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Cool! What boat?

The fishing yesterday off San Diego was about as good as it gets! Limits of yellowfin and bluefin for a few boats. Limits of one kind of tuna or another for most boats. Yellowtail and dorado sprinkled here and there on kelp. All techniques are working. This is what its all about. Can't wait to get back on the water. Got this little pronghorn hunt to do next weekend on out until Labor Day though so I am going to have to wait until September to get my fix again if I can swing it. I like to check the action on 976 Tuna and San Diego Fish Reports under Boat Fish Counts as well as Bloodydecks.com to see whats going on. The captains have been busy on the sat phones calling in their updates and wrap ups the last couple of days! I don't blame them, a great fish report is the best advertising you can get. A few boats seem to have the social media thing down too. Might not be a bad idea to book a trip now if you are planning to go. They might start completely booking up the better boats now that the bite has taken off.

Most of the salt stations Russ is running have one, maybe two 50# white blocks. When they hit it, they hit it pretty hard. I would think it could be tough to draw them to new areas but I really dont know. Russ wasn't around much for our hunt either but his nephew Cody was. He was a great kid. Without the benefit of one of Russ' radios and Cody picking me up and moving me to the herd I probably would not have killed a bison.

Smaller bluefin 20-50# and football yellowfin 5-15# have been caught a lot the last few days. If I was going out I would have a 20#, 30# and 40# outfit if possible. Some trips are specifically targeting the bigger bluefin, 50 - 300+. If that is the case you will need a rig that you can fish at least 50# on, 60# is even better. Flouro leader for the bluefin, not necessary on these schooly yellowfin. Straight mono is good for them. Hooks #2-2/0 size are appropriate for the sardines they are using. I personally prefer the ringed circle hooks, Owner Mutu for the big ones. You probably won't need to worry about lures or trolling rigs. Being able to get your bait a head start away from the boat is a good way to help get bit. It can be tough with a light weight sardine on 40# line but you don't need to cast it that far, just enough that it can swim away from the boat without getting tangled. Take your time at the bait tank. Pick the liveliest, hardest bait to catch in the handwell. Pick one without a red nose and missing scales. Bright green color. Seriously, this makes a huge difference. Take your time. Re-tie a new hook after every fish. I missed a couple because I was in a hurry and didn't do this on my last trip. Listen to the crew. Work together with the other anglers. Keep the wind in your face and follow your line. If your sardine doesn't swim away from the boat immediately reel it back in and start over with a fresh bait. Watch where the deckhands are throwing the chummed bait and cast your sardine in that area. Keep stepping whichever way the current is going. Once you make it to the end of the line so to speak, reel your bait back in and start over with a fresh bait. If you can't feel your bait, reel it in and start over with a fresh bait. Tuna Shuffle, keep stepping. Don't get stuck in the corner. Fish hard, don't give up. If you aren't getting bites, don't hesitate to ask the crew for help, that is what they are there for! Good Luck! Most of all have a blast! Feel free to PM me if you have questions you don't want to ask here. Also please share your report when your get back.

NICE!

Right on Adam, let it rip buddy! Be safe and have a great time!

Poor guy had a rough go lately! Kinda sad to hear after persevering through so much. I used to think he was kind of a spaz, but his enthusiasm and that never give up attitude was infectious. He will be sorely missed by many.

Its going to be like a circus on those closer banks this weekend. There is still a lot of cold water out there but things are looking a lot better than a few weeks ago. It can shut off in an instant but hopefully they have consumed most of that microbait and are now ready for the usual offerings. Go get them boys! I'll be ready again after archery pronghorn season if anybody wants to go, early Sept through early October I am ready. 1.5 or 2 day. Lots of season still left. A lot of this stuff still bites well through October if things progress as usual.

Delw you can pm me anytime.

Delw, a half day trip is probably right down your alley for the first time on the ocean for anybody. Its about 5 or 6 hours. They also do fullday which is about 12 hours on the water and overnight which is about 22 hours. One of the fullday boats caught some yellowfin tuna today so you never know what you might get into on one of those. Fullday boats generally fish the Coronado islands in Mex and you need a passport but they mix it up some also with some offshore trips when the fishing is good which generally doesn't require a passport. They used to offer 3/4 day but I dont see that much anymore. For half day Dolphin at Fishermans, Point Loma at Point Loma for bit smaller boat or New Seaforth if you are over at Mission Bay. Any of those half day boats cater to kids and beginners so your son will have a lot of fun even if its his first time! Watch out though, dude might get addicted!

Cool guy named Romy I met aboard the Tomahawk has a Youtube channel and made a video from our trip. Enjoy!

Nobody owes anyone an apology. I appreciate the comments though.

1.5 Day trip is about as short as I would do. They also offer overnight trips but those are a bit more risky unless the fishing is pretty good. 1.5 gives you an entire day on the water to fish and plenty of time to get to and from "the zone". 2 Day is even better, most boats price those trips to include food. It also gives you another morning to noon session which has saved my trip before but also can offer the chance to fish a couple of different spots. I have a disease that is similar to elk fever when it comes to this stuff, so don't hesitate to hit me up if you have questions about boats or the gear or whatever. My best advice is if you have time and you want to get after it, GO FOR IT! You can't catch them sitting on your couch.

Almost forgot, $10 a day to park or you can take your chances on the street. I scored a spot right next to the Fisherman's Landing building with no car on one side. Nobody touched my truck.

Considering a 1.5 used to cost about $350 like 10-15 years ago, the price is not awful but still not cheap. I remember when they use to tack on a fuel surcharge on each trip. Now that was some bullshit.

Yes, and no CA license required.

A bit north of that actually with their dumb processing fee. Plus galley fees, fish cleaning if you get some and want them to do it, plus tip. Not cheap. Pretty sure its cheaper than buying a boat and spending all that money on fuel though.

Dan and Davie's tape measure or Art and Saxton's if they were killed with bow are the only tape measures that matter. I'm with Adam, Fake News! A bunch of drama over antlers is ridiculous to me, ymmv.

I heard they rounded some up in the Park a number of years back, brought them to House Rock and in 3 hours they were right back on top.

I'm not very creative but I want to wish you the best on the endeavor! Get it man!

I try to not pass anything during the hunt, that I would shoot in the last minutes of the last day of the hunt. So far no regrets.

Ya it is contrary to the usual MO no doubt.

Ya sure, if Ronnie James is singing! Her, meh.

I was not trying to be argumentative or even reacting to your comments. My comments were 100% directed at the management of the herd and the hunt structure. Directed at Game and Fish and to a certain degree Russ. Sorry if you felt that it was directed to you.

Just my opinion but these are good changes. The attempt to pack more hunters in with less time overall for each hunt was a bad move IMO. I think they were trying to milk it a little too hard. If people have to wait their turn to go, so be it. Its not hard to get drawn for cow. I got a tag the first time I put cow on my app. The extended weather just made a not so good situation a lot worse.