By Bill Roecker

Fishing aboard Steve Drogin’s 60-foot Mikkelson yacht Destiny with Dan Walsh and two other anglers, Paul Sweeney and I spent a pleasant day on the water July 30. We left the Kona Kai the night before and motored down to an area of kelps off Punta Banda, and then slowly worked our way back toward the Coronados. I say slowly because we trolled our way back. Without live bait (due to an apparent impeller failure), trolling was our remaining option. The boat was like new, solid and quiet, with the right stuff in the salon, galley and on the bridge. Skipper Julie Jordan and deckhand Doug Wagner put us on some fish, earning our thanks.

Trolling worked very well, though, and it seemed we had a strike of some sort every few minutes. We hung a lot of different jigs back in the wake through the day, but the king jig, as it has been since I brought one aboard the Excel many years ago on a trip with Russ Izor, Carl Newell and other manufacturers, was the cedar plug, in natural wood finish. The cedar plug took the most fish and the best fish, as noted by trip organizer Dan Walsh, who cooked the pizzas listed here:

The Day’s Catch

11 pizzas
6 passengers
2 crew (Skipper Julie Jordan and deckhand Doug Wagner)
2 Yellowfin tuna
1 Bluefin tuna
14 Dorado, 6 released
5 Yellowtail, all released
1 Albacore (honkin' size)

.

“A cedar plug,” wrote Dan, “attached to my Accurate 30 reel and Seeker Black Steel rod, accounted for all tuna, the biggest dorado, and several of the other also-rans! All anglers that wanted a chance to reel in a fish on this rig had that opportunity, as it almost became a habit for this rig to get the fish today!”

Let it be known that Dan is now a cedar plug advocate. When he tried one the first thing in the morning he was skeptical, but no more.

The Zucker’s broomtail in zucchini color was another trolling jig produced some good fish. I tried to get a fish by dropping an anchovy-colored plastic bait back on the slide, but got no bites. I ate very well, however, and took a lot of still pictures. Sweeney got a few shots, too, and manned the Sony EX1 full high definition television camera.

We saw a few marlin jumping in the distance on our way north, but not much in the way of feeding birds or fish. The fish seemed spread evenly at both ends of our fishing journey. The yellowfin and the single bluefin were associated with kelps near the southern end, and the albacore bit less than 15 miles from the Coronados, south-southwest from the islands. Without bait or chum we couldn’t bring the schools to the boat or keep them around, so after each fish we just moved on.

Judging by what I saw out there, this is the peak of the summer season, with tropicals like dorado and yellowfin coming up the line, and some albacore still around, though they may be beginning to move toward the north and west, their usual exit route. I’d be reluctant to predict the albacore leaving right now, though, since the water on both ends of our trip was close to 70 degrees. We saw 68 degrees on the southern end and 71 near the islands, where the albacore blessed us; so it might be wrong to draw inference from that.

It was a very nice day to be on the water, thanks to owner Steve Drogin. Thanks to Dan Walsh, too, for getting the whole thing together and for cooking his signature pizzas. If you haven’t been out on the water yet, you might want to do it pretty soon, while the kelps are holding fish and the migration is on. There are a lot of small yellowtail and dorado on the kelps. Please release those. It just doesn’t make sense to kill next year’s fish.

By Bill Roecker

Tommy Rothery docked his Polaris Supreme at Fisherman’s Landing July 31 after an open-party trip of five days with 23 anglers. Rothery was enthusiastic about both the quality and the quantity of fish he encountered at the islands and on kelps.

Several youngsters were aboard, and they enjoyed catching and releasing yellowtail and dorado, while keeping a few of the larger models to take home. Some of them posed with their catch at the scales.

“We released an awful lot of fish,” said Tommy.

Matt Herrington of Huntington Beach won the jackpot for a 36.6-pound yellowtail that fell for his sardine on a Mustad 91450 hook in the 2/0 size. He said he fished with 40-pound Seaguar fluorocarbon leader, 40-pound P-Line, a Trinidad 40 reel and a Calstar six and a half-foot rod.

Scott Oberg of El Centro won second place for a 32-pound yellowtail. Steve Algrim of Long Beach took third place for a 26.2-pound yellowtail, and the trip posed at the head of the dock.

Big Fish Picture

“Bill,
I know it is too little too late, but I wanted to send you a picture of the yellowtail that I caught while on the Royal Star. I talked too you on the morning of 7/28/08 when the Royal Star returned to the docks.

"Unfortunately I just received the picture of my fish today, but I at least wanted to share the picture with you. I also wanted to thank you for the calendar and the great work you do on your website.”

Dan McClure (by email July 30, 2008)

By Bill Roecker

“We spent the last two days looking offshore for tuna, yellows, and dorado,” wrote Excel skipper Justin Fleck July 28.

“We spent the majority of Sunday spotting kelps in absolute gorgeous weather. Kelps were plentiful and easy to spot and just about every single one was full of yellowtail and dorado. Some of the yellows we were pulling off were upwards of 30lbs. Definitely a good day of fishing. Since we were pretty much loaded up on yellows and dorado we focused our entire efforts looking for tuna yesterday. We saw plenty of sign of yellowfin, bluefin, and longfin but they just didn’t bite as well as we hoped for. We did get one hit on fatso albacore with a few bluefin that wanted to bite, but again, not the banner day we were looking for.”

Justin docked the boat at Fisherman’s Landing July 29, having finished up at 27 miles on the Sogioka-Stires five-day trip with 30 anglers.

Greg Shimizu of Irvine won the jackpot for a 38-pound yellowtail. He took it with a sardine on a 4/0 Mustad hook, 40-pound Seaguar fluorocarbon leader, 40-pound Izorline, an Avet LX 6-3 reel and a Calstar 700 L rod.

Mike Young of Westchester won second place for a 36.2-pound albacore. Norm Sogioka took third for his 34.8-pound yellowtail. Standing in with the winners were Marcus Cohen of Erie, CO with a 32.4-pound bluefin and Dan Robinson of Alhambra with a 24.5-pound dorado.

Five-Day Angler Trip

Sam Patella brought American Angler in to Pt. Loma Sportfishing July 29 after the Ken’s Custom Reels trip with 28 passengers.

“We have had a great trip on Yellows and Mahi,” he wrote July 28, “the only thing we were lacking were tuna fish. Nothing like waiting until the 9th inning to pull a Rabbit out of our Hat. We finally got on some Albacore and a mix of BFTS late in the day to finish off just a wonderful trip with a fabulous group of guys. We landed 40 this afternoon.”

Chris Slaughter of San Diego won first place for a 37.6-pound yellowtail. He was unsure of his tackle, but thought he used a mackerel bait. Chris Demcak of San Diego tied him with a 37.6-pounder that bit on a Salas 7X jig he hand-painted.

Zeke Harloff of Oceanside got third place for a 36.2-pound yellowtail. Lee Ann Sisson of Carlsbad stood in with the winners holding her 35.4-pound albacore.

Bluefin Jim Charter

Andy Cates docked Red Rooster III July 29 after a four-day trip with 31 anglers.

“Another good day of offshore kelp fishing,” he reported July 28, “with a mix of yellowtail, Dorado and a sprinkle of Yellowfin tuna. Things do seem to be developing with a little more tuna being caught on the kelps and an occasional hit by the lucky boat. Hopefully things continue to progress. The weather has been great the whole trip and looks to be good for another day.”

At the office next morning, he said, “We had a good scratch on kelp paddies, and some slow fishing at Guadalupe Island with some bigger fish. We went up to the North End before we left there and got some good yellowtail.”

Scott Peterson of Las Vegas won first place for a 55.5-pound yellowfin tuna. He said it bit a sardine on a 3/0 Gamakatsu hook tied to 40-pound Offshore line on a Quantum Bluewater reel and a Bluewater rod.

“He fried my reel,” said Peterson.

Andy Beldy of Las Vegas was second for a 30.6-pound yellowtail. Barrett Howarth of Newport Beach and Pelagic offshore clothing won third place for a 29.8-pound yellow he bagged with a Salas 6X Jr. jig in scrambled egg color and a Whopper Stopper rod.

Coastside Fishing Club

Joe Crisci docked Qualifier 105 at Pt. Loma Sportfishing July 29 after a five-day charter with 18 anglers.

“Today we spent the day fishing our way home,” he wrote July 28.

“We found some beautiful kelp loaded with bright blue and geen dorado. The fishing was wide open and at times it seemed like a good idea to make cups, pads, and face masks a requirement to prevent the dorado from smacking us silly. The grease flat weather continued and made for ideal conditions.”

Tom Tealdi of San Mateo won first place for a 35-pound yellowtail. He said it bit a sardine on a 2/0 circle hook and 30-pound P-Line. He used a Trinidad 40 reel and a Seeker 6470 Black Steel rod.

Chartermaster Ben Sleeter of El Granada swept second and third places. He got a 29.6-pound yellowtail and a dorado of the same weight.

New Accurate B-2 30 Reel

Some new Accurate reels are nearing the end of their developmental stage and may see a release to the marketplace sooner rather than later.

A prototype of one of the new reels, the B-2 30, is out on the American Angler today with pro-staffer Gary Teraoka, who showed it to Bill Roecker as he was waiting to board the boat.

The new series comes in an International size, but without the pre-set mechanism on the handle side that is common to the Platinum series. There will be more information on the new series as it becomes available. The selling price of the new reels will be less than the Platinum reels.

On another note, Dan Walsh of Carlsbad recently bought some micro-mini-sized Internationals, some sort of promotional items, on EBay as gifts.

