Create a New Forum Admin Login Member Login Contribute to Voyager Search VoyForums Help Desk VoyForums Exchange VoyForums Directory/Categories VoyForums Homepage VoyForums News FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions

[ Show ]

Support VoyForums

[ Shrink ]

VoyForums Announcement: Programming and providing support for this service has been a labor of love since 1997. We are one of the few services online who values our users' privacy, and have never sold your information. We have even fought hard to defend your privacy in legal cases; however, we've done it with almost no financial support -- paying out of pocket to continue providing the service. Due to the issues imposed on us by advertisers, we also stopped hosting most ads on the forums many years ago. We hope you appreciate our efforts.

Show your support by donating any amount. (Note: We are still technically a for-profit company, so your contribution is not tax-deductible.) PayPal Acct: Feedback:

Donate to VoyForums (PayPal):

[ Login ] [ Contact Forum Admin ] [ Main index ] [ Post a new message ] [ Search | Check update time | Archives: 1 ]

Subject: Saturday 390 etc.. Author: Jim Day [ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ] Date Posted: 3:29pm Fished with Bellybuister (Norm) out of Shelter Saturday. Spotty tuna fishing, ended up with a good yellow and a fat Albie that weighed out at 30+. Norms Pic.... Made the last minute call to go Friday night and met up with Norm about 11:30, Launched at Shelter island about 3:00 Am. Just beat the crowd to the ramp. Must of been a dozen boats behind us. When we hit the bait talk we were first in line of a long string of skiffs. Got a great scoop of horse deans and set a coarse for just east of the 390. The idea was to avoid the 371 390 freeway and find some early morning paddies for YFT. Grey light found us 8 miles east of the 390. I saw some breaking fish and we put the jigs out. Norm instantly got nailed by a skip. I wanted to work the area but the last trip I kind of blew the location thing so I kept my mouth shut and we headed west. Three skip stops before the 390. Just south of it we found a decent paddie with some shy yellows. Finally hooked one on 17lb fluoro. I swear it's been the hot ticket for mme on paddies the last few years. Even if they've been just worked opver you can still get bit on the spinning gear with the light Fluoro. Once on you have to deal with them...LOL This fish realy worked me. I was barely was able to keep him out of the kelp, had his head in more then once and I could feel it, as well as see it. He kept swirling right on top against the paddy. I swear my line was twnging like a guitar string. Finally he pulled off and sounded. Loosened the drag and worked him up. Not huge but a solid 16 pounds. Man those paddie yellows fight hard. Circled the 390 for nothing. Just couldn't find those big paddies everyone has been talking about. If I had to guess I'd say they've drifted south. Norm decided to nap so I took the boat North west to avoid the crowd of boats and find some fresher salad. I heard some guy on a killer paddie out by the butterfly. Actually considered it for a minute. Not a blade of eel grass out there. Managed two more skip stops. Must of had a dozen strikes, had to wake up Norm the second hookup as it was a double. Made a turn to the North and about a quarter mile up I saw some birds looking at something in the water. You know the kind just hangin up about fifty feet looking down. I've seen them do this on big shrks that have been feeding or deep schools of tuina. Passed over the spot circled back then hooked up. Quality fish. Took a hundred yrds of thirty straight down on the strike. I woke Norm, and cleared roids with one hand while working him with the other. About half way up it kind of quit fighting hard. Figured initially it was a YFT but it sure didn't fight like it. Turned out to be a slug Albie in 69 degree water. Gaffed it myself, Norm was half asleep and working bait so I figured what the heck, just stuck it. A couple of things. The fish came on one of the new small lipped rappala's. Great troll bait. Runs shallower but is more stable and can be pulled much faster then the standard issue. I'm sold. Every fish I caught trolling came on the sardine pattern placed way pack behind the spread. I have a feeling if we'd thrown more chum we'd of got the albies to go. You get complacent after a bunch of skippie knock downs. Should of put more bait in the water. I worked the area for a while. Did about three circles using the gps to position the original strike. Sometimes that works! Not this time. It got pretty flat so we decided to run up the line looking for paddies. Some guys were talking aboout YFT on the 302. Thought we might give it a try. Outside the 302 the water was warmer just shy of 71. Some life there and a bunch of big boats dragging big jigs for billfish. I put out mine, Norm stuck with the tuna jigs. Heard more YFT chatter, now on the inside, headed that way and found a lot of small craft pulling feathers. Couple of sport boats there as well. No go, didn't see a fish caught. There were some big blue whales there though. One swam right under us. I now realise he was deep but at the time he looked very close. A big white shape against the blue. He looked maybe seventy feet long but then he kicked up his tail and as it rose close I realised it alone was wider then our 23 CC. was long. A little higher and it could of lifted our whole skiff out of the water. Scared the crap out of me...LOL When it came up a hundred yrs away it had a greyish tint and was as big as a nuclear sub. Largest one I've seen. Norm took another nap and I angled up toward the 181 trolling for Billfish again. He was just waking up when I saw the two distinct fins of a tailing billfish up off the bow. We followed it for a while and I managed to get upswell to the side. what I thought was a Marlin turned out to be a huge sword maybe 300+ The length from the dorsal to tail was easily seven feet, another Monster. Norm took the helm and I rigged up a leader, but the sword had other ideas and sounded just about the time I got a bait on. Probably just as well we'd of been there all night. Worked the area till dark but didn't see him again. All and all a good day. We didn't plug the boat or run a hundred miles but we did manage a few good fish and Norm at least got a lot of rest ;-) Couldn't think of a better way to spend a Saturday. Tight lines Jim [ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ]