{"id":2074,"date":"2024-02-02T03:55:55","date_gmt":"2024-02-02T03:55:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/americangunpeople.com\/?p=2074"},"modified":"2024-02-02T03:55:55","modified_gmt":"2024-02-02T03:55:55","slug":"meet-the-crews-who-power-socals-offshore-tuna-scene","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/americangunpeople.com\/?p=2074","title":{"rendered":"Meet the Crews Who Power SoCal\u2019s Offshore Tuna Scene"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Before he began operating a fishing charter off the coast of Southern California, Captain Evan Kraft was a pinhead.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s not because Kraft abandoned his mechanical engineering degree to fish (which he had), but because he slid from a paying charter customer into the daily grind of a deckhand. \u201cPinhead\u201d is slang for guys like Kraft who work for free so they can fish for free.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnyone who works in our industry is some kind of crazy,\u201d says Kraft, who has since sweated his way through every role aboard the Spirit of Adventure<\/em>: cook, deckhand, <\/em>and ultimately an owner and operator. \u201cEveryone who does this for any length of time has to absolutely love fishing because there\u2019s no other logic in why we do it. Financially, no one\u2019s getting rich off this. It\u2019s way too much work in any position, from cooking to driving the boat.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kraft and his crew can easily end up working 24-hour shifts when they\u2019re in fish, scrambling to help customers bait hooks, untangle lines, gaff fish, clean filets, and run the boat. With just seven crew members for as many as 25 paying customers on each of SOA<\/em>\u2018s multi-day trips<\/a>, there\u2019s always work to do.<\/p>\n

Restocking livewells, courtesy of a local bait barge. Kraft and his crew primarily fish live sardines. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Shogun
A deckhand on the Shogun<\/em>, another sportfishing charter out of SoCal, accepts a net full of fresh bait from a bait-barge worker (center). Clients (like the guy already enjoying a Miller Lite, front right) line the rail in anticipation of setting sail. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cOur business model really thrives on the amount of trips you\u2019re able to run in one year,\u201d says 34-year-old Kraft, who spoke with Outdoor Life <\/em>during a travel day at sea. \u201cIdeally you wanna run as much as you can.\u201d<\/p>\n

As soon as SOA<\/em> returns to port there\u2019s a scramble to unload passengers and their fish, they\u2019re loading fresh groceries, fuel, bait, and new passengers. It\u2019s a turn-and-burn pace that works out to about 260 days on the water each year, with Kraft personally aboard for about 85 percent of those trips, which can last anywhere from two to 11 days. <\/p>\n

\"The
Clients already fishing at the rail. The Spirit of Adventure<\/em>\u2018s home port is in San Diego, though she can range 2,500 nautical miles and up to 16 days at sea at a time. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"A
Captain Evan Kraft and his colleague scout with stabilizing binoculars to compensate for the boat\u2019s movement. Photo by Tom Fowlks<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

SoCal charters target different species based on the season, the weather, and the whims of the fish. Customers might catch wahoo, yellowfin tuna, and yellowtail. In the last few years, says Kraft, bluefin tuna have become especially popular.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery day is different. Fish have moods just like people,\u201d says Kraft, who uses electronics, binoculars, and local intel to locate fish. \u201cSometimes we see them literally jumping out of the water, sometimes we see them maybe splashing \u2014 or a boil, where it looks like boiling water. Sometimes it\u2019s very subtle. You\u2019ll see the water move slightly differently and scan with your electronics and find it\u2019s a giant school beneath the surface. A lesser percentage of the days, you don\u2019t see any sign, and maybe they\u2019re 150 feet down.\u201d<\/p>\n

The SoCal charter scene is competitive. Select handfuls of trusted boats, known as \u201ccode groups,\u201d swap info about fish and conditions over a coded radio channel to avoid broadcasting to every ship around. (Though they\u2019re separately-owned charters, the two boats photographed in this story \u2014 Spirit of Adventure <\/em>and Shogun<\/a> <\/em>\u2014 are in the same code group.)<\/p>\n

\"Deckhands
Deckhands deftly maneuver rods and bodies around the gunnel to keep hooked-up clients from tangling lines. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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\"\"
Rene\u00a0Monteagudo, an owner and operator of Shogun Fishing, seizes a rare opportunity to soak bait. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Hooked up. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n

SOA will venture anywhere from 10 to 100 miles from San Diego in search of fish. It\u2019s common to see bluefin tuna around the invisible border between U.S. and Mexican waters, but often Kraft will travel north along the coast in search of tuna.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the past five years the bluefin fishery is very obviously in very good health,\u201d says Kraft. \u201cWe see more fish every year as far as volume, and the range of different sizes, which tells us the health of the population is very strong because we are seeing everything from nearly newborns \u2014 as small as 2-pound fish \u2014 all the way up to over 300 pounds. The range of different ages of fish and the sheer volume of biomass that we see has been increasing every year.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBluefin are a very strong fighting fish and they have far better stamina than any human being. A newcomer, their natural logic is, oh I\u2019ll tire out the fish and he\u2019ll come in. That\u2019s not the case. Just about every time the angler tires out before the fish does. So it really does come down to the choice of gear and the angler\u2019s technique.\u201d<\/p>\n

