“Quality Still There”

The Hurricane Bank tuna have been biting since November, noted Excel skipper Shawn Steward February 28 after docking the rig.

“The outstanding quality is still there,” he said. There were 16 tuna in the catch over 200 pounds.

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“People are starting to figure out just how good this guy really is,” said Excel owner and long range pioneer Bill Poole. Not many weeks ago, Steward had a catch of 41 “cows,” the best ever.

The 17-day trip with 25 anglers was a Braid charter, and Dennis Braid was aboard. He scored the first catch of a big fish.

“Sardines and chunks were both good,” said Braid, “and midway through the trip we had a couple of sharks in the chum line, a couple of 500-pound threshers. They both bit on skipjack baits and were released.

“I spent three and a half days throwing Beta Baits (a Braid jig) to get skipjack. My first big bait on the first day got a 200-pounder. The last day we had great visuals on big yellowfin getting eight to 12 feet out of the water. Later, we had a great bite on fish up to 190 pounds. We put about 50 tuna on the boat and then we were plugged.”

Las Vegan Tom Howe, an Excel regular (and a man with a 300-pounder to his credit) got the trip’s best fish, a 246.2-pound tub that ate a skipjack on an 8/0 Mustad 7691 hook tied to 130-pound fluorocarbon leader. Howe fished with a 100-foot Basil wind-on leader and 130-pound Spectra backing on a Penn 80W reel and a Baja Boomer rod.

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“He fought real hard for two hours,” said Howe. “He took the bait and I gave him a five-count and set the hook, and he ran like hell. He took me around the boat twice. I tried to put the bridle on him and keep him in one spot, but he wouldn’t have it.”

Eric Rogger of LA won second place, for a 223-pounder. He fished a pair of sardines under the kite, on a 9/0 Super Mutu hook, with 80-pound Big Game line and 130-pound Spectra backing on a Penn 50SW reel and a 6455 XXH rod.

“He took me around the boat four times, and came up dead,” said Rogger, “in a cat’s cradle of the two leaders.”

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Dennis Braid of Palmdale won third place for a 220.7-pounder. He bagged it with a skipjack bait on a 16/0 Braid Tuna Hook on 130-pound Momoi line and 130-pound Power Pro Spectra backing, with a Penn 80 ST reel and a Braid 48 XHR rod, after a 15-minute fight.

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Joe Franke of Studio City reeled in a 218-pound tuna with a skipjack baited on a 9/0 Eagle Claw hook 100-pound Big Game line and 130-pound Spectra backing on a Tiagra 50 reel and a Calstar 665 XXXH rod. It was his best fish ever.

Dietmar Kruger of Santa Monica needed only 40 minutes to dispatch a 214-pounder that ate a brace of sardines under a balloon. He said he fished with an 8/0 Gorilla hook, 100-pound Big Game line and 130-pound Spectra on a Penn 70 reel and a Calstar 760H rod.

Wayne Noel of Lancaster nabbed a 214-pound yellowfin with a sardine on an E Brian Oberreuter of Oxnard decked a 207-pounder with a sardine on an 8/0 Eagle Claw hook, 80-pound Big Game line and 80-pound Spectra backing on a 4/0 Avet reel and a Baby Boomer rod.

Earl Lunceford of Cour d’Alene, ID got a 207-pounder with a sardine on a 9/0 Eagle Claw hook, with 100-pound Big Game line and 130-pound Spectra backing. He fished with a Penn 50 SW reel and a Calstar 7455 XXH rod.
agle Claw 9/0 hook, 100-pound Soft Steel Ultra line and 130-pound Spectra backing on a Penn 50S reel and a Calstar 760H rod. It was his best fish and came to gaff after an hour-long fight.

Brian Oberreuter of Oxnard decked a 207-pounder with a sardine on an 8/0 Eagle Claw hook, 80-pound Big Game line and 80-pound Spectra backing on a 4/0 Avet reel and a Baby Boomer rod.

