We shoved off out of Port Hueneme for another Sportfishingreport Charter aboard Joe Villareal's MIRAGE. Twenty-one anglers eagerly readied their gear with high hopes of exotics and limits of nice grade Santa Rosa Rockfish. On our way out to the Islands, the Santa Barbara channel was very rough and choppy with some wind on top of it. Captains Louie Abbot and Tucker McCombs ensured our safe arrival at the islands as the weather was too rough to go passed Santa Cruz. We began fishing immediately in the early hours of the morning and hooked up on several Bat Rays that got our hearts pumping and tested our drag settings. We picked up the anchor at gray light in order to make our move to Santa Rosa, however the 30 knot winds and the angry seas kept us from reaching our destination. Louie got a call from a commercial vessel that was sitting on the anchor at Santa Rosa and waiting out the terrible conditions.

Unfortunately, the weather got the best of us. We made a few calls over the radio to other sport vessels, but nobody was out on the water. Captain Joe Villareal gave Captain Louie Abbot the okay to give everyone on board a rain check to come back on a better and safer day of fishing. We weren't about to give up so easy though. We knew that the fishing has been extremely slow at the local islands, however we stopped at a few spots for some fish on our way in. We had about one Rockfish per head and decided to pull the plug early and head home before the Santa Barbara Channel got any worse. We could see lots of white caps in the distance and didn't want to chance it. I guess you can't win them all.

I would like to take this moment to thank the Crew of the Mirage for their integrity and commitment to excellence! I was amazed that Captain Joe and Louie made the decision to refund everyone by issuing a free pass to all of the passengers. Fishing is never a 100% and good luck trying to predict the weather! How many times have you heard "I know that fishing was rough today but we gave it our best shot. Please be sure to come back and visit us soon," as you find yourself on the dock wondering which grocery store to go to on the way home. Long story short, the Crew of the Mirage certainly could have sat out on the water a little longer and gave the same speech as listed above. They burned the gas, they put in the effort, and they provided exceptional service to all of the anglers! Hat's off to this Crew for giving the passengers another opportunity at experiencing what a day on the Mirage can be like!

For copies of any pictures, please drop me a line at [email protected]. See you on the next SFR Charter!

Tight Lines,