“Today started out slow with no fish around in the early morning," reported Excel Captain Justin Fleck May 12.

"Around 0800, we could see a large bird school with tuna and porpoise pushing a large bait ball around. After drifting for a few minutes we started hooking some heavy fish on fly lined sardines and a couple on rubber flyer's. The first few fish were in the 80 to 100-pound class and they just kept getting bigger all the way up to a 300-pounder that David Choate caught on a Braid Flyer on a helium balloon down wind. I wish everybody could have seen the boil it made--wow!

“Andy Marcum also caught his personal best, a 264 pounder. There were a few heartbreaks loosing big fish next to the boat. Didn't see much for the rest of the day until just before dark when got another school to stick. We hooked a dozen fish but were only able to land four of them. A big jag of brown sharks got on us and ate all the heavier tuna that soaked on the lines. Tomorrow we will stick to the same routine and try to capture some more trophies. The weather is really nice now and we will spend our last two days in this area.”

Bill Casper Jr. spoke with David Choate via sat phone May 12, and told Bill Roecker that Choate’s big fish taped at 297 to 300 pounds, and that Choate had some confidence it would make the mark because the taping was conservative.

Choate told Casper the fish “…blew up on the plastic flyer under a balloon, but missed, and then came back and got it.”

Casper thought Choate was using an Accurate 50 reel, with 130-pound Seaguar fluorocarbon and 130-pound Line One Spectra. He was unsure about the size or make of the hook.

Tuna At Alijos

Skipper Jeff DeBuys is running a week-long trip aboard Independence, the first regular run for the boat this new season. The latest posting May 12:

“Here is a quick report for the last few days. Yesterday we arrived at Alijos around 1330, and looked around trying various spots for some smaller tuna, as well as some medium grade yellowtail. The last spot was to be our best, as we had a good hit on a nice grade yellows just before dark. Last night we had a no show on the yellows. We anchored in a different spot for the morning, and were surprised to have decent action on medium grade, as well as 4 tuna from 40 to 70 lbs. The weather has been up a little bit, but I think it will subside soon. We are going to try this again tomorrow, please wish us luck.”

Royal Polaris Progress Report

“Saturday was a very busy day. We gave Roy and Billy the weekend off but the rest of the crew, plus 5 other guys that have worked with us in the past, were hard at work.

“Tom Dale (mechanic,) Greg Hibbs (electrician,) and a helper were busy hooking up two of the gear boxes to the outboard mains and will go in the boat. The center gear box and center engine is already in the boat and will be hooked up also. Gear boxes were painted white to match the new engines.

“Big D and four other men completed sanding on hull, then sandblasted where necessary, cleaned bare aluminum with Alodyne and Aluma-prep and then applied two coats of Strontium. That crew did not finish until midnight.

“Jesus, Anthony, Cole, Eddie and Aaron spent the entire day cleaning in the engine room. First scraping and scrubbing with solvent and then cleaning with big O. The same five guys will repeat the whole procedure on Sunday so that everything will be spotless.

“So far, this crew in the engine room has used: 15 gallons of solvent, 140 pounds of rags, lots of gloves and stainless steel scrubbers.

"It is a nasty job.

"We are slightly ahead of schedule.”

By Bill Roecker

Latest Word! According to Bill Casper, May 12, who posted the information on Bloodydecks and Allcoast, David Choate, rep for Accurate and Seeker, has landed a fish reported at 300-pounds caught on a Braid Flyer and a Seeker 6463 XXXX Black Steel "rail rod." More info to come.

Justin Fleck has his Excel crew out on the annual Big Fish Trip with Ralph “The Long Ranger” Mikkelsen. The trip began with the very good wahoo fishing that’s been the trademark lately at Hurricane Bank, and has now moved on inside to the waters offshore Clarion Island. The wind has been up for several days, but the Excel anglers are catching cows.

“Yesterday was tough for us with the weather increasing and no real sign of big fish," reported Fleck May 10. "What a difference a day makes! We were lucky enough to get on a school of straight big ones early in the morning just after it cracked gray. The school stuck with us for a while and we hooked eight heavies at the same time. We were able to land six of the eight; 191, 204, 218, 266, 288, and a 291-pounder. Big fish honors go to Big Al, The Fisherman's Pal with a giant 291-pounder he hooked on the Yummee Flyer. After we left that drift we were able to scratch another 15 fish from 40-125 pounds. Hopefully this wind backs off a little and gives us a chance to get on another school tomorrow.”

“We arrived at Clarion Island at 0730 this morning in very nice weather," read the Excel Report May 8. "After checking in with the camp, we headed out off the island to the buffer zone, which is 6 to 12 miles. Right off the bat we could see bird activity with a few breaking fish. The first fish that we hooked and landed was a 250-pound yellowfin caught by Curt Wiesenhutter. That’s a good sign!

