retired but keeping my sense of humor
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My first lesson on the importance's of color!
When I was very young and just starting out in the charter boat business I had a lot things that happened to me. There was fog of which I never thought was a problem until I had to navigate in it without the aid of my father. By the way, back in the old days we didn't have any chart plotters or radars to aid our navigation mounted on our dash. Believe me it was surely navigation by the seat of your pants at least in my case. My father just seem to know exactly where he was at all times. In fact he even knew when a ship was passing. I never saw a ship I just heard it go by. They were always to close for me especially in the fog. It's funny how experience makes you more aware, because back in the old days awareness surely didn't play a part with me. I just went fishing to catch fish. All that other stuff like fog and high sea conditions were just plain boring. At least until I was forced to consume some needed experience.
I will never forget this day as long as I live. This happened during the time while our boats were still tied up a Walsh's docks, which is located in Lazaretto Creek. (Tybee Island Georgia) My father had a charter this particular morning and he asked me to take it. I was happy to take it, because I loved to fish. It was a two part plus for me. I would also get to run his boat the "Miss Jerry," which was big 40-foot yacht. The only thing I didn't like about his boat was the color. He had painted it egg yolk yellow and as if that wasn't enough loudness he finished the top of the boat off with the emergency orange color.
After loading up the passengers off I went to deep blue sea for a wonderful day of fishing. We arrived at our destination point, which was the "Old Black Fish Banks" and started our day by bottom fishing. As we all fished I noticed that cloudy conditions were moving in, but I never gave it a second thought. At least not, until what looked like clouds had moved right down to the water. They weren't clouds at all it was what I would long remember as an unbelievably thick hovering "'FOG BANK." I watched as it moved toward us. Upon completely covering the boat we couldn't see from one end to the other. I immediately told everyone that under the current conditions I wanted to head back to the dock. I pulled the boat around, got my compass on a 270 degrees heading and preceded to the dock. Right before I left I turned my VHF radio on so that it could warm up. After all during this time all radios still had tubes and it took them minutes to get going.
As I approached what I thought was the coastline of Savannah Beach I started seeing lots of sea birds and close wave action off to my starboard. Unfortunately when returning home from the "Old Black Fish Banks" there wasn't any shallow water at least for a good 10 nautical miles. At this moment I knew I was in trouble, because I wasn't where I thought I was. The thought of running daddy's big boat aground was making me a little sick. So I decided to pick up the radio and make a call to coast guard. As soon as I made contact, which was in seconds, I felt better. However, I had to wonder what they could possibly do. After all the visibility was below 50 feet. They asked the normal questions, which consist of how many on board, boat size, color, and where I thought I might be. That latter one was a great question; because all I knew for sure was that I was seriously off course.
Upon relaying that transmission my soon to be savior told me to exactly what to do, which was to take an immediate heading of oner-sixer-0. This means that I need to turn and head 160 degrees, which I did straight away. After a few minutes, the welcomed voice came back over the radio and told me to change my heading to two seven "0." You guessed it. My new heading of 270 degrees was now back to normal. Once again the voice inside the radio said, "pull back, hold your heading, and slow you speed." I quickly pulled the throttle back and started idling in said direction. At this point I started wondering how they knew exactly where I was. So I asked. According to the coast guard voice over the radio they could see me just fine from a top of the lighthouse! I never joked again about my father's yellow boat with the orange top! I was around sixteen year old when this happened.
Here's My Line Now Bite My Hook!"
Captain Judy
Huge Alaskan Halibut
By Captain Ray Kelly
I am sure many of you have dreamed of fishing for huge halibut in Alaska. On this particular adventure we will take you to Alaska and we will be fishing for those HUGE Alaskan Halibut.
Walking the docks in Key West, Florida, I observed a man wearing a Black Rock Charters, Gustavus, Alaska baseball hat. I approached the man and said “I guess you have fished in Alaska.” He introduced himself as Tim and said he was a captain in Alaska and worked for Capt. Josh Cozby of Black Rock Charters in Gustavus, Alaska. I explained that I produce a television show, Adventures In Fishing. I asked him to mention to his boss that we would travel to Gustavus if he wanted us to produce an episode of Adventures In Fishing featuring Black Rock Charters and the fantastic halibut fishing.
