Planning

Planning Notes for Hobie & Friends Trips

Hobie & Friends Fishing Club is a private recreational fishing club and trip group. We are not a charter company, guide service, landing, booking agent, or magical seafood delivery app. We are a group of friends who fish together, plan trips together, share information, and occasionally make poor financial decisions involving rods, reels, snacks, and diesel fuel.

Our trip calendar has shifted. Earlier years were more Bay Area focused, but the club is now mostly planning around Southern California sportboat trips, Channel Islands style overnights, and San Diego multi-day tuna trips. Bay Area trips may still happen, but the regular club rhythm is now:

Spring overnight groundfish trips

Early summer overnight yellowtail trips

At least one annual 3-day San Diego tuna trip

Occasional local, freshwater, or last-minute trips when someone gets a wild hair and a questionable weather window

Most trips are planned well in advance. Some are invite-only because space, gear, experience level, and boat capacity matter. This is a private club, not an open public charter list.

What to Expect on an Overnight Groundfish Trip

Our spring overnight groundfish trips are usually the first real saltwater club trips of the year. These are generally April vertical jigging style trips targeting rockfish, lingcod, whitefish, sheephead, and whatever else is legal, open, hungry, and unfortunate enough to meet us.

These trips are usually good for newer anglers because the fishing is more vertical, the gear is simpler, and the goal is steady action rather than casting a surface iron 900 times while pretending your shoulder still works.

Plan for:

Cold mornings and cool boat rides

Layers, rain gear, and deck boots

Sleeping bag and pillow

A small tackle bag, not your entire garage

8–16 oz sinkers depending on depth and current

Dropper loop rigs, shrimp flies, squid strips, jigs, and basic bottom-fishing gear

A valid fishing license and any required report card/stamp

Cash for crew tip, fish cleaning, jackpot, parking, food, and whatever else appears out of nowhere

Typical tackle range:

20–40 lb or 30–50 lb rod

Reel with 40–65 lb braid

30–50 lb leader

Assorted sinkers and rockfish rigs

A few heavy jigs if you want to be fancy

Do not overthink this trip. Bring functional gear, dress warm, listen to the crew.

What to Expect on the June Thunderbird Trip

The June Thunderbird trip is fast becoming one of our favorite regular annual Southern California overnighters. This is a more dynamic trip than a straight groundfish run. Depending on conditions, the boat may be looking for yellowtail, white seabass, bonito, calico bass, rockfish, or whatever the captain thinks gives us the best shot.

This is where flexibility matters. You may need to fish live bait, dropper loop squid, cast jigs, throw surface lures, fish the bow, fish the stern, or shut up and do exactly what the captain says because he has electronics and you have vibes.

Plan for:

Live bait fishing

Dropper loop fishing

Casting jigs and surface lures

Bonito/calico-style action if the exotics do not cooperate

Possible rockfish backup plan

Variable weather

A lighter, more mobile tackle setup than a tuna trip

Suggested tackle:

20–30 lb bait setup

30–40 lb casting or yellowtail setup

40–50 lb dropper loop or heavier backup setup

Fluorocarbon leaders from 20–50 lb

Hooks from small live-bait sizes up through heavier yellowtail/white seabass hooks

4–8 oz sinkers for shallower work

8–16 oz sinkers if deeper backup fishing is possible

Surface irons, Coltsnipers, Madscads, Ridgebacks, Hookup Baits, or whatever other emotional-support lures you insist are “definitely getting bit this time”

If you are newer, ask before packing. The goal is to bring the right few setups and not create a tackle landslide in the bunkroom.

What to Expect on San Diego 3-Day Tuna Trips

The club will usually have at least one annual 3-day San Diego tuna trip. This is the big one. These trips may target bluefin tuna, yellowfin tuna, dorado, yellowtail, and whatever else is around. The exact game plan depends on season, water, fish location, weather, captain decision, and the fish’s personal commitment to ruining everyone’s plans.

A 3-day trip is not the same as an overnight. You need better preparation, better gear, more line classes, and a basic understanding of how multi-day sportboat fishing works.

Plan for:

Multiple line classes

Live bait fishing

Sinkers and sinker rigs

Knife jigs and flat falls

Flyline bait

Night fishing

Long hours

Sleep deprivation

Jackpot delusion

Listening carefully when the captain or crew tells you what is working

Common tackle range:

25–30 lb bait setup

40 lb bait/casting setup

50–60 lb heavier bait or jig setup

80–100 lb heavy setup for night, sinker rigs, or larger bluefin

Fluorocarbon leaders from 25–100 lb

Quality hooks, split rings, crimping supplies, rubber bands, sinkers, and jigs

A real plan for rigging before the trip, not a dockside panic ceremony

For tuna trips, do not assume club gear will be available. Ask early. Borrowed gear is limited, and loaning someone a heavy tuna setup is not the same as handing them a trout rod at a pond.

Motion Sickness

We are no longer recommending Bonine as the club default.

Several of us use prescription scopolamine patches for offshore trips. These are commonly called “scope patches.” They work well for some people, but they are prescription medication and can have side effects. Talk to your doctor early if you think you may need one.

No prescription medication will be provided by Hobie & Friends Fishing Club, Hobie, another club member, the boat, the captain, the deckhand, a guy in the parking lot, or anyone else who enjoys not being sued.

