“Open the Gate!”

Brian Sims docked the Qualifier 105 March 20 after a good trip to the Hurricane Bank. “Harvey the Hook” Segal, a regular angler and former commercial fisherman, summarized the action.

“We stopped at Alijos Rocks and found some small tuna there in 68-degree water, but no bait. At the Hurricane, we had a steady pick,” said Harvey. “Most of the anglers aboard had their personal best fish on this trip.

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“There were plenty of sharks, but the tuna bit on heavy leaders and long soaks, so everybody got their chance. We had honeymoon weather, even on the way back up the line. There wasn’t a drop of spray on the windshield.”

John Gleason of Temecula won first place for a 245.1-pound yellowfin tuna. He said he bagged it with a sardine on a 4/0 ringed Super Mutu hook, with 100-pound Izorline and 130-pound Spectra backing on a Cal Sheets-treated Penn 50T reel and a Seeker 6460 XXH rod by Smitty G.

“It fought for 50 minutes,” said Gleason. “He went up to the bow and fought straight up and down, took a big dive, and then went to the back end, where he got tangled in the line and came up tail-wrapped.”

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“I had a bigger one on earlier,” continued Gleason, “and it took me around the boat three times before it broke the line off at the splice on the dome under the boat. When I got this one in, it took four gaffs, and the skipper yelled to open the gate!”

Tim Sanderson of Branscomb was second, for a 219.4-pounder. He said it took a sardine on a 4/0 Super Mutu ringed hook, with 100-pound Soft Steel Ultra line and 130-pound Spectra backing on a Shimano 30W reel and an 870 XH rod.

Phil Lisi of Costa Mesa was third, for a 218.4-pounderthat bit a sardine on a 9/0 Eagle Claw hook tied to 100-pound P-Line and 130-pound Spectra backing on a Tiagra 30 reel and a Calstar 760M rod.

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Jim Kirk of Huntington Beach got a 214-pounder with a sardine on a 5/0 Gorilla hook, with 80-pound Big Game line and 130-pound Spectra backing on a Tiagra 30W reel and a 760M rod.

George Konstantinopolous of Fairfield bagged a brace: a 205 and a 200-pounder. The big one came on a sardine on a 7/0 Gamakatsu hook, 100-pound Big Game line and 130-pound Spectra backing on a Tiagra 50 reel and a Loomis five and a half-foot Hybrid rod.
The smaller fish came on the boat’s kite rig and a flying fish.

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Bob “Santa Claus” Harris of San Diego got his first cow, a tuna of 202.6 pounds, on the kite with a flying fish. The boat’s rig had a 6/0 Eagle Claw circle hook, 100-pound line a 130-pound Spectra on an Accurate 50 reel.

Last Day Skins

Andy Cates docked Red Rooster III March 19 with 15 more cow tuna aboard, bringing his total for the season to 118. With one more trip into southern waters this season (in May), Cates has set a new record for his boat that may last for years. Between now and that next trip, the Rooster will be in for boat work, getting a new tackle box rack, and possibly some fish hold expansion.

“The water was 79 degrees on the Hurricane Bank,” said Cates. “We spent nine days on the bank. It was slower, but the guys still had a lot of chances for a cow. One day we only had a dozen fish, but five were cows. On the last day we picked up 50 fresh wahoo.”

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Mike Yamamoto of Hemet bagged a brace of big tuna; a 229.6-pounder and a 219.7-pounder. The big one took first place in the jackpot. He said he got it with a sardine on a 6/0 Super Mutu hook with a ring. He fished 100-pound Jin Kai line, 130-pound Spectra backing on a Penn 50 SW reel and a Calstar 6455 XXH rod, and that the fish beat him up for two hours.

“He just wouldn’t come in,” said Yamamoto, “so I had to get into the skiff. Then we picked him up in a half-hour, but he knocked the skiff around pretty good when we gaffed him.”

Alan Eto of LA was second, for a 228.5-pound tuna he brought to gaff in 45 minutes. He fished his cow with a chunk bait on a 14/0 Mustad circle hook, with 130-pound Izorline and 130-pound Spectra backing on a Penn 30 reel and a 6455 XXH rod.

