home style.  it's remote, so whatever they can get. 

it's a long ways away, port hardy.  beautiful scenery, great people, and good fishing.  honestly, it is very expensive.  i've gone with ben every time.  i think that this is my 4th trip.  he really likes the place.  the first time, the guy called up and said, "hey, let's go fishing!  port hardy!  todd lives up there!!!"  ok, in!  didn't ask how much.  definitely more heading north than heading south to mexico.  we'll start calling this a trip of "firsts!!!"

august 13, 2022



so, it's the first time i slept in an airport overnight.  we left san francisco for seattle, then seattle to vancouver with a midnight arrival time.  the guy that had the hotel room came in from the east coast.  midnight for us was 3am for him, plus his phone goes on "do not disturb" at midnight east coast time.  not being able to get in touch with him, it was either get a hotel for $500 or sleep in the airport for 5 hours.  easy choice!  i stretch out on a bench and i'm out in 5 minutes.

now we go from the vancouver terminal to the "south" terminal to catch our commuter flight to port hardy.  there was a warning about fog and how we might not be able to land.  keep that little tidbit of information.  it will come into play later in the week.





an hour later we are wheels down in port hardy.  piece of cake!



we will be staying at the serengeti lodge.  todd picked us up and took us to the liquor store, then on to the lodge.
christine will be our chef!







august 14, 2022

the first morning of fishing, christine has our breakfast ready, as well as a cooler with lunch.  we board the boats and take off.  ben and james jr. are in the first boat.



jim sr. and i are in the second boat.



it's really pretty, here!









we fished an area called "the wall."



my first tyee.  i got lucky and stuck a 30 pound salmon.  anything 30 pounds or more is a tyee and you get a hat from the lodge!



another nice dinner and a few rounds of poker!




august 15, 2022

fishing with jim, sr. again.  we headed out with dave to start with halibut and lingcod.



jim got a couple of nice fish!







i got a nice halibut and a nice lingcod







then it's back to the wall for salmon.  ben and james, jr and there already.





jim hooked into a nice fish.  unfortunately it broke off.  no hat for jim.



still, a beautiful day.






august 16, 2022

last day.  back to an area just south of the wall.  today in get to fish with ben.  our special deckhand is todd!!!





ben got a couple of nice fish!







i got another tyee, 31 pounds. another first!





just another day in paradise.





this evening we will be having dinner with the johanssen's home!



impressive man cave.















dinner was even more impressive!



august 17, 2022

we picked up our fish at the processors. 



then headed to the airport.  it was socked in with fog, so the plane couldn't land.  instead of a 10am flight, it was a 6pm flight and we missed our connection.



at least we had a nice dinner in vancouver's chinatown!








august 18, 2022

home a day late, but home safely.  the fish was still frozen solid.  it was great fishing with ben, jim sr, james jr and todd.  and thanks to serengeti charters in port hardy!

february 24th, 2022

by now, you guys all know the drill.  fly down to puerto vallarta with a couple of norchill insulated cooler bags, a pack of 8x12 vacuum seal bags, a shaving kit, T shirts and shorts, cell phone, wallet, glasses and passport.  it's the easiest fishing trip in the world.  they pick you up at the airport, stop off and the mega supermarket for tequila, and go straight to the boat. 









now for a 10-12 hour run.  don't let the beautiful sunset fool you.  it's going to be bumpy.  no one is sleeping well tonight. 




february 25th, 2022

seven fish, 60 to 140 pounds, 15-20 knot winds.  these are all smaller fish.  good for a warm up, and also good because not all of the guys have their big fish skills properly honed.  all of these guys are northern california salmon fishermen.  if you apply salmon techniques to yellowfin tuna, you will die a slow and painful death. 



This is Jack's first fish, day one.  He's tense, sweating, but doing a good job of using the lift of the boat to fight the fish.  it was an 8 minute fight on 130 pound gear for a 100 pound fish.  Considering that this is his first big fish, he's doing pretty good.  Fortunately, it came straight to the boat and didn't put up much of a fight.



