American Angler just got back!!! *with couple pics*

Grady252 · 12-15-2007, 08:03 PM

Hey guys just got off the AA from a ten day trip..... the details and some photos are on their web site.... I do not have pics yet...... my friend has the awesome camera, so he takes the pics and gives me the CD......

Heres a quick run down of the ten days........

Day one Tuesday: get in line at 3:00 am to get a good tackle spot on the boat..... sixth in line at 3:00 am..... load the boat get bait and head out

Day two: travel...... eat.... set up rods...... talk fishing.....

Day 3: 6: am Friday Morning....... we are in the grounds... rods ready... the plan is searching for sign and sliding into the fish and drift fishing until they stop biting..... the group discussed cow hunting versus a good grade of 50-150 lb fish and getting some meat...... we decided that getting meat was a good idea if we found them...... we found them quick and stayed on them all day......

We fished the day in a good bite and landed a lot of fish that day a few big ones, but lots of mid grade fish many over 100 lbs......

Night came and dinner conversation was teh next days plan..... find the cows..... if we get mid grade fish release them and move to another pocket of fish.... they seem to be in groups of cows or mid grade not mixed together..... Captain Brian wanted to get out of the area by noon, so we could beat the bad weather (we fished the forecast)....

day 4: get up get geared and slide into a bite of cows within an hour of the morning...... by noon we were almost plugged. Luckily I was able to land a 205 pounder before we left the grounds.... I was the last fish landed.. as soon as it hit the deck it was time to get going and time to eat lunch...... Some were not happy with this decision, because they had not caught a cow yet and the boat was not plugged, but the captain is in charge......

Day 5, 6, 7, 8, 9: travel up stopping at the ridge, for yellow tail, trolling uncle sam for whahoo, head up to the islands for yellow tail, and head home...... the water temp was barely of 60 because of the NW winds at 20kts blowing cold water..... the seas looked like Oregon and many people were feeling a little rough.......

Day 10: get unloaded, unload fish, deal with processing..... get free t-shirt etc......

AWESOME TRIP!!!!!!

Great sponsor....... Tiburon Reels.... smart shift two speed reels that shift as they get more pressure!!! They gave away a nice rod, a nice $600.00 reel, and lots of other stuff as well...... I am the proud owner of a Tiburon reel (that I bought) I did not win..... but I am stoked about a 2 speed that will shift into low when needed and crank in high when not under a load!!! They are coming out with a 50W that will be prototype in the spring at the Fred Hall show..... the first will not be topless..... The reels are very easy to service, simple design, and easy maintenaince, I met the owner after the trip and he is a nice guy.

A note for a few people about fish processing: I went with Marios because they have a clean shop, and a good reputation!!! They will ship by Southwest Air Cargo, and I will get my fish early next week..... the cost is $.75 per pound hanging weight plus shipping......

There is a company called World Famous that many people have used and have been very questionable business practices........ The guy's nephew is helping run the business for the last five months..... he said his uncle has cancer and the guys who he had running the business had done a bunch of people wrong...... he claims he is rebuilding the reputation...... They are only $.25 per pound. If I had drove I would have used them, but I would not trust them if you need your fish shipped out.

My friend who lives down there tried them and I went with him. He had 600 lbs of fish to process, we followed the van with his fish over, the place is a dirty little hole in the wall down an alley. There were three mexican guys only one of which spoke English. Two were cutting and one was vacum packing...... we helped bag the meat to speed up the process.... it took a little over an hour to get 600lbs of fish cut and packed...... there were several tuna sitting around when we got there, and there and they were stilling just sitting there at room temp when we left...... they were probably for people who will get their fish shipped out later.......

If you drive and you go over ad watch your fish get cut and wrapped there is not much that can go wrong.... there are a lot of rumors that this company has a history of keeping the best cuts of the fish and sending people tail sections...... they say the owner of the company is at the farmers market every weekend selling fish that he skimmed from his customers????

