OSA 2011 CHRISTMAS BANQUET
The Annual OSA Christmas Banquet was held on December 7th at Camp Pendleton. Thanks to perennial event organizer Lee Wood the banquet was once again a grand affair, with well over 100 attendees. Some of the highlights were the numerous and highly desirable door prizes, and various awards for 2011 Board Members and Administrative staff, along with other awards such as for fishing, dipstick,  etc. ...
Incoming President Jim Mauritz announced the 2012 Board Members and Administrative staff. See also some photos from the Banquet.
~ Vern Francis - OSA Webmaster

  Club Officers elected
At the club meeting on November 1st elections were held for our 2012 Officers, with the following results:
President: Jim Mauritz
Vice President: Ray Wilkerson
Secretary: Gene Hansen
Treasurer: Sue Reeves

Congratulations to all, and we look forward to another good year for the club under their leadership.
They will be installed at the Annual Christmas Banquet on December 7th. The remaining Board positions will be appointed in due course by Jim Mauritz, our incoming President, and we can be confident that the club is in such good hands.
~ Vern Francis, OSA Webmaster
  
    October 11^th picnic report
We just finished our social event for October; it was a Hamburger & Hot Dog Picnic held on October 11th at MLK Park in Oceanside. There were 68 participants and we raised $168 for our Kid’s and Wounded Warrior programs. We managed to eat early this time; everything was ready by 11:30 AM. It seemed that everyone who attended had a great time. I would like to thank my sister Linda Jones and my mom Cres Mauritz for helping with the shopping and my mom for making the macaroni salad. Also big thanks to Donna Brock and my mom for helping set up the area. Also a thank you to our cooks: Mike Mercado, Chuck Berridge, Ray Wilkerson and Dave Miller, our servers Kathy Weevie, Felicia Scimo, Donna Brock, Dot Stupin, Marlene Soper, Julie Miller and Joyce McClelland. Also thank you to Manny Ontiveros for picking up and returning all the gear. Then Joyce McClelland for preparing the produce and providing the fresh hot coffee that many enjoyed. I can’t forget our historian George Ruble for taking photos of the event, you can check out the photos on our web site. And finally a very big thank you to all of you that help clean up. I apologize if I missed anyone. I know that we all missed Lee and Joyce Wood at this picnic, our wishes and prayers go out to them for a speedy recovery for Joyce. Hope to see you all at our next social in November.
~ Jim Mauritz, Event Chairman

   TRIP REPORT - Sept.27-30 offshore trip on Dominator
After one of the slowest “catching seasons” in memory, the fishing gods “didn’t just smile on OS Anglers, they erupted in laughter!!”  They blessed us with a great crew, wonderful weather, flat calm seas and many paddies w/fish!   The devil tried to hinder us by forcing us to recruit 6 non-members at the last minute but thanks to everyone’s effort we not only filled the charter, we boarded 21 fishermen (helps with the fuel surcharge)!! Frank determined the fish were 125 miles South so changed our departure time to 5:00 PM (and everyone was there), added a deck hand (from the deadliest catch?), acquired superior bait (was in short supply) and put us on the fish!!!  He and his crew did their job and the Old Farts did theirs!!! We LANDED 210 (limits) of Yellowtail and released at least 100+ more.  We also caught 86 Bluefin, 37 Yellowfin and 26 Dorado, for 359 total fish!! And it was a chore getting our bait through the Yellowtail “on the chew”  to the tuna swimming below!!  Seemed weird to release 7-14 pound Yellowtail. (See photos)
Tim Johnson won both days jackpot for a total of $210 (everyone participated). He landed a 26 lb YellowFin on day one and a 20lb Yellowfin on day two.
“ALL THINGS COMETH TO HE WHO WAITETH IF HE FISHES LIKE HELL WHILE HE WAITETH”
~ Gary Thompson - Trip CharterMeistro

   TRIP REPORT - Sept.21 extended day trip on Dominator
The day started out cloudy and overcast, a bit cool but no wind. Leaving from Point Loma Landing at 0500, the early birds assembled at 0400, signed in, collected the Mexican Permits and were off to the Coronado's on the Dominator, skippered by Frank D’Anna and a crew of two (Armando & Chad). We settled in with an expected two hour ride to south island with 22 anxious Oceanside Senior Anglers and One Wounded Warrior Seabee Construction Mechanic Ted Robertson. Unfortunately Don Frost couldn’t make the trip and contacted Charter Master DEEK Takacs at the last minute to see if he could round up a Wounded Warrior and he did. Don, Seabee Ted Robertson wanted me to pass on a big thank you for the fishing experience. He had a great time, talked to a lot of members and was really happy to fish with our group. We arrived at the South Island area with some great looking anchovies for bait and went at it. The water was cold and the fishing was slow. We had, like I said, great bait, but they just wouldn’t bite. Tried for yellowtail but nothing doing. Skipper Frank relocated the boat, moved again and again and again trying to find the fish. Nothing doing. We did run into some Humboldt Squid and landed some on deck. Those squid really went at it. We put 10 on board along with two (2) calico bass, 7 white fish and 27 miscellaneous rock fish. The Jackpot fish for the trip was caught by new member Brad Warrill. He landed a 4 pound, 3 ounce Calico Bass. Brad donated $50.00 from his jackpot winnings to the Wounded Warrior Fishing Fund. Congratulations go to Brad for catching the jackpot fish and HATS OFF for his donation to the Wounded Warrior Fund.
~ DEEK Takacs, Charter Master for the trip.