“I was amazed that he came up with no shark bites,” said Eto, referring to the numerous sharks in the area. The sharks made fishing pretty tough on some days, said other anglers.

Musician Carl Newton of LA was third, for a 227.9-pound yellowfin. Carl has kindly provided music for a couple of OP videos shot on the Rooster (“Longfin & Yellowtail” and “50-50 Tuna”). He said he was grateful to the Rooster’s crew.

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“We had four going on the bow at once,” he remarked, “but the crew was fine; we got them all in.”

Norm Woodruff of Torrance found a 232 and a 204-pounder. He fished flying fish on the kite with the boat’s kite rig: 130-pound Izorline and 130-pound Spectra, an Accurate 50 reel and a Calstar 760 XXH rod. The smaller fish was baited with a sardine.

Beth Smith got a big 254-pound bluefin last summer, and took her best yellowfin ever on this trip; a 223.7-pounder. She got it on the kite, with the boat’s rig.

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Ralph Hughes of San Diego fished up a 219.9-pounder in 45 minutes, on a squid under the kite. It was his best fish ever, and bit on a 9/0 7691 hook, 130-pound Izorline and 130-pound Spectra backing. He fished a Penn 50 VSW reel and a Calstar 760 XXH rod.

Herve Gehin of France had already flown home, so wasn’t present to see his 216.5-pounder weighed.

Bill Kuehl of Poway also bagged a brace: a 215 and a 202-pounder. He said he fished flying fish on the kite, with 12/) Mustad 7691 hooks, 130-pound Jin Kai line and 130-pound Spectra backing, a Tiagra 50 reel and a and a Seeker Black Steel 655 XXH rod.

Gerry Miller of Los Alamitos nabbed a 210-pounder. He got it in 25 minutes, after it ate a chunk on a 4/0 Mustad hook, tied to 130-pound Izorline and 130-pound Spectra backing on a Penn 70 reel and a 655 XXH rod.

John Loftus of Irvine got a 206.6-pound tuna with a sardine on a 4/0 ringed Super Mutu hook, 130-pound fluorocarbon leader, 130-pound Izorline and 130-pound Spectra backing, a Tiagra 50 reel and a 6465 XH rod.

Allen Lemberg of San Diego used 45 minutes to beat a 205-pound tuna. He said it bit a sardine on an Eagle Claw 5/0 hook, tied to 60-pound Big Game line and 130-pound Spectra backing on a Penn 70 reel and a Seeker 6455 XXH rod.

Bill Wirth of Bonsall caught a 202-pounder on a sardine and a 6/0 Mustad hook, with 130-pound Jin Kai line and 130-pound Spectra backing on a Tiagra 50 LRS reel 6455 XXH rod. The fight went 30 minutes, he said.

“Except for one windy day,” said skipper Cates, “we had really nice weather. But I looked at an awful lot of clear blue water along the beach on the way home. Where’s the green water and all the bait we associate with that? I don’t know what to think about the spring fishing.”

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Angler Gery Grimaud gave the Red Rooster III a hand carved “whipping post,” a device for splicing mono and Spectra or for tying knots. Sarah Martin of the Rooster’s office showed the new acquisition.

More On Squish

Biologist Dr. John Seals was a guest on Pete Gray’s Let’s Talk Hookup show Saturday, March 19. His specialty is bottom fish, but he said he had an interest in squid and had talked with some experts in the field.

The squid off the south coast have been here before, he noted, during the 1930’s, when they were apparently about as common as they have been this year. He said they were more commonly found in deep water out side the continental shelf, but noted they seem to do well in the shallower water where they now reside.

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Looking inside the stomachs of squid recently, scientists have found rockfish, lantern fish, other squid and anchovies. The big squirts can get up to about 100 pounds in their one to two-year life spans, Seals said, and they may stay here for two years or more.

They’re Back!

Those big, scary, 10 to 60-pound squid, missing from Oceanside waters for the past three weeks, seem to have returned with a vengeance. From Oceanside to Seaforth Sportfishing on Mission Bay, squidders are bagging two to ten of the beasts per trip, even in the daylight hours. Electra Skipper Joe Helgren called me at 8:15 the evening of March 7.

