Labor Day weekend- Mackeral Bank & 152 4-3-3

PROSPECTOR · #1 (**permalink**) 09-08-2009, 10:25 AM

I was laid up on the beach with a hunting accident- but here is my boat partner's report. Damn it- missed a good one!

Paul Hoofe & Jason Blower left Newport Sunday aboard the PROSPECTOR at 5:00 am in moderate Catalina eddy conditions. Ran to the 289 and were the only boat on the bank. Lots of porpoise schools and had a zip on a cedar plug that fell off- likely yellowfin.. Worked towards the lee of San Clemente Island in calm , glassy conditions. Trolled out to the Mackeral bank from the domes & got bit on the pink 7strand Kona Clone @ 59/23. Paul’s fish ended up getting tail wrapped & came in dead after 35 minutes. We spent 25 minutes trying to revive him but no luck. Put the fish on the step for the smoker. Deployed the pattern and had another fish up in the jigs 10 minutes later. Paul did a drop back but the fish wanted the black / purple 7strand Kona Clone & hung himself @ 00/22 , approx ½ mile from the first fish. We tagged the fish 35 minutes later. Cocktail celebration combined with perfect weather day and high hopes for Labor Day! Rafted up in Pyramid with JOKER and left the cove @ 5:30 and came around the front of Clemente with a 12-15 knot Easterly with short , choppy conditions . Worked back to the #’s from the day before in the chop and looked around for four hours. At about 10:30 we decided to run for Church rock & better weather.Put the jigs in and trolled to the 152 area and bent it toward the Avalon bank. At 12:30 we had a fish come in on the left rigger and pounce on the pink Kona Clone. Another fish ate the short Coggins jet head in black/purple on the second wake and was hooked. The rigger fish fell off. Paul released his third fish on 30 lb tackle and a Penn 16 VSX in 25 minutes @ 19/12 . We then toasted our friends that our no longer with us {Bill , Russ & Jimmy } and Paul & I did celebratory shots of wild turkey ! Epic 2 days on the good ship “PROSPECTOR” !

Rod Hog · #2 (**permalink**) 09-08-2009, 11:27 AM

You should know better than hunting with Dick Cheney

MarlinNut · #3 (**permalink**) 09-08-2009, 02:58 PM

And you still owe us the story of the toe ...

Marlinloco · #4 (**permalink**) 09-08-2009, 03:38 PM

Yea, we heard chatter on the radio about some picture....

MarlinNut · #5 (**permalink**) 09-08-2009, 03:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marlinloco

Yea, we heard chatter on the radio about some picture....

I believe that would be this one ...

I'm not worried ... we'll get him liquored up at the Marlin Club and the truth _will_ come out ...

PROSPECTOR · #6 (**permalink**) 09-08-2009, 04:02 PM

Stan Jr,

Okay, the infamous toe story goes like this...shooting doves out in Brawley with my old man. I am sitting on a 5 gallon bucket, and this bird comes in low and fast- from right to left. I take a shot and miss, as I am leading the bird, the bucket is sliding out from underneath me. I am off balance now, but still have the bird in my sites- at my 11 oclock, I take my second shot just as my left boot raises up in the air and I blast right threw my boot, my pinky toe, and DROPPED THE BIRD. I looked at my boot with a hole and blood everywhere and yelled out 'OH SH_T, I AM HURT!' Went into the shock after that, and just tried to keep my old man from passing out as we drove to the hospital. Went into shock, not much pain. Got sewn up at Hoag four hours later and on crutches for MABT- designated gyro guy I guess...

MarlinNut · #7 (**permalink**) 09-08-2009, 04:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PROSPECTOR

and DROPPED THE BIRD..

Epic.

All things considered, it could have been a lot worse that the toe, too ...

I'm sorry, I can't resist:

Quote:

"It's all fun and games 'til someone shoots their toe off ... "

aloharob · #8 (**permalink**) 09-09-2009, 03:45 PM

Holy ****...that toe looks ugly. You have been having a great season on the water...i think you shudda stuck to fishing, huh?? Congrats on a great weekend of fishing...and I hope that toe heals up quick...is there any of it left to actually heal??

RavellingTangler · #9 (**permalink**) 09-10-2009, 06:30 AM

"Holy Mola !" (or should that be "Hola Moly !" ?)

I've heard of "kicking the bucket" but not "falling off the bucket, shooting the toe and dropping the bird"

Just goes to show you "can't be too careful" (and we all laughed at those over-officious Health & Safety guys, one of whom would be bound to tell you it was unwise to sit on a bucket while shooting a shotgun)

Bet Dick Cheney envies you (although.....of course..... he'd prefer to hit someone else's toe , and he'd probably miss the bird - if one was there in the first place).

Thanks for sharing with us; I enjoyed that description. Most schadenfreude I've felt since that photo of the billfish with its sharp end pointing directly at ....well we don't want to continue (search the archives), though that ended happily for all (including the Marlin)

PROSPECTOR · #10 (**permalink**) 09-10-2009, 09:34 AM

Rob- just a small stub of pinky toe left. What they did was borrow some skin from my 4th toe, made a square patch, and sewed the end shut. Just cosmetics and the 'toe jokes' are brewing big time, especially with Pesky crowd. Best one to date- guy asked me if I was in charge of the 'shot gun' start for the MABT tournament....classic.

On the Pacific PIONEER for MABT, but just glassing. Hope to be an angler or just driving my boat soon.