Having to go back to work right after I returned from Cedros, doing a trip write up was not high on my priority list. Give me a rainy day however and away we go. Dan Bonfield and I left Harbor Island at 4 am on Tuesday and headed to Ensenada to fill up with fuel. After loading up the boat with the prettiest florescent green diesel you ever saw we headed south to San Martin Island. I’ve got to say right up front, this trip had the flattest water I’ve ever seen for the whole trip. We arrived at San Martin at 5 pm and caught 6 Calicos and a couple of Bonita. An early dinner of ravioli and a nice salad preceded an early bedtime.

With a good weather forecast and flat water we decided to head straight to Benitos in the morning. With a 5am departure we traveled at 23 knots once it got light enough to see well. By 12:30 we were at the top of the Ranger Bank. There was lots of life in the form of birds and whales so out went the lines. After 11 peanut Yellowfin and a lone peanut yellowtail we pulled the lines and zipped on down to Benitos for the evening. The anchorage at Benitos is large and well protected from the north and the west. We got settled in and fired up the Barbie for some New York strips and paired them up with a couple of baked potatoes and a green salad. We spent Thursday working the Benitos area fairly hard with only meager results. (3 YT, 3 CB, 2 Bon, 2 YFT)

Friday morning we gave Benitos a daylight shot for nothing and then headed to Cedros and much better action. The fish while not chewing the paint off the bottom of the boat were much more cooperative and had an appetite for blue and white Tady 4/0’s. We finished the day with 2 YFT, 8 Bon, 17 YT (22# largest) 8 CB 3 WF and 2 SH (8# largest). We anchored up on the south end of the island for the evening and had a dinner which included roast chicken, baked potato and steamed broccoli. You have to eat health occasionally.

Saturday morning the fishing was slow but doable. The current was slow but it was moving. By mid day there was no current and the fish quit biting. We finished the day with 12 yellowtail, 15 calicos and 16 Bonita. We went back to our anchorage for the evening and considered our dilemma over dinner of grilled pork chops, baked yams and a green salad. We decided that the next day we would fish our way south and get fuel in Turtle Bay.

Sunday morning we headed down to Turtle Bay for fuel. Since the water was flat and we didn’t see anything that warranted a stop we pretty much motored right on down to the bay. A quick fueling from the Anabelle and we were back on our way to Cedros. A few minutes fishing there produced 3 nice Calicos but that was it for the day.

Monday morning we were back online bright and early looking for the yellowtail. Current was almost non existent and the going was tough. We fished hard all day and had a pretty weak count for our efforts. The highlight was a white seabass that weighed approximately 15 pounds. Dan gave him his go free card before I could weigh him. The day was beautiful with flat calm water but the fish count was limited (CB 7, Bonita 2, Sand bass 2, YT 4, WSB 1). We headed back to our anchorage with our tails between our legs and contemplated out fate over a plate of linguini and clams.

Tuesday morning we worked our way up the island looking for better conditions. By the time we got to the north end of the island we had scratched up 16 CB, 7 Bonita, 2 WF and zero good water conditions. We made an executive decision and headed toward Jeronimo. We arrived at 5 pm anchored up and enjoyed a dinner of lamb chops, green salad and a baked potato.

Wednesday morning we headed down to Sacramento Reef where we put in a full day laying the hurt on the Calicos. You have to love that place. While the bite wasn’t hot by Sacramento Reef standards, it was steady all day long. We ended up the day with 45 Calicos up to 6 pounds. In addition we had 2 SB, 12 Bonita, 3 WF and 4 Jonnie bass. We arrived back a Jeronimo at 4:30, did a fuel transfer and enjoyed a fine meal of local seafood.

Thursday morning we pulled out at 4 am and moved north at 10 knots until we could see well enough to go fast. At daylight we kicked her up to 23 knots and arrived at Harbor Island by 3:30 in the afternoon.