Written By CharterMaster, Tom Hinmon
Hola mighty Pursuit fishermen and fisherwomen! Behold my story because I’m sticking to it!
The mighty Fibers and guests arrived at 22nd street landing at 7 PM. While signing the manifest we ran into our old friend Phil Friedman. He had just disembarked on a two-day on the Amigo. The Amigo fished Tanner Banks and caught 60 BFT! That excited some because that is where we were headed. We boardedthe Pursuit at 7:30, pulled boat lines at 8:30 and boarded some healthy sardines at the bait receiver. Captain Gus then held a safety meeting and went over the game plan; motor all night to arrive at Tanner Banks at 5 AM. I then welcomed the team which included Ken and Paula’s grandkids and four guests from Tom and Val’s diving club. Ken provided the prayer.
We arrived at Tanner Banks at 4:15 AM and started fishing, even though it was dark. Phil Hunt caught the first fish, a nice Whitefish. It was barely daylight, and I was fishing next to Charlie on the starboard quarter when he said, “I’ve got a good swimmer”, and before I could say “me too” we were both hooked up. The first BFT that came aboard was caught by me (it was second to Gus’s, but I don’t count Gus). We fished until 8:30 when the bite slowed and Gus wanted to fish the bottom. I queried the team, got some funny looks from crew, like they were thinking we’re going to do what Gus says, why bother asking the team? The team said OK and off we went to hunt for rockfish. I’m guessing about 45 minutes later we were fishing 300 feet deep and catching! Within 2 hrs after that we stopped because we limited the red rock fish – two per rod. Gus also caught a personal best Ling Cod, the largest I’ve seen caught in US waters. So back we went to the original spot to catch more BFT. We did and but had to leave because of all the sea lions that surrounded the boat. Gus offered to take us to San Clemente Island to dropper loop for Yellowtail. He hunted on the way and found more BFT. We fished until dark at the island and then it was dinner and the ride back to 22nd street. We arrived at 4 AM to gather our gear and fish and head home. Ken provided a final prayer, and the team congregated for a group photo on the stern and bid everyone farewell.
Final count – 24 Bluefin, 2 yellowtail, 34 Reds, 126 Rockfish, 1 Ling, 8 Sheepshead, 1 Calico Bass, 88 Whitefish. $340 Jackpot fish was a seventeen pound yellowtail caught by Phil Hunt. Phil also caught a ton of Whitefish; he was the Whitefish king on this trip!
The Pursuit is a very comfortable boat. 65-foot with a 23-foot beam. Enough galley space to feed all 18 of us at the same time. Before Covid the Pursuit would load 75 anglers!
The crew was a great group. Captain Gus is 35 and has been on the Pursuit since he was 15. He started out as a pinhead, then cook, deckhand, second ticket, first ticket and finally he bought the boat. I watched Gus catch and hand off at least four BFT. Ryan was the second ticket and drove all night, keeping us safe. Deckhands Chris and Johnny untangled not too many tangles and saved a lot of fish. They also kept the boat spotless. Albert provided the cooking, and I thought he did a great job.
I personally want to thank those who helped me with my Charter Master duties. I had twisted my knee a few days earlier and almost cancelled attending. I had my knee rested often (some might say I took a nap often, ha ha). Charlie had weighed the jackpot fish for me and Val had covered some of my other duties. Tom offered some Ibuprofen; Ken volunteered the opening and closing prayers. And Coral oversaw my clipboard. Hopefully I’ll get a second chance at Charter Master next year. It was fun!
So that’s my story and I’m sticking to it!