“We started fishing at 7:30,” said Joe, “and we’ve already got over a hundred on the boat. We’re about five miles from the harbor, on a twilight trip from six to 11 o’clock.

“I’ve never seen ’em this thick before,” remarked Helgren, “and they came right up. They came up close enough to free-gaff. It looks like they might be around for a while.”

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What it means to the spring fishing is anybody’s guess. Some skippers have reported seeing nothing but barren rock piles where there used to be plentiful spots of rockfish along the nearshore bottom.

Some anglers, like Fish Trap’s Barry Brightenburg, are reporting (in Ed Zeralski’s Union-Tribune outdoors column March 15) “…a ton of life out there, with acres and acres of anchovies and squid.”

Dan Hart of Hook Line & Sinker reported plenty of mackerel in the kelp.

Fishing Tape Blowout

Oceanic Productions is getting rid of its entire tape inventory, by selling all VHS tapes for $10 each! Internet Special good as long as stocks last. Titles will be removed from the shopping cart list as they sell out. Call (760) 941-2029 during business hours if you want to confirm a particular title. CA sales tax and shipping are not included in the blowout price, and must be added for shipment.
See the tapes at http://www.fishingvideos.com/shopping.htm
All Standup Fishing Series VHS tapes $10 each, until they’re gone!

Coming Soon

In the next few weeks Bill Roecker will release new titles on DVD, including “White Sharks & Tuna,” about fishing for yellowtail at the San Benitos Islands and yellowfin tuna at Guadalupe Island, where white sharks may compete with the angler for the catch.

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Some remarkable up close footage of big sharks boat side in sunshine make this a very different Standup Fishing Series video.

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“Los Frailes Adventure” will also be released, featuring huge amberjack and scrappy roosterfish. These battles were taped at Baja’s East Cape, aboard super pangas operating from John Ireland’s Rancho Leonero. Take your wife fishing!

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The Cates Report

“Conditions changed a little here today,” wrote Andy Cates aboard Red Rooster III at Hurricane Bank March 11, “but we still managed to scratch out a decent day. Big fish today went to Carl Newton a 236. Mike Yamamoto had a 218 and Ralph Hughes got a 202-pounder. Skipjack and the chunk were the big fish baits today. We had an evening hit that gave us 22 tuna for the day. The rest of the fish were 100 to 190 pounds; caught by Mike Ashford on a sardine.”

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The next day Cates wrote, “A nice showing today on the bigger fish. Mike Yamamoto caught a 221-pounder, Norm Woodruff with a 220-pounder. John Loftus took a 230 pounder, Allan Lemberg got a 201-pounder and Ross Wheeler was close with a 199- pounder. We started to release fish this evening and have room for one more big fish tomorrow. Hopefully a little wahoo shows up tomorrow to squeeze in the gaps.”

On the last day of fishing, about 50 wahoo were caught before the boat had to depart for Cabo San Lucas. Andy Cates will dock the Red Rooster III at H&M Landing and Lee Palm Sportfishers Saturday, March 19, before offloading his catch of “cow” tuna.

“A Lively Fish”

Clipperton Atoll was the scene of the latest big tuna expedition for Frank LoPreste and his Royal Polaris anglers on a 19-day Accurate open charter that returned to Fisherman’s Landing March 5 with 15 “cow” tuna of over 200 pounds.

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“Although we caught good fish in several spots we were also successful in some other new areas,” wrote skipper LoPreste February 28.  “I find Clipperton to be more and more challenging and am finding more areas to try.  The biggest plus is that we seem to be solving our bait problems.  Our last 4 trips to Clipperton have seen our passengers able to use several types of baits.” (Anglers said they were greeted upon boarding at Puerto Vallarta with a load of live local caballito and Mag Bay mackerel baits.)

The biggest tuna, a 247.8-pound slugger, came to chartermaster Jack Nilsen; his lifetime best yellowfin.

