We woke up at 2:30 AM and were eager to start fishing. We got to the landing and rented our rods, reels, and tackle. Our main rig was a Dropper Loop Rig that we would simply drop to the bottom to catch whatever would bite. The boat left at 6 o'clock. We were on our way.
It was really foggy for most of the morning. We scoured the skyline for the islands as we came closer to our spot. After about an hour and 15 minutes, I pointed out Arch Rock, a natural arch that happens to be the first rock you see when going to the Channel Islands. It is like a gateway to the Channel Islands. After Arch Rock, we passed by the island right behind it, Anacapa Island. We were passing the Island now, but we would end up fishing next to it later. Our first spot was near a beach on Santa Cruz Island, the biggest of the archipelago. Because we left at 6 o'clock, we were rather late. There were many other boats already at the spot. The current was strong at this spot, but we caught fish right away. In a matter of minutes, Jacob had caught the first fish of the day, an Ocean Whitefish! Soon after, I had a fish on! I had felt nibbles, gave a sharp jerk of the rod, and had felt the vibration and pulling of the fish! This was the way I had fished with Annette on Sea Legs before. I reeled it in and caught another Whitefish! But, just as I brought it up, it fell back into the water. It was still a catch! Then, we had all moved to the hull, where we would be fishing for the rest of the day. I felt some nibbles, jerked up, and sure enough, I felt a big tug! I reeled in some, gave Jacob the rod for a bit, and then told Shlome to finish the job. We brought in a Blue Perch! Everyone helped to bring that one in, and it was a great fish. After that, the three of us had each caught Whitefish before we moved to another spot.
The next spot was around the eastern tip of the island along the cliffs of the north eastern side. It was about 5 minutes away from the last spot. At the eastern tip of Santa Cruz island, there is a hole in the rock due to erosion by the ocean. Also due to sea erosion, there were numerous sea caves in the rocky cliffs. Soon after we started, Shlome caught a Whitefish! After that fish, the bite was slow. But then, just as we were preparing to leave, Shlome reeled in another Blue Perch! By then it was about 11:30 AM, which meant that there was still a lot of fishing time left. We crossed over from the eastern side of Santa Cruz Island the western tip of Anacapa Island.
We were now fishing next to the rocks that make the western point of Anacapa Island. The first one to catch a fish was Shlome, and he caught a Whitefish. The next person to catch a fish was me, and I caught a Sheephead. The California Sheephead is a fish that I have never caught before. It lives in Kelp Forests all over California. The males have a black head and tail with a pink stripe on its body, and the females are pink all over. I had caught a female. The last fish to be caught was a Whitefish by Jacob and I! Lots of Barracuda were being caught here, especially with jigs that were just casted and retrieved. Because I had no jigs, I was going to use a sardine. I changed my rig to just a hook and a sliding sinker on top of it. I threw the sardine out and fixed the birds nest in my reel while the bait was in the water. We were using baitcasters, so casting was hard, especially with these saltwater ones. I reeled in the slack in my line just in time to feel the Barracuda bite. I tried to set the hook, but I was too late. We moved to the next spot, which was about a minute or two farther out from the island.
The last stop of the day was a bit farther from the island, but much deeper. It was over 100 feet deep, and Anacapa Island was right in font of us! I changed back to a dropper loop rig with two hooks, and one of the deckhands taught me how to 'backpack' a sinker. He took the thin metal ring attached to my trolling sinker and cut it with his pliers. he then attached another 4 oz trolling sinker to it by putting one of its rings on the cut ring of the other. Then, he hit the cut ring back into the sinker with his pliers. The cut ring was full again, as it had been hit into the sinker, and it was attached to another, to make an 8 oz weight. I dropped my baited hooks down, reeled up the slack when it reached the bottom, and instantly felt faint nibbles. I pulled the rod up and I felt a vibration. I reeled in, unsure of whether I had a fish on or not. It was heavy, but that could have been from the weights I had just put on. I was surprised to see that there were two fish on my line, both on my two hooks! They were Brown Rockfish, or Boxspotted Rockfish, called so because of the dark square spot on their tails. The next fish to be caught was a Mackerel by Shlome. Then, Jacob had caught a small, foul hooked Señorita fish. Señoritas are found in Kelp Forests in Southern California and Mexico. They are part of the Wrasse family, and are related to the Sheephead. Then, not very long after, Jacob and I had a double hookup. We had both brought in Vermilion Rockfishes, or Orange Roughies as the deckhands called them, at the same time! We lipped them and put them in our bag along with our other fish that we were taking home to eat. The next two fish to be caught were a Whitefish by Shlome and a Whitefish by me. Then, Shlome caught a Sand Dab, a type of flatfish that I had caught before. before we had packed up to go back to the dock, two nice fish were landed. Jacob and I had reeled in a nice Blue Rockfish, and Jacob had reeled in a nice big Whitefish himself. Usually, a fish's stomach rises when it is reeled up from deep where there is lots of pressure. The Blue Rockfish's stomach came up, and we could see what it had eaten. We were able to pull out a shrimp and a crab! We left the spot and ended the trip extremely happy and satisfied.
We learned lots of things on this trip, including different species, about the use of jigs, how to backpack two sinkers, and more. The crew on the boat was awesome and helped out a lot. This was a great trip and I can't wait to do it again. Stay tuned!
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