DP 5-17/18

[PapaDave]

A tad long, but what else do you have to do...

My quest this weekend was to catch a shark, preferably a T but a Leo would do. Some friends of mine recently tried my shark fin soup and requested I bring some to a get together this evening. However I found that I was out of the main ingredient. So I dedicated my efforts towards that goal.

Started out Saturday morning, OTW at 6:30am. Stopped by Tim’s to drop off an entry fee (donation) for the friends tourney. I had checked the bait report and it indicated they had mini macs available so I had rigged everything for that size bait. All they had was chovies, although they were a good size and health, they were not what the doctor ordered (I am going to have to talk to that guy).

So, with a tank full of chovies and a rapala set to troll, I headed out. Wanting to try some deeper terrain, I turned southwest as I left the harbor. I reached the 60ft mark and decided to head southeast, rapala in tow. The quest had begun.

I trolled south for about three miles, the water was a tad choppy due to the brisk, cool, southwest breeze coming in. I didn’t mind, being from the inland empire it felt good. I hit an area I call the ‘the horseshoe’ and circled around there for a while. Nada, zip, nary a nibble. My hope for a T was quickly diminishing . So, not being the picky type, I headed inshore to try for a Leo.>>
Using the breeze to my advantage, I lined up on my favorite Leo hangouts for a drift. But alas, they were not to be enticed by my meager offerings. Of course, being the opportunistic feeders they are, and from the looks of them quite hungry, the sandies, and a couple of calicos were more than happy to eat the leftovers. But, not being on the menu, they were returned to fight another day. And the Hali’s appeared to be on vacation, leaving their children to fend for themselves.

I hit the harbor about 2:30pm and stopped by Tim’s for some great food (Thank you Jackson) and to see who won the kitty. A gentleman with a 3.3lb bass had taken the pot. Said my hellos, got a much appreciated hug from Michelle, ate a lot of food, breezed over to the ramp, packed up and started the drive home, all the while thinking out my strategy for the next day. Total distance for the day – 5.9 miles +/-.

Started out Sunday a little later, had to open the doors for the ministry I help out with at church. Also met up with my buddy Solomon, who was eager to try out a new rod and reel he just bought. Had to back track a little for the FF and tank batteries (old age?). So we end up OTW around 10:30, headed over to the receiver, loaded up on chovies and headed out.

Headed southwest again, only this time we didn’t stop at the 50ft mark. At about the 75ft mark we run across what looks like bait on the FF, so we dropped down the sabiki’s, finding quite a few eager mini macs to enlist for the cause. The game was afoot, my confidence of success went up several levels, we had macs. So we changed up, sent the macs out to scout for T’s, and continued our course southwest.

80ft… 90ft… 100ft… 110ft… Okay, change course to northwest. The troll was a little easier as the breeze was still from the southwest. In the distance were the cliffs, and the boat traffic. Jeez, it was like a freeway.

We headed northwest until we got parallel to the point just north of Salt Creek. No T’s. Okay, let’s go in and see if there is anything home along the kelp. So we trolled in to the verdant kelp forest that is the point. Still no interest in our brave little macs.

We drifted along the edge of the forest just outside it’s tendrils of stringers, water depth was 70-75ft. My mac discovers the hiding place of a still unknown predator and is smashed in the process, head crushed. After a quick memorial service, it was laid to rest, sinking into the ocean it called home. And that was it, nothing else showed even a slight interest in our offering. So, since we were already there, and the probability of shark being on the menu severely diminished, we headed on into the kelp to see what we could find.

After catching and releasing several small calicos and an 18” hali, and seeing that the sun was heading to bed, we decided to head out to deeper domains and troll the way back. Rounding the point, about halfway between the red seal hotel and the Dana Point freeway interchange, I spot some activity on the surface of the water. Could it be? Those are terns, not seagulls, there is something chasing bait. Was that the telltale sickle of a T? The heart rate goes up, I sit up in my seat in anticipation intently watching the surface. Slowly, quietly I change course for intercept, I pass over the area and…

Nada. Sigh, the only thing interested in my mac was a lone seagull who decided the effort wasn’t worth it. And since we were now close to the harbor entrance, and it was about 6:30pm we pull up the lines, release the macs giving them medals of Honor for bravery under duress, and a purple heart for the ones lost, and headed on in, tired and hungry. Total distance for the day – 10.8 miles +/-.

I guess it will have to be crabby shrimp soup.

[addicted2sp33d]

That was the most exciting read ever, even if you didn't land anything of note.

[dorado50]

Ramble On................................

[driftwood]

too much But good report...

[Montesdad]

you can't catch em if your not fishing - good going dave and thanks for the report

[DanaPT]

I like your post and reading about the effort you put in. Too many reports make it sound so damn easy.

what has been easy are the macs, especially the spanish mini macs. A wide variety of sizes on greenies. Even had luck w/ some fat sardines.