The REEL SISTER Blogs
Five Fabulous days aboard the Royal Polaris! On Dec. 26th, I boarded the Royal Polaris out of Fishermans Landing in San Diego, Ca, at 0900 for a 5 day fishing adventure. What a beautiful boat, very large, 113 feet with a 30 foot beam. We were met by the owner Frank Lopreste, and boy does this guy work, helping the deckhands with getting all the customers gear on board. This is truly a topnotch organization. First, they sign you in, then they put your gear into a rolling bin to take down to the boat, all you need to do is get your tackle box and put it on a shelf. Then you find your stateroom. The first day, you spend traveling to your fishing destination, San Benito, San Pablos and Cedros Islands, possibly San Martin. Since this is my first day aboard, I chose to spend my time getting my bunk ready, then I will start working on my gear. We are gearing up to have a meeting/seminar.
The seminar will just have to wait, because, as we were pulling out to get underway, a man fell down the steps and busted a three inch gash on the back of his head, so we returned back to dock, I held ice on his head, cleaned up the wound, and I believe he will need stitches.... The EMS are here to take him away. Good luck, Dude!
The guy has refused medical treatment, so..... we will be back on our trip as soon as the EMS leave. This man will have one heck of a headache! Until tomorrow, ouch!......... We did get a chance to have the seminar and found out what gear to set up. Yellows and bottom fishing where the choices. So I put together a 40lb rig for bottom fishing, a 50lb jig stick with a brown and yellow 6x jig, and a 30lb flyline rod, hopefully these will get the job done. We will see, around noon tomorrow when we reach our destination.
Today is the first day of fishing, of our 5 day adventure. It is 6am and we are about to have breakfast. I have to tell you that the food here on the RP is fabulous! We had ahi ( yellowfin tuna) for dinner, (yummy!). This first day was wonderful! The water was calm and no wind. We had over 200 yellowtail in the 25-30 lb range. Some large reds and a few large sheepshead. All in all, a very good day. Most fish were caught on jigs brown/yellow or blue. I caught my fish on brown/yellow or silver jigs, also dropper loop rigs were a hit! Let's see what tomorrow brings!
Today, Monday, was another day of yellowtail, 200 also, 4 yellowfin tuna to 15lbs, 2 of which I caught on a flyline, some various rockfish, an 8lb sheephead, and one 40lb white sea bass caught on a dropper loop by 10 yo Brandon Chien ( see pic), that was attacked by a sea lion.
Tuesday we caught a lot of yellowtail in the 25lb to 30lb range, sheephead, red rock fish, cowcod, lingcod and calico bass ( I caught a calico around 7 lbs, took a picture and sent it back down successfully) Brandon Chien was on fire, again, he caught yellowtail like they were going out of style! I had my personal best of several yellowtail caught on dropper loop, jig and flyline with a large sheephead and one yellow I caught on it's side! Everyone on the boat has almost caught their limit, now it is up to tomorrow to catch our limits of rock fish, then it is a day and a half home. Until then....
Well, it was a half day of rockfishing, some lings came up, but I kept getting chewed off, but the ones that came up were a good size. The seals ate well, they won several rockfish and 1 yellowtail.
All in all, a fabulous trip aboard the Royal Polaris 5 day freezer special. But with any great trip, there were some problems, like a person was misappropriating fishing gear, or seal lions attacking your fish. The good definitely outweighs the bad on this boat.
If you avoid the bad and concentrate on the good, you are bound to have a wonderful trip! I would recommend this boat to anyone wanting to go on a multi day trip. Be sure to bring plenty of terminal tackle, i.e., weights, jigs, and hooks, extra cash for tips, and if you want your fish processed, (Long range boats won't fillet fish, you either take fish home whole, or take to fish processor for 75 cents per pound) then you will be assured to have a good time! Tight Lines! The REEL SISTER Check out my pics from my trip on the Royal Polaris!
I personally would like to thank the following people: Captain Aaron Barnhill, who did a terrific job keeping us on the fish, you will make a great name for yourself in this industry. This crew is experienced, knowledgeable and fun. I cannot wait to see you guys again in August! Cheers to the studly guys of the Royal Polaris!! RS ***********
Hey Gangstas!! Was on an overnight trip aboard the Thunderbird out of Davey’s Locker in Newport Beach, Ca on August 8th and 9th with my Sister Donna and fishing buddy Kevin. We scored on the yellows!! Kevin caught the jackpot fish, a 35lb monster and I was next with my 30lb bruiser on a dropper loop! This was truly a great trip as there were only 13 anglers aboard and at least 4 were newbies!! Hey, the newbies were settin it off and catching nice size yellows and calicos! Can’t be mad at that!! The crew was terrific and very helpful. The second Capt’s wife even caught a sheepshead and gave it to my sister who, doesn’t fish on a regular basis, and was only there because she surprised me! Would you believe she drove all the way from Tucson, Az to Los Angeles, Ca to surprise me for my birthday! What a gal! So I took her fishing. As I was saying, the crew was terrific, they made sure everyone stayed on their fish by keeping lines tied, and untangled. The food was tasty, cooked by my friend Joel, and the boat was very clean. The only hardship was finding parking in New Port Beach. New Port Beach is a very trendy and touristy beach town and the landing was a little hard to find, but once you do, you will be happy. There is a little sushi bar down the way from Davey’s Locker that has good sushi, if you are into that, otherwise, get ready for a long walk after you find a parking spot, but drop off your gear in the office before or it might get a little heavy! To fish aboard the Thunderbird, call Davey’s Locker at 949-673-1434 or check out the website at www.daveyslocker.com to get directions, schedule or fish count. Tell them the REEL SISTER sent ya!!! Check out the Thunderbird Pictures!