Earl Lunceford of Cour d’Alene, ID got a 207-pounder with a sardine on a 9/0 Eagle Claw hook, with 100-pound Big Game line and 130-pound Spectra backing. He fished with a Penn 50 SW reel and a Calstar 7455 XXH rod.

Pat Osterman of Rancho Cucamonga took a 205.6-pounder in 35 minutes after it bit twin sardines on the kite. He fished with 9/0 Mustad circle hooks, 130-pound Soft Steel line, 130-pound Spectra backing on a Penn 50 SW reel and a Calstar 760H rod.

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Nick Benetatos of Apple Valley pulled in a 204.9-pound tuna after it took a pair of sardines on a 7/0 Super Mutu hook on 100-pound Big Game line and a130-pound Spectra backing on a TLD 50 reel and a five and a half-foot Hybrid rod.

Jim Eisscs of Cour d’ Alene, ID found a 204.9-pounder with a sardine on a 9/0 Super Mutu hook, 130-pound line and 130-pound Spectra on a Penn 50 SVW reel and a 6455 XH rod.

Peter Gammarano of Shoreline, WA took a 203-pounder with a sardine on an 8/0 circle hook, 100-pound Big Game line and 130-pound Spectra backing, a Penn 50 SW reel and a Baja Boomer rod.

100-Cow Herd

Andy Cates docked the Red Rooster III February 26 with a baker’s dozen yellowfin over 200 pounds. The “cows” put his boat’s count at 103 for a season with three more months to go; maybe the best ever, not only for the Rooster, but for the long range fleet.

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“If this was our slow trip for the year, that would be all right,” remarked Cates, who noted that all but one of his cow catchers was marking a personal first. He also said four seiners operating nearby sometimes made fishing tough:

“One guy set on us three times.”

The best bait was squid, said Cates, on big balloons after a long soak.

“Evenings were the best time,” he said, “but fish were around in the daytime before the current changed direction.”

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Izorline rep Tom Fujimoto of Fullerton had the best “cow,” a 256.3-pound yellowfin. He was recovering from illness at home, so Cates posed with his fish, which came on a squid and a 9/0 Mustad 7691 hook, 130-pound Izorline and 130-pound Izorline Spectra on a Penn 30 SW reel and a 6460 XXH rod. Fujimoto also had a tuna of 200.8 pounds.

Gene Coombs of San Mateo was second, for a 234-pounder he bagged with a squid on the kite. He said he fished a 9/0 7691 hook, 130-pound Izorline and 130-pound Spectra on a Penn 80 reel and the boat’s kite rig, a Calstar 760H rod.

“He kicked my behind,” said Coombs. “It was about a 40-minute fight.”

Bud Brittain of Santee took third place for a 228.2-pounder that sucked up his skipjack bait on a 9/0 Mustad 7691 hook. He fished 130-pound Izorline and 130-pound Spectra backing on an Accurate 50W reel and a Calstar 755 XH rod.

“It was sweet,” he said.

Paul Lepore of Dana Point got his second and third 200-pounders of his fishing career. One went 221.3 and the other weighed 211.8 pounds. He said he fished skipjack on 9/0 7691’s, 130-pound Izorline leader and 100-pound Ande mainline with 130-pound Spectra backing on an Accurate 50 reel and a Seeker 6463 XXXH rod.

“A great crew, boat and skipper,” remarked Lepore.

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Tom Jackson of Norwalk caught a 216 and a 218.4-pound tuna. He fished with sardines on 6/0 Eagle Claw hooks, with 100-pound Izorline and 130-pound Spectra backing, a Penn 30 SW reel and a Calstar 760 H rod.

Ernie Seko of LaPalma pulled in a 203 and a 217.7 pound yellowfin. He fished with squid on 9/0 Mustad hooks, 130-pound Izorline and 130-pound Spectra backing on a Penn 50 SW reel and a 6460 XH rod.

