Fantastic day out in the water fishing the San Diego. The crew: Andrew, Fisher, Stevie and Steve in the galley as helpful and professional as always. Nice to be out in the warmer (not yet warm) weather after bluefin fishing in April and May. We had one lucky yellowfin stop earlier in the day where we drifted for about 3 hours made the trip for 50 yellowfin.
Here are my observations and what worked:
1. The bait is now the usual summer sardine so it's getting harder to find the magic bait, that being said, don't be afraid to toss out a sardine with some blood or scales missing if you notice that it's pretty active in the handwell. Looks like the only thing that the YF care about is that they swim decently. I had several baits that seemed like the "magic" ones and didn't swim as I wanted and some "meh" baits that exceed my expectations
2. If it's a YF stop, I would start out with 25lb flyline and a #2 J or circle hook unless it starts getting more hot and heavy. I got my first two YF yesterday on 25lb before cork wrap got messed up and had to switch to my 40lb setup. I got bit on my second sardine within 10 seconds
3. Bring that clear Feed popper or similar if you are comfortable casting it. I know at least 2 where landed this way during the drift and Fisher, the deckhand, got bit at least one casting into a foamer
4. The experienced guys know this but capitalizing on the window of opportunity is key when the fish are in a funky mood like they have been lately. My first YF on the 25lb kicked my ass and actually thought it was a 50-60lb bluefin. After landing the fish, I spent minutes struggling to re-tie my knots because my hands were shaking from the fight and adrenaline. Noticing that the bite was pretty hot, I should just grabbed my 40lb setup and I'm sure I would capitalized even more on the opportunity instead of losing valuable time fumbling through the knots.
Observations:
1. What's up with yellowtail that are MIA - stopped on several big paddies and except for one where it seems a fish boiled, all where empty
2. Many private boats still behaving like jackasses and not respecting drifts and chumlines - we had a little armada of at least 8 boats around us at one point (not saying they all did this - but a couple did)
3. Non-technique advice: wear sunscreen. Saw a lot of burned faces out there. It's summer. Oh, don't forget to put sunscreen on top of your hand even if you are covered up.
4. Lastly, shoutout to Jim, a regular on this boat. We got a little into it in the heat of the moment (odd for me and he mentioned for him as well) but refreshing to see a man behaving like a gentleman in this day and age.
5. After freezing my you-know-what off during April and May bluefin fishing, it's nice to finally wear shorts and actually enjoy the weather. That being said, it's still a little chilly out there when its under the marine layer so bring a layer or two.
6. I'll be on this boat 8/22 Tuesday. Hope to see you there...
Good luck to everyone out there. And remember, NO LE AFLOJEN!
Here are my observations and what worked:
1. The bait is now the usual summer sardine so it's getting harder to find the magic bait, that being said, don't be afraid to toss out a sardine with some blood or scales missing if you notice that it's pretty active in the handwell. Looks like the only thing that the YF care about is that they swim decently. I had several baits that seemed like the "magic" ones and didn't swim as I wanted and some "meh" baits that exceed my expectations
2. If it's a YF stop, I would start out with 25lb flyline and a #2 J or circle hook unless it starts getting more hot and heavy. I got my first two YF yesterday on 25lb before cork wrap got messed up and had to switch to my 40lb setup. I got bit on my second sardine within 10 seconds
3. Bring that clear Feed popper or similar if you are comfortable casting it. I know at least 2 where landed this way during the drift and Fisher, the deckhand, got bit at least one casting into a foamer
4. The experienced guys know this but capitalizing on the window of opportunity is key when the fish are in a funky mood like they have been lately. My first YF on the 25lb kicked my ass and actually thought it was a 50-60lb bluefin. After landing the fish, I spent minutes struggling to re-tie my knots because my hands were shaking from the fight and adrenaline. Noticing that the bite was pretty hot, I should just grabbed my 40lb setup and I'm sure I would capitalized even more on the opportunity instead of losing valuable time fumbling through the knots.
Observations:
1. What's up with yellowtail that are MIA - stopped on several big paddies and except for one where it seems a fish boiled, all where empty
2. Many private boats still behaving like jackasses and not respecting drifts and chumlines - we had a little armada of at least 8 boats around us at one point (not saying they all did this - but a couple did)
3. Non-technique advice: wear sunscreen. Saw a lot of burned faces out there. It's summer. Oh, don't forget to put sunscreen on top of your hand even if you are covered up.
4. Lastly, shoutout to Jim, a regular on this boat. We got a little into it in the heat of the moment (odd for me and he mentioned for him as well) but refreshing to see a man behaving like a gentleman in this day and age.
5. After freezing my you-know-what off during April and May bluefin fishing, it's nice to finally wear shorts and actually enjoy the weather. That being said, it's still a little chilly out there when its under the marine layer so bring a layer or two.
6. I'll be on this boat 8/22 Tuesday. Hope to see you there...
Good luck to everyone out there. And remember, NO LE AFLOJEN!
