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.