Sonny Cruz of Morgan Hill landed a 219.9-pound tuna on a skipjack pinned to a 9/0 7691 hook. He fished with 130-pound Izorline, 130-pound Spectra backing, a Tiagra 50 reel and a Calstar 7690H rod.

Rich Litsch of Santa Rosa took a 209.6-pounder with the boat’s kite rig, on a puffer bait.

Robert Oliver of Ripon bagged a 201-pounder with the boat’s kite rig. Hearing impaired, Oliver won the sportsmanship award for his efforts and attitude.

Jumbo Squid Posting

Brett Pauly, editor at ESPN Outdoors, asked me for an expanded piece on the jumbo squid that are still off the south coast. I gave it to him and the piece is posted at
http://espn.go.com/outdoors/tips/s/f_fea_squid_jumbo_CA05_B.Roecker.html if you’d like to have a look. If the link doesn’t work for you, try ESPNoutdoors.com and click on Fishing and then on Features to get to the expanded story.

Meanwhile, word is that the squid seem scarcer in waters near Oceanside, though they’re still biting very well at the Nine-Mile Bank off Point Loma, just a few miles south. Seaforth Landing reported 141 big squirts February 16, and on February 26 reported the squirts were still biting. Rooster skipper Andy Cates said they were showing at Cedros Island, too.

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“Do you think they’re heading south?” I asked P-Bod of Captain P-Bod’s Fishing tackle in Vista.

“Probably,” he said. “They were all the way up to San Francisco.”

Electra deckhand Nacho Camarena said a twilight trip February 15 found only a single squid.

“But the calico bass bit pretty good in the kelp that day,” he remarked, “because we had some small anchovies to chum. They went for it, and the sand bass, too.”

Local angler Chad Freeman told me the ocean temperature off Oceanside of over 60 degrees may be one reason the jumbo squid showed up here in the middle of a wet winter.

Excellent On Sardines

“Phenomenal fishing,” said Royal Polaris skipper Roy Rose at Fisherman’s Landing February 10 after a 20-day trip with 22 anglers. “We had excellent sardine fishing with lots of tuna showing. It was as good as it gets.”

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Frank Harbin of Chico won first place for a 246.2-pound tuna he caught with a “30-pound squid on the kite.” He said he fished with a 12/0 Mustad 7691 hook, 130-pound Izorline and 130-pound Spectra backing on a Penn 70 reel and a Calstar 760H rod.

Mike Brown of Redway was second, for a 229-pounder he bagged in 20 minutes with a flying fish on the kite. He said he used a 9/0 Eagle Claw hook, 130-pound Izorline and 130-pound Spectra backing on an Accurate 50W reel and a 660H rod.

Mike Donahue of Huntington Beach was third, for a 223.7-pounder that bit a mackerel under the kite. He pinned his bait on as 12/0 Mustad 7691 hook and 100-pound fluorocarbon leader with 130-pound Jerry Brown Spectra backing on a Penn 70 VS reel and a Baby Boomer rod.

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Claude Wussler wasn’t in the jackpot, but he popped a 226-pound tuna with a puffer under the kite. He used a 12/0 Mustad 7691 hook, 130-pound Izorline and 130-pound Spectra backing and a Tiagra 50 LRS reel and a Calstar 6460 XXH rod. The fish fought 45 minutes, he said.

Karl Fechner of Palos Verdes bagged a 220-pounder with squid and the kite. He said his hook was a 12/0 7691, his line was 130-pound Momoi and that he used 130-pound Spectra backing on a Penn 70 reel and a Calstar 760H rod.

Charlie Foquette of El Cajon got a 210.6-pounder. He fished a puffer on a 9/0 Mustad 7691 hook, 130-pound Momoi line and 130-pound Jerry Brown Spectra, as new Daiwa 50W reel and a Calstar T6 rod by M&M.

John Bradford of San Luis Opisbo found a 217.8-pounder. He put his sardine under a balloon, on a 6/0 Mustad hook, 130-pound Seaguar fluorocarbon leader and 130-pound Jerry Brown Spectra backing, on a Penn 50S reel and a Seeker 6460 XXH rod.

