Reminds me of that book The Hatchet. Really stuck with me how you have to adjust for the refraction, but once you do it's game on. Cool report.

I've heard great things about Jurassic Park but have never been. Epic cod bite! Did you keep the sole? Not that you needed any more meat, all things considered.

Excellent, that's some good reading Keith!

Funny as you were explaining the carp circling and rolling around.  I'm amazed that an arrow can hit at the right angle in the water to sink into them.  I know it's not a big thing, but I've never tried and it seems to be a difficult shot no matter what unless it's 5 feet in front of you.

Well done!

Well done boss.  I love catching them but never tried bowfishing in general.  Love the reports and keep them coming!

I didn't sleep a wink on that first night for many reasons.  The constant boat traffic during the evening waking us was huge as well as having 1 line out kept me up... but my fear of snoring so loud that no one else could sleep was also on my mind.  I warned the guys, but by morning they said they didn't hear a thing.  My heavy eyes and exhaustion just proved I laid down all night but never fell asleep.  It didn't help that my shoulder shot has been wearing off and every time I rolled over, I almost yelled in agony.

Anyway, the grey light was just starting and I put 7 rods out all lined with squid.  The boys woke up and were stoked to see everything out fishing already and I was just waiting for the big one!

Waiting

Waiting

Waiting


We used the gyros to glass the area that morning and noticed a pick of fish here and there but mostly noticed what side of us everything sitting at.  The sun came up and the fleet started to scatter and so did we since we didn't even have a sniff.

The sun came out and we went with Plan B and started drifting.  Scott got the first bite and at least it was something good!  20# butt! Whew!  Skunk off the boat!



We kept making drifts and getting crushed by the clouds of squid below us.  Fin baits stood no chance, so we mostly used squid.  I decided to cast out a small egg sinker with a baby squid and I get hit!  I knew it was a small one, but just happy to get the skunk off me.

Hey, a flatty but of a different kind!  Fantail Sole!





Then everything quieted down.  The micro weather out there changed by the moment.  It was sunny and hot one minute and then you would literally see the clouds/fog pouring off the top of the island onto the water and being in a dense fog.

Unfortunately, we noticed that the battery charger busted at this point and the house battery levels were at 8%.  The starter batteries were fine, but something was wrong.  We discovered a bad inline house battery, but had a backup external 6V battery charger (emergency case) and a generator but it was slow charging.  Things were looking grim and I just kept fishing while they discussed options.  Thankfully Scott talked Matt into running to  the "Jurassic Park" of rockfish spots.  This would help for a few reasons... we actually had a good weather window where he could open it up and charge the batteries through the alternators and maybe it would change the somber mood on the boat that was starting to develop with the lack of fish.

I was down for anything and stoked for the chance of turning our luck around, not to mention confirm the existence of 8-pound local reds...  I aslo brought my little spinner to prove to Scott that I can catch big reds over 300' with it.  They promised me that these things fight way different than out SD reds so I went straight to the 80#/2-speed.  This would help my shoulder if anything else.

We get there and on my first drop I get crushed! HOLY CRAP!  I had no idea what it was since it fought me the entire way up, but low and behold.... a 6# red!  That bastard hit like a ling and never stopped fighting.  I'm not sure if it was from the cold water or not but I looked back and saw Scott with a BIGGER one!



I'm not sure if it was from the cold water or not but I looked back and saw Scott with a BIGGER one!



I tried a double rig once and went "Nope" right after that.



I'll just share some of our catches, but everything was a dinosaur including the Bocaccio!  HOLY HELL!



It was plain nuts out there....





This was my biggest and over 8#....  They were all just absolute studs! 



I got a few over 8#





Scott kept using double rigs and it was wearing him out!  We did get a 26" ling that looked like a baby next to the 24" reds!



He hooked a set that he wasn't sure what he had but it kicked his ass!



Giant red and BIG Cowcod! 



