An Introduction to Long Range Fishing, Part I

by Dennis Braid

Much of the research and development for these products was conducted on the dozens of long-range trips he has taken over the past 15 years. In part one, you will experience the excitement of long-range fishing through Dennis' eyes and learn just what these remarkable fishing trips are all about.

In this two-part article, I will try to not only answer the most commonly asked questions about long-range fishing and give you a good idea of what to expect, but also describe the sensations of what it's all about. I'll tackle questions regarding the food, sleeping quarters, length of trips, size and species of fish to be caught and answer the obvious "How the hell do you stay on a boat that long?"

We will take a look at costs, help you decide how to select a trip suitable to your budget and time constraints, best time to go, and what to expect from the boat and crew.

Keep one thing in mind, long-range fishing is probably the most intense fishing vacation you can enjoy and it is also a bargain. You don't have to live on the West Coast to partake of these great trips. Most of the long-range fleet offers special packages to anglers from other areas of the country to make getting there and home again trouble free.

The eastern Pacific islands frequented by long-range sportfishing boats are miles from the nearest coastline. Most are remnants of ancient volcanoes, some covered in lush green vegetation from summer rains. These islands have produced more yellowfin tuna world records than anywhere else on the planet.

They are surrounded with water so purple and blue that you can actually watch tiger-striped wahoo slashing baits with surgical precision, slicing and dicing everything from mackerel to skipjack. I can't escape the thoughts of huge tuna crashing on kite-suspended baits, or watching 200-pounders roll on chunk baits as they drift out alongside the boat barely feet below the surface before being engulfed.

I take about eight multi-day, long-range trips each year and only wish I had the time to go more often.

Many are company-sponsored by Braid Products, other tackle companies or retail establishments and they cater to veteran and novice fishermen alike. I frequently conduct onboard seminars and spend time helping newcomers with tips and suggestions on the latest tackle and techniques to help make their trip more rewarding and enjoyable. Even though it's been almost 15 years since I took my maiden voyage, I still get as jazzed and excited as I was on the first trip.

After the incredible sights I've seen and the unbelievable fishing I've experience on these trips, I spend my nights dreaming of beautiful blue water turned into solid gold by vast schools of crashing dorado; of yellowfin tuna of 100, 200, and even 300 pounds, boiling on bait balls, turning the ocean surface into something resembling a washing machine; of rods doubled over, reels screaming, line crackling under the extreme stress of a hard-charging tuna, marlin or wahoo.

It doesn't have to be just a dream. Seemingly unaccessible, these scenes are a reality on long-range sportfishers. Each trip is a new adventure. Long-range fishing is just that spectacular, these trips are big game fishing's Nirvana!

Once you cross the line and make the commitment, the excitment begins. It will build with each passing day as the departure date nears. You'll start spending your nights selecting gear, checking and rechecking all the items on your tackle list to make sure nothing is left out. The anticipation of preparation in only a prelude to the event itself.

Long-range boats leave from three docks in San Diego, conveniently situated at Point Loma on Garrison Avenue. They are Fisherman's, H & M and Point Loma Landings. All three docks are only a few yards apart and are situated three miles from the San Diego airport. The airport is usually congested, but when you pick up your baggage, the taxis are located right out front. The fare is about $5.00. Airfare to San Diego is not included in the cost of a long-range trips. If you wish to arrive prior to the boat's departure, there are hotels right across the street from the landings, including Holiday and Comfort Inns. Prior reservations are rarely needed.

For planning purposes, you can figure most trips will have an average cost of about $200.00 per day, and trips vary from eight to 23 days. While $200 per day might seem like a fair amount of money at first, lets make a few comparisons.

A charter boat for offshore fishing in the northeast will run you $700 to $1,200 per day taking up to six people. Overnights to the canyons are more expensive. A bluefin tuna trip off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina on an average charter boat costs about $1,000 per day and is certainly worth it, when the weather lets you get to the fishing grounds. A Mexican cruiser on the East Cape coats $350 for a short fishing day of 7:30am to 3:30pm, while in Australia, a charter boat costs $2,000 per day.

