My plan was to get some video of a catch and release trip, with a new helmet cam from an unofficial sponsor
. I had plenty of fresh Yellowtail from days prior, and decided to give every fish a "get out of jail free" before I left the house. Again, do as you wish, but I get an awesome feeling when I let big Yellowtail swim off, I know selfish right?
The helmet cam battery wasn't charged, so I had to rely on genorous anglers, who were willing to donate their own fishing time, thanks again. This was the first Yellowtail of the day, that put up a serious fight, and was rewarded with his freedom seconds after this photo was taken, stoked! I believe in fish karma 100%, as I've seen proof in numbers over the years. It's almost as if my bait puts off a vibe that makes the Yellowtail know it's not lethal, try and see. The helmet cam would of come in handy as my second Yellowtail was signifigantly larger, put up an extended battle with heavy drag, and nobody in site (I hate summer crowds).
Yellowtail number three wasn't so lucky, as he was hooked in a gill raker close to the heart, and was bleeding as I was trying to get the hook out (very rare hook placement as I always engage the hook as soon as I'm bit). I made a difficult decision, to harvest this fish against my wish. Since I decided to only C and R this day, this was kind of painful for me, not to mention ending my trip early, in a day when I could of easily caught more. I've caught many fish with horrible scars on the body, that proved Yellowtail are much tougher than most people think, but the fact that the injury was sustained directly to a heavy blood source, I did what I felt was right. I do everything I can to not feed the Sealions, and the thought of Knothead throwing this guy around, made the decision much easier.