06-11-2002, 07:29 PM
Day 2 - Saturday - June 1, 2002 - San Martin<br>Cold water provided scratchy fishing for most. A few fish approaching in the 6 pound range were caught from both the skiffs and Q-105.<br><br>My first skiff run produced only two calicos in the kelp for Jerry. The next one we realized that the fish were holding deeper because of the cooler water and we began to scratch a few more. In the afternoon I had an okay run of decent sandies by drifting over the same spot multiple times.<br><br>****************************************<br><br>Day 3 - Sunday - June 2, 2002 - San Benitos<br><br>Water still on the colder side but better. My morning skiff run produced a good pick of calicos (mostly fishing near or in the kelp) including my confirmed personal best of 6.75 pounds (23.5 inches). The Q-105 also got into the morning bass action along with some yellowtail. I got my first yellowtail (a 16 pounder) of the trip on the Q-105 after my morning skiff run.<br><br><IMG SRC="http://swimbait.com/gallery/photos/skiff-2002_09.jpg"><br><br>Just as we were loading for our afternoon skiff run (right after lunch) we saw a large flock of birds working and fish boiling in the distance. As soon as we got in the skiff we buzzed over, cast, and all three of us were hooked up instantly. It was pretty chaotic having three guys hooked up to 25 to 30 pound yellowtail on a small skiff using bass gear. We continued to follow the school around and when it broke up we began to slow troll for one more fish. Our skiff ended up with 7. I ended up with 4 fish for 5 hookups (lost one to the rocks). All of them were caught on my new Loomis MU946, a Calcutta 400 with 25 lb. Izorline Platinum. The yellowtail came on Big Hammers, Krocodiles, and surface iron.<br><br>****************************************<br><br>Day 4 - Monday - June 3, 2002 - Cedros<br><br>In the morning I fished from the Q-105. We nosed in near shore and drifted. Casting to structure near shore resulted in a great pick of nice calicos. Tony and John each got two 40 pound class yellowtail from the Q-105 on bass gear using Big Hammers.<br><br><IMG SRC="http://swimbait.com/gallery/photos/skiff-2002_03.jpg"><br><br>I was on the later morning skiff run which resulted in 50+ calicos fishing some beautiful nearshore structure. Toward the end of our run we came across a very "halibut" looking area where some Mexicans were hand lining. Our skiff driver talked to them and found that they were halibut fishing and had caught a few. He asked if we wanted to go back to the big boat and get some live bait. I told him we didn't need to. Actually what I think I said was, "We don't need no stinking bait!" Fishing Big Hammers for inshore halibut is something I do nearly once a week. I described the retrieve to everyone and in the next 20 minutes I caught an 8 pounder, an 18 pounder, another legal was lost at the boat and the deck hand missed about a 20 pound fish that struck right at the boat while he was on the radio. My colors for the halibut were Silver Sardine and Calico Hunter.<br><br><IMG SRC="http://swimbait.com/gallery/photos/skiff-2002_05.jpg"><br><br>The afternoon skiff run resulted in yet another amazing pick of calicos and a 53 pound yellowtail for Larry Heron. He got the fish on a 5 inch Clear Red Big Hammer while fishing bass with 20 lb. P-line.<br><br><IMG SRC="http://swimbait.com/gallery/photos/skiff-2002_01.jpg"><br><br>****************************************<br><br>Day 5 - Tuesday - June 4, 2002 - Cedros<br><br>Fished a different area of Cedros for an even better grade of bass for both the skiffs and the Q-105. More of the fish came from fishing near or in the kelp but they were averaging 3 or 4 pounds (legitimately on a scale - no big eyeing!) with lots of fish in the 5 to 6 pound range.<br><br>****************************************<br><br>Day 6 - Wednesday - June 5, 2002 - Chester's Rocks<br><br>With 65° to 66° water we had unbelievable fishing at Chester's. Bass fishing in the kelp then running out to the edges when the yellowtail would go off. Some skiffs were bringing in up to 10 yellowtail per run.<br><br>On the morning skiff run we were fishing for bass and picking them one after the other when Paul hooked and lost a yellowtail in the kelp (still bass fishing). Another skiff had a few yellowtail on board so we started slow trolling the area. I was using a 6 inch Clear Red Big Hammer when I hooked up with my first one for the day and personal best so far - a 38 pounder. After that the yellows seemed to slow down so we went back to bass fishing until we saw birds crashing just outside. We ran over and I hooked up instantly with my now personal best - a 44 pounder. The other guys on the skiff hooked up as well but were broken off due to the nearby structure. I was very lucky to land the 44 pounder so close to the structure.