Now stop and think about it. Long-range trips provide some of the finest, fastest fishing for hard-charging pelagics that you will ever experience. The action makes most other fishing destinations pale by comparison. The $200 per day cost includes first class meals and accommodations. So, when you stack long-range trips up against the cost of fishing other great destinations, its a bloody good deal mate!

For those of you who have never seen one of these incredibly luxurious sportfishers, they're not like any head or party boat you may have seen or fished aboard elsewhere. The EXCEL, for example, is a sportfisher typical of the long-range fleet in size and luxury accommodations, and one that I have shared many adventures aboard. The EXCEL is 124 feet long with a massive 32-foot beam. She carries over 20,000 gallons of diesel fuel, and 2,000 gallons of fresh water and has desalinators capable of making close to 1,000 gallons of fresh, clean, drinking water per day. She has two generators capable of lighting a small city. She is big, deep and built to be called "home" for 30 passengers for an extended stay.

The freezers and refrigerators hold enough food stores to feed the crew and a full compliment of passengers for up to three weeks. She carries an enormous assortment of spare parts and gear and, like the other boats in the fleet, is a self-sufficient floating hotel designed for just two things, luxurious accommodations and fishing. Her above and below deck bait tanks carry massive quantities of live anchovies, sardines and mackerel. The brine-freezer-holds can bring home over 20 tons of fish for the passengers. Like I said, these are not head boats, but very special fishing vessels designed and built from the keel up for one purpose, fishing adventures.

( pictured above - Long range vessels come in two general sizes. The Excel is representative of the larger boats in the 120 ft class, while the Polaris Supreme is typical of the smaller 90 ft class boats.)

The EXCEL's incredibly spacious and well-equipped fly bridge features Furuno color video depth sounders, color scanning sonar, GPS plotters and an S-band radar system capable of marking birds working over fish many miles away. Then there's the CH-12 sonar, weather fax system, satellite phones for worldwide communication, multi-channel single side band radio, Loran C, radio direction finder and 72-mile radar. There are back-ups for just about all these units, especially critically important navigation and communication systems. This amazing array of state-of-the-art electronics assures you the captain can safely navigate anywhere in the world and put you on fish no matter how remote the locale.

Most boats traveling to these regions offer twin-bunk staterooms with sink, cabinet and night table with drawers, plus provisions for your clothing and personal items. There are a number of bathrooms and showers, all kept clean and neat. While long-range sportfishers vary in size from smaller boats in the 90-foot class, like the ROYAL STAR and POLARIS SUPREME, to the larger boats in the 120-foot class, like the EXCEL, ROYAL POLARIS and QUALIFIER 105. Each boat will vary the number of passengers to fit the accommodations and the duration of the trip. Longer trips carry fewer passengers.

The EXCEL will comfortably accommodate a maximum of 28 passengers on her longer trips. She has 16 air conditioned staterooms which makes for very comfortable traveling. She has two staterooms with private head and shower available on a "first come-first serve" basis.

(picture at right - The travel time from San Diego to Mexican waters provides time to work on tackle & set drags.)

All staterooms, lounge and galley areas are fully carpeted and air conditioned. The galley offers seating for 30 passengers at a time for meals, and oh what meals they are! If you're trying to lose weight, this is definitely not the please to start. Three meals a day are served on a three-call system, which gives anglers ample time to get to the galley even if he or she's in the process of fighting one of those jumbo tuna.

Breakfast, lunch and dinner are of the quality one would find in a four-star restaurant. In fact, first-time long-range passengers always come back with stories about the incredible meals. Dinners include prime rib, steaks, chicken, roast pork and more, plus fish recipes made from the freshest fish available, ones that just came over the rail, prepared in too many different ways to even begin to cover. Meals always include fresh baked breads, salads, vegetables, appetizers and desserts. Is your mouth watering yet?

