Last May both my son and I booked an overnight trip on the Sea Biscuit out of Channel Islands Sportfishing in Oxnard Ca.  Recently I found out that the Sea Biscuit has been sold and her new name is Indicator.  None the less, she was/is a fantastic boat with a very knowledgeable crew that is more than happy the help you catch quality fish.  Our target was California White Corker also known as White Sea Bass.  WSB is a mild gamefish with clean white meat and somewhat flakey.  I feel it is best on the BBQ but you can cook it anyway you want and in the local market at almost $30.00 per pound, It’s a real treat when you catch a 40 plus pounder.

We left that evening and our destination was The Channel Islands which are about 12 to 14 miles off the coast of Oxnard, California, with Anacapa Island being the closest, situated about 12 miles away but take some time to get to.  About 4AM we were awakened as the Sea Biscuit had come across a large school of squid whis is candy bair for the big whites.  The squid lights came on and big nets were dropped overboard and pulled up tight while the squid was scooped out of the ocean and into the bait tanks.  After about a 45 minute stop it was time for a breakfast burrito from the galley.  Just before sunrise we had our lines in the water and nothing was biting.  I told my son that by the time of daybreak, it was going to go off and it did.  As soon as the sun rose we had our first hook up on the back of the boat and then the second, third and so on.  Until It came to my turn!  The trick to catching a big white is to be patient and allow the fish to swallow the bait and then set the hook.  My first attempt was a big miss as I was so anxious to set the hook, I jerked it right out of the fishes mouth so I waited and although I wanted to set the hook right away I didn’t.  The next thing I knew was that my line started spooling out of control and I set the hook.  The fight was on and after about an 8 minute fight I landed what was to be about a 30 pound White Sea Bass.  All the while my son was getting nibbled and his line started spooling.  he set the hook and fought this fish for a little longer than I did because his was a much bigger fish of about 45 pounds when landed however it wasn’t the jackpot which was the absolute last fish landed before we had to pull out of there because the boat was already at limits of WSB.

We fished some other spots throught the day until it was time to come home.  It was an amazing adventure and al whole heck of alot of fun.  Coming back with 60 plus pounds of fresh meat was totally worth it and in my opinion offset the cost of the trip.  We kept a’lot of the meat but also gave it away to friends and family and even our Parish Priests.  It was a great memory and we will be back now year after year as it is a “must do” annual trip.