Three weeks later, I received a telephone call from Capt. Josh who said he would love to be featured on our television show. He also said that Mike Olney, the owner of The Bear Track Inn would also like to be featured on our show. Arrangements were made to film the show in late June, as the Halibut fishing would be red hot at that time of year.
My son, Christopher Kelly, said he would be the cameraman for this particular shoot. Chris is also the Associate Producer of the show and designs and maintains the Adventures In Fishing website. After flying from New York to Washington and then to Juneau, we flew the last leg of our flights and landed in Gustuvas, Alaska. Krista, a driver for The Bear Track Inn picked us up at the airport and drove us to the inn. She made us feel so welcome as did the rest of the staff at The Bear Track Inn. We checked in. Our accommodations were great. The Bear Track Inn is a family owned resort with 14 guest rooms with two beds and private baths. The inn’s dining room served the most delicious meals including caribou, musk ox, salmon, halibut, steak and Dungeness Crab. All of which were excellent. The inn’s desserts are to die for.
From The Bear Track Inn you could see snow capped mountains, forests, meadows, streams and the sea. The inn’s large lobby has a cozy fireplace and makes for an enjoyable way to meet the other guests and share those fish stories with. I met Capt. Josh the next evening in the lobby. He explained that the halibut fishing was in full swing and every day his charters were catching their limit of halibut with at least one fish always weighing more than 100 pounds. He said we would meet at the town dock the following morning at 7:00 am. He also said the following day, we would try and catch salmon, lingcod and rockfish. I have always wanted to experience Alaskan Fishing. I could wait for 7:00 am to arrive.
The Bear Track Inn offers a feast for breakfast. Chris and I ate eggs, bacon and pancakes which were made to order. Krista drove us and other guests to the Town Dock. I met Capt. Josh aboard his boat, Quicksilver, a 30’ custom-made aluminum boat. After meeting, Tanya Tate and Mark Wascher, the two anglers who would be fishing with us, we left the dock. Capt. Josh said The Quicksilver was a fish catching boat. I told Josh that was because it had a great captain. He laughed. I could tell just by talking with Capt. Josh that he knew what he was doing. I knew we were going to have a great day. I also knew we would be producing an excellent episode for Adventures In Fishing.
Scenery and wildlife in Alaska is amazing. On the way to the fishing grounds, we passed whales. Josh cruised up close we could film them. The size of the Humpback Whales amazed Chris and I. The scenery was spectacular. This is all part of the adventure.
Capt. Josh checked his sounder for baitfish and saw a large school. He instructed Tanya and Mark to drop the Sabiki rigs down. Herring was the bait of choice and both Tanya and Mark caught enough to last the day.
Capt. Josh checked the first area in Icy Strait but the current was moving to fast so he went to another area close by. Capt. Josh baited Tanya and Mark up and within 5 minutes Tanya was hooked up. Tanya is an excellent angler. She said it was a halibut. True to her word when the fish surfaced, it was a small halibut. Josh estimated it to be 15-20 pounds. The fish was released.
Minutes later, Mark’s line went tight and he was battling a halibut. This halibut was bigger. The fish was about 25 pounds. Mark said he was to keep it and Josh gave it a couple a whacks with the gaff handle to calm the halibut and then gaffed it. I could see Mark was happy when the fish went into the fish box.
Mark caught another fish shortly thereafter. This halibut was even bigger… about 30 pounds. Josh said he would release this halibut, as bigger fish will definitely be caught. Mark wanted to keep it but he also knew Josh was right. It’s great to see that Capt. Josh practices catch and release.
