Sorry for the extended absence. I was hit with a malware attack and it took down the site. It took a couple weeks to get things setup again, but I’m back. Planning to do a site renovation this year, but at least for now we’re back online to where it was!

So let’s get caught up…

Top 10

Went 10 for 10 in 2023. In my Midterm Report, I was already 7 of 10 with only barracuda (must be on a jig), corbina, and tuna left to get. I got my cuda in July when I went up to Long Beach Sportfishing for a ride with Capt. Phire (Phil Ornelas) on the Victory. Wrote about that one in my Cuda Madness post.

Got my bean at one of my top secret South Bay (Santa Monica Bay) beaches on September 9. I discovered they’re pretty easy to catch down at Estero on clam, but the traditional Carolina rig, light line setup that I was taught to fish on the beach by my sensei, Randy Toji, is way more fun and that’s what I managed to do.

As far as tuna, I caught a couple yellowfin, and a lot of bluefin…nothing huge, but something I was really happy to improve on was my light line tuna fishing. I put that skill to good use on a Fishing Syndicate chartered trip on the Victory again – Bluefin Victory. I honed that skill though working on the Sea Watch full day trips out of Seaforth Landing. The first day I worked (September 22nd), I rocked the galley first time out and got the big fish (about a 60lb-er, above) too. I wrote about that experience for California Sportsman.

Pretty happy to get all 10 fish. And super cool to get all my halibut off the shore down at Estero. I ended up getting 11 legals down there with only 1 of those fish coming on bait. I really upped my shore lure game last year.

2024 Goals

At the end of May/beginning of June last year, I went down to Gonzaga Bay and met up with Capt. Juan Cook of San Quintin. I had the opportunity to ride with Juan from Gonzaga to Bay of LA and we fished cabrilla (aka leopard grouper) for 2 days. That was an incredible trip where I found myself stymied by larger cabrilla twice. The second time I was fishing with an 80lb fluoro leader and my line broke on the 65lb braid above the knot. Cabrilla are an insanely violent fish.

One of my goals this year is to land one in excess of 20lbs.

Carried over from last year, I want to land a yellowtail from the shore. And finally, I want to improve my structure bass game. To that end, I had one of my best days on the Spitfire out of Marina del Rey Sportfishing in January (top) where I landed 7 legals (high stick for the trip), including one each sand and calico bass that were contenders for jackpot (the two on the right). Ultimately, I lost out to a triggerfish. Go figure.

San Quintin – Yo-Yo Yellowtail

Last but not least, the last big trip of 2023 was to San Quintin in early December. Crew for the trip was myself, Senor Tomas, Chuy Carrillo – our bartender at Estero, and Mike de la Garza who I met working on the Sea Watch. We encountered tough conditions and I was the only one to put the target fish on the boat (went 2 for 3). Big bonito provided plenty of excitement though for the rest of the crew.

Well now we’re caught up. Stay tuned for another season of more great fishing adventures. Good luck if you get out there.