We had a rough boat ride home, a 14 hr drive and snow packed roads from a bit north of Weed to KF.

The fishing was slow for YFT but HOT for wahoo then we got blown off Hurricane Bank, Clarion was better but still scratch fishing. Lots of fish sign in the "no fish zone" though, too bad a few messed up for the rest.

The larger YFT weren't cooperative at Hurricane Bank but the wahoo were, in fact I witnessed a wahoo attack on one of the fishermen on board!!! We were lucky he was only slightly injured as he was hit in the upper leg and if he was bit deeper he would have bled out before we could get help. ALWAYS stop your gear in the water at the boat when wahoo fishing!!!!

I don't have too many pictures or a fish count but after I get caught up removing the snow I'll post them. I ended up with a "tiny" 130lb and a "small" 170lb+ YFT and 12 wahoo in the 30lb-40lb range. Did I say the wahoo fishing was unbelievable? Got them on the kite, on bombs and on live bait, both with and without wire. We couldn't troll for more than a few minutes without getting hits and several were caught at every troll stop.

I lost a real nice fish just out of reach of the gaff due to hull abrasion on my topshot.





Alejos Rocks


Heading in to check in with the comandante at Clarion Island


A few more to come as I get them edited.


PS, Mark, I think I left something in your shop, If you don't get rid of it I'll pick it up when I get back down your way ;o) Thanks again for the present, it will come in handy up here this winter.

Well at least you didn't have to worry about putting your catch in the freezer after the drive.

You still done purdy good.

Great notes and photo's nice trip

I love the photo's. And to think...

I USED to think only Deer looked good behind a quad in the snow? hahahhahahahha

Keta, ya gave me a new respect for the quads.

If you don't mind, I'm going to save that photo, print it and put it on the wall in our local archery shop here in Missouri.

The story about the Infured Fisherman from the flying wahoo??????

That reinforces the point to always BRING A PASSPORT.

What if his lure was pulled in front of another passenger who was to be bitten. Run for Cabo and no passport?? YIKES!

I am so glad ya put the hurt on the wahoo. It has been exactly 10 years this Month since I have caught a wahoo.

Nice report Keta and a great reminder of the dangers of wahoo fishing. It is allways good to stop the grind before you lift and jig, bomb or iron into the boat when the skinnies are around and you saw it first hand. I'm glad it didn't turn out too bad for that angler but like you said it could of been much worse.

That Ono look's a little lite (the second from the right) in the line up. I may know there it lost some weight. Lol

It was nice to meet you in the shop. You may not remember me but I was the guy that got you the jacket from the back of the shop before your trip.

P.S. nice pics

SoCal,
Ok, now I have a face to put on your handle. I was hoping to say hi on the way north. I hope everyone enjoys the fish I "lost" at the shop.
The jacket is nice and warm.

Pigsticker,
Feel free to use the photo, would you like the full size version?

Hey Keta, GREAT post. Really nice to read about anothers success in the dead of winter. Setting here at this key board is not exactly a substitute for getting sore arms.

Due to my lack of long rang expierence I did not understand the Wahoo Attack. What do you mean by stopping your gear at the back of the boat? Would you please explain in more detail exactly what happened?

And thoes TINY - SMALL YT Nice, vary Nice. I could settle for a couple half their size. LOL

Great Pics.
Congrats.
Walt

Walt,
Wahoo are fast and agressive fish and will follow a lure out of the water, we even saw one 10' out of the water trying to nail a kite bait that wasn't in the right place.

It's a good idea to pause your retrieve at the boat for 30 seconds or more so a chasing hoo doesn't follow it into the boat causing mayhem and potential disaster. I've heard of dead wahoo hurting people due to their razor scissor teeth. I had several sheer 60lb wire.

My prefered YFT for bringing home is 60-100lb.

The Wahoo come out so fast and are so dangerous.........................

Joey Conrad on the Royal Star was onboard in a " full blown " Dangerous attack of Wahoo. They were torpedoing out of the water everywhere.

In fact Joey was hit square in the torso and suffered internal injuries from a " Jihadist " wahoo. There was a Dr. onboard who treated Joey right then and there.

This is as releated to me directly from Joey himself.

He is such a tough bad ass..........he kept up his duties on deck the entire time.

Not a Man to be reckoned with! YIKES!

I suffered internal injuries at 16 yrs of age. I was out cold for 3 days. Joey?????

Tuff guy just kept on a chuggin.

Keta,
I just noticed something, what happened to that 3 ft section that is missing out of that one Wahoo on the sled.

Walt

It was there when I stopped by Charkbait on the way home, I must have misplaced it.

Hey Keta, nice fish. I've never had the experience yet of catching a wahoo. Hope to get that on my next long range trip.

It's obvious that fishing for yft is much the same as any other species. Sometimes you just have to be in the right place at the right time.

What happened at Clarion that ruined it for everyone now days???

This is second hand and I'll not mention names but there were some LR boats poaching Clarion Is. Angelfish and selling them in the US at big profit. The greed of a few hurt the rest.

Keta. That would certainly explain the rapid closure of the Islands and the end to the great fly down fly back trips that were the staple of the Winter long range Huh?

I'll bet is was most likely one of the Boats that does alot of bashing of the others? Just my guess.