They are not made by Accurate, according to owner Jack Nilsen. They are tiny, “working” models with no practical value, but remarkable in their size and appearance.

By Bill Roecker

“This morning,” wrote Royal Star skipper Brian Sims July 27, “we started up looking for albacore. Just about the time everyone figured it was going to be a slow day, the fish came up. We had a good stop where just about everyone on the boat had one on. A couple of other short stops included a few small bluefin. Then just as quickly as it started the fish went down. In the afternoon we chased small spots of breaking fish. Albacore, yellowfin and bluefin were in the spots, but refused to bite. At dark we called it a trip and started for home.”

Sims docked at Fisherman’s Landing July 28 following the five-day Phillips Steel/Wood Group trip.

“We had beautiful weather,” he said, “and some good kelps on the first day. We found better yellowtail at the island, where we got yellowfin to 40 pounds and yellowtail to 45 pounds. On that last day we got 22 albacore.”

Dan McLure Jr. of Beaumont won the jackpot for his 45.8-pound yellowtail. He said he got it with a sardine on a 5/0 Mustad hook, 30-pound Seaguar fluorocarbon leader and 30-pound Big Game line. He fished with an Avet LX 6-3 reel and a Talus seven-foot rod and brought the fish to gaff in ten minutes.

George Green of San Clemente posed with his second-place yellowtail, a 39.2-pounder, also caught on a ‘dine. John Vinchi of Norco won third place for a 39-pound albacore.

Flash Fishing Finds Tuna

Norm Kagawa docked his Shogun at Fisherman’s Landing July 28 after the Flash Fishing charter of six days with 29 anglers.

“Guadalupe Island had its exciting moments,” said the boat’s report for July 26, “but the day was a little slow as a whole. We had some action on yellowfin tuna of 30 to 40 pounds, with a few fish lost that may have gone to 70 pounds. When it’s a slow bite with bigger tuna boiling around the boat, resist the temptation to go in with the 25# gear, its just a recipe for disappointment. There was a fair bite on good-sized yellowtail throughout the day as well. Late in the day Norman moved the boat up the island and we had a great bite on the smaller 15-20# yellows. Before the anchor line was tight there were hook ups all across the stern. For a while it was all hands on deck, including the cooks, gaffing and sorting out the lines.”

Edward Rasovsky of Pleasanton got an 86-pound broomtail grouper on a flylined sardine and 50-pound line. Groundfish are ineligible for jackpot money on the boat.

Jeff Bruel of Hercules won first place for a 43-pound yellowfin tuna, caught on a sardine and a 3/0 ringed Super Mutu hook. He used 30-pound Seaguar fluorocarbon leader50-pound Power Pro Spectra, and Avet SX reel and a seven-foot Cal Custom Tackle rod.

Dave Ritter of San Lorenzo won second place for a 34-pound yellowtail. Jeremy Kanga of Martinez got third place for a 33.6-pound yellowfin tuna.

“We got four white seabass at Cedros Island,” remarked Kagawa, “and the big grouper. At Guadalupe we saw some mako sharks and caught one on a Marauder. We did not see any white sharks there. The water on the South End was 70 to 72 degrees. We also caught and released a marlin of about 200 pounds.”

Win Not Required For Picture

This note arrived over the weekend:

“Hello Mr. Roecker,

I would like to commend you for including Dr. Sakamoto's non-jackpot fish in the photo of your latest Long Range Report. I have won several jackpots in the past, but around 2000, I decided not to enter any more in the future because I don't like fishing for money and just enjoy fishing for fishing's sake. Sometimes I see "ringers" who enter jackpots, especially on half-day boats, and take money from rookies. Entering a jackpot is purely optional and not entering one should not take away from a nice fish. Thanks again!” Chuck Knutson by e-mail (Angler with 57 years of experience; started at Age 5)

By Bill Roecker

“On the way back from Guadalupe Island I stopped on a spot of albacore at 150 miles,” said Intrepid skipper Kevin Osborne after a five-day Fred Bowden charter July 27. “We saw them on the way down, too. This time they bit and we caught some peanut-size albies there.”

That would be good news to most albacore anglers, who have recently feared “the change” of seasons was coming on and albacore might be migrating out of the area. The sighting would seem to indicate otherwise, that albacore should still be available for some time yet.

“Then we saw a pod of killer whales,” continued Osborne, “and there were five of them; two big ones and three smaller whales. While we were stopped to watch, a huge school of white-sided porpoise came in from the west and the killers just sunk out. In a few minutes, 500 porpoise all jumped out of the water at once. The killer whales went through the school and got a bunch of porpoise. I saw one adult run down a porpoise and take it back to the young. Nobody on the boat had ever seen anything like it.”

Osborne docked Intrepid at Pt. Loma Sportfishing and weighed his catch. Albacore caught the afternoon before won the jackpot, taken during an afternoon bite only 50-odd miles from San Diego, which is more good news. The water was 70 degrees.

Todd Bowden of Monrovia, son of the chartermaster, won first place for a 37.4-pound albie. He said he bagged it with a sardine on a 2/0 ringed Super Mutu hook, 30-pound Seaguar fluorocarbon leader and 30-pound line. He used an Accurate 870 reel and a seven-foot Truline rod.

Ryan Stoddard of Jamul won second place for a 33.8-pound albacore, and Paul Suter of Sedalia, CO got third place for a 32.6-pound yellowtail.

Good Vag Four-Day

Mike Lackey docked his Vagabond at Pt. Loma Sportfishing July 27 after a four-day trip.

“We did all right,” he said, “we got just enough fish.”

Scott Stoyan of Kettle Falls, WA won first place for a 39.6-pound albacore. He said he caught it on a sardine and a 3/0 Gamakatsu hook. He fished with 30-pound P-Line fluorocarbon and 30-pound Izorline on a Saltiga 30 reel and a Seeker JB 65 rod.

Larry King of Apple Valley won second place. He got a 38.6-pound albacore. Mike David of Glendale took third place for a 36.6-pound albie. Collin Evans of San Diego had the trip’s best dorado, 29.4-pound “flathead.”

Searcher Finds Some Mossbacks

Art Taylor docked his Searcher at Fisherman’s Landing July 27 following a five-day trip that visited Cedros Island. Some big yellowtail were taken there, including the first one caught, by Joe Dunn, 88 and a San Diego icon, the former owner of the Champ.

Matt Rohrs of Placentia got first place for his personal best yellowtail, a 49.8-pounder.

He said he fooled it with a Salas 7X jig in green sardine swirl color. He used Izorline XXX line on a Torium 20 reel and a Calstar 800H rod to do the job in ten minutes.

Jack Simplicio of Redondo Beach won second place for a 33.2-pound yellowtail, and Matt Gilchrist of Long Beach took third place for a 36.6-pound yellowtail.

They were joined by an angler with a nice dorado who left before giving his name.

By Bill Roecker

A five-day Hi’s Tackle Box adventure ended July 25, when Billy Santiago Jr. docked Royal Polaris. He tied up at Fisherman’s Landing and his 31 anglers stepped off, then Billy weighed some of the big fish.

“We saw lots of albacore and bluefin,” said chartermaster Jonah Li, “but they weren’t biting very well. There’s lots of floating kelp paddies with good yellowtail underneath. We had nice weather and a good crew, so it was an enjoyable trip.”

John Medler of Naperville, IL won second place for a 33-pound albacore. He posed with Ray Kawabata of Seattle, WA, who had a nice 27.6-pound yellowtail.

Indy Takes Five

Mark Pisano and his partner Paul Strasser docked their Independence at Pt. Loma Sportfishing July 25 after a five-day trip. Like most, they fished at Cedros Island and offshore.

The island cranked out a few monstrous yellowtail. Jeff Caliva of Loma Linda found the biggest one with a sardine on a 5/0 Mustad 94151 hook. He used 50-pound Izorline on a Trinidad 30 reel and a six and a half-foot Calstar rod.

Paul Burrows of La Canada won second place for a 45.2-pound yellow, and Jeff Bear of San Diego bagged a 39.2-pound yellowtail for third place.

Paddies Produce Prodigiously

Red Rooster III docked under Andy Cates’ hand July 25. Cates tied up at H&M Landing after the four-day Mahoney charter and then weighed the fish his 31 anglers brought to the certified scales.

“We fished offshore on the first and last days,” said Andy, “and on kelps the second day. Fishing under the weeds was good.”

Frank Riley of Alamo won first place for a 31.7-pound bluefin. He said he got it with a sardine on a 3/0 hook, 30-pound Izorline, a Penn 3/0 reel and a seven-foot Ugly Stick.

Sal Fernandez of Phoenix was second for a 27.4-pound albacore and Kevin Faber was right on his tail with a 27.3-pounder, good for third place. Tom Lorenzo of Oceanside won the trolling jackpot for a 29.6-pound yellowfin tuna, and stood in with the winners for a lineup shot.

By Bill Roecker

A five-day Sport Chalet charter with 24 anglers returned aboard American Angler to Pt. Loma Sportfishing July 24. Skipper Patella was optimistic about seeing an improved albacore bite.

“Stand by,” he said, “the albies may float soon.”

Leland Blankenship of Watsonville won first place for a 35.6-pound albacore. He said he bagged it with a sardine on a 2/0 Mustad hook tied to 30-pound Seaguar fluorocarbon leader and 30-pound P-Line. He used a Daiwa Sealine 40 reel and a Seeker 6460 Black Steel rod.

Regular angler Tom Szczeblowski of Yorba Linda won second place for a 34.6-pound yellowtail he got in the shallows of Cedros Island on 30-pound line. Mike Caballero of El Monte won third place for a 34.8-pound yellow. He fished with his dad Art, another boat regular.