David Gould of Huntington Beach took a 209-pound tuna on a flying fish under the kite pinned on a 14/0 7691 hook, 130-pound Izorline and 130-pound Spectra backing. He fished a Penn 50 SW reel and a Spectra rod.

Maury Newton of Henderson, NV nabbed a 208-pound tuna with a squid under the kite, an 11/90 7691 hook, 130-pound Izorline and 130-pound Izorline Spectra backing on Penn 80 reel and a 6460 XXH rod.

Joe McBride caught a 206-pound Hurricane Bank yellowfin tuna.

Royal Polaris regular Vince Biondo took a 203.6-pounder with a sardine on a 4/0 Super Mutu hook , 80-pound fluorocarbon leader and 80-pound Jerry Brown Spectra with a Penn 20 reel and a 6465 XH rod.

Bob Wolfson didn’t get a cow this trip. He related bringing up a large tuna dead after it ate a puffer bait, and said another angler had the same experience. Some puffers are known to have poisonous roe, but tuna have been taking puffer baits for many years, and this is the first time this reporter has heard of such an event.

There were 11 “cows,” or 200-pound tuna on the trip. Royal Polaris will depart February 11 on a 22-day trip with a 14-day fly back option. The trip is sponsored by Accurate and owner-rep Jack Nilsen will be aboard with numerous reels for anglers to test.

About To Bite?

Yellowtail may be on the verge of staging the spring bite. Several boats have made good catches at the Coronados recently. The complicating factor may be the jumbo squid that have been present from San Francisco to Cabo over the past month. They may be leaving, according to local deckhands, and the yellows could then go on the bite.

Billy Casper Jr. reported fishing aboard the Mission Belle February 4, and his son Colin fished the boat the next day. Billy said he got the first fish of the day and then was shut out. Colin got two. All the fish came on yo-yoed jigs, said Billy, with scrambled eggs being the dominant color. He reported clean green water at 60 degrees, with fish showing at Pukey Point on North Island and also at The Middle Grounds.

New Video Samples

Visitors to the shopping section on this site, http://www.fishingvideos.com/shopping.htm, will find something new: Quick Time movies that sample the videos for sale. If you don’t have Quick Time, we’ve included a button for you to download it free, to see the montages or previews for seven of the DVDs on sale. They look very good, and will give viewers an idea of what being offered. More samples will be added soon.

Sorry, Mr. Kerr

An error was made in the last report, from the Red Rooster’s catch February 4. Glenn Kerr, who got his first cows on the trip, does in fact own Glenn’s Alignment Service, but his shop’s not in Orange, it’s in Costa Mesa. So if you’re looking for an alignment or some hot rod or restoration work, give him a call at (949) 631-2888. If you’d like to see a really nice ad, check out Glenn’s woody in the back of the new 2005 calendar.

A Baker’s Dozen

Looking toward spring fishing, Shawn Steward kept an eye out on the way home with the Excel from the Hurricane Bank.

“I saw good sign of yellowfin above Alijos Rocks,” said Shawn at the dock February 9, “and we hooked a small albacore, too, but he fell off the jig.” Steward reported 78-degree water on the bank the day he left, down a couple of degrees from the day he got there.

It was another very good trip, of 15 days, riding the boat both ways. “Of the 24 anglers aboard,” said Shawn, “there were 14 who got their best-ever tuna.”

One of those was jackpot winner Paul Nakama of Valencia, who won for a 249.6-pounder, and scored with another at 235.5 pounds. Paul said he fished with a sardine on a 4/0 Super Mutu hook on 100-pound Soft Steel Ultra line and 130-pound Spectra backing on a Penn 70 reel and a Calstar 6465 XXH rod.

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Chris Johnston of Simi Valley was second, for a 233.1-pounder; a tuna he got with squid under the kite, on a 10/0 ringed 7691 hook, 100-pound Big Game line and 130-pound Spectra backing on a Penn 50SW reel and a Boomer Jr. rod.

