Name=Jeff
Date=6/12/99
Boat=Dolphin II
Area=Butterfly Bank
Bait=Anchovies, Zukers
Water_Temp=59-62
Captain=Greg
Weather=Overcast
Seas=Rough
Report=Just had to get in on this early season albacore. The trip started out on a bad note as soon as I got to the landing. Went to pay my fare and found out they had bumped up the price from $108 (which is what they told me on the phone) to $125. Everyone else in line was pissed too. We were ALL told $108 over the phone when we made reserves. I grudgingly paid the extra $$ to go on the slowest boat in the fleet which is also located the farthest away from the fishing grounds. The day started out lookin good. I woke up to the sound of tails thumping on the deck as several people alredy hooked up in the pre-light hours. We started trolling and were getting stopped approx every 1/2 hour. Nothing much, maybye a single jig strike and 2 or three bait fish but at this rate it looked like we were going to have a decent day. Then it happened. Some guy breaks out a banana and starts eating it. And so the curse starts. We troll for the next four hours without a single jig strike. I later told him "See, it's all you're fault. You shouldn't have brought that banana." He gave me a strange look and said someone else just told him the exact same thing. For those of you who don't know or doubt the banana theory, bring some on your next trip and find out. We did eventually get two more single jig strikes and boated maybye five more fish after that but it sure was tough fishing out there. total for the boat was 19 albacore for some 25 + anglers. When we got back to the landing they had 23 albacore on the board but I counted every fish twice. Needless to say I got skunked along with a dozen or so other anglers. It seems the chrome jet-head type lures in green and red were getting bit the best. My blue/green and zuchinni Zukers were untouched through 3 different jig strikes. Also, you had to get a bait into the water immediatley after a jig strike or you were not getting bit. The fish would sink down and disappear very rapidly. Typical early-season albacore fishing. Big spread of fish out there. Should be a good season.
Rating=Poor
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