By Bill Roecker

“We had 18 passengers on the Angler’s Choice five-day trip,” said Intrepid skipper Kevin Osborne after docking his rig July 31, “and we went straight to Guadalupe.

“When we got there we caught quality yellowtail of 25 to 45 pounds and tuna from 30 to 60 pounds, in gorgeous water of 72.5 to 73 degrees. There’s some bait around; we made greenback mackerel that we used for yellowtail. Balloon fishing for tuna was very good.”


“After we were done with the island,” Osborne continued, “we went offshore and I found a temperature break. We had a bluefin school stay with us for four and a half hours. They were 30 to 40-pounders.”

Jim Kastorff of San Diego won first place for a 105.2-pound yellowfin he took with a sardine on a 3/0 Mustad Hoodlum hook he ringed himself. He tied it to 40-pound Seaguar Premier Fluorocarbon leader, 40-ppound P-Line and 50-pound Line One Spectra backing on a Tiburon 7540 reel and a Truline VBG blank with his own custom Acid Wrap.

“That fish beat me up for an hour and 45 minutes,” said Kastorff. “I almost asked the deckhand to take the rod, I was so tired.”

For his effort, he won a new Tiburon SST 850 reel.

Michael Moon of Rialto won second place for a 56.6-pound yellowfin, which won a Tiburon SST 7540 reel. Richard Bringgold of Folson won third place for a 52.5-pound Guadalupe yellowfin tuna.

Two boys were fishing on the trip. Jake Posnock of San Diego got seven tuna. The best one weighed 47.6 pounds. Jake is 13, and goes to the Jewish Academy, where he plays football, baseball and basketball.

David McMillan of San Bernadino is 11. He got a 37-pound tuna. He goes to Golden Valley Middle School, and plays football.



Searcher Finds ‘Em By The Ton

Art Taylor had the best trip he’s ever had to Guadalupe Island over the five days leading up to July 31, when he docked at Fisherman’s Landing at the end of his Strictly Fishin’ Charter with 25 anglers. They appeared to have near-limits of yellowfin and yellowtail. Hoisting all the contenders at the scales had Taylor sweating happily.

Eric Sallis of Santee won first place in the boat’s jackpot for a 74-pound tuna. He said he bagged it with a sardine on a 1/0 Flyliner hook on 50-pound Izorline and 680-pound Spectra backing on a Tyrnos 16 reel and a Calstar 700 H rod.

John Yam of Long Beach won second place for a 70.6-pounder, and Pat Patino of Orange won third place for a 68.6-pound Guadalupe Island yellowfin tuna.



Golden Is Golden

Jeff DeBuys docked Independence July 31 after the Golden Group charter of five days with 29 anglers.

“Spectacular tuna fishing,” he said to dock reporter Bill Roecker, “and the yellowtail fishing was off the charts. We had a couple of bite-offs, too. The water conditions are very favorable. I’d have to say the trip was a perfect 10.”

Bill Hawkins of Seattle won first place. He fish, a 95.8-pounder, bit a sardine on a 4/0 ringed Super Mutu hook. He said he used 40-pound Seaguar fluorocarbon leader and 50-pound Izorline on an Avet LX reel and a seven-foot glass Seeker rod.

Chartermaster Thomas Golden of Ventura won second place for his 85.4-pounder, and Lamar Bushnell of Ventura won third place for a 71.8-pound yellowfin.



Boy & Kite: Winning combo

Andy Cates brought Red Rooster III home to H&M Landing July 31, after a four-day trip, the Mahoney Charter, with 29 anglers. They had a mixed catch that included some quality yellowfin from Guadalupe Island.

Frank Lo Galbo of Rancho Palos Verdes is 15, and goes to the Army-Navy Academy in Carlsbad. He won the jackpot for his 83.3-pound tuna, on his first trip ever.

“I wasn’t expecting any fish this big,” he said at the scales. “And I didn’t think they were as strong as they are, either.”

Frank took his winner on the double trouble sardine rig under a fishing kite on the boat’s kite rig.

Steve Blakeley won second place for a 67.2-pound tuna, and Stefani Merli got third place for a 63.7-pound yellowfin.

By Bill Roecker

Taka Tanaka’s annual five-day trip returned aboard the Royal Polaris with skipper Roy Rose on July 30. The 36 anglers got off at Fisherman’s Landing and Roy weighed the best of the catch.

“We fished offshore and at Cedros Island,” said Taka. “They were biting on jigs at the island, mostly on the yoyo jig. They also bit on the flyline.”

Zack Mouravian of Brea won the jackpot for his 30.6-pound yellowtail. He said it took a sardine in a 4/0 ringed Super Mutu hook. He used 40-pound Izorline on a Penn 4/0 reel and a Calstar 765 L rod wrapped by Luis at Taka Tanaka’s Tackle store.

Brian Fraser of La Palma won second place for a 24.4-pound yellow, and Keith Desroche of Buena Park took third place for a 20.2-pounder. John Woodward stood in with the group with his 20-pound yellowtail.



22 And Still Going

Excel docked at Fisherman’s Landing July 30, and skipper Justin Fleck tied her to the pier and offloaded his anglers and their catch. The five-day trip was the 22nd annual Sogioka-Stires charter, perhaps the longest-running charter of them all.

Beans Sogioka, the only man over 80 years old that Bill Roecker has met who can say he caught six cow tuna on one trip, was aboard, and other anglers said he was still the hot stick.

Don Sogioka of Ventura won first place for a 63-pound bluefin. That slugger bit on a sardine and a 4/0 ringed Super Mutu hook. He said he tied it to 40-pound pink Yo-Zuri fluorocarbon. He fished with an Avet LX reel and a Calstar 700 M rod. Don used a two-ounce rubber core sinker to het his bait down about 100 feet, where the tusker bluefin picked it up and then continued on its way into the depths.

Lee Erlandson of Rancho Mirage won second place for a 55.7-pound yellowfin. Steve Wenzel of Redlands won third place for a 50-pound yellowfin.

Chris Erlandson, 17, fished with his dad Lee and got a nice bluefin on 20-pound line, but had to earn the fish with an hour-long battle that tired him about as much as the fish. He posed for a picture with his dad. Chris will be attending Pitzer College in Claremont. He plays football and basketball.



Five Is Enough

Tommy Rothery brought his Polaris Supreme home from a five-day trip with 21 anglers on July 30. His fishermen had a nice catch of mixed tuna and yellowtail.

Paul Oates of Huntington Beach won the jackpot for a 58.6-pound yellowfin tuna. He said he bagged it with a sardine on a 2/0 ringed Super Mutu hook and 50-pound P-Line. He used a TLD 30 reel and a Calstar 765 L rod.



Cody Emerson of Victorville won second place for a 53.6-pound tuna, and Al Preschutti of Mammoth Lakes took third place for a 52.8-pounder.

There were three generations of Emersons aboard the Supreme, and they posed for Roecker’s camera: Cody, his dad Mark of Victorville and granddad Dick Emerson of Rowland Heights.



Luck Or Savvy?

“As we start our last day of fishing in the offshore grounds,” read the report from Intrepid July 30, “one has to think that we are extremely lucky or maybe we have some skill and some fishing savvy here on the Intrepid. We chose to hunt in an area where we knew the fish would be migrating through.

“At 6:30 am we found our temperature break and began working that edge. Textbook results! We got on a school of bluefin tuna at 7:00 am and are still drifting with them. The balloon is working well, along with a choice sardine on the flyline, without another boat in sight or within 20 miles of us and beautiful weather. What a great way to top off an already great trip!”



"Unreal"

“The day started out slower than the previous morning, as expectations were high,” said the American Angler report July 29, “but there was little sign of fish. It took a while but when we located the fish, it was quite the show, as the 30 to 60-pound fish were free swimming in the water and they were actually biting too good. They were eating heavy line right out of the gate, but there was so much going on we had some massive multiple fish tangles. Everyone on the boat would have one on and there was fish after fish going through the corner unmolested.

"Gary Teraoka from Accurate reels put one of Jack's new reels to the test, landing his 105-pound fish on the new B2-500 reel.

"The dream continued when we left that stop and went fishing for yellows and had limit-style fishing on mixed grade yellows. We understand that fishing is not normally this good but at least we now have a new high standard to always shoot for."



'Lupe Yellowfin, 'Tails

"We managed to scratch out a day here at Guadalupe," reported Shogun skipper Bruce Smith July 29, "although it was tough for us to get on the right school with so many boats in the area. The yellowfin are running on average about 50 pounds and when you get up on the right school they really put on a show for you. Some yellowtail were also in the mix and and showed for us at a couple different spots."

By Bill Roecker

The permits have finally arrived, and now San Diego’s long range boats can go to Guadalupe Island to fish the big yellowfin tuna that hang out there during the summer months. The island is about the only place north of Alijos Rocks where anglers have a reasonable chance to hook a 100-pound yellowfin tuna. Wahoo also show up there during the warm water period. As soon as the permits were in hand, the fleet set out for the big island.



First 'Hoo Caught

“When we left the dock, we didn't know what to expect,” said the American Angler’s report from July 28.

“The offshore fishing seemed to be on a slight downhill trend so we opted to take advantage of our Sportfishing Association of California leader Ken Franke's hard work and go outside to the island. After daylight we got the 911 call from our code boats to keep coming because there was good sign of tuna. We got to the zone after lunch and we had a strike as soon as we slowed down.

“Kub Ito got this year's first "local" wahoo which he graciously donated for an upcoming wahoo dinner.

“Soon afterwards we saw a small school of tuna on the machines and they showed immediately. We had very good angling on 40 to 60-pound tuna with a few pushing 70 pounds as bites were very easy to come by. We kept 4-12 hooked for several hours as everyone aboard was on the ropes. We ended up with 100 of these good grade tuna for the afternoon and our other guys that were here all day also had big days. Art Taylor on the Searcher said that this was the best fishing that he has ever seen on this grade tuna and he has owned a long range boat for over 25 years.

“Obviously we don't know if they are going to bite like this for long but what we do know for a fact is that they are here right now. I know that there are lots of people that walk and breath for this kind of fishing so call Lori.

“At times they were biting heavy string, but the rig of choice would be a castable sized 2-speed reel with Spectra and a flourocarbon 50-pound topshot with a choice 7-8 foot rod for fishability.”



Indy At Guadalupe

“Wow, what a day we had here today on the Indy,” wrote Independence skipper Jeff DeBuys July 28.

“Things looked a bit dead in the early morning, but that all changed really fast. Epic, spectacular, off the charts, does not come close to describing the fishing today. We had full speed fishing for hours on end on beautiful 50 to 95-pound yellowfin tuna. There were some 40-pound stuff, but only a few. Needless to say everyone is not only tired, but also extremely happy with the day, especially after yesterday’s epic yellowtail fishing. We plan on staying here for tomorrow. The weather is great too.”



Intrepid Also At Big Island

“What a day we had here at Guadalupe Island,” said Intrepid’s report for July 28.

“We thought that yesterdays Yellowtail bite was good until today. We started off with a great Yellowtail bite on jumbos that lasted until 1:30 pm. All the yellows were in the 30-45 lb range and we caught all we wanted. Then we made the move to the Tuna grounds and got on a school at 2:30 pm and put the wood to the 30-60 lb Tuna. I mean this was an off the hook bite. Everyone was hooked up full speed for the rest of the day. We still have a few hanging at the moment. We thank Ken Franke (Sportfishing Association of California) for all his hard work in getting the permits back for the fleet. We are going to stay put tonight and fish Tuna again tomorrow, as we are pretty much done with the big Yellows for this trip. What a day here on the Intrepid!”



Rooster Gets Bluefin

“Today we spent offshore and had a long drift for 30 bluefin from 25 to 40 pounds,” wrote skipper Andy Cates aboard Red Rooster III July 28.

“We had a few other stops and it looks like 44 and 3 yellowtail for the day. We are on our way out to the Island in hopes of a repeat of today. A four-day limits us to a day out there but its better than none. Hopefully we get a few chances.”



Star’s At The Stones

“What a day on the water,” wrote skipper Tim Ekstrom aboard Royal Star July 28,” both for us at Alijos and for our colleagues up above at Guadalupe the action on forty to seventy pound yellowfin tuna was fantastic. In our case the bonus of steady morning Wahoo in the mix added depth and excitement to fishing keeping anglers on their toes and providing epic aerial displays with their leaps and razor sharp surface slashes while racing around the boat chasing sardines. Aside from a short troll around the "stones" upon arrival we passed the entire day in one anchor position enjoying steady catching right through the evening hour.

