Fun Trip. The crew of the Black Pearl worked hard, the company was good, and it’s not everyday you get the opportunity to fish Catalina and Santa Barbara Islands off the kayak on back to back days. The Black Pearl is a real fisherman’s fishing boat. You won’t get a private stateroom, you won’t get a 5 course meal with black-tie service. You will get a captain that loves to put you on fish, a crew that works their tail off, and the opportunity to fish destinations that otherwise are not reachable by kayaks. I gained mucho respect for the boat when we were scheduled to get home in the “evening” on Sunday night, and we didn’t even start loading the yaks up at SBI until about 6:30. I love a captain and crew that wants to get on the fish as bad as you do.
I went for “exotic or bust”, and I busted. Came home with a few rockfish bycatch, which were dinner tonight. Jackpot day 1 was a huge calico, the biggest I’ve ever seen in person. Day 2 jackpot was taken by Don, with his usual halibut. I swear, he must have a halibut whistle or something…
My camera is finally starting to crap out on me, so I only have a few pics that came out. Here are a few
The Pearl
MVC
theluckypig
Bellcon
Drake
Landwhale
Iceman
At Rest
On the move
I also got to see the Dolphin Stampede. I wish my camera had resolution slightly better than a potato.
Big thanks to Andy for putting these trips together. I can’t wait to hop on another one of these trips.