"We were able to pick throughout the day and ended up with 18 tuna; three over 200 pounds and one that's right on the fence. Other big fish honors go to George Meigs and Marc Monforte, who tag-teamed a 240-pounder, and Larry Nelson, with a 228-pounder. We lost a couple cows right at the boat.”

Corp Warriors Rock ‘Cudas

By Paul Sweeney

Junior Perez wanted to do something special for his Marine Corps unit.

“We’ve gone golfing as a group,” Perez said, “but not everybody golfs. I’ve been trying to get a fishing charter going. Some of us don’t know anything about the ocean unless it involves a Naval ship.

“I started a thread asking for help on a Bloodydecks forum, and Bob (Kern) jumped right on it.”

“I challenged them on the forum board,” Bob proclaimed, “and we got a wonderful response, we raised 31 donations in cash.”

“It’s people like these who make us appreciate where we live and what we have,” Perez said. “I’ve been to the war three times already, and I’d go again for guys like these any day.”

Karl Smith of San Diego has been with Bloodydecks.com from the beginning and has been helping organize military trips every year. Karl and Bob met the group in the Seaforth parking lot early Friday morning May 9.

“We are eternally grateful for everyone of you,” Bob said to the 37 marines before boarding Sea Watch.

After loading fresh anchovies from Everingham Bait Co., we headed out.

Captain Bryan Winn spoke to the group over the speaker, “Two days ago, there wasn’t any fish. As of yesterday, there was a lot. Good Morning, good luck, we’re all counting on you. We’re going to start off by going where the fish were yesterday.”

Prizes were aplenty aboard the charter. Bob and Karl got together numerous sponsors, too many to name. “Grab bag” goodies included Mp3 players, Guy Harvey dress shirts, and camo trucker hats from Fisherman’s Landing and Seaforth. Everyone aboard the boat, including the crew was given a pair of Bloodydecks T-shirts.

Sea Watch cook Vinny Tobbarro had his hands full early morning. Vinny has been working the racket since 1967, and he’s seen it all. Serving 37 Marines breakfast put him into high gear, but he had no complaints.

“It was a rush,” he said after he got a break, “but the difference was like night and day. I know fisherman. They’re rude. They’ll come in barking orders from the moment they step on the boat. Not these guys though, they were polite and ordered one at a time. It was no sweat.”

After breakfast, Bob Kern spotted some birds off the port bow although he wasn’t sure. “My eyes aren’t so good anymore, I thought I saw birds.”

Second Captain Bob Williams quickly re-assured him with a head nod. “They’re there,” he said.

Unfortunately, the birds didn’t amount to anything. No other sea life was present.

“Hold up,” the skipper said over the speaker as crewman Matt Vilbas chummed small ‘chovies. “I don’t see any fish on it.”

“We’re gonna head south,” he told the anglers, “and anchor up at the kelp. Let’s wait for the sun to hit the water, warm it up a degree or two.

“I’m not joking, there was five miles of fish yesterday. They couldn’t have left that soon.”

Usually a big fish fight gets the initial screams of joy aboard a boat, but Joe Turchiano of Brooklyn, NY was the unfortunate reason this time. Being a good sport, Joe gave a little dance while he lost his breakfast over the starboard stern rail.

“I’ve done three days in the Philippines,” said Joe, “and five days in Thailand, and I never got sick. We were on high-speed vessels carrying a bunch of aircraft, this is different.”

In the wheelhouse, Skipper Winn already foresaw the day’s future. “It’ll be an afternoon bite, I bet. How could the barracuda be gone overnight? I swear there was a ton of them yesterday.”

We headed south to a kelp bed off “The Tanks,” where we saw a few calicos boil off the stern.

No bass were hooked, but Russell Sudweeks of Reno, Nevada snagged a couple of vermillion red rockfish. “They make great fish tacos,” he was told.

A few smaller sculpin were caught and released before we got word that bonito and barracuda were showing well back up the line.

“They’re flying out of the water,” the skipper said over the speaker. The anchor was raised and we were quickly under way.

“Full speed ahead!” yelled the marines.

Before long, we joined sport boats Premier and the Dolphin a couple miles off the coast, where we found biting barracuda, “stovepipes,” over 30-inches in length, causing havoc among the anglers.

“Follow your fish!” yelled the crew. A couple of tangles occurred, although not as many as would expect with 40 anglers, but when they did, they were quickly named “Group Fish!” amongst laughs.

“Alright we got some action!” Bob said. “These are some good-sized, healthy, slimy barracuda!”