But that's not all. Tasty hors d'oevres are offered in the late afternoon to help satisfy those that have really worked up an appetite battling tackle busting gamefish. The homemade desserts include pies,cakes and cookies and there's ice cream and other goodies, too. Considerations for those with special dietary needs are happily accommodated. Just let the cooks know your dietary restrictions in advance.

In between meals, take advantage of the cookies, candy and fruit which is available around the clock in the snack bar. There are hot and cold drinks always available at the drink center, which come in handy for the celebrating a great catch or to wet your whistle when telling fish stores at the end of the day. If you wish to enjoy a cold one or cocktail, or just want to relax with a couple of new-found friends, up on the sun deck watching the spectaular sunsets in the place for you.

There is very little not included in the cost of each trip, but there are a few things carried aboard that have a price tag beside the clothing imprinted with boat logos. In some rare cases, there may be a fuel surcharge, but it is minimal and depends on the cost of fuel.

There is a nominal charge for cold beverages, beer and soda. They are kept out on ice and sold on the honor system at a very reasonable price, a $1.00 for beer and a $1,00 for soft drinks. When you take one, you make a mark on a tally sheet kept hanging above the cooler, the sheets are compiled and you pay for your drink tab when returning at the end of the trip. Hard liquor is not available on the boats, but you can bring you own aboad, in moderation. If you enjoy a glass of wine with your dinner, I suggest bringing along two bottles or red and two of white.

You will have to purchase a Mexican fishing permit, since most of the fishing destinations are within Mexican waters or around offshore islands that are Mexican possessions. The permit is purchases for you and you must reimburse the boat prior to departure. You will need a passport for proof of citizenship as the boats are often boarded by Mexican officals and costly delays are avoided if everyone has their papers in order. You can also enter the trip "Jackpot" and take a shot at winning some money by catching the largest fish.

When determining what and how much clothing to bring, keep in mind where you are going and what you are going to be doing there. Long-range boats do not have laundry facilities and you'll be around fish, bait, chum and blood. You should be prepared with at least a change of clothes for each day of the trip, but since you're fishing in a very warm climate you don't need to bring heavy garments. Most of the time you'll be wearing shorts and T-shirts, neither of which take up a lot of room. Do bring some jeans and sweatshirts for the cool nights that are encountered from time to time. It's a good idea to bring along a light jacket and rain gear, too. Sneakers and a pair of low-top deck boots are a must for footwear.

Also pack the basics, toothbrush and paste, razor, soap, deodorant, socks and underwear (more than one pair, please), some books to read, sunglasses, a wide-brim hat for sun protection and plenty of sunscreen. Don't forget the camera and lots of film because you'll have the opportunity to get the fishing photos of a lifetime.

I suggest packing your gear in duffel bags. You can pack a lot more clothing in a duffel and they slip under the bed and take up very little room, unlike standard luggage.

You'll be aboard a boat with six or seven showers and an unlimited supply of fresh water, so you'll be able to take a couple of showers a day to stay fresh. Some passengers shower with their shorts and T-shirts on at times and then take a nap in the sun to dry, sort of a combination shower and laundry stop.

Gratuities are not included and boy are these crews worth a good tip! Tips are handled at the conclusion of the trip. A good rule of thumb for crew gratuities is $10 to $20 per day combined, which will be divvied up between the crew members afterward. Your drink tab and any other purchases you made while aboard like T-shirts, hats, jackets or sweatshirts will be also tallied at the end. Passengers are always eager to take home these kinds of momentos of their trip and the boats offer some beautiful clothing.

For your $200 per day, plus any additional charges incurred from the items list above, you are going to get to fish more than 1,000 miles of the most fish-filled waters you'll ever float upon and be able to fish round to clock, 24 hours a day! Not a bad deal at all.

One of the first things a newcomer notices on a long-range boat is not only the numerous deckhands aboard (usually seven or more), but their ages. While the deckhands are young by some standards, they are all accomplished at their duties, having spent years working the day-boats out of the southern California area before being considered for a position on a long-range sportfisher.

You'll be please to know that a good number of the deckhands are actually licensed skippers in their own right, but they opt to work as crew on these boats to gain experience and, hopefully, get the opportunity down the line to run one themselves.