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“He was a lively fish,” said Jack. “I lost a big one earlier in the trip when the hook pulled. I was fishing with a 6/0 Super Mutu, so I went to an 8/0 and when I got to the tank there weren’t any caballito, so I put on a sardine that deckhand Jesus picked out for me.

“I’d been picked about five times then by porpoise, and when the tuna bit I could tell it was a fish by the way it ran. There was a marked difference between the bites. He took me around the boat twice. He pulled like a ton.

“After a half-hour we went into the skiff,” continued Jack, “we got him in another 30 minutes, and I had my best fish ever. The previous best was a 223-pounder, and I got a 213 on that big Sumo 15 jig another time.”

Nilsen said he fished 100-pound clear Izorline in a tippet of 100 feet, tied to 80-pound Spectra on an Accurate 30 reel and a Calstar TSS rod.

“We had very good results with the kite combination of a Calstar 7465 rod and the Accurate 80 reel,” he added. Nilsen is an owner and the chief field-tester for his company in Corona. He also produces parts for jetliners. He brought 59 rod and reel combos on the trip, ready to fish, for use by the anglers aboard.

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Robert Ramirez of Costa Mesa won second place for a 233.9-pounder. He said he fished a chunk on a 16/0 Mustad circle hook, with 100-pound Izorline and 130-pound Spectra backing on a Penn 50 reel and a Calstar 765H rod.

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Gary Lacroix of Torrance was third, for a 233.5-pound tuna he bagged with a caballito (a small jack) on a 7/0 Gorilla hook, with 130-pound Izorline and 130-pound Spectra on a Tiagra 30 SW reel and a Calstar 7465 rod.

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“I got him in about 20 minutes,” said Lacroix, “on the second night, about nine p.m. He’s my best tuna.”

Brad Snyder of La Jolla caught a 223.4-pounder. He wasn’t at the weighing.

Roger Hawtree of Hawaii bagged a brace: 223.3 and 217 pounds. He fished chunks, he said, on 8/0 Mustad 7691 hooks, with 100-pound Izorline and 130-pound Spectra backing on a Penn 50 SW reel and a 765 H rod.

Larry Eilbott of St. Louis, MO had his first pair of cows at 214 and 200.2 pounds. Larry wrote the daily reports posted on the RP’s web site. He fished sardines on 6/0 Super Mutu hooks, with 100-pound Izorline and 130-pound Spectra backing. He fished with an Accurate 50 W reel and a 765H rod.

Frosty Johnson of Torrance popped a 213-pounder in 20 minutes, after the fish ate a mackerel on a 7/0 Mustad 7691 hook tied to 130-pound Izorline and 130-pound Spectra backing. He fished with an Accurate 50 reel and a 765H rod.

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Frosty barely beat out his wife Gayle, who got her cow; a 212.9-pounder. The three-tenths of a pound difference was the source of banter between the pair. Gayle said she fished a mackerel on a 7/0 Eagle Claw circle hook, on 100-pound Izorline and 130-pound Spectra backing on an Accurate 50 reel and a 765H rod.

David Berutich of Laguna Hills scored a 211.3 and a 205.4-pounder with rainbow runners on the kite. He fished with 14/0 Super Mutu hooks, he said, on 130-pound Izorline and 130-pound Spectra backing on an Accurate 50 SW and a Calstar765 H rod.

Karl Khoe of San Diego decked a 207.9-pound tuna after a 45-minute scrap. His best fish ever came on a chunk and a 9/0 Super Mutu hook, with 130-pound Jin Kai and 130-pound Spectra on an Accurate 50W reel and a 765H rod.

Brian Buddel of BerkeleyHawaiiHH
trolled up a cow, a 205-pounder, on a Dorado-colored Marauder.

“Yes!” Susan Langdale of San Clemente was ecstatic when her tuna moved the digital scales to 200.4 pounds. “I was hoping to break 150!”

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Susan said she fished a caballito on an 8/0 Super Mutu hook, with 100-pound Izorline and 130-pound Spectra backing on a Penn 30 reel and a Calstar 765 ML rod.