Braid Trip Finds W/O Forktails

Chartermistress Jan Howard had some on the dock remarks about her Braid charter with 31 anglers aboard the Excel after returning to Fisherman’s Landing July 24. We fished offshore the first day for albacore,” she said. “I got a couple for the galley.”

“The second day we fished a Cedros, at Augustine,” she continued, “but the seals were very bad there. We went down below to the bays and found some wide-open yellowtail fishing. On our last day we fished offshore again and got 41 albies at 100 to 135 miles.”

Mike Lerner of LA won first place for a 37-pound albacore. He said he took it with a sardine on a 1/0 Flyliner hook, 30-pound Blackwater fluorocarbon and 65-pound Blackwater Spectra backing on a Trinidad 30 reel and a Calstar 700 M rod.

Sid Gee of St. Louis, MO won second place for a 32-pound yellowtail, and Chris Revives of Manteca won third place for a 28.4-pound yellow.

Rod & Reelers Score

Skipper Joe Crisci docked the Qualifier 105 at Pt. Loma Sportfishing on July 24, after his five-day trip with the LA Rod & Reel Club. Unlike most of the other boats, Joe didn’t sample the island fishing.

“The weather was so nice,” he said, “we decided to stay outside and fish the kelps the whole trip.”

It paid off with a nice catch of mixed tuna, dorado and yellowtail. Larry Methvin of Upland found the biggest fish, a 40.4-pound albacore. He got it with a sardine on a 3/0- Mutu hook, 30-pound Big Game line, a Pro Gear 542 reel and a Calstar 700 M rod.

Dave permut of Valencia won second place for a 39.4-pound albie. Sean McKenzie of Encino got third for a 37.4-pound yellowfin tuna.

By Bill Roecker

Mike Keating’s Spirit of Adventure docked at H&M Landing July 23 after a three-day charter. Steve Powell, chartermaster, ran the “Never Give Up” trip with 24 anglers.

Michael Cox of Big Bear City won first place for a 39-pound albacore.

He said he took it with a sardine on a 2/0 Eagle Claw hook, 30-pound line, a Torium 30 reel and a Seeker Classic seven-foot rod.

Guadalupe’s Big Yellowtail Biting

Owners Tim Ekstrom and Randy Toussaint brought Royal Star home to Fisherman’s Landing July 23 after a five-day trip with chartermaster Steve Kimbrough of Huntington Beach.

“We had good fishing,” said Steve.

“The first day we got over 100 albacore, but the second day wasn’t so hot. We also got a few bluefin and yellowfin.

"We spent a day fishing at Guadalupe, where the yellowtail bit good.”

Kimbrough won the jackpot for a 48-pound yellowtail.

Art Dotson won second place for a 46.6-pound yellowtail, and Russ Steyer got third place for a 42-pounder.

Had he entered the jackpot, Dr. Warren Sakamoto, an LA area vet, would have won for a slightly bigger fish. Instead, he posed with Dr. Andy Cooperman of Encinitas, as the pair displayed a nice brace of flylined fish: an albacore and a yellowtail.

About Fighting Belts

I remember fishing with Carl Newell in the old days, when Carl’s “fighting belt” was a piece of conveyor belt. To my surprise, he got some very large tuna that way. But I never saw anyone else try to do that.

These days, most anglers wear a fighting belt or use a Knobie or some other sort of padded protection when playing tuna, large yellowtail, marlin or other hard-pulling fish. This is well-advised, since you can hurt your innards by putting too much pressure on them with a bent rod. It’s really just common sense.

There are many good brands of belts, and I don’t disparage any of them, having tried most brands over my fishing career. Lately, I’ve been using belts from a new series made by AFTCO. They come in three models: the Alijos, the Socorro and the Clarion belt.

The Clarion is the heavy-duty belt, meant for cow tuna and big marlin, to be worn low for maximum leverage, likely with drop straps. The Socorro model is a bit smaller, meant for medium to large game fish (the company recommends it for 50 to 80-pound tackle) and just right for 100-pound tuna. The Alijos model is the smaller type most familiar to day fishermen and multi-day anglers.

I haven’t had opportunity to truly test the two larger models, but I caught numerous tuna and large yellowtail with the Alijos belt, and I like it very much. It’s light, comfortable, good-looking and it works like a champ. I found I could play fish of up to 50 pounds with it, no problem. I didn’t even remove the gimbal pin, and I had no trouble getting an un-gimbaled rod butt in and out of the cup. The company says it’s for 20 to 50-pound line.

All these new belts have more lovable traits: they float, they snap on and off the belt, and they’re made from high-quality materials, like all of AFTCO’s products. So if you’re looking for a belt, and you should be if you don’t have one, try your local tackle store for one of these sharp and efficient AFTCO belts. You can see ‘em on the AFTCO site.

By Bill Roecker

Art Taylor docked his Searcher July 22 after a five-day trip with 20 anglers, many from Idaho.

“We got limits of yellowtail at the south end of Cedros Island,” he said, “and some bigger ones in the bull kelp nearby. And we fished offshore for a mix of bluefin, albacore and yellows.”

Richard Yoshika of La Palma won first place for a 37.2-pound albacore. He said he caught it with a sardine on a 3/0 Eagle Claw hook, 30-pound Big Game line, a Torium 30 reel and a Shimano eight-foot rod.

Brad Green of Middleton Idaho won second place for a 34.5-pounder, and Justin Buchanan of Napa, ID was third, for a 33.2-pound yellowtail.

Bob Sands Trip Scores

Bruce Smith brought his Shogun anglers home to Fisherman’s Landing July 22 after a five-day Bob Sands charter with Sal Vallone as chartermaster.

“Both this group and the crew were excellent,” said Vallone.

Erik Jackson of Pasadena swept the top two jackpot spots with yellowtail of 35.8 and 34 pounds. He said the larger fish fought for 15 minutes or more.

“It’s my best yellowtail ever,” he remarked. “I hooked him in the shallows near the bull kelp and it was hard to get him out.”

Jamie Massion of Calabasas won third place for a 30.6-pound yellow he hooked on a Salas 6X Jr. jig in blue and white, on 30-pound line.

By Bill Roecker

Kevin Osborne docked Intrepid July 21 at Point Loma Sportfishing, after a day and a half trip with 25 anglers. He said he found fish biting in 68 to 69-degree water at 97 miles from San Diego, on an edge. Anglers managed a mixed catch of over two fish per rod for the day, taking albacore, yellowfin, bluefin dorado and a single yellowtail.

Albies On The Slide

“The X-Raps were working real good on the slide,” said Polaris Supreme skipper Tom Rothery July 21 at Fisherman’s Landing. “It seemed like the best colors were silver or bonito color. The zucchini colored skirted jigs were working real good on the troll. Fishing was good; we got enough fish, with good yellowtail at the islands and good albacore fishing offshore.”

David “Sammy” Samuelson of San Diego won first place on the trip, for his 37.4-pound albacore. He said he got it with a sardine on a 2/0 hook tied to 30-pound P-Line, a Saiwa reel and a Calstar six-foot rod.

Bob Pollack of San Diego won second place for a 33.4-pounder, and Dick Emerson of Rowland Heights won third place for a 32.8-pound albacore. Jonathan Kendrick of Oakley stood in with the winners to show his 37-pound dorado, caught on a Zucker’s jig in Mexican Flag colors.

“The X-Raps are our number trolling for private boats this year,” says Doug Kern, co-owner of Fisherman’s landing Tackle Store.

Auto Alignment Albacore

Glenn Kerr charter-mastered his annual three-day trip with 30 passengers aboard the Red Rooster III with skipper John Grabowski. Kerr owns Glenn’s Alignment & Brake Service in Costa Mesa. The trip ended at H&M Landing July 21with a good mixed catch of yellowfin tuna and albacore.

“They were biting the jig a little on this trip,” said Glenn. “I was surprised to see they liked the Salas Christy #1 in blue and white. That got bit by both yellowfin and albacore.”

“We stayed offshore and found a good influx of yellowfin tuna in the 14 to 30-pound class,” said Grabowski. “Some of these are bigger fish, and I’d advise against using 25-pound line. Use 40-pound fluorocarbon leader instead of light line to get a bite.”

Bill Whitney of Yorba Linda won first place for a 42.6-pound albie that bit his sardine on a 3/0 Flyliner hook. He said he used 30-pound Izorline on a TLD 20 reel and a Seeker six and a half-foot glass rod.

Jeff Bracey of Newport Beach won second for a 39.6-pounder, and Ben Howayeck of Tucson got third for a 35.1-pound longfin. David “Wahoodad” Choate, pro-staffer for Accurate and Seeker, won the trolling jackpot (a Red Rooster III jacket) for the best fish on the troll: a 41.5-pound albacore he bagged on a cedar plug.

By Bill Roecker

Jeff DeBuys docked Independence July 20 after a five-day West Coast Marketing charter with Dave Rocchi of Cypress acting as chartermaster. There were 30 anglers aboard, and they fished offshore and at Guadalupe Island.

“We tried Guadalupe first,” said Jeff, “and we saw sign of 50 to 80-pound tuna there, but they didn’t want to go. Some good yellowtail did, though, so we fished there for half a day. Then we went to Cedros Island for a spectacular day on yellowtail and a white seabass.

“The rest of the time we fished offshore in 68-degree water. Yesterday afternoon I saw the best school of fish I’ve seen all season, and we got about 30 fish before we had to leave.”

