Went out of SD looking for YT and some of the reported big bones. Asked several board members to go but it just didn’t work out. I need a better system of setting up rides. I prefer to fish with another person or two it is easier and safer. However, I’ll head out alone if I can’t find a partner.

Left Shelter Island at 6 am and just out of Point loma ran into a school of barries under birds. All legal size fish. Just CR a few as I had my sights on bigger quarry. Threshers have been off the hook recently and I’m sure Mr. T was under the barries. Too much for a fly rod, at least the 12 weight I have so pushed on. Talked to Scott Leon from Paradigm Shift Charters earlier n the week. He is experimenting with kite fishing to tease up T’s I hope he did well this weekend. If he catches one that will be a flyfishing first. These are big fish and guys fish them with conventional marlin tackle and it routinely takes 1 to 2 hours to land them. I’ve heard of epic 4 hour battles using 80lb test. I digress.

Got to Pukey Point off North Coronados Island in record time with the new ride. Sport boats were arriving and soon everyone was into fish, big bonita 8lb +. It doesn’t take long to get worn out fighting these fish. Took a limit to use for Mako chum when the water warms another 2 degrees.

Ran to the Rockpile a high spot off Rosarita. Reports were that there was a good Yt bite deep on this structure. Sounds like a long run but actually is not, it is only 6 miles past the islands. When I got there it looked like a party with boats everywhere. Picked up a couple of rockfish on a butterfly system and thought about running to the 425. The wind was coming up so I headed back towards the islands for some more pulls from the bonita.

Came in with a stiff wind gusting to 20+ and 3 foot wind waves. The offshore bite has started and as soon as we get some weather opportunities it should be awesome. Lookng forward to pushing over to San Clemente in the next few weeks

Randy

Thanks for the report. I’ve been pretty busy and haven’t had time to fish, but after memorial day I should be free most weekends at least one day, so if you have a seat I’d sure be a willing participant. I’ve got good gear, though maybe not heavy enough for Mr. T.

My SW fly set-up consists of a 9’ 8-wt 4-pc loomis travel saltwater rod and an Okuma reel, I use 9- and 10- wt lines on it. I’m thinking it could handle anything up to maybe a homeguard yellowtail. I’ve been tying clousers, and I bought a few pre-tied sw flies which I’ve been copying. In particular I got a cute little squid on about a #8 hook, I don’t know what it’s made of but I used it to develop my own squid pattern using peacock hurl for the tentacles. I’ll try to get a picture of it up tomorrow or so.

My point being I’m ready to really go get ‘em- gear-wise I could use some heavier tackle, but heart-wise I’m all there. I’d sure like to target halibut.

Still sounds like fun, Randy! Glad the new boat is working out so well for you.

Hey Randy,

John and I went out on the Toy Boat 2 Thursday and had a freakin blast on bonies… hundreds upon hundreds of them in schools between the Rckpile and the 425. Anyone who can’t enjoy a day of that on fly needs to rethink his hobby… We saw cudas in toward the east of South Island, but couldn’t produce on fly and got a couple on plugs while prospecting. Saw a few paddies, but no fish on them.

Tim said you guys were headed out Sunday, I’ll be out Monday and Tuesday. Keep those bonies not just for chum for sharks, but brine up the bellies for strips for teasers for both the sharks and marlin this summer. You’ll need brined bait to stand up to the stripeys as a teaser. Otherwise it’ll blow out in seconds. We took 8 fish just for such purposes, plus the bait guys gave us 15 macks in the mix, so I brined those up too for pitch baits.

Let us know how you do Sunday…

Scott, sound like you and John had a good time. John is fun to fish with. Those bonies are big. Tim, James and I are heading out Sunday to the pile and the islands. I’ll post how we did. I’ve started saving the bonies. That’s a great idea on brine bait. I need some help on how to do it. We are definetly going to be in the game for the fly caught marlin this year. Tim has the teaser rods, has been researching spreads and we are getting a big stick for the marlin. Hey, dinner is on whoever is the first to release one on a fly. Makos around the corner-followed by the chickens and then the Dodo’s- life’s good.

