Ep. 132: Offshore Overnight Talk with Verne Sweeney of Toronado Sportfishing

Guest: Verne Sweeney (Toronado Sportfishing)

Hosts: Daniel Dahlin ([FISH]rx), El Charly, Luke Dean (Bait Slingers / Artemis Charters)

Verne Sweeney has been fishing the Toronado since before he owned it — and now that he does, the overnight sportfishing trip conversation just got more useful. This episode covers what to actually bring on an overnight trip, how to think about the current SoCal offshore window, and why watching fish counts before you book is a habit worth dropping. The TOTW crew also announces their June 11–12 trip aboard the Toronado out of Pierpoint Landing in Long Beach.

In This Episode

• Why four rods in the 30–80 lb range covers nearly every scenario on a mixed overnight trip right now
• How to think about sinker weight when you don’t know the current — bring 1 oz torpedoes up to 16 oz and let the conditions tell you what to use
• The case for fluorocarbon over mono on every overnight setup, and why lighter leader gets more bites on calico
• Seasickness prevention done right: why Dramamine two days before the trip works better than taking it on the boat
• What the Toronado provides so you don’t have to haul it: pillows, blankets, and bunks with curtains
• Verne’s read on the June offshore window — calico crashing at the islands, yellowtail boiling, bluefin in the mix
• Why going off the numbers is the wrong way to pick a trip, and what the fish count from yesterday tells you about tomorrow
• Where soft plastics fit on an overnight trip when the bait situation is thin

What to Bring on an Overnight Sportfishing Trip

Verne’s gear breakdown for the current overnight sportfishing trip window is simple: four rods, 30 to 80 lb, and you’re covered. A 30, a 40, a 50, and an 80 handles calico on the rocks, yellowtail on a fly-lined bait, and the off chance something big shows up. As Verne put it, “I’d rather have it and not need it than need it and not have it.”

Sinkers are the thing people forget most. Verne runs 1 oz torpedoes up to 16 oz — flat calm days, a 6 oz gets 200 feet; certain current days, 16 oz doesn’t reach the bottom. Bring the range. For hooks, Verne’s anchor is a #20 — enough to hold on most species. Lighter hooks in the #1 or #2 range give a hot bait more action and hook up better when the bite is finicky.

On leader, Luke and Verne agree: fluorocarbon over mono every time. The refractive index of fluoro is close enough to water that it all but disappears subsurface, and that matters on pressured fish. For calico, as Luke noted, any fluoro works. When something bigger is on the table and budget allows, Seaguar Gold is Luke’s personal choice.

How to Handle Seasickness Before It Starts

This is one of those things that ruins trips for people who won’t admit they might need it. Daniel’s approach: start Dramamine two nights before the trip. The reasoning is practical. Dramamine (extended-release formula) is a 24-hour pill. Taking it two days out gets the drowsiness out of your system so you can function on the boat. By the time you’re at the dock, it’s already working.

The mistake Daniel describes is the one that gets people every time: eat a big dinner at the landing, take Dramamine on top of it, and within a few hours you’re in trouble. The other anchor tip came from Luke, who used to get seasick before training it out: “Why would you tow the line?” If there’s a chance, take the pill.

Verne added a practical upgrade to the Toronado setup that helps even without medication: two outdoor tables on the sun deck so you’re not stuck eating in the galley. Looking at the horizon instead of down at a plate makes a real difference when the boat is moving.

Don’t Watch the Numbers — Read the Window

Verne was direct on this one. Fish counts from yesterday are not a fishing forecast. The fish can be boiling around the boat at one island and completely absent from the same spot the next morning. The boat moves, the conditions change, the crew adapts. A 100-fish day on the count board means nothing about what’s happening when you get there.

The better frame is the window. The offshore window Verne described right now — calico crashing at the islands, yellowtail boiling, bluefin possible — is exactly the kind of thing you miss waiting for a better number on the count board. You can see yellows one day and nothing the next from the same spot. The crew is always reading wind apps, weather charts, and making decisions on the day.

Chris Lillis said something similar to Daniel when they first met: if you fish twice a week, you’re only going eight days a month. Realistically, four. You don’t have days to throw away waiting for the perfect number. Book the trip, bring the right gear, and let it play out.

Where Soft Plastics Fit on an Overnight

Verne mentioned one early-season trip on the Toronado where there was zero live bait on the boat. The crew went all soft plastics and had one of the better days of that stretch. Calico on hard bottom, yellows on surface, all on artificials. The deck hands put it best: it came down to who was throwing what and how they were working it.

The question the June 11–12 trip answers is whether the same baits that produce in the harbor — slugs, paddle tails, light heads — hold up when the species and depth change. El Charly is making his first overnight trip on that run, and the plan is to put [FISH]rx soft plastics to work across the depth range: rockfish on the bottom, calico on structure, and surface presentations if the conditions set up for tuna topwater. That’s worth paying attention to.

Why This Episode Matters

Most of the TOTW catalog lives in the inshore world: harbors, back bays, float tubes, kayaks, structure fishing for calico and spotties. This episode is a useful counterpoint. The overnight sportfishing trip is a different context with its own gear logic, its own conditions variables, and its own social layer — the shared boat, the deck hands, the overnight experience. Verne has fished the Toronado for years before buying it, which makes his gear and logistics breakdown credible in a way that a first-timer’s wouldn’t be.

The soft plastic angle is the thread that connects it back to [FISH]rx. The harbor angler who has been throwing slugs and paddle tails on a 1/4 oz head for spotties may not have considered what those same baits do on a slower-moving boat over deeper structure. This trip is a test of that in real conditions, with actual footage. That’s worth watching.

Watch the full episode on the Time On The Water YouTube channel. New episodes every Tuesday at 6 PM.