Blaine's first yellowtail

[Bill McIntyre]

Blaine Morgan has taken some very nice white sea bass, but until today, partly because of the places he dives and partly because of luck, he had never seen a yellowtail under water. Today he saw some and shot one.

That's just about the only good part of the story, but here is the rest.

I planned a trip with Blaine and Kevin Lynds to Catalina. Things started going downhill at 0200, when I woke up with my left forefoot throbbing as if my wife's horse had stepped on it. I have no idea why my foot felt that way. I didn't work out yesterday, and the day before I ran 4 miles with no problem, and the horse didn't step on it. I took some ibuprofen, but it didn't do much good, and I didn't get much more sleep before the alarm went of at 0415.

I had a pretty good idea that I wasn't going to get to dive, but miracles do happen, and of course two guys were counting on me.

As we left the harbor, it was obvious that the National Weather Service had lied. We had a very hard trip to the island, restricted to about 15 knots and still getting pounded. I had planned to head for the East End and then up the back side, but with the weather so bad on the front side, we modified the plan and headed for an East End front side spot. It was still pretty rough even up next to the island, but the water was clear. Each guy said he saw a white sea bass down deep over the sand, but they were out of range. I think Blaine also saw a yellowtail.

We moved to a spot near the quarry, and Blaine saw three yellowtail and shot his first one.

The wind seemed to ease up, so we decided to head around to the back side. I dropped them on two spots, but the current was pretty bad, making it hard to dive. They did see some nice black sea bass though. They finally asked if we could go back to the front side and get some shelter, so we did.

The water was pretty and blue, but they didn't see any yellowtail. Kevin said he saw a very nice white sea bass up in 12 feet of water in heavy kelp next the island, but he lost sight in the kelp.

We left the island about 1600, and while we were going downhill, it was still a nasty ride. It was the first time in years when I felt that I couldn't trust the autopilot, so I had to steer myself. What a drag.

But we made it, and Blaine got a yellowtail.

 

[Mr. X]

Good tale Bill but was expecting to see some conclusion about your foot though - hope it is better now. Perhaps it was a delayed effect of from your run. I did a very heavy leg work out last week followed by some steep cliff walking at the weekend. I was fine at the time but a couple of days later my thighs & calves were are sore as h*ll and were for the following 2 days.:crutch I've had way too many minor injuries & illnesses this year. Probably need to ease into the summer activites a bit more gradually. That sudden bout of good weather this year got us started earlier this year.

 

[Bill McIntyre]

The foot was still very sore this morning, as well as swollen and hot, so I went to the doctor. He said its an acute arthritic inflammation and could possible be gout, false gout, or some other thing I've forgotten already. He sent me for some blood work.

 

[Mr. X]

The stereotypical gout sufferer in Britain is usually portrayed as a retired army offer in tweeds sitting a high back chair with a swollen ankle propped up, a red nose and a glass on port. They used to to think it was caused by port.

A colleague, a guy in his early 40s, was treated for gout recently. I believe it is often associated with excess protein in the diet/uric acid build up (by I am not a physician, nor have I played one in a television soap opera). Perhaps it's all those huge bass you get?! Although I think fish oil is supposed to have anti-inflammatory properties, so perhaps not.

Good luck with it. I see you're taking ibuprofen, I'm told topical ibuprofen cream can help arthritic soreness [see above caveat]. Some folk are very allergic to ibuprofen though (inc. 25% of asthmatics) - I once saw an asthmatic go into anaphylactic shock immediately after taking ibuprofen. Very scary, very serious. Good for muscle soreness though.

 

[Mr. X]

Coincidently I've just found out that a colleague is not available today because he came into work yesterday with a red foot and was "diagnosed" as having gout by other colleagues (inc. the one with gout) and sent off for immediate medical attention. Looks like he does indeed have gout. Must be gout season.

Apparently dairy products can help (surprisingly) - but my colleague doesn't eat or drink any dairy products, it doesn't agree with him (lactose intolerance?).

 

[Bill McIntyre]

It was feeling pretty good by last night, and I wasn't limping too much, but it regressed overnight and I could hardly put weight on it when I got out of bed this morning. Its still quite swollen too. I don't know how long the blood work is supposed to take, but I'll be interested in hearing the results.

Meanwhile, this week's edition of Western Outdoor News, a weekly fishing rag, says that the rod and reel fishermen are just slaying the big white sea bass up to 68 pounds in the local kelp beds, and here I sit.

 

[BatRay]

As always, it's a pleasure to hear your trip reports, though I'm sorry to hear about your foot. It would be pretty hard to get a fin on, I imagine. I hope it gets better soon.

 

[timjh33]

I have gout. It used to kill me. And, no, I'm not sitting in my tweeds sipping port in jolly olde... Finally went to a foot doc who put me on allopurinol which is like magic - no more gout. Never really knew how much it was affecting me until it was gone.... Anyway, there are also a couple of foods that can mitigate the effects, fresh cherries is the one most usually recommended. Good luck!

Was wondering if you spend much time in the local kelp vice Catalina? We've been cruising around La Jolla and Crystal Cove b/c the boat no workee... not much luck doing it from shore. Any hints?

Thanks. Cheerio.

T

 

[Bill McIntyre]

This year I've been to Catalina and Clemente just one time each and didn't do well. All my other trips have been along the mainland coast. The problem is that just one of those spots is accessible swimming from shore, and one other is accessible by kayak or paddleboard if you are a stud. Of course we've taken two 65 pounders and a few others over 50 at those spots.

 

[timjh33]

Yeah. We've seen some YT off of LJ middle kelp but couldn't track them down. Sounds like best bet is to get the boat back up.