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A client reels his bluefin boatside, crew at the ready with gaffs and guidance. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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The end of the line. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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SOA deckhand Scott Sterling (left) helps a client get into position for a grip-and-grin with his bluefin. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Because crew members are so busy helping paying customers catch fish, there\u2019s little to no time to fish for themselves. This arrangement doesn\u2019t bother Kraft, who looks at his trips as a collective victory for everyone aboard.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe all understand what that kind of high feels like when someone catches a fish. So it\u2019s rewarding for us to be able to share that feeling. It\u2019s clear when someone is stoked for a fish, and being able to provide that high for them is where we find our reward.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Rods and reels secured to the ship during a travel day. Kraft\u2019s average customer brings their own tackle for a variety of situations and presentations, and has a working knowledge of knots. Even so, they usually need a fair amount of guidance and help at the rail. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
A seasick client makes it to the rail just in time. While it\u2019s common for customers to deal with nausea, it\u2019s a deal killer for anyone with aspirations to work in the industry.
\u201cIt\u2019s absolutely not possible to make it as crew if you get seasick,\u201d says Kraft. \u201cIt\u2019s not gonna work.\u201d <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
A client catches some shut-eye on the deck. \u201cSleep is never guaranteed,\u201d says Kraft of his crew. \u201cYou can\u2019t really decide when fish will be available and bite so we\u2019re on the clock all the time. We sleep as sleep becomes available.\u201d <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Late-night fishing is a regular fixture of SoCal charters, and often while customers fish with live bait and 40 to 50-pound test during the day, they\u2019ll switch to artificial lures and heavier 100-pound test once the sun sets.<\/p>\n

Read Next: <\/strong>The Best Saltwater Fishing Rods<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cIn the dark, the fish cannot see the size of line as easily, so they\u2019re more willing to bite a heavy line at nighttime,\u201d says Kraft. \u201cOn a three-day trip, a lot of anglers will try to spend as much time at the rail as they possibly can. That\u2019s really the best way to increase their chances at catching more fish.\u201d<\/p>\n

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A deckhand bites the tag-end of a knot as he re-rigs a customer\u2019s line. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Crew and customers aboard the Shogun after a chaotic yellowtail rush. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"An
Freshly-caught and tagged yellowtail in the Shogun<\/em>\u2018s hold, ready for refridgeration. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Charters may catch literal piles of fish, but their business is strictly regulated. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife requires the crew to log their catch at least every 24 hours of a trip to detail how many fish they\u2019ve caught, which species, who caught them, and so on. Boats are inspected for compliance with regulations, including limits.<\/p>\n

To help keep track amid the chaos on deck, each customer receives a number that refers to everything from his fishing limits to his bar tab. Each fish he catches is tagged with that number for legal reasons, but also so customers can be sure they\u2019re taking home filets from fish they personally caught.<\/p>\n

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A pair of deckhands aboard the Shogun<\/em>. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Bleeding a bluefin. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Deckhands filet fish during the down-time of a travel day. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

According to Kraft the average charter deckhand is more educated than ever about how to best care for fish while at sea. That starts with careful gaff placement to avoid ruining meat. As soon as a fish hits the deck (gently, so as not to bruise the meat) a deckhand dispatches it with a spike to the brain or spinal cord, which kills the fish quickly and reduces thrashing, which can stress the meat. Next, the gills and guts are cut away and the blood drained to preserve freshness and flavor. Finally, the fish are stored in the SOA<\/em>\u2018s chilled refrigeration system.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Deckhands hold up a pair of wahoo. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cA lot of us can\u2019t go without this,\u201d says Kraft. \u201cGuys who\u2019ve been on the boat for a long time can\u2019t wait to get off the boat. But when they\u2019re home they can\u2019t wait to get back out. It doesn\u2019t make sense but it\u2019s something that\u2019s in you. You can\u2019t get enough of it.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n


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Before he began operating a fishing charter off the coast of Southern California, Captain Evan Kraft was a pinhead. That\u2019s not because Kraft abandoned his mechanical engineering degree to fish (which he had), but because he slid from a paying charter customer into the daily grind of a deckhand. \u201cPinhead\u201d is slang for guys like […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2075,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-2074","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-gun-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/americangunpeople.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2074","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/americangunpeople.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/americangunpeople.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/americangunpeople.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/americangunpeople.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2074"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/americangunpeople.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2074\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/americangunpeople.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2075"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/americangunpeople.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2074"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/americangunpeople.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2074"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/americangunpeople.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2074"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}