Down but not out!

The Great Volvo debacle has begun. 

  I maintain my boat well. No rust, no corrosion, frequent oil changes etc. No matter what, something pops up. The fishing is solid but the little things kept us down this week.

  We started off Wednesday with Sneaky P, Cody and a tank full of chovies from SF.

Made a perfect drift at Alcatraz, saw some bait and tossed in the gear we fished it from .05 knots to 2.0 knots. No takers.

  We then ran over to Crissy Field and drifted to Fort Mason. We saw little bait and 0 takedowns.

I took a quick ride around Angel Island and saw a sea of brown.

  The minus tide left nothing to fish in the Central Bay.  The only other spot that had a little green water was behind the barges. (North East of the Bay Bridge)

  We ran over to the South bay and found some green water to fish but by that time the tide was peaking on the flood and we were just going to fast.

  I shut down the motor for some silence and when I went to put it in gear nothing happened. Forward, Neutral and Reverse were not happening.

  We Anchored up and waited for an hour and it started and went into gear.  

  We ran back to Richmond and talked to Max the Volvo guy at Bay Ship and Yacht.

On Thursday morning Cody and Pete came down in hopes of the quick repair and back in the water.

  That wasn’t in the cards. Max plugged the engine into the Voda (Volvo’s version of a diagnostic checker) and found a few trouble codes.

  We checked the wiring with a new wire harness and No change. Parts are on order and repairs should be made by Tuesday. We will be fishing Wednesday, Thursday and Friday with charters all 3 days.

  The fishing is solid. I have been chasing this big batch of large halibut around for a month now.  We pick them apart and slide down a little further and do it again. At this rate we may wind up in Mexico. How far south will the Halibut be next week?

   We only managed to fish for about 8 hrs on Friday but still had a hefty load for the market (6fish for 90 pounds).  We hooked another 30+ pound fish.

  We switched to some lighter gear, combining 40 pound power pro with small Avets and 15-40 Tescatas.

The rod and smaller weights gives a slower more relaxed presentation then the big dodgers with all there flashiness and jerking around.  These fish have had allot of stuff thrown at them and a gut feeling has me finessing my approach.

 The lighter gear is easier to work. You have to reel a little more but the sinker size is way smaller.

It worked great, when we got on the high spot the fish at it. It’s really that simple. Keep your speed below 3 and above 1.3 knots and you’ll get your chances.

  Some may wonder why I’m giving you so much info. Here’s why! Most anglers are going to look at that and run to it as fast as they can. Some will look for similar things elsewhere. I’m hoping that the ones with big enough balls to look, will, and the ones who stay are really just keeping it warm until I return.

  If you want to fish then fish! If you want to follow you can have the leftovers just have courtesy to report it. Thanks

  If you want some time on the water check the blog for available dates.

barbariansportfishing.blogspot.com

Or call me 510-750-4237

See ya on the water!!

Real Athletes Run Others just play games.

 I thought that was fitting

I want to RUN!