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Old 05-04-2020, 06:14 PM   #1
sharkythesailor
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Catalina 5/2/2020

Too Long; Don't want to read: Charged Catalina on a 13 foot boat and shot my first big fish. Conditions were great until about 3pm.

Report:
Weather and conditions looked too good to pass up this weekend so my buddy and I decided to hit Catalina and escape the red tide!

We drove an hour to the long beach ramp and got there by about 7am. I was bummed I couldn't use the closed San Pedro launch cause it's a couple miles closer but figured it would still be alright. Popped my 13 foot Nouruvania RIB with a 30HP Honda battlewagon into the water and got goin. I've made the crossing in the boat a bunch of times but never with a 3 foot swell goin. I have also never ran the boat to the island and back without refueling. These two worries were heavy on my mind the whole trip! I brought a GPS and two handheld radios with us to call Seatow (the best value service in the whole world) just in case anything went wrong.

Well the way there wasn't too bad at all. We cruised at 4K RPM which got us about 17 knots with two guys in the boat and full gear/cooler/water. The swell wasn't too bad as the wind was sitting pretty at 0mph. Saw a good number of baitfish schools churning up water coming out of long beach and also saw 2 large pods of dolphins both in the middle of the channel and closer to the island. Took us about an hour and a half to get there and we got to the first spot to see at least 4 boats on it. I made sure to steer clear of all the rodn'reel guys and anchored next to a boat that also had a diver on it.

Got into the water and visibility was like 30ft+. Amazing... my favorite kinds of days. Did a quick anchor check and found that we were secure. After that, I figured I would use the knowledge I've gotten off this forum and a countless number of videos and swam to the up-current edge of the spot. Found a school of blacksmith and halfmoons that looked a little nervous so I swam into the middle of the pack and breathed up for the dive. Went down to about 30 feet and looked around and hung out. Next thing I knew, a big school of large grade yellows flew into view; like out of nowhere.

Now I've been spearfishing a few years but never shot anything larger than a good sized sheepshead. Soo many sightings and chances but no yellows or WSB because of dozens of mishaps and mistakes! Gotta take it on the chin and chalk it up as experience though right? So I saw these guys and was just about shitting myself because it was my first time getting schooled by big ones. I decided to try and keep it cool and hang out. I looked away from em and did a little bit of swimming parallel at the same depth. The fish were interested and still hanging around but not in range. I tried strumming the bands on my gun like a guitar next and again, the fish were interested and staring at me, but they were just out of range like they knew how far my gun could shoot. I had a flasher on my belt that I had totally forgotten about but at this point, it had been like a minute since I dove and I was running out of air. The fish were still hanging out and I watched one get slightly closer than all the rest. Figured it was now or never and took the shot. Missed by a mile.

Well damn... It was only the first few minutes of fishing so I wasn't too bummed. At least I knew they were in the area! I remembered I had my flasher and started throwing it around the same spot. The current that day just happened to be one of the strongest I've experienced. I had to swim full steam just to inch forward. Most of the time it felt like I wasn't moving. Rough conditions for me and my noob buddy but we're both in shape so it was doable. After a long time looking all over the spot and readjusting as the current changed direction, I hadn't seen anything and decided it was time to call it and get back to the boat.

I didn't know if the fuel stations on Catalina were open or not but I was worried about how much we had left (busted fuel gauge and interior tank ) so I drove over to two harbors to check. Turns out they are indeed closed. Nobody was manning the dock or even on the pier at all. I had heard of the strict quarantine and didn't go farther than the ramp. While my buddy and I were sitting there planning our next move, 6 guys literally sprinted down the dock towards us, two of em with guns, and I thought we were in deep shit. Turns out there was an emergency somewhere else on the island and four of em hopped on to the sweet seaway lifeguard boat and dipped out of there. I started talkin to the two guys left over and they were sympathetic to our cause and let us fill up the few gallons we needed.

Apparently I only burned 3.5 gallons doing the whole crossing and fishing the first spot! Felt kinda bad for putting the dudes in a tough spot during quarantine but they were safe and read the numbers of my CC off the dock and didn't touch the pump handle till they had Lysoled it. Gotta do what you gotta do...

So we headed towards our next spot and got there around 1. Swell was picking up and we were dealing with some serious chop but got there all good and anchored in a clearing in the kelp forest. On the way out to the bluewater I saw a ton of nice Calico and Sheepshead but I decided against shooting any. Another thing I've learned from this site is that if you want big game fish you have to target them and focus! I was frothing at the mouth for yellows after seeing the school at the first spot. Got to the outer up current edge again and started throwing the flasher. I must have been out there about 15 minutes when I decided to wait for the flasher to sink real deep before I went to get it. As I was diving down, I got schooled by a bunch of nice grade yellows again.

Ok. This time I needed to rellaaaxxxxx. I went down slowly and grabbed my flasher and came back up for a gulp of air. Dove again as quick as I could and I watched a nice fish from the school make a B-line for me. He got comfortably within range and turned to present me with a nice broadside. A gift from god or something... I pulled my gun up and shot almost without aiming. I watched the shaft hit him right above the midline, half stoning him. I came up and screamed my head off! Pulling him in was easy peasy and when I got a hand in his gills I did a little more yelling. Buddy came over and I showed him the fish and tossed him the flasher for him to use.