Fast Fixit Man

When was the last time you walked into a shop to get something like your broken eyeglasses fixed, and the owner took the item and repaired it in ten minutes, giving it back cleaned and straightened? And for five or ten bucks? I know the experience to be true because I’ve been there more than once. If you live near North County, you can find this remarkable repairman at Hot Shots Eyeglass Repair on Carlsbad Village Dr. His name is Bill Stevenson, he’s a fisherman and owner of a 20-foot skiff. Hot Shots’ business number is (760) 720-9115.

Wahoo, Tuna Video

Oceanic Productions has released a new 56-minute DVD titled, “50-50 Tuna” about fishing on the southern banks taped last November. Skipper Andy Cates and chartermaster Jack Nilsen take a group of anglers on a special eight-day fly back trip (11 days on the boat) to Cabo San Lucas via some fall tuna fishing on the 50-50 Bank. The tuna are on porpoise; the crew says to use 100-pound line. They brail live bait and 50 to 200-pound fish foam in the chum!

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See how to hook, fight and bring ‘em to gaff, after big tuna and wahoo are found under birds, on whales or near kelps. Red Rooster III skipper Cates offers advice while he chases speeding, ripping tuna! Get it from your local salt water tackle shop or from http://www.fishingvideos.com/shopping.htm and see why these harvest-time tuna trips are so much fun.

The Big Show

A four-hour tour of the Long Beach Fishing Show on opening day started with a drive north from Oceanside under clear blue skies. At Irvine the skies turned dark under a squall line and by the time we reached the end of the Long Beach Freeway and the Convention Center it was raining and cold. Inside, the place was cooking.

The crowd looked larger than usual for the first hours, but as dinner time approached it thinned a bit, possibly because of the horrendous traffic outside in the light rain. Spirits were high under the bright lights inside, though, and hundreds of businessmen and vendors were gabbing, gesticulating and keeping busy at the biggest show on the west coast.

AFTCO’s Bill Shedd showed me pictures of an estimated 1200-pound black marlin getting tagged after Guy Harvey swam down and attached an additional swivel to the fish so it could be controlled for the tagging. The fish looked big enough to swallow a man.

Guy Harvey and outdoorsman Bill Boyce were nearby, at Boyce’s big photo booth. All the long range boats were represented. New private boats, resort reps and jerky booths were thicker than flies in August.

There was far too much going on in the big building to report it all. Pete Gray and his Let’s Talk Hookup booth were a familiar, mid-floor sight. Somebody had a big salmon on ice and white seabass swam in the salt water tank.

John Grindley of Catchy Tackle showed me a new paint scheme of blue and white for the Sea Strike 33 line of jigs.

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“This is our new Zebra Series,” he said, “and each jig gets a different paint scheme; no two are alike. We brought the blue and white first, next we’ll bring out the scrambled eggs color. We’ll bring out four new wahoo colors this summer.”

Artist David Wirth told me he had a new job as host of a new show related to fishing art, and showed me some of his new wood carvings and bronzes. He had a huge wooden thresher shark on display, carved, like his other works, from a single piece of wood.

“It’s a work in progress,” he said.

Joe Pfister of Seeker Rods introduced me to owner James R. Parrish of Enid, OK.

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“We’ve upgraded the Black Steel series of rods to gold titanium nitrate guides,” Pfister told me, “and now we’re silver soldering over the guides to make them stronger and to seal them off to prevent corrosion.”

At the Owner booth, Dennis Yamamoto had an interesting concept currently for sale: ringed hooks in the Flyliner series complete with 36-inch fluorocarbon leaders ending in a ring to attach the mainline. The leaders are sized to the hooks: the 1/0 version had 25-pound fluorocarbon and came in a UV-protected clear package of five.

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To some anglers this may seem like the height of laziness. Others may find it an idea whose time has come. A package of leadered, ringed hooks might be handy when you don’t want to spend time looking for parts because the fish are biting right now.

Royal Polaris will be at Fisherman’s Landing the morning of March 5, packing a good load of big tuna from Clipperton Atoll. Accurate’s Jack Nilsen may have the big tuna, around 250 pounds. The scales will tell the story, and it should be posted here the same day.