October Islander Mothership Trip Just Announced!
 

2.5 Days Kayak Fishing

Depart: Thurs Oct. 2, 8pm

Return: Sun Oct. 5, 8am

$525 includes all meals, live bait and non alcoholic drinks

Our sights will be set on the famous Cortez bank located 105 miles due west of San Diego. This open ocean seamount rises from the ocean floor almost breaking the surface. The shallows are covered in thick kelp which are home to the white seabass, yellowtail and bonito but the real draw is the possiblity of true pelagics like yellowfin tuna, bluefin tuna and dorado. Fall is the ideal time to fish the Cortez and weather permitting, the Islander will be there. Day two will fish San Clemente Island for fall seabass, yellows and of course world class calico fishing.

Islander departs Fisherman's Landing at 8pm Thurs. Oct. 2nd, fishes two entire days till dark and returns Sun. Oct. 5th 8am. Stateroom accommodations, live bait, food, snacks, non-alcoholic drinks and a helpful crew are all included in the price.

Contact OEX Point Loma to sign up:

(619) 758-9531
1453 Rosecrans St.
San Diego, CA 92106

oh man. how can i swing this? :help:

This will probably be the most epic mothership/kayak fishing adventure ever put together. Islander operation is top shelf, destination exceeds imagination and the price is right.......:notworthy:

:iagree::cheers1::yt::kayak-surfer:

ditto that brother. Not sure if I'd let them leave for SCI, might have to steal the keys.

Think calm weather windows.

Can't pass this up...I'm in for two spots..

Hooping and fishing for Tuna on the same trip!!!! EPIC


2 SPOTS BOOKED!

I am in :)

I'm in Can't wait!!!

Take it easy!

Aaron

I'm in...
Sam is in....

gonna be a good trip...
can't you see 'em...
big 'uns swimmin' all around....
100 lbers lurking beneath the plastic...
feeding frenzy as far as the eye can see...
adrenaline pumping...
hands are shaking...
heart is pounding...
HOOK UP!!!!!
hang on for the ride...
stick 'em...

WHEW!!!!
got myself all excited...

Yakrider
now go wash your hands and clean up that mess lol

7 spots left, get em while they're hot!

Hey there,

I'm interested in this trip but will be coming from Las Vegas :auto:. There's alot of things going on right now, but I would like to look forward to going on my first mothership trip.
Is there a deposit or is there a refund policy that will allow me to cancel at a certain time? I agree that the price is great for what you're getting, but coming from Las Vegas adds more logistical issues that need to be addressed closer to launch time.
Btw - will a Hobie sport be able to handle this type of fishing?

Thanks!

As long as we can re-fill your spot before the trips leaves we can refund you in full. So if you need to cancel, the sooner the better as it will give us more time to fill your spot.

As for the kayak, you should feel comfortable in windy, swelly, choppy conditions. We won't run the trip if the weather is outrageously bad, but you can expect some degree of the usual ground swell and wind.

Give us a call with any other questions. OEX- 619 758-9531

Anyone ever fish the Cortez Bank? Whats it like?

Several times. Never on a yak. Mostly on anchor in 15-20kt wind w/swell.
Kind of a spooky (to me) couple fathom deep, reefy, former island in the middle of nowhere --that sometimes breaks, big, in the winter. It's got kelp and boiling reef, but its 100miles from shore and 50 from SCI. There's a late Summer window for fairer weather out there. I'm really hoping this hits it, because it's also right adjacent to deep blue water! There is no wind protection, so combine that with its ~50mile proximity to Clemente (Pyramid), it's a risk to go fish the Cortes in any boat. Getting it good enough to launch and then fish from yaks enjoyably is a real gamble --I'm willing to take to fish there. But extra time at SCI isn't a bad consolation.

I actually thought getting out there to yak m/s would be impossible, back in the day, but that was back before there was even much m/s competition. Now there's several operations taking yaks all over the place.
:you_rock:

Think calm thoughts for the next 3 weeks or so, would ya?

Zed thanks for the Info.

2 more spots gone!

I've almost reached the yakrider, babbling incoherently stage. There's been some great reports from the Tanner (justa 10-15mi jog from Cortez) of big hg yt and even bft on the anchor...

Little trivia:
Anyone reading aboard the USS Enterprise in '85? I'm sure they might have something to say about the Cortez.

<table style="width: 509px; height: 90px;" border="1" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="0" frame="void"><tbody><tr class="2"><td class="date">November 2, 1985</td><td valign="top">Bishop's Rock, about 100 miles west of San Diego, Calif.</td><td>USS ENTERPRISE is grounded on Bishop's Rock. Reports say the ENTERPRISE sustains a 60-foot gash in the outer hull and damages one propeller. The carrier continues planned operations, taking part in ReadiEx 86-1 exercise before going into drydock on November 27.</td></tr></tbody></table>

From this link:
http://navysite.de/cvn/cvn65.html

Rumor is she knocked off a chunk, so Bishop's rock no longer breaks water at mean low tide --more like Bishop's reef now.

Any spots left?:afraid:

Spots Still Open!
 

Yes! We had 2 cancellations today so if you want to go on what hopefully will be an AWESOME trip please call OEX asap and book your spot.

Guys, right now the BFT are supposed to be thick at the tanner and the Cortez. Hope you have the weather to get on them. Could be epic.

I did it!:luxhello:
I'm in!:cheers1:
One spot left.:eek:
See you all then!:kayak-surfer:

Easy there man, There are about 5 spots left to fill. Call in and book these last few spots guys, This should turn out to be an awesome trip.

