**Candy Catchers Pro Staffer Dan Hernandez**

Islandar 3 Day Report - from Dan Hernandez -August 2006

Landing: Fisherman’s Landing, San Diego, CA Boat: Islander Date: August 3-7, 2006 Crew: Captain John; 2nd Jason; Deck hand Greg; Deck hand Alex; Deck had Matt; Cook Paul; 2nd cook Brain Gear: AVET SX (20 #) A.R.C. 8020; MXL 2 speed (30 #) A.R.C. 7030; LX (40 #) A.R.C. 8040 Shimano Torium 20 (25 #) ABEL jigstick Jig Master 500 (30 #) A.R.C. 6030 30# SEAGUAR Floro (Thanks Randy) 2/0 Owner circle ringed hooks 2/0 Owner ringer fly liner hooks 2/0 Owner circle hooks Irons blue and white; chrome and blue, and mega baits in assorted colors Swim baits purple and black tuna slider; pacific chovy 1 oz lead heads My Catch: 9 Yellow Tail to 25# 6 Dorados to 22# 5 Yellow Fin Tuna to 18# released countless yellowtail and dorados to 15# Ok guys I tried to post this last night but I was having internet problems and was way to tired to figure them out. We had a great trip with the guys from the West Valley Sportsman’s Club. We could not filled the boat so we opened it up and the landing was able to fill the final remaining 5 spots. This was my best trip to date. 3 full days of fun fishing!!! I am bruised and tired, still need to clean off all my gear and take a shower. But I wanted to get this down while its still fresh on my mind. Aug. 3rd: Marc meets me at my place around 12 noon. We head over to Puerfield’s for some last minute items that we needed. Then we are off down the 405 to San Diego. We hit pockets of traffic along the way but nothing bad. We planned to leave with plenty of time and arrived at the Landing around 230 or 3; 6 hours before we leave. I couldn’t find parking so we unloaded; we saw some guys already on the boat. I drove to the overflow parking and came back and much to my surprise our gear was already on board. Put my clothes down in the state room; mounted my rods tied on some hooks and went to explore the landings. After a while we found ourselves back on the boat the and last few guys got there gear on the boat and off we were. Not much else happened the first night. The usual safety talk and what the plan for the first day of the trip. We planned to paddy hop as we worked our way south. Shortly after it was time for bed. Aug. 4th: I woke up at 630 in the morning. The first round of trollers had just been put out and "last call" for breakfast had jut been called. Paul had made eggs benedict. About 7 am we found our first paddy it held a few fish. I didn’t get anything but it was sure a good sign of things to come. A few more paddy’s and the same a few fish mostly rat yellows and dodo’s. by the 3rd or 4th paddy I think everyone on the boat had hooked up into a fish. I threw back my first few fish as they were rat yellows and dodos. Not too many paddys later it busted wide open for us WFO with better grade fish. I pulled in a decent yellow; a rat or two; had to cut my hook from a fish that had swallowed my hook; retied a hook grabbed a bait cast out from the port corner and get boiled on by 4 or5 fish. my bait gets nailed; I let it run for a bit set it in gear and WHAM FISH ON! At this point it figures out its hooked at just takes off like a jet around the corner up the port side. I got it up to the surface about 20 yards from the boat and BOOM a nice Bull Dorado comes flying out of the water. Crashes back down and up again putting on a great display before he decides he wants to go down deep and to the back of the boat. I go chasing after him up and under dogging guys hooting and hollering cuz I am getting worked by this fish. I brought the fish to gaff right in the corner and Matt gaffs it in the head. Well this really upset the fish cuz it shook hard enough to get off the gaff and take off left to the starboard side. About the time I get to the starboard side I see Relacson hooked up we cross paths I go high he goes low like we’ve done it a million times. We exchange words most of which I can not repeat on these boards… and keep on fighting our fish. I must have brought my dodo to the boat 4 times before I got it on. Capt. John was on the bait tank he’d see my fish say we got a nice dodo starboard side and boom it’d take off next thing I hear is “there it goes” the fish then thought it best to go to the back of the boat but at lass this was it. After a great fight Greg took one swing at it and gaffed it in the head! Way to go Greg! I look down and see Matt’s gaff shot about 5 inches from where Greg hit it. By this time my arms are just worked and the bite has died down. While were still metering and hooking fish it wasn’t the madness of when the bite goes wide. I took the time to go to the bow and chuck some iron. I got no love on the iron so I hung up my jig stick and grabbed my 30# rig again pinned on a bait and hooked into a little yellow. This is how our first day went. Every paddy held a few fish with every few having a good amount to WFO fishing. I threw back most of the fish I caught kept the bigger bull Dorado’s, 1 female (she had swallowed the hook and would have died) and a few nicer yellows. On some of the stops I was throwing back 15 to 18 pounds yellows. I figured we’d get into better grade and I wanted to give the smaller ones more time to get big. On a few of the paddy’s I only tossed iron and did pretty good on yellows and dodo’s on the YO-YO. It was so much fun to come up on a paddy see the fish charging the boat cast out an iron reel back in and for your line to start going the other way. I tossed blue and white, chrome and blue and mega baits all worked. Most of my iron fish were thrown back. We called it a night around 730 and the Captain said that we had a nice day of fishing and that the next day we were going to hunt for Yellow Fin Tuna. Which meant we were going to be doing some traveling at night and covering a lot of water the next day. Had a great dinner showered watched a little bit of a movie that was on then headed to bed since we were not going to be doing any squid fishing. