I'm going out on a boat next month for 2 days off the coast of San Diego/Mexico with some friends. I have a cheap spool rod/reel setup for ocean fishing but this probably isn't ideal for the type of fish we will be catching (Albacore, Bluefin, Yellowfin, Dorado, and Yellowtail).
They rent equipment but I wouldn't be opposed to buying my own in the $200-300 range for rod/reel combo. My friend and his brother are experienced at this and have some gear and have told me that a two speed reel from Daiwa, Shimano, AVET or Penn would be fine.
I know virtually nothing about this. I've been out on half day boats and caught sea bass but this is completely different. The trip is already booked so I'm going for sure.
Anyway, recommend me some gear AT fishermen! :biggrin:
Trip Report:
Well, I got back from our trip yesterday (I say our because I went with a few friends). We left Friday night out of H&M Landing on the Legend, 30 anglers and I think 6 crew. We motored out to the bait dock and filled up with bait and then spent the rest of the night motoring out to the fishing grounds off the coast of northern Mexico. About 40-50 nautical miles from San Diego. We fished Saturday from dawn till dusk and again Sunday from dawn until around 1PM when we stowed the rods and headed back to San Diego. We arrived around 6PM.
The boat caught 199 yellowfin tuna, 55 yellowtail and 3 dorado between 30 anglers. I caught 2 yellowfin, one of the guys with us caught 10 yellowfin and 2 yellowtail, everyone else in our group was around 2 fish per person. Fish were around 15-20lb each. We split up the fish at the end of the day yesterday so I have 4 1 gallon bags full of yellowfin tuna. I probably have a good 15 lbs of tuna. I gave some to my boss (because I'm a kiss ass and he is an avid fisherman and LOVES fresh fish) I'm going to cook some up tomorrow night and the rest is going in the freezer in vacuum sealed bags.
This is me holding one of the fish I caught.
Couple things, you definitely want two rods and reels. Set one up for bait fishing and one up for jigs. Makes it easier to transition from one to the other. The boat had 4 trolling rods out while we were moving and those caught fish nearly every time the boat was on the move sometimes 2 or 3 at a time. Also, I went too heavy on the line. 25-30lb test would have been all that was needed.
Flourocarbon leaders work great! If you aren't using it, you will not catch as many fish as guys who are. Fish can see regular line but they can't see flourocarbon. Some guys were using Spectra (braided line) but it isn't necessary. The crew kept people moving around the boat following their line and going over/under other anglers to keep tangles to a minimum.
We had nothing but anchovies for bait and I was hooking them wrong at first and killing them. You need to hook anchovies through the bone that runs down along the back of the gills.
You pay for beer, soda, water and for the crew to clean your fish for you. $3/beer, $2/soda and water, and $5/fish to clean and bag them. Most guys were doubling the tab for a tip so if your bill was $80 give them $160. Tips are split equally among the crew, they work hard and they deserve it.
This is where we slept at night. There were 18 bunks per side and the middle bunks were open to the other side. I was lucky and got a top bunk all the way forward so there was a bulkhead blocking part about 1/4 of the forward part of the bunk (reassuring so that I wouldn't roll out of it and drop 5' to the floor below in the middle of the night). A lot of snoring and farting goes on here at night.
This is not a sport for women or the faint of heart. I will say this though, nobody blinked twice at anyone ordering a beer at 9 in the morning. :biggrin:
The chef was great, he cooked up hearty, fattening food for us and we lined up at mealtime and ate it up like we were starving and we loved it. We had breakfast burritos the first morning, I watched him make them three at a time. He took 3-4 hash brown patties and tossed them on the grill and broke them up, then he tossed on a pile of bacon that had to be at least 15 pieces, about 10 links of sausage and on top of that he broke about 10 eggs. He cooked that pile of food for about 5 minutes, chopping and mixing and then threw 3 giant tortillas on the grill to warm and scooped some of the egg/bacon/sausage/hashbrown mix on top, a scoop of salsa and a handful of cheese and wrapped it up. It was amazing!
Bobbing around on a 75' boat in the Pacific ocean for 2 days with no sight of land can definitely get to you though. There were times when I just wanted to go home to my own bed but you are stuck there. No internet, no phones, no connectivity to anyone but the people you are on the boat with. Everyone is equal and everyone is there for one thing, to catch fish. It was enlightening actually. Most of the guys who do this have done it before and they are hardcore and know what they're doing. Still, everyone is pretty friendly and willing to help other guys out as long as you aren't a dick or constantly making the same mistakes, we didn't have anyone like this on our trip. We had a guy from Western Outdoor News on our boat and he is doing a story on the trip. He gave out some free stuff (the hat I'm wearing in the pic above was one of the freebies) and was going straight from this trip to another boat with an hour between... he must not be married.
Speaking of land, on the 4 hour ride back to San Diego this was my first sighting of land in nearly 2 days.
We had perfect weather too. Mid 70s during the day, high 60s at night, swells 2-3' with winds 10 knots at most. You couldn't ask for better weather. Still, the boat is moving all the time so if you're prone to sea sickness (I am not) you'll probably want to take something for it before you set foot on a boat like this. I got very little sleep the night we left but the second night I slept like a baby.
All you see during the day is the boat, your mates and water and sky in all directions as far as the eye can see. At night you only see the moon and stars and the black water. There were a handful of fishing boats dotting the horizon at night but they were miles off and tiny.
