RRIII
11/5-13 Eight Day Charter
For the folks on the charter, we'll be
sending out a CD with about an hour's worth of video as well as some
still pictures. For the rest of our visitors to the website you can
watch or download a 20 minute clip. We have two versions available,
just click on the link based upon your internet speed...and cross your
fingers:
DSL or high speed Internet connection
Dial-up Internet connection
We departed Friday morning with 27 excited
anglers aboard anticipating another great experience. Our departure
from San Diego was delayed a couple hours while a submarine was
returning to port. We loaded up on some terrific sardines, held at the
receiver well cured for such trips. But, the weather in SD was looking
bleak. Clouds were rolling in, rain approaching. Andy Cates, our
skipper as anticipated, gave us the run down on the fishing to be
expected. It was not a positive report. The water was rough, close to
punishable. Alijos Rocks was a wash. The water turned and the fishing
went south. With a little time running south we'd make a call.
Saturday we reached Benetos, the conditions
were not good. The plethora of yellowtail that had been filling sacks
were not to be found. We only picked up a few sandbass, some calicos
(nice size fish), a few shallow rockfish. The wind was blowing, the
weather requiring a jacket. Andy called me into the wheel house for
some planning. The reports down south weren't good. We had a choice to
make: hit Guadalupe for a shot at some better tuna or head down the
line to fish the ridge. Alijos was off the plan since it was a dead
zone. Tough call. I surveyed the fishermen and Andy called us to the
galley to go over the options. This had it's funnier moments, like one
passenger who asked, "Why don't we vote?" In typical skipper fashion,
Andy reminded us that, "This is not a democracy." Certainly, being a
skipper on the ocean has never been the place for taking a vote. But,
he expressed concern over just how I'd promoted our trip. I assured
him that while Alijos tuna were a hope, wahoo also were something we'd
all wished to encounter. But, it's fishing and things change, there
are no guarantees. Our four day charter in September had already
visited Guadalupe, and some great tuna were found. But, many of us had
been there and done that. With the support of the fishermen, Andy
decided to give the run down to the ridge area a try. We'd cross our
fingers and hope for the best. The ocean was not cooperating. It was
blowing, cool, lots of big swells and tough fishing. Saturday, as
mentioned was a complete wipe-out. Sunday we made it to Cedros, there
we found some better fishing for yellowtail, but nothing to really
write home about. We bagged 30 for the day. That's it, 30 yellowtail.
Things were looking bleak. At dinner time Andy gave us a run-down of
how the other boats were doing, scratch fishing for tuna, smaller fish
along the ridge. But, if the conditions finally cooperated we'd have a
shot at something.
Monday we made it to the 13 Fathom spot. We'd
doing Ridge running on the Rooster! Here we found some tough
conditions, but more cooperative fishing. No tuna of any size, lots of
20# stuff. But, fishing the iron or bait for yellowtail was very
strong. I fished more iron this trip than I had the past 5 years put
together. I'd almost forgotten just how fun fishing the iron could be.
You'd drop down trying to feel for a bite along the way, then if no
takers give a few pumps near the bottom and work your way back up.
Sure enough, there were many bites. we picked up 73 yellowtail, 106
tuna and five dorado today! Conditions still tough, rocking and
rolling, but we were all catching some fish!
Tuesday we continued working south, fishing
the Thetus high spot. Here we found 69 yellowtail, 38 yellowfin, one
dorado and a grouper! I caught my best yellowtail on iron to date
here, a 40# plus grump of a yellowtail. The bank was about 130 feet in
depth, perhaps a bit less. While the yellowfin were small, they were
cooperative. The yellowtail were not small. They were a good grade of
fish, and quite catchable. Wednesday, Ande decided to try to find some
bigger fish and made the run down to the Potato Bank! He made a real
commitment to help us find the best fish we could reach. We traveled
over 700 miles, darn close to Cabo to reach an area that might present
us with some trophy fishing. The water temp had increased to 75
degrees, the winds lightened, the swells flattened. We'd have some
favorable conditions this day! That's what transpired for several of
the guys. We had some great sights, marlin jumping off the stern, a
couple hooked and released, and some big fat tuna. No 200 pounders,
but we did find 32 tuna with some reaching over 80#! We also had a
couple dorado slip into the mix. Keith, Ted and some other fishermen
had their wishes met in spades with a big fat tuna. Now our trip will
look good once we reach the dock! Some great excitement with guys
cheering others on while the fish were being fought.