Tanya started battling a fish. She did not know it then but this battle would last over 30 minutes. As she was battling her fish, Mark hooked up, After Tanya and Mark changed their positions in the stern of the boat, the third rod was hit and Capt. Josh had a third fish on. Mark reeled in his halibut which was even bigger than the prior two. Capt. Josh put the rod in the holder, gaffed this halibut and into the fish box it went. Mark finished reeling in that third rod. Tanya as it turned out had a monster of a halibut on. She lifted the rod and reeled on the way down. You could tell she caught a few halibut before and knew what she was doing. Mark landed the next halibut. The halibut were getting bigger. Capt. Josh measured this halibut. It measured 58 inches. According to the book, it weighed 97 pounds. Chris and I were amazed at the fishing as we were capturing it all of film.
Tanya finally got her giant halibut to the surface. It was bigger than she was. Capt. Josh calmed the fish, gaffed it and brought it into the boat. It was so impressive. This monster measured 62 inches weighing 120 pounds. Tanya said it was the biggest halibut that she had ever caught. She gave credit to Capt. Josh and her father for teaching her how to fish. Tanya and Mark were catching one halibut after another.
I decided to give it a try and catch the next halibut. This halibut gave me a battle that I will never forget. I knew it was a monster. When the halibut finally reached the surface, Capt. Josh estimated it to be 120 pounds. We released this fish for another angler to catch another day. Chris battled the next fish, which was another halibut. Chris had a fight he will not forget as well. This fish was smaller (about 50 pounds). The halibut was the biggest fish Chris had ever landed. Capt Josh said he would keep it as his father had requested some fresh halibut. Tanya was into another huge halibut. This fish was even bigger than the one she caught earlier. It was estimated to be about 175 pounds. Capt. Josh said it was a female. He released this halibut to allow it spawn again.
This is how it is in Alaska, one halibut after another. An angler has to come to Alaska to experience it. This is an experience he or she will surely never forget. The next day, Capt. Josh took us to the Pacific Ocean for some Ling Cod and Rockfishing. On the way, he cruised the boat up to about 50 sea lions that were on the rocky shore on the way to the fishing grounds. It was truly an amazing sight to see. The sea lions growled at the us as we filmed them and took photos. Some of them swam right by the boat. We also saw more whales. We even saw an Orca Whale (Killer Whale) on this day. Capt. Josh pointed to a bald eagle over looking us as we were fishing. The eagle swooped down and grabbed a fish about 30 feet from the boat. Needless to say, we filmed this also. Enjoying the scenery and the wildlife is all part of the Alaskan adventure when fishing in Alaska.
Although the weather and seas could have been better, Capt. Josh, Tanya and Mark caught one ling cod and rock fish after another. Rockfish have unique colors of orange and the eyes bulge out when brought up from the depths. Some have horizontal striped of black where others have verticle stripes. They also give an angler a nice fight. The lingcod were released as the season was closed. The rockfish were kept for dinner. Rockfish are excellent tablefare. On the way back to Gustavus, Capt. Josh gave us a tour of Elfin Cove, a unique small town in which boaters walk the town via a boardwalk which surrounds the shops and docks. As we were docking a float plane was also dropping off passengers.
There is only one thing I have to say about Alaskan Fishing; YOU HAVE TO TRY IT.
Alaska fishing is fishing that every angler has to experience at least once. Capt. Josh of Black Rock Charters is definitely one of the best captains that I have ever worked with. He is a true professional and definitely puts his anglers onto fish. He can be reached at 907-697-2786 or at www.blackrockcharters.com. The Bear Track Inn is the place to stay. Mike Olney can be reached at 907-697-3017 or at www.Beartrackinn.com.
You can watch this episode of Adventures In Fishing on our website at www.adventure-fishing.com. And don’t forget…Let’s get kids hooked on Fishing…NOT on drugs!
PICTURES FROM THAT DAY........#1
Thresher Hat Trick, from the Kayak
I had been reading the reports on the various websites with great interest this week, as I do every week to decide where and what to fish for. For a couple of days mid-week it looked like Malibu was the hot bite on Thresher sharks, but when a friend of mine went there Thursday he only caught two very small ones. More important he told me that he didn’t think it would be back "on" for a few days, as the water seemed off.
