Well guys.....It's been a while....Been suffering through some health issues and Fred and I never got a legit honeymoon so we decided to do it via a 5-day trip to Guadalupe. Just the two of us, plus 17 other random people, most of which were a great group to share a rail with for the stretch.
I had never been there and Fred said it was a must for me being as avid a fisherman as I am....Being that it is his favorite place to fish as well we booked the Vagabond.
I was soooooo amped for this trip. We could hardly sleep the night before and we took off early Tuesday morning. Loaded our dock cart and waited....
I had never been there and Fred said it was a must for me being as avid a fisherman as I am....Being that it is his favorite place to fish as well we booked the Vagabond.
I was soooooo amped for this trip. We could hardly sleep the night before and we took off early Tuesday morning. Loaded our dock cart and waited....
Boat was killer.....We had a nice stateroom all to ourselves and a fabulous ride...weather was great and everyone we met seemed really cool.
We headed to Ensenada to go through customs...That was a trip. They boarded us to do the paperwork and I was asleep in my bunk....Woke up to the door opening and an M16 staring at me....he quickly closed the door and left me to my slumber...Off we went to the Lupe!
We trolled around on the day long ride there...We got 3 jig strikes....decent schoolie yellowfin tuna... We pulled up on the Lupe at sundown...what a magnificent sight.
We stayed up to dropper loop the yellows, but none came to play. Some of us spent a lot of time loading up the trash cans with the "carnada" for the Lobster fisherman that live there...That ended up being pretty fun. I crashed early...the sooner I fell asleep, the sooner I could wake up and start fishing!!!!
Sunrise was gorgeous. We metered around and Mike made the call to start a chum line port side.....We ended up drifting on a spot. Capt. Mike suggested the yo-yo for some yellows or fly-line for tuna. A few of us grabbed the jigs and pretty quickly Cristen hooks up on her pink SX....About a half hour later we hear the thud on the deck....We thought she had a nice yellow on, but it turned out to be a fatty yellowfin tuna right around 65-70 on her dorado 6X Jr...How cool is that??!! No more love so we continued on.
"Chum line, starboard", We watched and my heart pounded as the tuna started to boil....Fred finds a hot bait and connects with the first bait fish of the trip on 40#...I saw his 80 pounder hit the deck and my heart started racing....
I wanted a big ass fish like that soooo bad. I snapped a few pics and got back in the water...A few more hook ups and I was getting anxious... I lobbed out a hot one and my 50 # started screaming....Finally my turn....
Fred said i got really lucky with this fish...I guess it was ready to die because it was only a couple of times up and down the stern before the gaffs went into it on the corner.....My new PB yellowfin tuna, just over 75 pounds...What a rush.
Pics and then I was in the water again. About 8 fish in this spot and we moved a ways down the Island. Next stop is where the magic happened. Fish were boiling on the chum line all around us...Fred dumped one.....then he gets bit again, then I'm on too....then we both lose them.... Freddy ends up connecting with one on the 50# and it comes over the rail at right around 90 #'s......
My 50 lb rig takes a shit so I grab the 40 and connect with my second fish of the trip....This fish was NOT like the first...It was bigger and way pissed off. I got my ass kicked by it for over 45 mins, rail rodding it, getting dragged around like a rag doll all around the boat. I beg Capt. Gordon to stay by my side...I wanted to beat that fish soo freakin bad...Right then the Tax-man shows up and I get nervous.... I was on this fish for a while now and already saw two heads come over the rail. Gordon sticks by my side and talks me through it, insisting I can do it...I tryed to act like I was a tough girl, but inside I was crying...wondering if I was gonna make it. Fred was resting and got some action shots of me pulling on this beast.
Gordon screams at me to pull hard and the gaffs went into my 2nd and new PB yellowfin tuna at 90# to match my hubby!!!
That was all she wrote for me....Noodle arms could barely re-tie.....I had myself a celebratory cocktail and rested my weary body.
My 50 lb rig takes a shit so I grab the 40 and connect with my second fish of the trip....This fish was NOT like the first...It was bigger and way pissed off. I got my ass kicked by it for over 45 mins, rail rodding it, getting dragged around like a rag doll all around the boat. I beg Capt. Gordon to stay by my side...I wanted to beat that fish soo freakin bad...Right then the Tax-man shows up and I get nervous.... I was on this fish for a while now and already saw two heads come over the rail. Gordon sticks by my side and talks me through it, insisting I can do it...I tryed to act like I was a tough girl, but inside I was crying...wondering if I was gonna make it. Fred was resting and got some action shots of me pulling on this beast.
Gordon screams at me to pull hard and the gaffs went into my 2nd and new PB yellowfin tuna at 90# to match my hubby!!!
That was all she wrote for me....Noodle arms could barely re-tie.....I had myself a celebratory cocktail and rested my weary body.
I watched a couple fish over the 100# mark come over the rail. Fred connected on a long soak and fought a fish well over a hundy for almost an hour....A big White Shark started circling the boat and we threw in a severed head to keep him off Fred's fish, which worked, but the fish finally busted off after coming to deep color twice....ugh....
So that wrapped up day one....We ended up with 23 big tuna and even though I felt like I had been hit by a truck, I could not have been more stoked with the days events. What a rush....
Day 2 we woke up to yet another beautiful sunrise....I grabbed a bowl of oatmeal and hit the rail to try for a dropper loop yellow.
No love so we pulled the hook and cruised around.... A few stops and Fred had the only tuna connection for the morning....Lost it and the search continued. I hooked a nice yellow but lost that one at color.
Guadelupe Island is a beautiful place...A few shots of the spectacular scenery as we metered around.
Day 2 we woke up to yet another beautiful sunrise....I grabbed a bowl of oatmeal and hit the rail to try for a dropper loop yellow.
No love so we pulled the hook and cruised around.... A few stops and Fred had the only tuna connection for the morning....Lost it and the search continued. I hooked a nice yellow but lost that one at color.
Guadelupe Island is a beautiful place...A few shots of the spectacular scenery as we metered around.
We ended up on the other side of Outer Rock on a yellow spot. I dropped down a Scrambled Egg Tady 4/0 and on the first wind connect with a nice yellow...
It was on from that point forward....Just about every jig in the water was bit and these were toad yellows....
I connected with a slug which ends up being the biggest forkie of the trip....kicked my ass. But a nice fish and a new PB for me at just under 50 pounds...
Fred and I hooked up over and over again....On fire and the adrenaline is overpowering the sore muscles so we just keep going. Lost count of how many yellows come over the rail for us, but I know I stated handing them off to those who were struggling. Just an amazing day. George suggests the surface iron to Fred so he grabs the long rod and heads to the bow...He tosses out his Salas 7X in mint green and connects instantly....A nice 25 pound yellowfin tuna comes over the rail coutesy of the Ulua. Fred was stoked....I got tired of feeling the burn and started flylining some baits back...Connected with a schoolie yellowfin tuna, nice way to end the day....
Another hot shower, killer dinner and great experiences to talk about as we wrapped up our last day at Guadelupe.
The way home straight up sucked...We took some weather head on....Tried to troll, which was somewhat successful, but few bothered as we had a ton of fish and we were worn out.
Customs went smooth as silk and so did the offload....My first time to Guadelupe certainly won't be my last. Although it will be hard to beat this trip and 2 PB's for me. Also my first time riding The Vagabond.... Capt and crew were just awesome, service was excellent and so was the food. I can not wait to do it all over again next year.