This is Alex's first fish on day one.  it was pretty small and came straight in.  that is the only reason that he had any level of control with the rod under his left armpit.  he is left handed and has always cranked with his right hand, but for larger fish, he is going to HAVE to get used to holding the rod under his right arm if he is going to crank with his right.  the lack of control is not so obvious here, but you will see it plainly later in the trip when he and others persist in holding the rod under their left arm.  it can be done, but it is not something that i would EVER recommend for someone starting off.  holding the rod on your strong side (right) is the best way to control the rod and the fish. too many guys will hold the rod on their weak side (left) because they fish for small fish in this manner.  it worked for alex this one time, just barely, but it does not work for larger fish.



You don't know pain until you reel in yellowfin tuna with three cracked ribs.  so that's Brendan.  they must make 'em tough in texas.  cracked ribs and a mouth full of  chew!  this fish was 50-60 pounds and came straight in on 80 pound with a mak 16 and a rod from oliver solis and fishing syndicate.  great job!!!!!



Alex is still fighting from his weak side on his second yellowfin, again!!!  you can see the problems at the end of the fight that are created by the lack of control.  by not leaning on this fish and forcing him into a death circle, this fish is able to run all over and create nothing but confusion.  they were lucky to land him where they did, up on the bow.  if the fish had been on the stern, the crew would have needed a pusher to keep the line out of the prop.  but with each fish, alex is being tested and is getting better.



Three fish hooked in rapid succession. Mati starts out first.  you can see that he is starting to get good pressure using the boat.  at 3:00 minutes, he should have had the rod butt under his right arm but was able to get away with it because the fish was so small. 

at 6:00 minutes, Brendan is up, busted ribs and all.  he is the youngest and strongest of the bunch and  is able to muscle these fish in where the rest of us can't.

at 20:00 minutes, Duane is up, still fighting from his weak side the way he would if this was a salmon.  you can see the wobble in the reel.  when he needs to lift the rod at 26:20 minutes, he can't.  and because he can't control this fish, it takes him around the boat again.  at 28:00, he is having trouble turning the handle because he can't control the reel and he can't even lift the rod, all because he is fishing from his weak side.  luckily, it's a smaller fish.  wait until he hooks up on something larger!!!!



this day was all about polishing up our technique.  hopefully after all the guys see the videos, they will still be willing to fish with me again.  the discussion is critical, though.  brute strength cannot overcome poor technique.  these fish are only going to get bigger and they will hurt you if you let them.  and so ends day one.




february 26th, 2022

the morning bite fizzled.



we decided to kill some time and run for grouper.  we only got a half dozen, but it was fun!



now back to the tuna grounds.  nothing all afternoon, then finally one lonely, lost yellowfin hit the balloon rig.  ok, i'm up!  this is your opportunity to critique the charter master!

0:00 - already 2 minutes into the fight.
1:45 - tail wrapped?  doesn't feel like it, but we'll see.  he's fighting hard enough to be maybe side hooked.
3:15 - first drag bump, going well past strike.
3:35 - back to the bow.
3:55 - he took his second run on me.
5:00 - yeah, he doesn't feel tail wrapped, but i'm not sure.
5:50 - not getting help from the boat.
6:30 - see-saw ride on the rod.
7:00 - moving down the port rail, headed to the stern.
8:30 - in the corner, seated on the rod, still a long way out.  wrong angle to place the rod under my arm.  40 pounds of drag.
9:30 - i screwed up.  he got some slack and ran.
11:50 - shout out to darin dohi!
12:50 - walking up the starboard rail, rod under my strong side right arm.
13:51 - he turned. his mistake.  this is where he dies.
14:30 - staying right here, wind at my back, i have the angle of the bow. TURN, TURN, TURN......
15:00 - color.
15:30 - Roberto misses!!!!! 
15:55 - let me get control of him again....
16:05 - gaffed!
19:00 - on the deck.
20:00 - taped out at 251 pounds.



if there is any possibility that you can do a trip like this, add it to your bucket list.  it will change everything that you know about fishing. 






february 27, 2022

good morning, all.  last day.  8 fish already in the box but we want to fill our cooler bags.  there are seven fish from 60 to 140 and one fish at 251.  there was a brief discussion about grouper, but we came here for tuna so that is what we are going to do. 



we have the smaller freezer below deck already filled.  it would be nice to fill the larger freezer on the top deck as well. 



