10-Day Trip on the Vagabond
October 2023
Species targeted: Yellowfin Tuna, California Yellowtail, Wahoo, Calico Bass
The San Diego long range sportfishing fleet is unique in the world of fishing. It consists of large sportfishing vessels that are designed to take groups of anglers (typically 18-32 or so) on multi-day trips ranging from 6 to 22 days in length. They boast comfortable stateroom accommodations and, perhaps most importantly, enormous bait tanks capable of carrying large numbers of live baits such as sardines hundreds of miles into distant fishing grounds in Mexico. Other places, including Texas and Florida, also have large sportfishing boats designed to take a similar number of anglers on multi day trips, but they lack the amenities and live bait capacity of the San Diego boats.
The San Diego long range fleet typically ventures far down the Baja coast in Mexico, searching for large Tuna, Yellowtail, Wahoo, and other highly sought-after food fish. They are equipped with freezers for preserving catches for long periods of time.
I had been wanting to go on a long range trip for many years, ever since I started going on the shorter local party boat trips in 1999 when I still lived in California. However, career and family obligations prevented me from going during the years I lived there. I moved to Texas in 2016 and had not been on any type of group sportboat from then until 2023, when things finally aligned for me to hop on the San Diego Angling Club 10-day trip on the boat Vagabond out of Point Loma Sportfishing. Many of the people had fished together on the same trip for many years, and it was an experienced and pleasant group.
October 2023
Species targeted: Yellowfin Tuna, California Yellowtail, Wahoo, Calico Bass
The San Diego long range sportfishing fleet is unique in the world of fishing. It consists of large sportfishing vessels that are designed to take groups of anglers (typically 18-32 or so) on multi-day trips ranging from 6 to 22 days in length. They boast comfortable stateroom accommodations and, perhaps most importantly, enormous bait tanks capable of carrying large numbers of live baits such as sardines hundreds of miles into distant fishing grounds in Mexico. Other places, including Texas and Florida, also have large sportfishing boats designed to take a similar number of anglers on multi day trips, but they lack the amenities and live bait capacity of the San Diego boats.
The San Diego long range fleet typically ventures far down the Baja coast in Mexico, searching for large Tuna, Yellowtail, Wahoo, and other highly sought-after food fish. They are equipped with freezers for preserving catches for long periods of time.
I had been wanting to go on a long range trip for many years, ever since I started going on the shorter local party boat trips in 1999 when I still lived in California. However, career and family obligations prevented me from going during the years I lived there. I moved to Texas in 2016 and had not been on any type of group sportboat from then until 2023, when things finally aligned for me to hop on the San Diego Angling Club 10-day trip on the boat Vagabond out of Point Loma Sportfishing. Many of the people had fished together on the same trip for many years, and it was an experienced and pleasant group.
The 80' x 24' sportboat Vagabond
Long range trips are extremely tackle intensive. The boats offer rods and reels for rent, but most anglers bring all of their own tackle. You could be fishing for anything from 1lb mackerel (for bait) to 200lb+ tuna, so you need to cover a lot of different bases in terms of rods, reels, lures, and terminal tackle. Luckily, I already owned most of what I needed from my time in California and just needed to dig it out and dust it off, but bringing 175lbs worth of gear from Texas over to San Diego was a bit of a hassle. I ended up mailing some of the heavy weights and jigs ahead of time to make it easier to travel.
Although crew members are there to give tips, you are largely on your own on these trips in terms of fishing. You bring your own gear, rig it yourself, and decided when and how you are going to fish based on where you are and what the captain advises. When the fish are biting, the crew are going to be too busy gaffing fish, untangling lines, throwing chum, etc to be able to help you so you really need to come prepared. Luckily it all came back to me fairly quickly.
Our captain, Mike Lackey, was very accessible throughout the trip and happy to share his wisdom with whoever wanted it.
Although crew members are there to give tips, you are largely on your own on these trips in terms of fishing. You bring your own gear, rig it yourself, and decided when and how you are going to fish based on where you are and what the captain advises. When the fish are biting, the crew are going to be too busy gaffing fish, untangling lines, throwing chum, etc to be able to help you so you really need to come prepared. Luckily it all came back to me fairly quickly.
Our captain, Mike Lackey, was very accessible throughout the trip and happy to share his wisdom with whoever wanted it.
Carts of gear lined up for loading
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My stateroom was in the back of the boat, and I shared it with another angler who had just finished an 8-day trip on the same boat and was turning right around and going on our 10-day. His plan was to go on another 10-day right after that, but that ended up being canceled due to boat maintenance issues that came up at the end of our trip.
Once we got bait, we headed south towards the fishing grounds. We had a long drive ahead, and didn't do any fishing until late in the afternoon of the second day. I had a prescription patch for seasickness that worked well but made me very drowsy, so I slept through much of the drive. I actually felt a little groggy and out of it for most of the trip thanks to the meds, but that was much better than being seasick.
Dolphins and porpoise were frequently sighted all throughout the tirp
Meals were hearty
Late in the afternoon of the second day, we were able to do a small amount of fishing. I opted to use a yo-yo jig pictured below. These are dropped down to the bottom and then retrieved at very high speed back to the boat. They are mainly used to target Yellowtail, and I was happy to find that I was able to get right back in the swing of this type of fishing after a 7-year layoff. I managed to land two Yellowtail that first afternoon along with a nice Yellowfin Tuna that jumped on the jig as well.
