A Day Aboard the Island Tak

An early morning launch
on the Island Tak

  On Sunday I went out on my first west coast sport fishing expedition and, thanks to a great Captain and crew, a group of friends and new acquaintances, I had a great time and even caught a few fish dinners.

  Originally scheduled to launch at 4am, we were notified to show up by 3am since the fishing in the area had been tough and we were going to go farther away from the rest of the fleet leaving Channel Islands Harbor.  Rising at 1:45, I made a couple of sandwiches and put some frozen water bottles into a small cooler and headed out for Ciscos, (Channel Islands Sportfishing).
  All were aboard on time, we loaded some fresh squid and anchovies, and we were off on a 4 hour jaunt up the coast and to the far end of the largest of the Channel Islands, Santa Cruzs’ West Point.
  There were a few already bunked when I boarded, and the rest were soon to follow.  I didn’t think I would be able to sleep since I was wide awake and ready to fish, but as we left the harbor and the darkness enveloped us I saw little point in standing alone on the deck and watching the distant lights on shore pass slowly by.
  Sleep eventually happened, but first I had to get used to the coffin sized middle bunk, barely long enough for me to stretch out.  I just knew that when I awoke I would attempt to sit up and knock myself out on the bottom of the bunk above.  After what seemed to have been an hour, and possibly just half that, after enduring the close quarters of eleven grown men tossing and turning, at least one of which had had bad burritos the night before, and the constant movement, both side-to-side and the bouncing bow of the Island Tak, I did sleep soundly until light crept in to the cabin from above.

A beautiful morning sunrise off the
coast of Ventura County, CA

  Fresh coffee from the pot and a gorgeous sunrise behind the boat set a great tone for the day as the group slowly gathered on deck and watched dolphin repeatedly arch out of the water nearby. We were all headed for the fishing grounds.  Skirting the northern walls of Santa Cruz Island we spot-checked a few places before heading for West Point, where most of our fishing would be done that day.

Cruising along the cliffs of
Santa Cruz, Channel Islands NP

  I was accompanied on the cruise with several other members of the Ventura County Bass Club who all had more experience fishing saltwater than I and were very helpful to this new saltwater angler.  Several anglers started out casting swim baits with ½ oz. plus jig heads, but only a few fish were playing that game at the time. Of the outfits I brought, Club President Jason H. had suggested I spool my Abu Garcia C3 5500 with the 30# Trilene Big Game I had brought with me, along with the longer Fenwick Aetos Swimbait rod, and use it to cast swim baits.  I did this for a while, but had only brought 3/8 oz. Gulp! Jigg Heads with me and was not getting the casting distance or depth of retrieve that seemed important. Meanwhile, others had started catching a grab bag of species on squid over the side.

Two nice ling cod

  I had my Penn 500L Jigmaster on a 7’ Penn Carnage Rod at the ready spooled with 50lb. Ultracast Invisi-braid and a 20 lb. Trilene 100% Fluorocarbon ProSpec leader.  The majority of catches started coming on squid (not live) dropped over with 3-4 oz. torpedo weights in about 50-60 FOW.  After many others had bagged fish, I finally got my first ling cod off the bottom.  Thanks to the mate, Jon, who showed me how to tie a loop-rig.
  Several bites later, after losing several leaders and rigs, I decided that I needed more experience tying a uni-uni knot or an Albright knot before I went on trusting my braid-to-fluorocarbon tying skills.  I switched my C3 Abu to the squid bait and continued to fish, catching several ‘chuckleheads,’ or copper rockfish, thanks to Jason pointing out the right spot where the reef was off of the bow, where we took turns casting ahead as far as we could and brought in a fish almost every time.

Matching sheepshead

  Meanwhile, a lot of white fish, rockfish, good sized sheepshead and ling cod were being bagged all around the boat.  When the action slowed, the Island Tak’s Captain Steve Kelly moved the boat to a new spot and the catching continued.  At one point, VCB club member Kevin M. walked around the boat twice as he fought against something that was only to be revealed at the last minute as a 3-4 ft. bat ray, at the surface just before the line snapped at the back of the boat.

These three went home
with me

  My last catch, at one of the stops on the way back on the north side of the island, was my first calico bass using a 3/8 oz. Gulp! Jigg Head with a 4” pearl white Gulp! Alive Ripple Mullet.  I had several hits on this same lure, but no other hook-ups.  I learned later that Jason, who prefers to “fish with rubber” instead of bait, found they were biting better on shorter lures in a reddish color and he was biting the first 1/3^rd of his swim bait bodies off.
  Several of the anglers retired to their bunks for the long ride home, but I was enjoying the sea air too much to sleep, though one of the anglers noted that taking a nap on the way back was a good way to kill the time.  Instead I sat near the mate’s cleaning station, taking mental notes and watching the seagulls, as he cleaned the days catch.
  I learned several things during the 3.5 hour cruise back.  That some seagulls are braver than others and will steal a meal almost as soon as it leaves the knife’s edge; I watched several line up along the rail behind Jon waiting for him to move off to the side for a few seconds so they could slip in fast and steal away quick only to be mobbed by several other gulls aft, trying to steal the enterprising bird’s reward.
  I learned that these ling cod enjoy far too many blue slurpees as the ling cod flesh is a perfect match for that color, and I have already learned, upon returning home, that, indeed, the blue flesh does turn white when cooked.


"Excuse me... mind if I just step
in here a sec?"

  On the way back we saw many sea lions and even a shallow cruising shark about 6-7 feet long.  Up next on the menu at home are rockfish, calico bass, and more ling cod.  I’m already looking forward to the next trip!