WSB Limits on the Pacific Quest - 6/11/11

Captain Josh and crew welcomed us aboard the Pacific Quest on Friday night, as soon as they had the boat cleared and cleaned from the last trip. 11 anglers checked in and were introduced to the rest of the crew, 2nd Captain Ryan, Dan on deck, and Butch in the Galley.


We were tanked with squid already, and would be headed out to Catalina in search of seabass.


Since we didn't have to look for bait, Captain Josh was determined to try fishing for them in the dark. The afternoon bite had been moving later and later into the evening, and he thought our estimated 1 AM arrival might find us some night biters.

But all that bit in the dark was bat rays...

Captain Josh gave up his spot at daylight to look around. Butch served up breakfast to order, and the right place was found at a little after nine, with a couple of boats that had already scored limits just pulling away. We backed in, and hadn't even settled back on anchor before we had seven fish hanging!

Adrenalin was running a little too high; two of the first seven hookups were landed. But the fish kept biting, and passengers calmed down a bit. As each fish was landed, the crew told passengers they were done. Captain Josh was determined each and every passenger would get the opportunity to land their own fish. We had four passengers on board that had never caught a seabass. More fish were landed, and with only a couple of passengers left to land one, the crew and a few passengers chipped in to hook and hand. By 10:15 we were done!

It's hard to leave biting fish, but obviously we had to. Captain Josh ran us around looking for spots that might yield some yellowtail or calicos. We got a few shallow water rock fish, one nice ling cod, a few other miscellaneous, and one weird looking star fish (released after they figured out which leg to pull the hook out of)!

The crew pulled the fish out for photos at the end before we headed in. None of the passengers were interested at check-in in doing a jackpot, but the fish ranged from around 15 to 25 pounds.

This was my first trip on the Pacific Quest, but it will not be my last!! Nice large bunks, and lots of space in the stern for 12 anglers. The food was great, and the crew was friendly, professional, and very helpful!

The Pacific Quest one of the smaller sportfishers, with a capacity of 12 passengers in nice sized bunks. They will be running out of Pierpoint Landing in Long Beach, until they move down to San Diego in early July. They have a few open party trips on their calendar, and lots of dates open for charter. Check their website for dates at Fishing Charters | Fishing Trips | Sportfishing Boats | Deep Sea Fishing | Tuna Fishing | San Diego | Southern California - Quest Sportfishing Charters and click on "Calendar".

Here's a few pictures... including one of 2nd Captain Ryan, who slept threw the whole bite, ran out at the last minute and threw a "naked" white jig for a hook up.

 

Maybe I'll just start with a lottery ticket....? ; )