Our ten day
charter on the Red Rooster was a much more typical trip than last year
when we caught a load of 200-300# yellowfin, but not much else. This
year was more of what is generally expected for a fall ten day trip.
After loading up on bait we spent the next day and a half moving down
the coast. We made bait the next morning, fished Cedros for some
yellowtail (and bonito...), made more bait at night and traveled to
the upper Ridge for some hoped for wahoo and school tuna. The tuna
were small, as they were the previous year in this area. But, we were
rewarded with some wahoo.
The
lower area of the Ridge produced much the same. We then moved down to
the area where the big fish were found last year. This season the
water temp has been HIGH, like 82+ degrees. So, the yellows weren't
there in quantity or size. We did scrape up some 25-30# fish, but for
the most part they were again smaller size, like the Ridge produced.
Andy Cates, our skipper, made a move offshore. Here the expectation
was more wahoo and dorado. That's exactly what happened. We found some
great kelp paddies with loads of dorado up to 35#'s and wahoo. We'd
troll past the kelp, hoping to draw some 'hoo. Often as not that's
exactly what would happen, and we'd jump on a few. We'd get a troll
fish strike, then toss iron (Catchy Seastrike 33's were most
productive) or Burns Bombs (or other similar lures) and pick up
another couple fish. Some folks used bait (rigged on wire) hoping for
wahoo, but more often would draw some dorado. It seemed the jigs
worked best without wire/cable, the bombs were always rigged on cable,
and the hook rigs were less productive. While we did catch some very
nice fish offshore, many of the guys really wanted the chance to pull
on some larger tuna. So, off to Guadalupe Island we went. Along the
way we spent a little time at Benitos and Cedros fishing for
yellowtail. At Guadalupe we were rewarded with yellowfin up to 110#'s,
and a few of the largest yellowtail of the trip. To make that
experience even nicer, we augmented our catch with the addition of
some lobster care of the local fishermen who were amenable to a trade.
So, our final dinner was something to remember, lobster, prime rib...
As in years past, we'll be sending out a CD/DVD of the trip, video
and stills, to the guys on the boat (at n/c). The images below are
smaller and lower in resolution than what you'll be receiving. So,
pull from the CD rather than from the website if you plan on making
some prints. For a brief taste of the trip please click the link below
and you can watch 14 minutes of low res video.
CharkBait RRIII Charter Video
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