“What a day to hone one's angling skills as the majority of well presented, properly fished baits produced results while there were very few times just any old bait would get bit. By any and every definition this is good fishing. What a day on the water. Both for us at Alijos and for our colleagues up above at Guadalupe the action on forty to seventy-pound yellowfin tuna was fantastic.”



Searcher Reports Early

“Thanks to the tremendous effort by Ken Franke of Sportfishing Association of California,” said Searcher owner-skipper Art Taylor July 28, “we obtained our Guadalupe Island permits and we came to the south end last night. This morning the yellowfin tuna started biting right away and we have landed 60 of the 30 to 60-pound fish! All the fish have been landed on flyline sardines and 40-pound line. The weather is beautiful, the water is warm and there is a pretty good sign of fish. Oh and did I point out it is only 10 a.m.? It was a great way to start the day.”

"Weather continues to be very windy, with 22 to 25 knots of breeze," read the report aboard Royal Polaris July 27.

"As far as fishing goes, it was excellent yellowtail fishing. Most of the yellows were in the 18 to 22-pound range, with a few going over 25 pounds.

"We fished most of the morning at Cedros Island, and then made our way over to San Benitos. The quality at San Benitos was a bit better than Cedros. After we had our fill on yellowtail, Roy made the decision to make a move south.

"We are going looking tomorrow, so wish us luck and we will keep you posted on our up coming events."



Angler's Choice Aboard Intrepid

"We are having a blast again on the Anglers Choice Tackle sponsored trip," reported Intrepid July 27.

"We have some really nice grade yellowtail and a couple dozen yellowfin tuna for our day. We will be hunting around in the same location again tomorrow and hope to get a repeat our day today.

"Wish us luck!"

By Bill Roecker

Ray Lopez brought American Angler home to Pt. Loma Sportfishing July 27 after the annual five-day Ken’s Custom Reels trip. There were 26 anglers aboard with chartermaster Ken Corwin, and besides limits of albies, the group also had a good catch of bluefin tuna and yellowtail.

Skipper Lopez could hardly have steered his clients any better, as they hit the tuna grounds on two of the best day so far this year, and then turned their attention to the yellowtail at Cedros Island. While they fished the island, the tuna failed to bite on the open water.

Jamie Lyons of Oceanside won first place for a 44.4-pound bluefin tuna. Ron Penn of San Diego took second for his 41.4-pounder, and Dan Steinke of Brea won third place for his 41.2-pound bluefin tuna.



Rooster Aligns Albies

Red Rooster III returned under Andy Cates’ hand to H&M Landing on July 27. The trip was the annual Glenn’s Alignment Charter of three days with chartermaster Glenn Kerr. The 31 anglers aboard found a mixed catch of bluefin and albacore.

Ralph Hughes of San Diego won first place for a 29.3-pound bluefin. He said he caught it with a sardine on a 3/0 Mustad hook on 30-pound Izorline. He fished with a Penn 535 reel and an Allstar six-foot rod he said he won on a previous trip.

Jeff Brady of Newport Beach won second place for a 27.7-pound albacore. Thomas Escalante of Ventura won third place for a 24.6- pound albie, and he also won the coveted Red Rooster III trolling jacket for the best fish on the troll, a 27.9-pound albacore.

By Bill Roecker

“Our fishing was fine, just excellent,” said Royal Star skipper Brian Sims July 26 at Fisherman’s Landing. He had just returned from a five-day trip with 25 anglers.

“The fish were down yesterday, but that’s okay. They'll be back up shortly.”

George Green of San Clemente won the jackpot. His albacore weighed 39.5 pounds, one of many in the jumbo-size range taken by the Star’s anglers. Green said he got it with a sardine on a 4/0 ringed Flyliner hook. He used a 40-pound Shimano wind-on leader and 65-pound Line One Spectra. George had the first jackpot on the new Accurate B-2 500 reel and also used an Accurate seven-foot rod.



Baja Paddy Hoppers

The 16th anniversary of Sherman Lim’s charter group arrived July 26 aboard the Independence with skipper Jeff DeBuys at the helm. There were 29 Paddy Hoppers aboard the five-day trip with the boat tied up at Pt. Loma Sportfishing.

“We had good weather, and we saw some boomer albacore schools,” said DeBuys to dock reporter Bill Roecker at the scales. “We fished a bit at The Bush, Cedros and offshore.”

Mike Takaki of Torrance won first place for his 37-pound albacore. He used a sardine on a 3/0 Mustad hook, with 30-pound Izorline, and Avet JX reel and a Calstar 800 ML rod.

Takaki was tied by his son Rick, also of Torrance. Rick’s 37-pound fish was a bluefin tuna. The pair posed with third-place winner Mike Giardino of San Pedro, who got a 36.8-pound albacore.



Albacore Galore

Art Taylor docked his Searcher July 26 after a five-day trip with 24 passengers. He weighed the best of the catch on the certified scales at Fisherman’s Landing.

Kevin Weber of Cota de Caza won first place for a 40-pound albacore that took a sardine on a 3/0 Mustad hook, 30-pound Seaguar fluorocarbon leader and 30-pound Ande line. He fished with a Trinidad 40 reel and a seven-foot Calstar rod.

Gary Atkins of Palmer Lake CO won second place for a 39.6-pound albacore. Kim Day of Wilson took third in the jackpot for his 38-pound jumbo albacore.



Boy Cracks JP Lineup

Sixteen was a lucky number for at least one Intrepid angler when the boat arrived at Pt. Loma Sportfishing July 26.

“Another fun day on the Intrepid,” wrote skipper Kevin Osborne July 25. “Today was fun in a different way, as we chose to go kelp patty hopping around the ocean. We were rewarded with big bull Dorado and nice grade Yellows for our efforts. We found a spot of porpoise and picked up Yellowfin on the jigs as a bonus. We want to thank The Rod Rack and BloodyDecks.com for their support and a fun trip all around.”

Bluefin highlighted the jackpot spots. Joey Horvatch of Camarillo won first place for a 43.8-pounder, best fish of the day. Joey said he fished a sardine on a 3/0 Flyliner hook tied to 40-pound Seaguar fluorocarbon leader and 40-pound Izorline XXX mono, and Avet JX reel and a Calstar 700 H rod.

Glen Kennedy of Thermal got second place for a 42.4-pounder, and 16-year-old John Normoyle of Fremont tied him with an identical bluefin. John will actually turn 16 July 27, and he will be going to Washington High in Fremont.

By Bill Roecker

Tommy Rothery brought his Polaris Supreme home to Fisherman’s Landing July 25 after the five-day Costello-Hodges trip with 21 anglers. Chartermaster was Mark Costello of Klamath Falls, and many of the fishermen aboard were also from Oregon.

“We had fantastic fishing,” he told Bill Roecker at the scales. “This is the best fishing on bluefin and albacore I’ve seen for four or five years.”

Carolyn Woodward of Hillsboro, OR won first place for her 48.2-pound bluefin tuna. She wasn’t sure about her tackle, but said she got the fish with a sardine on a 2/0 Eagle Claw hook, 40-pound line on a TLD 20 reel and a Seeker seven-foot rod.

Grey Hyden of Hesperia won second place for a 45.8-pounder, and Eve Oldenkamp of Klamath Falls, OR got third place for a 43-pound bluefin.



Rod & Reel Winners

Qualifier 105 returned to Pt. Loma Sportfishing July 25 after the annual five-day LA Rod & Reel Club trip with 13 anglers.

“We had good weather, good fishing and a good grade of fish,” said skipper Joe Crisci. "The albacore were from 22 to 40 pounds and the bluefin from 18 to 50 pounds or so. We had limits of albacore.”

Scott Lashbrook of Upland won the jackpot for a 39.8-pound bluefin. He said he got it with a sardine on a 3/0 circle hook, 40-pound unknown line and a rental outfit. He also had an albacore of 39.6 pounds.

There were only two places in the jackpot, and Sheldon Fried of Northridge won second place for a 39.2-pound bluefin.



Rose Gets Limits

Royal Polaris docked under Roy Rose’s hand at Fisherman’s Landing July 25. There were 32 anglers aboard on the Hi’s Tackle Box five-day adventure, and store owner/chartermaster Jonah Li and his son Christian were two of them.

“We spent a day at Cedros Island,” said Jonah, “and the yellows bit very well on the butterfly jigs in green and yellow and scrambled eggs. I got mine on spinning gear.”

Fikret Atamdede of Palos Verdes won first place for a 43-pound bluefin.

Russell Hubbard of Petaluma won second place for a 40.9-pound albacore. Fred Post of La Mesa won third place for a 39-pound bluefin. He posed with Lou Salatich of Antioch, who had a 38-pound on 25-pound line.



“Very Good Luck On Their Side”

Justin Fleck docked Bill Poole’s Excel July 25 at Fisherman’s Landing after the 16th annual Stout-Eppler three-day trip.

“These guys had very good luck on their side,” he remarked to Bill Roecker. The group had a good catch of albacore for such a short trip.


The trip produced the first escolar seen for some years caught aboard a long range boat. It came on Chef Jason Fleck’s swordfish rig by crewman Rene Sanchez, right after Jason had gone in to get ready for bed.

Zack Vincent of Diamond Bar won first place for a 43.2-pound bluefin tuna that bit a sardine on a 4/0 Mustad circle hook. He used 30-pound Big Game line on a Penn 500 reel and a Talus six and a half-foot rod.

“It took about 45 minutes to an hour,” he said. “It was a great fight.”

Anthony Wiltowsky of Cedar City, UT won second place for a 40.6-pound bluefin, and Min Myint of Scottsdale won third place for a 40.2-pound bluefin tuna.



Close Fish Biting Inside

Owner-skipper Scott Meisel of the Condor reported very good fishing on kelps at one day and day and a half range.

By Bill Roecker

Albacore, bluefin and yellowtail made up the most of the fish caught on the five-day trip with skipper Andy Cates that returned July 24. Cates docked at H&M Landing and offloaded an excellent catch that included limits of albacore, plenty of yellowtail, bluefin and a few yellowfin and dorado. The fish were caught offshore and at Cedros Island. Two brothers who work for the LAFD won first and second in the jackpot.

Raymond Gallegos of Long Beach won first place for a 42-pound bluefin tuna. He said he got it with a sardine on a 3/0 Mustad hook he tied to 40-pound Seaguar fluorocarbon leader and 40-pound Big Game line. He said he used a Trinidad 40 reel and a Calstar 700 H rod.

“I got him in ten minutes, during a wide-open bite of mixed tuna,” he told dock reporter Bill Roecker. “You took my picture before; this is the second year I won this jackpot.”

Not to be outdone by his brother, Ricardo Gallegos of Moreno Valley fished lighter, and won second place for a 40-pound albacore that bit on a 2/0 Mustad tied to 30-pound Seaguar and 30-pound Izorline on a Newell reel and a Seeker rod.

“Scrappy” Bob Michener of Oxnard won third place for a 39.7-pound bluefin tuna. Mark Bard of North Las Vegas was the chartermaster.



LA Rod & Reel Club

“Game on!” Says the report from Qualifier 105 for Friday, July 24: “The day started before dawn with some of the guys up early fishing the heavy iron. A couple fish then it was time to get rolling. We trolled for a little while before we got stopped. When we did the fish came up pretty good, and we had everyone at the rail bit. The guys all worked together great and we had a few good stops today.

“With everyone close to limits on the albacore we were happy to find some yellowfin!! Also we had some nice bluefin to go with the albies and yellowfin tuna. With all anglers close to limits of albies we will spend tomorrow looking for some bigger bluefin. It looks like this summer is going to be a good one for the offshore fishing. Call the girls now to save your spot!”

Qualifier 105 has two day and a half trips coming up: one leaving July 25, returning the 27, and one leaving the 27 and returning to Pt. Loma Sportfishing July 29.



Yellowtail Fishing On RP

“Our good fortunes continued yet again today with more beautiful weather and some steady yellowtail fishing," reported Royal Polaris July 23. "The action started out early with hungry yellows attacking everything that hit the water. Jigs or bait, it didn’t seem to make much of a difference, as long as you had a hook in the water you were sure to have a bite.

“After the morning show, it slowed down a bit but we were able to continue a fairly steady pick throughout most of the day. Most of our early morning fish went in the 15 to 22-pound class, however we did bump into a nice batch of the premium grade 25 to 35-pound yellows and we were able to catch about 30 before they went back down. Tomorrow we will be back offshore looking for more bluefin and maybe a dorado or two if we’re lucky.”



