Sum Fun, Full Day Trip Report
Father & Daughter Gist

5AM- Everyone got on board including three generations of Quimbys. With great reports of hungry Yellowtail at Catalina all of us were hoping to get a chance to catch a few. The crew loaded perfect sized Anchovies and Sardines. We had our group meeting and prayer, and then we were headed towards the east end of Catalina and everyone either took a nap or rigged tackle. The water was slightly bumpy with a brisk SW wind and cloudy skies. We arrived at our first spot near the rock quarry around 8:30am and before the anchor was set, Walter Valk landed a 2# Bonito, and more were added by most of the anglers right afterwards. The Bonito bite quickly fizzled.
10AM – we were 2 stops into the trip and only had a few Bonito and a nice Barracuda caught by Derek Demun.
11AM-Tons of private boats were anchored up all around us, and a few other charter boats and still not many bent rods. We all got excited when Ed Waits hooked into what seemed like the right kind of fish, and fought it up the starboard side of the boat, but all of laughed when we discovered it was actually a seaturtle that was safely released. No one on board, including the captain had ver seen a seaturtle get caught on rod and reel in our local waters, and to add to that, Derek Demun caught one a few hours later.
Captain Brain Woolley worked hard, and moved the boat around a lot, while sticking with his gut that the Yellowtail were going to bite in that east end zone later in the day. Woolley even ventured around to the backside of the island a few times, but not liking the conditions he saw, he kept going back to the eastern tip of the island and sliding in between the boats relying on his hunch that the Yellowtail would show. Woolley’s final attempt to anchor on one of the east end spots ended in frustration and almost running into a private boat that was already anchored up due to the currents swirling around and increasing as the day went by. Thankfully his second try at this spot worked and he got the boat anchored in the position he was trying for. Unfortunately for the guys in the boat we almost ran into, they quickly pulled anchor and were on their way. Little did they know that a big school of hungry Yellowtail were on their way into the zone.
12:30PM- The fish finally came boiling off the stern, and most baits in the water that were swimming away from the boat were quickly gobbled up by hungry Yellowtail ranging in size from 10 pounds to 26 pounds! For the next two hours the crew and anglers went to work trying to convert on our golden opportunity we had been waiting for all morning. Unfortunately not everyone got a bite, and casualties were high for those that did! When the dust settled, we had boated 13 really nice Yellowtail! Kudos to the crew who worked really hard and had a great system in place to give us the best shot at landing the fish – one deckhand stood on the bait tank and threw chum scoop after scoop to keep the fish near the boat, while Woolley and two others helped anglers get out of tangles and gaff fish. Bernie Clayton won the jackpot with a beautiful 26# Yellowtail!
5:30PM – We made it back to Dana Point with tales of victory and the ones that got away.

Bernie Clayton with the 26# Jackpot Yellowtail

Derek Demun with his 4.08# Barracuda

Father and Son fun on Father’s Day Weekend
Jeff & KC Lee