Ron Doty of Santa And won first place for a 47.2-pound yellowfin tuna that bit his sardine on a 2/0 Super Mutu hook. He said he used 25-pound Seaguar fluorocarbon leader 25-pound Ande line on a Daiwa 30 reel and a Calstar 700 ML rod.

Hot on Doty’s heels, Brian Lackey of Lake Forest won second place for a 47-pounder yellowfin tuna. Mike McClure of Phoenix took third place for a 41-pound yellowfin. Ben Kaplan of Oak Park got a 39.4-pound white seabass on a flylined sardine and 25-pound line. He stood in with the winners.

Bluefin At Guadalupe: Something New

Royal Polaris docked under skipper Roy Rose’s hand July 20 after a Hi’s Tackle trip of five days with 33 anglers. Hi’s owner Jonah Li met the boat and told Bill Roecker he is moving his store in a month or so to 40 Chestnut Avenue in South San Francisco. Check his site at histacklebox.com for more information.

“We found some excellent fishing on offshore kelps,” said Rose. “We scratched away at yellowtail of 25 to 40 pounds and we got three yellowfin of 20 to 40 pounds. We also got two bluefin tuna at the island. They were tight, not offshore.”

Long-time RP skipper Steve Loomis was nearby. “Those are the first bluefin to come from the island that I know about for over 12 years,” he noted. “Maybe things are changing.”

Taking his best yellowtail ever brought first place to Michael Balastrieri of Pt. Loma. The mossback weighed 48.4 pounds. He got it with a sardine on a 6/0 Mutu hook, 30-pound P-Line, and Avet LX 6-3 reel and a Loomis eight-foot rod.

Robert Peterson of Alpine won second place for a 40.4-pound albacore, and David Allsbrook of San Diego took third place for a 40-pound longfin.

Four lady anglers representing the Rounds and Page families posed with some of the fish they caught on the trip. They were: Katie Page, Kathy Rounds, Kristen Page and Nancy Page.

Chartermaster Takes Third

Jan Ishii ran his annual charter aboard Mike Lackey’s Vagabond, and won third place in the jackpot when the boat returned July 20 after the four-day trip with 26 anglers. All the fishing was done offshore, said Lackey.

“Our first day was a blank,” said Lackey, “but the second day was okay, and so was the third. We found one kelp with tropicals on it in 68-degree water. We saw good sign of albacore, bluefin and yellowfin tuna.”

Brian Romine of Rancho Cucamonga won first place for a 34.8-pound albie. He said it came on a sardine, a 2/0 Eagle Claw hook, 25-pound Big Game line and a Seeker six and a half-foot glass rod.

Rick Hutchinson of Lakewood was second for a 32.4-pounder, and chartermaster Jan Ishii found a 32.2-pound albacore for third place.

Fat Alberts For Spirit

Brian Evans brought Spirit of Adventure home to H&M Landing July 20 after a three-day trip.

Bob Taeckens of San Diego won first place for a 37.2-pound albacore. He bagged it with a sardine on a 1/0 flyliner hook, 30-pound Seaguar fluorocarbon leader and 65-pound Spectra backing on a Torium 20 reel and a seven-foot Ugly Stick.

Tommy Meyers of San Diego got second place for his 35.7-pound albie and John Ryan won third place for a 34-pounder.

By Bill Roecker

“The Plug” is still working at Cedros Island, according to Royal Star skipper Tim Ekstrom and chartermaster Mark Wisch of Pacific Edge. Ekstrom parked the boat at Fisherman’s Landing July 18 after the five-day charter with 22 anglers.

Nick Appleton of Tempe, AZ won first place for his 41-pound yellowtail. He said he took it with a sardine on a 3/0 Gamakatsu hook tied to 30-pound Seaguar fluorocarbon leader and 30-pound P-Line. He used a Penn 500 reel and a Seeker Classic seven-foot rod.

Eddie Garratt of Mira Mesa won second place for a 33.6-pounder, and Bob Nevins of Tehachapi was third, for his 33.4-pound yellow.

Stan Sherwin of Atascadero nabbed a 30-pound halibut at the island when he sent a sardine down on a dropper loop.

First Out Gets Biggest

John Grabowski brought Red Rooster III home July 18 after taking 24 anglers on a five-day Newell charter.

“We started out fishing for albacore,” said skipper John. “Then we slipped down 30 miles below the fleet and found a few that would bite. We ended up that day with 39 mixed tuna, and headed south for Cedros. We fished there for two days, and then came back up and tried the kelps, where we also got some very good yellowtail fishing.”

Raymond Gallegas of Long Beach won first place for a 40.1-pound albie.

“I was first out with a bait on the slide,” he said, “and this fish bit hard. I knew he was big after I fought him for about 15 minutes.”

Gallegas said he used a sardine on a 3/0 Mustad hook tied to 330-pound Big Game line on a Torium 20 reel and a Fenwick seven-foot rod, and beat the fish in 20 minutes..

Richard Nocis of Solvang won second place for his 38.4-pound yellowtail,, and Steve Beasley of Wildomar took third place for a 37.5-pound albacore.

Guadalupe Forktails Aboard RP

"From yesterday at 5pm till 11pm we scratched out 64 beautiful yellows," the Royal Polaris report read July 18.

"Our largest topped 50 pounds and the average size was about 25 pounds. We also caught one yellowfin tuna though we did see very good sign of tuna but they were not willing to bite. We are going to try our luck here again today and hope the tuna get hungry.

"We will let you know how we do tonight."

By Bill Roecker

The “tax man,” as great white sharks are called at Guadalupe Island, has been absent so far this season. That’s good news for anglers who sometimes have a hard time making a catch when the whites are hungry. Today’s story from the Intrepid has another pleasant side: tuna of all sizes are now present at the big island, and the water’s warmed up to a temperature that suggests wahoo may also arrive soon.

The problem so far has been the current, which has been weak or non-existent. More tuna can be expected to arrive shortly, and Guadalupe has always been famous for its mossback yellowtail, so we can expect more reports coming from this favorite spot.

Catchy Intrepid Trip

“I love this boat,” said Catchy Tackle owner and Chartermaster Wayne Martin at Pt. Loma Sportfishing July 17. “We’ve got another trip scheduled in October.”

“We got into Guadalupe this time,” continued Martin, “and we got yellowfin of 20 to 25 pounds on the lee side, along with some nice 20 to 40-pound yellowtail.

"We fished open water for albacore, and the Catchy Spinner Jets, the little jigs, did well on the troll. It looked like the best color was green and yellow on this trip. The bait fishermen did fine with sardines on albies of 15 to 25 pounds. On the last day we got some bluefin.”

Skipper Kevin Osborne weighed the catch. “Then water offshore in the area of kelps where we fished was about 70 to 71 degrees,” he noted, “and at Guadalupe it was 72 degrees. We saw great sign of tuna there.”

Bruce Uhm of LA won first place for a 42.2-pound yellowtail he bagged the hard way, with a sardine on a 3/0 Flyliner hook, 25-pound Seaguar fluorocarbon leader and 25-pound Big Game line on a Saltiga 20 reel and a GRUSA eight and a half-foot rod. He said the fight ran about 20 minutes, and laughed when a buddy said it seemed more like two hours.

Alan Yamada of San Marino took second place with a 40.2-pound albacore.

Greg van den Ordel of Costa Mesa won third place for his 38.2-pound yellowtail, which bit on a mint green Salas 7x jig.

A Success Story

“We were able to get the final 15 archival tags out on small bluefin tuna on Saturday morning," reported Dr. Barbara Block aboard Shogun July 14, "and we topped off the live wells so that 16 fish were aboard swimming in circles below deck. At this point we have tagged 112 Pacific bluefin, and collected 30 live fish. We’ve also placed 7 archival tags in albacore (we stopped tagging albies when I realized how many bluefin were around). This total puts our team at a total of about 550 electronic tags on Pacific bluefin.

“For the first time in years, all our tags aboard the Shogun have been deployed and there are no more tags left to put out. What a spectacular last weekend. Fishing did slow on Sunday, but we did get some super-sized albacore on the trolling rods and we were treated to a rare showing of a killer whale pod near the boat, in albacore country.

“Our PhD students, Nishad and Dan requested a few more yellowfin to sample and sure enough Norm found us some nice sized yellowfin as we headed about 10 miles to the south. With the yellowfin sampling completed our trip was 100% scientifically accomplished. Dan Madigan had requested samples for an ecological isotopic study of California Current tunas. He’s examining the nitrogen and carbon isotopes and literally taking the saying you are what you eat to the research bank. He’s able to examine albacore, yellowfin and bluefin and distinguish who eats fish and who eats the crustaceans, krill and “feed layer” animals just from taking a small liver and muscle sample.

“We also took some samples for a mercury content study we’re doing on bluefin. So the final totals are: 160 bluefin for science; 30 of these live for the TRCC collections, and over 50 samples of albacore and yellowfin for science for Stanford PhD students. It’s been an inspiring time, and a trip that will go down with 1999 (when we conventionally tagged over 100 large bluefin), and 2002, when we put out over 130 archival tags. Our science will help to generate the knowledge we need to manage bluefin tuna on the west coast of North America and the data will trickle in from this large-scale deployment for years.

“You can read more about our research at either www.tagagiant.org or www.topp.org. Scientific papers are under the links that say scientific data or publications. Our gratitude is deep to the crew of the Shogun. Captains Norm and Bruce helped us for years with this remarkable legacy of bluefin research aboard the Shogun. Our scientific team has been top notch and once again, our thanks to our technicians, students and researchers from the TRCC and Stanford University.”

