Yellowtail & Wind

“We got our limits of wind again,” joked Independence skipper Jeff DeBuys September 14 after his four-day trip to Benitos and Guadalupe, “and we tried the open water on the way back for a few tuna, but it was pretty breezy.”

Guadalupe was a bust, with no current, he remarked. Benitos yellowtail swept the jackpot spots. Donald Mauk of Whittier won first place for a 35-pound yellow. He said he cranked it in after it bit a sardine on a 3/0 Mustad hook, with 25-pound Izorline on a Newell 322 reel and a Calstar 800 rod.

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Greg Edmonston of Fountain Valley was second, for a 29-pounder, and Bill Ellis of Long Beach won third place for a 26-pound yellowtail.

“I Got Older”

Andy Cates docked Red Rooster III September 14 after a four-day trip. His anglers had a catch of yellowtail and yellowfin tuna.

The best fish wasn’t entered in the jackpot. It was a 71-pound tuna caught by Richard Seaberry of Huntington Beach.

“He slammed it right off the back of the boat,” said Richard, “and then he took off. I realized I got older.”

Richard decked his fish some 45 minutes later. He posed in the honorable mention spot with the three jackpot winners.

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Joe Eller of Gig Harbor, WA, 14 and a student at Harbor Ridge Middle School, won first place for a 53-pound tuna. Joe said he’s a golfer and shoots trap. His fish came on a sardine, 2/0 Super Mutu hook, 40-pound clear Izorline on an Avet LX 40 reel and a Calstar 6465 rod.

Terry Farmen of Huntington Beach won second place for a 51.4-pound tuna, and Ray Daly of Whittier was third, for a 50.8-pound yellowfin tuna.

Kelp ‘O Flats

“He jumped around and then he went down like a tuna,” said Richard Rhinehart of Newport Beach September 14 at Point Loma Sportfishing of his 28.6-pound dorado. Richard won first place for his fish on a four-day trip with Mike Lackey, owner-skipper.

Rhinehart said he caught his big “flat” on a sardine and a 2/0 Mustad hook, with 30-pound Big Game line, a Torium 20 reel and a Sabre 660 rod.

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Michael Lage of Atlanta won second place for a 25.6-pound yellowtail, and Chris Bartleson of Santa Paula was third, for a 24-pound yellowtail.