   TRIP REPORT - Sept. 6-8, 1^1/2 day trip on Voyager
Wow. A beautiful day for fishing. Calm seas & great weather and 16 anglers.
We started slow at the Tuna pens in the morning and worked this area for several hours w/o much success.
Jodie decided to move south and check the kelp paddies for Yellowtail while looking for Bluefin. Nothing caught on troll. Not much to be found there so we returned to the  Tuna pens where the bite picked up in the afternoon. We finished the day at the pens with a fair tuna count. Everyone went home with fish. The deck hands were great. Steve Forbes won the jackpot with a 20 # - 5 oz  Bluefin.
Fishcount: Bluefin Tuna  -  40, Yellowtail  -  3, 43  total fish.
~ Art Logan,  Trip CM
 
    9/6 - CLUB OFFICERS AS OF SEPTEMBER CLUB MEETING
At today's club meeting John DeWitt was unanimously elected OSA's Head Chartermaster for 2012, effective immediately.
Congratulations and thanks to John for stepping up and serving. Thanks also go to Jim Mauritz, our previous Head Chartermaster - Jim has done an outstanding job this past year, not only as Head Chartermaster but with the many other responsibilities he has voluntarily taken on so effectively.

President Ron Casapulla announced that Steve Long will unfortunately no longer be able to hold the Vice President board position or do the newsletter, due to new commitments. Ron has subsequently appointed Jim Mauritz as Vice President for the balance of the year, and Vern Francis will take on the FishTales newsletter until a perment replacement is found (hopefully soon!).
Steve Long and his wife Sally have produced the newsletter for over 5 years, and have done a remarkable job of turning out a first-class publication, consistently and without fail. Thanks to both for a job extremely well done.
  ~ Vern Francis, Nominating Committee member.

    9/7 WOUNDED WARRIOR FUND DONATION
The Oceanside Senior Anglers Wounded Warrior Fishing Trip Fund was presented with a $1500 donation from Mr. Robert Skach, a member of the Renaissance Executive Forum Group of the Inland Empire in Temecula.The business group donated the funding for a fourth Wounded Warrior fishing trip held on the Dominator out of Point Loma landing on September 7th, 2011. Those participants were from the Wounded Warrior Battalion, Camp Pendleton, 29 Palms, Balboa Naval Hospital and the 32nd Street Medical Hold Detachment in San Diego. Six members of the Oceanside Senior Anglers accompanied and assisted the Wounded Warriors on this trip. They were Deek Takacs, Jim Mauritz, George Ruble, Jack Limber, Pete Rohrich and John Kellogg.
 ~ Deek Takacs, Wounded Warrior Program Chairman

   TRIP REPORT - August 29-30, 2^1/2 day offshore on Dominator
Twenty-one anxious anglers departed Aug 29 on the Dominator.  Capt. Randy talked with us as the crew was taking on bait.  He had reports indicating good counts of fish about 50 miles out and also at 150 miles.  He wasn't sure , but thought the latter would work better.  Unfortunately, the weather turned and the sea was very choppy all night and the following day resulting in a goose egg count for the first day.  The second day found us in the 50 mile area around a tuna pen on tow.  The action started early with bait hookups, but with many lost fish.  We had several first time Bluefin Tuna catchers, including Kathy Weevie, congrat's Kathy.  Fishing picked up at dusk.  Mike Mercado battled the 39# jackpot Bluefin for about 30 minutes on 25# line, way to go Mike.  John DeWitt was the hot stick catching 5 blue fin, show off.   Lee Wood had to be the odd  ball and catch a ?# Mako shark.  Some people thought our first day's bad luck was due to a captured dragonfly in the wheelhouse.  It was released the second morning and fishing picked up - who knows?  Sure fishing trips are about fishing, but when things are slow we get to know our friends even better.  Thanks Bo Bolender for convincing me "I'm not a looser".  We ended up with 23 Bluefin Tuna and one Mako Shark.
Thanks very much to my great helper Jim Mauritz.
~ George Ruble - Trip Chartermaster
 
   Harbor Days - Help needed!
Oceanside Harbor Days will be Saturday, September 24th and Sunday, September 25th.  The hours are 9am to 6pm Saturday, and 9am to 5pm Sunday.  Dave and Julie Miller are the chairpersons for this event, which is one of our major fundraisers for our kids and Wounded Warrior trips.  They will be passing a sign up sheet for volunteers to work in the OSA booth at the next meeting, September 6th.  Please sign up for a shift in the booth.  Your help will be greatly appreciated, and will make life easier if Julie and Dave have plenty of help. 

Thanks for your help,

~ Bill Woodcook,  OSA Program Director

  TRIP REPORT - August 8-10 1.5 day trip on Voyager
Sixteen anglers set out on a day-and-a-half trip on the Voyager, with high hopes for some tuna. After going over 100 miles down there were very few fish boated up to mid-afternoon. Things did not bode well. But then skipper Jodie Morgan got a radio call from Mark Oronoz of the Pacific Voyager saying “come on down” – the Pacific Voyager was about 150 miles down on a 3-day trip and had been sitting all alone on a school of bluefin tuna for many hours. Jodie gunned the Voyager and we arrived at the ‘motherlode’ about 2 hours later, and set up only about 100 yards from the Pacific Voyager. In less than a minute we had what looked to be about eight bluefin all hooked up at the same time – it was a wild scene. Over the next couple of hours 39 bluefin were boated, with a good number lost to line breaks, hook pullouts, tangles, etc. Most were in the 20+# range. The total count was 50 fish, including nine yellowtail and two yellowfin tuna, one of which was the jackpot fish caught by Tim Johnson. His hefty yellowtail was clearly the jackpot winner and didn’t need weighing, but was estimated at 25+ lbs. Tim generously donated half of the jackpot to our Wounded Warrior program, and the other half to the crew. Because of the distance from home we set off early at around 6pm and after a 15 hour overnight ride we arrived back at Seaforth at 9am.

Overall, this ended up as a great trip. Particular thanks go to Mark Oronoz for calling us in to the bite, and to skipper Jodie Morgan for ‘going for it’ for the extra miles to reach it. The crew was great and was kept very busy at the end, and as always chef Maris did her culinary thing in style.
~ Peter Rohrich – Trip Chartermaster [by Vern Francis]
 

August 2 - Passports RECOMMENDED (but not mandatory) on trips to Mexican waters!
Head Chartermaster Jim Mauritz reports that Conapesca highly recommends that you take your passport on trips fishing in Mexican waters. It is not mandatory, but if you don't have a passport it would be be wise to take some sort of official ID, such as a birth certificate or at least a drivers license.