By Bill Roecker

Justin Fleck tied Excel at the dock July 16 after a six-day trip with 32 anglers, many from Tucson and Arizona. He weighed the best fish at the Fisherman’s Landing scales.

Ken Bell of Camarillo won first place for his 36-pound albacore, which was tied by Garett Cunningham of Tucson. In another oddity, both men used 25-pound terminal gear to get their fish. Bell used 25-pound Big Game line and Cunningham fooled his albie with 25-pound Seaguar fluorocarbon leader.

Greg Vinikoor of Tucson used 30-pound Seaguar and a new Accurate 870 two-speed reel to take his third-place 35.4-pound bluefin.

Four-Day Returns

Spirit of Adventure arrived at H&M Landing July 16 under Brian Evans’ hand, after fishing offshore waters on a four-day trip.

Sparky Brawley of Newport Beach won first place for a 43.1-pound albacore, which is the second-largest of the young season for the multi-day fleet. He said he bagged it with a sardine on a 1/0 ringed Super Mutu hook on 30-pound Blackwater fluorocarbon leader and 50-pound Power Pro Spectra on a Trinidad 20 reel and a Calstar 700 H rod.

Twelve-year-old Jacob Gruberger of Encino goes to Coldwater Canyon Prep School. He won second place for his 37.4-pound longfin.

By Bill Roecker

Five days aboard Independence with skipper Jeff DeBuys paid off with a mixed catch of albacore, bluefin, yellowfin and yellowtail for 30 anglers on a Sav-On Tackle charter. DeBuys docked at Pt. Loma July 15 and weighed the best of the catch.

“We saw good sign of albacore, bluefin and some yellowfin,” said Jeff. “And we had flat calm weather until yesterday, when it came up to 15 knots.”

Anglers said the star of the trip was 15-year-old Austin Henderson of Bellflower, who won the jackpot for a 43-pound bluefin. Austin pitches for the Mayfair High baseball team, and said he finished off his tuna in 20 minutes. He got his prizewinner on a sardine and a 2/0 Mustad 91450 hook. He used 30-pound Ande line on a Newell 332 reel and a Calstar 700 M rod.

L. A. James of Oakland won second place for a 40.6-pound albacore, and Joe Armstead of Mountain View used 20-pound line to find a 39.2-pound longfin that was good enough for third place.

By Bill Roecker

Brian Kiyohara docked American Angler at Pt. Loma Sportfishing July 14 after a five-day trip with 24 anglers (the San Fernando Valley Japanese Anglers Club), including Dick Gaydosh, operator of the Lo-An and the New Lo-An before he sold the boat to Don Sansome many years ago. Sansome sold the boat to Nick Cates, who operated the New Lo-An until he retired and sold it to Markus Medak, current owner-operator.

“We covered a lot of water today,” wrote Brian on Saturday, “and drowned a lot of feathers behind the boat. We had grease weather which made an otherwise uneventful day into a great one. We ended up with thirty or forty mixed kelp fish that came one or two at a time. We are honored to have Dick and Millie Gaydosh aboard sharing all of their great fishing adventures and knowledge.”

A sardine on a dropper loop found a 41.4-pound halibut for George Iwamoto of S. San Gabriel, who won first place for the big flattie. George said he used a 2/0 ringed Super Mutu hook on 80-pound Izorline with a Penn 50 S reel and a Calstar Baby Boomer to overpower the halibut.

“I cranked him right up,” he said.

Dennis Luddington of Spring City, UT won second place for a 39-pound albacore that took a sardine on 25-pound line. John Ito of Torrance won third place for a 37.8-pound yellowtail, and Dick Gaydosh stood in with the winners with a 35-pound yellowtail..

Qualifier Moves Albacore Record

“The day started out with a flurry of biting albacore and it didn't stop there,” wrote Qualifier 105 skipper Joe Crisci July 12.

“We had consistent stops throughout the day on albacore and BFT. There is great sign of life in the area and we had a terrific day catching tuna.

“Chartermaster Dennis Hagarty (Hagarty Electric) once again had the biggest fish of the day, a 47-pound bluefin. To go along with our outstanding tuna fishing we had a handful of Dorado and YT.

"The weather is absolutely gorgeous out here and the tuna are biting...life is good!”

Crisci weighed the catch at Pt. Loma Sportfishing July 14. Chartermaster Dennis Hagarty of Phoenix won first and third places for his 57.8-pound yellowfin and a 47.2-pound bluefin. Mark Chilton of Pinetop, AZ got second place for a 50.6-pound yellowfin.

Mark Allen of Chandler, AZ moved the dock record for albacore up a notch, to 43.8 pounds.

By Bill Roecker

“We had flat calm weather and good anglers on the boat,” said skipper Brian Sims after docking Royal Star at Fisherman’s Landing July 13. He was just back from a seven-day Kashiki charter. “We hooked one marlin,” added Sims.

Mitch Firestein of Studio City won first place for his 39.8-pound bluefin. It bit a sardine on a 3/0 ringed Super Mutu hook, 30-pound Momoi line, an Avet MXL reel and a Calstar 700 XL rod.

Fred Adams won second place for his 37.7-pound albacore, and Nob Takasaki of Parlier took third place for a 36.2-pound albie. Walt Howard of Clayton flylined a sardine on 40-pound line at Cedros Island and found a 31-pound white seabass.

A Well-Made Day

Skipper Drew Henderson docked Polaris Supreme July 13 after a three-day trip with 23 anglers.

“There’s good sign of fish down to at least 150 miles,” he said. “The ocean is nice, and about 67.3 degrees.”

Don Todd of Sun Valley won first place on the trip for his 37.8-pound albacore. He said it grabbed a sardine on a 3/0 ringed Super Mutu hook tied to 30-pound fluorocarbon leader and 30-pound P-Line on a Penn 555 reel and a seven-foot rod.

“That fish made my day,” said Don. “It felt good!”

Sam Ferarelli of Los Alamitos got a 34-pound albacore and Dennis McNeely of Santa Cruz found a 33.6-pounder for second and third places.

Tuna Mix Suits

Mike Lackey brought his Vagabond back to Pt. Loma Sportfishing July 13 after three days of fishing offshore.

Mike Burroughs of Lake Elsinore won first place. He showed of a 43.25-pound albacore and posed both in the lineup shot and alone, since his fish moves the dock record for multi-day fleet-caught albacore up a pound.

Mike got his big “Albert” with a sardine on a 4/0 Super Mutu hook tied to 40-pound Blackwater fluorocarbon leader and 30-pound P-Line on an Accurate 870 reel and a new Accurate Boss 6640 rod.

Tyler Morrow of Dallas, TX was second for a 34.9-pound bluefin and Suzanne Crowther of Rancho Margarita took third place for her 34.6-pound albacore.

Third Time’s A Charm

Andy Cates tried Alijos Rocks for the third time in this early season and came away with a big score of tuna, including a half-dozen 100-pounders.

“On the first day was got seven tuna to 90 pounds,” said the Red Rooster III skipper July 13 at H&M Landing. “We had 22 anglers on the eight-day trip.”

“On the second day we got 45 tuna to 100 pounds. On the third day we got 40 more to 100 pounds. It looks good for future trips.”

David Greeno of Long Beach won the jackpot for a 122.5-pound yellowfin tuna.

“It seemed like it took an eternity,” he said at the scales. “I was using a single-speed reel.”

He said he tossed out a sardine on a 4/0 Mustad hook, tied to 40-pound Ande line on a Penn 3/0 reel and a seven-foot Sabre rod. The fight went 45 minutes.

Frank Calas of Pasadena fished a sardine on 50-pound line to bag a 105.6-pounder, and Thomas Nazaretian of Hollywood claimed third place with a 103.7-pounder. He used a sardine on 40-pound line. He said he got worked, but he got his fish.

"It Was Easy"

“Weather continues to be wonderful,” read the report from Royal Polaris July 11. “Flat seas, clear skies, and warm days. Our morning started out a bit slow, but as the day grew older, the fishing became hotter. We had a dream day of paddy hoping. We caught Dorado, Bluefin, Yellowfin, Yellowtail, and Albacore.

“Some of our passenger had never caught a saltwater fish, and today they had their chance. With good weather, it was easy finding kelps throughout the day. Some of the kelps were holding fish that wanted to bite. But as fishing goes, some bite while others don't. Most of the Albacore were in the 18 to 25-pound category, while the Bluefin and Yellowfin were in the 12 to 18-pound range. The Dorado were good size, with the larger ones going in the high 20-pound range.”

Skipper Roy Rose docked the RP at Fisherman’s Landing July 13 at the end of the three-day trip with 36 anglers.

Joe Kutschka of Oro Valley, AZ won first place for a 39.5-pound albacore. Ralph Hughes of San Diego took second place with a 38.3-pounder, and also won third place for a 36-pound albie.

By Bill Roecker

Polaris Supreme arrived June 10 after a five-day trip. Owner-skipper Tom Rothery docked the boat at Fisherman’s Landing and weighed the best of the catch.

“We fished open water and found a new albacore area,” he said at the scales. “We fished our first night out, and got a few. The albacore bit good, and we also got some nice yellowtail off kelps. On our first half-day of fishing we had an excellent bite on albies of 30 to 40 pounds.”

Chartermaster Paul Hess of Napa won first place for his 42.4-pound albacore, which set a new high mark for the species this season. He said he bagged it with a sardine on a 3/0 Eagle Claw hook tied to 30-pound Yo-Zuri line on a Trinidad 16 reel and a Calstar 800 M rod.

“He came in after 15 minutes,” said Hess. “It was a standard albacore deal.”

