Portrait of a Labor Day Weekend

Thanks Mark and Tiffany for setting up a fantastic time beach-camping Doheny Labor Day Weekend. What a great bunch of families you're looking at here!

Yellowfin Tuna on the Lukuna

My good friend Kevin O'Neil is really becoming a heck of a fishing captain! We left Newport Harbor on the trusty 45-foot Lukuna at 5am, jetted to Dana Point for bait, and boogied to the 209 spot to find a HUGE pod of dolphin working the seas. Kevin would position the boat in front of the dolphin, Cole and I would chunk bait over the stern of the boat, and then we would fish live sardines in the wake.
Somewhere between the 209 and the line between the 181 and 182 spots (known on the Lukuna as the Porter Run), Ron Fisk hooked up with a sizable Yellowfin Tuna. He had seen Yellowtail break off anxious anglers like his Dad and himself outside of Avalon all summer. This time he had the patience, and after 30 minutes managed to land the fish on a salt-water spinning reel loaded with 20-pound-test line, 25-pound-test leader, and an Owner Size 1 Mutu Circle Hook.

The Yellowfin didn't jump but made several runs after being brought close to the boat, mostly along the surface so we could see his dorsal fin rapidly cut the water 10 to 40 yards off the boat. Great job Ron!

Check out all the pic's from the day's adventure here (click on the link then click"slideshow").

Watching the thousands of dolphin herd bait and up to 12 boats at a time fish alongside the dolphin was a spectacle that we will not soon forget. Thanks Kev!

Later in the day Kevin and Ron jumped into the water to determine whether this kelp paddy held any sizable fish. They found a giant ball of Mackerel but no Dorado or Yellowtail as hoped. Would you have the guts to swim in open water with a chum bucket hanging off the side of the boat?

Our Beloved Grandma Kay

Kyung Hi “Kay” Booth, our beloved mother and grandmother, has passed away after a two and a half year battle with ovarian cancer. Kay was born in Korea, endured many hardships of the Korean war, and met her husband John Booth while working at the military PX. She recently shared with me that she found John to be a gentleman, and a philosophical type, and these traits drew her to him. In 1960 Kay moved with John to the United States and started a family. As a new mother with fledgling English skills living in Manhattan, Kay faced many challenges at this time of her life. But as V puts it, Kay was warm, caring, intelligent, talented, and adventurous, and she soon developed a family and life of which any American woman would be proud. God bless you, Kay, for all you did for your family, as your love and commitment has enabled ours. Your bold and generous spirit will forever live in our hearts.

V has scanned some wonderful pictures of Kay here.

Please find V's information on ovarian cancer here.

August Fishing on O'Neil's Boat

Big "props" to Kevin O'Neil for taking us out on the Lukuna for some early August "pattie hoppin". We found some nice schools of dorado under kelp patties between the 181 and 182. Cole O'Neil and Charley West landed dorado, while Caleb O'Neil and I both farmed dorado as well as a baby mako on the 209 spot. Rich West nailed a few sizable blue perch with Kev's speargun - two perch on one shot! The seas between Newport Harbor and the Mexican border are teeming with life this time of year - we spotted an enormous blue wale spouting then sounding, along with the typical large schools of dolphin (multiple species), bait balls, and feeding birds. Thanks again Kev! Click here and click slideshow for all the photographic evidence a fisherman needs!

The Faces of India

Click here to view images of people we saw on our recent trip to India.
( Hint: for a full-screen version, click the link, then click on "Slideshow" )

South Lake Tahoe

Thanks for showing us South Lake Tahoe and Heavenly, Uncle Howie! Check out our Pics here and our Videos here!

Yosemite Trip

The week after our Palomar Mountain trip, we journeyed to the Yosemite Valley for Camp Curry - style camping, hikes, and fun with our friends the Disepios. With weather in the 80s and waterfalls and rivers running strong, Yosemite did not disappoint! We found deer, squirrels, raccoons, all kind of birds, and even a few little fish at a stream-side picnic spot in a secret location! Valencia's pics are here and Greg's pics are here.

Greg and Vivi at Yosemite Falls

Grace as a Rockstar

Greg and Grace on Father's Day

Dan Photographing Upper and Lower Yosemite Falls

Camping and Fishing Palomar Mountain

In June we camped at Palomar Mountain State Park and fished Doane Pond with Grace's friend Cory and her family. We leveled out our tent sites with the help of a flat head shovel, and Cory's Dad Adam hung a rope swing from a tall oak for some airy mountain fun. Doane Pond fishing is as good as it gets in Southern California, especially for the kids as the rainbow trout are plentiful and bite as fingerlings or fully mature - enough to put your three-pound line to the test. Yep, they got bass and catfish too. So check out our pics here, and family/friends let us know if you'd like to join us on our next trip!

Porter Look-alike Meter

MyHeritage: Look-alike Meter - Geneology - Family history