<br><br><IMG SRC="http://swimbait.com/gallery/photos/skiff-2002_02.jpg"><br><br><IMG SRC="http://swimbait.com/gallery/photos/skiff-2002_12.jpg"><br><br>After lunch I was fishing from the Q-105 where they got a wide open bass and yellowtail bite going. Lots of guys were hooking up left and right with both species on the Hammers and jigs. I nailed about a 25 pound yellow along with several nice bass on the iron. My fish actually hit the iron while I was skimming it across the surface to make a new cast. The fish jumped out of the water and landing on my jig. For the rest of the afternoon the Q-105 had a rediculously stupid wide open bite on bass. Guys were having repeated runs of 20 bass for 20 casts.<br><br>****************************************<br><br>Day 7 - Thursday - June 6, 2002 - Chester's Rocks<br><br>On the morning skiff run we had a great pick of bass - again. Then on our way back to the Q-105 we joined the rest of the skiffs and the Q-105 on the tail end of a wide open yellowtail bite. I threw out a krocodile and hooked up immediately with a 35 pounder - again on my 25 lb. bass gear.<br><br><IMG SRC="http://swimbait.com/gallery/photos/skiff-2002_04.jpg"><br><br>I took another morning skiff run where we just targeted yellowtail. Tom got one trolling a Rapala and I hooked and lost one next to the Q-105 also trolling a Rapala (lip cut the line).<br><br>For our afternoon skiff run Paul and I started bass fishing until we saw a nice flock of birds working. We buzzed over and hooked up immediately. My fish headed straight for the kelp and I lost it. Paul got his. We followed the birds around the entire run and got 6 fish for 9 hookups - Paul 4, me 2. I released both of my fish as I already had too many. Watching those 30 pound class yellowtail swim away was awesome - I wish I had started releasing them earlier. One of my fish almost spooled me within seconds of the strike. With only a few wraps of line left we chased it with the skiff. I sat for about 10 minutes with the fish directly under the boat - not being able to budge at all. After that the fish woke back up and sped toward the kelp. I never saw it. All the fish were hooked/caught on Krocodiles except for Paul's first fish which was on a 5 inch Mackerel Big Hammer.<br><br>****************************************<br><br>Day 8 - Friday - June 7, 2002 - San Carlos<br><br>On our way back home we stopped to fish San Carlos for the morning. It was slow compared to the rest of the trip but still okay fishing. Lots of bass and assorted rockfish. One skiff got a nice sheepshead. At the end of our run we hit a nice bite of large sand bass.<br><br>****************************************<br><br>Overall the fish seemed to hit nearly every color you threw at them. Especially while fishing in the kelp. When fishing nearshore structure such as boilers colors seemed to matter a little more and reds such as Clear Red, Reef Kritter, and Red Calico Hunter seemed to be the best. Overall I think Clear Red was the top color for both bass and yellowtail. There were lots of red crabs around at most of the spots so maybe that had something to do with it. I also have to say the Bluefever Shortpump gloves are excellent for lipping bass - no need whatsoever for that flex tape stuff.<br><br>The amount of bass and size of the fish was un-imaginable. On the way home Larry and I were trying to figure a total and came to the conclusion that at least 7,000 bass and quite possibly close to 10,000 bass were caught during the trip. Equally impressive was that NONE of the beautiful calicos and only two of the sand bass caught were kept. A good percent of the fish were caught by dropping the swimbaits down through the kelp and probably 90% of the fish bit on the drop. Detecting the subtle strikes, being able to quickly stick 'em, and instantly dropping the bait back down after a miss produced higher numbers of fish.<br><br>Catching big yellowtail on the bass gear on the skiffs was a great addition to the bass fishing. I ended up with 11 yellowtail for 15 hookups - all but one caught on the 25 lb. bass gear. My Calcutta 400 got worked hard and still held up beautifully. The big fish went to Larry for his 53 pound yellowtail, 2nd place was a 49 pounder, and I got third with my 44 pounder. The best part was that all three of the top fish (and probably most of the yellowtail caught and/or hooked) were on Big Hammers.<br><br>It was a great trip, great captain, great crew, great cook, great fishermen, great company, etc. etc. Granted, this was my first long range trip but I can't imagine how it could get any better.<br><br>There is a photo gallery devoted to this trip on the Big Hammer website at http://www.swimbait.com/gallery_skiff_2002.htm. Right now it is just the pictures I have from the trip. If you were on the trip and have pictures send them to fishcomfg@yahoo.com.<br><br>**********<br><br>You can't catch tomorrow what you kill today, please practice catch and release.