J.E.S. Sportfishing LR Trip ONE, 2004    

Our spring 5-day on Excel at Guadalupe Island -

 Day 5, The Roundup   

(AND the wrap up!)         

 As we started this final day of our spring Excel excursion  ...........

we found ourselves at 110 miles south of Pt. Loma in that typical cool, gray weather gloom of June.

The ride was smooth on the big sport fisher as we cut through the 1-2 ft swell. I hit the stern after breakfast and found everyone was anxious to get the vessel stopped on a school of chewing Albacore… As we made our way to the North West we saw some other vessels up ahead and we all anticipated the bite a bit up the line, and soon,  the troller’s behind us screamed "HOOK UP!! " as 3 of the 5 rigs out were hit across the draft.

The Excel's Cat C12's idled down and Skipper Shawn directed us to the port side as we slid into position…"Fresh one", than 2, 3 and 4! This was one of the best bait stops of the trip and it was the 1^st hour of the day! This stop never really popped, but we managed to leave there with 15 long fins on the deck and our hopes much higher on this the final day.

We continued to the North and within minutes we had another jig strike… This time I was quick on the release and got a bait way behind the boat in the drift and was the lucky one to announce the first bait fish of that stop… As my fish circled on the surface awaiting the gaff the school of tuna started breezing the boat…. "There’s one, than another!", yelled the crew.

Shawn from his vantage point on the sun deck gave direction to the others. Some of these fish were good quality fish in the 25+ pound range and a lot of fun on the lighter tackle. We left the third stop of the morning with more than 50 fish in the hold and proceeded into the morning picking up 12-20 fish per stop. Boy could you see the relief in the faces of the anglers. The crew had taken a chance and left Guadalupe just for this and it paid off for everyone.

After lunch we continued our day in much of the same manner with a 2 O’clock stop really taking off. The fish were chewing some of the heavy line and we started making up on for our shortage in the hold fast…. Even after the Pope cut me off on a fast run to the bow was over there smiling with his 3rd nice fish of the day. Because he knew there were more to be had.

As I re-tied and cast out fresh bait I was immediately hit on the toss and ran to the corner to avoid the rudders as the fish took its first deep run under the boat. The fish were coming up and you could see them everywhere. This is what we came up the line for, a few hours of quality fishing and a lot of adrenaline.

After an hour or so the bite died out and we went on our way. After another hour we had boxed the entire area and were slowly running out of time and fish…It was a fresh platter of Albacore and seared Yellowfin sushi that finally distracted us all from dying bite and off the stern to close out our day with limits of Albacore.

At the final dinner our host was Capt Shawn and as he served us all we laughed and reminisced of the days of our excursion, our new friends, new ideas and great story’s. The J.E.S raffles were awarded as well with anglers winning prizes from Seeker Rods, BC Distributing, Kicker Jigs.

We arrived at Fisherman’s Landing at 7:30 AM and departed the vessel up to the top of the dock. This was where the Jack Pot would be decided by the digital scale. As the fish were raised, documented and again lowered, anglers would bring their big fish to the scale. Remember the Balloon fish were not eligible, but some of them were almost 60 lbs.

As the results were announced I was surprised to hear my name as the 2nd place winner, a 49lb Yellowfin Tuna. 1st place and @ $450 went to Ray Figueroa and 3rd my buddy from last years trip Jeff Bernardi. Great work anglers and my hats off to the crew and staff at Excel Sportfishing… Thank You!

Our next trip departs September 15th, another 5-day aboard the Excel… There are some spots still available so make sure you contact the Excel office to get yourself locked into and spot to join us on our 6th annual fall classic.

To book our fall trip, CALL

EXCEL Sportfishing
2838 Garrison Street
San Diego, CA 92106
P: 619.223.7493
F: 619.223.1292

A note about the video files in this 5 page report:

We tried out this concept for our website reports from our trips using a very inexpensive digital video camera, and so far we like the concept, and so do our anglers / readers.

For the NEXT trip, leaving on Excel September 15th 2004 we will again upgrade this report feature with a slightly more expensive, and competent digital video camera that will allow us to edit clips together, and present finished videos with transitions, voice or music overlays and all.

As we continue to expand this feature, please DO give us feedback on how it works on YOUR computer. We are always looking for ways to improve the reports and every feature of the website!

And now, on to September 15th ......... Let the fishing begin!!!

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