Its4Reels!-Parker23
Well-known member
Along for the ride were my wife Kay and good friends Mike and Susie. The plan was to scout offshore looking for any signs of life while making our way to Catalina for some dinner at the El Galleon in Avalon. We left Huntington Harbor around 8am and loaded up with mixed squid, sardines and anchovies as we did not know what we would run into. Thanks Nacho. We were also ready for the long weekend on the It’s 4 Reels! with favorite beverages in hand:
Forecasts were excellent for heading offshore and except for a little overcast it was flat calm with no wind as we made our way to the 14 mile bank. Water was 67 to as high as 71 for most of the ride out and the water was a deep blue color. Bad news was there was no sign of life except for occasional bait readings on the meter. From the 14 we made our way to the 277, 267 and the Slide and only saw 2 kelp paddies that were only holding bait fish. Before heading into Avalon we stopped around Frog Rock and it was wide open Calicos:
It was mostly catch and release fishing with an occasional fish kept for the frying pan. We were all getting pretty hungry so we kept our fingers crossed that we would get a mooring in Avalon and as luck would have it we did. Mike and Susie had not been to Avalon in years so we walked around a bit and landed up at the El Galleon restaurant for prime rib and mai tais:
By this time I was done and after 1 last mai tai we water taxied back to the boat and I was out until 1:00AM. That’s what ?? beers, 4 mai tais and 3 hours of sleep does to you. I guess the girls had their own little dance party on the boat and were making up dances with names like “Do the Cilantro, Dance the Seabass, Do the Palm Tree, etc.” Way too much fun! Headed out to the Vees around 4:30AM and picked up a generous ½ scoop of squid from Nick on the DeDe Marie. Nick informed us that there was a good pick on the yellows a ¼ mile west of the last Vee. He was right. The bite lasted from 5-7AM but there was no love for us on the yellows. There was a pick going on just outside of where we were sitting with an occasional fish coming through where we were sitting. Note to self-Move the damn boat if you are not getting bit consistently! I did get 2 really good hits but one bit off the jig (shark?) and the other hit the unattended dropper loop set up while I was getting bit on the flyline. By the time I picked up the rod the fish was gone. We did manage to put 3 legal halibut in the boat although we did release one as it was 22 inches on the money and I did not want to chance that it may shrink:
Mike and I each caught the ever present bat ray and we also each managed a black sea bass with both released unharmed:
We moved to the east end light for WFO calicos. We probably caught over 100 in an hour and half:
Most were shorts but we did manage a few better than legal size fish. Conditions were still beautiful outside so we decided to troll our way to the Avalon Bank before heading for home. On the way we stopped on 2 paddies for nada. We did see an estimated 150lb Mako free jump just short of the bank in 70.9 degree water. The Mako did a complete flip clearing at least 8 feet from the surface. Awesome to see. We tried baiting him with a dead mackerel but he never came around. Lots of life on the Avalon Bank as we saw dolphins and minke whales feeding. Back at HH by 5PM. Fun trip with real cool people…Do the Mako, Do the dorado, Do the Corona, Do the kelp paddy…
Forecasts were excellent for heading offshore and except for a little overcast it was flat calm with no wind as we made our way to the 14 mile bank. Water was 67 to as high as 71 for most of the ride out and the water was a deep blue color. Bad news was there was no sign of life except for occasional bait readings on the meter. From the 14 we made our way to the 277, 267 and the Slide and only saw 2 kelp paddies that were only holding bait fish. Before heading into Avalon we stopped around Frog Rock and it was wide open Calicos:
It was mostly catch and release fishing with an occasional fish kept for the frying pan. We were all getting pretty hungry so we kept our fingers crossed that we would get a mooring in Avalon and as luck would have it we did. Mike and Susie had not been to Avalon in years so we walked around a bit and landed up at the El Galleon restaurant for prime rib and mai tais:
By this time I was done and after 1 last mai tai we water taxied back to the boat and I was out until 1:00AM. That’s what ?? beers, 4 mai tais and 3 hours of sleep does to you. I guess the girls had their own little dance party on the boat and were making up dances with names like “Do the Cilantro, Dance the Seabass, Do the Palm Tree, etc.” Way too much fun! Headed out to the Vees around 4:30AM and picked up a generous ½ scoop of squid from Nick on the DeDe Marie. Nick informed us that there was a good pick on the yellows a ¼ mile west of the last Vee. He was right. The bite lasted from 5-7AM but there was no love for us on the yellows. There was a pick going on just outside of where we were sitting with an occasional fish coming through where we were sitting. Note to self-Move the damn boat if you are not getting bit consistently! I did get 2 really good hits but one bit off the jig (shark?) and the other hit the unattended dropper loop set up while I was getting bit on the flyline. By the time I picked up the rod the fish was gone. We did manage to put 3 legal halibut in the boat although we did release one as it was 22 inches on the money and I did not want to chance that it may shrink:
Mike and I each caught the ever present bat ray and we also each managed a black sea bass with both released unharmed:
We moved to the east end light for WFO calicos. We probably caught over 100 in an hour and half:
Most were shorts but we did manage a few better than legal size fish. Conditions were still beautiful outside so we decided to troll our way to the Avalon Bank before heading for home. On the way we stopped on 2 paddies for nada. We did see an estimated 150lb Mako free jump just short of the bank in 70.9 degree water. The Mako did a complete flip clearing at least 8 feet from the surface. Awesome to see. We tried baiting him with a dead mackerel but he never came around. Lots of life on the Avalon Bank as we saw dolphins and minke whales feeding. Back at HH by 5PM. Fun trip with real cool people…Do the Mako, Do the dorado, Do the Corona, Do the kelp paddy…