I considered fishing my home waters between San Clemente and Laguna, but things had been slow out there for several trips as well. Looking at the reports coming from La Jolla I saw a pattern that I decided to investigate. The fishing reports from La Jolla had been slow for more than a month, with no Yellowtail and very few White Sea Bass being caught. One thing struck me, however. A number of anglers had been bitten off quickly by what seemed to them to be very large fish. Even more obvious several had seen a Thresher either slap their baits or jump before breaking or biting them off.
The Ocean weather models also showed very favorable conditions at La Jolla, with very little swell and warmer water than my Northern spots.
I also just happen to love fishing La Jolla from a Kayak. It has an easy and nostalgic launch, just drive right onto the sand, tremendous scenery and life in the water, and a short paddle compared to my usual fishing haunts. So La Jolla and Mr.T became my targets for Saturday the 28th of June.
I launched in the dark by myself. Jim H was waiting for me to finish rigging, but I am very slow and methodical, and he couldn’t stand it anymore. I told him he should watch me pre-flight my plane before I fly it. That would really drive him nuts. One small wave rolled over the bow of my kayak and I was past the break. I headed straight out towards the yellow preserve buoy with flying fish skipping along the surface on both sides of me seemingly as an escort to my passage. I took this as a very good omen, as I had never seen them there before, and really enjoyed their amazing company. As soon as I passed the no-fishing area of the preserve, I got out the rods and started trolling parallel to the kelp, with the sky becoming lighter.
In no time at all I had one of the most exciting hook-ups I can remember. My Penn 4/0 with 30 pound mono and a 12 foot leader of 100 pound mono dragging a Rapala CD14 via my old Sabre stroker starts screaming. I mean screaming.
As I pick up the rod turn off the clicker and tighten the drag in the dim grey light of pre-dawn, I hear a splash and look up to see a thresher madly airborne about 30 yards from me. In the ghostly light he looks huge and when he crashes down with a tremendous splash my heart practically jumped out of my body. It was great! Then the Thresher was off and running, hard.
Thresher Number One, Mouth-Hooked on the Rapala CD-14
It was a great fight that went about 45 minutes, and the thresher jumped three more times before sounding and trying to dog me. When I brought her to leader I could see she was a female and about exactly the same size as the 62 pound one I caught a few trips before.
She was hooked in the left corner of her mouth by the front treble and was quickly released to thrill another lucky guy some day, or just go raise a big family. Sorry the picture is so dark, but with the flash it was too bright and it was still very early dawn.
After checking the Rapala for trim, I continued trolling along the kelp line in about 60 feet of water and slowly getting deeper. What seemed like a very short time later the Rod gets smacked, and then about five more paddle strokes and the clicker is howling again. No jumps this time, but a nice fight with long shallow runs and no dogging me down deep like they usually do. This one took about 30 minutes or so and was slightly smaller, maybe 50 pounds or so. She was another female, and was hooked and wrapped around her right pectoral fin, a first for me.
Thresher Number Two, Getting a Little Lighter Out.
At least it was getting nice and light by now, and the picture is a lot better, if you look closely you can see the Rapala wrapped around her right pectoral fin in the front. I extricated my lucky lure, and had to re-tie as the line had been cut halfway through by getting caught under a barb on the lure.
I had drifted very near the kelp, and metered some bait down 15 feet, so I decided to fire up my live well and make some bait. I easily and quickly loaded up on a half dozen nice greenbacks and as many Spanish, plus a smelt for luck.
But rather than pin one on right away I paddled clear of the kelp and tossed out the Rapala again and headed out on course, by now nearly abeam the big hotel. In just a few minutes I felt and saw the whole rod jump with a solid slap, then another. Then a long pause while I paddled and hoped.
Bam! Third fish on! Yah! This one immediately got my attention as the first run took more than half my line while getting my kayak up to speed following. It was really thrilling, my feet jammed into the rests; butt down tight in the seat and the rod jammed down into the hatch latch like the gimble in a fighting chair, which my whole kayak had become.
Thresher Number Three, Bendo! This Was During the Second Hour.