Brian Schwartz of Napa won second place for a 40.8-pounder, and Casey Weaver of Woodland took third for a 40.6-pound albacore.

A Multi-Day Slam

Roy Rose docked Royal Polaris at Fisherman’s Landing July 10 after a three-day trip, a Charkbait charter.

“It was fun fishin’, said Roy, “and we got about 80 bluefin, the best anyone’s done so far.”

Robert Michell won first and second in the jackpot for bluefin of 37.5 and 38 pounds, but his fish went to the processor and weren’t available for photos.

Lanny Lambert of LA won third place for his 37-pound albacore. He posed with Larry and Tyler Phillips of Ventura, as the three fished together on the trip. Tyler is 15, goes to Buena High in Ventura, and plays baseball, basketball and football.

“Awesome Weather”

Eighteen anglers fished with Mike Lackey aboard his Vagabond, returning July 10 with a fine mixed catch on the Beauchamp charter.

“It was excellent fishing for albacore,” said Mike, “and awesome weather, with good fishing on kelps for tuna and yellowtail.”

Steve Stachelski of Alpine won first place for his 41.6-pound albacore. He said it came on a sardine, 4/0 Mustad hook, 30-pound Seaguar fluorocarbon and 30-pound Izorline, a Torium 30 reel and a Sabre six and a half-foot rod.

Glen Davis of Lakeside won second place for a 41-pounder, and Jim Beauchamp of Phoenix won third place for a 40.6-pound albie.

Seeker Scores Big Mossback

Brian Porter chartermastered the Seeker five-day trip aboard the Excel that returned July 10 with a great mixed catch that produced a mixed jackpot. Skipper Justin Fleck docked the boat at Fisherman’s Landing and weighed the best of the fish caught by 23 anglers.

“It was flat calm the whole time,” said Justin, “and we had a lot of kids aboard. We found a kelp that gave up 50 yellowtail, 38 albacore, 18 bluefin and six dorado. It wasn’t much of a kelp, no bigger than one of the tables in the galley.”

Gary Hawes of Torrance won first place and the Seeker trophy for the best fish on a Seeker rod, for the second consecutive year. His yellow weighed 53-pounds. Porter gave him the trophy.

“I better get to Vegas,” he said. “He fought like a seal. He’s my best yellowtail ever.”

Mike Schaffer of Simi Valley won second place for a 42-pound bluefin that takes over top spot as the season’s new best. It was a sardine fish that bit on 40-pound line.

Bob Ott of Barstow won third place for a 39-pound albacore, and Steve Kenney of San Jose bagged a 37.8-pound halibut for honorable mention. He said the big flattie glommed a sardine swirl Salas 6X Jr. jig fished on the bottom in 40 feet at Cedros Island.

Albacore Ties For Best

Kyle “Rooster” Karcher brought Independence home from a five-day trip July 10 with 30 satisfied anglers and a mixed catch. Owner Paul Strasser came along as second skipper.

“We spent three days on the albacore grounds,” said Rooster, “where the water was 66 degrees, and we spent a day at Cedros where it slipped down to 61.”

Stephen Nevarov of Needles won first place for a 42.4-pound albacore, which tied the one taken by Paul Hess on the Polaris Supreme earlier the same day. He said it bit a sardine on a 1/0 Gorilla hook, 30-pound Big Game line on a Penn Baja Special reel and a seven-foot Orange County Custom rod.

Vern Roberts of Naturita, CO won second place for a 40.6-pounder, and Mike Rubio of Phoenix, AZ won third place for a 37.6-pound albacore.

By Bill Roecker

It’s not wide open yet, but San Diego’s offshore fishing is definitely showing some improvement, in the weather conditions and in the size and number of species present. Larger yellowtail are showing up under some of the kelp paddies, and a smattering of dorado and yellowfin in the catch may indicate what’s to come. The day is coming soon when the albacore go on a serious chew, say the skippers, and the mixed bag may mean that fishing for all tuna species could stay good, maybe even well into the fall.

Boss Hoag & Brawley Boys Bust ‘Em

Joe Crisci docked Qualifier 105 at Pt. Loma Sportfishing June 9 after a five-day charter with 22 anglers.

“The albacore are up and down,” said Joe, “you’ve got to be in the right place at the right time. We saw some sign of bluefin up to 60 pounds or so. It’s nice weather out there, and we caught our share yesterday.

“We had some fishing on kelps, too,” Crisci continued, “and we got yellowtail up to almost 40 pounds on kelps, and three dorado.”

Patrick Cain of San Diego won the jackpot with a 40.8-pound bluefin, the best one so far this season. He said he tackled it with a sardine on a 3/0 Flyliner hook, 40-pound fluorocarbon leader and 30-pound P-Line, a Trinidad 30 reel and a seven-foot Calstar rod.

Dave Klein of Chico won second place for a 37.8-pound yellowtail, and Tim Platten of Shaver Lake took third place for a 37.6-pound halibut that took a sardine on the dropper loop. Third is the highest a bottom fish can take on most long range boats, but not on all the rigs in the fleet.

Dana Wharf Lady Anglers

Mark Mayeda of Huntington Beach fished aboard the ladies charter on Islander with owner-skipper John Conniff, and did very well, taking first and third places.

Mark said he got the big one, a 38-pounder, on a sardine pinned on a 2/0 Mustad standard hook, with 20-pound Seaguar fluorocarbon leader, 20-pound P-Line, a Trinidad 20 reel and a Calstar 800 M rod. His third-place albacore weighed 36 pounds.

Barbara Buckner of Dana Point won second place for her 36.8-pound albacore.

Live Bluefin!

“We saw lots of small bluefin,” said Dr. Barbara Block, after unloading over a dozen 12 to 15-pound bluefin from the tanks of Norm Kagawa’s Shogun.

“It looks like there’s lots of fish coming over from Japan this year, and there’s whales and feed. If they don’t take too many of these six-kilo fish we’ll have excellent recruitment for the next year class.”

Barbara Block is one of the nation’s premier fish biologists, who specializes in pelagic species like tuna and billfish. She runs the science program at Monterey Bay, adjacent to the Monterey Bay Aquarium, where her counterpart, curator Chuck Farwell keeps the tuna displays that are open to the public.

Farwell was also aboard for the multi-day expedition, and he climbed down in the slammers in his wet suit to retrieve the tuna swimming in the tanks. The water level was lowered, and Farwell herded and trapped the swimmers into slings, so they could be removed, implanted with archival tags, and run up the dock to the semi parked in Fisherman’s Landing parking lot.

The semi hauls the fish in a special trailer-tank.

“Ted Dunn designed that tank,” Frank LoPreste told me as we stood next to it. Dunn is LoPreste’s partner.

I watched as Barbara Block tended to the fish in the sling-cradles on deck.

“Are you injecting the fish with antibiotics?” I asked.

“No,” she replied, “these are archival tags.”

“They’re so small!” I was amazed.

“They’re not much bigger than a needle. They’ve come a long way, sizing that stuff down.”

She smiled in agreement.

After the fish came out of Shogun’s tanks, they were handed to runners who hustled them in their slings up to the waiting truck, where they were added topside, by opening one side of the sling and freeing the tuna to swim in the schooling pattern with the other bluefin.

The bluefin seemed happy enough, circling in the tank, ready to begin their long journey north. The water inside has plenty of oxygen and is kept at 57 degrees. Soon the little bluefin will grow to 300 or 400 pounds, and you can see them when you go to the Monterey Bay Aquarium, thanks to Farwell and Block.

In a time of quickly diminishing resources, projects like this one are like a light coming on in a dark room.

Here’s to success.

Columbia Balks, Thwarts Tuna Agreement

The following press release was sent to FishingVideos.com by scientist Ed Everett, often seen at the docks measuring bluefin tuna as part of a long-term study on that species. We share it with you here not for political reasons, but to show the public how difficult it is to regulate the commercial tuna fisheries world-wide, and how a single person or country can prevent even the mildest curtailment of overfishing. If the previous story about bluefin capture and study was light in a dark room, this one shows a locked door.



Panama City, Panama (July 1, 2008) –Faced with declining populations of bigeye and yellowfin tuna, the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC) concluded its annual meeting last week in Panama City and failed to produce a binding conservation agreement. This was the IATTC’s fourth attempt in the past year to adopt conservation measures to combat overfishing and launch the recovery of certain tuna populations in the Eastern Pacific Ocean. Once again negotiations failed.

According to the IATTC’s own data, bigeye and yellowfin tuna populations are declining and the average size of captured individuals is decreasing. Meanwhile, fishing capacity, effort and efficiency are on the rise and the high capture rate of juveniles before they reach reproductive age is exacerbating population declines. A growing coalition including international conservation organizations and recreational and commercial fishing interests has repeatedly issued joint statements calling upon the members of IATTC to take urgent action and follow the advice of the IATTC’s own highly qualified scientific staff. This advice continues to be disregarded.

Of the management options considered by the member countries at the Panama meeting, most fell far short of the minimum recommended by IATTC scientists. The world will never know if the watered down measures would have succeeded as the dice have been rolled once again in hopes that recovery will occur despite the ongoing absence of concerted action to stem tuna population declines.

While most countries indicated a willingness to negotiate and the delegations of Mexico, Venezuela, the United States and others worked tirelessly to build a consensus, a few member states were reluctant to compromise and effectively blocked adoption of a binding agreement. Though other nations dragged their feet, the failure to reach consensus was largely attributable to Colombia, which obstructed progress and even called into question the authority of the IATTC to issue binding conservation resolutions. Colombia, the IATTC’s newest member, effectively derailed the negotiation process by demanding a special exemption from implementing the seven-week fishery closure period to allow fish stock recovery that all other member nations agreed to. Negotiations broke down as nations insisted that measures had to be applicable to all and Colombia refused to comply.