It took 6# of weight to descend that thing.  Holy crap...

We kept catching to get the limits and apparently found the Cow Cod grounds.  Got my first, but after watching how tough it was to descend his, I just rushed to get a quick pick before putting it on the descending device...  6# of lead with a 10# plus fish is ridiculous!



Matt was tired and let us do most of the work, but we had him contribute.



Scott got another double with a Cow and I was done....  We descended it and finished out our limits of reds.



I love when I'm wrong and someone makes a believer out of me! We packed it up and ran back to find our anchor spot of the night.

We got back and metered around.  I was doing test drops with the squid jigs and found the biggest squid yet.  It also was more in the zone we glassed everyone the morning before that were catching so we set anchor and got ready to prep some dinner.  It was a hell of a side trip and totally changed the mood on the boat.

The smile on my fat face says it all.



Scott fied up a mean fresh cod dinner and it never tasted so good.





I was not planning on fishing this night and hopefully going to get some sleep, but the sunset was awesome before the Saturday night crowds started to arrive.



The funny thing was I thought I didn't get any sleep that night, but they said that was the LOUDEST snoring they've ever heard.  hahahahaha, well at least I got a little sleep.

Day 3 and the best of the trip coming tomorrow!

Big Bear Water District is sponsoring a season long carp removal event this year, 2025 Countin' Carp
Started in May and runs thru end of September. 
They give you a raffle ticket each day you bring in fish to dispose of. They have monthly raffles for cash and two special bonus raffles on holiday weekends.

I went up on Memorial Day weekend. They weren't spawning yet so you really had to look for them. They were staying in the deeper water which made finding them from shore harder.
They pretty much would see me first and all I'd see is them rolling sideways on the surface, flipping me the fin.
I managed one on Sunday which got me a raffle ticket. I got another, which had my name on it close to shore and lumbering in the shallows.
Easy head shot. Sweet!


The bonus for the weekend was a phone call after dropping off a fish saying I had won the raffle for the holiday weekend. 
I went back and found I had won a Muzzy Envy bow!


If your not into bowfishing. You can bring up your pole. You can catch the carp either way. In fact I was up there the following weekend and the day after the spawn the carp were apparently hungry. I saw a guy pull one in less than 5 minutes after throwing in a night crawler.
I was under the impression they didn't eat while spawning but apparently some carp were done and on the chew.
I just thought I'd throw it out there if you want to clean up the lake using poles. Corn doughballs as chum work great to attract a bunch of them.

- Keith

I hit Big Bear Lake on May 30th to bowfish and the carp were spawning. 
The water was boiling everywhere but pretty far off shore, which making for some pretty spectacular long shots and lots of them hitting the end of my spool of line, 100 ft. (None actually hitting fish but exactly where they were.)
It was exciting when a group would start heading towards me with a wake in front and frantic splashing in the back. Most circled or would only go 10 feet or so in one direction. But one group was 100 yds away and was heading towards me. Surprisingly it continued straight at me for 50 feet, prompting me to ready my bow. It continued toward me and the splashing started to get more frantic. (Jaws theme song ringing in my head) I drew and when they were about 60 ft away I aimed and shot. The arrow flew true and hit the water just in front of the wake...
But as with most shots where you don't actually see the fish got nothing on the arrow but did get a satisfying splash from the fish as the arrow flashed past it in the water.
I did manage to hit two that day so no stripe for me.
This was a clean shot threw the gills.

Looking forward to seeing them closer to shore next time.

- Keith

Back in my younger days I fished those Islands as a Kid, then in my late Teens I did some Scuba Diving up there as well.

I have never been back but I can see your adventure is a good one !  

More work than I did this weekend, good on ya.

Been about 4 years since I last looped Santa Cruz Island in a friend's tinny. Definitely a different experience for an SD guy! In some ways those islands feel more remote and rugged than the more southerly ones, maybe it's the cooler water and more consistent winds.

Can't wait for more!