By Paul Sweeney
Steven Schneblin of San Diego caught a 327-pound tuna on a ten-day trip, with a rig kindly supplied by Captain Patella of the American Angler, docked at Pt. Loma Sportfishing December 15.
Steven Schneblin stands next to his trophy on the American Angler.
“All kudos to Sam and the American Angler crew,” said Schneblin. “This was my third time on the boat, but the first with Sam. It won’t be the last. I brought all the wrong equipment, but they set me up with what I needed. This was the best trip I’ve ever been on; the passengers all worked together.
“Right before I hooked my fish, we’d been driving for hours. Captain Patella came over the speaker and said, ‘We’re going to do something crazy. I’m gonna anchor in shallow water, and we’ll give it an hour.’ Sure enough, I butt-hooked a small mackerel and I caught my big fish.”
Steven pinned the mackerel on a 6/0 Owner Ringed Super Mutu hook tied to 135-pound Izorline with Super Braided spectra Topshot. He used a Penn 50 N reel and a Custom Cal Star Rod from Blue Water Tackle in Solana Beach.
What a catch! American Angler shows off after their 10-day trip.
Mike Casey of Lakewood won second place for a 288-pound tuna that was “just a beast.” He said he fished a Mustad hook on 130-pound Izorline, with an Avet 50 reel and a 6465 XXH Calstar rod.
John Heil of San Diego won third place for a 283.5-pound tuna. He belly-hooked his bait on an 8/0 Eagle Hook circle hook tied to 130-pound Izorline. He fished with an Avet 50 W reel and a 7460 H Calstar rod.
“Aw man, the fight lasted an hour and a half,” said Heil. “I was a little too excited when I first hooked him but I eventually calmed down. I was getting crushed on this trip. It was just phenomenal; I had to pass two of these big fish off to others.”
The American Angler’s webmaster, Barry Gambarana of Las Vegas, got a 324-pound yellowfin on the kite using the “Double-Trouble” rig: two sardines on two 8/0 Eagle Claw 2004 forged hooks, ringed by Jim Kastorff. He fished with 135-pound blue Izorline with 135-pound Izor Spectra on an Accurate 50 reel and a 6465 Cal Star rod .
Skipper Sam Patella stands in with Barry Gambarana and his whopper 324-pound yellowfin.
“It was a thrill of a lifetime,” said Gambarana, “and it couldn’t have been done without the captain and crew. I was very fortunate.”
There were 13 tuna over 200 pounds, including the two “super cow” 300-pounders.
A Butt-Kicking
Mark “Mad Dog” Johnson of Belfair, Washington, caught a 297-pound tuna with the Royal Star’s boat gear.
“I’ve never had my butt kicked like that before.” said “Mad Dog” Johnson December 15 at Fisherman’s Landing. “I was up in the bridge with Tim when they erupted all around us. Big tuna jumpin’ like porpoise is a sight to see. My fish took an hour and a half, up and around the anchor many times. The crew did a great job helping me with that. My wife also got her best ever with a 148-pounder. This crew is excellent, I made good friends on this trip, and everyone was real personable. Hopefully, they’ll all come fish with me up north.”
"Mad Dog" used a sardine on a 9/0 Eagle Claw hook, 135-Izorline on a Penn 50 reel and a six-foot Cal Star rod.
Roger Nies of San Diego was second for a 292.5-pounder. He also caught a 234-pound tuna.
“The trip was great,” said Nies, “an ultra-limited load with only sixteen passengers. The weather was great, we only slapped around a couple nights. One morning, we were all hooked up on big fish, and I was on my 292.5-pound kite fish. I fought him for an hour, and it was back n’ forth, he kept running away, running out, and he took me around the bow twice.
“Well after I landed that fish, I spent the afternoon resting before deciding to throw another bait out, thinking this’ll be a bad idea I was so tired. I hooked up, but this fish was going to test my own homemade topshot, so I’m proud of this 234-pounder.”
Adam Rossi, of Oxnard was third, for a 272-pounder; he also caught a 224-pound tuna.
“They come in easy till they see the boat,” said Rossi, “then they go ballistic. This was a real relaxed group of guys, Tim (Ekstrom) is the greatest; he’s like a kid in Toyland when he sees these big fish!”
Q-105 Weighs 303-Pounder
Juan Cintron, of New York, took first place December 14 on a ten-day Qualifier 105 trip with skipper Brian Sims for his 303.4-pound yellowfin caught off Mag Bay. He said he fished with a mackerel baited on a 7/0 Super Mutu hook. He used 100-pound Izorline and 125-pound fluorocarbon backing on an Avet Baja reel on an unknown make of rod from Florida.
Qualifier 105 Jackpot Winners including Juan Cintron's 303.4-pound tuna
“The fight lasted over an hour and a half,” said Citron. “It kept doing these crazy dives after I’d get him up to the boat. This happened four or five times. I was going back and forth from low gear to high gear, just crankin’ and crankin’, saying to myself, ‘Here we go again!’”
“This is my first time long-range fishing,” added Cintron. “I’m from New York; I’m not used to this! I commend this boat and their crew. Everything was excellent, I can’t say anything more. The service out here compares in no way to the boats on the East Coast.”
Paul Berinson of Temecula got a 294.8-pound tuna for second place on a Penn 80 with 135 Big Game sardine Eagle Claw 8/0 in 35 minutes. Ken Kuhn of Moreno Valley took a 247.4-pound tuna, good for third place. He used a Penn 50W reel and 100-pound Big Game line.
“We had beautiful weather,” remarked skipper Sims, “that truly helped us on those big fish. The bite looks good; maybe it will last through February. We’ll be back out January 10, and we still have just a couple of spots left. If you want to go, call the Q-105 office at (619) 223-2786.”