Despite conservation setbacks, the meeting represented an important victory for transparency and inclusion of non-fishing groups in the discussions. The Parties to the IATTC accepted a United States proposal that allowed a representative of the non-governmental organizations to participate with member countries in closed-door negotiating sessions.

Limited Load Fishing

Greg Pregler says his Pacific Quest has a few spots available for some serious limited load trips. He only takes 12 anglers, so there's plenty of ondeck room for fishermen. The boat leaves on an overnighter July 11, Friday, for fishing Saturday.

Another trip with a spot or two yet available is leaving Fisherman's Landing July 19 on a day and a half trip, returning July 21.

For bookings and information, call Fisherman's Landing at (619) 221-8500.

Intrepid Spots Open

Carol Wood, office manager for the Intrepid, says the boat has a few openings for trips. A five-day trip leaving July 12 and returning the 17 can still be booked, and there are day and a half trips leaving at six p.m. July 17 and 19 that have openings. For information or bookings, go to FishIntrepid.com or call Carol at (877) 686-7827.

By Bill Roecker

Frank LoPreste docked his Royal Polaris at Fisherman’s Landing July 7 after a seven-day trip with 36 anglers to The Ridge, The Rocks and the albacore grounds. The trip was sponsored in part by Ringedhooks.com, with owner Guy MacDonald aboard, as was George Swarburg of Rodknobie.com.

“We got limits of yellowtail,” said Frank, “and a lot of yellowfin tuna to over 100 pounds. We released about 20 black sea bass; at one time we had five going that were hooked on the flyline. We also got 132 albacore, six bluefin, and one marlin, released.”

“I got a 180-pound black,” said Swarburg, “ and released it. It swam away good.”

Manfred Schiruska of West Hills won the jackpot for a 109-pound tuna, the first yellowfin to beat the century mark of the summer surface fishing season. Like most of the other anglers to take larger tuna from Alijos Rocks on this trip, Manfred’s tusker too a sardine on relatively light line; in this case 40-pound.

Schiruska said he baited his sardine on a 3/0 ringed Mutu hook tied to 40-pound Blackwater fluorocarbon leader, 40-pound blue Izorline and 80-pound Izor Spectra backing, on an Avet JJX reel and a Calstar 700 H rod.

The fight only went 20 minutes, noted Manfred. “I put my first bait in the water when we got to Alijos,” he said, “and got an immediate hookup.”

Angel Cruz of San Diego used a half-hour to beat his 58-pound tuna on 25-pound line.

Scott Shilling of Temecula won second place for an 88-pound tuna he got on 40-pound line, and Susan Bergstrom of Sun River, OR won third place for her 64.6-pounder, which gave her a 35-minute tussle.

By Bill Roecker

Independence Day provided the south coast with its best day of fishing for albacore so far this season. Nice weather and plenty of scouting private boats and sport fishers out on the water made for a good catch of 468 albies for 176 anglers aboard the overnight boats. Next morning the chop was back up, and though it began coming down that afternoon, the fish stayed out of reach, with just one around. The albacore are here, however, and we can expect to see more and better catches as the conditions improve with summer.

Prospects look even better than Friday’s catch, according to Tom Green, pilot, tuna spotter and owner of Cedros Adventures, specializing in weekend trip to the big island for panga fishermen targeting the mossback yellowtail that live there year-round.

Green said commercials have been getting bluefin from 18 to 130 pounds about 180 miles down, and he expected that large body of fish to make it up into our waters. He remarked on Pete Gray’s Let’s Talk Hookup Sunday morning that albacore were mixed with the bluefin over the whole area.

I left the dock after the Red Rooster’s catch was weighed Saturday, July 5, and so missed the arrival of the Spirit of Adventure. The annual seven-day Tim Green trip produced what Frank LoPreste termed “…the best catch of big white seabass in 25 years.”

H&M Landing spokespersons said skipper Mike Keating’s catch included 61 seabass up to 51 pounds, and the 20 anglers experienced fine yellowtail fishing at Cedros Island.

“All We Needed”

Randy Toussaint docked his Royal Star July 6 after the eight-day Barking Spiders trip with 25 anglers. He tied the boat at Fisherman’s Landing and offloaded his catch.

“”We got all we needed at Cedros on those 30-pound yellowtail,” he remarked. “The fishing was phenomenal. We tried Alijos Rocks but the weather wasn’t good there, and we caught yellowtail.”

John Warren of Ocean City, NJ and his daughter Gina Giordano of Yardley, PA posed with her first-ever game fish, caught on her first long range trip; a 52-pound yellowtail hooked and handed by Toussaint.

Along the way the Star’s anglers got a piece of the action uncorked by Mike Keating, resulting in a jackpot won by Tom Stevens of Woodland Hills for a 58-pound white seabass. Tom said he got it with a sardine on the dropper loop, with a 16-ounce sinker, 3/0 Eagle Claw hook, 50-pound Izorline on a TLD 30 and a Whopper Stopper rod. The group ate the fish for dinner.

Bill Douglas of Morongo Valley won second for a 48.6-pound “biscuit,” and Phil Howard of Escondido took third place for a 48.4-pound yellowtail.

Two other anglers posed with their jig-caught yellows: Mark Case of Huntington Beach got his with a mint Kicker jig and an Accurate 665 N reel, and P. J. Rasoli of San Diego whacked his with a traditional blue and white Salas 6X Jr. jig.

Day And A Half Albacore

Intrepid docked at Pt. Loma Sportfishing July 6 after a day and a half trip with skipper Rick Kelly.

James Yee of Redlands got the jackpot-winning 25.8 pound longfin “…with an anchovy,” he said. “That’s all I fished with.”

He said he used a size 4 Flyliner hook, 20-pound Seaguar fluorocarbon leader, 15-pound Big Game line, a one-half-ounce egg sinker, a Pro Gear 255 reel and a Calstar 700 XL rod.

Todd Kelm of Long Beach tied with Rod Higa of Orange for second. Both men had 22-pound albacore.

“We got yellowtail, white seabass, rock cod and albacore, with only 13 passengers,” said Shogun skipper Bruce Smith after docked Norm Kagawa’s sport fisher July 5 at Fisherman’s Landing following the annual five-day Willie’s Charter.

Dave Minoggio of Richmond and Nissim Nimio of San Francisco displayed two of the seabass for the camera. The pair of “biscuits” came on sardines and the dropper loop.

Purfield’s Charter Scores

“Our timing was good,” said Independence skipper Jeff DeBuys at Pt. Loma Sportfishing July 5. He was back from a five-day charter with 26 anglers and chartermaster Dick Schafer.

“The yellowtail fishing was exceptional, and we had white seabass, giant halibut and saw good sign of bluefin on the way down,” added Jeff.

Don Klahs of Valencia won first place for a 47-pound white. He said he fished a double sardine on a VMC 7/0 hook, with 60-pound Big Game line and an Avet HX reel.

James Dahlberg of San Diego won second place for a 44.8-pound seabass, and Jimmy Jimenez of Colton bagged a 41.8-pounder, good for third place.

“On the fourth of July, we came back up and got 76 albacore,” noted DeBuys of the patriotic score.

Billy Casper’s Rooster Trip

Andy Cates docked Red Rooster III at H&M Landing July 5 after the annual Billy Casper Jr. eight-day trip, this year with 27 passengers. Casper was aboard but curtailed his fishing somewhat after recent back surgery.

“We found great action on yellowtail of 15 to 40 pounds at the islands,” said Bill at the dock. “Yesterday we got 54 albies.”

The best jackpot-eligible fish of the trip was a 47-pound yellowfin tuna from Alijos Rocks, caught by Ernie Dorame of Orange. He picked that one up on a sardine and a 3/0 Mustad hook, using 30-pound P-Line, a Penn 500 reel and a Calstar six and a half-foot glass rod.

Kim Lesslies won second place for a 44-pound yellowtail. David Tang of Tucson won third place for a42.3-pound yellowtail, and Jane Lundeen of San Antonio, TX stood in with the group with her 41-pound halibut.

Braid Trip Tries Thetis

Limits of yellowtail came to the 33 anglers on the annual eight-day Braid Charter aboard Excel. Skipper Mike Ramirez docked at Fisherman’s Landing July 5 and summed it up:

“We got 22 albies on the first day. Then we went to Thetis and had some good yellowtail fishing but got chased off the bank by jumbo squid. We went up to the 13 Spot and got some small fish, and then back to Thetis. We went out to Alijos Rocks for all the schoolie tuna we needed, and then up to the albacore grounds for 34 albies and two bluefin.”

Charter mistress Jan Howard said, “I was impressed by the life we saw on The Ridge: yellowtail, and small yellowfin tuna. The water was 71 degrees, clean.”

Two youngsters, Chris Etebar and Chris Erlendson of Rancho Mirage showed off their best fish. Etebar goes to Sacred heart School in Palm Desert where he plays basketball, and Erlendson attends Marywood Palm Valley School where he plays football.

Nike Livingston of Sunland won the jackpot’s first spot for a 38.2-pound yellowtail. He popped it with a sardine on a 2/0 Mustad beaked hook, on 30-pound Ande line, a Cal Sheets-treated Tiagra 12 reel and a home-made Calstar 765 L rod, after a 15-minute fight.

All-tackle tuna record holder Curt Wiesenhutter of Coeur d’ Alene, ID was aboard, and took second place for a 36.4-pound yellow. Steve Alexander of Truckee got third place, for a 36-pound ‘tail.

