Daniel got a yellowtail

[Bill McIntyre]

and I missed my chance at fame.

Daniel Gonzalez and I headed out this morning about 0930. There was a big swell running, but it was long period so the ride was smooth.

First stop was at a bed where the vis was maybe 8 or 10 feet. Its possible to get one, but you have to be lucky and we weren't, so we moved a few miles to try another spot.

I had to remove my wet suit to use the officer's head (the swim step) but Daniel got in before it was too late. By the time I was getting back into my wet suit, he shouted that he had seen a school of 10 to 15 pounders. Before I could get in the water, he saw them again. I guess he ended up seeing the same school four times in a small area, but I didn't see any fish. There were lots of mackerel and salema though, so it looked promising. Vis was cloudy on the surface, but up to maybe 15 feet after you got down below 10 feet or so.

After an hour or so, we got back into the boat to eat, warm up, and rest. After a while, terns started diving on bait all around the boat, so we decided it was time to try it again. Daniel went right down the front of the bed, and I went left. Things looked entirely different, with big schools of sargo added to the other bait, and everything running around looking excited. The milk on the surface was gone, and vis had opened up to around 20 feet in places.

After about 10 minutes, I was breathing up when this huge fish came swimming up to me about 5 feet under the surface. My first impression was that it was some sort of shark. Then I focused and saw that it was by far the largest white sea bass I've ever seen. It made the 62 pounder I got a couple of weeks ago look like a minnow by comparison. It paused out in front of me and I tried to gently bring my gun up from the vertical where it was hanging. I thought it was a sure thing and I was already composing my acceptance speech for the new record, but then it started to move again. I didn't get the muzzle all the way up in front of me and had to take sort of a hip shot, but the fish was so close that I didn't think I could miss. I was wrong.

I'll be awake all night rerunning this film in my head trying to figure out what went wrong. It was pretty choppy and I was bouncing around a bit, so maybe that was part of the problem. Also, I went for a head shot, wanting to ensure I got the tip through bone or gill covers so it couldn't rip out. The fish started to turn away, and I think the tip went right in front of its nose. I don't see how it could have turned away that fast, but maybe a wave made me shoot a bit to the left. If only I had gone for a body shot, I'm almost sure I would have hit it.

I really can't give a good estimate of the weight of the fish because I have no frame of reference. I just know it was far bigger than anything I've ever seen. Maybe it would have been a new record, but I can't really say. And of course it couldn't have been a IBRSC record since they don't allow surface shots, but the IUSC does. But of course you have to land the fish to get the record, and I left that part out. Dammit!

So I moved on and was hanging at about 20 feet when a big yellowtail went by below me fast. It was already going away and wasn't the best shot opportunity, but I took it anyway, and of course missed.

As I turned to go up, I saw the two nice white sea bass that had been right behind the yellowtail reverse course and swim away.

A few minutes later, a pair of big yellowtail went by just a bit deep for a surface shot, so I dove on them, but couldn't close.

I had been shouting all this news to Daniel, and he had decided to follow me down my side of the kelp bed. After a bit, he popped up and said he had a yellowtail on. He only saw one, but unlike me, he hit it. It managed to get all tied up in the kelp on the bottom, so we spent about half an hour getting it up. When we finally got it all sorted out and he went off toward the boat with his fish, I resumed diving with high hopes, but happy hour had apparently ended. I dove my ass off and never saw another fish.

Oh well, it was great to see Daniel get a fish in the boat. He weighed it while I was still in the water and said it went 27 pounds, but it looks bigger than that to me. The boat was bouncing around, and I think he read the scale on the wrong bounce.

Daniel shot the fish with a Wong 60" open track hybrid with titanium barrel, 9/32" shaft and three 9/16" bands, a Riffe reel with 1000 pound kevlar line, and a Kitto slim slip tip rigged with cable and with the flopper removed.

[Mongrel454]

Great story, shame u didnt get one but atleast your mate did

[azapa]

Bill, great writeup as usual. You seem to miss the biggest fish on deeperblue, there must be some prize for that? Biggest missed FOM?

If the storms would stop here I could get in and miss some myself..

[BatRay]

Well, that's a nice yellowtail at least. Sorry about the one that got away, Bill.