The Gold Coast Lady Anglers would like to wish a very
Happy Birthday to the lovely ladies who celebrate their birthday in
MAY!!!!
Karen H. - May 10th
Jacqui A. - May 16th
Deana S. - May 18th
Erika B. - May 30th
Sunday, May 6, 2012
Thursday, April 12, 2012
Monday, March 5, 2012
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Puerto Vallarta Maximus Style!!!!
Cow Tuna......That's a tuna that weighs over 200 lbs and one of Fred's longtime goals. I never thought I would ever be able to do a trip like this, nor handle a fish that big, but when we got the invite to hop on board the Maximus in Puerto Vallarta we decided to give it a whirl....
We flew over in 2.5 hours and Capt Keith Denette picked us up at the airport. We picked up a few essentials and headed for the boat.
I had just finished wrapping two heavy rods to go with my existing assortment and was so excited to possibly break them in on a fish over 100 lbs!!!!
We rigged up and had a few cocktails then hit the sack. We would be on the grounds in the morning when we awoke.
The scenery was amazing...we saw whales, sharks, puffer fish, and even got paid a few visits by the locals....
So everyone is getting bit and I sit in what they call "kite-jail" I didn't know what they meant until I was sitting there holding the kite rod for 3.5 hours waiting to get bit while everyone else is catching these monster tuna. The kite is when they send up a kite with a snap on it...you run your line through the snap so you can dangle your bait on the surface. The deck hands tell me that my patience will be worth it and finally I see a huge splash as a big tuna boils on my bait. The kite flies away taking my bait with it and I quickly drop it into free-spool. As soon as my bait hits the water again I am on....35 minutes later I am almost in tears as I had a new personal best Yellowfin Tuna...
I end up getting one more smaller fish for the day....If you call 75 pounds small.....and crew filleted it up for fresh tuna steaks for dinner.
Next morning we are up before the sun and I pinned on a squid we caught the night before with a balloon and a sinker rig....As the bait drifts away from the boat I get slammed for my third fish. a gorgeous fish just over 100 lbs....
I end up getting a total of 6 fish for the trip ranging from 75-150 pounds. No scales so we measured the length and girth and used the formula to calculate. No cow for me this trip, but I will get one next time.
I spent a lot of time shooting pictures for Fred as this was his dream trip and I wanted to capture him in his glow.... He ends up with 3 fish for the trip, but he caught the bigger ones.
Here is a shot of one of his beasts coming to color....
Fred connects with his first fish on day one and it comes over the rail at 150.
Next fish of day one feels and looks like a cow, but after we tape out the length and girth he is just under at 190 lbs...Devistated by loss of the "cow" title by 10 pounds, but still ecstatic at his new personal best tuna...
The next day his dreams come true as he connects with this monster he faught for 1.5 hours.....216lbs and officially a cow!!!!!
We had heavy hearts as we ended our trip and the boat pulled away from this amazing place. We slept and woke up back at the dock where we kicked back by the pool, soaked up some sun and had a few cocktails to celebrate the trip of a lifetime....
Check out the marlin tile job in the bottom of the pool!!!
What an amazing adventure....We are already booked again and I am eager to get back out there and achieve cow status of my own.
Special thanks to Capt. Keith and his amazing crew for memories that will last our lifetime!!
Monday, January 2, 2012
Monday, December 5, 2011
December Birthday Girls!!
The Gold Coast Lady Anglers would like to wish a Happy Birthday to the lovely ladies who celebrate their Birthday in the month of December!!!!!
Lucia P. - Dec 8th
Nettie F. - Dec 31st
Saturday, November 19, 2011
Guadalupe Island 5-day
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.
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