2019 Islander Mothership Trip to San Clemente Island

[Amish Ed]

Originally Posted by Uncle_Tomas

Ok i know that all of you will be just shaking your head reading this but here we go. I was one of those crazy enough kayakers who thought it’s gonna be fun to mess with 130lbs (captains estimate) bluefin. After chasing them for over an hour (when I got close enough to the boil they would of course dive and show up half a mile away) I got bit. Right after I set the hook my line started peeling at the speed of light. I though my Lexa 400HD is going to explode. (Apparently it’s not HD enough). My 20 lbs leader broke 5 seconds into the fight. I was happy with that when I realized that I am going to loose all my braid as I could not stop that fish.
After that I reached back and switched to my heaviest set up I had with me that day (65 lbs braid, 40lbs mono top shot, medium rod with Penn Squall reel). The worst thing is that I had two speed set up on boat I just did not think I am going to need it hah.
Took me another hour of chasing boilers before I got bit again. At this point I am sitting in the middle of boiler and I am thinking that this is the craziest thing ever. One of the bluefin inhaled my sardine and we went for a ride. I was holding on for about 2 hours. Thank god it was super calm that day. By the time Islander came to check up on me I was almost 4 miles out. I think it pulled me for about 2 miles. During the fight I was able to get good chunk of my line back after I manage to turn the tuna around but it always followed by tuna taking off and getting the line back. I was pretty consistently half spooled and it was getting late and I was being pulled further and further away and I was also not able to reach the boat with my VHF at this point so I decided to button down the drag and start pumping. I figured I will probably break the line but I could not wait any longer. Then I saw that Islander was heading my way. I was expecting that captain is going to yell at me but he just told me that I am getting little too far and was asking about the set up I was using.
We decided that I will hand my rod over to deck hand on boat and will try to fight the fish from the boat. So I did just that and crew helped me to get on boat. The crew took over the rod and they started to work the fish. Unfortunately my live bait hooks that I typically use for pelagics stayed at the bag on boat that morning. It was not a big deal since I was planning on using jigs mostly and maybe troll for halibut. For that I had set of circle hooks. The one I had this BFT hooked on was not heavy duty by any means and once they started to put some pressure on fish the circle hook bent and BFT was free. Pretty big disappointment but it was amazing experience nevertheless.

Sent from my iPhone

That's pretty epic. After all the rumors and speculation on FB about you and those BFT, I'm glad to hear what actually happened. Too bad about the hook choice.

[Uncle_Tomas]

Thanks Ed. I think we had like 6 guys that got bit that afternoon. Nobody could land one though. One guy fought his fish for 4+ hours before he broke off. (The crew landed one from boat though on flat fall and heavy set up).
The whole time fighting that fish I was thinking that there is no way I can land this. I honestly felt like it’s just Mother Nature messing with us.
I think I was the only one doing this trip for the first time and guys who have been doing these trips for years told me that this has never happened before and will most likely never happen again. But you never know! We actually saw them boiling on Saturday too not too far out but bunch of us were already done fishing for the day with kayaks loaded on racks. (Sucks as I took my two speed set up with me that day and kept looking for boilers all day but never saw one).
I am glad I finally had chance to feel what is like to fight big fish and I was not mad at all after we lost it. I was actually pissed at myself more when I lost YT close to my kayak as I was pulling too hard and pulled the hook. That was the fish I could have landed but did not. I have been only fishing in salt water for little over a year so there is still a ton for me to learn. Still loose more fish then I catch but I am getting better and better at it.

Anyways, the second day I was focusing on catching YT and rockfish. As I did not want to come home without fish. I got 10 rockfish pretty fast using red Shimano butterfly jig. Was able to pick up a lot of them in about 280 ft.
I was also flylining for YT but did not see any as I was waiting for them in deeper water. Little did I know that they are actually circling the island and generally are super close to shore. Well maybe next time. Also got nice sheephead - that was a nice bonus.

I have done couple of off shore trips (non kayak), but this one was for sure
the best by far. Group of people was amazing, super helpful and supportive, really liked the crew and Captain on Islander as well. Going next year for sure!

Tight lines!

[Carlos Gonzalez]

great trip!
thanks for sharing!

[kurt]

That's so awesome to hook up to a bluefin that size. I can't imagine the pressure and amount of drag you'd have to have to get that fish heading up when it's directly below you. That's a battle you'll remember forever.

[Saba Slayer]

WOW...just to be around those big boys blowing up on bait must have been awesome...to hook one was insane...LOL

[lamb]

Sounds like a great SCI trip!

BFT part - just awesome and cool!
The stuff dreams are made out of.
You guys were blessed with a decent shot. Sorry to hear it didn't pan out all the way through. It is one hell of a tough game to rope one of those bigger bft on a kayak, even with proper/heavier gear!

[summers in kuwait]

Great report, videos and recap. I am very jealous and the those big BFT

A few years back Bryan and I were about 6 miles out from Scripps Pier and we ran into some big ones. Bryan had a hookup, but lost it. Heartbreak, but still amazing!

[rhyak]

Damn, that would have been awesome we were stuck at home during your trip just getting clips of video. Just hooking one of those bruisers would have been awesome.



Trip to remember for sure.

[JohnMckroidJr]

RHYak - Awesome video and report -- thanks! Especially like the few uw clips with the water wolf? Back in the '80s when I decked on a Clemente boat, we would sometimes catch nicer Yellowtail on large bonito strips, even when we had live squid for bait.

Uncle Tomas what an epic hookup! Nice clip of BFT's rolling! I would have gladly signed up to chase them for 2 days. Wish that could be a regular thing. What an awesome experience!