Searcher Shifts Gears

“We had another great day of fishing for big albacore! Everything was the same today,” read the report for July 23, “with plenty of opportunities to land a big, fat albacore. Most of the fish were caught in the afternoon but we enjoyed plenty of action through out the day. There were troll fish and live bait fish on almost all the stops. A 40-pound outfit is a must for this type of fishing.

“We are headed for Cedros Island tomorrow for a change in scenery and a different type of fish--yellowtail on fly line sardines is the order for tomorrow.”



Fishing On Albacore

Intrepid is enjoying the latest hot albacore bite, as indicated by the boat’s latest report, from Thursday, July 23:

“We had a great day of Albacore fishing today. It was hit and run style fishing for us, as we would get a jig strike, meter or sonar mark, catch some Albies and then run and get on them again. At times we would get everyone hooked up and the controlled chaos would add excitement to the fishing. We have many first time Long Rangers on board this trip including John Patrick Normoyle pictured here with one of the many nice grade Albies we landed today. The smile says it all!”



Shogun Fishes For Science

“Today we used stealth techniques on bluefin and sure enough a few consistently bit the sardines,” reported skipper Bruce Smith for Shogun July 23.

“The crew loves to fish for bluefin on this trip, and everyone was on the decks as Norm consistently put us in the large bluefin tuna schools. We opened archival tagging station one, led by Robbie Schallert and Dr. Barb Block. We were able to deploy five archival tags into small bluefin ranging in size from 20 to 35 pounds. Anglers from the Shogun and TRCC used a variety of newly tied gear which included smaller circle hooks, 25 # test, and stealthily tied knots.

“The bluefin than proceeded to bite some of this gear along with the typical heavy tackle we used to get fish in quick. However, we also got bit on 40 and 50-pound test, raising the point that maybe some of these fish would have bitten anything we put out! But most did not bite at all. They just go down when we go over them; they’re a bit skittish. We were rewarded today with five really nice bluefin for tagging and three for collecting. About five more got away either at the swim step, on the first bite, or after a long fight. Currently the cut off for tagging is about a 20-pound bluefin; above this size we tag them as they get a bit too large for the wells for collection of live specimens.

There are scattered bluefin in the region, with some larger schools of small jumpers and boilers. Our camera crew got some awesome shots with their super fast digital arrays. Weather could not be finer and armed with a tremendous dose of enthusiasm I hope tomorrow will be the day we get our wells filled.”



Jumbo Longfin for Ken's Custom Reels

"Leaving the dock yesterday," reported American Angler captain Ray Lopez July 23, "we had good reports on the albacore grounds and we woke up this morning excited, our stomaches filled with butterflies but not getting our hopes up too high. Rolling into the zone with beautiful working weather, we right away started seeing sign of biting fish.

"Working together with our fellow code boats allowed us to stay on them and keep the fish located all day. After the day was all said and done, our team can say hands down we had an excellent day of albacore fishing. With such good weather, our plan is to stay in the zone in hopes of rounding up a few more albacore and possibly some bluefin."



At the Rail & In the Skiff

Yellowtail, Tuna & Bass aboard Red Rooster III

This NEW Standup Fishing with Bill Roecker DVD has exciting action from offshore tuna to bulldog calico bass!

San Diego’s summertime long range fishing ventures from 50 to 500 miles south of Pt. Loma, and you never know what you’ll find biting in the offshore waters.

Join Bill Roecker and two dozen anglers on the Thom Hultgen Charter with chartermaster George Daniels and several expert fishermen from Bloodydecks.com as they fish nearby for bluefin and albacore. Then run south on the Rooster to Thetis Bank, for wide-open yellowtail surface fishing. The yellowtail are running from 15 to 35 pounds, cruising the shallows of the bank which comes up to about 90 feet.

The fish are big and they’re hungry! It's a paradise for jigging long rodders and bait anglers, too.



A quick tour west to Alijos Rocks is on the agenda, with some schoolie yellowfin biting. Then skipper Andy Cates takes his anglers north for some special fishing that only happens in the spring. You’ll see what skiff fishing for calico bass is like at Cedros Island. Lunker kelp bass bite plastic swim baits in the kelp holes, so many bulldog bass they’ll tire your arms! Honker homeguard yellowtail are on the feed here, too.

So settle back, relax and watch friendly fishing fun like you can’t get anywhere else, with top long range skipper Andy Cates calling the shots! For Bill Roecker's June report aboard the Red Rooster III, CLICK HERE! Available to ORDER today!

"We had another excellent day of offshore fishing again today," reported Royal Polaris July 22.

"Jumbo 30 to 50-pound albacore were on the chew and we took full advantage. We had several chaotic full speed stops where every pole on the boat was bent. The center well is now completely jugged with fatso albacore and we have full limits on the longfin. Tonight we are traveling southeast toward the coast to try and find some yellowtail and get started filling up our starboard fish well."



Sims Checks In

"As predicted on this site a few days ago," Royal Star's Brian Sims reported July 22, "we had some very good fishing today. Our best stop of the day was a ripper for 70 fish. The albacore are beauties at 25 to 40-pounds. There is also a mix of tuna in these schools. Our weather is flat calm and predicted to stay that way. We will be in this same offshore area again in the morning."



Excellent Catch for Searcher

"We had an excellent day of fishing albacore today," read the Searcher report July 22. "The majority of the fish are in the 30 pound class. This is a unique opportunity to catch this grade of albacore. We haven't had a shot at this grade of fish in a few years. We feel very lucky!

"Most of the fish are caught on flylined sardines and 30 to 40-pound line. We strongly recommend a 40-pound outfit for this size fish. We are staying another day in the area and we hope to have a repeat of today. The weather is calm so that makes this even more special.

"We still have openings on trips in the future so give Celia a call in the office."



Yesterday Slow, Today Hot

"Yesterday was on the slow side for us," read the Intrepid report July 22.

"We took a look at the area we were fishing on the last trip and found that the albacore were not responding. We then ventured into a new area and found a few fish to put in the hold. These were nice grade albacore in the 30 to 40-pound class. Action was not hot, but we made a day of it.

"Today we are in a new area and have started off with a Bang, we got on a school just at gray light and they are biting well for us. We are looking forward to the rest of the day, as the conditions and sign are looking good."



Big Fat Albacore

"Good day to all," read the Independence report July 22. "We did the usual thing on our turn around day and departed on the 15th annual Baja Pappy Hoppers five day, and took on a bunch of great sardines and headed the boat south where we ended the last trip due to very good signs of big fat albacore. We arrived mid-morning and got busy right away on 25 to 40 plus pound albacore in beatiful flat calm weather. We ended the day with limits of albies. We are planning to spend another day in this area hoping for a repeat. The sign of fish looks fantastic for the upcoming trips and we do have a few spots on the next couple of trips if anyone wants to get in on this good fishing we are having. Give Judy a call!"



Albies, Bluefin Cooperate

"We had world class fishing out here today on the 28 to 38-pound albacore with a few in the 40-pound range thrown in. Absolutely phenomenal fishing! The bluefin also cooperated and everyone had a chance for a few of them. The weather is gorgeous. And everyone on board is obvious having a great time. We hope to see you out fishing soon. There are a couple open spots on our July 25th trip. If you can get away, give Susan a call."

By Bill Roecker

“We went looking,” said Excel skipper Justin Fleck at Fisherman’s Landing July 22, “and we found scattered breaking bluefin of 30 to 50 pounds. We also found jumbo albacore of 25 to 45 pounds.”

Jan Howard was charter mistress on the five-day Braid trip with 21 anglers.

“The bluefin came and boiled on the corner,” she told dock reporter Bill Roecker, “in flat calm conditions. This was a very mellow group.”

Robert Zane of Rancho Palos Verdes won first place for a 42.4-pound bluefin tuna. He said he got it with a sardine on a 4/0 ringed Super Mutu hook tied to 30-pound Seaguar fluorocarbon leader. He fished with 30-pound monofilament mainline, an Accurate B-270 reel and a Calstar 700 M rod.

Miles Yamaguchi of Riverside won second place for a 41.2-pounder, and Lyle Burkhart of Claremont won third place for his 40.8-pound bluefin.



“He Ate Me Up”

The three-day Steve Powell charter aboard Spirit of Adventure returned to H&M Landing July 22 with 18 anglers aboard. They fished with skipper Brian Evans.

Mike Stephenson of Big Bear Lake won first place for his 53.5-pound yellowfin tuna. He said it bit a sardine on a 2/0 ringed Super Mutu hook, and fought him hard for 30 minutes. He fished with 40-pound Big Game line on a Daiwa Grand Wave 30 reel and a Seeker cut-down 800 H rod.

“He ate me up,” said Mike. “I’ve caught bigger fish that fought less.”

Christian Reynolds of Upland won second place for a 42-pound yellowfin, and Chuck Thompson of Big Bear Lake won third place for a 38-pound bluefin tuna.



Skipper Notes More Consistent Bite

Brian Kiyohara brought American Angler back to Pt. Loma Sportfishing July 22 after a Sport Chalet five-day trip with chartermaster Brad LeMoine. He liked the way the fish have been biting recently. The 26 anglers aboard had a nice mixed catch of tuna and yellowtail.

Matt Fischer of San Diego won first in the jackpot for a 40.6-pound bluefin. He said it came on a sardine and a 3/0 Hayabusa hook. He used 30-pound Seaguar fluorocarbon leader and 25-pound Ande line on a Daiwa 30 reel and a Seeker six and a half-foot rod.

“It was a good fish,” remarked Matt, “on light line.”

Bill Blankenship of Pomona won second place for a 39.2-pound bluefin. Ron Hitada of Diamond Bar got third place for his 36.8-pound bluefin tuna.



"Off to a Great Start"

"We had an absolutely excellent day of offshore fishing today complete with beautiful weather and lots of biting fish," reported Royal Polaris July 21.

"We had stops all day long on jumbo grade albacore, most of which were in the 35 to 50-pound class with a few going 25 to 35-pounds. We also managed a few bluefin to go with it. Tonight we plan to stay in the same area and hope to repeat tomorrow. Wish us luck."

By Bill Roecker

Western Outdoors News Editor Pat McDonell chartermastered the four-day trip aboard Intrepid with skipper Kevin Osborne that returned to Pt. Loma Sportfishing July 21. Weather made for a couple of tough days fishing, but the 25 anglers aboard made the best of it and were rewarded with a good day on better fish. Two more oilfish were caught while the boat tried dangling squid at night for swordfish.

Some quality tuna were caught by the group when yellowfin tuna of 40 to 50 pounds were found in the open water.

Thomas St. Pierre of Orangevale took 25 minutes to beat the first-place yellowfin, a 47-pounder, after it swallowed his sardine on a 2/0 hook. He said he used Yo-Zuri Hybrid line on an unknown make of reel with a seven-foot Ugly Stick rod.

“He was a two-beer fish,” said St. Pierre.

Ken Ross of Long Beach won second place for a 46-pound yellowfin. Doug Mauk of Gold Canyon, AZ and Walter Elizalde of Burbank booked hooked the third-place winner, a 41-pound yellowfin.

“We had stops,” said skipper Osborne, “for mixed albacore, yellowfin and bluefin. It looks like these fish are moving 12 to 15 miles every night.”



Three Docs On Dock

Tim Ekstrom brought his Royal Star back to Fisherman’s Landing July 21 with a nice five-day catch he scratched up offshore. His 25 anglers included a couple of husband-wife teams and three doctors: Endodontist Dave Hall of Red Deer, Alberta, Surgeon Andy Cooperman of Encinitas and Vetranarian Warren Sakamoto of Long Beach. The three have fished aboard the Star many times. This time they posed with a yellowtail, bluefin and yellowfin for Bill Roecker’s camera.


“Wait until you see what’s coming up this way,” said skipper Ekstrom. “You’re gonna like it!”

He was referring to the schools of mixed tuna that offshore boats have been finding between 100 and 200 miles south.

Scott Morton of Huntington Beach won first place in the jackpot for an 80-pound bluefin, the second-best taken so far this season. Scott bagged it with a sardine on a 5/0 unknown hook, on 40-pound line and a Trinidad 40 reel on a Calstar700 M rod. He said it came to the boat in ten minutes.

Floyd Abbot of Hobbs, NM won second place for a 42.5-pound bluefin, and Andy Cooperman got third place for a 41.5-pound yellowfin.



Alijos Burning With Pelagics

Captain Billy Grisham docked Independence at Pt. Loma Sportfishing July 21 after a great six-day trip to Alijos Rocks. He also fished offshore and at Cedros Island.

