Like the guys already said, this was a really fun trip. There were some quality fish caught and we all had a good time. The crew worked very hard and they were all VERY accommodating. I'm glad I was able to get a spot on the boat last minute.
I managed to hook up on a few decent calicos fishing with Drew, Paul, Jameson and James with Will filming us. It was pretty good minus the howling wind and Jim rolling it in the rocks. We did manage some quality calicos all C&R before lunch. I caught all my bass on Zman Jerk Shadz and a couple on a trap rig I was bouncing on the way back to the boat for butts.
After lunch, we hit a new spot after moving to calmer waters. I saw Paul get broken off when his YT swam towards a boat and sawed him off.
I moved out a little deeper from where I was fishing and had a good hunch about where I let a line out and within a couple minutes it was FISH ON!
I caught my YT on some bass gear that I was flylining in the boilers and it was the easiest one to get in the water quickly. That fish felt a whole lot larger on a light set up. Even with my Daiwa Lexa 300 buttoned down on drag, it still pulled. After a 10 minute fight Jim was able to gaff it for me. Thanks Jim!
Shortly afterwards I heard on the radio that Drew was hooked up on a "Ha Ha Halibut!" I wasn't close to him but after hearing it over the radio I knew it was a big fish. He caught it on ZMAN Elaztech!
On the 2nd day the fishing was a lot slower in the morning. Maybe due to a full moon, who knows. My FF managed to take a dump on me too... I still pulled some Calicos out of the shallows but it wasn't as solid as the day before. It was slow for me till lunch and I took a good break and got ready to head out and pound rocks in the afternoon. Roby and I fished with a few other guys around 250' and we pulled up good size Bocaccio, Sheephead, Treefish, a few Reds, etc. I nearly limited with a mixed bag before the winds really picked up and it was like Victory at Sea out there. Luckily we all managed to get in and on the boat safely with no big problems.
After we all loaded up and cruised a while looking for a better spot with less wind, we never really found a good area and called it a day. Paul nailed those 2 Calicos in a different spot than where I was fishing and Drew caught a Leopard Shark.
All in all it was a very fun trip and I got to meet and hang out with some cool people. It was great getting to know you all and swap stories and fishing tips. Thank you to the Islander crew, Chef Brian and Capt. John for the hospitality. You were all top notch. Thanks to Patrick Sebile for the goodie bag we got. Thank you Adi and Brent for the BWE hats.