The boats carry a first captain who has many years of experience running ling-range boats in Mexican waters. Then there is a second captain and the compliment of deckhands. Two crew members are full-time cooks, actually chefs is a more appropriate terms once you see what they are capable of making. They only come out of the galley when the fishing action is so fast and furious that they have to lend a hand with the gaffing duties.

One thing you'll notice from the first day of fishing -- you'll never have to look for a deckhand for help. When you have a fish close and call out, "color," there is usually a deckhand looking over you shoulder. They are the hardest working crews you'll ever see onboard a sportfishing boat anywhere in the world and they take pride in offering quality service to the passengers. they are also very helpful instructors when you're at the rail and something happens and you're not sure what to do. They will gladly give you all the help you need or simply stay out of your way until you need the gaff.

Newcomers to long-range fishing might feel a little uneasy about getting onboard for an extended trip with a lot of strangers. The people I've met on these trips are some of the nicest, most enjoyable people I've ever had the pleasure of fishings with. Everyone makes friends quickly once on board and you'll find yourself developing relationships with people in no time. By the end of the trip, you'll feel like you're leaving a bunch of your closest friends rather than the "strangers" you were worried about prior to departure. Remember, you're all there with a common interest, catching fish and having a great time, and everyone will be speaking the same language, fishing!

(above picture - Before leaving San Diego, the boat will stop at the bait receiver to load up with anchovies or sardines. Anglers will catch live mackerel along the way, a treat referred to as "making bait.")

Can I catch a 300-pound yellowfin on these trips? Now there's the questions I hear a lot. The answer is not unless you're there with a rod in your hand and a bait in the water! The opportunities will present themselves, but lack of experience on your part is no reason to not take the trip.

Every trip is a learning experience and you'll have the opportunity to learn the stand-up fishing techniques pioneered on these boats over the last 25 years from the people who know them best. You'll learn more about fishing for the handling big game species on one long-range trip than you could in years of fishing just about anywhere else. The fish are thick enough to give you all the shots you could ever want and your experience level will grow with each passing day.

(above picture - The onboard seminars cover everything from rigging to fish fighting techniques used on these specialized boats. This is where stand-up fishing was created and perfected.)

Every trip I've taken has had at least three or four, and as many as a dozen, first-time novices. Be assured, by the time you get back to San Diego, you won't be one! I spend a lot of time talking to men and women about their experience levels and how that affects them on these trips and I always end up explaining that the desire to go is all you really need. Just make the commitment and book the trip. There are always anglers on board willing to share their experiences with you.

There is a two-day travel period before getting to the first fishing destination and during that time intense onboard seminars are conducted by the captain, crew or guest celebrity fishermen. They will fill you in on the species you can expect to find on the trip, what gear to use for each, the way to set up your rigs, the fine points of working with stand-up tackle on a boat with other anglers and more, all on the way to the fishing grounds. There trips will provide you with all the knowledge to make the experience fun, and you will be a far better angler when you return than when you left.

So will you catch that 300-pounder or could you possibly set a world record? It's very possible. Huge yellowfins are caught on many of there trips and dozens of world records for a variety of species are set.

On a typical 10-day trip, which the fleet begins running in September, the focus is on areas like the Alijos Rocks, Uncle Sam Banks, Thetis Banks, the Potato Banks and other spots located in an area known as the Ridge off the west coast of Baja California. The species encountered include striped marlin, Dorado (dolphin), tuna, giant black sea bass (to over 200 pounds), a variety of species of grouper to over 100 pounds, wahoo, yellowtail and pargo, to name a few.

It's on these shorter long-range trips that you will ge to experience a "wide-open bite." What is a "wide-open bite?" On a recent trip, we got into a school of dorado and the passengers caught several hundred from 25- to 45-ponds in just over an hour. Can you imagine dorado so thick you can't see through them? I was taking surface poppors, removing the hooks just for fun, and on every cast had a huge fish hit it, hold it and tear off 150 feet of line before dropping it. Once dropped, I couldn't get the plug back to the boat without another fish grabbing it and repeating the same reel-screaming run. Now that's a wide-open bite.

