Aloha Spirit Charter

This was our last "regular" charter of the year. Once again, it turned out to be a really great trip. We had a very nice group on board - lots of guests this time - but a lot of fun people. The rising sun made for a beautiful sky.........



Lori was making sure all her guests were ready to go.



As we cruised out to the west side of Santa Cruz, we noticed a lot birds hovering in one area.


As we got closer, there were hundreds of seals chasing the bait in the water. It was so awesome to see the seals jumping out of the water like dolphins and the birds following every move. It looked like something on the Discovery Channel. It was truly a sight to see.

So the time came to drop our lines. As it has been all year, the fishing started out really slow. We tried for WSB and calico's, but none were to be found. So on to rock fishing. Some decent reds were brought on board and some nice blues as well.



No really huge fish were caught, but a nice ling caught my Jamie won the jackpot.



As you can see, all three generations were really proud of this fish.

One of our guests, Julie, caught her first fish ever.



The trip ended up being very nice as everyone came home with a decent amount of fish. All of our guests said they had a really great time and we enjoyed having them. Even though Lori had to keep him in line, Stuart, who won the men's jackpot, was very proud to wear our "ceremonial" fish hat.






I have to end this by saying I'm always blown away by how beautiful the Channel Islands are. Everytime we are out there, I realize how lucky we are that this is our "backyard". People pay a lot of money to visit here and we live here. It just doesn't get any better than this.

The Vine - Opening day

Fred and I were gonna hit Santa Barbara Island for the Yellows and Seabass, but the bite was dying down so we switched it up and decided to hit Lake Irvine for the Trout Opener.

We showed up at 4am and ended up in row 6 for entry....Fred rigged up and I sawed some logs for a bit till we heard all the engines start up...

We rented a little boat and started trolling Thomas Bouyants...Gold Clown for me and a red and gold for Fred. Wasn't long before I get lit up....

Totally killer first fish...This thing was pissed off and made about 6 or 7 jumps completely out of the water for my morning delight! Got her to the boat, Fred was on the net and I was stoked with a solid 3 pound or better fish.





Off we went again and I get a few bumps but nothing that sticks...Fred's not getting bit so he swaps out to a rainbow pattern and gets a lick that sticks....



We trolled around the same area (Santiago Flats) for quite a while getting bit every 10 minutes or so...Very decent fish, drag rippers and quite a few arial displays. The Thomas Bouyants, and Rainbow Rapala CD-5 worked the best for us.

The day warmed up fast and the lake was flat greasy slick...The beanies and sweatshirts came off and we soaked up some sun as we finished up our limits.

Stringer was nearly full and Fred gets slammed by the big fish of the day, solid 4 pounds.

Bite was awesome in the morning but of course the warmer it got the slower it got. We soaked some bait for a little while, but got bored quick and took off trolling again.

Ended the day with a nice stringer and a full limit. Every fish we cleaned was full of eggs...We are not trout eaters, but we made a few close friends very happy with a fresh trout dinner.

Hoopin' on the Cobra!

They started with a champagne toast and it was off into the sunset they went.....

The weather was beautiful.......They prepared the hoops in hopes of scoring some bugs!!

Veronica gave the gals "crab" lessons...

Louise wore this hat all nite, so we nicknamed her "Heidi".

And although no lobster were caught, the ladies had an absolute blast and all came home with the best "crabs" they have ever caught!!!

Albacore Pumpkin!

Hearing that there is some trouble getting pics to upload on the blog so I am doing a little one to test it out...Thought I'd share my Albacore pumpkin I carved for Halloween...Turned out pretty awesome...Got the idea from Mary...She did an awesome YFT carving!

Here is Mary's Yellowfin Tuna

Here is my Albie....

Hope everyone had a Great Halloween!!!!

Oct 16th Mirage Charter

After a long hard week of trying to fill this charter, the day of reckoning finally arrived. First time Diva - Lori - came thru and everyone had a smile on their face as they got on board. The weather was a little drizzly, but very comfortable. No wind and no swells made the trip to Santa Rosa quite pleasant. I slept like a baby as I think most people did. When I awoke, a few of our guests were already on the rail, but not much was going on. Little by little the GCLAs surfaced and were ready to go. Since half of the charter was filled by men, I had to pull our new members aside and reassure them that this was OUR charter and not to be intimidated by the guys. When it was all said and done - GCLA reigned supreme. As Lori and I fished side by side all day, she was telling me that she had never won a GCLA jackpot since she became a member. Well, no sooner than the words came out of her mouth, she landed the winning "Goat".




No only was she the DIVA, but the GCLA jackpot winner and overall winner on the boat. We tip our rods to you Lori - you ROCK !!!

The newbies kicked butt as well. Tina is now known as "Tear'Em Up Tina" !!

Sandi was rocking those reds like nobody's business ~





And Tisha hung tight with us on the bow.

Jacqui, of course, never misses a beat, even living in the desert now for 6 years.



All and all, it ended up being a fabulous trip with everyone getting limits of rockfish and some really nice whites as well. Capt Tucker and all the boys were at the top of their game and took care of GCLA in their usual Mirage style.

GREAT job Ladies - that's how GCLA rolls !!!!!

GCLA RAFFLE WINNERS

Hi GCLA's,

I just want to take this opportunity to congratulate all the recent raffle winners and ALL the ladies of GCLA for a very successful 2010 fundraising season. Special thanks to Erika, Barb Mc, and Renee for their time and talet, and to Susan D for great job as our ticket DIVA. I also want to thank our special friend, Ben Frasier from AVET, for his continuted support of our club.

Heeeeeeere they are...........

Congrats to Babsie for winning the fabulous custom wrapped GCLA rod:



Congrats to Julz for winning the VERY pretty pink AVET reel:





Congrats to Loca, even though she wasn't at the drawing, for winning the gorgeous handcrafted necklace:




And congrats to Sandra for winning the beautiful, delicate GCLA necklace:



Use and wear these beautiful gifts with GCLA pride - you were the LUCKY ones !!!

Next year will be even better yet!!