Gambler 30hr Googanville

[Ol Pedro]

We shoved off at noon Monday to good conditions. Capt. Mike started looking around 5:00. There were numerous small boats drifting on both sides of the canyon. He found a spot where we were fairly alone and Mike put us on a drift. We caught a few Mahi as the breeze got stronger. We reset for another drift as it got darker. We saw some Squid. They were small and hard to catch. Caught a football around 25lb. A customer counted 53 boats on our side of the canyon. We kept an eye on the other boats with two getting close as they drift faster than we do. The first came within 50 yards with no one on deck. Someone finally came out of the cabin. Another got closer. After being called on it they did it again! I could read the boats unlit name on the stern. It was the S F.
To the Capt. of the S F, if I can read the unlit name on your stern in the dark you are too close. If I can hear you talk in a 20 knot breeze then you are way too close. I won't comment on the shenanigans you pulled after that when we sounded the horn and got underway.
Capt. Mike had enough and we made a move. He found another area where we were alone and we anchored up. We caught a few small Squid and started to pick away at some small to mid-sized yellowfin.
We kept an eye two boats that were drifting in the distance up wind from us. The First one cleared with plenty of room. The second one was higher profile and drifting fast. She closed on us quickly so
John went to the bow and yelled " start your engines and back up you are almost on our anchor rope". I could see that fishermen were starteled by their actions. It was as if they didn't even know that we were there until John yelled. The Capt. had to take quick action to avoid a collision or entanglement on the rope.
We continued without any other close calls the rest of the night. We had 12 fish around 6am. As magic time started the fishing got better. We were getting shots of two to four at a time with the larger units starting to take over. We didn't seem to go more than 10 or 15 minutes without a fish on. There were more and more boats around as the day progressed. We saw other boats hook fish from time to time as they drifted by. As boat traffic increased it seemed that fewer of the boats hooked up. When boats passed close under power o ur bite died and we had to chumm heavy to start them back up. We watched a Coast Guard cutter send it's skiff out to check boats. They stopped one while it was playing a fish! They were with that boat for quite a while.
We had just landed 2 nice fish on the port side when a boat pulled up to starboard midhip about 25 yards off. Capt. Mike asked why he had to be so close and I heard someone on that boat say "f?!I you" Satan took hold of my tongue as I charged down the deck spewing filth from my mouth. The H M made her escape around our stern. We caught a few more as the fleet built around us. We had boats cutting around our stern at 25 yards to get to our down current side. It was a Googan circus when Capt. Mike decided to leave a little early. We had 75 Yellowfin from 25 to 80+lbs. My Grandson caught his first Yellowfin just before we left.
Butterfish was the #1 bait but we caught on everything. There were a few jigfish on pink pearl jigs. We had 20kt winds but almost no swell. I haven't seen so many smaller boats out there in 8 or 9 seasons. You would have thought that it was a Saturday Striper trip with Googans in droves running down schools of feeding Stripers and ruining the fishing for all of us. Most of the boats out there did practice good edicate. We saw plenty of boats doing it right and catchin um up.
As far as the Captain of the S F is concerned, do you ever listen to channel 16? Do you always do dumb a?? things when you know you were wrong? Or do you just don't care? Please pm me with your answer or we could meet up and discuss this.
Now for the Captain of the H M . What were you thinking? Pulling up to get bait? I guess that we both will have to go to confession. I'll say a prayer for you.
I'm just an old man venting about what would have been a perfect trip.

[NJ219bands]

Great report.

[Pennsy Guy]

Oh boy, here we go!!!! Thanks for that report, Pete.

[bulletbob]

One would think that anyone with the rig,equipment, knowledge,time and money to run a small private boat that far offshore for tuna would have a little more common sense, but I have seen the same thing time and time again on the inshore grounds, so what you experienced comes as no surprise.
Thats kind of the price you pay for living in the NYC/NJ /Philly metroplex.. Just so many people, and too many of them are blockheads, and have no regard for others. If someone has enough boat and experience to go fishing offshore, it would seem they should have the electronics and knowledge to find a few fish of their own, and not have to resort to mugging a party boat full of anglers...bob

[NoLimit]

No one keeps a couple 3 oz pyramid sinkers in their bag for such conditions?

[Ol Pedro]

Originally Posted by NoLimit

No one keeps a couple 3 oz pyramid sinkers in their bag for such conditions?

I heard that some times Seagulls sh!? then out on unsuspecting boats. Out west eggings were common. Those poor birds either sh!?ing lead or or not making it to the nest. Life's rough for a Seagull.

[spc06]

You sir are exactly what we need more of. That was an excellent account of a glorious fishing trip that could have quite easily not been. You showed excellent composure!