“Really good fishing,” he said, “with a variety of fish. On our last day we got five dozen bluefin, 21 albacore and a bunch of yellowtail off a paddy. It’s 70 degrees there now. Just so you know, the skipper of record on this trip was Billy Grisham.”

The trip was sponsored jointly by West Coast Marketing (Rick Ozaki) and Avet Reels. The fishing at Alijos Rocks was very good for tuna and wahoo. Some big skins were landed, and Mike Feinberg of West Hills posed with a pair of 66-pound bookend wahoo.

“Lots of the wahoo came on blue and gold Raider jigs,” said Ozaki.


Bob Cross of Las Vegas caught the season’s second-best albacore, a 45.4-pounder, on a sardine and 40-pound line.

Ira Drogin of Brooklyn, NY won first place for an 88-pound yellowfin tuna. He said he bagged it with a sardine on a 4/0 J hook tied to 40-pound Seaguar fluorocarbon leader, 40-pound Izorline and 65-pound Izorline Spectra backing on an Avet HXW reel and a Calstar 6460 rod.



Get Ready For The Bigs

This came into our email July 20:

“Hi, Bill: This was the report from the Pegasus:

‘7/19: Nice scratching today for the guys on the first day of two days, 60 Albacore and a hand full of yellowfin for 13 Anglers, but and I say but, the Yellowfin were over 50 pounds and one of our trollers with 80-pound spectra was spooled today that’s 600 yards of 80-pound guess we got some big ones around could be getting interesting and a little spicy! Come prepared, Joe Chait, Owner-Skipper Pegasus.’

What do you think?  Have you heard of any big tuna coming in this year from short range boats?” Zack Skochko, by email July 20, 2009

Bill’s Reply:

Hi, Zack: I can’t say for sure, of course, but the description here fits very well with some past experiences involving bigeye tuna. I once saw four rods stripped at the same time by bigeye. One stayed on a couple of minutes, making the angler think he had a chance, but then it departed after its friends, and we had four empty reels. It could be yellowfin or bluefin, but I’d just about bet the stripper was a bigeye, which can reach 250 pounds or more in our waters during summer.”

Change It Up

"After two days of driving around dealing with trolling rotations and obviously only fishing conventionally when the boat is stopped, it was nice to go into the Island," reported American Angler June 20.

"When we got up in the morning it was socked in fog which meant there was no wind but created high anxiety amongst the crew. The majority of all our fishing is done with visual aid and the fog made bird school fishing nonexistent. We knew that the fog would eventually lift but we didn't plan on waiting until lunch. Many gray hairs later, we finally got with the program and stomped on the yellows until dark. We had great fishing with all the techniques working equally well. This weather is as good as it gets and believe me we are stoked."



Tuna Research And Conservation Center Team Aboard Shogun

Dr. Barbara Block report July 19: "The Shogun has become a Research Vessel for the week as the Tuna Research and Conservation Center team of Stanford University and MBA are out with Captain Norm and the Shogun Crew for our annual bluefin tuna tagging and collecting trip. The trip is supported by our Tagging of Pacific Pelagic (TOPP) program, a 10-year program focused on using electronic tagging technologies to document the movements and behaviors of marine predators in the North Pacific. The objective has been to advance electronic tagging technologies and scientific methods to meet the challenges of the 21st century for marine resource management and ocean modeling. To date the TOPP team has tagged 4000 fish, sharks, whales, squid, albatross and turtles. The second objective of the trip is to collect bluefin for our research center in Monterey.

"Today we got off to an outstanding start on our summer trip as we've located some bluefin of the perfect collectable size, about 12 lbs. We quickly placed 10 bluefin aboard the ship in two holds and began tagging with archival tags. This process is somewhat akin to throwing a laptop computer into the bluefin and returning the fish to the sea. This trip we're carrying the Lotek 2310 archival tags that require surgical implantation and some brand new very advanced tags that we're testing. The tags record light, temperature and pressure, they have a clock and the algorithms allow us to do position and discern the vertical and horizontal movements of the fish. It's a great start to the trip to be close to home and have the perfect size fish in the wells for collection. We've had a super day with whales, dolphins, bluefin, albatross and terns.


"The pictures show Luis Rodriguez and Dan Madigan removing the hook from a fish on a specially built swim step on the shogun for handling live fish. We had two bluefin tagging stations operating where Robbie Schallert and I tagged fish and at the second station we had Jake Noguiera and Alex Norton tagging and they are shown releasing a fish. Gen Del Ray and Dane Klinger assisted."

June 20: "Today was beautiful day on the ocean- clear skies, warm temperatures and beautiful weather. We started the day with tremendous optimism after our first days success however- we failed to locate Thunnus orientalis. We did find one lonely albacore on the troll. Dan Madigan sampled the the albacore for his thesis research on diet of albacore. We're going to take the live
fish in to the dock to off load for a trip to the research tanks in Monterey. Hope to back out fishing by the afternoon. We're thinking a lot about how the bluefin tuna interact with the banks of the region and where they might be.

"The sampling shows Gen Del Ray and Luis Rodriguez taking fresh samples of the tuna hearts for studies that help us better understand how these olympians tolerate large changes in ambient water while delivering oxygen to tissues that operate at high temperatures. Our heart is warm- and sends blood to warm tissues- the tunas have this remarkable capacity to go deep into cooler waters - chilling the heart - but maintaining flow to warm muscle tissues. How they do this is a mystery given a mammal's heart would stop!"

Reporting in the San Diego Union-Tribune July 21, Ed Zieralski told of a fly fisherman catching a white shark, a “little” six-footer, and releasing the young fish.

Jeff Patterson of Camarillo was the angler, guided by Conway Bowman as the pair fished off La Jolla this past weekend. Patterson said the shark made a run of 275 yards, as it stripped line from his Abel Super 13 reel with 380 yards of backing. He brought the shark to the boat with a 15-weight Scott rod. The fly was a foot long, in a bleeding mackerel pattern.

The angler and guide were using a chum slick to attract sharks, and Patterson also caught and released eight blue sharks and three makos while fishing for two days. The white shark fought the fly fisherman for 25 minutes.

By Bill Roecker

Sporting a new “hair hat,” Roy Rose brought Frank LoPreste’s Royal Polaris home to Fisherman’s Landing July 20 after a Hi’s Tackle Box charter of five days with 36 anglers aboard. The trip produced a nice mixed catch of albacore, bluefin and yellowtail with a few yellowtail thrown in.


“I don’t have too much to say about,” said chartermaster Charles Tanaka. “It was a good trip, and we had good fishing.”

Nelson Cayabyab of Irvine won first place for his 32-pound bluefin tuna. He said it fought for about 20 minutes after he hooked it on a sardine and a 1/0 Mustad circle hook. He used 40-pound Izorline fluorocarbon leader and 65-pound Izorline Spectra on a small Avet reel and a Seeker Black Steel 6460 rod. Walter Fujita of LA won second place for a 31.2-pound bluefin.

Hutch Severkyan of LA tied with Bob Wolfson of Dana Pt. for third place. Hutch had a 30.2-pound albacore, and Bob got a 30.2-pound yellowtail off a paddy.



"Open Water"

"Today we started out in the 'old zone' as kind of the in-the-middle stop between the two fishing zones," read the report from American Angler June 19.

"It's amazing how three days previous there was steady sign of fish but today there was very little. We had beautiful weather so it seemed inevitable that we would find the mother load. After 14 hours of daylight and lots of miles, we found that the ocean at times can be very stingy. We ended up with 45 mixed fish with an even spread of albacore, bluefin, yellowtail and dorado."



Albies In The Chop

“We started our trip off shore in choppy weather,” reported Excel skipper Justin Fleck July 18.

“At the end of the day we were able to scratch out 78 longfin in the 15 to 25-pound range. The weather forecast looks favorable for tomorrow so we'll be offshore again tomorrow.”

By Bill Roecker

Spirit of Adventure docked under skipper Brian Evans’ hand at H&M Landing July 18. Her 13 anglers had a mixed catch from offshore, including near-limits of albacore, along with some bluefin and yellowfin tuna.

A yellowfin won the jackpot, a 30.7-pounder caught by Dave Mount of Bonita. He said it bit on a sardine and a 2/0 hook of unknown origin. He used 25-pound P-Line, a TLD 15 reel and a Seeker 6470 rod.

Tom Whaley of Carlsbad won second place for a 29.7-pound albacore. J.R. Ryan of Vista won third place for a 28.5-pound albie.

The trip was a four-day charter by Gould Electric of Poway, with John Meyers of San Diego as chartermaster.



Chartermaster Scores

“We tried for two days at 160 miles down,” said chartermaster Jan Ishii of his Vagabond four-day trip with 26 anglers, “and then we went out to 100 miles or so and we found some yellowfin and some bigger bluefin out there. We ended up with near-limits of albacore.”

Skipper Mike Lackey said, “We found one paddy with 14 to 35-pound yellowtail on it.”

Clark Santo of Cerritos won first place for a 40.4-pound bluefin tuna.

“He tired me for the rest of the trip,” he said. “I was on him for at least 30 minutes.”

Santo got his winner with a sardine on a 2/0 Mutu hook tied to 30-pound Maxima line. He used a Daiwa Sealine 30 reel and a Calstar 665 rod. He posed with his bluefin and an albacore that was nearly as large.

Chartermaster Jan won second place for a 36.4-pound bluefin, and Bill Vande Wetering of Laguna Niguel got third place for a 35.6-pound bluefin.



High Expectations

“The last three days in a row, albacore fishing has been a slam dunk,” read the American Angler report for July 18, 2009. “We were kind of leery when we left the dock because the wind was predicted to howl. After a rolling ride out, the weatherman was not joking; we had choppy weather and albacore fishing was pretty tough. Sign of fish was few and far between but luckily when we did see a little they jumped on the jigs right away.

“We ended up with 59 albacore and three bluefin after a long day of fishing. Pete Hanson boated one of the larger bluefin as he showed his two sons how it is done. Tomorrow's weather outlook is much better so hopefully the fishing follows suit.”



Rocks Keep Pouring It On

“We finished our day today in the southern zone,” said the July 18 report for Independence, “with good fishing for yellowfin tuna and wahoo. Yellowfin today were up to 90 pounds, with many in the 50 to 60-pound range, and Wahoo up to 65 pounds. Our weather was hot and sunny, with about 15 knots of wind. This evening we are headed north, and will try fishing yellowtail tomorrow. The good forecast in the weather will hopefully allow us to fish offshore traveling north. So far this trip has been outstanding and we hope it continues for the final two days of fishing. Many of our anglers caught their first Wahoo, and their first tuna on the kite. We have many happy people on board.”



Cedros Yellowtail Bite hard, Fast

“With the weather on the roll offshore, we made the move to Cedros Island,” said the Royal Polaris report for July 18. “We had 15 to 18 knots of breeze in the morning, but by the afternoon, it was flat seas, clear skies, and sunny.

“We had limit style fishing on Yellowtail. Most of the Yellowtail were in the 15 to 18 pound range, with a few going over the 20 pound mark. After we caught our limit on Yellows, we spent some time catching Calico bass. Kathy Rounds caught a small White Sea Bass (released). We are now headed north, and we will try our luck at some Red rockcod tomorrow.

“So until my fingers and key board meet again, wish us luck on the weather.”



An Offshore Report: Fish On The Way

“Good signs all over the lower offshore zone today,” said the report from Royal Star July 18, “although the actual catching/scores really didn't reflect the potential we are seeing. It was one of those odd days when the fish were scattered all over the ocean in small groups without much organization or readable explanation for why they were where we found them. The important thing of course is that we did find some but today's results were the kind that just make you want more and yearn for the big hit that you know is out there somewhere close by.

“I can report with confidence that very good offshore action on mixed fish is poised to hit the local grounds. The trend is northward, the spread of fish is good, and the timing is in line with historic trends. Some of these yellowfin in the mix are forty pounds and greater and the volume of albacore is enough to make one certain that the chance to clobber these beauties is coming in a big way.”



Intro To Long Range Fishing

Qualifier 105 has set up a couple of day and a half trips during the last days of July, typically an excellent time to go albacore fishing. Going for a day and a half means anglers arrive on the grounds at gray light, and because the running is done at night they’ll fish until dark.

If there’s a dawn bite the day and half angler benefits by being there when it happens. If the bite goes off in the late afternoon those anglers will be fishing after other boat have gone home.

The first trip departs on Saturday, July 25 and returns Monday the 27th. The second trip leaves later that day, July 27, and returns Wednesday, July 29.