TRIP REPORT - July 27,28,29 offshore trip
Approximately 125 miles south of Point Loma the fishing report sent by Frank D’Anna of the Dominator on his way back on the 26th of July to Jimmy Mauritz was that the area was going bonkers with Blue Fin Tuna. Jimmy calls me and said, “Get on the telephone, tell everyone on the list that Frank wants to leave early, see if you can get everyone at the landing by 7:00 pm. Bang!!! The wheels are set in motion. Everyone shows up at the docks and off we go at around 8:15 pm instead of 10:00 pm. Scoops of GREAT LOOKING bait is put aboard and away we go. Unfortunately Jerry Porter couldn’t make the trip and had asked me to see if I could get a Marine from the Wounded Warrior Battalion to take his place? 10-4. I make the call and LCPL Cam Rojas shows up for his first deep sea fishing trip. He’s as excited as a recruit getting out of boot camp. Thank you Jerry. That was a great thing to do. Rise and shine 5:00 am, the 28th. We’re on a fast troll, heading south. I talk to Frank, water temperature showing 64.4 degrees and rising. We are close to the sweet spot (125 miles south from San Diego) but not quite. We hit the 120 mile mark, water temp at 68.2. WHAM!!!! The first one hits, Edwin Gomez high bidder in the Rotary Clubs deep sea fishing trip for the Wounded Warriors fund. He is lands his fish. His first one ever. He can’t believe it. Boils up ahead churning. Off we go, all day, stop and go, onesy, twosy , everybody trying to work together; getting, the have and the have nots, working as a team. The crew busting buns to help us get those fish aboard. Lunch time, we are still banging away. Smiles, atta boys, keep it going, eating on the go. Damn, you can feel electricity in the air. Still getting them in ones and twos. Then the big one hits, six hookups at one time. Three on the troll and three fly lining. Everyone is working together again. The crew is really going spastic, I mean spastic. We land all six. Bloody decks in the stern. Paul Jones even bags two on Iron in the bow during the day. Holy smokes, we even get a Dorado pulled in by David Theissen’s son, Peter. The Dominator's first landed DODO of the season. Around 3:30, I check to see who has not landed a fish. On this trip everyone is going to catch a fish. Five hands go up. Four go to the back rail, the fifth waiting. He didn’t wait long. Then there were four, three , two all catching fish. Who’s left, Fighting Felicia hanging in there. Everyone watching, will she get her fish? Out of nowhere, Wham!!!!! HOOK UP!!!! Fighting Felicia lands her fish. Everyone is jubilant. The sun is setting. What’s the count? Who’s got the jack pot? On deck and waiting to be filleted are 38 Yellow Fin Tuna, 3 Bluefin Tuna, 3 Yellowtail, and 1 Dorado - 45 total. Not too bad. Of the three boat fleet, the Dominator is top dog of the day. The Jackpot winner is Lee Mueller with a 23 pound Yellowfin Tuna. Congratulations Lee! Our Wounded Warrior LCPL Cam Rojas also landed a yellowtail and I am happy to report that two of our members each gave him a yellowtail. I don’t know who you were but I thank you and I know everyone on the trip would thank you personally. By the way, to top the day off LCpl Rojas will be promoted by his command to Corporal on Monday the 1st of August. Well done. Congratulations from all of the Oceanside Senior Anglers Cam.
~ Deek Takacs - trip Chartermaster
 
TRIP REPORT - July 29th 3/4 day local trip
The Dominator left the dock at approximately 7:30 am with 30 eager anglers for another successful Calico Bass trip.  We spent most of the day around the Point Loma kelp beds. Not much early sunshine but Captain Anthony D’Ana found the Calicos quickly and our first stop landed bass for many of our angers.  The Sea Lions, as usual tried to spoil our fun but as long as we could get some bait passed them we were hooking up.  Some were too small to keep but it was encouraging to be pulling in fish.  We had 89 Calico and 3 Sand Bass, 32 miscellaneous Rockfish, 1 Barracuda, and 1 Whitefish.
Jim Mauritz and Jack Limber came in from a day and a half trip and went right back out for our ¾ day.  They fished hard and had two successful trips.
We paddy hopped the kelp and Bruce Rudolph caught about a 4 pound Barracuda which was looking promising for the Jackpot.  However, with John DeWitt on the trip the barracuda was quickly outgunned by a 4.5 pound Calico Bass which John released.  Don Bailey brought three friends and all enjoyed the fishing and have decided to join the club.  We arrived back at the dock around 4:00pm.
Our Captain and crew worked very hard throughout the day and the fishing paid off.  All and all it was a good time with lots of laughs and fish, too.
~ Bruce Rudolph – trip Charter Master
 

  July 26 - New Club rule for Spectra on 3/4 day trips
I have some great news for those of us who use spectra. Today the board has approved to remove the club's rule on 100 feet of a top shot above the spectra on 3/4 day charters. The rule still applies to all other charters. In other words you are able to fish with what ever line you choose to use on our 3/4 day charters . This goes into affect as of today, July 26, 2011. (See revised OSA Day Trip Guidelines)
Thank you.
~ Jim Mauritz - Head Chartermaster

TRIP REPORT - July 19-20 overnight offshore trip on Dominator
The Dominator left the dock at approximately 9:30 pm with much anticipation for a successful Blue Fin Tuna trip.  There was discussion leading up to the trip of the possibility of going to San Clemente Island for White Sea Bass and Yellows but our captain, Frank D’Anna was hearing good reports about the Blue Fin being close and south so the decision was made to go to Mexico.  The anglers were all in agreement that this was a tuna trip and hopes were high for a good catch.
The hunt began near the 302 and Butterfly Bank in Mexico.  Our Captain and crew worked hard and did find Blue Fin boils, birds, good water conditions and fish under the boat.  However, the tuna were shy of both the boat and us and none stayed long enough or wanted our bait.
We paddy hopped the kelp and Jim Threadgill caught the jack pot fish, a Yellow Tail weighing in at 28.5 lbs.  Another kelp paddy produced a Yellow Tail of 21.4 pounds by Ken Smith.  These were the only two yellows hungry enough to bite. Towards the end of the day, close to Pt Loma, we dropped to the bottom and 5 Rock fish were pulled in by our anglers.
Our Captain, crew and anglers worked very hard throughout the day but unfortunately the fish didn’t cooperate.  Everyone had fun in spite of the fish with excellent food and plenty of stories for the ride back to Pt Loma, arriving about 9:30 pm thanks to an extended day by Captain Frank.
Next time we will load up!
~ Bruce Rudolph – trip Charter Master