You say you like to catch marlin. Could you every forget a day like this one? The captain informed us the boat was coming up on feeding marlin spotted from the bridge. I'm not taking about "a" feeding marlin, but acres of feeding marlin! The boat slowed to a stop and baits were cast from the stern, all instantly inhaled by billfish crashing bait balls everywhere we looked. Have you ever seen 18 marlins hooked up at one time by one boat? Are you starting to get the picture of what to expect? That day, we hooked up more than 50 marlin in about one hour. It happens!

You've never lived until you get into a wide-open bite of yellowfin or wahoo! These shorter, early fall trips offer tuna in the 40- to 150-pound class, but the real excitement comes from the amazing variety of bait-smashing, aggressive fish of different species that will get you so worked up, your skin will tingle!

November signals the time to bring the big tuna gear, two-speed reels, heavier line and stronger leaders. The trips now are longer, 16 days and up, and the size of the fish caught leave little room for error in equipment or the angler's state of mind or physical condition. They are run right through the month of May and key on only a couple of species. The ferocious, lightning fast wahoo is available in amazing numbers in sizes up to and over 100 pounds. And then there are the highly-prized, giant yellowfin tuna. What is a "giant" yellowfin? How about fish up to 400 pounds, with the majority of the fish running over 200.

The area fished on these trips is the Rivilla Gigedo, which is comprised of a set of islands including San Benedicto, Soccoro, Roca Partida, the Clarions and the Hurricane Bank. More than anywhere else on earth, these islands produce a supply of gut wrenching, tackle smashing, brute yellowfin. The largest weighed in from a long-range boat to date was 300 pounds, but credible skippers have seen many fish well over 400, lost just out of gaffing range.

These giant yellowfin give anglers fits, as they rip 100-pound test line off two-speed reels at break-neck speeds. The sheer power of the initial run makes all but the most seasoned veterans' knees buckle and speech turn to stutters. This is the fishery that made long-range fishing famous and it continues today, offering fishing just as incredible as when these islands saw their first long-range boat anchoring up to fish over two decades ago.

(above photo - Roca Partida is an extinct volcano and one of the exotic locations you'll fish on the different long-range trips in Mexican waters.)

For those who are short on time, but wish to take one of these 16-day plus trips, the fly-down/fly-back option can be used to shorten the overall time aboard ship. On these trips, the boat departs San Diego and picks up passengers in Cabo San Lucas at the southernmost tip of the Baja. Prior to departure, anglers can drop off their gear at the landing and then fly to Cabo two days later, avoiding the long boat ride south. For anglers flying from the midwest of east coast, San Diego can be averted by flying directly to Cabo San Lucas saving up to a day from the complete trip. The downside is that these trips cost you some fishing time when compared with trips departing San Diego sailing straight to the islands.

If you have a limited supply of tackle, don't worry. Most boats offer complete tackle rental packages at either very minimal cost or no fee at all for anglers flying in from other areas of the country.

When you return from the trip, prior to disembarking, you can arrange to have your fish canned, smoked or just filleted and then shipped via air freight to your home, avoiding the problem of dealing with fish.

The boats running regular schedules of trips to these distant locales include the EXCEL, ROYAL POLARIS, POLARIS SUPREME, ROYAL STAR, SEARCHER, QUALIFIER 105 AND RED ROOSTER.

If you are going to take advantage of the Fly-Down/Fly-Back trip, Cabo San Lucas is serviced by American Airlines, Continental and American West and fly direct from Cabo to Dallas, Houston and Phoenix, respectively. From there you can get a connecting flight home.

(photo at right - Fisherman's Landing in San Diego is one of three landings that birth the long-range fleet.)

Can't wait? Want to book a trip now? If you just have questions or need additional information, call me at my office at Braid Products at 661-266-9791. The only thing I like more than long-range fishing is talking about it. I'll try and answer any questions you might have and put you on the right track.

See you next month.