I had an almost epic day on Saturday and almost had a more incredible day today!  f@cking Navy Squids pretty much closed down all of the inshore banks and forced me off my paddy full of YFT, YT, and Dodo.  f@cking really pissed me off....

I'll get a post up here as soon as I can.

Yep, that all seems right about the Maiden Voyage!  Once again, beautiful boat!

As far as the GWS... I've seen a dozen jumps in my boat and they are always unreal!  Squatch used to think I was lying until he finally got to witness a big one leap!  Super cool stuff.

Man... you guys didn't just go fishing, you went on a full‑blown Survivor: Dana Point Edition. LOL

Fuel line patchwork, dead battery, sunglasses retrieval mission, bathroom pit stop... at this point I'm convinced Jake's real job on the boat is "Chief Crisis Pump‑the‑Bulb Officer."

That skipjack story had me laughing, especially since you were thinking you've got a medium bonito and suddenly... your reel starts singing opera. And Jake's first gaff job being a literal blood sprinkler? Chef's kiss. That console is gonna smell like a crime scene until at least Thanksgiving.

Glad you broke the pelagic curse though. A season without one would've been rough, but you pulled it off with style... and duct tape. The turds at the end were just the ocean's way of saying "good hustle."

Solid report, Jeremy. You earned that poké.

I'm just flooding the boards for no good reason now....

I was thinking about getting some better-quality stuff made for the XX edition but would probably need to pre-order so I don't purchase more than I need to.  Would you guys be willing?  I have a few months of recover for my Surgery in November, so I will have time to get some things done.

I'm going to start making smaller versions for rockfish.  These things really work great.

I just picked up a free descending device online, so no longer have to use the wire hanger rig but I will keep it on board in a pinch.

I just sold some more fossils, so now I bought the electric reel and sweet rod for basically rocks!

Koga is going nowhere this year.  I need to crush that Zonie this season!

I'm just looking at this boat again.  What a cool little rig!

I'm looking forward to seeing what you catch on that beast!  Best time possible to pick up that boat!

500+ Pound Blue Marlin....

500 Pound Bluefin Tuna....

Wahoo in SoCal....

Amberjack in SoCal....

Manta Rays, Whale Sharks, etc....

Timmy my boy!  Get the Cyclops out!!!!

I never heard of a trailer inspection... and have never had one on any boat that I ever purchased, so I'm a little curious right now.

We launched with one thing on our minds: marlin and wahoo. The anticipation was high as we headed out, even though my buddies didn't have Mexican permits and planned to stay in U.S. waters for the day.



First stop was the bait barge, where we grabbed a half scoop. It was mostly small anchovies, with a few tiny macks and dines mixed in. Not exactly trophy bait, but we've all seen stranger things happen offshore.
We spent some time on the 9-Mile Bank and metered some really promising fish, but no matter what we threw at them, they just wouldn't commit. One of those classic "they're here, but they're not hungry" situations.



From there we made the run to the 182, put out three marlin jigs, and then things got absolutely stupid... in the best possible way.





Twenty minutes later... TRIPLE HOOKUP!

Three marlin on at the same time! We ended up boating two and releasing the third. Not long after, we hooked a fourth marlin and sent that one back to fight another day. Definitely not the kind of action we were really expecting when we left the dock that morning.





After riding that high, we headed over toward the 43, where a fleet of marlin boats was working the area. We started trolling and stumbled onto what can only be described as a magical paddy.

This thing was loaded.

Yellowtail... Dorado...... Yellowfin tuna!







The tuna were mostly footballs, but nobody was complaining. For the next several hours it was pretty much nonstop action. Even better, somehow nobody crashed our little party! We jokingly started calling it the "Paddy Party", and the invitations apparently got lost in the mail because we had it all to ourselves which was unreal.

By the time we finally called it quits, the kill bag was pretty much stuffed and the arms/shoulders were feeling it.
The ride home got a little sporty as the wind came up, but we were treated to one final show when we saw huge manta rays launching themselves out of the water all over the 9-Mile Bank. An awesome way to cap off an already unforgettable day.

No wahoo this time, but with four marlin encounters, a loaded paddy, nonstop yellowtail/dorado/yellowfin action, and flying manta rays, it's pretty hard to complain.

Some days the ocean gives you exactly what you're looking for. Other days it gives you something even better.

Until Next Tide!

Hahahaha, sorry Steve-O!

Nice trip Jeremy!  I love to see what you guys get on the annual Bongos trip.  I do have to say that it's a bummer that you didn't get out to Clemente though.  That could have been a really good trip, especially now!

Holy crap, that boat towing the dory sideways has me cringing.  What in the actual hell....

Well, the fish are snapping down here and a big wave of wahoo are at the border.  The next few weeks should be pretty wide open down here!