Bill Roecker recommends day and a half trips anytime the main body of fish is more than 70 miles from San Diego as the best way to make a good catch.



H&M Landing Teams Up With San Diego Natural History Museum For Series of Blue Whale Nature Cruises

(Press Release, San Diego, CA)

It’s an incredible sight! Blue Whales, some as long as 100 feet in length and weighing up to 190 tons (380,000 pounds) are being sighted off the San Diego coast at nine to thirty miles. H&M Landing, in partnership with the San Diego Natural History Museum, has created a series of Blue Whale Cruises from San Diego Bay. The opportunity to view these offshore giants is available for a limited time.

Blue Whales are the largest animals ever to have existed. They can be compared to the largest known dinosaur, the Argentinosaurus, which is estimated to have weighed up to 100 tons. Blue Whales are rorquals, a family that includes the Humpback Whale, the Fin Whale, Bryde’s Whale, the Sei Whale and the Minke Whale. Approximately 2,000 individual whales make up the population that ranges from Alaska to Costa Rica, and are frequently seen from California in summer.

When surfacing to breathe, the Blue Whale raises its shoulders and blowhole out of the water to a greater degree than other whales. Its breathing produces a spectacular spout of vertical spray up to 40 feet high. While they can reach speeds of up 30 miles an hour, they typically travel around 10 miles per hour and 5 miles per hour when feeding. Blue whales are typically seen alone or with one other animal. In areas of large food concentrations, which there is presently off the San Diego coastline, as many as 50 whales have been spotted over a small area.

H&M Landing’s Blue Whale Cruises will run each Sunday through August. The eight-hour cruise departs at 9 AM and returns at 5 PM. The full schedule is July 19, 26, Aug 2, August 9, August 16, August 23, and August 30. Ticket price is $100 for adults and $80 for children. Dolphins, sea lions, sea birds and other marine life are experienced on every cruise.

Cruises include commentary and interpretation by the San Diego Natural History Museum’s trained volunteer staff of shipboard naturalists. H&M Landing has been operating whale watching and sea going nature expeditions since 1954. For more information and the full schedule, visit H&M Landing’s website.

For reservations, call H&M Landing at 619-222-1144. H&M Landing is located at 2803 Emerson Street, San Diego, 92106.

Contact: Catherine Miller 619-889-4322

By Bill Roecker

Chartermaster Wayne Martin hopped off his Catchy Tackle six-day trip aboard Intrepid July 17, after skipper Kevin Osborne docked the boat at Pt. Loma Sportfishing.

“We had 26 anglers,” he said, “a full load. We found excellent yellowtail fishing at Cedros Island for yellowtail. They bit the jigs really well. We had a three-hour drift there on 16 to 25-pounders. At night the mackerel were so thick you could brail them.

Skipper Kevin Osborne weighed the best of the catch on certified scales.

Ryan Steele of Miami, FL tried swordfishing one night and hooked a 31-pound oilfish at some depth with a six-ounce sinker and a squid for bait on heavy gear. No one on deck at the time had seen one, and angler and crewmen soon learned about the barbs on the scales of oilfish.

“There was a fast current running,” said Ryan. “I knew I was hooked up when my clicker went off.”

Bob Buckland of Simi Valley won first place for a 31-pound bluefin tuna he bagged after a 15-minute fight on a sardine and a 3/0 Flyliner hook. He said he used 25-pound Seaguar fluorocarbon leader on 40-pound P-Line, with an Avet SX two-speed reel and a Calstar 765 XL rod.

Darlene Corey of Arcadia won second place for a 24.2-pound albacore, and Grant Melander of Santa Maria won third place for a 23.8-pound yellowtail.



Wahoo Thick At The Rocks

Captain Justin Fleck docked Excel July 18 at Fisherman’s Landing after the seven-day Smith-Bell Charter with 25 anglers.

“We got about 90 wahoo,” he told dock reporter Bill Roecker. “The best fishing for them was on cast jigs like Raiders or Catchy 33’s, with a fast retrieve. We had awesome flyline fishing for tuna on 40-pound line. We didn’t even put out the kites.”

Fleck’s anglers also had a nice catch of yellowtail, rockfish and albacore. It was the closest thing to fall fishing so far this year.

Mike Blumenfield of Laguna Hills won first place for a 63-pound yellowfin tuna he got with a sardine on a 5/0 Gorilla hook. He said he fished with 40-pound Izorline on an Accurate 870 two-speed reel and a Super Seeker eight-foot rod.

Phil Ruemmler of Pasco, WA was second for a 61-pound tuna, and Rick Furmar of Reno, NV was third, for his 59-pound yellowfin tuna. Clay Smith of Reno stood in with the winners holding his 70.6-pound wahoo, a Marauder fish.



Crystal Pier Five-Day Bags ‘Em

Brian Kiyohara brought American Angler home to Pt. Loma Sportfishing July 17 after Jim Bostian’s seventh annual charter. He had 22 passengers and a good catch of yellowtail from the Baja islands.


Chartermaster Jim won his own jackpot for a 42.6-pound yellowtail that fell for his mint-colored 7X Salas surface iron on 40-pound P-Line. He used a Saltiga 40 reel and an Ulua 10-foot rod from Seeker. He said he could still feel the fish.

Dave Wilson of Carlsbad won second place for a 37.6-pound yellow and B.J. beck of Huntington Beach won third place for a 37.2-pounder.

After the jackpot was settled, Bostian posed for a shot with his 15-year-old grandson Dustin Pagalini of San Diego. Dustin goes to University City High, where he plays LaCrosse.



Salas On Jig Hooks

What’s best on iron jigs: single or treble hooks?

Matt Salas makes jigs, as his family has done for at a couple of generations. Here’s what he says about the hooks on iron jigs.

“If you’re fishing deep for tuna or casting jigs for wahoo,” says Matt, “the single hooks are better at holding the fish. They’re also better for releasing fish, for obvious reasons.

“But if you’re fishing surface iron,” notes Salas, “you want to use trebles. The manufacturer’s cost for Siwash and trebles is about the same, unless you go to stainless steel hooks.”

By Bill Roecker

Paul Sweeney and I boarded the Searcher at 4 p.m. July 14, and after an hour or so of waiting for stragglers skipper Kevin Ward ordered the boat cast off and we headed out into the late afternoon. A good northwest breeze was blowing, and I had some concern about how windy it might be way down the line, but Kevin said he’d done some checking and the weather prediction was for the breeze to come down.

We rode downhill through the breezy chop all night, and a couple of hours after dawn we were close enough to the fishing area 160 miles south to start our day. After breakfast served up by chefs Charles Howell and Steve Lamb, we found three kelp paddies over the next ten miles or so, and all were holding yellowtail. They were stock paddy yellows of eight to 12 pounds with a couple of notable exceptions.

Rick Guevara of Anaheim popped a long, lean yellow that had obviously spawned recently. It might have weighed well over 30 pounds, but now it was thin. It was still a tough fighter. We got 20-odd yellowtail from the paddies as we trolled along looking for tuna.

There were young albatross swimming close or standing on the paddies, more of those large birds than usual. They made finding the paddies a lot easier. Little else was showing at the surface, laced with small white wavelets in the 12-mile an hour breeze.

The next paddy we spotted was holding dorado. They were good-sized, 12 to 15 pounds or so, and they caused the usual mayhem of crossed lines, hollering, wildly jumping fish and anglers milling for position. I don’t know how many were lost, because I was following my fish around to the downwind side of the boat, where it came up to be gaffed. We tried the paddy again, but only got one small dorado, so we pushed on.

Skipper Ward was correct in his assessment of the conditions. Both the breeze and the chop were subsiding. The overcast was always with us until late afternoon, but enough sunlight was coming through to make sun protection a good idea.

We had our first tuna stop around midmorning, on a blind strike. Craig Arnold of Fallbrook got the first longfin to the boat, after it bit on a root beer-colored skirted Zuker’s jig Craig called a “Charlie Brown.” He won a DVD from FishingVideos.com for the first albie of the trip.


There were three blind strike stops that morning, producing a dozen or so albacore. As on our previous day and a half trip this season on Royal Star, the fish were still rushing the boat only to break off the engagement within a minute or so. Those bait anglers who were quick to get a bait into the wake on the slide, on the correct side to account for the wind drift were the anglers who got albies.

The next albacore school came on a meter mark following a lunch of giant cheeseburgers.

We got a few more albies this time, and Craig Arnold bagged one on a plastic swimbait in anchovy flavor. Then he tried fishing green swimbaits, but the fish wouldn’t bite that color, he said.

The overcast broke up, the sun came out and we had another blind strike stop that produced several nicer albies, including one over 30 pounds caught by Brittany Fjeldstad on the troll. Fishing with her dad James, Brittany was thrilled, and later she got one on bait.
I hooked up with a sardine on my 20-pound outfit. When the fish pulled me around the stern corner and sounded, I knew I was on something bigger than the 15 to 20-pound albacore that made up the majority of what we’d been catching. It felt like a bluefin, as it dogged me at 200 feet below.

I was concerned it would chew through the light line, but I felt good about the rest of the gear: a 3/0 ringed Mustad 94150 hook on straight 20-pound Mustad line. I fought the beast on a 197 Accurate reel and a Super Seeker 660 XF rod, which was bent to the max. It put enough pressure on the fish so I could raise it, however slowly.

Second skipper Aaron Remy was at my side, starting from midship on the port side around the stern and up to the starboard bow. We went across the anchor several times, as the fish seemed unsure about which way it should go, and at last ended up ahead of the gate on the right side, in the breeze.

It was an albacore, the best one I’ve been attached to for many years. Aaron hit it with a headgaff, and we had it aboard for some pictures up by the bow, where it had given me so much grief earlier. We had bright sunlight, great conditions for a big, beautiful silver fish.

I think it weighed over 40 pounds, and Remy agreed with that, but we had no scales on the boat.

My day was made by that fish, but I wasn’t ready to stop trying. Over the next few hours I managed to fill out my limit of five albacore, and in the last bite, Paul got one, so we had six albies and a dorado to take home. Sweet!

Alex Zarfis of Westlake Village, just about to turn 81, was out there in the midst of our 29 anglers, hooking albacore. He’s not as mobile as he used to be but he got some fish despite being sawed off a couple of times.

“Alex fishes with us,” said skipper Ward. “He wins the jackpot quite often.”

We had several more stops that afternoon, and deckhands Kenny Merrell, Joe Santos and Cole Crafton did a fine job of assisting passengers with their fish and gaffing albacore. We had about 40-some longfin aboard, and everyone was feeling like the pressure was off, but hoping for something big to happen.

It did. Around six p.m. we got a jig stop that turned into a real bite, and we put 22 albacore and three bluefin on the boat. I dropped in a big silver wobbler-type jig called a Russelure on the slide. The Russelure is an unusual shape. I’d compare it roughly to a Flatfish, but the body is U-shaped instead of solid. It has a long history of success on the Gulf and East coasts, and it’s very light for the size.

My big Russelure was snapped on before it got 20 yards back, while we were still moving at two to four knots. The jig was straight-tied to 40-pound line, on an Accurate 870 N reel and a Super Seeker 6470 rod.

That rig was far more outfit than a 25-pound albie could beat, and within a very short time I led the fish to gaff. We took pictures with the fish and the shiny silver jig, which no one on the boat had ever seen before.

I was having a great day, having caught another albacore earlier on a Channel Islands ‘Chovy colored fish Trap swimbait. I brought outfits with 20, 25, 30 and 40-pound line, and got an albacore on each rig. Two longfin came on sardines disguised with Seaguar fluorocarbon leaders of 25 and 30 pounds, tied to 25-pound Izorline.

The three bluefin caught at the six o’clock rush hour were nice ones, and one of them did a number on the angler’s reel, causing the crew to jump in and do a quick splice job. That was the biggest fish of the day, but it was ineligible for the jackpot as the angler ran out of gas and needed help.

A bluefin caught by Greg Commentz of San Diego won the jackpot and a copy of my book Fresh One! Greg said he fished a sardine on a 2/0 VMC hook, with 40-pound Blackwater fluorocarbon leader and 40-pound P-Line on a Torium 30 reel and a Calstar 700 M rod. The fish fought hard for 15 minutes.

“I was expecting an albacore.” Said Greg. I wondered why he was so hard to get up.”


We had one more stop after that last prolonged bite. Around seven that evening the last stop produced two more albacore. We kept looking until it got dark, but found no more biters at 160 miles south of San Diego.