The Sea Watch crew raced around the boat gaffing fish and giving instruction. “Keep ‘em right under the surface, don’t let them come out of the water or they’ll break off.”

Junior Perez had the hot stick; hooking four barracuda right off the bat. He used a spinning outfit with a blue and white Tady C iron. The Bay St. Louis, Mississippi native soon handed off the rest of his hooked fish.

“These schools are scattered,” Captain Winn said. “Not like yesterday. All right, guys, we got one last stop before we got to get out of here. We’re late as it is.”

The lone female Marine angler, Sandra Puberitz of Frankfurt, Germany bagged two ‘cudas on the boats last stop.

On the trek home, prizes were given out for biggest fish caught.

Jackpot winner Sikhan Chin of Biddeford, Maine landed the biggest ‘cuda of the day, estimated to be about eight pounds. He took home a Calstar bait rod, donated by Leon Todd, while second place winner Russell Sudweeks won a Seeker bait rod, donated by Seeker President Joe Pfister.

The pre-trip auction winner for a 10-foot Harnell blank, Bryan Herman of Murrieta, plans to get custom work done to help with future fundraising.

“I want to get an Avet custom reel on it,” said Herman on the ride back to Seaforth Landing. “I want to get everything red, white and blue. RandMadeRods is going to help out a lot. DocSki is going to do the weave. He’s the best in the industry. We’re going to do an American Flag with an eagle. It’s really going to be something special.

“We’re gonna bring it to the Fred Hall shows and help fundraise with all proceeds going back to this charter each year. I might take it fishing one time, but after that, it’s a wall hanger.”

We unloaded back at Seaforth Landing with smiles, hugs and handshakes aplenty. Bob Kern and Karl Smith were more than pleased with the day’s outcome. I told them they can book me for next year’s trip.

Additional thanks to Bloodydecks.com, Seeker Rods, Calstar Rods, Noah’s Tackle, Seaforth Landing and other sponsors for numerous prizes and gifts; and thanks to Sea Watch Captain Bryan Winn, Captain Bob Williams, crewmen Matt Vilbas and cook Vinny Tobbarro.

Most deserving of a thank you are our soldiers for their service. Hope to see you all again next year.

"Hello everyone," read Independence Skipper Jeff DeBuy's report May 10. "We are finally out on our first long-range trip of the season. We have been busy prepping the Independence for another fantastic season in which we departed yesterday on an eight-day trip. Our sponsor is Young’s Tackle and Jim's Custom Rods.

"We have a good load of bait, and have everyone rigged and ready for the trip. We didn’t see much in the way of fish sign in our travels today, but we will be at our destination tomorrow shortly after lunch.

"There were some great giveaways for all today as well, and everyone is looking forward to a fun time out on the water."

Coming Soon!

What’s next for FishingVideos.com? The new DVD release, “300-POUND TUNA: Clarion Island's BUFFER ZONE,” is just around the corner.

Bill Roecker's fishing for giant yellowfin tuna on Qualifier 105, in the Buffer Zone outside the marine reserve boundaries of the Revillagigedos Islands. Dolphins swim with schools of big tuna, tuna so big they’re a hard test for anglers and their gear. These big boys are hard to come by, and they bring celebration or heartbreak to those lucky enough to get a hookup.

There’s action here, tropical scenery, and the struggle between standup anglers and fish up to 300 pounds!

You can watch Bill Roecker's "300-POUND TUNA" in HD HERE or you can click below for a compressed version.



If you're like us, you'll enjoy the HD version that much more! Check it out!

“Over the next 4 weeks we plan on keeping you posted on the progress of Royal Polaris yearly maintenance.
 The big news, this year is we are installing three new main engines and two new generators, plus a complete refurbishing of the engine room.

“The engines are Cummins QSK19-M electronic with 600 hp each at 1800 rpm. 
They are turbocharged/low temperature (and) after-cooled.
 The new generator sets are John Deere 110kw units.

“Approximate cost of this maintenance period, including the new engines:

Main engines: $274,000.00
Generators: $58,000.00

Installation and refurbish Engine room: $85,000.00

Haul out, painting & General repairs: $55,000.00
Total: $472,000.00”

In addition to the re-power, the May 8 report listed “…painting the entire hull, painting outside bridge area, painting bottom, varnishing throughout boat, three new propellers, new fuel system, renewing entire engine room CO2 system, installing a new Furuno state of the art meter, installing all new gauges & displays in bridge replacing some Teak rail, repairs to ovens & burners in Galley, going through a long list of repairs and replacement of 
items in Staterooms & Heads, and repairs in fish wells to make RSW tanks more efficient.
”

American Angler's Ready to Go

"Well we are ready for our annual topside Coast Guard Inspection next week," reported American Angler May 1, "which means the 'Mighty AA' is all put back together and looking good!

