Angler Education Trip.  Departed from Fisherman's Landing on Sept 30th and returned October 3rd 2023.

   Everyone that went, liked the charter.  Some rough water and tough fishing but…  So worth it.

   We landed 3 of 4 big Bluefin Tuna that the boat hooked on the kite out near the Tanner Bank.  We had some slim pickings on the Bait Fish while out there.  Both Jeff M. and Jeff C. landed good tasty sized BFT on live bait.

  First big Kite fish went to Bruce who landed a good one!  Capt. Dave had a tag for all the anglers aboard up on the upper deck and when a fish came up to chomp the Flying fish dangling from the kite he would draw a tag and as that rod was passed down from the upper deck to the main deck that angler would scramble to get the pass.  A really smooth way to do that.

  Second kite fish went to Keith Moret.  It was a very big beast and showed that strength and brought Keith M to his limits of pull and he had to have a bit of help from deck hands who also got tested to their limits.  It took a set of 3 or 4 gaffs to bring the beast to the deck.  A Really Big and Fat fish.  A credit to the skills and tenacity of the Angler, Crew  and Boat.  Keep in mind that the boat rod was using 130# line and set with really heavy drags.

  The third one went to Romen who drove down from central CA to join us.  He worked it hard and it was such a brute that it broke the boats crimped terminal tackle after a long fight and was a bit of a heartbreak.  We all encouraged the captain to add his number back to the drawing for future fish.

  The fourth Kite Fish got passed to Keith L.  It calculated to 167-ish by Length and Girth.  (He reported later that after processing 75# of table ready meat in his freezer.)  The teamwork of the crew stood by at the ready as he fought it stand up with a belt and harness.

   The rest of the day was hard picking to find and get on the fish.  Used up a lot of the boats' bait capacity for not much.  The anglers endured the rough water and wait but at a moments notice would scramble to put baits in the water.

  At the end of the day on the third day most everyone got a lot of the school sized Yellowfin tuna. Near the “Corner” was the spot for the Yellowfin Tuna.  This stop with the trip ending on the horizon was that dream stop full of lots of hook ups and pandemonium and joy and some frustration of loss and tangles that make great fishing stories.  It was such bedlam that very few photos were taken at this time of day as we all had our hands full of Rods and most were pulling on fish!  It was a organized Chaos that we all would happily go back and experience again.  The crew gilled and gutted and put into the RSW below deck over and over again to keep the decks clear for more fish coming over the rails. 

   The tired fishermen were happy to climb back into the bunks on the relatively short run up hill to the docks and home.  We were blessed with being the very first boat into the landing and offloaded in the pre-dawn dark.  Most of us in our cars with fish going to the fish processor or choice by 6 am. 

  Thank you all who came.  And a big thank you to the Chartermaster work of Ted Cotter and co chartermaster work for the reschedule by Myles Blatt. 

   Thank you to the Raffle Sponsors Robert - Two Rods and a really nice Reel!   And to sponsor John, of Baja Fishing Tackle who donated a Big Insulated Kill Bag!

   The annual MDRA trip with fellow fishermen and friends is a real pleasure and makes ones membership in Marina Del Rey Anglers complete. 

  Big F’n Fish Happened.  Fun Catching Happened.  Great Teamwork Happened.  Overall we had an excellent tuna charter and really good Angler Education experience.

EG – Marina Del Rey Anglers – doing it’s best to enable your Fishing Addiction.