That distance meant we had to hightail it for home. We had to fight a downhill current most of the way, and we didn’t get back to Fisherman’s Landing until 11:30 the next morning. Our score of 70 albacore, three bluefin, 22 yellowtail and a lonesome, 12-pound purple skipjack high-lined the fleet for the day’s fishing, we heard.

We had three father-son teams aboard and the father-daughter, so you could say it was a family trip.

The whole boat, and especially the crew, had a family feeling, I thought. The crew has been together for years, and Kevin Ward has been Art Taylor’s skipper for over a decade. She’s not the latest hull down the ways, but Searcher has put an awful lot of anglers on good fish over the years, and she’s comfortable.

I caught my first 40-pound yellowtail at Cedros Island many years ago aboard Searcher with owner-skipper Taylor, and that’s a memory I’ll always have, along with this one, of a fine day of albacore fishing a lot farther from San Diego than you’d ordinarily go. Thanks, Art and Celia, and thanks to your excellent crew.

"Today we had good fishing on both quality yellowfin and wahoo," reported Excel skipper Justin Fleck July 13.

"The action started in the late morning and carried into the afternoon with flurries coming through where you would keep five to ten fish hooked all the time. At times, the wahoo would show up just to keep everyone on their toes. We ended the rally with 77 tuna, 60 wahoo, and 20 nice yellows.

"We are going to spend the night and try to do it all again tomorrow."

"It was a slow day on the albacore grounds with only 49 fish landed for the passengers aboard the Shogun," reported skipper Bruce Smith July 12.

"The wind has come up to 15 knots, but we aren't seeing near the volume of fish today as we did a couple of days ago.

"Some bigger albacore are filtering in all the time, today's biggest went 37 pounds."

By Bill Roecker

John Grabowski docked Red Rooster III July 12 after the eight-day Jorge Nicifore Memorial/Beefer X trip with “Coach Cliff Clark” as chartermaster. Like skippers Toussaint and LoPreste, he fished at Alijos Rocks when the two-degree warming took place overnight, and his group also benefitted greatly from the influx of dorado and wahoo that came through on the break.

Probably the most astounding event of the change was the size of the wahoo Rooster anglers found on the end of their lines.


Ryan Clifton of Truckee trolled an orange and black (think Halloween) Marauder and connected with a giant 88.8-pound wahoo.

“He made a long, long run,” said Ryan, “and then he came in so fast I didn’t think he was still there. When he got close he was so big and striped I thought he was a marlin. He came up on the port corner of the stern.”

The wahoo is the best of the new season. In fact, it’s the best skinny Bill Roecker has seen for several years.

Jeff Johnson of Canyon Lake won first place for a 91-pound yellowfin. It took a sardine on a 2/0 ringed Mutu hook and 40-pound Seaguar fluorocarbon leader. He used 65-pound Line One Spectra on an Accurate 665 N reel and a Calstar 700 ML rod.

He said there was also a flood of dorado accompanying the wahoo; “…there was a period when you couldn’t hook anything but dorado as they passed The Rocks.”

Forest Reynard of San Clemente won second place for another XL wahoo. This one weighed 73.4 pounds and was caught with a sardine on a circle hook, on straight monofilament.

Mike Shelton of Florence, AZ won third place for a 71.4-pound tuna.

By Bill Roecker

Frank LoPreste backed his Royal Polaris into her slip at Fisherman’s Landing July 12 after an excellent eight-day trip to Alijos Rocks and the offshore fishing grounds. He had 31 anglers aboard the RingedHooks.com trip with Guy Macdonald, company owner aboard as chartermaster.

“We caught some albacore the first afternoon,” remembered MacDonald as he spoke with dock reporter Bill Roecker. “We ended up with limits of tuna and yellowtail.


“We had a good day at Alijos Rocks fishing for yellowfin. We went in to The Ridge and found plenty of yellowtail at the 23 Spot, and then we went up to the offshore tuna area. We got 85 bluefin tuna at one stop!

“Fishing at The Rocks was best,” continued MacDonald, “with 30-pound line and ringed hooks, of course. When we fished the bluefin the kite worked pretty well with dual sardines. It gets the baits away from the boat.”

Roger Phelps of Ojai won first place in the jackpot for a 58-pound yellowfin he got with a sardine on a 4/0 ringed Mutu hooks. He said he fished with 40-pound Izorline and 65-pound Spectra on an Avet LX reel and a Sabre GFX 500 rod.

“He ran out half my spool right away,” said Roger, “with 15 pounds of drag. Then, 25 minutes later, he came up on the port bow.”

Angel Cruz of San Diego won second place for a 55.8-pounder. David Martin of San Bernadino won third place for a 54-pound tuna.

Jim Howard of Idlewyld Park, OR won the Rollo Jackpot for a 37-pound yellowtail,, and stood in with the winners.

Betsey Biondo of Del Mar wasn’t in the jackpot, nor was her hubby Vince, but Betsey came up with a 41-pound yellowtail that bit a sardine on 40-pound line.



Whopper Albert, Skins For Star

Randy Toussaint brought his Royal Star home from a seven-day Kashiki Charter July 12 with a great catch of yellowfin and other species.

“About 180 of the tuna were the bigger ones, over 40 pounds,” he said. His 25 anglers also had 16 wahoo, the first skinnies of the summer, and 90 albacore.

“The fish moved in overnight,” he said. “One day it was 69 degrees and the next it was 71. We woke up and trolled around and there they were; we caught wahoo.”

The trip’s big fish was a 78-pound yellowfin tuna caught by Liz Franzino of Hemet, who fished with her hubby.

“He took me most of the way around the boat,” said Liz. “He loved the anchor rope. Thanks to the crew, I got him in.”

Liz hooked her big fish on a sardine and a 5/0 Mustad 91450 hook tied to 30-pound Izorline. She said she used 50-pound Spectra on an Avet LX reel and a Calstar 700 ML rod.

Fred Borg of San Francisco won second place for a 71.5-pound tuna. Ron Sleight of Irvine won third place for a 67.5-pound tuna he caught with 30-pound line.



Supreme Three-Day Ironmen

Tommy Rothery finished up a three-day trip on his Polaris Supreme and tied up at Fisherman’s Landing July 12.

“We had good fishing on albacore,” he said, “and bluefin fishing was okay, too. I think I saw the longest spread of albacore I’ve seen in five years. We had some kids who fished for tuna with iron from the bow, The Ironmen. They did great!”


Hubert Bell of Bonita won the jackpot for a 47-pound albacore, the best one to come in to the docks this season.

He said it bit on a sardine pinned to a 2/0 Super Mutu hook on 30-pound P-Line. He used an Accurate B-2 500 reel on an 800 M Calstar wrapped by Don’s Bait & Tackle.

Tom Carr of San Diego won second place for a 42.4-pound bluefin and Lohn Storms of Vista won third place for a 38.6-pound bluefin tuna.

The Ironmen kindly posed for Bill Roecker’s camera. They were Hugh Seifert, 14, Hunter Lane, 14, and Jorge daSilva, 13, all of Poway. Hugh and Hunter will go to Poway High and Jorge to St. Michael’s.

The boys said they got most of their fish with chrome and blue Tady 9 jigs and Megabait darts or knife jigs.

by Bill Roecker

Rick Kelly docked Intrepid July 11 at Pt. Loma Sportfishing following a six-day Larry Brown charter that fished at Cedros Island and offshore with 14 anglers. The group had limits of yellowtail.

Sang Vo of Garden Grove won first place for a 37.2-pound yellowtail. He said he got it with a sardine on a 2/0 Super Mutu hook on 30-pound Izorline. He fished with a Trididad 20 reel and a Calstar 800M rod.

Mark Lievrecht of Woodland Hills won second place for a 20.2-pounder, and Chris Pollack of San Diego got third place for a 19.6-pound yellowtail.

Bob Gurbuz of LA bagged a 27.2-pound halibut.



Vagabond Limits On Longfin

Mike Lackey docked his Vagabond at Pt. Loma Sportfishing July 11 after a two and a half-day trip that got limits of albacore, along with a good catch of bluefin tuna for the 25 fishermen.

Anglers aboard said they released at least 100 albies, and that the boat had to keep driving away from schools of albacore in order to pursue bluefin. The trip was a Dick Rhinehart charter, and Dick took second place.

Scott Ocheltree of San Diego won first place for a 42-pound bluefin that bit on his sardine and a 2/0 Mustad hook. He told Bill Roecker that he used a25-pound Ande line on a Saltiga 20 reel and a Sabre six-foot rod.

Chartermaster Rinehart got second for an albacore that weighed 40 pounds on the boat but was unfortunately cut for food, so there was no photo or dock weight.

Keith Byrne of Temple won third place for a 36-pound bluefin tuna.



Dockwork Never Ends

The surface fishing season is in full swing now, and the docks are mostly empty and quiet during the daylight hours. The redshirts that work for Fisherman’s Canning at Fisherman’s Landing are busy, though, and lately they repaired the non-skid surface on the ramps.

The ramps got a new coat of paint with reflective material, as the boys worked to get it done between boat arrivals.

A Plethora Of Longfin

“Excellent, excellent, excellent albacore fishing!” said the report from Polaris Supreme July 10. “And fair hits on the 30-pound bluefin to go with it. Beautiful weather. Everyone is having an excellent time. This is probably the best albacore fishing in four to five years. This is a great time to get out. And just to mention it again, we are only a few spots away from making our 3-day on the 16th a go. Call Susan if you can come out with us.”



Mighty Big Wahoo

“We have changed our game plan for the remaining fishing time we have left on our 8 day adventure,” wrote Red Rooster III skipper John Grabowski July 10.

“Yesterday I reported seeing pretty good sign of wahoo where we are and we landed one fish around 70 pounds. Well, today the sign of wahoo went from pretty good to I would have to say very good. The amount of fish we saw today on the (sonar) machines was impressive to say the least, however, it did not bite all that well.

“The size is also very impressive, we had 35 wahoo today from 40 to 90 pounds (that 90 pounds is a guess, it could be bigger or a few pounds smaller) and we had a lot of fish from 50 to 70 pounds in the 35 fish that came aboard. It was regulation wahoo fishing; see the fish with the sonar, and if you did get a strike or they responded to the bait you got the chance for some. If what we saw today acts even the least bit right, we could be in for a fun day tomorrow, time will only tell. Needless to say the excitement level around the boat for what could happen tomorrow is high. If we can scratch what we had today we will be stoked.

“We also had 30 more of the 40 to 70 pound tuna today (we did not spend much time trying for tuna) and 40 dorado, it was an exciting, action-packed day. Our weather continues to be picture perfect, and we are waiting to see what this place has to offer tomorrow with baited breath. Water temperature 72.7 degrees, good night.”

Red Rooster III will dock at H&M Landing tomorrow morning.



Sensational Weather, Fishing

“Weather was sensational,” said the Royal Polaris report for July 10. “Fishing was as good as it gets. We caught 90 Bluefin tuna and limits of Albacore in the 18 to 24-pound category. From 15:00 hours to 19:00 we actually ran away from large schools of Albacore.

“We are hoping for some Halibut in the morning and then a few Reds. Wish us luck and enjoy the photo.”

by Bill Roecker

Skipper Mike Ramirez docked Bill Poole’s Excel July 10 at Fisherman’s Landing, after a five-day trip with 20 anglers. They found a good mixed catch of albacore and bluefin, along with some yellowtail.

Chartermaster Alan Carlson of Forest Hill was aboard to fish and make the Seeker trophy presentation for the three best fish on Seeker rods. As it turned out, the three jackpot winners all fished with Seeker rods, so one photo here stands for what could have been two.

Jeff Shaffer of Bakersfield won first place for a 38.8-pound bluefin that sucked in his sardine on a 3/0 Gorilla hook. Jeff said he used 50-pound Blackwater fluorocarbon leader and 65-pound Line One Spectra on an Avet HX reel and a Super Seeker 6470 H rod.

“He bit about 20 feet from the boat,” said Jeff, “on a big hot bait.”

Gus McBeath of Simi Valley won second place for a 34.4-pounder, and Chad Ele of Clovis got third place for a 33.2-pound bluefin tuna.



First Limits Of Bluefin

Jeff DeBuys docked Independence July 10 after a five-day Sportfishing Report.com trip with 20 anglers. Chad Woods of Carson City, NV was chartermaster. He runs the web site, and he won his own jackpot.

“I also hooked a yellowtail at Cedros on my eleven-weight fly rod,” said Chad to dock reporter Bill Roecker, “but he broke my it!”

