Excel Six-Day Flyer

“We arrived at the destination at 0800,” wrote Excel skipper Shawn Steward September 17, “and saw good life around when we got there. After trolling we found right where we wanted to be and we anchored up and stayed there all day. We were able to keep two to five fish going all day and we had good variety along with good size on everything we caught. Yellow fin to 80 pounds, yellowtail from 15 to 30 pounds with a stand-out 55-pounder for Bay Nguyen he caught on a flylined sardine and 40-pound line. We also had some wahoo to 50 pounds in the mix as well. Day two we had awesome action on 50 to 110-pound yellowfin with one around 120 pounds.

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“The wahoo were really frisky in the morning along with the 18 to 30-pound yellowtail. In the afternoon we trolled around a little bit and picked up a handful of wahoo on the troll. We anchored up in the afternoon in a different area and as soon as we came tight on the anchor we had wahoo, yellowtail and tuna going and we picked steady until dark.

“There was better quality of tuna today with the average fish being 40 to 50 pounds and the stand out big ones. Day three we only fished the morning hours but we had a really good yellowtail bite in 20 to 30-pound yellows. There was also some yellowfin to 60 pounds and a few wahoo for our efforts. Our weather has been beautiful and we put together a beautiful catch of quality yellowfin, wahoo, and yellowtail and we have a lot of personal bests for our anglers.”

At Fisherman’s landing September 21, Nguyen’s big yellowtail turned the digital scales up to 55.9 pounds. He said he got it with a sardine and a two-ounce weight, with 40-pound line. Later, he stood in with the jackpot winners.

Barry Norton won first place for a 109.5-pound yellowfin tuna. He baited it with a sardine under the kite, on the boat’s kite rig.

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“It felt like forever,” he said of the fight. “It was at least 25 minutes. He had unbelievable power. It’s my biggest tuna.”

Gene Sullivan of Fresno was second for a 95.7-pound tuna, and Jay Clinger of Yuma was third, for a 91.1-pound yellowfin tuna.

Got A Head

“We got eleven big tuna and a head at Guadalupe,” was the way Sam Patella put it after docking the American Angler at Point Loma Sportfishing September 21. “We went to Cedros, Benitos and Guadalupe Island. The weather kept getting better.”

Rob Perry of Placentia was the first place winner, for an 81.5-pound tuna he bagged with a sardine on a 3/0 Mustad hook, with 40-pound Izorline on a Trinidad 40N reel and a Calstar 700M rod.

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Todd Phillips of San Pedro was second for a 61-pounder, and Anthony Griego of San Pedro was third, for a 60-pound Guadalupe Island yellowfin tuna.

Followed The Boat

Tim Ekstrom, writing aboard his Royal Star on a five-day fishing trip with his partner Randy Toussaint, told his version of a September 19 “…story of how we ultimately drove away from the crazed trophy class yellowtail because we had enough with every angler who wanted them boasting full limits; the spectacle of hundreds of big yellows carving giant caverns in the surface as they chased jigs and bait pouring over the side within inches of the hull; the amazing sight of these voracious gamesters actually chasing Royal Star as we pulled away, desperately seeking those last few unfortunate baits that were, until that point, safely hiding out beneath the hull.

“Yeah I know, pretty boring stuff. Beautiful, flat calm conditions, perfect fishing current with balmy afternoon sunshine. Big yellows plowing the surface to shreds while beaming anglers indulge in the pure joy of their hobby and passion.”

At Fisherman’s landing September 21, Chris Hendrickson of Mission Viejo won first place, for a 73-pound yellowfin.

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“It was about a 30-minute fight,” he said. “I managed to get him through the gauntlet of great white sharks. And I had the best yellowtail fishing I ever saw at Benitos.”

Hendrickson said he fished with a sardine on a 3/0 Mutu hook, with 40-pound P-Line, a Trinidad 30 reel and a Calstar 700M rod.

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Ed Martin of Newbury Park was second, for a 43-pound yellowfin, and Bob Hendrickson of Dallas TX was third, for a 39-pound yellowtail.

A Great Day

“Today was a great day of fishing” wrote Roy Rose aboard the Royal Polaris September 18. “We had limit-style fishing on 18 to 35-pound tuna, excellent action on grouper up to 60 pounds, outstanding yellowtail fishing, and we even caught a pargo and a wahoo. It just doesn’t get any better. The folks are all tired.”

When Roy docked at Fisherman’s Landing September 22 at the end of his six-day Accurate trip, chartermaster Leo Rheihsen said the adventure was “…action-packed with lots of fish on the iron mostly the yoyo.”

Scott Lee of Cerritos won first place for an 85.5-pound tuna. “He had me tacoed over for a while,” said Lee. “It was an hour-long fight. At first he was tail-wrapped, then he got unwrapped and to0ok off again.”

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Lee fished a sardine on a 3/0 Super Mutu hook, with 40-pound Izorline and 65-pound Spectra on a Trinidad 20 reel and a Calstar 860L rod.

Neal Cooke of Ft. Collins, CO was second, for a 61.9-pound tuna, and Miles Yamaguchi of Riverside was third, for a 59.2-pound yellowfin tuna.