Matador weekend report

[capt. jakeg]

Saturday we had a group from Pennsylvania. We dropped lines at 715 at the tip of the canyon with a few boats catching a couple fish. We scrapped out 2 dolphin, but no tuna bites working the 72.9 degree water from the tip to the lobster pots. The morning bite quickly shut off when the rest of the fleet arrived, but we trolled until 11 o clock when we decided to go dropping. We went over to the north wall and very quickly managed 30 bluelines up to 17#15 before deciding to go deeper looking for a golden. We made two drops, never had a golden bite. We did catch a half dozen rose fish before moving on. After picking up and running, we set lines back out on the south wall of the canyon. Very shortly after we had a double tuna bite. One stuck and we landed a 63# YFT. A few minutes after setting lines back in, we have two more tuna bites. One gets off, one stays tight. 15 minutes into the fight, the line just goes slack... pulled hook. While fighting that fish, we hooked up a drifter dolphin on the long rigger that proceeds to run all the way across the spread while drifting, which creates a big mess. We land the fish and decide to untangle the mess on the way home since its already 330. Beautiful day, good bunch of guys.
Final Talley for saturday:
1-4YFT63#
3-5 gaffer dolphin
30-BLT's to 17#15
22-BSB's to 4#
6-rosies

Sunday, I fished with Greg Allen, Tom Kidwell, Dr. Julie Ball, Julie's husband Robin, and Tom's friend Tony. We started in the same area as saturday and the 2nd line out gets a whitey to bite. I was setting lines and wasnt exactly prepared and the fish popped the bait from the clip and dropped the hook. 4 other boats within a quarter mile of me saw a white and two of those were caught. We continued working a rip with a small weedline to the north and managed to pick up a half dozen gaffers to 19#. Everybody wanted to go deep dropping, so after I got my fill of trolling we started moving east. While moving to the north wall, Greg and I spot a blue malin finning on the surface. We slowed and quickly fired out a couple baits, but nadda. We move over to the tile hole on the north wall and catch several tiles and a few sea bas very quickly. The wind starting picking up considerably, but we opted to head out deep looking for a golden. By the time we made it the the spot for goldens, wind had picked up to N@ about 20 and gusting higher. This made it a pain in the butt to hold bottom in over 900' of water, but we still scrapped out a half dozen rosies and a small golden before the growing seas chased us off. At about 130 we decided that we were gonna have to troll in a bit because seas we starting to get out of hand for bottom fishing. We pick up and troll with a very slow bite on dolphins, we make our way all through the canyon, to the tip of the canyon, and west of the canyon with nothing but 3 dolphin bites to show for it. We kinda left the spread in and started trolling a little faster to the west. We got into the ugliest green water ever and start getting tuna bites. First we had a single bite on the flat that came tight for a second but no love. A few minutes later we get four flat bites. Two miss the bait completely probably because the water clarity was less than ten feet of visibility. One breaks the line somehow. One proceeds to meet the gaff after giving Julie a very good struggle. That fish was 56#. At this point, its 315 and we are still 55 miles from home in a nice 3-5 chop. We decided to pull lines. My crew sunday did an excellent job and everyone played a role. I'm sure Julie is tired because she volunteered to crank in almost fish on the troll, which was fine by everyone else.
Final tally for sunday:
0-1 white marlin
saw blue marlin
6-13 mahi
1-5 yft53#
8-BLT's
4-BSB's
6-rosies
1-hake
1-golden tilefish

[fishinmagician_IV]

Great report Capt Jake, sounds like it was a decent day today even though the winds came up.

[Tom Kidwell]

Great trip on Sunday! Can't wait to do it again!

[Admin]

Hey Capt Jake how you been doing with the
golden tiles. I know you are in great waters to get the big ones.

Hope to get down and fish with you on one of your trips.

Capt John

[capt. jakeg]

I'm just getting it figured out down here. There isnt much to go by because no one fishes for them and I have had to learn to catch them pretty much on my own, with scattered help here and there but mostly through experimentation. I got bunch of numbers and it seems like a very promising fishery down here. The commercial guys are limited to four fish per boat, so its not worth the long run for them and no one knows how to fish them recreationally. I know there are fish 80+ pounds around, or so the old time commercial guys tell me. The fishery here is completely unmolested and just waiting for the record to be set. I can go and catch goldens on a regular basis, I just havent figured out the how on the monsters yet. Its coming.

[Admin]

I'm just getting it figured out down here. There isnt much to go by because no one fishes for them and I have had to learn to catch them pretty much on my own, with scattered help here and there but mostly through experimentation. I got bunch of numbers and it seems like a very promising fishery down here. The commercial guys are limited to four fish per boat, so its not worth the long run for them and no one knows how to fish them recreationally. I know there are fish 80+ pounds around, or so the old time commercial guys tell me. The fishery here is completely unmolested and just waiting for the record to be set. I can go and catch goldens on a regular basis, I just havent figured out the how on the monsters yet. Its coming.

Lets get together and give it a go im interested in giving that area a try.
Maybe Bill will come along for the ride as we need muscle to reel them up

[Graceland]

4 fish per boat? Well I guess that could be right if they all add up to 150 lbs, because that's the limit. I can give you at least 4 commercial boats that will hit them every time they go out after the blue lines, esspecially since they don't count in against their federal limits on the blue lines. Heck, they are even targetting the black bellied rose fish now. I really don't see why, for the price they bring, but I guess some of them just plain need the money.