"The upper deck got a complete make-over which includes the top of the Pilot house, where we added a few more tubes to store all of the loaner tackle, kite rods, big gear and of course, the long rods. Also, there were a lot of upgrades done on the boat which most likely nobody will see (like every year) down in the engine room. We went through the whole fuel system on our main engines fuel pumps, injectors, raw water pumps, raw water cooling, system and the normal 'TLC' we do every year.

"We have a few spots on some trips and I know everybody's gear is in order - so now's the time to throw your rods in the back of the truck and come fishing.

"We are looking at a cooler water year which indicates a Boomer of a Albacore year - hope I'm right."

By Bill Roecker

Roy Rose docked Frank LoPreste’s Royal Polaris May 7 at Fisherman’s Landing after a wonderful trip for wahoo, maybe the best of the season. The 15 anglers aboard had limits of the skinnies.

“They were thick on the bank,” said Rose. “It was excellent wahoo fishing. And we got eleven cows, including the big one.”

The big one was a 331-pound yellowfin bagged by David Fay, an independent key grip from LA. He also had a 206-pounder.

“My best before this was a 248,” noted Fay. “I’ve been doing these trips for five years. He bit on the slide on a mackerel. I had a lot of line out.

“This fish stayed on top almost the whole time, so I was mostly in high gear, because he kept coming at the boat. I wasn’t thinking of how big he was. We didn’t really know how big he was until Roy had them open the gate to bring him on. I never had a fish come through the gate before.

“They put him on the scales and started whooping and hollering. I may have lost a bigger one on the kite, on a double sardine rig. I got the tail and part of the spine of that fish back, after the sharks were done.”

Fay said he fished with a 9/0 Super Mutu hook, 130-pound Seaguar fluorocarbon and 130-pound Momoi line in front of 130-pound Line One Spectra, on an Avet 50 SDS reel and a Calstar 660 XXH rod. His best fish ever took 45 minutes to bring boatside.

Second place went to chartermaster Brandon Kreutel of SDLongRange.com. He got a 189-pound tuna.

Jerry Brown of Gold Hill, OR and Line One Spectra won third place for a 186-pounder.

He remarked on his limit of wahoo: “I got most trolling, on the orange and black Marauder. I don’t know why they like that color so much. It doesn’t look like anything in the water.”

Chico Leonard of Alpine got a 267-pounder on a pelagic puffer pinned on a 20/0 ringed Super Mutu hook. He fished with 130-pound Izorline and 130-pound Line One Spectra on a Tiagra 50 reel and a Calstar 760 H rod.

“I got the fish thanks to (deckhand) Dharyl Shelbourne,” said Chico.

“He coached me through it.”

Ken Pernell of Oregon got a 257 and a 215-pound tuna.

Jack Gruschus of Corrales, NM got a hat trick with tuna of 206, 207 and 214 pounds. He said he fished dual sardines on the balloon on the slide, with 6/0 ringed Super Mutu hooks. He used 130-pound Izorline and 130-pound Line One Spectra on an Accurate 50 W reel and a Seeker 6463 XXXXH rail rod.

“The big one stayed straight up and down in the stern corner,” said Jack. “He kept going from one corner to the other. I’ve never got a cow before, and this time I got three.”

Kathy Rounds of San Diego caught a 202-pounder. She fished the sardine “double trouble” rig under the kite, with a brace of 6/0 Super Mutu hooks. She used 130-pound Izorline and 130-pound Izor Spectra on an Accurate 50 reel and a Calstar 760 H rod.

“We go in for boat work now,” said skipper Roy Rose.

“You might mention that we’ll be doing some day and a half trips in June, and also a three-day in mid-July, so there may be a couple of spots open.”

“We’re putting in three new Cummins QSK 19 engines,” said owner Frank LoPreste, “and two new John Deere generators.

"Check our web site for pictures and the progress report.”

Wahoo Aplenty For Mikkelsen Special

"We arrived at the bank around 0700," reported Excel skipper Justin Fleck May 6, "and were welcomed with excellent wahoo fishing.

"It didn't take long to get the boat stopped. They were biting the bombs and jigs as good as I have ever seen it. We hit the century mark early and tried to anchor for tuna, but we never hooked one. In the afternoon, the wind increased from 10 to 30 knots which made it hard to drive around so we sat on the anchor for the rest of the day with a steady pick on skin.

"Tomorrow, we will give it until noon here at the bank and if there is no sign of tuna we will make a move to try and locate some."