everyone now has heard the speech and knows the drill.  when the fish is running, stick the butt of the rod in your crotch, to the left or right of your nuts, not in between, lay the rod on the rail, lift the rod tip like you're on a teeter totter and then reel when the rod tip comes down.  no gimbal belt needed.  at most, put a little extra starch in your choanes!!!! 

when the fish is close and the line is down at a 45 degree angle, stick the rod under your right armpit, your strong side, steady the rod and reel with your left hand, and  crank with your right hand.  the right hand cranking motion is now more like a piston driving a train wheel.  use the boat to lift, or use your body and the rail as a fulcrum to lift, then reel when the rod tip comes down.  do not, i repeat, do not, stick the rod but under your weaker left side arm pit.  you will suffer needlessly, and so will the guy taking the video.  everybody got it?  ok, let the carnage begin!





 Duane Winter (Dewey) landed this fish in 33 minutes.  at the beginning, roberto had loosened up the drag and he took a long run. at first he was holding the reel steady.  i hadn't given him such a hard time about fighting the fish from his weak side during the previous fight.  i should have.  at 15:30, it was back to salmon style fishing again. at 16:50, you can see once again how hard it is for him to lift the rod down the rail while fishing from his weak side.  at 17:45 he is starting to loose control of the reel. at 24:00, he's back up on the bow, after giving back a whole bunch of line.  he still has the rod on his weak side and still can't control the rod.

mati landed his at the same time, maybe 7 minutes total.

one of the reasons that dewey's fight was so long and drawn out is that the line went from the fish's left jaw, over the left pectoral fin, then under the body and off to the right side.  once the fish was on the deck, you could see the line marks. the other reason was that dewey was fishing from his weak side.  unless he changes, he will continue to struggle.



On this fish, from the beginning, Jack is very steady, reeling when the boat comes down, no wobble.  seriously, there is no wobble.  he moves quickly and steadily when he needs to.  at 9:00 he's starting to get tired, but he still has good control of the reel.  at 9:30 he switches to his strong side.  at 13:50, we figure out that he's been in high gear the entire time!!!  this should have been a 10 minute fish, but the entertainment value alone made it worthwhile!!! at 17:00 he's doing a great job of using the boat. a 20 minute fish.  this is a dramatic improvement in technique over the two previous fish.  he used the rail well when the fish was straight out, he kept the rod on his strong side, under his right arm, when the fish was close, and had an excellent end game.  all in all, the most improved fisherman of the bunch!



this is another fish on darin dohi's rod.  watching the other guys has been endless entertainment.  brendan is boring to watch.  he's like a machine, just reeling them in!  so just a little back story on brendan.  7-8 years ago, he joined me on a trip with scotty and roberto on the marla IV.  he was up for the first balloon fish on the very first day.  that fish was his very first yellowfin ever.  it took an hour and 15 minutes and taped out at 353 pounds.  yes, that's right.  the first yellowfin tuna ever for this texas farm boy was 353 pounds.



fortunately this was a very small fish.  alex had the rod on his weak side.  we've gotta stop doing that.  it's not stable or strong enough.  you can't crank, you can't move and you can't lift.



my second fish of the trip.  This one dragged me back and forth across the stern.  the dive under the boat was problematic because i didn't know how close the props and rudders were.  even the corner of the hull would have been problematic.  this fish taped out at 177 pounds and was landed in 7 minutes.  this fish was cooperative.  my final fish would not be.



on this fish, jack keeps the rod in his crotch the entire fight.  this fish was not as squirrelly as others. at 13:45, the pusher finally comes out.  rather than stick the rod under his strong side arm, he still has the rod but under his crotch.  the crew knows that he would not be able to hold the rod out and away from the hull in this position.  they will have to keep the line clear of the hull for him. at 14:45, success!!!!!  it was just under 200.



dewey's fish is starting out nice and easy.  at 3:20 another balloon rig is picked up and you get to watch the whole thing!  mati is on.  Duane is at color at 4:30 but can't finish him off.  no control. finally gaffed at 7:00. ths fish taped out at 198.