“He was a real squirrelly fish,” said Chris, “and my best to date.”

Harold Kinne of San Carlos was third, for a 227-pounder he picked up with a squid and the kite. He used the boat’s kite rig: 130-pound Soft Steel Ultra line and 130-pound Spectra backing on a 50SW reel and a Seeker 6465 XXH rod.

Fishing with her husband Harold, Lolita Newt of San Francisco got a little help from the crew to bag a 229.2-pound yellowfin. She got it with a mackerel on the kite, with 100-pound Big Game line, 130-pound Spectra backing on a Tiagra 50 reel and a Calstar 6455 XXH rod.

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“I loved it,” said Lolita. “I had fun and enjoyed everybody. I caught a big fish and it fought for two hours. Every time I got him in he took all the line back out. I hooked him when everybody was eating, at noon.”

Karl Forster of Thousand Oaks caught a 216-pound tuna with a sardine on a 7/0 Mustad circle hook, 100-pound P-Line and 130-pound Spectra backing on a Penn 50SW reel and a 6465 XXH rod.

“These were very tough,” said Karl, “some of the meanest fish I’ve ever seen.”

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Stan Evans of Napa had a nearly-identical brace at 205.5 and 205.7 pounds. He fished sardines on 4/0 Super Mutu hooks, with 80-pound Big Game line and 130-pound Spectra backing on a Penn 50SW reel and a Seeker 6465 XXH rod. It took an hour an a half, he said.

Mark Dorton of Woodland Hills got three, weighing 200, 203.6 and 207.8 pounds. He fished chunks, on a 9/0 Eagle Claw hook, with 100-pound Big Game line and 130-pound Jerry Brown hollow Spectra, with a Penn 30SW reel and a Calstar 6465 XXH rod.

Mark’s dad Carl Dorton of Tarzana pulled up his best fish ever, a 201.1-pound tuna he took with a sardine on a 4/0 Super Mutu hook130-pound Big Game line and 130-pounbd Spectra backing on a 50SW reel and a Seeker 6465 XXH rod.

Ray MacMillan of Mammoth got his first cow, a 207-pounder. He fished squid under the kite on a 10/0 Mustad 7691 hook, with 100-pound Big Game line and 130-pound Spectra backing, a Penn 50SW reel and a Murray Brothers rod.

The trip had 174 tuna over 100 pounds. Several anglers saw their best fish hang at 198 or 199 pounds; so close to a cow’s weight of 200. One was Dave Gedra of Mannassas, VA, who stopped me on the dock as he came off the Excel.

“I watched your videos before I went fishing, as a guide for improving my technique,” said the former San Diegan. “I got one just about 200 pounds and nine more over 100 pounds!”

“Choppy water,” summarized Steward on his catch report, “quality fish.”

Squidding 15 to 30-pound Humboldt or Jumbo Squid

The Santa Ana abated all day while we fished three to five miles off Oceanside aboard the Electra with skipper Justin Hassel on the Thursday ten to three half-day run. I was out there with cameraman Paul Sweeney to record the phenomenal run of squid that’s been the talk of the south coast for a couple of weeks. We left the harbor in 20-mile an hour gusts from the northeast.

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The wind made us drift too fast at times, maybe. But it wasn’t long after we started fishing in about 50 fathoms that Steve Mattison of Chula Vista hung the first squid, on a rental outfit. It took him about ten minutes of steady reeling to get the huffy squirt up to gaff, where deckhand Nacho Camarena did the honors. Over three feet long, it looked to weigh about 18 pounds.

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“We’ve seen ‘em a lot bigger,” said skipper Justin. “We’ve been getting some at night up to 50 pounds or more, and I’ve heard about some up to 80 pounds.”

We couldn’t get the anchor to hold there, so we moved on and tried drifting for the squid. Most were fishing with medium-size glow squid jig and a ten-ounce torpedo sinker, and several anglers had added trap hooks of one sort or another. At least a couple were hanging sardines on single trap hooks mounted aft. Some anglers were fishing with heavy iron jigs, and there a heavy weighted plastic swim bait in the array as well.