I knew this was a bigger unit! Luckily the shark seemed intent on getting as far from the kelp as possible, which was fine with me. We went northwest for about a half mile, into 180 feet of water. For the first hour the shark made long, strong runs just below the surface while the side plate on my poor 4/0 got hot and warmed up the handle.
At the end of the first hour I got the shark to the Kayak and grabbed her tail, another female. I could see she was close to 100 pounds, and thoughts of BBQ started dancing in my head. But I still had a lot of work to do. As I do on all my Threshers, I checked and made sure she was solidly hooked, made sure I was clear and then grabbed her. As usual she took off like a shot. I have brought four threshers to the Kayak now, and they all have come in the first time green Trying to land one like that is just something I’m not going to do. I have seen and heard of people getting hurt and/or losing gear trying to wrestle with green sharks. Not my style.
The downside of my more careful approach is more work for me. The shark sounded, straight down at high speed and I couldn’t stop her till she was down 170 feet, just 10 feet or so off the bottom. For the next hour or so I slowly and painfully fought her back up. I used the time to stow my electronics, get out my landing line and to drain my bait tank and throw back the mackerel. While doing this I could watch the progress on the Fish Finder, which was a great encouragement. I would get her up 10 or twenty of forty feet, and then she would take me right back down. But finally I had the leader once again.
I grabbed her tail, and put my landing line around it. I then removed the Rapala from her tail and attached the end of the leader to the landing line after taking the Rapala off and stowing it. With this I put the rod back in the flush mount with a loose drag and started paddling with the shark in tow.
Quietman Paddling in With Thresher
I could only manage about one knot, and was quite a ways out, so after about ten minutes and no signs of life, I laboriously dragged the shark up on my lap, and put her head on the bow and her tail under my arm and behind me…eight plus feet of shark on a twelve foot kayak! As I paddled in I met another Kayaker, Aquaman, who cut her gills for me so she would bleed out on the way in, and he took some pictures for me.
Once I got back to the surf I had to be careful with my heavily loaded Kayak, but surfed in high and dry. My kayak is rated for over 600 pounds, and I am glad for every ounce of that when I am out on the big salty with my gear and a big fish.
Upon landing I was mobbed with people all curious to see the shark. It was fun letting them touch it and quite a few people took pictures of their kids with it. With a few warnings from me to stay clear of its mouth, you never know with sharks.
The crowd, or Part of It, Back at the La Jolla Shores Launch
It took quite a while to get my stuff back off the yak and load up my car, with many questions answered and items to pack. Finally it was just me and the Yak and the Shark for one more picture.
Mr.T and Me
I bring my kids snow toboggans to carry the fish home on ice, and loaded her into my SUV and just had to get the tail up out of the way for the drive home. When I got home I weighed the bled-out carcass, 87 pounds. I was hoping she was over one hundred pounds, but not quite. I have a fish-cleaning work station comprised of a door on two sawhorses in the backyard, and needed it as well as another twenty pounds of ice and dozens of freezer bags and two hours of hard, careful work. But I turned her into the most perfect 1” steaks from head to tail. Some people advocate keeping bigger sharks, and I could see going maybe to 150 pounds live, but not much more to be manageable and not waste anything.
Ready to Drive Home, Just Need to Push in the Tail, and Shut the Hatch, Quick!
I hope you enjoyed reading this, it was quite a fun morning on the water, and quite a lot of work as well making it happen The before, during, and after took a lot of planning and preparation as well as plenty of elbow grease.
John '' Quietman '' Roe
Dolphin
Redsnapper
Skipjacktuna
Kingfish, looks like a big bluefish to me........
Skipjacktuna
Redsnapper
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Barracuda
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Hooked-up
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Baracuda - 5.950 kg / 13.1 lbs - New Blue Marlin III Boat Record
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Garpike
Redbanded Seabream
dorado
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sea star
New Boat Record - Skipjack Tuna - 7.200 kilo / 15.9 lbs - Thomas van Dooren - Belgium
Bullet Tuna
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Skipjack Tuna