TRIP REPORT - July 19th 3/4 day trip on Dominator
Our July 19th charter has been completed. We had 28 anglers aboard the Dominator for this charter. There were no major problems with the parking to start with. The boat was skippered by Randy, all I did was ask Randy to take us fishing and we wanted to find some fish. We headed out, after loading up with some Sardines and Anchovies, where someone told me the Anchovies were tired; I don’t know how this angler knew that, did he ask them? We went North around the Point Loma kelp area. Now Randy did tell us that it will take time for the Calicos to start biting.  So many of us fished the bottom and started to hit many fish. This is where my fellow angler Len Pincus informed us that this was sissy fishing. Will I guess many of us sissies had landed and took home plenty of bottom fish. We did a very short move and then shortly after we anchored the Calicos started to bite. You couldn’t have asked for a nicer day to fish, the seas were calm with the very nice and warm sun shine weather. Captain Randy was sure correct, our catch for the day was, 2 White Fish, 3 Sculpin, 12 Sand Bass, 56 various Rock Fish and 198 Calicos, plus there were 44 legal size Calicos that were released. Many of the released Calicos were in the 3 pound range. The jack pot was won by T.J. Hady with his 3.9 pound Calico; this was also T.J.’s first jack pot as a member. T.J. graciously donated $50 to our Wounded Warrior fund, thank you and congratulations T.J.  I want to thank my assistant charter master the one and only Rotating Master Lee Wood, he did a great job in correctly keeping the time and insuring we all rotated in a timely matter. This I have to say is the best charter of the year so far. You may want to get on the other charters very soon.
~ Jim Mauritz - Trip Charter Master

TRIP REPORT - July 12th extended day trip on Dominator
The July 12th spectra optional trip was attended by 23 seasoned anglers who had great expectations for the day.  The weather cooperated but unfortunately the fish did not as the counts were diminished by a developing lull in the Coronado islands bite.  The main focus of the trip was the pursuit of the annual spawn of sand bass off the Tijuana bullring.  Unfortunately this area produced less than expected with 14 sand bass finding the sacks.  This count was augmented by eleven rockfish, one calico bass, one sheephead and one sculpin.  The highlight of the trip was a three pound sandbass caught by Kathy Weevie, which brought her her  first jackpot as a Senior angler.  Her recent successes clearly demonstrate that all of us can be better fisherpersons with age.  Due to the lack of fishing success the Dominator made a nice gesture in not charging us for filleting our catch.  All in all the day turned out to be a nice day on the water with a congenial group who took the slow fishing in stride as those who know the highs and lows of fishing often do.
~ John DeWitt Trip Chartermaster

TRIP REPORT - July 5,6,7 offshore trip on Voyager
The club members arrived at the Voyager with a great deal of anticipation knowing there had been many Bluefin Tuna being seen even though they were not biting that well. We stopped and loaded with great bait and everyone was talking about the possibilities of finding some tuna that were hungry and Captain Jodie Morgan stressed the importance of light line or light test fluorocarbon like 20 or 25lb test in order to get bit along with circle hooks so you don’t get sawed off by the Bluefin’s sharp teeth.

We started the morning some 75 miles southwest of Point Loma with the intent of looking for bird activity and jumping fish. We found several schools early and put a couple of fish on board but we were running and gunning between schools which would sink out before we would get there. We saw numerous schools of fish and some in the 50lb class and above breaking water but no takers once we stopped and everyone through bait their way. While we were trolling feathers the entire time we never got a strike on them and Captain Jodie said that almost no boat had been getting any strikes on trolling but there was always a chance of picking up one or an Albacore.

We worked all afternoon running between schools of jumping fish or those spotted on the sonar and picked up a total of 8 more fish by  6:00pm and some of them in the 40lb class and members began to be served dinner while others continued to fish as we came upon more and more schools with no success. As the sun was setting and it was beginning to get dark everyone was still fishing and trying for another fish and finally the hookup. This one looked like a big one and with Vern Francis hanging on while the tuna took line he skillfully worked his way around the rail and to the back of the boat and he said he had 30lb test fluorocarbon on the outfit. The fight ended as we had hoped with Vern bringing the big one to gaff with Captain Jodie and Second Captain Steve both sinking gaffs into it and pulling it aboard.

The trip was a great one and kudos to Captain Jodie, Steve, Jim and Maris for a great time as they worked hard all day to find fish and while we probably had somewhere around 20 to 25 fish hooked at one time or another we only landed 11, but the good news was we all had a great time, topped off by Vern’s big tuna and the fact that we were the high boat in the fleet for the day with our catch. We didn’t have a scale large enough to weigh Vern’s tuna so we had to wait until we got back into Seaforth Landing . Obviously it won the jackpot and when we put it on the certified scale at Seaforth it was 69lbs. and a new club record for Bluefin Tuna on a club charter. Congratulations again Vern.
~ Charter master Lee Mueller

TRIP REPORT - June 10-17 Sea of Cortez Mothership trip on Eric
My Mothership trip on the Erik from June 11 – 16 this year was attended by: Vern Francis, Bill Vogel, Jim Mauritz, Hal Reeser, Max & Rex Blumeyer, Al Phares, Don Maquet, Larry Cusack, Randy & Bill Brown, Deek Takacs, Paul Jones, Al Powell and first timers Jack Limber and John Kellogg.  We also had another 10 friends.