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When the wind died down we got a dozen or more big “squish” on one good drift. We hit the thousand-foot zone at the end, the skipper said. During previous days the boat had done 100 or more during the afternoon.

Skipper Justin came down to the bow early on, dropped over his custom jig, with half a dozen sets of wires along its foot and a half length, and hung a squid on the drop at about 80 feet. I got down there too, but no dice.

Squid this large can pull line off a reel against the drag pressure. I watched Corey Turpin of Irvine work up a light sweat on a squid big enough to eat a small dog. He fished with 60-pound line and a two speed reel. He liked the two-speed, he said, because it helped him put a strong, steady pressure on the squid. Later he won the jackpot for that critter of about 25 pounds. Heck, I don’t know; maybe it weighed 30 pounds. It was big.

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John Standefer of Carlsbad has been a regular on the Electra for many seasons, and he got his big squid on a heavy white iron jig. He posed with deckhand and gaffer Glenn French. Thomas Payne, a Marine at Camp Pendleton, hung one just about the moment I put a camera in his face, but it slipped off before he could get it to gaff.

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There wasn’t much life showing where we were fishing. The water was discolored a muddy green from the nearby river mouth. Not many birds were around, though I did see a trio of shearwaters pass by, and there was a whale sighting. Bright and sunny, it was a good day to be out on the water, looking at the white Gregornio peaks and San Jacinto and green Mt. Palomar in the powder blue distance.

It’s not usual to fish for jumbo squid in the daytime. They’re thicker than flies, said skipper Hassel, and he’s recently seen them come right up to squirt or jump out of the water. Twilight trips have been very successful, as you’d expect. How long they’ll stay is anyone’s guess, he says, but squid still seem to be building in numbers off Oceanside. He showed me how they show up on his fish finder; strings of little blue dots. They get a lot thicker than that, he said.

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Squid cleaning was performed by the deckhands on the way home. They skinned the beasts on both sides of the body fillets. The meat looks snowy white, clean as a whistle, and it tastes as good as it looks. The jumbo squid has a mild, pleasant and un-fishy flavor.
I like it pounded lightly, and quickly pan-fried after it’s breaded. Some fresh lime on the side, a little salt and pepper to suit your taste will finish it. Don’t overcook squid, or it can be hard to chew, as it will be if you don’t remove those membranes on each side of the meat.

20 Cows Arrive

Red Rooster III docked under John Grabowski’s hand at Lee Palm Sportfishers and H&M Landing February 4, after a fine trip to the Hurricane Bank of 15 days with 18 anglers.

“I’ve seen it this good before,” said Grabowski, “but not better. At times we had 10 or 12 going. So many big fish going so long makes it hard to keep up with ‘em.

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“Mostly it was a morning bite,” he continued, “and the best bait may have been chunks, though the kite worked well with squid or puffer baits. I’d say chunks were best for the big ones. They also bit on the balloon, used as a bobber with 100-pound line. The problem with that is it’s pulling back when the fish comes up to take the bait. We had 80-degree water and a Northwest current.

“”We also had some good winter fishing at Benitos, on yellowtail and calico bass out of the skiffs. We released all the calicos except for one meal.”

Rich Rose of Manhattan Beach had the hot hand, with four cows to his credit, including the jackpot winner, a 246-pounder, his best fish ever. He also had fish of 206 and 200.5, with another that was weighed at over 200 pounds that went missing from the scales area. He said he fished with 11/0 Mustad hooks, 130-pound Izorline and 130-pound Spectra backing on a Penn 50 SW reel and a Calstar 760 rod.

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Art Green, Newport CPA, was second, for a 224-pounder he bagged in a hour with a mackerel on a 16/0 Mustad hook, 130-pound Maxima line and 130-pound Spectra backing on an Accurate 80 reel and a seeker 6463 XXXXH rod.