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GzoS4ZtcNXM Aug. 5th: I woke up at 6 am on Saturday morning. We were off shore from San Martin Island. Had breakfast the captain called for the first round of trollers and said we were going to be looking for paddy’s with tuna under them. Well we trolled and trolled and found a few paddy’s but there were only holding rat yellows and dodo’s so we kept moving. Every once in a while we'd catch a troll fish but most were dodo’s with a lone tuna coming up on the troll. We come up on a paddy and I am feeling swim baits. I had a tuna slider on a 1 oz jig head. Well I cast out and miss the mark I was going for so I reel my swim bait back in I hear some commotion at the back of the boat as guys are hooking up so I cast out hit my mark and let it sink, siiiiiiiiink I start to crank and WHAM it get slammed. After a short but fun fight a yellow fin tuna comes over the side! Here is the pic: We pulled up on 1 kelp paddy that must have been holding tuna because the captain called for a chum line and sure enough we got a little taste of wide open tuna fishing I think we managed 20 tuna off that paddy I ended up with 2. we kept trolling finding a paddy or 2 every hour some had most had fish but not the tuna we were on a hunt for. Some time after lunch Marc and I were talking and knowing the captain had a bright outlook on finding tuna; Marc called for a 7 to 730ish bite. I agreed and said closer to 730. 715ish we find the paddy that had been holding tuna again this time they were hungry! An epic fishing frenzy began YFT up to 25# were everywhere! There were a few skippies in the mix. My first 2 were 7lb skip jacks that went right back in the water after I gave them a black eye and told them there was plenty more were that came from if another one of there buddies took my bait. Well it worked I hooked up another 8 fish during the next hour to hour an 15 minutes boated 3 nice tuna got sawed off on 5 and farmed 2 or 3. now when it came to being sawed off there is nothing you can really do. No need to cry and pout. Tie on another hook pin on a bait and get back in the water cuz the fish are still boiling eating every bait that hits the water. Grab your jig stick fire an iron get back into the action. I remember after one of the times I got sawed off I moved out of the way and was tying on a new hook I lookup and see Paul the cook he asks you get sawed off I said yup but I am ready for another one. Grabbed a bait got to the corner cast out and boom I was off chasing a YFT up the side of the boat. The weather was bad. The boat was rocking and rolling at times you had to hold on to the rail or you’d fall back. Every so often Captain John would yell hold on guys hold on and sure enough a huge swell would roll through. It was an all out brawl with fish and the ocean. You had to bring you’re a game to this fight. At some point during all this Marc and I crossed paths I think we did a couple of times but one time sticks out as I write. I was coming left on the stern he was coming right he yells “WHAT UP D?” I yell back “FISH ON” he yells back “ME TOO” we cross one high the other low and we were off fighting our fish. I boat mine find Marc ask him if he boated his he says hell yeah as he is hanging another one. I think he ended up with 5 or 6 on that bite. Way to fish bro way to fish. After the bite we had somewhere around 120 YFT I can’t remember the exact number. Captain called it a night we had dinner I took a shower and headed to bed I was beat bruised and thankful for another great day of fishing. Aug 6th: Our plan for the day was to hit the paddys look for better grade yellow tail more dorado and try to find a school or 2 of tuna. I woke up a little later than I had planned but I had not missed much 1 dorado on the troll. Checked my gear retied my knots added floro where I needed it. Changed my iron the things that became my morning routine. We hit a few paddys that had small yellows and dorado. Then a few that had a nice grade of yellows and dorado. On one of the paddys it busted WFO with quality yellow tail and dodos. I landed a 25# YT and a nice 16 – 19# dodo. Marc had fun tossing the iron and getting bit on just about every cast. I am sure he’ll report on that later. Check out the vid of me bouncing a little yellow i hung on a swimbait WARNING POTTY MOUTH ANGLER'S http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2pzObiQmtE The YFT never really came out to play although 5 were caught one by Marc on the troll. At 7 pm the captain called it a night we were close to 200 miles from home we had a long haul back. We had over 500 fish on the boat and released probably 200 to 300 fish to live and fight another day. I have a bunch of photos and some video for you guys to check out. Sorry I don’t have anything from when it went WFO but I was hanging fish or trying to GET BENT! THANK YOU TO THE ENTIRE CREW OF THE ISLANDER! THEY DID A GREAT JOB KEEPING US OUT OF TANGLES AND ON FISH FOR 3 DAYS! THANK YOU TO THE WEST VALLEY SPORTSMANS CLUB FOR PUTTING THIS CHARTER TOGETHER. CAN'T WAIT TIL NEXT YEAR! THANK YOU TO RANDY THAT FLORO CAME IN HANDY! PLUS THE COUNTLESS HOURS WE SPEND PICKING EACH OTHERS BRAINS! THANK YOU TO FLIPPER FOR MY KILLER NEW ROD! THANK YOU TO PETE WOLF; YOUR ADVICE PAID OFF!

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