SENIOR ANGLER CLUBS ON BAJA OFFSHORE ALBACORE
FISHING TRIP ABOARD THE BOAT PACIFIC VOYAGER

June 17, 2005, Lee Wood, Pacific Voyager, Albacore Trip Report, Baja California, Mexico:

The Oceanside and Escondido Senior Anglers had an joint overnight fishing trip this past Tuesday night fishing Wednesday. When everyone was on board, Mark Oronoz the owner of the Pacific Voyager gave us a few options on the fishing for the next day. He told us the albacore were 95 miles from San Diego and it would be just about a 10-hour trip just to fish for maybe four hours before starting back home. We took a vote and the albacore won out. So we left the dock around 9:30 p.m., and headed down the coast to see if we could find the albies.

We started to troll around 7:30 a.m., and we had our first albacore on the deck around 8:15 a.m., and in the next five-and-a-half hours we landed 33 nice albacore between 22 and 30 pounds for the 20 senior anglers on board.

I was the charter master for this group, and around 12:30 I went around and found 7 members without a fish as yet. I decided to let them troll until they did catch a fish, and told the other members what I was doing and to a man they agreed.

About 20 minutes later we had a three-way trolling hook-up which made it only four without a fish.

I talked to the other anglers and told them that if anyone hooked up a fish to hand it off to those without, and everyone to a man said okay.

We never did catch another bait fish, but the four without fish were at the rail trolling for maybe 40 minutes and we had a double hook up again, but again no bait fish and then it was time to go home. We arrived back at the dock just around 10:45 p.m. The two members without a fish went home with a fish thanks to the other members.

This was one of the best trips I have been on as everyone got along great and everyone cooperated with each other the whole trip, and we did have a few new members from each club on this trip also.

The crew of the Pacific Voyager, Captain Mark Oronoz, who kept us out later than normal, JP the second ticket, deckhands Greg and Todd, and chef Jeff, did a great job as usual and to a man everyone had a great trip.

The water temperature was 62 degrees where we found the albies. The ride back up hill was as smooth as I have ever seen it.

The jackpot fish was a 30 pound albacore caught by Gary Thompson of the Oceanside Senior Anglers.