Woods said he got his prize-winning 41.8-pound bluefin with a sardine on a 2/o Mutu hook tied to 25-pound Izorline on an Accurate 197 reel and a Calstar 700 M rod.

Terry Sandoval of Anaheim won second place for 39.8-pound bluefin and Mike Dahn of Thousand Oaks won third place for a 37.2-pound shortfin.

Crewman Frank Villanueva enjoyed a rare chance to fish, and celebrated the occasion with a 47.8-pound bluefin.



Albacore Limits For Salas Charter

Matt Salas chartermastered a two and a half-day trip aboard the American Angler that returned July 10 with 26 fisherman who had limits of albies and a hump and a third of bluefin tuna. Brian Kiyohara skippered the adventure, which put fish on the boat during the first afternoon after leaving Pt. Loma Sportfishing.

The Salas trip came in July 10, and chartermaster Matt won the jackpot (there was only one place on the short trip) for a 41.6-pound bluefin, but he backed that fish up with the second-largest tuna as well, a 37.6-pounder. He got ‘em both with sardines.

“It was good fishing at 150 miles,” noted Matt.

"The bite seemed best from noon to dusk. We trolled between stops, but we didn’t have to go very far. The albacore were so thick I could drop a Pee Wee over and get bit before it could sink.”

Salas got his big bluefin on sardines and 3/0 Super Mutu ringed hooks. He said he used 40-pound Seaguar fluorocarbon leader and 65-pound Spectra backing on an Avet JX reel and a Calstar 700 M rod.



“Balmy Grease Calm Conditions”

"Another great day on quality tuna,” said the report from Royal Star July 9, “and yellows on the anchor in balmy grease calm conditions here at the Rock today. The water is warming up by the minute and we literally watched it transition into Fall-style conditions with free-swimming wahoo around the boat. They were mixed with dorado.

“We spent a good portion of the day trolling around and were rewarded with 16 wahoo to top off an already great catch. We bid a fond farewell to The Stones this evening and plan on spending our last day in the offshore grounds trying for albacore and bluefin.”

by Bill Roecker

Whether you call it a gray bite or a sunsetter, Spirit of Adventure anglers experienced two prolonged bites at the end of the afternoon on at least two of the four days they fished. One bite was on bluefin and the other on albacore, and the end result was a near-limit catch of both species, in near-equal numbers. Anglers aboard gave credit to skipper Brian Evans for his savvy and perseverance.

Evans docked Mike Keating’s boat at H&M Landing July 9, and the 24 anglers fishing on Jim Boyle’s charter unloaded their gear and brought their biggest fish to the scales.

One of the anglers was John Benfield of Banning, who said, “It was a great trip! We were in the right place at the right time all four days. We caught fish every day, so many we needed the cooks to come out and gaff.”

Joe Martinez of Lomita won the jackpot for a 37.1-pound bluefin tuna he beat in five minutes. It bit Joe’s sardine on a 1/0 Mutu hook on 30-pound Izorline. He used 65-pound Izorline Spectra backing on an Avet SX reel and a 665 Fenwick rod.

Fred Roy of Fontana won second place for what will now be the season’s best albacore, at least until tomorrow. The longfin weighed 36.8 pounds on H&M’s certified scales. Dale Prichard of Redondo Beach won third place for a 36.6-pound bluefin.



Supreme Bags Mixed

A second fine catch of fish arrived at Fisherman’s Landing July 9 when Tommy Rothery backed his Polaris Supreme into his slip at Fisherman’s Landing with 24 passengers aboard on the eighth annual Paul Hess Charter.

“The crew did awesome,” said Hess, who lives in Napa. “They worked so hard. We always have some newbies, and the crew took excellent care of them.”

Sandra Lafferty showed dock reporter Bill Roecker her 15-fish albacore limit. Several other anglers also had limits.

Bob Snyder of Napa won first place for a 37.8-pound bluefin he got with a sardine on a 2/0 Mustad hook tied to 30-pound P-Line. He used a Trinidad 30 reel and a Calstar 800 M rod.

Dave Grabenauer of Napa won second place for a 36.4-pound bluefin, and Ed Coppock of Concord took third place for a 33.2-pound bluefin. Kyle Downs stood in with the winners with the trip’s best albacore, a 30-pounder.



The Lot’s Full: PQ Followup

Pacific Queen owner-skipper Bill Cavanaugh called Fisherman’s Landing yesterday morning to report biting fish, bluefin and albacore, at 60 miles. Word got out, because the following day the parking lot was full at six a.m., and boats were calling in to report catches of a dozen to more than 30 fish by the time the gray bite was over.

The Queen pulled in the next morning, July 9, with 43 albacore, one yellowtail and 26 bluefin for her 12 anglers on their day and a half trip.

This looks to Roecker like the real deal, and the bite should hold up for a couple of weeks or more, as good catches are being made at 60 and 150 miles.

by Bill Roecker

Twenty anglers fishing aboard the Shogun on the Willie’s Charter during the 9th annual venture scored heavily on albacore and yellowtail, and also managed to bring aboard almost 90 bluefin tuna. Many of the bluefin weighed 30 to 40 pounds, said skipper Norm Kagawa.

“We fished two days offshore,” said skipper Kagawa, “and two days at Cedros Island. “We got the tuna offshore in 66 to 67-degree water, and the yellows at the island. We got about 40 big yellowtail there, and the water around the island varied from 60 to 69 degrees. The color varied, too.”

Chartermaster Willie Yip was a happy guy, as the fish were carted up the dock at Fisherman’s Landing to go home with the group’s anglers.

“This is the boat to take kids fishing,” he commented.

Fishing at the island made the conditions pleasant, and anglers were pleased when the boat left Cedros to come home.

Chef Randy Fickes (affectionately called “Lurch”) was even happier about it.

“This group is charmed,” said Fickes. “We crossed the North head, and it was calm! It stayed flat calm all the way home.”

There was no jackpot. Two young anglers on their very first trip posed for Bill Roecker’s camera with bluefin. Carson Katz is eight years old and goes to Roy Cloud School, and Tyler Ko is five years old. He goes to Claremont Day Nursery. Both boys caught albacore, yellowtail and bluefin.



Gray Light Bite At 60 Miles

Word came to Fisherman’s Landing July 8 shortly after dawn that Bill Cavanaugh’s Pacific Queen was engaged with a school of albacore only 60 miles from port.

Landing spokesmen said that half of the Queen’s passengers were still sleeping when fish began biting and coming aboard. At least six fish were decked when the landing was informed, with half the anglers still hooked up. Another check at nine a.m. confirmed that 35 albacore were aboard and 20 bluefin tuna.

Better To Be Lucky

“Today our luck changed,” said the Intrepid’s report for July 7. “We had a very good day fishing for Yellowtail. In fact it was one of the better bites this crewman has seen in quite some time. Everybody is tired and sore but in very high spirits. The only thing that slowed the action down was the loss of participation. It turned from fishing to cocktail time in a matter of minutes.

“Today the hot stick belonged to Mark Liebrecht. The man was hooked up all day long. Our biggest fish today went to Sang Vo, with Lynne Ballew once again right there in the running. Both were right around 40 lbs. We enjoyed a fantastic dinner of Veal Chops preceded by an awesome Lobster Bisque, as we were sitting on the anchor sheltered by a beautiful island. Tomorrow we are hoping for more of the same before we venture offshore once again in search of the elusive (this year anyways) Longfin Tuna.”



Rooster Perched At Alijos

“We had a fair day on the Yellowfin Tuna yesterday (July 7), with 53 fish for the day. They weighed 40 to 70 pounds,” said the Rooster’s report, “with one fish going around 90 to 100 pounds. We actually scratched pretty good up to the late afternoon, then the fish would not bite late for us. Weather is good, we are going to try here again today, there is plenty of sign of this fish if it starts to bite better we will do good.”



Royal Star Alijos Report

“We arrived here at the rocks this morning (July 7) at 0830 and were greeted with beautiful weather and good sign of fish. We got our anchor down right away and immediately started scratching on tuna and yellows. It was a nice steady pick all day that culminated with a good sundown bite. The last fish of the day was landed well into the dark. Our tally was 91 tuna from 20 to 80 pounds and 32 yellows.

“On another bright note the offshore scene is starting to heat up, with the last few days producing good scores of both bluefin and albacore. We have two openings on the 4-day leaving July 12th, which should be in perfect position to take advantage of this offshore action. Give Tracy a call if you can make it.”

by Bill Roecker

“Fishing was awesome, the wind was terrible, and we had one truly excellent stop,” said Richard Dick of Tempe, AZ to dock reporter Bill Roecker July 7. He had just stepped off the American Angler after a four-day trip with 28 anglers and skipper Brian Kiyohara.

“We killed ‘em at Cedros Island,” continued Dick.

“The bluefin tuna fishing was good last night,” Kiyohara informed. “It should just get better with the moon change.”

The best albacore on the boat weighed 26.4 pounds, and was caught by Richard Dick, on a sardine and a 2/0 ringed Super Mutu hook. He said he used 30-pound Seaguar fluorocarbon leader and 30-pound Big Game line on a Trinidad 30 reel and a Seeker 6460 rod.

Andy Smith of Santa Barbara won second place for a 25.6-pound albacore, and Ron Chaing of San Diego won third place for a 24.4-pound longfin.



Small Two-Speed Reel

“Daiwa has brought out an interesting new two-speed reel,” said Fisherman’s Landing Tackle store manager Doug Kern.
Counterman Carl Schmidt showed me the two models currently in stock, the Saltist 20 and 30.

“They have two more models coming soon,” said Carl. “That’ll be the 30 and 40 models. Here’s what the smaller ones look like.”

Great Albacore Catch

Art Taylor docked his Searcher at Fisherman’s Landing July 7 after a four-day trip with 24 passengers.

“It was rough,” he said. “We had 20 knots of wind.”

The wind didn’t seem to bother the longfin, however, as several anglers managed to bag limits on the Izorline charter. The three best albies of the season were also among the catch, also the best of the season so far.

Chartermaster Norm Fujimoto said, “Our best stop was for 32 albacore. Everybody fished hard, and some guys got limits for their trouble.

Harold Guy of Canoga Park presented the best fish of the season to date, when he brought his 35-pounder to the scales for Taylor to weigh.

“I knew he was big,” said Guy, but I was surprised he was that big.”

Harold said he got the big boy on a sardine and a 3/0 ringed Super Mutu hook. He won first place in the jackpot, and also won the Izorline Trophy for the best fish on Izorline. Guy said he used 40-pound Izorline on a Daiwa Saltiga 30 L reel, on an eight-foot Shimano TC 4 rod.

Norm’s son Darren Fujimoto won second place for a 28.2-pound albacore. Pete Groshong of Phoenix took third place for his 27.2-pound albie.



Excel’s On ‘Em

“Hello anglers, today started a little slow with a handful of albacore and a few bluefin tuna with a couple of yellowtail mixed in for the morning,” reported Excel skipper Mike Ramirez July 6. “After a little patience and a lot of luck we were finally able to connect. We got on a good school of bluefin that stuck with us from four thirty till dark and we got our fair share of them with a couple of nice longfin to go with.”



Big Bluefin Bite

“Good evening, Capt. Jeff Debuys just called in tonight,” said the Independence report July 6, “with some really great news, the bluefin tuna that we have been seeing the past few weeks on the offshore waters is on the bite. Today the morning was on the slow side but later in the afternoon the guys got on a good school of bluefin and they bit wide open. The fish are in the 25 to 40 pound range.

“For the day they had full limits of bluefin along with 12 albacore and a few handfuls of yellowtail. The weather was on the choppy side most of the day but come down toward the late afternoon. They plan to spend the night on the grounds and try it again tomorrow. Call Judy Collins now if you have the time, we have some spots on the trip leaving Friday, July 10th so come on down and let's go fishing.”



First Day At The Rocks

“We arrived at Alijos at 06:45 hours,” said the Royal Polaris report for July 6.

“Conditions today were not ideal however, we scratched away throughout the day and ended up with 109 Yellowfin tuna, 40 Yellowtail and one Wahoo. Over half of our fish were in the 40 to 60-pound bracket with the rest in the 15 to 35-pound range. William English got the Wahoo today, which was his first and weighed close to 50 pounds.

“We will definitely spend another day here at the rocks and see how it works out. Weather tonight is beautiful.”