“Tuesday (July 1) we were able to get into the elusive bluefin," reported the Independence July 3. "Yesterday we had an epic day of yellowtail fishing; the anglers even managed white seabass which were in the 50-pound category and they managed to pull in some 40# halibut! Today we plan to stay in this area and do the same type fishing. The weather is great and everyone onboard is having a great time. The type of fishing we are having at this time is one of the best reasons for doing a five-day trip in the summer. Don Klaus a regular onboard had his limit of yellowtail yesterday, and he caught a 50-pound white seabass and a 40-pound halibut.”

Big Black Bass Bite

“Weather today was quite nice," reported Royal Polaris July 2, "with a slight breeze out of the west. We also had a sensational day of fishing. Limits of Yellowtail from 12 to 38 pounds, 2 White Sea Bass, around 35 pounds each and we also released at least 20 Black Sea Bass. We also saw several Black Sea Bass boil. Every White Fish that came up from the bottom was malled by a Black Sea Bass as were many Yellows.

“Our group is having a wonderful time and we are now headed for Alijos Rocks. Angler of the day was Jamie Brown, who caught many Yellows, one White Sea Bass, and released a 175-pound Marlin.”

Searcher Finds Albies

Searcher report July 2: “Today was a taste of what longfin fishing is supposed to be like--meter marks spinning circles, boils in the cirlces followed by jig strikes, and then leading to bait fish. We had good sign in the afternoon and the schools wanted to bite a bit. I can definitely say that the brighter-colored trolling feathers were getting strikes over all the others, (using a smaller wire hook, not the super thin ones) and no bigger than a 2/0, with a good bait, was almost the best technique possible. We are headed home tonight with 58 longfins ranging 12 to 32 pounds and we are stoked compared to how the fishing out here has been. Good angling and hope to see ya on the water soon, Capt. Aaron.”

More Good Fishing

“Willies trip is on par after today,” wrote Shogun skipper Bruce Smith July 2. “Par for this group of anglers means excellent fishing by any standards. Yellowtail were biting iron from the surface on down to the bottom for the guys who wanted to "take a break" and use a dropper loop (since their arms were tired from cranking jigs or pulling on fish!) Before we pulled anchor this morning we had a dozen 28 to 35-pound yellowtail and three 30 to 45-pound white sea bass on the deck. For the remainder of the day we hit spot after spot of willing fish, most being that famous "Benitos" grade of 16 to 22 pounds.

The weather has come down quite a bit from yesterday and we are hopeing it will hold while we make our way back to the albacore grounds.

Good Albie Bite

“Despite choppy weather we managed to put together a batch of nice Albacore together,” wrote Vagabond skipper Mike Lackey July 2. “We picked and scratched most of the trip, but we finished with a wide open bite on Tuesday afternoon. We trolled up a lone Bluefin Tuna. We still have some choice spots on our upcoming trips, please check our schedule page.”

Then They Left For Cedros

“Yesterday was similar to the day before," reported Red Rooster III July I. "Great action on 15 to 20 pound fish with the biggest fish about 45 pounds. We had fun fishing on school size tuna. With a surprise we had chances on wahoo and managed to land 5, 40 plus pound hoos. With the chance of getting a few more wahoo we decided to stay another day and get a few more tuna and hopefully a few more wahoo. Last night produced 22 yellowtail from 18 to 35 pounds. That was a surprise as well. We plan on leaving here today and finishing our trip up at Cedros. Hopefully the Island is on the upswing and we see good action.”

Final Score Correction

Re-tallying, Bill Roecker found he’d missed a supercow. So here are the season’s corrected totals, as of June 15, 2008: 373 cows, or tuna over 200 pounds, and 25 supercows; tuna over 300 pounds. There were more 300-pounders this year than any year than any year since Roecker started reporting for the San Diego Sportfishing Council in 1993.

The Top Three

American Angler returned home November 20 after a ten-day CME4TUNA charter that produced 13 tuna over 200-pounds including the biggest catch this season; a 359-pound super cow. Owner Brian Kiyohara was at the helm of the fifth annual charter.

On his first ten-day trip, Erik Kinoshita, of Torrance, hooked and landed the jackpot winning big bruiser.

Erik fished a mackerel on a 4/0 Owner Super Mutu hook, 130-pound Izor Blue Top Shot with 130-pound Izorline Spectra backing, a Penn International 50 VSX reel and a Calstar 760 H rod.

Second-Best Yellowfin

“I can hardly wait to go back,” Skipper Jeff DeBuys said after he returned Independence to Pt. Loma Sportfishing November 21 after a Farallon Boats charter, a 10-day trip November 21, 2007.

Bill Asbell, 68, took first place with a 356-pound super cow. “I used a friend’s rod and reel,” Bill said. “I wasn’t prepared for this stuff. The reel was toast when I got finished. I caught a 400-pound thresher shark in Cabo San Lucas 34 years ago, but this was a lot better fight.”

Bill fished a 5/0 Owner Super Mutu hook, 100-pound Seaguar fluorocarbon leader, a 100-pound P-Line top shot with 125-pound Spectra backing, a Penn 50 S reel, and a Calstar 6465 XH rod.

And Number Three…

The third-best tuna was a 355-pounder caught by Bill Falter aboard the Intrepid. Tuesday afternoon, December 17, was a busy time for Intrepid anglers and the crew assisting them. Falter, a 51-year-old gas station maintenance expert with 15 years in the business, said his best previous tuna was a 65-pounder he got at Guadalupe Island.

Falter got his jackpot-winning monster on the boat’s kite gear. The boat’s report said, “…it exploded on a jumbo live squid pinned to a custom double hook leader using an 18/0 Mustad 39960D circle hook and a 12/0 7691 Stinger attached to a 600-pound Soft Steel leader. Backing that up with 200-pound Jerry Brown hollow Spectra on an Avet Pro EXW 50-2 (thanks Harry, you rock) reel and a Seeker 6463 XXXH Black Steel Graphite rod.”

More White Seabass Biting

Today was just one of the days when things went out way,” wrote Aloha Spirit owner-skipper Shawn Steward July 2 after fishing the Channel Islands.

“We got 36 white seabass to 49 pounds on the Pat Gallagher Charter; our best day yet on the seabass.”

This note and photo came in to us June 16, but Paul Sweeney and I were too busy getting ready to leave on our Red Rooster III trip to get it posted. Here it is.

“Hi Bill, it’s always nice to see you on the dock at Fisherman’s Landing when we get off the boat. I just got off an 8 day on the Shogun yesterday and wanted to send you this photo of Grouper I caught at Cedros Island. Even though I don’t get in the Jackpots this was definitely the fish of the trip at just under 40 pounds.

The story behind the fish: I caught it on a candyman (sic) mint color surface iron, with a Super Seeker 8’ jig stick and 40# Soft Steel line on a Daiwa Saltist 40.

I let the jig sink out a bit and wham, he hit it on the retrieve. He went straight down into the rocks and I had to pull on him for 20 minutes before he came out. The crew and I couldn’t believe I got him to come out and up.

Crewman Patrick of the shogun is holding the fish, I am pointing at fish. It’s a great picture; maybe you can use it for an article or your calendar that I buy annually. The picture is also posted on the Shogun Website." Keith Barnett, San Diego

Albies Bite

American Angler, fishing on a day and a half trip, got 64 albacore July 1 on the annual Harrah’s Imperial Palace trip, said Lori Patella, the boat’s office manager. Here’s the report from the boat:

"Rather Be Good Than Lucky Any Day of the Week

"It has not been easy to put a catch together out here on the banks the past few days, with the weather up and fishing scratch at best. Today was one of those days we did everything right and that doesn't mean skill, it was just Good Luck. We ended up with 64 albacore and one token bluefin tuna for our day.

“We would just like to say thank you to all of the gang and especially Brad Overfield from the Imperial Palace, who puts a lot of work into organizing this trip - we look forward to fishing with you every year.”

Braid Trip Underway

“We had an incredible day of yellow tail fishing!" reported Excel skipper Mike Ramirez June 30 aboard the boat's annual Braid Products eight-day charter.

"The best yellow fishing we've seen in a long time. Not to mention the average grade of fish was 20-40 pounds. We stayed busy from sun up to sun down.

"Tomorrow we'll be looking offshore all day for kelps. Wish us luck.”

"Big Yellows Erupted"

“We rolled into Cedros this evening to start the trip," reported Royal Star July 1, "and didn't see much until right before dark when a nice spot of big yellows erupted right on the beach. We were able to get their attention and got the anchor down for a good sundowner that produced 16 fish from 30 to 52 pounds. We are going to stay here tonight and hope for another shot at this quality yellowtail tomorrow.”

RP Finds Yellows; Spirit Scores WSB

“Today fishing was quite scratchy," reported the Royal Polaris July 1. "We picked up 28 yellows in the 22 to 30 pound bracket. We also dealt with quit a bit of wind. We left Cedros at 15:30 hours and we are on our way to the 13 Fathom spot.

“Something that I would like to mention is that as you know we picked up 77 yellows yesterday and I was talking to the Spirit of Adventure, and Mike told me yesterday was one of the poorest days he has ever had at Cedros. This was at 18:30 hours. He was just stopping on a big area of birds a few miles below us. On that drift, Mike's passengers caught 47 white sea bass and 13 yellowtail. The sea bass were all 40 to 60 pounds.

"This has to be the best catch of white sea bass in the last 25 years (fish in the 40 to 60 pound category). Congrats to Mike and it goes to show that your day is not over till dark.

"When we got there we caught seven nice yellows and no white sea bass.”