Long Range fishing on the Top Gun 80

H&M Landing in San Diego is home to an impressive fleet of long range boats that operate year-round. Photos and story by Shea McIntee.

Recenty I had the opportunity to jump on board the Top Gun 80 with Captain/Owner, Bob Taft and Captain Scott Hart. After checking in at the front office anglers make their way down the dock to the boat.

Two 825 hp Caterpillar diesel engines power the Top Gun 80 to speeds up to 20 knots, making her one of the fastest vessels in the fleet. Her newly constructed fiberglass hull provides a fast and safe ride.

After boarding the boat and checking into your estate room, the first thing you want to do is to line up your rods in the holders on the side of the boat. If you show up early you can usually place your rods in the best spot near the back deck. This saves you from having to walk all the way up the rail to switch rigs.

When it comes to offshore trips you never know what type of pelagic species you will encounter. Always bring back up rods and reels when traveling offshore. Most anglers will bring 4-8 rod and reel set-ups that cover a wide range of scenarios. 20lb, 30lb, 40lb, and 50lb rigs will work well in just about any situation.

After leaving the dock the next stop is the bait receiver. The Top Gun 80 holds 300 scoops of bait. In this shot you can see the seiner on the left that catches the bait before it is unloaded into the bait pens.

Healthy, properly cured bait is key to a successful long range trip. Here we see lively sardines in the bait pen prior to being loaded into the boat's live wells.

While the deckhands and captain rounded up bait for the trip outside, inside the galley Scott Hart called a meeting with anglers to discuss the game plan for the upcoming 5 day trip.

Before you reach the fishing zone you will always want to test out your gear. Making sure your drags are set correctly will be critical to your success in the coming days.

West Coast anglers often wrap their fingers with tape around the areas where fingers touch lines and hooks. This method of taping really saves your fingers from getting line cuts and blisters during days when the fish are really biting.

During long range trips it's necessary to bring a large variety of hooks in every size. As bait size differs from trip to trip, having different size hooks allows you to match the right hook to whatever size bait you are using.

Top anglers use Fluorocarbon line. Despite costing more than monofilament, this type of line is very tough for fish to see and results in more bites.

When fishing offshore you should always bring some jigs in case the captain tells you the fish are biting the iron. Anglers who know how to use the surface and heavy iron can sometimes out fish the guys using bait. These jigs resemble the bait found in the area- sardines, mackerel, anchovies, and squid.

The bait tank is a very popular spot on the boat. This is where you come to hook on your live sardine or squid.

Everyone has their own way to hook a sardine. This particular sardine is being hooked in the shoulders. This is a very popular way to hook the bait when the fish get finicky. Most fish are attacking the bait from below, so having the hook on top of the bait makes it hard for the fish to see the hook.

Here we see a sardine hooked in the nose- another very effective presentation.

Hooking the sardine in the butt. Notice the hook placement under the 2 small pelvic fins on the sardine.

Live squid is always a great bait for pelagics on the west coast.

Hooking a squid for bait.

When it comes to spotting fish height matters. Here we see Scott Hart in the crows nest. You can see for miles from up there.

Captain and crew get on the scopes and scan the horizon for floating debris, kelps, birds, and dolphins. Any sign of life can bring you that much closer to the fish.

Here's a photo of a great looking kelp patty. These floating kelps act as hotels for bait fish which in turn attract the bigger pelagics that gather to feed on the residents.

As the boat comes to a slow roll anglers cast around the kelp with live sardines hoping for a bite.

When the fish rush the boat everyone that has a bait in the water is going to get bit. After you get hooked up it's critical to stay in front of your fish. No angles no tangles!

This angler is hooked up to a nice yellowtail as Scott Hart readies the gaff.

You always know when you have a Dorado hooked up. Not only do they love to jump, they are incredibly colorful in the water.

A nice Dorado coming up over the rail.

An angry Yellowfin Tuna getting the gaff.

Here's another shot of a Yellowfin Tuna coming over the rail.

A nice grade of Yellowfin Tuna. This size of fish will put your light tackle rig to the test.

Dorado are always fun to catch.

Here's an angler with a nice yellowtail. Notice the guy in the background is hooked up too!

An angler takes a break from the action and shows off his Bluefin Tuna. These aren't the giants you encounter on the east coast but are still fun to catch and are great eating.

Here are the fish tags that deckhands rip off and staple onto the fish. Every angler is assigned a number at the beginning of the trip. Every time a fish is caught it is tagged by the deckhand in order to identify which angler caught it.

Fantastic sunsets are almost guaranteed on a long-range trip.

Captain and crew kick back after a long day of fishing. When guys are smiling it's usually a sign that the boat had a great day of fishing.

Meals are included on long range trips which makes it really easy for you to have fun and concentrate on fishing.

Just one of the great lunches served aboard the Top Gun 80.

When the fishing trip is over the deckhands take the fish out of cold storage and pile them into carts. The carts are pushed up to the top of the ramp where they are sorted.

When the fish are offloaded from the carts the anglers help out by placing fish in a pile around a numbered cone that corresponds to the tag number on the fish.

This is what the end of an offshore fishing trip looks like. If you think you have a jackpot fish the captain will call out "jackpot" and anglers who have a big fish go to the scales and battle it out for the money. If you win the jackpot it's customary to give the majority back to the crew. These guys work their butts off to make sure anglers go home happy. If you ever get the chance to go on a long range fishing trip it could be one of the most memorable experiences of your life!