I am sore, I still feel like I'm on a boat at times (like the house is moving) but I've almost got my land legs back but I would definitely do this again. It was a great time.
They rent equipment but I wouldn't be opposed to buying my own in the $200-300 range for rod/reel combo. My friend and his brother are experienced at this and have some gear and have told me that a two speed reel from Daiwa, Shimano, AVET or Penn would be fine.
I know virtually nothing about this. I've been out on half day boats and caught sea bass but this is completely different. The trip is already booked so I'm going for sure.
Anyway, recommend me some gear AT fishermen! :biggrin:
Trip Report:
Well, I got back from our trip yesterday (I say our because I went with a few friends). We left Friday night out of H&M Landing on the Legend, 30 anglers and I think 6 crew. We motored out to the bait dock and filled up with bait and then spent the rest of the night motoring out to the fishing grounds off the coast of northern Mexico. About 40-50 nautical miles from San Diego. We fished Saturday from dawn till dusk and again Sunday from dawn until around 1PM when we stowed the rods and headed back to San Diego. We arrived around 6PM.
The boat caught 199 yellowfin tuna, 55 yellowtail and 3 dorado between 30 anglers. I caught 2 yellowfin, one of the guys with us caught 10 yellowfin and 2 yellowtail, everyone else in our group was around 2 fish per person. Fish were around 15-20lb each. We split up the fish at the end of the day yesterday so I have 4 1 gallon bags full of yellowfin tuna. I probably have a good 15 lbs of tuna. I gave some to my boss (because I'm a kiss ass and he is an avid fisherman and LOVES fresh fish) I'm going to cook some up tomorrow night and the rest is going in the freezer in vacuum sealed bags.
This is me holding one of the fish I caught.
Couple things, you definitely want two rods and reels. Set one up for bait fishing and one up for jigs. Makes it easier to transition from one to the other. The boat had 4 trolling rods out while we were moving and those caught fish nearly every time the boat was on the move sometimes 2 or 3 at a time. Also, I went too heavy on the line. 25-30lb test would have been all that was needed.
Flourocarbon leaders work great! If you aren't using it, you will not catch as many fish as guys who are. Fish can see regular line but they can't see flourocarbon. Some guys were using Spectra (braided line) but it isn't necessary. The crew kept people moving around the boat following their line and going over/under other anglers to keep tangles to a minimum.
We had nothing but anchovies for bait and I was hooking them wrong at first and killing them. You need to hook anchovies through the bone that runs down along the back of the gills.
You pay for beer, soda, water and for the crew to clean your fish for you. $3/beer, $2/soda and water, and $5/fish to clean and bag them. Most guys were doubling the tab for a tip so if your bill was $80 give them $160. Tips are split equally among the crew, they work hard and they deserve it.
This is where we slept at night. There were 18 bunks per side and the middle bunks were open to the other side. I was lucky and got a top bunk all the way forward so there was a bulkhead blocking part about 1/4 of the forward part of the bunk (reassuring so that I wouldn't roll out of it and drop 5' to the floor below in the middle of the night). A lot of snoring and farting goes on here at night.
This is not a sport for women or the faint of heart. I will say this though, nobody blinked twice at anyone ordering a beer at 9 in the morning. :biggrin:
The chef was great, he cooked up hearty, fattening food for us and we lined up at mealtime and ate it up like we were starving and we loved it. We had breakfast burritos the first morning, I watched him make them three at a time. He took 3-4 hash brown patties and tossed them on the grill and broke them up, then he tossed on a pile of bacon that had to be at least 15 pieces, about 10 links of sausage and on top of that he broke about 10 eggs. He cooked that pile of food for about 5 minutes, chopping and mixing and then threw 3 giant tortillas on the grill to warm and scooped some of the egg/bacon/sausage/hashbrown mix on top, a scoop of salsa and a handful of cheese and wrapped it up. It was amazing!
Bobbing around on a 75' boat in the Pacific ocean for 2 days with no sight of land can definitely get to you though. There were times when I just wanted to go home to my own bed but you are stuck there. No internet, no phones, no connectivity to anyone but the people you are on the boat with. Everyone is equal and everyone is there for one thing, to catch fish. It was enlightening actually. Most of the guys who do this have done it before and they are hardcore and know what they're doing. Still, everyone is pretty friendly and willing to help other guys out as long as you aren't a dick or constantly making the same mistakes, we didn't have anyone like this on our trip. We had a guy from Western Outdoor News on our boat and he is doing a story on the trip. He gave out some free stuff (the hat I'm wearing in the pic above was one of the freebies) and was going straight from this trip to another boat with an hour between... he must not be married.
Speaking of land, on the 4 hour ride back to San Diego this was my first sighting of land in nearly 2 days.
We had perfect weather too. Mid 70s during the day, high 60s at night, swells 2-3' with winds 10 knots at most. You couldn't ask for better weather. Still, the boat is moving all the time so if you're prone to sea sickness (I am not) you'll probably want to take something for it before you set foot on a boat like this. I got very little sleep the night we left but the second night I slept like a baby.
All you see during the day is the boat, your mates and water and sky in all directions as far as the eye can see. At night you only see the moon and stars and the black water. There were a handful of fishing boats dotting the horizon at night but they were miles off and tiny.
I am sore, I still feel like I'm on a boat at times (like the house is moving) but I've almost got my land legs back but I would definitely do this again. It was a great time.
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