CJ..I'm hook-up for two spots...Who else has signed up.....Eric

Sorry about that! I misunderstood the earlier post.:embarassed:

The Islander guys are on a shark trip right now, but the fishing's been great around that area in the last couple weeks. As soon as they get back we'll get an up to date fish report. Side pot for the first bluefin from a kayak??? :luxhello:

4 spots left.

Check the weather, boys.

Please don't censor my posts w/o cause.

Got work covered I'm in. Heard too many good things about these trips. The spring/summer trips I never have the time. Thanks for putting one on in the latter months.

Extra Spot
 

Reserved 2 spots a while back. Now have 1 spot available. Will discount $100.00. Your price is $425.00. bosco

Whats the weather looking like for this week?
Any tips for someone new to mothership trips would be great.
see you thursday

Ingridsdad, Have all your gear organized. When the crew pulls your kayak off the rack and puts it on the deck you want to rig your kayak in a timely manner and get it in the water asap. Make sure all your batteries are charged and bring your chargers. Use your VHF radio to contact crew members who will bring you bait, food and beverage in the skiff. Bring tip money for the crew; they deserve it. They bust their butts for their passangers. bosco

Bosco thanks for the reply to Ingridsdad
anyother mothership vets wanna chime in for recommendations and pointers for us rookies??
gear, other misc. chit?
Thanks
I cant wait!!!

I'll answer, but you may not be able to understand my ramblings. I'm really excited too.

I haven't been on the Islander mothershipping, but I've been on others several times. Best I can tell you is be aware of your surroundings. Watch the order of the yaks hitting the deck and be ready for yours. Don't be "that guy" that's not ready and has to be yanked out of his bunk. Ha.

Get your stuff ready, the crew or another angler will hand you your rods and paddle once you are in your boat. In stead of a standard surf launch you are dropping off a boat. Have it all straight and ready to fish. After one time you will get it and there won't be any issues.

I ain't touchin' the weather question. :biggrinjester:

The Tanner Bank Buoy will give you the most up-to-date observations. It is only 15nm from Cortes Bank.

You can also check Buoyweather for additional info.

Some of the swell forecasts look a little iffy
http://wavewatch.com/Surf-Forecast-R...php?RegionID=8

http://www.wetsand.com/swellwatch/sw...=295#anchor295
Click on Friday and it shows 7-8' swell. I don't know exactly what that will translate to over the high spots.

http://cdip.ucsd.edu/?nav=recent&sub...item=socal_now

http://weather.noaa.gov/cgi-bin/fmtb.../pz/pzz085.txt

And finally; from the extended marine forecast:


WED THROUGH FRI
W OF 121W...N TO NW WINDS 10 TO 15 KT. SEAS
BECOMING 5 TO 8 FT LATE WED...HIGHEST NW. E OF 121W...N TO NW
WINDS INCREASING TO 15 TO 20 KT LATE WED...EXCEPT NEAR SAN
NICOLAS ISLAND TO 25 KT. SEAS BUILDING TO 5 TO 8 FT LATE
WED...HIGHEST SE.

Your best bet is to stay flexible. It would be very cool if you get out to the Cortes Bank, but it is well offshore
and you are at the mercy of the weather. The Islander is a great boat and you should have a good time
even if you wind up fishing at SCI.
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Sounds like worst case scenario if the weather sucks we will do a day at Cat and a day at SCI. Not a bad worst case scenario though...

Just keep your fingers crossed for good weather.

Oh, and still 4 spots left, 3 if Holy Mack decides he can go.

I was a radar technician in Squadron VAW-117 on the Enterprise in 1985. I was in our repair shop on the forward hangar deck when we hit the rock. I never felt a thing. I noticed we were leaning to one side for over an hour but expected we were just going in a big circle, that wasn't unusual when hanging out waiting for aircraft to return. Finally the captain came on the P.A. and told us we had hit a rock, we never had a general quarters. I had heard that we were landing aircraft, they need the ship to be moving into the wind, and that the navigator had warned the captain about Bishops Point. They calculated we could land the last aircraft and then make the turn in deep water. From what I understood we had a 10' tall gash 60' long below the water line. We stayed at sea for several more days and conducted more flight ops, then the ship was sent to Hunters Point for repair. I was surprised when the captain, Leuschner, was promoted to fleet admiral a few years later.

Good luck to all on this trip, wish I could make it.

Thanks for your service FISHIONADO.

Fishionado, that is EXACTLY what I was looking for. I knew there was someone. Thanks for retelling, and thank you for serving!

"I noticed we were leaning to one side for over an hour but expected we were just going in a big circle, that wasn't unusual when hanging out waiting for aircraft to return."

That is a testament to how huge that ship was. I understand you were on duty, but just how often would you actually see the light of day?

I don't remember looking oustside that day but I am sure I wouldn't have seen anything, we didn't hang up on the rock, just a glancing blow. The only kelp I ever saw at sea was small floating paddies. I doubt we were in the thick of it, obvious shallow water hazard. There was something about that last aircraft, maybe it had mechanical problems, the ship had to be going into the wind with 30mph wind over the top to land aircraft typically.

I was fortunate and got outside often. My primary job was like a maytag repairman, during a 7 month westpac I had 36 repair jobs where someone from the flight deck would determine which radar box had failed and send it to me to repair. Most would take 1 hour or less. With high power radar you could often smell your way to the failure. The other Hawkeye radar tech got busted for weed in Hawaii so I was the only one for 6 months, they couldn't send me off to work in the mess halls or toilet repair like most new sailors on the ship. I filled my time by volunteering to work with the flight deck electronic techs, supporting ship-to-ship material transfers, watching betamax movies , and playing guitar. Embarrassing duty compared to the folks serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. Much respect to them.