Any man would look proud after catching a large barracuda as he poses with the fish and his 14 year-old daughter at the marina afterwards. Then you may wonder why his daughter looks less than thrilled………!!!
14 year old Coral Wira was sitting in a boat while her father fished.
Suddenly she saw a silver flash in the air. The barracuda had thrown the hook and grabbed her arm. Father managed to kill the fish with a knife in the head.
Coral needed 51 stitches! And he felt the need to pose for photos before taking her to hospital!
It is impossible to grow weary of a sport that is never the same on any two days of the year. Theodore Gordon
Fall ocean fishing is what many anglers live for, the time of year when boats run with less fishermen, the fishing often can be just as good, if not better, than the summer and the conditions usually are pleasant for a calm boat ride.
But this year, fishermen didn’t have much of a choice when it came to choosing to fish in the summer or waiting until the fall. There really wasn’t a summer season of note at the outer banks. Sport boats were fishing bass, rockfish and anything that would bite at a time when the decks would be filled with tuna, dorado and yellowtail.
But that changed last week as offshore fishing turned on. And it continued to build Friday when boats fishing as close as 20 miles off Mission Bay reported good scores on yellowfin tuna.
Capt. Mike Franchak on the Aztec reported in early with 90-plus mixed tuna. The Aztec was on the second day of a two-day run. But closer to home, Capt. Ryan Bostian radioed in 40-plus yellowfin from the morning of a three-quarter-day trip.
At H&M Landing, Capt. Frank Ursitti on the Ranger 85 reported over 60 mixed tuna, with 40 bluefin, 8 yellowfin and 15 albacore.
The Islander at Fisherman’s Landing reported 34 bluefin and a couple of yellowfin tuna on its first drift Friday morning.
The best fisherman I know try not to make the same mistakes over and over again; instead they strive to make new and interesting mistakes and to remember what they learned from them. John Gierach "Fly Fishing the High Country"
"I dunno, no blip on the radar or on the fishfinder."
"Got a visual Pete, looks like a deer...?"
"Got her aboard Pete, get out the scales, this is a whopper, glad we had a camera!"
"How do we clean this catch?"
"Let's just give her a hug and release her onshore..."
This fatigued deer was saved after last years October fire storms off Point Loma near San Diego... needless to say this extremely rare catch was very relieved to be pulled aboard and delivered ashore...
At 97, pardon San Diegan Dr. David Jessop for bragging a bit about a recent catch. Not only is Jessop still above ground at 97, but he's still catching big fish, too. Jessop was fishing with his buddy George Cowan, who is a youngster at 88, tussling with a black seabass he estimated to be well over 150 pounds. “It looked like it was 6 feet long and 500 pounds by the time I got it up close enough to see it,” Jessop said. “But George said it was more like 150 pounds. I was pretty excited.” Jessop hooked the protected black seabass on a lightweight bass outfit, using an anchovy pinned to a small No. 1 hook.
“We were just outside the Mission Bay Jetty, and I threw over to try and land a sand bass or something like that,” Jessop said. “It took me over an hour to get it to the boat, and the only reason I did is because George did such a masterful job running the boat. I could have been spooled a couple times there.”
Jessop is already a member of the San Diego Bass Fishing Hall of Fame in the Hall of Champions, but his legend continues to grow. It's safe to say he may be the oldest angler ever to catch and release a 150-pound black seabass.
Oldest anglers: Blanche Seccombe, 106, Montana's oldest angler. She participated in the 15th annual Fishing Without Barriers Day on Flathead Lake in Montana in July. Blanche, who lives in Bigfork, didn't catch any fish, but at 106, she's still getting around. Blanche's secret to longevity: “I eat bacon every morning,” she said. “Crisp bacon.”
When we wrote last we were just leaving Cape Town bound for Trinidad. We had a great trip, just over 39 days at sea with two stops—each for four days—at the islands of St. Helena (UK) and Fernando de Noronha (Brazil). For the most part, it was an uneventful trip—the best kind. Here are a few things that stand out in our minds:
Seguaro did very well. He hadn't sailed since he was a few months old, so we were very concerned—prepared—even, to throw in the towel if he couldn't handle the boat motion or was just plain miserable. We left Cape Town on a stiff southwester, with big beam seas, and while Josh was a bit green, Seguaro could watch Curious George videos and swing around the boat like his hero. He apparently inherited his Mom's stomach. The better part of most days was spent doing crafts, emptying out Dad's tools, reading kid's books, baking snacks, etc. Basically, he took to the whole thing better than we ever imagined—and we were so relieved. He never did appreciate it when both parents had to go out and do sail changes—not only would he be alone, but the sounds of sails flapping, winches turning and parents swearing always freaked him out.
Coming into port was always a good time for him. He would help hoist the yellow quarantine flag, (the "new people" flag) and enjoy the ice cream and kiddos we had promised would be waiting for him.
