Fishing Report

[~~Snakeman~~]

Forecast seas were 2 feet or less. We certainly didn't see any less. Cloudy, occasional light rain, cool, but not uncomfortably so. On the way out, we watched gulls chasing, & occasionally catching, small flying fish.

I was joined by Bill, Jimmie Lee, Denzil, Mike & young Raiden.
Fishing was a little better than the last trip, & the conditions allowed for a decent drift. Jimmie Lee caught a yellowtail, then lost most of one to a 'cuda. I helped the boat out a few minutes later, when my snapper coming up on a guppy rig was inhaled by the 'cuda. How it didn't bite through the leader, I have no idea, but we put him in the box. That 14 pounder was big fish of the trip...for about fifteen minutes.
Raiden had put his rod in the holder to watch me catch the barracuda, & when he went back to fishing, he had a fish on. It took him a while to bring that fish to gaff, but this is understandable. Turned out to be a 25# jack crevalle. I'll smoke it for him & keep him & his mom in fish dip for a while.

I learned quite a bit this trip. Thirty pound line is much harder to break than twenty pound line. When you're hooked on the reef, don't try to stop the reel spool with your fingers, especially on a level-wind reel. The tip of my finger will be okay, but it hurt like blazes for a few minutes.:eek:

I also learned a new way of rigging from Denzil, who was hot hook of the day, with 4 legal muttons, a couple of shorts, a respectable, though short black grouper, & a yellowtail.

I had several nice pick-ups by muttons, but never got the hook set. I tried a couple of varieties of rigging, then matched what Denzil was doing & picked up a nice yellowtail.

See y'all next Friday. ~~Greg~~

[Jack Hexter]

There is more than one reason that I don't like levelwinds for offshore fishing qand a pinched finger is one of the main ones.

As for my day, I slept late and didn't get the boat in the water till 10:30. It was a very low negative tide this AM so the late start was planned. Searched for an hour till I found a school of redfish and caught 3 on a flyrod. Then moved to deeper water and started catching trout, about every third cast. Not bad until I stepped on and broke the tip of my flyrod (not the blank, just the tip/guide). Warm and light winds on this coast.

[Bryan/BC]

Greg-- I understand you fellows have "love-hate" relationship with 'cudas, but at least you got some nice fish...Too bad about the thumb-- burning flesh smell gross. doesnt it :D

Jack-- seems like you are enjoying retirement!!:p But tell me-- if not a levelwind, then what? Surely not one of our Canuck single action moocking reels?????? And personally I dont use large ocean spinnning reels???? So???

BTW-- here are some die-hards-- notice the snow on the ramp :eek:

http://www.sportfishingbc.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=5205

Cheers
Bryan

[Jack Hexter]

Brian
I guess you just shovel some of that white stuff into the cooler to keep the fish cold:rolleyes:

While the Penn 320's 330 and 340 are decent reels with levelwinds, the levelwind mechanism is just another part to break and totally unnecessary for most fishermen. It also tends to get the line out of sink with the levelwind bar as it leaves the spool as drag is pulled out. This causes a sharp angle in the line in a small area and I've actually lost fish because of this trait. It's not hard to learn to thumb the line back and forth on the spool to keep it from building up and jamming the spool. There are plenty of reels without levelwinds suitable for bottom fishing or trolling. The most well known is the Penn Senator
Daiwa Sealines are also good, and in my opinion, better than the Senators
Shimano also makes some decent reels for this application
For trolling, (Big game trolling - not puny fish like a salmon:D ) A Penn International, Shimano Tiagra or TLD or Daiwa Sealine Lever Drag are good choices. These are the kind of reels you need to stop a seal when it grabs a salmon:eek:

[Bryan/BC]

oops-- My fault-- for some reason, I didnt even think about multipliers without level winds. And I should, as all my butt reels do not have them (Penn and Daiwa). I fully agree- they can be a pain in the butt ( no pun intended).

[~~Snakeman~~]

The reel that bit me is a Shimano Tekota 600. My middle finger got trapped between the level wind & the right side plate. I thought there was a space beyond the level-wind area. There is not, & I will not do that again. Jack, you are right. I should get over my laziness & use convetional outfits. It's just that in bottom fishing, there's so darn much reeling in that the level wind makes things a little easier. Aside from their teeth, I do like the Tekotas. Fast, quiet, & seem to be well made.

~~Greg~~

[Jack Hexter]

Tekotas are a great reel, but a Torium is just as good and doesn't have the levelwind. A Torium 30 is about the same size as a Tekota 600, has a higher gear ratio but still has the guts to lift a big fish, but gets the line in faster and is in the same price range as a Torium. A Daiwa Saltist 30 or 40 would also be a good choice in that price range and neither the Torium or Saltist have levelwinds The Saltist has a narrower spool and is actually made for braid, but the 30 holds the same amount of mono as the Tekota

[~~Snakeman~~]

It rained lightly the whole drive in to the marina, but stopped about the time I got there. It was cloudy & cool for most of the morning, but warmed up nicely later.

The seas were actually as predicted, 10 to 15 knot breeze out of the north, 2 feet or less. Actually quite calm for this time of year. The wind was with the south-bound tide today, making for a decent, though slow drift.

I was joined today by Jimmy Lee & Vince, as well as a couple of guys I have not fished with before, a French Canadian named Guido (don't pronounce the u) & Tim. All aboard knew there way around fishing tackle & all caught supper for several.

Vince started things off quickly with a legal mutton snapper, though it proved to be the only one for the trip. Later, we hit a spot that proved to be full of lane snappers, with some yellowtails mixed in. Even managed a couple of mangrove snappers. Guido caught a nice tally. My only triggerfish was a little below the 12" fork minimum. I did get a decent rainbow runner named dinner for three. Three of us had nice battles with Bermuda Chubs...tough, but no good in the kitchen.

Jimmy Lee got a nice jolthead porgy to go with a mess of snappers.

Most of us caught limits of snappers & enjoyed the morning thoroughly. Oh..we saw a flight of about thirty Gannets heading south.

Next week's trip is Friday night. ~~Greg~~