We crossed the border at Mexicali, where despite the hassle we were able to get our 6 day free visa.  Oops, someone didn’t have a passport, but luck was on his side the whole trip.  Keeping 7 vehicles together thru Mexicali to San Felipe worked.  We offloaded our gear, with the help of probably half the children from San Felipe.  Afterward, we relaxed at a hotel until Saturday when we boarded the boat.

We were entertained by watching the ship take on provisions, fuel, ice (a very noisy machine grinding 200# blocks of ice), food and most important, beer.  Shortly after departure, everyone was a winner at our raffle.  We had 7 nice reels and 19 rods.  Then we started putting our rods/reels together for the start of fishing the following A.M.

Sunday A.M. was windy and rocky as we approached Bahia Refugio, but calmed as the crew offloaded our 9 pangas.  Later we fished, Punta Diablo, Isla Vibora, Cardonoza, Las Animas, Refugio again and finally Salvatierra to complete our 4 ½ days of fishing.  The first 2 days the yellowtail and cabrilla were ok, but not the size we wanted.  Then the 20 to 36# yellowtail and cabrilla to 17# started biting and the real fun began.  The estimated catch was 284 yellowtail, 78 cabrilla, 320 assorted bass, 56 giant squid and 127 miscellaneous fish.  The squid is always a fun time trying to get your buddies soaked when the squid lets loose with water/ink.
Daily jackpots were won by Hal Reeser, 23# yellowtail, Geroy with a 36# yellowtail, Tim with a 27.5# yellowtail, George Ruble with a 17.7# cabrilla and Randy Brown with a 11.7# cabrilla on the last day.  Each jackpot was $130, don’t tell the IRS.
It is a truly fun and relaxing trip.  The scenery is beautiful, weather was nice and most of all the camaraderie.  We usually pick up new club members each year and have 2 interested.

Sadly, the Erik sank on July 10 with the loss of life.  It was a shock to me.  I have never been in fear of my life on any of the trips.  I pray for the fishermen still missing and their families.

~ George Ruble - trip organizer

TRIP REPORT - June 28,29,30 1^1/2 day offshore trip on Dominator
Our first of the year 1½ day tuna trip met with very limited success. We found the bluefin tuna and did manage to hook two but caught only one. The one tuna (~40 lb) was caught by Gary Thompson with assistance from Anthony. Since no one qualified for the jackpot we gave the pool to the crew.
Many boats were fishing in the same area and the entire fleet caught only 18 BFT on the day (June 29) we fished. Some boats caught no fish. The weather turned windy and the seas were rough. Many of our passengers spent most of the day inside the cabin. Our skipper, Frank, worked very hard to put us on the fish and we did have a few opportunities but the fish were not very interested in our bait and when the weather came up we had no more opportunities.
I am pleased to report that as chartermaster for this trip I received no complaints our members. This speaks well for the quality of our anglers. We had very limited success and poor weather but we learn to take the good with the bad and hope for better luck next time.
~ Hal Reeser - Trip Chartermaster

TRIP REPORT - June 22 3/4 day on Dominator
Our June 22nd 3/4 day charter is completed. We departed on time with 27 anglers. The weather was very nice, it was cool all day with flat seas. The bait was a mix of Sardines and Anchovies, also there was some frozen squid available. We fished the local waters, Captain Anthony told us that the Calicos were not biting until the afternoon, the captain was so correct. The Seals and Sea Lions were all around, it was a battle to try to get your live bait to the targeted fish before it was consumed by a Seal or Sea Lion. By the end of the day our catch consisted of 1 Ling Cod, 2 Halibuts, 1 Barracuda, 48 Calicos and 52 various Rock Fish, plus numerous released fish. The jackpot was won by Howard Iwashita, a guest, with a 16.6 pound Ling Cod. The crew aboard the Dominator was excellent, some of our members took advantage of the sleeping quarters and took a nap. I would like to thank Lee Wood for assisting me  in keeping the time for the rotations. What an outstanding job Lee did, I have never seen anyone do such a great job as our  "Master Rotater", thank you again Lee for you help it is appreciated.
~ Peter Rohrich - Trip Charter Master

TRIP REPORT - Rod Morris Memorial Fundraiser Trip
June 8 - Rod Morris Fund Raiser Trip

The Rod Morris fund raiser trip was very successful. We raised $700 for our Wounded Warriors trips and a great time was had by all. We had fine weather and comfortable seas. Three passengers had to cancel and we ended with 25 passengers for our trip. Our skipper, Frank, took the Dominator almost to the Mexican border and we caught a total of 151 fish including 3 sculpin, 35 baracuda and 113 rockfish. John DeWitt won the jackpot with a 7.5 lb barracuda. Cathy Weevie caught a nice sized sculpin and we thought it might be a new club record but it was not to be. Bob Netherton was one of our passengers and this was his first trip since his recent illness. Welcome back Bob. Several of our passengers (including our chartermaster) took advantage of the spacious bunks and had short naps.

The Dominator is a comfortable boat and quite functional for ¾ day and multi-day trips. The crew is proficient and pleasant to work with. The Dominator leaves from the Point Loma landing which has a significant advantage over the Seaforth landing for trips heading south.