I know nothing about this company, but what I have told you. I do not care to argue about their reputation one way or the other, I simply offer what I saw yesterday and what I heard to help my fellow long range fisherman..... if you drive you can save a bunch of $$$ and watch you fish get done.....

Peace!!!!!!!!!!!

CR dog · 12-15-2007, 08:58 PM

Great to hear you had a good time. 205lbs, must of been a good fight. How did the new rods hold up?

Grady252 · 12-15-2007, 09:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CR dog

Great to hear you had a good time. 205lbs, must of been a good fight. How did the new rods hold up?

Everything held up great, I will need to make myself a pool cue for future cow fishing...... I am thinking a Seeker 6463XXXH, with big foot giudes....

A friend wanted one of my other rods, so I came home with one less and now have to build a replacement for my Seeker 670H (30-80).

The new Tiburon I got is a 16 with 80lb hollow line and 60 lb black water flouro, I caught a 90 lb'er on it on a loomis 40-60 pelagic series, and that worked me as hard as the 205 on the big gear....took around 30-40 minutes to the boat.....

fishboys · 12-15-2007, 10:53 PM

John, Very nice report, glad you got into the fish brother. And If I own anything I could trade you for a few pounds of that let me know. Maybe a bed set or something. Such a small world. LOL

Grady252 · 12-15-2007, 11:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fishboys

John, Very nice report, glad you got into the fish brother. And If I own anything I could trade you for a few pounds of that let me know. Maybe a bed set or something. Such a small world. LOL

I think I got you covered...... I had 11 fish tagged, but one came up missing, so I ended the trip with 10 fish for a total wieght gutted and gilled of 780lbs..... my guess is I will yield around 300 lbs....

Kept in RSW Sushi grade beautiful fish!!!!

ringwraith · 12-16-2007, 05:15 AM

awesome! congratulations. I am trying to plan a 10 day for next year. I used 5 Satr on my last 2 trips, they were great, alkso $0.75/lb and shipped up here via Southwest. I am thinking 780lbs will yield more than 300lbs,...

Grady252 · 12-16-2007, 08:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ringwraith

awesome! congratulations. I am trying to plan a 10 day for next year. I used 5 Satr on my last 2 trips, they were great, alkso $0.75/lb and shipped up here via Southwest. I am thinking 780lbs will yield more than 300lbs,...

I hope you're right.... they kept saying yield was about 35%, but that seemed a little light to me.... I actually think they all skim meat from their customers...... The yield just seems to low... 5 star is also owned by Tim of the royal star..... there are rumors that are emphatically denied that the landing get $.25 per pound for the pace on the sidewalk, and the boat get $.25 per pound???? It is illegal to give kickbacks on sport caught fish, so if it does happen it is denied....

There were several people talking about the politics of the docs and the owner.... who knows.... but when you are flying in I would not trust World Famous just from my impression...... two years ago I had three friends that used them it took several phone calls and a month to get their fish, their fish was nasty, and it was very light in the weight???

Hoghunter · 12-16-2007, 05:12 PM

Hey John, I followed you trip on the AA website. I was hoping you managed to snag one of the big guys. Looks like the fishing was pretty good for the most part.

I know all about the north winds. Last year on my trip it blew 20 to 35 out of the north everyday but the last two when we were headed home. We had lots of sick folks.

How was your flight down and back? Did you take all your gear with you or ship some of it?

Do you know how far south you went? I've been monitoring the SST's and the water down by Lusitania is much warmer than farther north.

Grady252 · 12-16-2007, 06:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hoghunter

Hey John, I followed you trip on the AA website. I was hoping you managed to snag one of the big guys. Looks like the fishing was pretty good for the most part.

I know all about the north winds. Last year on my trip it blew 20 to 35 out of the north everyday but the last two when we were headed home. We had lots of sick folks.

How was your flight down and back? Did you take all your gear with you or ship some of it?

Do you know how far south you went? I've been monitoring the SST's and the water down by Lusitania is much warmer than farther north.