The best yo-yo jig of the trip for me, a Tady 4/0 in mint and white
This first Yellowtail was actually the largest one I landed for the trip.
The next morning we enjoyed a very good Yellowtail bite from daybreak until about 930am. I got 8 fish on the yo-yo jigs and one on bait when I decided to give my reeling arm a little break.
We then proceeded to the famed Alijos Rocks, which sit about 190 miles off the Baja coast. They are a long way from anything, but the fishing is often worth the trip and we were the only boat out there.
We then proceeded to the famed Alijos Rocks, which sit about 190 miles off the Baja coast. They are a long way from anything, but the fishing is often worth the trip and we were the only boat out there.
Dawn at the Alijos Rocks
Our primary target was Wahoo. We started by trolling large Mauraders and Nomad DTX minnows, and when a Wahoo bit we would stop the boat, throw some Sardines over as chum, and then either fish a live Sardine or cast something called a Wahoo Bomb. The Wahoo Bombs are cast out, allowed to sink a bit, and then retrieved as fast as humanly possible. You really cannot reel them too fast. I had never fished for Wahoo using bombs before, so I opted to focus on trying this type of fishing. Sadly, although I got a lot of bites, the Wahoo managed to escape in every possible way. The sharks were thick out at the rocks and I had four hooked Wahoo eaten by them while being reeled in. I also had two Wahoo bite through the heavy wire leader, one snap my 100lb braid, and several just shake the hook out. I never thought of Wahoo as particularly hard to catch before this trip, but they sure gave me a beatdown out at Alijos. I did manage to land one the first morning on the DTX minnow.
First Wahoo of the trip. I don't think I was as excited about it as the deckhand behind me
On the second day at the rocks I managed to land one on bait. Fish were getting eaten by sharks all around it, but somehow I snuck it through intact.
Second Wahoo of the trip
There were some Yellowfin Tuna at Alijos, and I landed a couple of those as well.
A typical Alijos Yellowfin
At night we were able to jig up some very large baits, and in the morning we sent some down to the bottom to see if we could catch some bigger fish. One guy landed this 70lb+ Almaco Jack, although a shark took a chunk out of it on the way up.
A big Almaco Jack that mostly made it to the boat
On my first attempt with the big bait I did not have my drag set tight enough and I got cut off in the rocks by one of the big jacks, but for my second bait I used my heaviest outfit (an Accurate ATD 50 with 130lb line on a very heavy rod) and managed to get a big jack off the bottom. I had it about half way to the surface when it got completely devoured by a monster shark. I fought the shark until my arms gassed out, and then I handed the rod to a deckhand and he fought it for quite a while until he gassed out, and then he handed it to another deckhand who pulled as hard as he could on it while we tried to chase it with the boat. The line eventually ended up snapping without us ever getting a glimpse of it, but it must have been a beast. It was certainly larger than the one pictured below, which was landed on lighter gear than I was using.
The sharks were cool to see and some of their attacks on hooked fish were quite spectacular, but I really wish there had been less of them so I could have landed a few more Wahoo.
The sharks were cool to see and some of their attacks on hooked fish were quite spectacular, but I really wish there had been less of them so I could have landed a few more Wahoo.
An Alijos Shark
After two days at Alijos, we headed over to an area called The Ridge, an offshore bank closer to the Baja coast. It was another long ride, but once we got there we found a wide open bite on Dorado and Yellowfin Tuna. Mexican limits for Dorado are weirdly strict, so I released all the Dorado I caught, but I was excited to bring the tuna home. I managed to land my trip limit of 15 pretty easily in the time we fished the Ridge, and released a number of smaller ones.
Bringing a tuna over the rail at The Ridge
A healthy Ridge Yellowfin
After some productive time at the Ridge we started heading back north and stopped at the Yellowtail spot we fished on the way down and found the Yellows still biting. They were still biting the yo-yo well, but to mix it up I tried using some fast pitch jigs like the Shout Flash 150 and found them to be equally productive. I finished off my 30 fish limit for the trip on these quality Yellowtail.
A Yellowtail caught on the Shout Flash 150 fast pitch jig and medium spinning rod
The last fish I tagged for the trip
After that day, many people had their limits of fish so the captain took us to do some fun catch and release fishing for Calico Bass. I managed quite a few on Big Hammer swimbaits towards the end of the day. A few people got up that night and enjoyed a wide open bite from 230am to 430am, but I slept through it.
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What a tank!
We all put in $25 and the crew had a fishing tournament for about 45 mins to win the pot. Here is the winner with his whopper. The second place fish is in its mouth.
We did a little fishing for Rockfish and Lingcod so people could finish out their limits and then we headed for home.
All in all, the trip was a resounding success and an excellent first long range experience. It was a good group of seasoned anglers and we had good fishing and good conditions, especially on the way home which was a big plus.
When we got back to the dock, I handed my fish over to the fish processors and got some delicious vacuum-sealed fillets mailed to me. I also got some of the tuna canned, so it will keep for years.
All in all, the trip was a resounding success and an excellent first long range experience. It was a good group of seasoned anglers and we had good fishing and good conditions, especially on the way home which was a big plus.
When we got back to the dock, I handed my fish over to the fish processors and got some delicious vacuum-sealed fillets mailed to me. I also got some of the tuna canned, so it will keep for years.
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