September 6th: Overnight Fishing trip

The Producer, my fishing trip boat

People have asked me, "What's it like going on an overnight fishing trip?" Here is maybe more than you want to know. 

I went on an overnight fishing trip into Mexican waters. We arrived at the boat Tuesday night at 8 PM but couldn't board until 8:45 PM. I don't know why they tell us to get there at 8pm! The repeat anglers showed up closer to 8:45 PM. It worked out okay because I met some of the other anglers as we sat around on the dock. There was a lot of beer drinking going on but I was happy with just the company. There were 7 firemen from Los Angeles County who were a lot of fun. For most it was their first fishing experience on an overnight charter boat.

 This bird stopped by on the rail. I suspect it might be some type of night heron. Perhaps my niece Stephanie knows.

We left the dock around 9:15PM and headed into the middle of the San Diego harbor where the bait tanks are. We fish with live sardines, They are 6 - 8 inches long. The deck hands scooped up sardines in bushel basket sized nets and put them in our bait tank. It took 45 minutes because we took on several thousand sardines. About 100 per 29 fisher people. (There was one woman aboard). We next headed out of San Diego harbor on a beautiful night with an almost full moon.

By the time we actually exited the harbor, it was about 10:30 PM. The ride out of the harbor was very peaceful and serene. As we got into the open ocean waters, there was a pretty good breeze. Time to go to bed, for me at least. It was difficult sleeping because the boat was rocking broadside as we travelled all night, The sleeping accommodations are minimal at best. I was in the top bunk, left, #21. Hard to get in and out without a ladder but it was wider than the bottom bunks. Don't want to sit up suddenly nor be claustrophobic! I put my backpack on the outside of the bunk in case the waves picked up so I wouldn't roll out while sleeping. Fortunately the waves never got very big. 

The next morning everyone was commenting about the rocking all night so it wasn't just me. In fact, being a boat person I understood it was going to be a long night. We had breakfast, a burrito and coffee. (Food is not a high priority, nor is it healthy!)

About an hour later we arrived at the first fishing spot. The boat collectively caught 49 Mahi Mahi at our first stop. (29 people fishing.) Mahi Mahi travel in schools so when you find the fish, there is a frenzied 15 - 30 minutes of catching. It's exciting and fun. I caught my limit of 2 fish. 

Mahi Mahi or Dorado

There were 7 firemen from Los Angeles County who were a lot of fun. For most it was their first fishing experience on an overnight charter boat. Lots of beer drinking every time we stopped fishing to move to another spot. I think we moved 8 times. Those firemen can consume a lot of beer and keep on fishing. Of course I'd say they were in their late 30's to early 40's. Nice to see them having fun. 

They've had a rough year with much more overtime than they would like as EMT's and firefighting. They do both. They said January and February were very difficult because they knew many of the people were not going to survive, and they just kept coming nonstop. Of course they felt good about being able to help many.  Fortunately, for whatever reason, they said currently most of the people will most likely get the help they need to survive. Perhaps people have figured out the urgency of getting help. A lot of the enjoyment of the trip is getting to talk to people from many locations and backgrounds. Everyone was very friendly.

My Mahi Mahi fillets - 
 about 12 lbs.

After the first stop, we rode around for 5 more hours and caught only 4 more fish. When fishing, you put a fresh sardine on every 1 minute or so. That means you continually go back to the bait well, catch a sardine and put it on the hook. The fish will not bite on an inactive sardine. I had one very nice sized fish on the line, but it got off the hook just before I got it to the boat. Very long day standing at the railing trying to catch fish that weren't biting. I was allowed to keep fishing because the goal is to reach the total boat limit so everyone gets fish to take home. Overall I'm glad I went on the trip but won't do it again! But... I have a lot of really good fish in the freezer. (I will NOT calculate the cost per pound!)

I must point out that the largest Mahi Mahi caught on our boat was smaller than the one Cindy caught on our trip to the Bahamas. Cindy, I told you it was a big fish! It just wasn't as big as mine.

All the charter boats post their catch for the day. We did much better than the other overnight trips. Some had more anglers and caught less than 6 fish. That would be a day of "Fishing" only, not "Catching". Of course our day would also have been pretty bleak if not for the first stop. 

We started the cruise back to San Diego about 2:30 PM. Many of us crawled back into our bunks for a nap. We got back to the dock at 6:20 PM. I arrived home around 8:00 PM.I sauteed some of my fish in garlic butter and it was excellent. Then it took about 45 minutes to skin the rest, cut it into meal size portions and freeze it. Even though I was pretty well worn out I know to freeze it as soon as possible. Because it gets frozen while so fresh, it is excellent even after being frozen. Keeping it in the refrigerator overnight would make a difference.