Randy

Randy,

Brining is critical for any dead bait and I was suprised to find its not used here. In fact, I couldn’t find a dealer anywhere in California. I would recommend ordering about 40 pounds from Baitmasters (www.baitmasters.com). Its cheap and if you’re like me you’ll want about 12 dozen baits at least ready for this summer. I recommend using a commerical brine because after years of making my own, let me tell you its a pain. If you want to make your own, use coarse salt with a mix of baking soda. Do not use rock salt or table salt. And you must use baking soda. Salt sucks the moisture out, but the baking soda preserves color and prevents molding. A properly brined bait will never freeze and they are reusable for days even if brought out and not used. Just throw them back in more brine for a few hours to suck moisture back out (they absorb moisture as soon as they hit air). I recommend dry brining over wet brining. Never seems to work as well.

As for gear, in 25 years of billfishing around the world, and 14 as a mate and angler in tournaments around the world, don’t go over board. Bait-and-switch is critical, so practice that. Unfortunately the makos make lousy bait-and-switch targets because they are scent feeders and not visual the way marlin are. But they are worth trying out. I highly recommend big spinning rods for teaser rods—huge retrieve and easy to cast in a heart beat. As for lures for the spread, again, don’t get snazzy. Two rods and one transom teaser works well everywhere I’ve done this, including for white marlin, which are basically permit with a bill. Any more than that and it gets unwieldy for the crew. And I highly recommend you take the boat out of gear IMMEDIATELY after the mate has the fish on the lure. Don’t wait to try to drag the fly in propwash. You won’t see what’s going on with the fish. If you know what you are doing you’ll be able to tease the fish in from a dead boat easily. Keep several different flies rigged up because once they hit it once and realize what it is, they may approach again, but will likely fade off the fly. Pick up a different rig and cast again.

I’d be happy to bet a dinner and I hope there will be more than just us out there chasing the stripey. And I would be more than happy to discuss or work with you guys to help. I’ve trained and taught about 6 different charter operations how to succsessully fly fish for billfish from the Seychelles to the Bahamas and Panama. We’ll get it this summer I’m sure (famous last words…)

Let’s do it!!!

Using brined bait strips to tie flies? I didn’t expect that. hmmm. Well it’s natural material I suppose, like any other animal parts. I bet a strip of bacon would work too. As for chumming up a fly bite, I’d already heard of that. I’ve had time to get used to the idea. Strikes me as a “why bother flyflinging then” scenario, but I’m not judging. It is fun to play any fish on a fly, no matter how you get bit.

Tippet - 20 May 2007 06:30 AM

Using brined bait strips to tie flies? I didn’t expect that. hmmm. Well it’s natural material I suppose, like any other animal parts. I bet a strip of bacon would work too. As for chumming up a fly bite, I’d already heard of that. I’ve had time to get used to the idea. Strikes me as a “why bother flyflinging then” scenario, but I’m not judging. It is fun to play any fish on a fly, no matter how you get bit.

Well…I think the bacon would come apart to quickly

Just to clarify, what Randy and Scott are discussing is preparing dead bait or bait strips for use as hookless teasers for billfish or other species, not tying the brined bait to the hook to use as a fly.

There’s always been some controversy about the use of chum or teasers for salt water fly fishing. People who subscribe to the more strict definition of fly fishing lean towards not using either. However, both are generally accepted practices offshore, where it is often difficult to get fish motivated enough to hit a fly. Of course, that raises the question of whether or not you should be throwing a fly in that situation, but that’s another debate.

My sentiments exactly John and I apologize for being vague in that post. I forget not everyone does what everyone else does, so talking about bait-and-swtich and teasers is foriegn to some. Personally I strongly believe that we should adhere to the “generally agreed upon” rules for fly fishing (aka IGFA rules) but hold no one but myself to that standard. Others may fish however they wish. Having said that I am a strong proponent of chumming where necessary and useful, again within IGFA rules (no mammals and so on).

Thanks for clarifying…and I’d like to be clear too: Just because it caught me off guard when I first heard about it doesn’t mean I hold the practice in disdain. today I broke my SW FF cherry at dog beach with a buddy, he caught a 3” flatfish, otherwise we were skunked. He managed that one by adding a little piece of berkely bait shaped like a sandworm to the fly.

I wouldn’t call it a wash though. I know I learned some about what to expect. But there was a point where I was daydreaming about having some chum…