Every morning Suzy would wet down the teak and Seguaro would follow her around and collect all the flying fish that littered the deck, tossing them back into "Momma Ocean". It was his chore and he was proud to do it.
Light airs were a bit of a problem—we did probably half of the first leg under spinnaker. Sometimes winds were light and steady enough, and the squalls mild enough, to tempt us into leaving it up at night (mistake). Even with Josh sleeping in the cockpit and looking about every 15 minutes, a squall overtook us and blew it clean in two. I suppose that's better than a boat we met in St. Helena who got caught the same way but instead of parting, his spinnaker held until his boat was completely on its side and water was flooding in the portholes.
St. Helena was a throw-back kind of place: all very clean and British, pastel colored buildings, tea shops, etc., and so removed from the world—no airport, and only a (decreasing) population of about 4000. Steep-to and volcanic, with lush valleys and high plateaus and the population being blended English, black and Asian (the latter two groups having been brought as labor in previous centuries) that spoke in a sort of pigeon English w/cockney accent. Incredibly friendly and accommodating, the people seemed to really appreciate being able to live in a remote, completely clean and crime-free corner of the world—although much debate was going on about the British Government's plans to build an airport and gradually curtail the subsidies that keep the place going. We enjoyed a day of hiking with a single-hander fellow. Another day we joined a local family on a picnic at a cricket match. Our favorite was eating curry in the "Castle Gardens"—with a fountain and grass for Seguaro to run around on. The damp, green scent was heavenly after all the days at sea.
We celebrated Seguaro's 2nd and Suzy's 32nd birthdays underway. Low key, obviously, but highlighted by cakes covered in melted Cadbury bars—Seguaro's topped with a tractor carved out of chocolate and caramel. We don't feel too bad giving him that kind of stuff on occasion since the little guy only eats about three bites and is full.
Some nice fish were caught—mahi, tuna & wahoo. Too much, in fact and Josh was told to put the gear away. It's funny how when starting out on a trip we're never interested in catching fish, but later on we actually sail (way) out of our way to troll across sea mounts and around atolls. Protein deficiency? On the subject of deficiencies—Josh's gums began getting sore when flossing—cured quick enough with vitamin C pills.
The Brazilian island of Fernando de Noronha was beautiful, but very hot and very, very expensive. Just to anchor in the bay we were whacked for $140.00/day! We know the dollar is getting weak, but that's insane. We did rent a buggy and Josh got to surf each day—one spot in particular is known as the Brazilian Pipeline and is a beautiful, sand bottom peak that really heaves. Other than the waves, the best thing about the place was this drink made from crushed, frozen acai (ahh-sigh-ee) berry and banana paste and sprinkled with toasted oats. It was even better than it sounds.
At 4 degrees south of the equator, we anticipated the southeast trades to continue for awhile. But on leaving, we basically found ourselves in doldrums conditions which lasted until we found the northeast trades at 2 degrees north—a bit sketchy as we were down to 35 gallons of fuel with 1600 miles to go. For days we would work the squalls for a push, making as little as 70 miles a day and constantly changing the sails to keep the boat heading (drifting) due north. Suela glided across the equator at 0130 in the morning after 5 years in the Southern Hemisphere. When the first puffs of breeze began to fill in, a trace of chill could be felt—serving notice that it was winter and we'd soon be wearing clothes.
Although the "rhumb-line" distance was 5400 nautical miles, with all the zigzags the trip ended up being just about 6000 (not those Zigzags). After clearing in at the lush cove of Chagauramas Bay, Trinidad, we enjoyed our first freshwater showers in two months, not to mention a sit-down feast at an Italian restaurant. You would have thought we were ordering for six—and all that followed by a full night's sleep. It's good to go cruising from time to time if nothing more than to be reminded to really appreciate the little things (while having endless time to look around and ponder the big things).
We're flying back to the states tomorrow and hope to see some of you before Josh rejoins his ship in Brazil and Suzy goes . . . wherever she likes. Next go-round we'll aim for the canal and spend time enjoying the Pacific coasts of Panama and Costa Rica.
Take Care,
Josh, Suzy & Seguaro
Men and fish are alike. They both get into trouble when they open their mouths.
The above albacore were caught off the Baja coast near Ensenada aboard the Bad Dog. This has been a banner week of fishing here in the southern California and Baja California, Mexican waters. Yesterday a rare wahoo was caught among a school of that species. That is a very good sign for fishing prospects this week and into the fall. The full moon later this week and quality offshore weather sea conditions can only make this a week and month to remember in fishing lore. Boats are catching all the exotic warm water species currently; marlin, yellowtail, yellowfin, bigeye, bluefin, albacore, and a huge quantity of smaller dorado. Add to that the arrival of wahoo, and the water getting warmer offshore, and all GillBilly can say is, “It can only get better!”
Even if you've been fishing for three hours and haven't gotten anything except poison ivy and sunburn, you're still better off than the worm.
