I guess the new rule on the Surly Mermaid is if you don't catch any fish then you have to write up the report, therefore I get to write it up
After hearing about all the seabass and yellows at the Islands, Ali and I couldn't take it any longer and were finally able to get out on the water. We headed out of Newport Harbor early Friday morning on Ali's 39' Tiara "Surly Mermaid" and headed straight to Catalina. Ali invited Mark Wisch to come along with us for a couple reasons. First off, Mark needed to do some recon on another 39' Tiara that he is working on at Crow's Nest in Newport Beach and this would give him plenty of time to see how the boat rides and fishes. Secondly, Mark knows a little bit about fishing Catalina so we figured his knowledge couldn't hurt. **Disclaimer: Ali can still find and catch fish without Mark on the boat, it was just an added bonus ** We got a scoop of squid from Long Beach Carnage (used the card for our free pass:tu: and headed around the corner to join the fleet on the bait grounds. We talked to a couple friends who already had fish on the boat so we were very optimistic. After setting up in about 14 fathoms we waited and it didn't take long to get bit. I was on first with a big seabass, tell tale head shakes and a lot of weight on the end got the adrenaline pumping. I almost had it to color when the hook pulled [email protected]!!! Thinking that we would have plenty of other opportunities I tried not to get too cranky Ali was up next when her dropperloop rigged Trinidad started screaming. She went for a walk around the boat while the fish took off to the west. Ali did a great job of getting the fish back to the boat quickly. She was hoping and praying it wasn't a big bat ray and once we saw color she was very happy, it was a healthy 35# yellowtail. Mark did a good job of gaffing it and we were officially on the board. All morning long we were marking fish on the meter and watching others hookup around us. It was not wide open, just a slow steady pick. About mid-morning Mark got bit on his sliding sinker outfit and we said adios to him as he went off towards the bow. He came back with his fish at color and Ali and I pulled a nice 35# WSB on board. We were 2/3 of the way towards the goal of the day, a grand slam of WSB, YT and Halibut. By some stroke of luck, my rod actually got bit and I was able to complete the grand slam with a just legal 23" halibut. I wanted to release it but it swallowed the hook and was bleeding pretty bad. That set off the halibut dinner bell as that was all we (I mean Ali) caught for the rest of the day. We had a few more barely legals that we released and one nice on at about 15# that we kept for dinner. We fished our way back around to the front and saw some good conditions and a few more fish caught. The wind came up pretty good in the afternoon whipping around the east end. Water temp was about 61 and fairly clean water. As we always do on the Surly Mermaid, we had a great time and saw lots of friends out on the water which is always a bonus. It was fun having Mark with us and I think he was impressed with how the Tiara handled. Here a a few pics from the day. Ali may have a couple more to share. Mark getting ready to gaff Ali's fish
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Got it
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Ali's YT
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Mark's WSB (and he's smiling too)
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Mark and Ali with their fish
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Mark and I watching as Ali shows us how it's done
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This post edited by jennyo 06/08/2008
After hearing about all the seabass and yellows at the Islands, Ali and I couldn't take it any longer and were finally able to get out on the water. We headed out of Newport Harbor early Friday morning on Ali's 39' Tiara "Surly Mermaid" and headed straight to Catalina. Ali invited Mark Wisch to come along with us for a couple reasons. First off, Mark needed to do some recon on another 39' Tiara that he is working on at Crow's Nest in Newport Beach and this would give him plenty of time to see how the boat rides and fishes. Secondly, Mark knows a little bit about fishing Catalina so we figured his knowledge couldn't hurt. **Disclaimer: Ali can still find and catch fish without Mark on the boat, it was just an added bonus ** We got a scoop of squid from Long Beach Carnage (used the card for our free pass:tu: and headed around the corner to join the fleet on the bait grounds. We talked to a couple friends who already had fish on the boat so we were very optimistic. After setting up in about 14 fathoms we waited and it didn't take long to get bit. I was on first with a big seabass, tell tale head shakes and a lot of weight on the end got the adrenaline pumping. I almost had it to color when the hook pulled [email protected]!!! Thinking that we would have plenty of other opportunities I tried not to get too cranky Ali was up next when her dropperloop rigged Trinidad started screaming. She went for a walk around the boat while the fish took off to the west. Ali did a great job of getting the fish back to the boat quickly. She was hoping and praying it wasn't a big bat ray and once we saw color she was very happy, it was a healthy 35# yellowtail. Mark did a good job of gaffing it and we were officially on the board. All morning long we were marking fish on the meter and watching others hookup around us. It was not wide open, just a slow steady pick. About mid-morning Mark got bit on his sliding sinker outfit and we said adios to him as he went off towards the bow. He came back with his fish at color and Ali and I pulled a nice 35# WSB on board. We were 2/3 of the way towards the goal of the day, a grand slam of WSB, YT and Halibut. By some stroke of luck, my rod actually got bit and I was able to complete the grand slam with a just legal 23" halibut. I wanted to release it but it swallowed the hook and was bleeding pretty bad. That set off the halibut dinner bell as that was all we (I mean Ali) caught for the rest of the day. We had a few more barely legals that we released and one nice on at about 15# that we kept for dinner. We fished our way back around to the front and saw some good conditions and a few more fish caught. The wind came up pretty good in the afternoon whipping around the east end. Water temp was about 61 and fairly clean water. As we always do on the Surly Mermaid, we had a great time and saw lots of friends out on the water which is always a bonus. It was fun having Mark with us and I think he was impressed with how the Tiara handled. Here a a few pics from the day. Ali may have a couple more to share. Mark getting ready to gaff Ali's fish
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This post edited by jennyo 06/08/2008
