We had another GREAT trip with Olive Crest. All fisherman arrived early and enjoyed the ambiance of Dana Point. Some of them bought coffee, ice cream and soft drinks before boarding.
We boarded the Sum Fun around 5:15 and were greeted by Capt. Kenny and his gracious crew. We picked up a load of 4-5 inch sardines which were very fresh and headed south for a 45 minute ride down to a very productive kelp bed. Before the anchor was fully set Calicos were being decked. The fish cooperated all evening long. Almost any bait that hit the water was struck by a fish. Not all strikes produced a fish, but excitement was experienced. We caught many undersized bass. To put a number estimate would only be a WAG. We did take home 25 “keeper” bass. By using our sardines we did not experience a “Mak-attack”. If they wanted to catch mackerel they needed to use squid, but that was discouraged. The weather for fishing in the evening was perfect. We had calm seas with a little bit of rolling, a light breeze to keep the evening very pleasant, and a quarter moon to light the evening sky. Our fishermen brought their own snacks and a lot of energy that was enjoyed by all. Our crew from FIB’ers and the Sum Fun were able to teach many young anglers how to fish. The evening began with many young people not even willing to bait their own hook or throw it in the water.
Hooking and handing-off was necessary to get the party started. We ended our trip with most fishermen baiting the hooks and hooking the fish on their own. Smiles and self-pride exuded from the young fishermen as the boat headed back to the dock at 9:30. Many thanks to the crew of the sum Fun and our FIB’ers volunteers: Paula, Dave W., Floyd, Bernie, and Ken. A special “Thank You” to Capt. Rollo’s Kids for their financial assistance.
Submitted by Ken Kunkel
Archive for August, 2018
Olive Crest Trip- August 15
Monday, August 20th, 2018August 3, NMC Juniors Trip
Sunday, August 5th, 2018Our August 3 Juniors’ Trip was for NMC. On board were 24 people from NMC; a mixture of moms, dads, and kids.
The weather was great! The sea, skies, and wind cooperated for a wonderful day on the water.
We fished from 12pm to 5pm.The calico bass also were cooperative; we caught many undersized bass that were returned to the ocean. A few of the bass did go home for dinner.
God’s gift to kids fishing, the mackerel, were also plentiful. We did not keep records of fish sizes, but one sheepshead of good size was landed. Many candy bars, hamburgers and soft drinks were consumed.
The trip was GREAT FUN and many thank you’s were said to FIB’ers for providing this fishingexpedition. The tee shirts were handed handed out and appreciated too.
Thank you’s need to expressed to the crew of Reel Fun who helped our fisherman enjoy the day.
Also special thanks to Bernie Clayton for his assistance with the fishing trip and “Captain Rollo’s Kids” for their financial assistance.
Ken Kunkel- Charter Master
July 29, 2018 1.5 Day Charter on the Fury
Wednesday, August 1st, 2018July 29, 2018 1.5 Day trip on Fury – Report by Ken Kunkel
Our trip did not go to San Clemente as planned. We voted as a group to go south and chase kelp paddies and schools of Bluefin Tuna.
We departed at 9:30 P.M. on a warm evening heading south in our pursuit of the elusive Bluefin and Yellowtail. Our load of Sardines was of descent size but low energy. Our ride down to the fishing grounds was on a very smooth ocean, but the bunk house was really warm. We found our first Kelp paddy at 6:30 A.M. and Mark Gist landed a 20 pound Yellowtail. Our second kelp paddy was spotted and fished at 8:00 AM. We picked up 6 or 7 Yellowtail of descent size. Then ventured for many hours looking for a producing kelp paddy, but found none. We stopped on a metered school of Bluefin where Walter Valk picked up a 31.5 Bluefin and Mark Gist landed a 38.3 Bluefin. On our second stop Ed Waites caught a 43.5 pound Bluefin. We also had the excitement of Jerry Kulik and Brad Masters hooking up the same Marlin which went south very quickly after making a few spectacular jumps!
We spent the rest of the day chasing kelp paddies and stopping on metered schools of Bluefin. During one of our stops, Joe Cameron picked up his 8.75 pound Dorado. Joe had to weave his way through a web of monofilament line to land the fish. Richard Ramos landed a 15 pound Dorado in a more conventional manner. The rest of the trip was spent chasing schools of Bluefin with no luck. We called an end to the fishing day about 8:30 P.M. We enjoyed a delicious dinner with your choice of either grilled chicken or steak served with potato, salad, vegetables, and a roll. The dessert featured ice cream and cookies.
We arrived back at Dana Point at 4:15 A.M. Although the trip did not produce the fish counts we wanted, all enjoyed the companionship and Christian fellowship. We want to give a special “Thank You” to John Olsen for all of the “leg-work” he did for the trip. He was missed and we all hope and pray that he is now feeling better. A special “Shout Out” to Val Handzus for being my personal nurse and Assistant Charter Master.