~ Hal Reeser - Trip Chartermaster

TRIP REPORT - Member & Youth trip, June 5
 We have had a very successful Member & Youth charter. We went out aboard the Dominator on Sunday June 5th. We all got rigged up to do some shallow bottom fishing, when Captain Anthony announced that we were heading south, the report had just come in that the Barracudas were biting. On the ride down to the fishing grounds all the youths and many of the adults enjoyed watching the Dolphins that were swimming around the boat. Then Kevin, the deck hand had given a class to our youths and yes the adults also listen in on how to fish for the Barracudas. When we got there boy they sure were biting, everyone was having a great time. Then the Barracudas decided to head back south so we could not follow, we did not have Mexican fishing licenses. So we headed to some fishing grounds and tried for our bottom fish. On this charter there were 27 Barracudas and 35 various rockfish that were kept plus numerous Barracuda and rockfish that were released. The jack pot winner was Yurika Dennis, Ed Dennis's daughter-in-law, won with a 7.2 pound Barracuda.
~ Jim Mauritz - Trip Charter Master

TRIP REPORT - First Wounded Warrior trip on Dominator June 2
We have completed our first Wounded Warrior Charter for this year. We went out on June 2nd aboard the Dominator. We did depart a bit late, however we did pick up 3 additional Marines. We took out 7 Sailors with 13 Marines plus 8 OSA members. The weather turned out to be a very nice day, there were some large swells. Due to the constant change in our local weather, the fishing was slow, our heroes did manage to keep about 53 various fish. This charter was a total success due to the fact that our military men and women enjoyed themselves and had a great time. All of the Marines and Sailors complemented and thanked the Oceanside Senior Anglers for doing these charters. A big thank you goes out to the entire club!
~ Jim Mauritz - Trip Charter Master

TRIP REPORT - June 1st Dominator
The extended 3/4 day June 1st trip saw 18 anglers on the Dominator head south to the Rock Pile in pursuit of the elusive yellowtail. Unfortunately the water had turned dirty and cold so there were no yellows to be found. We then opted for bottom fishing for assorted rock fish and surface fishing for calico bass along the South Island kelp. The trip saw 20 rock fish, 1 sculpin and 1 calico filleted and several catch and releases. The jackpot went to Gabriel Anaunt, a guest of Nick Smith, with a 2.5lb calico bass. Another guest, Nick Afansev, grandson of George Afansev and fishing with dad Bob Afansev, landed the runner up fish, a nice chucklehead.
~ Jack Limber - Trip Chartermaster

TRIP REPORT - May  26th 3/4 day trip on Dominator
Hello Fellow Anglers! We completed our May 26th. charter. As most of you may know, this was my first time being a charter master! The weather was nice, a little wind, but nothing to speak of. We had a new member on board Pascale Dang who caught a really nice 5.5 lb.Lingcod. But, unfortunately she chose not to get in the jackpot. Dan Ontiveros won the jackpot with a 2.2lb.Chucklehead (rockfish). So it goes to show you, you never know who or when the jackpot fish will be caught. There were 25 fish caught in all. We did have a few birds caught. And yes the seals were there in numbers.They seem to know where the fish hide? We saw a few dolphins now and then. The food was great, thanks to the cook. The crew members were very nice and helpful. I think everyone had a great time. I want to thank the asst.charter master, Lee Wood for his help, and everyone else who helped me on my first experience being a charter master. I can hardly wait for the next trip. It was really a fun trip. 
~ Kathy Weevie - (Trip Chartermaster/Maam...)

TRIP REPORT - May 17th Sand Dab trip on Dominator
The inaugural  OSA sanddab trip on Tuesday, May 17th was foiled by nasty weather.  Although the 27 anglers aboard the Dominator fished hard in cold, rainy, and windy conditions, only 17 sanddabs and 25 rockfish came aboard.    The trip was cut short by the failure of the boat's generator, with the loss of all the live bait. (Skipper) Frank had planned to fish closer to Point Loma in the afternoon in search of calico bass and halibut, but it wasn't to be.  However, by that time, conditions had deteriorated to the point where fishing was difficult, if not impossible, so nobody really minded going in early.  The jackpot winner was John DeLaurentis with a three pound chucklehead.  There were also a few nice reds caught, as well as quite a few not-so-nice lizardfish!  Despite the conditions, most anglers enjoyed being out on the water and are optimistic about upcoming trips.
~ Steve Forbes - Trip Chartermaster

TRIP REPORT - May 3,4,5 on Dominator
We have completed our May 3,4,5  1-1/2 Day Charter. We departed the dock on time at 7PM. Due to the past winds and the condition of the water we decided to go to San Clemente Island vs San Nicolas Island. Before we left the docks Bo Bolender already caught and released 2 legal Barracudas, so you knew we were headed for a good time. The ride out to the Island was a very choppy ride. By 4AM we were anchored at the island. We stayed anchored due to one of our members being so sick that the Coast Guard had been called. By 4:30AM we were waiting to see if the Coast Guard was going to make us go home, good news had arrived that the Coast Guard had deemed this not an emergency and left the decision to the captain, we stayed. Breakfast was served around 5AM and then we move a little and started to catch some Calicos, then all of a sudden 2 Yellow Tails were hooked, and unfortunately booth were lost, but we knew we had found the spot! We were into this bite for about 3 minutes then our U.S. Navy showed up, we had to move and could return in 6 hours. We moved and fished, and found some other great spots and some not so good spots. Our catch for the day was 2 Halibuts, 2 Cabezons, 2 Sheephead, 1 Sculpin, 2 Barracudas, 15 Half Moon Perch, 98 Various Rock Fish and 63 Calico Bass plus 22 legal size Calicos that were released. Within this daily catch were some very notable fish, Barry Barrett caught the 11.1 pound Halibut which was the jack pot winner, Barry also caught the other Halibut, Bo Bolender using an Iron caught the biggest Bass for the day it was a 7.4 pound Calico, we also have a possible Class I record with a 6.2 pound Cabezon caught by Terry Venard. There were of the 22 released Calicos at least over half were within the 5 pound range. Both Bo Bolender and John Kellogg earn the released 5 pound calico breeder pin. The Calicos were biting on live bait, plastics, irons, crocodiles, wax wings, just about what ever you wanted to use.