now back to mati.  12:15, oops, he's running again!  at 16:00 he goes back out on the bow pulpit.  he doesn't like it up there because that's where he landed is 304 pound yellowfin last year!  at 18:00, alex misses a fish.  it is actually the only one we lost for the entire trip.  21:00 - mati's fish is gaffed.



brendan is back on!  he said that his ribs were actually feeling better.  he goes from sitting on the rod to under the right arm at 5:30.  excellent technique!  this is how it's done!  ate 9:30, he's having trouble lifting because he doesn't have quite enough drag. this is going to greatly prolong the fight.

at 10:45, i'm up.  i'm kinda stuck on the starboard bow now because brendan is on the port bow. i'm going nice and slow to give brendan time to kill his fish first. at 15:40, my fish takes a hard run.  17:30 - over the top of everybody. brendan's fish is finally gaffed at 20:00, when he should have been gaffed at 16:20. 

low battery at 22:00, so pick me up on the next video!



This fish taped out at only 180 pounds, yet took 30 minutes to land.  part of it was because i was caught in traffic, but mostly i think it was because this one particular fish just had a really mean attitude.  he pulled harder than the 251 from the day before.



ok, that's it.  i hope that you enjoyed the videos and i hope no one thinks that i was too critical.  it's just habit.  i'm a retired university professor and tormenting medical students was one of my favorite past times.  now, i do know that some of you play the end game with the rod under your left arm pit.  if you've gotten good at it, that's fine.  it's just not something that i would ever recommend for someone starting out.  it's just too painful to watch.  perhaps later i'll do a video on how i select which rods and reels go together, but it will have to wait.  going through these videos took a solid two days.  for now i need to get back to work.  thanks for watching.  alan

i'll be there all three days, just cruising around.  hopefully i'll see some of you there!

the videos  are mine, but the still photos were taken by a professional photographer that the osuna family had on board.  his name was geraldo and i've been waiting for a link to his website but it looks like he might not have one.  the closest i could find is this. 

https://www.instagram.com/fishnclickpv/
fishnclickpv@gmail.com

we had a professional photographer on board for this trip.  there were ALOT of photos.  i cut it down by half and here they are.  most of you have read the PV reports before so you know the drill.  the pictures tell their own story.  enjoy!!!!

to say that 2020 has been an off year would definitely be an understatement.  with 24 guys in august, the calls started going out for the final checks.  of the original 24, we ended up losing 11, somehow found 7 more, and finally left the dock with 20 guys.  needless to say, the cost was higher, but we made it work!  

the vagabond was booked, so we ended up at the ramada.  even my brother had to bail this year, so tracy was gracious enough to be my driver.  i was up all the night before, packing and getting things ready.  these trips are tough because i bring alot of stuff for the guys, including 30 rods and reels .  


october 1st, 2020 - i slept most of the way down, stopping once at okuma in ontario for parts, then again at squidco and angler's choice, before checking into the ramada. dinner was at 5pm at miguel's!!!!












october 2, 2020 - after many long months, we were finally underway.  i won't really believe it until san diego is out of sight.



we were able to board early.  it's an easy boat to settle in to.  there's plenty of rod storage, enough room for tackle boxes, and even room assignments went smoothly.  basically, old guys with bad backs and poor hearing were assigned cabins aft where there was more engine noise but less pounding in heavy seas.  younger guys got the quieter cabins forward, but you really take a beating when the water gets rough.



our new chef was a young man named guiness.  we're all going to gain a half to a full pound a day!







spreading out meant the crew usually ate outside.  



and then a little down time for a cocktail and a cigar.



not everyone gets to relax, though.  a charter master's job is never done.




october 3, 2020 - tom robinson flew all the way out from missouri, so he got the honor of landing the first fish.  



roy got a nice fish on surface iron!



we stopped well north of cedros and landed 37 yellowtail for half a day.



did i mention that our chef went to culinary school in bangkok?



the first day of fishing was a nice warm up.  everyone has to re-learn how to fish.  glad it wasn't too crazy.


october 4, 2020 - first call for breakfast.  





this will be the start of a full and very productive day at san pablo bank.  the guys already had a chance to shake out the cobwebs, so we had very few mishaps.  





this is roy's first long range trip, but he hit his stride very quickly.  



