La Jolla 9/17

[dsafety]

It's been a slow and disappointing summer for me as far as fishing goes. I have not had the time to hone my skills very much and it shows. Last Thursday I posted an invitation to anyone who possessed some fishing expertise, to be my fishing partner for a day at La Jolla. A couple of people told me that they would be on the water that day. I was hopeful that I could hook up with someone who might pass on a tip or two that could get me pointed in the right direction. I ended up hitting the jackpot

I missed the early launch, arriving at the gentlemanly hour of about 7:00. As I was gearing up, some yahoo in a beat up BMW with it Hobie Revo strapped to the roof came blasting through the soft sand at the Launch. It was my friend, the Darkhorse. It was his day off, so of course he decided to go fishing.

After giving my gear the once over and informing me that it was mostly crap, Josh asked me if I would like to tag along with him for the day. I had never actually fished with Josh so I quickly accepted the invitation. After doing what he could to make my tackle usable we waded through the pounding 12 inch surf and headed out to make bait. This would be my first lesson of the day.

Josh, as anyone who knows him will confirm, is pretty good at his job. He has a lot of trade secrets that are only shared with his clients, but this day he shared a few with me. We made bait, peddled to the "spot" and started trolling. As it turns out, the "spot" is a pretty big area. There are some broad characteristics that define the "spot", but basically it is somewhere off La Jolla, south of the pier, north of PB and east of Hawaii. I was warned over and over to stay away from surface kelp, because with my gear, I would surely lose any fish I happened to hook. So we fished the deep water.

After an hour or so of trolling, I got the first hit. Of course, I messed up while trying to set the hook and lost the opportunity. Josh, as one would expect, was the first to hook up. He expertly fought the fish and landed it in a few short minutes. He yelled at me to quickly break out my camera and take a few shots of his catch. His urgency became clear as I saw him gently release a 20# YT a few seconds after the photos were taken.


Now I am a big C & R fan but releasing a 20# YT, that's nuts. When I tried to tell him that he was crazy, Josh informed me that he releases far more fish than he keeps. I guess that makes sense if you fish for a living and you do not sell the fish you catch. Having never caught a yellowtail that size, it still pained me a bit. When were the fishing gods going to smile on me?

A little while later, Josh and I are trolling side by side and I get hit... big time. My reel was filled with 65# spectra that instantly snapped as soon as I put the reel in gear. The only thing I can think might have happened is that the line was defective or somehow got a nick 100 feet into the spool. Somewhere out there is a big fish dragging 100 feet of green spectra. If anyone catches that fish, please return my hook.

The next few hours were filled with more of the same, trolling back and forth, back and forth. Occasionally one of us would get hit but we just could not close the deal. A quarter mile away, we heard a joyful shout. It was Chris, one of the Darkhorse's clients, hooked up. The "spot" was full of dogs who had been taking our bait with regularity. I saw one of them heading at mach 2 towards Chris's kayak, just as he was getting close to landing his prize.

Like a mother hen trying to protect one of her chicks, Josh took off and peddled to the rescue. I am not sure what he hoped to do to distract the seal but he must have done something as Chris was able to land his fish without teeth marks. It was about the same size as the one Josh had caught earlier. Good on you, Chris. His catch inspired me to stick with this gig for a little longer.

By that time I had been on the water for over seven hours. I had not planned to be out that long. I had not eaten breakfast and did not pack a lunch. All I had with me was some water and a couple of beers. I was thrashed. I started whining about wanting to head in but Josh and Eric, (La Jolla's newest fishing guide), who had joined our little band, shamed me into staying. Good thing.

A good omen appeared in the shape of a couple of party boats. The seals that had been shadowing us for hours quickly left for the greener pastures of PB chum. With the dogs gone, I started what I had vowed to be my last troll and was hit hard. This time I did everything right. My gear held up and with a little gentle coaxing from Josh, (yeah, right), I landed my first big fish from a kayak. I was thrilled, and exhausted.



Now I know that my 20 pound YT is not a big fish by big fish standards, but everything is relative. To me, it was as if I had just landed Moby Dick, so please don't bust my bubble.

If you stuck with this story long enough to get to this line, there is a message to take with you. Don't give up. There are fish out there and you can catch them. It helps if you know what you are doing and experienced guides like Josh and others can surely help. I'm just glad that I ran into Josh on his day off.

Bob

[Spyder]

Congrats on that 1st big yak yeller.

AWESOME story. Thanks for sharing.

[Tman]

Great write up, nice , now go put some aloe on those legs...

[Hypoxic1]

Bob !!! Congratulations !! Thursday was a rocking day out there . It was nice to run into you and Josh in the morning and afternoon. That fish must have hit you not long after I headed in. Those dogs were brutal but you got one past em. Thats a great pic of you and your prize!!