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Fishing with his daughter Susan, Bob Michener of Oxnard won third place for a 218 and a 206.5-pound tuna. He fished a sardine on a Mustad circle hook in the 9/0 size, with 100-pound Izorline and 130-pound Spectra on an Accurate 50 reel and a Calstar 760M rod. He fought his fish for 45 minutes.

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Jay Robinson of Manhattan Beach and 976 TUNA had a 216 and a 200.1-pounder. He fished sardines on 5/0 Super Mutu ringed hooks on 80-pound Soft Steel line and a Sheets-modified Penn 20 reel and a Seeker 6463 XXXH rod.

Seeker rep Brian Porter got a tuna that Grabowski weighed at 202.2 pounds.

David Hull of Charlotte, NC got his first cow and his second. They weighed 206 and 210.6 pounds. He fished squid under the kite with the boat’s kite rig: 130-pound Izorline and 130-pound Spectra backing on an Accurate 80 reel and a “rail rod,” a Seeker 6463 XXXXH rod.

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Susan Michener of Oxnard had a 202.3 and a 200-pounder, caught with sardines on 10/0 Mustad hooks, with 100-pound Izorline on an Accurate 50 reel and a Calstar 760M rod. One of the fish was tougher, she said, since she had to get into the skiff on a less-than-placid ocean.

Ed Scheenstra had the best fish, a 258-pound yellowfin, but he got some help from second skipper Julio Ochoa and Chef Jorge Nicifore. The bait was squid, the hook a 12/0 Super Mutu, the line was 130-pound Izorline and 130-pound Spectra backing, his reel was an Accurate 50 and the rod a Seeker 6463 XXXXH. He also had a 211.7-pounder.

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Don Rolstad of Bonita took and hour and ten minutes to deck a 217.7-pounder; not a bad feat for a 77-year-old. His kited squid hung on a 12/0 Eagle Claw hook tied to 130-pound Izorline, 130-pound Spectra backing on a Penn 50 SW reel and a Calstar 655 XXH rod.

Roger Nichols of La Costa, a long-time Red Rooster rider, found a 215.4-pounder.

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Glenn Kerr of Fountain Valley (Glenn’s Auto Alignment in Orange) fished squid on the kite with a 10/0 Mustad 7691 hook on 130-pound P-Line and 130-pound Spectra backing on a Penn 70 reel and a GRUSA Trident rod, and took tuna of 230 and 208 pounds his first cows.

Three of the Rooster’s tuna weighed 199 pounds.

The next boats scheduled to arrive in San Diego with cow tuna are the Excel, on February 9, and the Royal Polaris, due at Fisherman’s Landing Thursday, February 10.

Glow In Dark

Danny Clark sent me an interesting article about glow in the dark paint on jigs and lures. At least one company has spent the time and money to research whether there is improved success with glow-painted jig, whether in the daylight or the dark. That’ll come as no surprise to long range anglers, who been catching large tuna on four to 12-ounce glow-painted iron jigs over the past half-dozen years. To read more about how it works, why fish respond to glow and how to paint your own jigs, take a look at the article at: glowinc.com/glow-in-the-dark/.

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If you like to fish the iron for tuna, you definitely should have some glow-painted jigs. Most manufacturers now offer the option. Tady and Salas and Sumo are among the makers who offer heavy, ready to use tuna jigs. Yellowtail are easily fooled by the same jigs, maybe in a lighter size than the one-pound version.

Oriental anglers also seem to favor glow-painted jigs in a heavy elongate form, up to a foot long and a pound in weight, probably because they jig for tuna at depths to 600 feet or more. Here’s a pair of glow jigs from Singapore.

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The top jig would have a pair of single hooks on the front end, hanging on the ends of a piece of Spectra line through the front eye; they would hang about halfway down the jig. The fishermen I watched did not use hooks on the other eyes. They felt they got most hookups off the front end, while cranking the jig up at a frantic speed. They caught a lot of yellowfin to 140 pounds during a night bite at Cleofas Bank.