Again, Andy and the crew were terrific. You
could say the crew really did make the catching possible. Dennis,
Fernando and Julio sure did help coach some fish into the boat that
would most certainly have been lost without their guidance. It always
amazes me just how professional, courteous and supportive these guys
are. The galley is another area worth mentioning. Jorge has been on
this boat for about 35 years now, and each year he seems to come up
with better stuff. You never know what he's going to prepare, and it's
always GREAT!
Thursday we fished offshore. It was a slow
day on the troll. At about 2PM Scott, Jim, Paul and myself were on the
trolling rotation. It was brutally slow. One pod of porpoise was found
earlier in the day, with nothing coming up from among them. On our
rotation we didn't catch squat, well Paul sure did catch some "fish."
He brought in three of the smallest skippies I've ever seen. I was
quite glad I had a bigger sized lure out there, a large Zuker Z1 grass
skirt in purple and black. Paul was dragging a Mexican flag feather,
small six inch length. As the sun was beginning to drop and
expectations dropped a few of the guys were figuring we'd just about
run out of time. Andy was still working it, he's one persistent
skipper. His mood had also soured, he's so darn committed to finding
fish you can see his mood swing through frustration over the hard
fishing. But, he was still at it. Many of the guys were taking down
gear, or had already reduced their rod/reels to just two or three
rigs. Andy again spots some porpoise working, a few leapers in the
bunch, active... Well, just as you might have expected (though we
didn't) my line went off, then two other trolling rigs got hooked up!
As we brought in our fish the boat slowed. Fernando began tossing a
bunch of bait, like a couple scoops trying to bring the school to the
boat. It worked! We were into some good grade fish, not huge, but nice
15-40# yellowfin. They were suicidal, cooperative, plentiful and
chewing anything dropped in the water. Some of the guys had MegaBaits
on their line, Mike and Alan both worked 'em to perfection and avoided
standing around the bait tank. The rest of us would pin on a sardine
and get an almost instantaneous hook-up. It was pandemonium, the decks
were red with blood and the sound of tails flapping on the deck was
everywhere. We were into a huge bite that lasted for an hour's time.
This was the bite we'd all hoped for. Had it come earlier the rest of
the trip might not have seemed so nice, but with the tuna arriving at
the end of the trip on our last day, our last hour of fishing time,
well it was the perfect cap to a wonderful time on the water. Finally
we'd had enough, the tuna had moved on with the porpoise and we were
done. Andy got on the horn and told us that we'd have a lot of ground
to make up. We'd traveled far more miles than one would expect on an
eight day trip, that's his commitment to putting us the fish. Now we
faced the challenge of making it back up the line, through rough
water. Many of the fishermen didn't sleep too well with all the
bouncing. Were it not for tired arms from the tuna certainly more guys
would have been up in the galley watching the flat screen TV. Friday
was an E ticket ride, with some big swells without much period between
'em. Lot's of the waves crashed over the wheel house making the view
from the galley look like we were in a rainstorm. It wasn't raining,
but you couldn't tell that from Jorge (the world's best galley cook
and a 30+ year veteran of the RR operation) when he came in from the
deck drenched in water. He got hammered by a wave as it broke over the
boat. Mentioning Jorge also reminds me of the food we were served.
I've ridden this boat for several years with our charters. Jorge
amazes me, he's always expanding his offerings in surprising fashion.
This trip provided some of the best eating I've ever had on a boat or
in a restaurant. We ate steaks, lamb, flank steak, chicken, prime rib, roast
beef...all seasoned to perfection. The vegetables were excellent, the
deserts fantastic.
My last words about this trip have to center
on crew. The Red Rooster's deckhands are tops in the field. Julio,
Fernando, Dennis and Spike all worked their tails off. They were
always there when needed. They coached us through the fishing and the
fight. They were available to help you get rigged appropriately. They
had a great attitude, always positive, friendly, with a dandy sense of
humor as well. The deckhands are a reflection of the skipper's
personality I think. The way they work the boat as a dedicated team
really adds to the success of any trip and is testament to Andy Cates
talent as a skipper.
For the folks on the charter, we'll be
sending out a CD with about an hour's worth of video as well as some
still pictures. For the rest of our visitors to the website you can
watch or download a 20 minute clip We have two versions available,
just click on the link based upon your internet speed:
DSL or high speed Internet connection
Dial-up Internet connection
For the Jackpot: Hank
Brown 101#, Ted Tarnowsik 85# and Greg Henry 84#