Chris

Bob, congrats on a great day and super experience
with Josh. Now get ready to get PM'd to death about
what secret bullet Josh has shared with you!
See you on the water. Yani

[whitedog]

We were making bait next to you three. Only thing we hooked into was sea dog. Took out the soon to be father in law from Indiana and got the skunk. Landed around 2ish it was a good time anyway told him you guys were going to have some fun because of your Darkhorse fish magnet. Told him we needed to have one installed soon. Thanks for the post see you guy's around. Oh and Good job!

[Billy V]

Good for you Bob. I'm sure you learned many-a-lesson fishing with Josh.

Time on the water is the one most overlooked. Reading, and fishing the conditions may be the hardest to master.

-And lastly-
Always bring food, even if you swear you will be in by 11am. and were not hungry before you left.

[bellcon]

Congrats Bob on a great catch
bet it was worth the wait
and has fueled the fire!

wtg Josh on another great c&r...epic sportsmanship

[DESTROYER]

Josh~ Nice catch, but Halloween is nest month

[Whizz Bang]

Originally Posted by dsafety

By that time I had been on the water for over seven hours. I had not planned to be out that long. I had not eaten breakfast and did not pack a lunch. All I had with me was some water and a couple of beers. I was thrashed. I started whining about wanting to head in but Josh and Eric, (La Jolla's newest fishing guide), who had joined our little band, shamed me into staying. Good thing.

Bob

LMAO.... I would make my clients as angry and unsatisfied as Josh's are happy....with their bent rods, big fish, and smiles....damn.


Awesome story. Well written...the appropriate touch of humor....nice fish pic....really well done, and excellent use of paragraphs/


It was great to meet you the other day. Im really glad you stuck it out. The opportunity to fish with "The Man With The White Face", should not be taken lightly. I tell everyone of his clients I meet (and I meet alot of them) that I am incredibly jealous....and I am. If I had the money I would hire that guy like once a week. I have a notebook full of questions for him that I refuse to ask him until I am a paying customer out of a misguided sense of decorum. After you left I pilfered a couple more baits from Josh and couldnt help but ask a couple of rather harmless questions that slipped out before discretion got the better part of me, however, I still logged a zero. This is OK by me, watching you and Chris land your fish was awesome...made my day.

In my opinion there are two ways to SUCCESSFULLY fish LJ.....
1.Time on Water.
Guys talk alot about putting in time on the water and paying their dues. This is often referenced by guys who fish LJ once a month..maybe. Putting in your dues is fishing LJ 2-3 times a week(more if you are single or dont have children). The mandate for this strategy is a willingness to learn, adapt, and change things up. Fish may not be hitting what they were last week. Fish may not be where they were last week, they have fins. Yesterday's golden sabiki may not catch more than lizard fish today. You probably WILL have to paddle your ass off. If you commit to this strategy, the learning curve will be steep, the rewards, though often meager, will feel immense when they do come, and with time they will most certainly come. This is the path I have chosen, and Josh rarely misses a chance to give me sh!t over the blood, sweat, and tears I have shed on that beautiful stretch of water. Of course, there is another way...another path to glory. It's path does not meander. Its hardship is minimal. The payout, often awe inspiring.

2. Hire Josh. You, Bob, chose wisely.


Congratulations on an awesome fish. He looks delicious.

Eric

[bigbarrels]

congrats on the YT and I hope your sunburned legs recover quickly.....Josh is the man!! All my gear changed after talking with him this past winter and he has given me same great insight on how to fish La Jolla....now if I could just catch some fish Congrats again!!!!

[undrH2Ohntr]

Congrat's on a beautiful fish.

[Tandem Assassin]

I had the privledge of fishing with the man with the white face recently and saw a lot of this.

[dos ballenas]

Originally Posted by Whizz Bang

LMAO.... I would make my clients as angry and unsatisfied as Josh's are happy....with their bent rods, big fish, and smiles....damn.


Awesome story. Well written...the appropriate touch of humor....nice fish pic....really well done, and excellent use of paragraphs/


It was great to meet you the other day. Im really glad you stuck it out. The opportunity to fish with "The Man With The White Face", should not be taken lightly. I tell everyone of his clients I meet (and I meet alot of them) that I am incredibly jealous....and I am. If I had the money I would hire that guy like once a week. I have a notebook full of questions for him that I refuse to ask him until I am a paying customer out of a misguided sense of decorum. After you left I pilfered a couple more baits from Josh and couldnt help but ask a couple of rather harmless questions that slipped out before discretion got the better part of me, however, I still logged a zero. This is OK by me, watching you and Chris land your fish was awesome...made my day.

