WON staffers and Fury anglers alike were keeping an eye on the wind forecast leading up to the trip, but Bailey was confident about this Friday run getting out prior to the blow that did ultimate slam the door on countless trips over the weekend. While full rockfish sacks headlined the game plan, it was also mentioned that squid have been around and yellowtail had been caught on several previous trips on the Fury. They gave it an honest shot from well before gray light in the right zone, but there would be no forkies on this trip.
The ling was caught by Perris angler Josh Widmer who was on his first overnighter. That fish was in the jackpot conversation, but a big vermilion he caught earlier in the day ended up holding off all others at JP time. Along with the cash, Widmer picked up a $100 credit for Huk Performance Fishing Apparel (which he happened to be wearing) and a spool of Berkley ProSpec Premium Braid, both WON charter sponsor prizes that are a part of all WON charters. Sponsor giveaways going to each passenger included a Gamakatsu tackle box, and a spool of HI-SEAS Fluorocarbon all stuffed into a handy dry-bag.
On this particular trip, a passenger-supplied Bluetooth speaker provided background music consisting of a respectable mix of oldies, classic rock, ‘90s metal, early-2000s cheese and a sprinkling of standards from various titans of yacht rock. That, for better or worse, inspired impromptu karaoke sessions from anglers and even crew throughout a day that featured better-than-expected conditions considering the weather that was slated to arrive as early as that night.
This group of anglers was the type that make any trip fun: zero egos, plenty of humor and ribbing an easily-detected appreciation for “just being out here” across the board along with a smattering of off-color jokes. A casual observer might think they were all buddies before boarding the Fury. While that wasn’t the case when got on it certainly was when they got off.
That was one of two recurring themes in the conversations on the way back in from this trip: how great of a group it was to fish with, and the lofty performance level of the Fury’s top-notch crew.
The final tally for the trip was 210 rockfish, 111 whitefish, 6 sheephead and a lingcod for 21 (this WON editor covering the trip got in the game, too) anglers.
To see the full WON charter schedule for 2022, click HERE.
