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Sea Bass Score for Crow's Nest Boat Center Team |
- By Rod Halperin
- Published 05/12/2009
- Fishing Reports
- Unrated
Hard Work Gets Rewarded For the CNBC Team
It has been non stop boat shows for the Crow's Nest Boat Center team since January, so when the invitation came from John Lee, CFO of Crow's Nest, to join him on an overnight charter for sea bass at Catalina, the guys jumped at the chance. John had chartered the Pacific Quest, a 57 foot charter boat that fishes Catalina in the spring from Pier Point landing in Long Beach, and spends the summer and fall fishing tuna out of Fisherman's Landing in Point Loma. The boat is set up to handle up to 12 passengers, and our group originally consisted of 8 anglers ready to tackle Catalina sea bass. As time passed, first one guy dropped out, a trip to Vegas trumped the fishing trip. With the big Team Bad Company Seminar slated for the next day, another guy took one for the team and volunteered to stay behind and get the showroom ready. One more last minute cancellation, a combination of too much work and the trip departing on the evening of Mothers Day did him in.
Too bad for them, but a good omen for us as we met the boat Sunday evening for the trip.
Aboard was John, Armando, Gabe, Matt (the only non CNY guy on the trip), and myself. Captain Josh and the crew of the Pacific Quest gave us the scoop on the fishing, and we headed to the island under calm conditions. John bumped up the level of excitement, offering $100 to angler catching the first "keeper" fish of any species, and another $100 for the first legal sea bass.
We were loaded for bear, and if we didn't catch any sea bass, it would not be because we did not have the gear for it. Gold reels, 2 speed reels, fluorocarbon leader, fancy hooks and glow in the dark sinkers all got rigged up during the crossing. Squid had been hard to come by with the full moon and heavy wind in the week leading up to the trip, and we were fortunate enough to pick up a couple scoops at the receiver to go along with the frozen the boat had brought along. Sometime around 1 a.m. we dropped anchor at the island and 5 weary anglers climbed out of the bunks and hit the deck to try for sea bass. The crew let us know that there had not been much of a night bite, and the lack of current, and any action, even from the nagger perch, convinced us to head down for a few more hours sleep.
Sometime around 4 a.m. we started to get up and fish. First John, then the others. I was last out of the rack about 5:30 a.m., and by that time we had gotten a few calicos, and John had gotten smoked by something big that he couldn't stop from getting into the kelp, despite fishing heavy 40 lb. test and strong drag. Armando landed the first keeper, a calico the was just over the 12 inch limit.
We were fishing one of the stock spots on the back side of the west end, and we found ourselves in the midst of 5 other boats, four of which were Parkers. Things started slow, the the Parker anchored just east of us hooked one. Then Gabe,on his first fish trip, using a spinning rod, hooked up, followed by John. Gabe got his in, and the first sea bass of the trip, and Gabe's first ever, hit the deck. Gabe was also $100 richer for the experience. John had his close to the boat, then the fish made one last run and before we knew it a sea lion had grabbed the fish by the head. It was still hooked, so the captain, and one of the guys on the Parker began casting heavy jigs and sinkers at it until it finally let go and we were able to get the fish to the boat intact.
About an hour later we had a repeat, the guys in the Parker hooked a few fish, then Matt, me, and Captain Josh hooked up. The other two were landed, but somehow I managed to break 45# spectra and lost mine.
The Parker had limited out, and took off. We were certain we would get another shot at them, but it never happened. We picked away at the calicos, sheep head, and other miscellaneous fish, but no more sea bass.
At 4 p.m., we pulled anchor and headed in. We had a great day. Good weather, good fishing, a good group, and a good boat. For anybody thinking of making a small charter, from 6-12 passengers, I would recommend the Pacific Quest. The boat was clean, had all the good equipment, including RSW, sonar, etc, and the crew was great.
The big winners. Armando got $1, his wife claimed the other $99. Happy Mothers Day Sally!
Too bad for them, but a good omen for us as we met the boat Sunday evening for the trip.
Aboard was John, Armando, Gabe, Matt (the only non CNY guy on the trip), and myself. Captain Josh and the crew of the Pacific Quest gave us the scoop on the fishing, and we headed to the island under calm conditions. John bumped up the level of excitement, offering $100 to angler catching the first "keeper" fish of any species, and another $100 for the first legal sea bass.
We were loaded for bear, and if we didn't catch any sea bass, it would not be because we did not have the gear for it. Gold reels, 2 speed reels, fluorocarbon leader, fancy hooks and glow in the dark sinkers all got rigged up during the crossing. Squid had been hard to come by with the full moon and heavy wind in the week leading up to the trip, and we were fortunate enough to pick up a couple scoops at the receiver to go along with the frozen the boat had brought along. Sometime around 1 a.m. we dropped anchor at the island and 5 weary anglers climbed out of the bunks and hit the deck to try for sea bass. The crew let us know that there had not been much of a night bite, and the lack of current, and any action, even from the nagger perch, convinced us to head down for a few more hours sleep.
Sometime around 4 a.m. we started to get up and fish. First John, then the others. I was last out of the rack about 5:30 a.m., and by that time we had gotten a few calicos, and John had gotten smoked by something big that he couldn't stop from getting into the kelp, despite fishing heavy 40 lb. test and strong drag. Armando landed the first keeper, a calico the was just over the 12 inch limit.
We were fishing one of the stock spots on the back side of the west end, and we found ourselves in the midst of 5 other boats, four of which were Parkers. Things started slow, the the Parker anchored just east of us hooked one. Then Gabe,on his first fish trip, using a spinning rod, hooked up, followed by John. Gabe got his in, and the first sea bass of the trip, and Gabe's first ever, hit the deck. Gabe was also $100 richer for the experience. John had his close to the boat, then the fish made one last run and before we knew it a sea lion had grabbed the fish by the head. It was still hooked, so the captain, and one of the guys on the Parker began casting heavy jigs and sinkers at it until it finally let go and we were able to get the fish to the boat intact.
About an hour later we had a repeat, the guys in the Parker hooked a few fish, then Matt, me, and Captain Josh hooked up. The other two were landed, but somehow I managed to break 45# spectra and lost mine.
The Parker had limited out, and took off. We were certain we would get another shot at them, but it never happened. We picked away at the calicos, sheep head, and other miscellaneous fish, but no more sea bass.
At 4 p.m., we pulled anchor and headed in. We had a great day. Good weather, good fishing, a good group, and a good boat. For anybody thinking of making a small charter, from 6-12 passengers, I would recommend the Pacific Quest. The boat was clean, had all the good equipment, including RSW, sonar, etc, and the crew was great.
The big winners. Armando got $1, his wife claimed the other $99. Happy Mothers Day Sally!
