I had the opportunity to fish aboard the Ranger 85 out of Channel Islands Sportfishing one last time before they return to H&M Landing in San Diego. We went out on a 2 Day trip with 34 fish hungry seasoned anglers. Captain Frank Ursitti decided to go the distance to fish San Nicholas Island for an unforgettable experience. We fished the shallow ridges of San Nick and loaded up on some of the biggest and angriest Whitefish I've seen in a very long time. We spent a good part of the first morning fishing the kelp in search of any roaming exotics. Captain Frank gave it a reasonable effort scanning the island for any signs of life as the water temperature was still patchy cold. We made our way to the West End and laid the wood to the Whiteys and Reds. It was an absolute free for all.

We hit our limit of a mixed bag of quality Reds, Chucks, Blues, and Whitefish and we headed over to Frank's honey hole for Lings. Captain Frank put us on the spot and thirty-four rods simultaneously latched on to one of the widest Ling bites I've ever seen! Chaos erupted along the rail as Ling after Ling was being gaffed and heard slapping around on deck. It was the kind of bite that just made us all giddy.

In the evening, we made a few Halibut drifts as Chef Paul prepared a steak dinner. We shared some fishing stories and slowly disbursed out of the galley to get some rest for day two. We picked up some fresh squirts from a local sport boat and Captain Frank made some early morning Halibut drifts to land two very nice Flatties and several other bites that got away.

We managed to land a whopping 466 Whitefish, 600 Rockfish, 102 Lingcod, 2 Halibut, and 101 Male California Sheephead! These goats were huge! As a matter of fact, all the fish were huge! The Ranger 85 still has a couple more trips lined up out of Channel Islands Sportfishing before they head down south for Tuna. Claim your ticket while you can! Otherwise, keep your eye out for their schedule and jump on and enjoy a day out with Captain Frank Ursitti and the Crew. These guys are stellar!

Here's a SPECIAL VIDEO that I captured. I think we've all fallen victim to this classic trick. You'll always find at least one joker on every boat!

For copies of any pictures please drop me a line at [email protected].

Tight Lines,