max was also on his first long range trip.  he says he had a slow start, but it all looked fine to me.  





lauren is our lone female angler and probably did the best of all of us!





jack picked up a nice fish on a jig.



wes brought his fish in hot, hence the body shot with the gaff.





mikey got a nice one!



we ended the day adding 97 yellowtail to the board.  not a bad day.  we'll be running south tonight.  guiness (in the background) has an assistant, shao li!






october 4, 2020 - good morning!  not sure how far down we went, but the inshore bite was not happening.  



the captain opted to take us offshore in search of kelp and wahoo.  we found a kelp paddy that held a few wahoo and landed four.  i had one on the hook for 2 seconds.  he shook left, then right, then unceremoniously spit out the bomb.   mike was luckier!



dewey scored as well.



a little farther out, we hit another kelp that was loaded with dorado.  for the first timer, it is a sight to behold.  we landed 60 fish in as many minutes.  





a few of them wound up in the galley!





a nice way to end the day!




october 5-7, 2020 - back inshore, then north to gain some altitude.  pretty slow fishing. not much to show for it.  a few more dorado on the outside, a few more yellowtail on the inside.  mostly it was running to get to the bluefin grounds off tanner bank.



still lots of stuff to break up the day!





we found another school of small dorado mixed with small yellowfin.



here's where it gets fun.  evan kraft is our skipper for this trip, and he comes down from the wheelhouse to talk to us about the bluefin bite, the kite rotation, bait fishing and flat falls.  one of the things that he mentioned was that he recommended 200 pound fluoro or 300 pound mono as the minimum weight for the leaders.  that means that the scrawny 150 pound mono leaders that i rigged up already were useless.  he said that even these leaders were getting chewed through.  strike one!  he also mentioned that we needed spring loop protectors because the flemish eye "loop" that i've always used for norcal albacore will rub through.  strike two!  and lastly, he says that the kevlar cloth fabric used for the assist hooks were getting chewed through.  strike three!!!!!!

ok, i have to borrow 300 pound mono from the boat.  i already have 1.9mm double sleeve crimps, 1.9mm stainless steel springs, 250-300 pound split rings, and a dozen large tuna hooks in the 9/0 to 11/0 size.  split rings make me nervous, but it's all i have.  and here is the result.  it's a 300 pound mono leader, but who cares about the line weight.  it's dark down there and fish don't seem to care how heavy the line is.  at the top end is a 350 pound number 6 barrel swivel, double crimped with a loop protector.  note that both crimps themselves are double crimped.  at the bottom end of the leader is another double crimped loop to a 250 pound split ring.  hanging off the split ring is a squish jig (bright) from okuma, a flat fall (bright) from shimano, or a hyperfly (absolutely the brightest!!!)  from magbay lures.  also hanging off the same split ring at the top of the jig is a 10/0 tuna hook.  and then finally, a split ring and the second large tuna hook.  we're ready.......




october 8, 2020 - we arrive somewhere around tanner bank in the morning, too late for an early morning flat fall bite.  the crew get a couple of flying fish out and we start fishing bait and jigs.  eric landed a nice yellowfin on bait!





the first kite fish is tagged teamed by our two vets, mike and tom, then finished off by rich in the middle.





more bluefin action!





dewey got a nice one!





remember roy?  yup, the kid caught a nice fish!!!!!





we ended up with 9 bluefin total.  eight came in on the kite and one was hooked on my flat fall.  i handed that one off to tracy.  it taped out at 160 pounds, his personal best!!!!






october 9, 2020 - still a full day to go, or so we thought.  nothing on the kite yet, but roy caught a nice yellowfin on bait.



right after, the captain notified me that we had a medical emergency with a member of the crew and had to return to port.  absolutely!  the health and safety of the passengers and crew are our first concert.  so return to port we did.  a couple of guys disembarked when we tied up a the dock, but the rest of us went back into the harbor, anchored up and spent the night!














october 10, 2020 - back at the dock, fish off to the processors, then home!  



just one stop on the way home for a prime rib dinner at harris ranch!!!!!



thanks to evan kraft, captain of the spirit of adventure, and the crew, scotty, jimmy, frank, luke, guinness and shao li, for a great trip.  



more to follow.......