We had two members lose their rod and reels into the water. I did not see what happened, but someone said that they had the rods against the rail unattended and a very large fish jumped out of the water and bit the hook and took the rods, I really do not know how it happened this did (?) make sense. The last angler to stop fishing was T.J. Hady at about 7:20PM. Then we started for home, everyone enjoyed the Veal dinner and Ice Cream dessert. The meals aboard the Dominator were all excellent, the crew worked very hard for the members. 19 of 20 members had a great time on this trip. Please see the photos of the trip in the photo section of the web site. A big thank you to my assistant Charter Master and photographer Jan Follestad. Please remember that the May 31st charter is headed to the same area, if you want some large Calicos you may want to jump on that charter.
Thank you,
~ Jim Mauritz - Trip Charter Master

DAY AT THE DOCKS - Report
Today (April 17th), our club had the privilege of having a booth at the Day at the Docks activity sponsored by the Sportfishing Association of California.  President Ron Casapulla, Hal Reeser, Tony Johnson and I had the opportunity (?!) to arrive at the San Diego landings at Point Loma at the great hour of 5:30 AM to set up the Oceanside Senior Anglers booth for the club’s first time at the Day at the Docks annual fishing and boating show.  The number of people at the show and the number of exhibitors was exceptionally high, and the enthusiasm about the prospects of this year’s fishing season were very optimistic.

We sold raffle tickets for a rolling tackle box, stocked with hooks, lures, weights, tools, tuna feathers, etc. to raise funds to contribute to our “kids” and “wounded warrior trips”.  The sale of raffle tickets was highly successfully and  the funds raised will help tremendously to allow us to take our friends and heroes fishing.

We to thank Catherine Miller Marketing and their “Man at the Docks”, Vick, for inviting us to attend their function, and look forward to participating next year.

~ Bill Woodcook (OSA Program Director)
 
OSA TACKLE SALE - Saturay May 14th
The Oceanside Senior Anglers annual tackle sale will be held this year at the Oceanside drive-in theater on Mission Avenue on Saturday, May 14th.

• Selling spaces are $10 each.  To reserve your space, call David Benavides at 760-208-0805.  Booth set-up will begin at 6 AM and the swap meet will open at 7 AM.
• There should be plenty of customers because the regular swap meet will be in progress as well as our tackle sale.
• This is a great chance to clean out your garage and raise money for future club fishing trips.

~ Bill Woodcook (OSA Program Director)
 
April 4-6 Voyager trip report
The fish count for the April 4-6 1-1/2 day fishing trip on the Voyager was 84 total, made up of 17 Reds, 3 Whitefish, 36 Rock Cod, 12 Salmon Grouper, 1 Sculpin and 14 Bank Perch.  The jackpot winner was Walt Rehm with a 5 lb. 2 oz. Red.  Fishing was mainly at the Finger Bank, up to around 300ft. The trip photos show some very nice reds.
(Neither the weather nor the fish were overly cooperative, but we all know "that's fishing", and as usual all aboard enjoyed the trip and had fun, with the boat/crew doing a good job.)
~ Tony Johnson, trip chartermaster

March 28-31 Castros trip report
We just got back from our Castros trip. We had chartered a 57 passenger bus, it sounded like all enjoyed the ride down there, we arrived at Castros around 3:15 PM. We had 32 anglers plus 1 bus driver that fished. We took out 10 pangas and everyone had plenty of time to fish, many pangas came in early. As far as the meals go, I only heard on one complaint of the food, therefore it must of been ok. Ed Dennis hooked us up with extra bait. We had some very large camp fires all 3 nights and enjoyed our ice cream. Our jack pot winners were 1st day Hans Knapstein with a 13.3 pound Halibut and the 2nd day's winner was Peter Rohrich with a 7.6 pound Lingcod. The first day of fishing was warm and all pangas came in with a full cooler of fish, the second day was a bit cooler and all were asked not to come in with more than a 1/2 cooler, so all were out catching and releasing on the second day. On the way home we did stop at La Fonda for breakfast, we had our biggest challenge at U.S. customs coming home, still it only took 1 1/2 hours to cross. I will be looking at what can be changed to make it easier for us. We arrived back at Oceanside around 2:15 PM. I for one enjoyed the trip, I understand that this was the largest group from our club to ever go to Castros. Hope you can make the next one.
~ Jim Mauritz - tripmeister

Rod Morris magazine article
The April 11th issue of PCSportfishing magazine had this article, submitted by Bill Woodcook, on Rod Morris's club record 50.5lb halibut caught last year by Rod before he passed away.
Click on the link above to view the article.
 
March 7/8/9 San Clemente trip report
The parking at Point Loma Sport Fishing was empty except for OSA members as the Dominator was the only boat leaving on the 7th. Weather was mild with sunshine, the sea was calm all day on the 8th.We had good fishing with a very mixed bag of calico, sculpin, sheephead, white fish and numerous rock fish. Jackpot winner was Michael McIntire with a 4.8 sheephead. Michael donated the 90.00 dollars to the Wounded Warriors program in memory of Rod Morris.
A class was conducted by Head Charter Master Jim Mauritz on the proper use of the fish descender. Numerous members had the chance to put the descender to good use on this trip.

~ Marshall Goddard,  TripCharter Master

Hamburger & Hotdog Picnic Report
We have just completed our first picnic for 2011, our Hamburger and Hot dog picnic. It was February 15th; you couldn’t ask for nicer weather, it was great. We had 103 sign up, with an attendance of over well over 100 members. It seems like everyone enjoyed the food and the great fellowship. The 50/ 50 winners were Jim Mauritz & Will Cozzens, congratulations.

I would like to thank my co-chairman, Lee Wood for taking signups, my mom Cres and my sister Linda Jones for taking the time to price what I needed at various stores. A thank you goes to Joyce Wood for making the outstanding macaroni salad, Joyce McClelland for preparing the produce. Thanks also to John DeWitt for picking up and returning the gear and Don Maquet for getting the gear ready, George Ruble for bringing the wind protector. A thank you to the early birds, Kathy Weevie, John DeWitt, Donna Brock and Virg Hardin who got everything set up in the morning. Also a thank you to the Head barbequer, Manny Ontiveros, and his helpers Dan Ontiveros, Mike Mercado and  Chuck Berridge. Thank you to Kathy Weevie, Dot Stupin, Felicia Scimo, Donna Brock, Gene Hansen and Nina Albert for serving the lunch, then thank you to everyone who helped with the cleanup. Thank you to Sue and Harlan Reeves for doing the check in and keeping us squared away with the numbers, and thanks Harlan for the right ticket. Also George Ruble was able to sell more of Al Silver’s fishing gear with 100% of the proceeds going to Mrs. Becky Silver, thanks George. This picnic turned out to be a huge success due to all the members who pitched in. I truly thank all of you.