Handle your seasickness plan before the trip. The Pacific Ocean does not care that you “usually do fine.”

Basic seasickness advice:

Talk to your doctor before the trip, Test your plan before you are offshore if possible, 

Sleep well the night before, Eat normally, Hydrate, Avoid showing up hungover, 

Do not spend the whole trip staring at your phone in the galley while the boat rolls.

Get fresh air and look at the horizon if you start feeling weird

If you are prone to motion sickness, handle it like gear prep. Early. Seriously. Before the boat leaves.

What to Bring

Bring enough to be prepared, not enough to open a floating Bass Pro Shops.

A better attitude than “I packed at midnight”

Do not bring hard coolers onto the boat unless the landing or boat specifically says it is allowed. Most boats do not want your cooler, your giant wagon, your five mystery bags, or your full emotional support tackle wall.

Food, Drinks, and Boat Etiquette

Every boat is different. Some have full galleys. Some allow limited outside food. Some do not want you bringing a rolling buffet from Costco. Check the boat and landing instructions before the trip.

General rules:

Bring cash, Tip the crew, Listen to the crew, Do not block the bait tank, Do not leave tackle everywhere, 

Do not cast over people, Do not fish over people, Do not step over, rods, Do not be weird in the bunkroom, 

Do not make your lack of planning everyone else’s problem

Alcohol rules depend on the boat. Marijuana rules depend on the boat, law, and waters being fished. Do not assume anything. On serious fishing trips, especially tuna trips, being sloppy is a good way to become a story that starts with “remember that guy…”

Gear Loans and Club Gear

Sometimes Hobie or another club member may have gear available to help someone get started. This is not guaranteed. Club gear is limited, expensive, and usually already assigned before the trip.

If you borrow gear:

Treat it better than your own

Ask how it works before using it

Do not high-stick rods

Do not set reels in saltwater

Do not backlash a reel and quietly hand it back like a raccoon

If something breaks, say something immediately

New anglers are welcome, but the goal is to learn and improve. Nobody expects perfection. We do expect basic respect for the boat, crew, fish, and other people’s gear.

Licenses, Regulations, and Fish Handling

You are responsible for your own fishing license, stamps, report cards, passport, and any required documents for the trip. Regulations change. Seasons change. Depth limits change. Bag limits change. The ocean is regulated by people with clipboards and boats with blue lights.

Check current regulations before the trip.

Useful things to verify:

Your California fishing license status

Ocean Enhancement Validation if required

Mexican permits or passport requirements if applicable

Fish cleaning is usually handled by the crew or landing for a fee. Bring cash. Bring a cooler for the ride home. Do not leave fish in a hot car unless your goal is divorce, raccoon activity, or both.

Rides, Carpools, and Hotels

I generally leave from South Lake Tahoe and travel along Highway 50. If you are directly on the way—or within roughly 10–20 minutes of the freeway—and I have room, I am usually happy to drive you to the landing and bring you home afterward.

The Subaru Ascent can comfortably carry four people including me, along with an unreasonable amount of fishing gear and my 150Q cooler for our catch. Four of us and all our equipment fit without a problem for the last Thunderbird trip. Rods travel in the roof-mounted ski and snowboard rack, reels stay protected in reel bags, and the remaining gear goes inside the vehicle. Consider the space you take up. Less is more.

A ride is never guaranteed. It depends on available space, your location, the trip schedule, and whether traveling with you sounds tolerable. Pack efficiently, be ready on time, contribute toward fuel when appropriate, and do not become an intrusive dork. If those standards are met, I am generally happy to have the company.

Hotels are uncommon and are mostly reserved for the night before a three-day San Diego trip. We may occasionally get a room before an overnight trip, but I can usually eat that drive without much trouble.

If I have a hotel room with extra space, you are welcome to share it. The conditions are simple: shut the fuck up when it is time to sleep, do not interfere with my rest, and allow me to get my money’s worth out of the room. I may or may not snore. You may or may not snore. Neither of us needs to discuss it. I do not particularly want to be aware of your presence, but I am perfectly happy for you to be present.

Tipping and Trip Costs

The trip price is not the full trip cost. Plan accordingly.

Budget for:

Boat fare, Crew tip (15-20% of ticket for the crew), Fish cleaning (overnight ~$30, 3 day ~2.2$/lb), Jackpot, Parking, Food

Drinks, Tackle, Licenses or permits, Travel costs

Ice, Post-trip bad decisions involving cheeseburgers

Tipping the crew is normal. They work hard, they help you catch fish, they clean the boat, they untangle disasters, and they do it while pretending they have not seen the same mistake 4,000 times.

Bring cash.

Private Club Note

Hobie & Friends Fishing Club is a private recreational fishing club. We coordinate trips, share planning information, help friends get on the water, and document reports for the group.

This is not a public charter service. This is not a guide service. This is not a commercial fishing operation. Nobody is promising fish, weather, comfort, success, enlightenment, or that your favorite jig will survive the trip.

Fishing is fishing. Boats move. Hooks are sharp. Fish are rude. Weather changes. Plans change. People get skunked. People get seasick. Sometimes the guy with the worst gear catches the jackpot fish and we all have to live with that.

Read the trip notes, ask questions early, bring the right stuff, and be cool.

D.B.A.A.