The Party Boat Trip

Party boat fishing is really not what some people may think; there is some drinking (beer), but not much dancing. Unless, having a big fish tow you all over the boat is considered dancing! It is all about a group of people trying to catch fish, having fun in the sun in the confines of a boat. The fun begins when the captain spots a school of fish then positions the boat into it or near it and the crew throws bait (chum) to keep the catch close. It doesn't take long for the first bite, then a couple more bites, and the next thing you know 15 to 20 people are hooked up. That's great and the fun begins. The fish, especially bigger ones, don't stay in front of you. They like to run to the right or left or both and of course, there are people next to you that are hooked up already or trying to get a hookup themselves. Even though lines get tangled real fast, people don't get mad - its part of the fishing and normally a crew member will jump in and help by cutting lines so that the angler with the fish can bring it aboard. Not everyone enjoys getting their line cut but they learn fast that it is part of the experience. Kids are a priority, then women, then a newbie, and everyone accepts the progression soon enough. There is nothing better than seeing a youngster catch his or her first BIG fish.

Once near Point Loma a woman, who was definitely a senior citizen, hooked-up with an eight - foot long blue shark. She was a tough little lady. She wouldn't let anyone help her and she fought that big monster for at least an hour all the way to the boat. That fished danced on the top of the water just like you would see a Dolphin do. Once alongside, a crewman put a gaff in it and the captain came down and shot it with a .38 revolver. She got so mad at the captain that I thought she was going to throw him overboard! What she didn't know is, if that shark was let loose, it would eat at least half of the fish everyone was catching and pretty much ruin the fun for everyone on board.

My brother Leonard (Lon), my ex-wife (ex), and I had booked a half day (6 hour) excursion on a fishing party boat thru Special Services that is run by the U.S. Navy. Lon and I are stationed in a Fighter Jet Squadron (VF-114) at Miramar, California, 25 miles north of San Diego. Lon is staying with us awaiting orders to a new duty station within the month.

We, Lon and I, are both experienced party boat patrons, having been out before on other charters - once, an all day trip into Mexican waters and three times on half- day charters to the Point Loma Kelp Beds. We would go whenever we could afford buying the discount tickets through Special Services instead of cruising aboard an aircraft carrier.

The bait we were using is live anchovies that are about six to eight inches in length. I try to find the biggest one in the tank to put on my hook. We use a 6 - ounce weight tied to the end of the line with the 2/0 hook about a foot above the weight. I take my own hooks and weights, for reasons mentioned above, and I can tie my rig a lot quicker than the crew.

The trick to catching what you want is how deep you place your bait. For schooling fish like bonito, the tuna's (yellow fin, albacore dorado), and mackerel you want to keep your bait just under the surface of the water. The barracuda and smooth sharks (blues, mako, six gill, and small great whites) will normally swim under the surface fish looking for stragglers for an easy meal. Of course there are the bottom feeders like bass (black, white, sand, calico, spotted, and barred), sculpen, halibut, rock cod, rockfish, stingrays, and various bottom feeding sharks. And, believe it or not, I have even caught a lobster or two.

We are fishing in a new location, the LaJolla Kelp beds, which are 35 miles north off the coast. My ex had never been out in a boat, let alone gone fishing. I think she is afraid that I go fishing to meet other women. She never really knew me.

It was about 4:30 am when I drove into the marina parking lot. As we walked down to the fish shack (office) at the marina to check in and get a fishing license for my ex, people were milling around, excited and ready to fish. Stories were being told of big fish and great fishing days. Fishermen, women, and kids of all ages, about thirty people in all, were ready to get the party started and more were pulling into the parking lot.