Hey Gang! July 17th thru 19th, 2009
2 day Freedom Sportfishing Extravaganza! Just getting back from a 2 day trip aboard the Freedom Sportfishing out of San Pedro, Ca 22nd Street Landing. What a trip it was! First off the weather was not cooperating, very windy, but Capt. Tom Lee and Capt. Brian Shibata never gave up on trying to catch yellowtail, calico bass and the elusive White Sea Bass! We fished soley at San Clemente Island, in a cove until the Navy shooed us away. Then it was off for some excellent calico fishing! Great big ones! Then the yellowtail started going off! Boy they were great sizes also! In the 20- 30lb ranges, and then white sea bass showed up! In the 22-30lb ranges! Mix in a couple halibut of nice sizes, and you have the 2 day trip aboard the Freedom!
Now, let me tell you about the caliber of guys I had the honor of fishing with. They were terrific! Very fun and gentlemanly. I again, was the only woman aboard fishing and they were fantastic! See, I haven't really fished consistently for at least two years, and have to admit, I was a little rusty on the bigger fish, but "Kelp Queen" and "Rockstar", harsh!
 I will exact my revenge guys! I now know what being humbled is like. To get the "stink" off, I even accepted a "hand off" yellowtail, something I try not to do, but thanks Isidoro, needed that! The crew was wonderful, helpful and kept the passengers laughing. Meals were included and very tasty. I personally choose this boat for anyone wanting tips on how to fish, as the crew is very knowledgeable and very happy to share their knowledge, and not in a condescending way. They especially love women anglers as they say we listen better and catch more fish. Missed you Woody, my mentor! Tight Lines, Peace The REEL SISTER Catch my next big scheduled trip aboard the Constitution in San Diego, October 11th thru 17th! There is space available but they are only taking 18 anglers! Email me and I will give you the specifics. |
July 11, 2009
Hey Anglers!
Southern Cal
Pierpoint Sportfishing, Long Beach, CA
If you get a chance, give Pierpoint Landing a call (562-983-9300) www.pierpoint.net, and for $35 you can get a chance to fill your bag with some delicious sand bass and maybe some barracuda! Until I fish again, Tight Lines RS
Check out my pics from the Southern Cal!
My next trip will be a 2 day on the Freedom out of 22nd St Landing in San Pedro, CA on July 17th thru 19th! Stay tuned!
Happy 4th of July!
Hello All! Fished aboard the Liberty out of Berth 55 Long Beach, Ca for a 976-Tuna 2 day Charter www.976tuna.com. Charter mistress Pam (Sea Hag) put on a wonderful charter. Fishing was sketchy with some calico bass, 9 yellowtail and 1- 30lb white sea bass for Roger Stanford on a 20yo rusty silver crocodile iron , no less, never have I seen that! A black sea bass was caught and expertly released unharmed by a wonderful Capt and crew. Capt John and crew tried to put and keep us on the fish, but the wind had other ideas. We fished San Clemente Island for the 1st day and Catalina Island the 2nd, bait was plentiful with large sardines and tons of squid!. If I had anything bad to say about this boat it would be that this boat travels very slowly, I would troll anytime we moved spots. But all in all, the food, which was included in the very low price, was good and served by Nick, the deckhands were very nice and very accommodating, the Capt, friendly. I would recommend this boat for anyone wanting to learn to fish, and for overnights only, multiple nights would be a little difficult in my opinion. A great time was had by all and I did meet some new fishing buddies that I will cherish forever!
My next blog will be July 19th aboard the Freedom Sportfishing out of 22nd St Landing in San Pedro, Ca. Stay tuned
Peace & Tight Lines! RS
Check out my photos from the Liberty!
June 29, 2009
Well, it has been a very long time since I have blogged or even fished. But I must tell you that I went this weekend on a 3/4 day out of 22nd Street Landing in San Pedro, Ca aboard the Sea Angler. I had the time of my life! The crew was outstanding! Even though we hit windy weather, the Captain was a consummate professional. We caught limits of sculpin (5 per bag) and lots of sand dabs (as much as you want). I was very impressed by the other anglers, even the ones who got sick because of the rockiness of the boat. Lot's of newbies, but they were helping each other like they were all old friends. I almost won the jackpot, but was beaten by a slightly larger sculpin. Should have seen the salmon grouper I dumped, thought I was hung up on a rock, but it was a very large salmon grouper (boccacio), it came off at color, but the sand dab stayed hooked, thanks. I'd like to thank my sponsor........... Anyway, I would recommend this boat to just about anyone. I had a great time and will definitely be back for a re-ride!
My next trip is a 2 day out of Long Beach, Ca aboard the Liberty, July 2-4th. I will let you know how that one goes! Until then, Peace and Tight Lines!
The REEL SISTER
May 3, 2008
Hello All! It's the REEL SISTER! Welcome to my first blog and I want you to know just what I have been doing. This week I fished aboard an excellent boat in San Pedro, California called the FREEDOM, an 85 foot Dittmar Donaldson overnight/ multiday sportfisher. I, as usual, was the only woman aboard. I was treated like a queen by the Captains/Owners of the boat Tom Lee & Mike Frank, the crew and the other passengers. Fishing was a little slow as we were fishing for the elusive white sea bass, at Santa Catalina island, the water was still a little cold. I managed a decent sheepshead and a calico bass on a white leadhead jig and freshdead squid. Of course this did not win me the jackpot, that was won by the guy that hooked the 10lb halibut! All in all it was a great trip and I met some very interesting characters! If you are in the California area and want to catch some fish, I would recommend this boat. Very woman friendly! It is at 22nd Street Sportfishing, San Pedro, California, 310-832-8304 ask for my dear friend Dailey, and tell him you heard about it from me! RS
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