After a couple months of fabrication, customization and rigging we finally managed to get away for a full weekend trip on the new Contender.  Our game plan was to run out beyond the 209 toward the strong break lying on top of the upper ridge 181 area. We then planned to fish our way down to the lower ridge and on in to Mission Bay.  Sunday we would fish the 9 mile bank and La Jolla canyon and be back in to Mission by late afternoon.

We left Newport early Saturday and tanked up on mackerel at the mouth of the harbor.  The new bait system worked great after some flow adjustments.  At the end of our 2 days all of the mackerel were still green and happy, other than the few we used.

We ran out to the 312 spot and put the marlin jigs in and immediately had a jig bite that fell off.  On the way out I noticed the Contender was happiest running 4000RPM at 30mph and burning 18GPH.  At 8.5MPH trolling speed we were getting close to 2MPG, so the economy was as good as expected, even without the motors being completely dialed in and propped correctly.

We did some drifts out on the ridge and hooked several Dorado and a single tanker mako that grabbed a mackerel Zane was drifting for marlin or tuna.  The Contender was amazingly steady while drifting in the trough in the 12-14 knot afternoon slop.  I have been worried that the boat would be unstable with the full tower, but we spent the afternoon drifting and trolling cross-swell in sloppy conditions with 2 of us in the tower and the Contender hull performed perfectly!

We made the run from the 181 down to the 182 in less than half an hour in a solid 14knot breeze and never pounded or rolled badly a single time. The Simrad auto pilot and GB40 electronics worked great, the KE-4 Morse controls were easy to use and almost all of the electrical components worked perfectly thanks to Barry Talbot's meticulous electrical rigging skills.

We camped out in Mission Bay on the anchor Saturday evening and cooked steaks on the BBQ and enjoyed a great nights sleep.  The microwave and coffee maker in the house worked perfectly and we were able to camp out comfortably thanks to the poly and canvas enclosure and deck cover. 

Sunday morning we picked up Rod Halperin at the Sundance docks in Mission Bay and he joined us for a morning of marlin trolling and deep drifting for swordfish.  We didn't have any marlin bites, but we did have a mystery bite on the deep drop gear, which came un-buttoned before we could ID the fish. 

This weekend we are off to San Clemente Island to fish the EPYC event.  We should be all dialed in by tournament time!

Leaving Mission Bay...


Backing and spinning away from the dock...


In the tower for the run out...


Zane pulling on a mystery deep-drop fish...