Our boat, a beautiful 70 –footer was a very nice, clean, relatively new, and looked to handle twice as many people as are waiting on the pier. Later, talking to the captain, he said that normally this ship was used for overnight trips and had bunks for 55 people. It also claimed to have all the latest electronics and engines to get us out to the kelp beds quickly. There is a small galley amid ships where you could buy soda, sandwiches, chips, beer, and grilled hamburgers and hot dogs. It has two 150 -gallon bait tanks, on fore (forward) and one aft (the rear), making it easier for the customers to get their bait. Numbered burlap sacks were hung on hooks all around the bait tanks. Stations are marked by number all along the rail about the boat. When you catch a fish, the crew would ask if you wanted to keep the fish. If so, they would put it in your numbered burlap sack. The best fishing area to have on the boat is the aft section in a corner. With the weight of the engines and being wider from side to side than the rest of the boat, it is more stable. The pitch and the roll from the waves are not as severe as it is forward. Also, you can fish to the side or the rear of the boat and avoid the people getting tangled up with fish on.

At 5:30am, the captain, first Mate, and crew (6) boarded the ship. The first mate started the engines while the crew went about getting the stations set with the fishing poles and the burlap sacks placed on the hooks. The captain waited by the gangway (boarding platform) and greeted each fisherman or fisherwoman as they boarded. Most people went forward to the bow stations, some went to the mid-ship sections and others went to the galley for breakfast or coffee. We went to the aft station in the port (left) corner. With the boat almost fully loaded, the ship pulls away from the pier. The first mate makes the announcement over the loud speaker that the crew will collect $2.00 ($1.00 each) from each person that would like to get into the "Big Fish" and "Most Fish" pots for the trip. Seasoned fisherman most always enter and we pay for ourselves when the crewman comes around. We have never won in the past, but you never know.

We are cruising across Mission Bay headed for the floating bait tanks on the southern end. The sun is coming up to the east casting a brilliant orange - red glow on the horizon. There are seals swimming gracefully around the boat docks. Some are even on the docks asleep. The seagulls are everywhere and there appears to be hundreds just to the south of us. A boy looking that way asks his dad, "Why are there so many birds down there, daddy?"

"I don't know son," The dad answered, "but there sure is a lot of them."

I turned to them and said, "It's the floating bait tanks and their having breakfast. We'll be there shortly and you may want to put your hat on."

It takes another ten to fifteen minutes to get to the tanks and as we pull up we see another party boat on the other side being loaded with bait. There is only one crane to do the loading so we have to wait for them to finish. We watch as the boom on the crane lowers a huge net into the tanks and as it is lifted out it's full of lively squirming little fish.

Someone says, "There must be a thousand fish in that net!"

"No, Just 400 to 500" the crewman answered.

The boom dumps the load and swings back as the other boat begins to move off towards the opening in the bay. The boom digs out another load of fish and swings toward our aft tank. It drops down to about two - feet above the tank and opens the bottom of the netting. With a startling "whoosh", the fish drop into the tank. About ten or fifteen fish miss the tank that allows Lon to quickly grab a nice big 8 - inch anchovy. He hooks him through the lips and drops him over the side to the bottom. The kids pick up the other escapees and throw them into the tank. Everyone is watching the loading process as another load is dropped into the aft tank.

All of a sudden, Lon's pole takes a fast dip and his line starts running out. He makes some adjustments to the drag and slows the fish. Everyone is seeing the action and they want to bait their hooks. The crew is not happy with what just happened because they are trying to get loaded and underway. The first mate comes down to tell us that if Lon doesn't land the fish by the time the bait tanks are full, they'll cut the line. Lon just smiled, tightened down the drag some more and started cranking. They finish loading the aft tank and swing around to load the front tank. Lon takes out a cigarette, lights it, smiles, and continues to horse in the fish. The fish appears to have some weight to it as the pole is shaped like a big upside down U. Another load comes aboard and Lon keeps on cranking. It appears that Lon is getting tired and so is the fish. As he gives more line, the pole bends like an open C. The last load of bait comes aboard and the first mate starts the engines again. The fish comes to the surface where everyone can see him now. There's a lot of "ooh's and aah's", a few "wows", and a "nice catch." It is BIG, It's BEAUTIFUL, It's BROWN, and it's WIDE! It's a halibut - a fish that is dark brown on one side with light spots and very light on the bottom. With both eyes on one side, the fish swims sideways with the dark side up. Upon seeing the fish, the captain signals to the first mate to cut the engines, grabbing the gaff hook. The fish is spent and has just enough energy to float on the surface. The captain leans over the rail and gaffs the fish. It takes two men to pull the fish into the boat. The crewmen get the measuring tape out and run it from tail to nose.