~ Jim Mauritz - Picnic Chairman

TRIP REPORT - Feb. 8-10 Dominator trip to Colonet  (see trip photos)
We have returned from our 1.5 day trip of bottom fishing down at Colonet. We left on 2-8-11 at 5:45PM so that we could make bait. We did load up with squid in just about 1 hour of work by the Coronados then headed off to Colonet. By about 8AM we were fishing in 400' of water. The weather again was great, and boy did the fish cooperate with us. We limited out with 95 Reds, 4 Cowcods, 4 Lingcods and 87 various white and Rock fish. The jackpot was won with a 13 pound Lingcod, and we set 3 new Class1 club records. Congratulations go out to Ed Dennis with an 11 pound Vermilion, Don Maquet with a 7 pound White Fish and Bo Bolender with a 10.5 pound Cowcod. The dinner that the Dominator served us on our trip back was unbelievable, we had veal! and boy it sure tasted great. Also we signed up a new member on the trip, Michael Dishong, welcome aboard Micheal. Mr. Al Silver was not forgotten on this trip, his hand made cod rigs were everywhere around the boat, I for one have one of Al's old Rock Cod Rods and I was blessed with Al's luck, I won the jack pot. Hope to see all of you out on our charters soon. (See trip photos)
    Jim Mauritz - Trip Charter Master

TRIP REPORT - Jan. 17-19 Dominator trip to Banda Banks
The January charter left Monday January 17th for a 1-1/2 day trip to the Banda Banks. We boarded the Dominator around 7PM Monday, got all settled in and by 10PM many of us  were trying to make bait. We just couldn't catch the squid, by 12PM many had to give it up. Well, the Ontiveros brothers Mannny and Dan, Kathy Weevie, Art Ramirez, Stan Kieniewicz, Ron Casapulla and Jim Mauritz all decided to keep at it, and it paid off. We made bait up until well past 2am to insure that we all had a good shot at some good fishing on Wednesday. The weather was beautiful all day, we fished the deep area 250' plus in the AM and moved to some shallow waters in the afternoon. After dinner we were back fishing the deep area again till around 9PM. The catches were: 53 Reds, 17 Ling Cods, 1 Cow Cod caught by Stan Kieniewicz, and 99 various other rock and miscellaneous fish. We made our limits of 170 fish for the 17 anglers that went on this trip. We all had a great time, all caught some big size fish, and Art Ramirez won the jack pot with a 7 pound Ling Cod. Also we sent off some of Rod Morris's ashes to sea, he will be watching over us this year. If this trip is a sign of what is to come, we are headed for a real good year. We are off to a great start this year. A  thank you goes out to my assistant charter master for this trip Kathy Weevie for her help. I thank my fellow members and the Dominator crew for celebrating my birthday with me, it was a great tasting cake.
Thank you
Jim Mauritz
Trip Charter Master

JANUARY MEETING NOTES - 1/4/2011

• Our 2011 President Ron Casapulla opened his first meeting of the year with the Pledge of Allegiance.
• Secretary Genie Hansen read the minutes of the last meeting, followed by Treasurer Sue Reeves who gave the year-end status of the club’s financial position – healthy as usual.
• Program Director Bill Woodcook introduced the meeting speaker Frank D’Anna, owner and operator of the Dominator, the boat we will be making good use of this year. Frank covered many of the improvements that have been made to the boat for this year, and also gave details of how the parking will be handled now that the boat has moved to the Point Loma landing. Frank outlined plans to alleviate any parking problems at the landing by offering free valet parking and 50% validation for those who opt for this service. He covered some of the closures that will be in effect after the end of the year, and also generously offered a discount to club members on any open Party trip on the Dominator this year.
• Social Director Lee Wood covered some of the upcoming picnics (see Activities page), and announced that he is considering a side-trip to Bermuda later this year – anyone interested should contact him. Lee then gave a blow-by-blow description of what led to the winning of the Annual Dipstick, awarded to Bill Vogel. Bill incidentally had two club fish records for the year, and also thanked club members for their support after the recent passing of his wife Diane.
• President Ron Casapulla thanked his predecessor, outgoing President Lee Mueller, for his two years of duty, which drew a healthy round of applause from the members present. Ron also handed out hats to members who volunteered last year as chartermasters, event chairmen and other significant service to the club.
• Program Director Bill Woodcook called for volunteers for the Del Mar Fred Hall Show, where the club will have a booth as usual to raise funds for some of our programs. He also announced the meeting speakers for the next two meetings (see Activities page).
• Head Chartermaster Jim Mauritz announced the 2011 Charter Schedule that he has set up, and discussed some of the special trips for this year, including a Youth and Member trip, a Rod Morris Memorial fundraiser trip, a trip where kayaks could be used, special spectra trips, and a couple of 2-1/2 day trips which are a first for the club. In all there are 28 chartered trips for the year – the most ever.
• Membership Director Jerry Porter introduced several new members and Steve Long is working on the new 2011 Club Directory, which should be available at the next meeting.
• Wounded Warriors Chairman Deek Takacs is working on the 2011 Wounded Warriors trip schedule which should be finalized by the next meeting.
• Sunshine Lady Joyce Wood gave news of ailing & mending members, and mentioned that although many members prefer not to have their troubles aired, others might prefer to notify the general membership of anything significant health-wise, and if so to please contact her.
• Back to the Dipstick. The choice was between a cellphone packing member and last month’s recipient of the hallowed pole, Rudy Gonzalez, who conveniently ”forgot” to take it home with him last time. By an overwhelming consensus Rudy won again. At this rate Rudy is well on the way to the 2011 Annual Disptick Award …
• After the drawings, President Ron adjourned the meeting.

                                                                                                      ~ Vern Francis, OSA Webmaster