Swam my guy back to the boat and brought him aboard. Holy shit what a beautiful sight. I just sat there and pet him for a minute. Once I got situated, I looked around and noticed that my boat was moving. Ahh maybe my weight caused the anchor to come off. Well I pulled the rope in and it turns out the anchor was gone. I had the rope tied to stainless U that tied closed with a screw. I wanted something that was easy to take apart so I could switch anchors depending on the bottom. The screw had come loose and left the anchor down there. Good thing I was on the boat!! Gotta grab another and figure out a better setup...

I drove over to my buddy who was still out there throwing the flasher and found out the school was still around. He did a couple of dives but signaled me to come get him. Turns out he got schooled too and got a shot off! He said it stuck and pulled for a second then somehow came off. I dont know if the flopper didn't deploy or if he hit some soft flesh or a fin or what. Hopefully the fish survives and heals. Not bad for his second time spearfishing ever though!!

With a nice fish in the boat, it was time to go home. We left the island somewhere around 3 which we all know is peak wind time. The channel was absolutely filled with whitecaps. The ride back was never dangerous but really rough on our lower backs. Still feelin it...

A really cool part about the ride back was what we got to see! As we were driving I thought I saw what looked like a stingray in the water. Drove a little closer and it turns out it was a sea turtle with a beautiful yellow/orange shell! The poor guy was kindof stuck on the surface and my buddy started talkin about them getting air stuck in em? We drove close and were able to grab him out of the water. He came up and made a little hissing sound for a second as we flipped him upright and then my buddy placed him back in the water. The turtle looked like he was 100% better as he immediately dove down. Got back to the marina feeling good and began the longgg filleting and cleaning process.

All in all, an amazing day. Many chances for things to foul but it all held together for a trip I'll remember forever. Thanks for reading! Heres me and fish:


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Old 05-04-2020, 07:15 PM   #2
PigStikr
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Re: Catalina 5/2/2020

Best trip report of the year! Totally stoked for you!
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Old 05-04-2020, 07:59 PM   #3
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Re: Catalina 5/2/2020

Great report! Congrats!
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Old 05-04-2020, 09:41 PM   #4
sharkythesailor
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Re: Catalina 5/2/2020

Thanks guys!

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Old 05-05-2020, 09:48 AM   #5
Marcus
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Re: Catalina 5/2/2020

Great trip report! Congrats on the fish. Some lessons learned there.
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Old 05-05-2020, 10:15 AM   #6
sidewazzz
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Re: Catalina 5/2/2020

Awesome
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Old 05-05-2020, 11:14 AM   #7
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Re: Catalina 5/2/2020

Great report, nice fish! I saw you guys out there, glad to hear you got into them
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Old 05-05-2020, 10:36 PM   #8
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Re: Catalina 5/2/2020

Congrats !! Really appreciate the effort you put into a good trip report.
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Old 05-05-2020, 11:10 PM   #9
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Re: Catalina 5/2/2020

Very nice bro!!
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Old 05-06-2020, 02:12 PM   #10
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Re: Catalina 5/2/2020

Congrats on your amazing experience, though I would never cross in such a small vessel.

I am one of those many or few people who have actually needed to be rescued returning from the island. I was on a 19' Seaswirl with a 150HP Johnson. The weather got very nasty and though I had power to spare, the top cylinder spark plug failed and we were left to fight the current with a crawling engine.
Trusting on the strength of my engine and the seaworthiness of my boat, I had made the crossing at least 30 times before with every confidence that I could conquer the typical Catalina channel conditions.
The event made me understand that the lives of those who are on my boat are my responsibility and that, if I am to make the crossing again, it would be on a boat that would pass the most stringent inspection.

My $.02
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Old 05-06-2020, 02:38 PM   #11
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Re: Catalina 5/2/2020

Thank you for sharing your amazing experience this past weekend. It is great to hear about the trials and tribulations that go in to landing your first nice game fish. I am sure you are enjoying some wonderful meals off that beautiful Yellow Tail. Cheers, Kadman
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Old 05-06-2020, 10:15 PM   #12
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Re: Catalina 5/2/2020

That's an awesome report! Makes me wish I was out there at Catalina right now.
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Old 05-07-2020, 09:39 PM   #13
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Re: Catalina 5/2/2020

I felt as if I was right there with Ya'll! Nicely written, very exciting. Thank you, Tommy
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Old 05-11-2020, 09:19 PM   #14
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Re: Catalina 5/2/2020

Awesome. Maybe another good yellowtail year at out there!
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Old 05-20-2020, 09:53 AM   #15
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Re: Catalina 5/2/2020

You never forget your first yellowtail kill. My buddy and mentor Don Gabourey had been showing me the ropes for a couple trips. Finally nailed a 27 pounder at Bill’s Hi Spot in 1996. Also, be sure to safety wire your anchor connection.
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