to do it. Just call the morning of. I called the morning of and they were unable too. So, I cleaned them in the hotel and sent them to my mom fed ex after freezing them overnight in the hotel.
Third - Ranger 85 3.5 Day 9/28 - 10/2
The seas were nice this trip. What a difference a few days make. We headed down to Mexico for Kelp dorado and Yellowfin. The dorado fishing in the morning was not as hot as seen on the mustang. We scratched out a few. We headed down hoping from kelp to kelp scratched out a few more dorado and small yellowtail. Then was chased small yellowfin tuna most of the afternoon. I hooked my first five yellowfin tuna. Was shocked how a little 5-10 lb fish could fight that hard. On our way back north we stopped back by the kelps. I hooked my first yellowtail, which was trout sized. Then we hit a magical kelp and it was site fishing for fired up dorado. You hook a sardine and wait for the dorado you want to swim by and just toss it in front of it. As soon as the sardine hits the water, the dorado speeds up and slams it. As fast as you can get one in, rebait, and find one you want you could get a dorado. It was incredible. Never seen anything like it. The boat quickly scratched out the rest of the limit on dorado. We had supper and then started the journey up to San Clemente and Catalina to search for blue fin. Day 2 we did not catch anything until nightfall. The night time fishing was a tangle cluster fuck. Can't imagine what it would be like if there were 30 on the boat rather than 26. The crew and everyone that stayed out fishing were worn out. Down to 400 ft up to 200 ft. Down to 400 ft up to 200 ft. Over and over all night. I hooked one of the first drop, but it got off at the boat. That was it for the night. At day break we started fly lining and sinker rigging and the fishing was constant the whole day. The fish would not bite any pound test over 30. The best luck was one guy who was using 25lb test. I hooked around a 25lb yellowfin and then I caught some shut eye and got back up and caught a few more on the spinning rod. I could not cast an open face bait caster with fly line to save my life. I did end up with my first blue fin and thus I ate the heart. The heart on this tuna was not awful. I imagine if it was seared, it would be quite tasty. Everyone had a blast and went home with a ton of fish. The crew on the boat was great and handled one guy who was being a bit of an asshole with class. The guy was nice to me, but if he would have treated me the way he treated the crew. I would have told him to go fuck himself. After that handling of the guy, the guy was well behaved the rest of the trip. The captain was very good. The meals were solid as well. The biggest gripe about the boat is the bunks having low clearance. It would not be out of the question to accidentally sneeze and hit your head on a few of them. If you go on the Ranger call ahead and get one of the special rooms. They are available by calling the landing and are worth it according to those that stayed there on the trip. The clearance on the stairs into the bunk area I stayed in was low. A few of bonked our heads due to forgetting that the last step is too tall. I mean if that is the only negative thing you can say about a boat, then it is a pretty good boat.
A few things I learned
I suck at tying knots. I have never lost that many fish in my life, but I figured it out in the end.
For fly lining and casting snipers, I think I will get a better spinning set up and one of those hip belts. Vertically using the open face is great, but for horizontal applications. I felt a lot more comfortable and caught more fish using the spinning rods.
Then take multiple 40lb set ups that you can have one at 20lb fluro, 30lb fluro, and 40lb fluro. To make it easier to change line sizes or have another set up that you can use quickly in the event the fish are biting without retying.
I think the longer trips are better, because if you have a windy day or bad day. You get another day to fish and find a good day.
Just do one trip when traveling, because then you do not have to rely on a processor.
Like I began with, I just want to thank everyone for their help on this trip from the forum. It was a trip of a lifetime.
![IMG_5887[1].JPG](https://www.bdoutdoors.com/forums/attachments/img_5887-1-jpg.1430013/ "IMG_5887[1].JPG")
![IMG_5852[1].JPG](https://www.bdoutdoors.com/forums/attachments/img_5852-1-jpg.1430014/ "IMG_5852[1].JPG")
![JZQH6598[1].JPG](https://www.bdoutdoors.com/forums/attachments/jzqh6598-1-jpg.1430016/ "JZQH6598[1].JPG")
![IMG_5858[1].JPG](https://www.bdoutdoors.com/forums/attachments/img_5858-1-jpg.1430018/ "IMG_5858[1].JPG")
![IMG_5858[1].JPG](https://www.bdoutdoors.com/forums/attachments/img_5858-1-jpg.1430019/ "IMG_5858[1].JPG")
First - Rammstein 9/24
Next time Rammstein is in town, regardless on whether or not you like their music or understand German. Go. The fire displays alone are worth the price of admission to the concert.