I am not sure the names of all the places but it was some banks that were South of Mag Bay. He said we were about 650 mile South of San Diego. The flight was fine, and I flew all of my gear. I had one carry on (clothes), my rod tube, my SKB tackle box, and my reel locker. I think I will drive next time. I think it would actually be easier. By the time I drive to the airport, get their early, take a cab, deal with teh gear and baggage, deal with the fish processing, it might just be easier to drive.....

My friends are all lame and want to fly. If I drive they will try to get me to bring all their gear and fish back, they want the benefits without the work..

Somehow their business is more important than mine.... they can't afford the extra time.... I am self employed as well, so when I take extra days I loose just like anyone else..... Oh well, I am going to check into a PV trip, or a Mag bay Trip, before I book for next year......

Grady252 · 12-16-2007, 07:15 PM

Got the call from Mario's..... fish will be here on Tuesday.... nice turn around time......

fishin fool · 12-16-2007, 07:51 PM

Sounds like a great trip! Can't wait to see the pictures soon and hear more details about it in person.

fishbait · 12-16-2007, 08:03 PM

Wow

Great trip

Janey and I are in PV for a while this winter,

Thinking about a 6 -10 day trip in 2009.

Perhaps we can do a SD trip.

HOGGEMIN · 12-16-2007, 08:12 PM

Welcome to the 200lb club and hopfully many more to come.......................

:cheers :

Grady252 · 12-19-2007, 01:20 PM

A couple of pics, I just recieved by e-mai, don't have CD yet......

I picked up my fish last night 300 lbs of primo filets.....

CR dog · 12-19-2007, 09:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Grady252

A couple of pics, I just recieved by e-mai, don't have CD yet......

I picked up my fish last night 300 lbs of primo filets.....

That is so awesome! I call that the warm up before the real fish show up. It's hard to explain to people that have never done it.

Grady252 · 12-20-2007, 06:00 AM

Couple more... Sorry I don't know how to imbed the pic, so it is thumbnail... This is my 205 pounder and my fish pile.....

fishboys · 12-20-2007, 07:10 AM

I love that fist pic, that guy is rubbing his shoulder likes its sore or something

bikenut64 · 12-20-2007, 09:52 AM

Wow now that had to be a trip!! I wouldnt know whether to crap my pants or go blind if I caught a 200lber. How is the pup doing your father in law has?? The little blue girl we kept is turned out to be a herding dog fool. I bought 2 pygmy goats and she loves herding them around. Congrats on the fish.

Threemuch · 12-20-2007, 12:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Grady252

A couple of pics, I just recieved by e-mai, don't have CD yet......

I picked up my fish last night 300 lbs of primo filets.....

I like the one with the guy rubbing his shoulder...

Grady252 · 12-20-2007, 01:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Threemuch

I like the one with the guy rubbing his shoulder...

The guy rubbing his shoulder is from Portland and he has bursitis in his shoulder and had a Cortizone shot s couple months before the trip... It obviously wore off....... he caught a 188 pounder and had to walk around with ice for the next several days..... That one is classic....

BN: The pup is doing great comes over on a regular basis to visit us. Goes to work with Phil everyday.... she's a great dog. She will be here X-mas day to play in the paper....

Booja 1 · 12-20-2007, 01:57 PM

Real nice mess there John,,,,,congrats on the good one too,,,,,btw,,what are them misc yellows doing on your pile? :tongue:

Grady252 · 12-20-2007, 02:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Booja 1

Real nice mess there John,,,,,congrats on the good one too,,,,,btw,,what are them misc yellows doing on your pile? :tongue:

Well with only a couple of days on the tuna banks I had to have something to keep me busy working up the line.... We "gang fished".... we all fished and then split the yellows abck at the docks.... We also spent one day fishing reds.... had time to kill..... some guys would have preferred to get home a couple of days early, but we just cruised home at 7 knts and fished random spots.....