Just got back from the same three day trip I did last year out of Oceanside, CA on the O95. Last year it was a great mixed bag: albies, yellows, and dorado. This year it was all about tuna, mainly biting albies and incredible amounts of bluefin that just wouldn't bite.
Headed out Thursday afternoon. A long run on calm seas. Plenty of time to kick back, relax and rig rods.
Friday was an all day fishing marathon. We had gear on board for the group from Lamiglas, Maxima, Rapala and Williamson. The new X-Rap 20's stopped the boat on the troll 5 of 7 stops on Friday. Blue Mac was the color and it seemed like the fish just wouldn't come all the way to the surface to eat a feather. The big deal of the day was crashing schools of Bluefin....everywhere....an incredible sight. We'd pull the boat right to them, dump 28 sardines on them and get maybe one. They were keyed on acres of tiny 2-inch bait, and really selective to it.
We found the albacore schools though and they were much more willing. Check out the new Lamiglas Texalium Rod, super trick on the live bait. Not sure if you can see but the blue material is wound right into the blank as well as the handle.
A nice grade of fish...and weather.
Quality was the name of the game, we did about 100 fish on Friday.
Saturday was a pick bite in the morning, followed by nothing from about 9 am to 3 or 4 pm. Captain kept saying we were over "tonnage" of fish and we had to sit them out until they wanted to bite....finally, they did, in what would be complete mayhem. Everything that hit the water got bit over a couple incredible stops. Tough to get a photo that captures how fast and furious the bite was.
We had to quit because we ran out of bait with 2 hours of daylight left! The bait situation was tough. Here's the product of one stop when it was happening.
We got a quick reload of bait Sunday morning, just a few scoops that didn't last long in a continuation of the bite from the evening before. More of this happening.
I love the sportboats. The mayhem, the tangles, the good people. The total fish doesn't do justice to the experience overall. There's so many fish lost, missed, etc, it's incredible. Some people kick back, others work hard.
If you can pick good baits and quickly dump the ones that don't swim with a vengance, you can be on fish until your body cramps. At one point I went to straighten my rod arm after landing one fish too many and it rebelled fiercely!
Tim Linskey is a new captain on the Oceanside 95 this year. He's a great guy who keeps all the passengers informed of every move he's making...and the guy just loves piling 'em over the rail.
268 Tuna! (long w/ Pics)
Replica of a Hagg Monster 8.1 pounds!
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