Rooster’s Return

John Grabowski will dock the Red Rooster III Friday, February 4 with the rig’s fourth great catch of tuna this season. He made a recent report:

"Today's fishing was similar to yesterday,” he wrote January 25, “with a similar grade of fish. In today's catch we added five or six more tunas over 200lbs which brings our total to 14 to 16 (there are a couple right on the edge of 200 lbs). Not bad for a second day of fishing.
 
“We have been saving our holding space for the cream of the crop and not taking anything in under 100 lbs other than the 15 wahoo that were just too good to pass up. So our fish holds are still in good shape, waiting to be filled with quality tuna cows. As for weather, It rained pretty hard last night but everything has cleared up today and weather again is back to normal. Everyone is just loving it."

Gets His Chances

“Today was another great day of tuna fishing,” wrote Royal Polaris skipper Roy Rose February 1. “Weather is still a little choppy, and we had overcast skies all day. We kept 23 fish and released 13. The size was from 155-215lbs.”

The day before, Rose reported, “Today was another great day on the water. We only had to release one 140 lb tuna, the other 21 yellowfin tuna we kept were from 170 to 190  on the average, with only  one fish at 210. For those of you who are wondering how many we have over 200, we will let you know the exact number on the 10 of February, we have a lot  of fish that tape out 199 to 203. I will not count those until they are weighed back at the dock, trust me we are getting our chances.”

Halibut Derby Funds Over A Thousand Inner City Kids to Fishing Trips

by Larry Brown

It’s not the fishing or the catching. It’s the giggles at the slimy, wiggly baits, the screaming and laughter at the acrobatic gulls, the awe of the graceful pelicans and the total peace and tranquility of a half a day on the beautiful Pacific Ocean. Marina del Rey Anglers, a local club of recreational boaters and anglers, hosts over a thousand disadvantaged youths from the Los Angeles area each year to a magical day on the Betty-O, a local fishing boat out of Marina del Rey Sportfishing. This club of concerned citizens and philanthropists has been doing this now for 30 years. All of this is made possible through its annual fund raiser, the Marina del Rey Halibut Derby.

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The 31st Annual MDRA Halibut Derby will be held this year on April 2 & 3, 2005.
The Marina del Rey Halibut Derby is the oldest and largest fishing tournament on the West Coast of California. About 1000 anglers have participated in the event in each of the last 5 years.

MDRA club members hope this year’s halibut extravaganza will be bigger and better than all previous events. Over $65,000 of prizes and raffles may be awarded to lucky anglers participating in this event. All funds from entry fees will go to support the Marina Del Rey Anglers’ Youth Fishing Program and the club’s Ocean Resources Enhancement Program which has reared and released nearly 60,000 juvenile white sea bass into Santa Monica Bay since its founding in 1994.

If you are a fisherman do not miss this halibut extravaganza. You can enter as an individual and as a team. Teams may be comprised of two to four anglers. Entry fees are $75 for individuals and an additional $15 if you join a team. Sign up and pay at the Fred Hall Show MDRA Halibut Derby Booth or before March 23, and get a $10 discount. To add to the fun and excitement there will be a separate entry $20.00 Jackpot with cash going to the three anglers weighing in the heaviest “bag weights” based on the biggest halibut per day per angler for the 2 day tournament.

Entry fee in the Derby includes a barbecue dinner and a spectacular awards event at which over $65,000 worth of prizes will be distributed. The entry fee also includes a door prize raffle ticket for a chance to win one of hundreds of great prizes. Entry forms will be available at local tackle shops, on the internet at www.halibutderby.com and at the Fred Hall Show in Long Beach in the first week of March.

To make an individual donation to support the MDRA Youth Fishing Program please make a check payable to Marina del Rey Anglers and send it to, Marina del Rey Anglers, C/o MDRA Treasurer, 4230 Del Rey Ave.  #530, Marina del Rey, CA 90292.