Second - Mustang 1.5 Day 9/25 - 9/27
The seas were rough on Sunday. Lots of people were sea sick. The anti nausea pills I took with breakfast, lunch, and dinner worked. Never leave home without them. We woke up in the morning and headed for the first beaconed kelp in Mexican waters. Filled half of the boat limit of dorado and then headed to the second beaconed kelp and filled the other half. Limits of Dorado by 8 am. At the time, it was some of the best fishing I had seen. Simply, hook a sardine and toss it in the water. Then two seconds later you're hooked up. After the Dorado we hunted for Yellowfin Tuna the rest of the day. Only found 1 school that was willing to bite and the boat landed 14 of them and I was not one of the anglers that landed one. Still a great trip considering the conditions on the ocean. The best place on the boat at night was in the bunks. I thought the mustang had a better sleeping set up than the Ranger 85 even though it was a smaller boat. The breakfast burrito was decent, the burger on the Mustang at lunch was the best meal on both trips, and the lasagna at dinner was decent (probably not the best because it did make me a bit ill, but might be the red sauce on a rocky boat). The crew on the mustang was very good. The captain did all he could in the conditions to try and find tuna, but the conditions made it an extreme challenge. If you are looking for a good overnight / 1.5 day boat. The mustang is a great option. I did call point loma for fish processing before going on the boat and they said as long as it is not too much, they would be able to do it. Just call the morning of. I called the morning of and they were unable too. So, I cleaned them in the hotel and sent them to my mom fed ex after freezing them overnight in the hotel.
Third - Ranger 85 3.5 Day 9/28 - 10/2
The seas were nice this trip. What a difference a few days make. We headed down to Mexico for Kelp dorado and Yellowfin. The dorado fishing in the morning was not as hot as seen on the mustang. We scratched out a few. We headed down hoping from kelp to kelp scratched out a few more dorado and small yellowtail. Then was chased small yellowfin tuna most of the afternoon. I hooked my first five yellowfin tuna. Was shocked how a little 5-10 lb fish could fight that hard. On our way back north we stopped back by the kelps. I hooked my first yellowtail, which was trout sized. Then we hit a magical kelp and it was site fishing for fired up dorado. You hook a sardine and wait for the dorado you want to swim by and just toss it in front of it. As soon as the sardine hits the water, the dorado speeds up and slams it. As fast as you can get one in, rebait, and find one you want you could get a dorado. It was incredible. Never seen anything like it. The boat quickly scratched out the rest of the limit on dorado. We had supper and then started the journey up to San Clemente and Catalina to search for blue fin. Day 2 we did not catch anything until nightfall. The night time fishing was a tangle cluster fuck. Can't imagine what it would be like if there were 30 on the boat rather than 26. The crew and everyone that stayed out fishing were worn out. Down to 400 ft up to 200 ft. Down to 400 ft up to 200 ft. Over and over all night. I hooked one of the first drop, but it got off at the boat. That was it for the night. At day break we started fly lining and sinker rigging and the fishing was constant the whole day. The fish would not bite any pound test over 30. The best luck was one guy who was using 25lb test. I hooked around a 25lb yellowfin and then I caught some shut eye and got back up and caught a few more on the spinning rod. I could not cast an open face bait caster with fly line to save my life. I did end up with my first blue fin and thus I ate the heart. The heart on this tuna was not awful. I imagine if it was seared, it would be quite tasty. Everyone had a blast and went home with a ton of fish. The crew on the boat was great and handled one guy who was being a bit of an asshole with class. The guy was nice to me, but if he would have treated me the way he treated the crew. I would have told him to go fuck himself. After that handling of the guy, the guy was well behaved the rest of the trip. The captain was very good. The meals were solid as well. The biggest gripe about the boat is the bunks having low clearance. It would not be out of the question to accidentally sneeze and hit your head on a few of them. If you go on the Ranger call ahead and get one of the special rooms. They are available by calling the landing and are worth it according to those that stayed there on the trip. The clearance on the stairs into the bunk area I stayed in was low. A few of bonked our heads due to forgetting that the last step is too tall. I mean if that is the only negative thing you can say about a boat, then it is a pretty good boat.
A few things I learned
I suck at tying knots. I have never lost that many fish in my life, but I figured it out in the end.
For fly lining and casting snipers, I think I will get a better spinning set up and one of those hip belts. Vertically using the open face is great, but for horizontal applications. I felt a lot more comfortable and caught more fish using the spinning rods.
Then take multiple 40lb set ups that you can have one at 20lb fluro, 30lb fluro, and 40lb fluro. To make it easier to change line sizes or have another set up that you can use quickly in the event the fish are biting without retying.
I think the longer trips are better, because if you have a windy day or bad day. You get another day to fish and find a good day.
Just do one trip when traveling, because then you do not have to rely on a processor.
Like I began with, I just want to thank everyone for their help on this trip from the forum. It was a trip of a lifetime.
. GL Hunting.