"It's 57 and a quarter inch long", he said, "quite large for Pacific halibut in this area. He must have lived here for a long while gorging himself on anchovies."

The fish is too long and wide to fit into the burlap sack so the captain offers to store it in the cooler below decks until we get back to port. After Lon agrees and the crewmen take the fish below, he lights another cigarette and says, "Thank goodness for strong line and a good Penn Senator Reel, I didn't think I would make it."

While in the bay, ships and boats are regulated to go slow in order to prevent a wake that will do damage to seawalls, docks, and to the shore line. It takes our boat about twenty minutes to get to the seaway that is the inlet from the ocean. Heading out through Mission Bay channel, there are anglers fishing on either side of the two seawalls of cement. As I lean on the railing smoking a cigarette, I watch a fisherman running along with us fighting to keep up with a fish that he has on his line. I know the feeling and love the fact that when you catch something in the ocean, you never know what it is until you bring him to the surface. He is still in a struggle with the fish long after we pass - I hope he lands him.

I glance forward over the bow to see where we are headed. Doing a double take, I realize that something looks abnormal. The boat is about a quarter - mile from the end of the channel and there appears to be a wall of water at the end. What the. . ? Then I realize what it is.

"Hey Lon, check this out" I said as I motioned to the waves.

Lon looked forward and said, "Looks like it's going to get a little rough today. What do you think? 15 footers?"

"I would say at least! And with some big swells", I replied,

Once we cleared the channel, it didn't take long before our fellow fishermen noticed the severe bouncing and rolling of the ship. After ten minutes out, a few people got seasick. In the first half - hour over half of the anglers were turning green and losing their breakfast over the side of the boat. My ex was one of them. Those that weren't feeling well went below to climb into the bunks where they stayed for the remainder of the trip. After Lon got a couple beers from the galley, we sat on the railing to enjoy the ride. A lot of people are unaware that motion sickness gets more severe after a boat quits moving forward and the action of swells are added to it. Needless to say, we arrive at the Kelp Beds as the captain shuts off the engines. The crew starts chumming by throwing the live anchovies in the water around the boat to draw the fish. All but five people are seasick and have gone to the ships berthing area below. My ex, after having added her chum overboard, wants me to go to the galley and get her some toast. I go below to order the toast; I can hear the people getting sick and smell the stink of vomit everywhere. The closed in cabin and the stench are too much for me so I make a bee - line to the railing where I add to the chum line. After getting sick, I return to get the toast and go back to where the ex was.

"She's gone down to the bunk and I don't think she'll be back", Lon said.

I toss the toast over the side and stand there for a while breathing the fresh air. The count of anglers is down to three. In ten minutes or so, I feel better.

While I was down below, Lon was catching fish one after another. After gathering my wits, I too got in on the fishing action. We caught mainly bonito and barracuda as they were schooling under the boat. On occasion we got a few mackerel, some sea bass, and every now and then a small shark. The bonito ranged in size from three pounds to upwards of ten pounds - the fun size!

I turned around to re-bait my hook and noticed that we were the only fisherman left on deck. We had all of the crewmen around us throwing chum and doing whatever we needed. Lon even had one young crewman running for his Budweiser when he needed a refill.

Around 10:30 am, the Captain came down to ask us if we would mind going in early. With all of the clean up to do before their next trip, they would need some extra time.

The Captain explained, "We will return the fees that you paid."

I looked at Lon and he said, "Sure, we had a great time, didn't we Bob?"

I answered, "We sure did."

As we cruised for the channel, the first mate approached us and hands Lon a handful of money. "You won for Most Fish and the Biggest Fish", he said, as he counted out a hundred thirty some dollars.

Lon says, "Thanks" and then turns to me with a five dollar bill, he continues, "Here's for gas. What do you say we go get some beer?"

Footnote 1: Lon was not a lush; he just liked his Budweiser back then. His normal fishing gear consists of a thermos of black coffee and a box of Animal Crackers, carried in a bucket, which doubled as a stool.

Footnote 2: My EX never asked to go fishing with me again!