In my opinion their are two ways to SUCCESSFULLY fish LJ.....
1.Time on Water.
Guys talk alot about putting in time on the water and paying their dues. This is often referenced by guys who fish LJ once a month..maybe. Putting in your dues is fishing LJ 2-3 times a week(more if you are single or dont have children). The mandate for this strategy is a willingness to learn, adapt, and change things up. Fish may not be hitting what they were last week. Fish may not be where they were last week, they have fins. Yesterday's golden sabiki may not catch more than lizard fish today. You probably WILL have to paddle your ass off. If you commit to this strategy, the learning curve will be steep, the rewards, though often meager, will feel immense when they do come, and with time they will most certainly come. This is the path I have chosen, and Josh rarely misses a chance to give me sh!t over the blood, sweat, and tears I have shed on that beautiful stretch of water. Of course, there is another way...another path to glory. It's path does not meander. Its hardship is minimal. The payout, often awe inspiring.

2. Hire Josh. You, Bob, chose wisely.


Congratulations on an awesome fish. He looks delicious.

Eric

So you can either

1) Earn your fish


or

2) pay someone for your a fish?

sounds like a lot of people are taking the easy way out these days... congrats none the less.

Landing that fish was all you I'm sure, which is a great feat in itself! Good job on that!

Now go get one on your own!

[dsafety]

Originally Posted by dos ballenas

So you can either

1) Earn your fish


or

2) pay someone for your a fish?

sounds like a lot of people are taking the easy way out these days... congrats none the less.

Landing that fish was all you I'm sure, which is a great feat in itself! Good job on that!

Now go get one on your own!

I'm not sure what you are getting at with the above comment. If your point is that those who hire a guide to help learn how to be more successful are somehow less worthy than those who learn on their own, I have to disagree.

There are many ways to become educated. Some are free, others are quite costly, (20k a year for my son's college tuition is one educational expense that comes to mind). Many of us have taken lessons from a golf or tennis pro. This is no different.

You are right about one thing, however. Now that I have been given the lesson, I need to take what I have learned and apply this knowledge on my own. The mid-term exam will be held somewhere off LJ next week. I will let you know how I do on the test.

Bob

[Tandem Assassin]

Originally Posted by dos ballenas

So you can either

1) Earn your fish


or

2) pay someone for your a fish?

sounds like a lot of people are taking the easy way out these days... congrats none the less.

Landing that fish was all you I'm sure, which is a great feat in itself! Good job on that!

Now go get one on your own!

Going out with Josh is no different then going out on a overnight trip or multiday trip - both show you new knots, line selection, different hooks, bait selection, and new areas to target fish.

I have fished LJ for the last 5 years and have caught many throphy's. This year I decided see what the "Gun For Hire" was all about and was not disappointed. In fact, I feel guilty for all the information I have received and how little out of pocket it cost compared to a overnight trip. Not to mention - Josh is one of the hardest working individuals I have ever met. On my first outing we launched at 5:00 am and did not hit the beach until 7:00 pm (only because I wanted to come in).

Josh doesn't hook and hand - he educates and takes you out to the grounds where you apply your new found knowledge. The last two fish I caught while fishing with Josh - we were 1/4 mile away from one another and he had nothing to do with baiting, fighting, or gaffing my throphy. No one is happier then Josh when you do it own your own. Isn't that what teaching is all about?

"Give a man a fish, feed him for the day, Teach a man to fish and feed him for life"

[Whizz Bang]

Bob/Yani/Tandem,

Im not sure DB was insulting you guys, I think DB just misunderstood my post and took it as something it wasnt. To be clear. I am jealous of all of Josh's clients and tell them as much when I meet them. You are paying for more than a guide or a shot at a fish, you are paying to tap into an incredible knowledge base and the ability to do so undoubtedly shortens a rather steep learning curve.

Anyone who puts in the time at LJ , guided or unguided, have earned their fish. They, most likely, have earned fish that they never even had the chance to bring to color. But that is the very nature of this passion we all share. You can do everything right, and they may still not bite.

Eric/WS Ride/Skinny Wallet

[1Flatfish]

Way to go Bob. You HAVE put in your time out there. Running into Josh was your good fortune, but you still earned that fish! In my opinion, time on water is good, but not everyone has time for that time! I can't fish weekdays because of my job any many weekends are booked too. So some of us turn to professionals for help. Something I'm NOT ashamed of in the least. Josh helps people for a cost, but the price is well worth it, and Josh is underpaid! He helped me get my trophy and he can help you too.

Or, you can put time in on the water. How much is your time worth?

Wayne

So, you can:

"1) Earn your fish
or
2) pay someone for your a fish?"

must you must educated yourself, since I can't imagine
you sitting thru years of tax paid education and turning
out this smart. Yani, yellow fishndive, fat wallet.

nice 's