By Bill Roecker

This has been the best start to the multi-day fishing season I can remember. Cedros Island has been so good for quality, 15 to 20-pound yellowtail for so long many young anglers take it for granted. This year, the place probably didn’t fail to fire up more than three days out of the last 30. Cedros mossback yellowtail of 25 to 35 pounds are thicker than mackerel at times, and whoppers of 40 to 60 pounds have already been caught, and July is just beginning!

There are plenty of yellows at The Bush, but the San Benitos Islands are feeding the sea lion rookery now, and fishing nearby hasn’t allowed for a lot of catching or gaffing aboard.

What can I say about Alijos Rocks? Yellowfin are biting there now, and they have been since the first boats tried the place back in April, or was it May? There have been a few poor days there, but not many. And that brace of 143-pounders Red Rooster III deposited on the pad July 4 came from a mold we’re not used to seeing at The Rocks, especially this early in the season.

The Fourth of July has passed, now, and albacore will be a closer subject of focus for the multi-day fleet. The appearance of larger bluefin recently means we will probably see an 80 or 100-pounder in the next two or three weeks. Maybe we’ll see schools of those, like we did three years ago, when they wouldn’t bite.

The big albacore bite experienced by Shogun anglers the other morning should mean more good times coming. The fish are there. The day fleet is hoping they’ll just come a bit closer, and bring a hankering for sardines.

Feeling At Home

“We left the choppy weather and albacore grounds behind us,” wrote American Angler skipper Brian Kiyohara July 5, “to enjoy a comfortable day of fishing with the ground tackle. We started off the morning right, as we rolled right into a good steady drift. As fast as we were feeling good about ourselves the fish evaporated.

“They stayed in hiding for several hours but could not stay hidden forever. We got on them in the afternoon and were pleasantly surprised to find them in the biting mode. We absolutely stomped on the fish as the yellows were hitting full speed.

“The beauty of this trip is that for some unknown reason, it was filled with a majority of first timers. Whether it was their first time ocean fishing, long range fishing or their first time aboard with us - everyone got along great and got the job done. We very rarely brag about our crew but during this evening's family get together in the galley they were the main topic. The crew's uncanny ability of taking away the intimidation of "the first time" was said to be second to none. Everyone no matter what their skill level caught fish and had a great time.

“Today's picture was shot up the side, and if you notice, every single rod is a rental rod that went along with the smile.”



Searcher’s Finding Longfin

“We had good albacore fishing again today,” said the report from Art Taylor’s Searcher July 5. “We landed 109 albies from 9 am until 2:30 pm. Catching got very slow after that, so we are happy to have the fish we caught.

“Long-time Searcher passenger, Hal Guy from Canoga Park, landed a fish that will weigh at least 25 pounds and there were several other fish over 20 pounds--good quality today! We will stay the night and try again in the morning and hope for a few more albacore. The weather is choppy, but when the fish are biting you don't notice it as much.”



Shogun Dances With Yellowtail

“It was a great day here at the islands,” said Shogun’s report for July 5.

“We started off making some mackerel in hope of a chance at some bigger units later in the day, but first we had to get a few numbers on the school grade yellowtail; which we did, although it wasn't nearly what we had been seeing in the past few weeks.

“Once we got our licks in on the smaller stuff, Norman made a move and put the Shogun in position to start picking at the "premiums". Today they didn't want the surface iron, while most came on the fly-lined sardine.

“On a fun note, during the bait making session this evening Aimee Shon and Tyler Ko (five years old) were helping each other out and on one drop they brought up four calico bass, one on each hook of the Sabiki rig. You can see the proof in the pictures."

By Bill Roecker

Jan Howard was the Braid rep aboard the Excel when skipper Justin Fleck returned to Fisherman’s Landing after an eight-day trip July 5.

“We fished at Alijos Rocks for two days,” said Jan, “and another day on The Ridge, where we had full-speed yellowtail fishing for three hours. They bit on bait or jigs, with all methods, and the fish were 18 to 35 pounds with a few bigger ones.

Don “Big Daddy” Burnside won first place for a 90.7-pound tuna he got with a double trouble sardine rig under the fishing kite. Don said the rig featured 8/0 Eagle Claw hooks, 100-pound blue Line One Spectra on an Avet 30 reel and a Calstar 7465 rod.

Roland Reesby of San Clemente won second place for a 72.8-pound tuna, and rod builder Jim Kastorff was breathing down the back of Roland’s neck with a 72.6-pound yellowfin.

A bluefin tuna was caught at Alijos Rocks, an unusual event, and the season’s first quality bigeye, a 50-pounder, came to Steve Alexander of Truckee at The Rocks.



Chartermaster Takes Second JP Spot

Chartermaster Mike Shirer of Chino Hills won second place in the jackpot on his eight-day trip aboard the Intrepid with 20 passengers. Skipper Kevin Osborne brought the boat in to Pt. Loma Sportfishing July 5.

Al Gardner of Grass Valley won first place for a 110.6-pound yellowfin tuna that slurped in the double trouble sardine rig on the kite. Osborne said the hooks were 6/0 ringed Super Mutus on the boat’s rig, with 80-pound Izorline Spectra on an Avet 50 reel and a Seeker 6463 XXXH rod.

Jess Drake of Westminster won third place for a 72.2-pound Alijos Rocks yellowfin tuna.



Spiders Woof At Rocks

Tim Ekstrom and Randy Toussaint took their 25 anglers to Alijos Rocks, where they spent four enjoyable days anchored on a spot that produced about ten tuna per rod. They also made a decent catch of better yellowtail.

The skippers were pleased with the trip, and Toussaint remarked that the water at the rocks was up to 68.5 degrees, and that another boat had made a fleeting contact with a wahoo, another season’s first. The trip was a combined charter that included members of a long-standing group known as the Barking Spiders.

John Warren of Ocean City, NJ won first place for a 112.5-pound tuna. He said he got that one with a sardine on a 4/0 ringed Super Mutu hook on 40-pound Seaguar fluorocarbon leader, 40-pound Ande main line and 65-pound Izorline Spectra backing on a TLD 30 reel and a Calstar 6460 rod. The fish fought for 40 minutes.

Jeff Cox of Westchester won second place for a 111-pound tuna he caught on 40-poundline, and Chris Hendrickson of Mission Viejo got third place for a 105.5-pound Alijos Rocks yellowfin tuna.

Steve Hill of Santa Ana stood in with the lineup for his 54-pound yellowtail, a fish that ate his sardine and lost a battle on 40-pound line.

By Bill Roecker

A larger grade of bluefin tuna seems to be approaching local waters, as evidenced by recent catches. They’re not easy to come by, and they’re at a size that will make light-lining them problematic, but anglers are heartened by their appearance.

Aaron Barnhill docked the Royal Polaris July 4 at Fisherman’s landing, after a three-day trip with 32 anglers. They had a fair catch of tuna for their efforts, with the jackpot fish running right around 40 pounds.

John Lind of Yorba Linda won first place for a 40.9-pound shortfin, Alan Callahan of Riverside got a 40.1-pounder, and Jesse Cabrera of Corona won third place for a 39.8-pound bluegin tuna.

The jackpot fish went to be processed from the boat, and weren’t available for photos. Jeff Buck of Dana Point and Trevor Yee of Corona had a pair of tuna that fit the bill, however, and posed with their fish for Bill Roecker’s camera.



Purfield’s Pro Tackle Nabs Yellows

Chartermaster Dick Schaffer was aboard the Independence with skipper Jeff DeBuys when the boat cashed in on larger yellowtail at “…a southern island,” as DeBuys put it. There were 18 passengers total.

“We had very good yellowtail fishing,” acknowledged DeBuys at the scales on Independence Day. “There were some big ones, and lots that were 15 to 20 pounds.

“Offshore fishing is getting better daily,” continued DeBuys. “All we need are some defined edges, some water structure.”

Ian Orr of Walnut enjoyed a ten-minute scrap with a 36.8-pound yellowtail after it bit his sardine on a dropper loop with a 12-ounce sinker and a sardine on a 4/0 ringed Super Mutu hook. He won first place.

“He hit like a freight train,” said Orr, “and he took me from one side to the next.”

Bob Foushanes of San Pedro bagged a 33.6-pound yellow for second place, and Don Miller of San Pedro got a 33.4-pounder, good for third place.



Well-Sponsored Eight-Day

Andy Cates docked Red Rooster III at H&M Landing July 4, after the annual David Choate/Bill Casper trip that fished hard at Alijos Rocks for some big yellowfin tuna. Seeker Rods and Accurate reels sponsored the trip, which produced near-limits of yellowtail and about ¾ limits of yellowfin tuna.

The two best tuna were over 140 pounds; quite large for summer tuna.

“Some guys dropped down in line size so they could get bit,” remarked Choate. “I always stick with the stronger line. Some of them got busted off.”

Mark Bolt of San Diego won first place for a 143.8-pound tuna he fooled with a sardine on a Mustad 3/0 circle hook tied to 50-pound Seaguar fluorocarbon leader. He fished with 65-pound Power Pro Spectra backing on an Avet LX reel and a Seeker 6470 rod.

Archie Irion of Escondido was hot on Bolt’s heels with a 143.1-pound tuna he bagged on 50-pound line. Allen Lemberg of San Diego won third place for a 109.1-pound Alijos Rocks yellowfin tuna.



19 Years Running; Still Going Like The Bunny

Mike Keating brought his Spirit of Adventure home to H&M Landing July 4 after the 19th Tim Green Invitational with 24 anglers aboard.
Most anglers know Green as the owner-skipper of the Premier, H&M’s ¾ day boat, but he is an accomplished angler in his own right.

“We had fabulous yellowtail fishing at the islands,” said Green. “We had easy limits, and yesterday we got some albacore.”

Jim Rainey of Temecula won first place for a 45.9-pound white seabass, a lovely fish that took a mackerel on a 12-ounce dropper loop rig with a 2/0 Eagle Claw hook. He said he fished with 50-pound Big Game line on a Shimano 20 reel and a six-foot Seeker rod.

Guy Dahl of Kalispell, MT won second place for a 35.6-pound yellowtail and Travis Canada of Chula Vista nipped at his back with a 35.4-pounder.

“Fish To The Nine Mile Bank”

“It was always the inside joke between me and Sam when we owned the Pacific Queen when we ran local trips. We would never give in and always fish to the last possible minute, thus came the term "fish to the nine mile bank," reported American Angler skipper Brian Kiyohara July 2.

“Last night we went the distance and looked for something different. We started at 120 miles with the Searcher. They had a school of bluefin tuna for 14 fish and a kelp for 30 nice yellows and a few albacore. In that same zone we could only manage a dozen yellows and one bluefin and that was it.

“After a long morning, we reevaluated the game plan and started traveling up in order to give us a shot at albacore hopefully during the evening bite time. We ran several hours and didn't catch a fish for five or six hours and morale was getting low. At 6 p.m., by sheer luck, we ended up at the right place at the right time. We got on a little postage stamp of fish and our guys took full advantage. We caught 56 albacore between six and dark, and morale flew off the scale.”



Intrepid Finds fish

“We had a great day catching nice grade Tuna and Tails,” read the report for July 1.

“Our morning bite was all large Yellows and provided some exciting action on the jumbos. Tonight we are moving off to another offshore area in search of kelps and other types of fish to add to our catch.”



Rooster On Yellows

“Good evening folks, wrote Red Rooster III skipper Andy Cates July 1. “We had fantastic yellowtail fishing today. 18 to 30-pound fish with great top water action. We had hour after hour of non-stop cranking and pulling. What a great day! It's been a while since we have seen that type of yellowtail fishing.”



RP On Albies

“Our weather today was a little on the breezy side,” read the Royal Polaris report for July 2, “with an average of 15 to 18 knots and mostly cloudy skies for the majority of our day. Fishing started out on the slow side, and we had to scratch at yellowtail and albacore for most of the day, but right before dark our fortunes changed.

“Eddie found a huge breezer of beautiful grade Bluefin tuna and they were definitely hungry! Right away we bent the whole boat and chaos ensued. Every single bait that hit the water was an instant bite on 20 to 45-pound Bluefin.

“After everything settled in and it seemed like it was over, a batch of 20-pound albacore swam through and crashed the party. In an instant we were right back to tight lines and bent poles. Tonight we will drift through the same area in hopes of finding some the same hot action in the morning. Wish us luck.”

By Bill Roecker

Norm Kagawa brought his Shogun back from a five-day trip to Cedros Island July 2 with near-limits of yellowtail, two nice white seabass and two halibut. The trip was sponsored by Blackwater. Anglers aboard said they saw some blue whales on the way home.

“If you can't tell by the recent reports,” wrote second skipper Bruce Smith June 30, “I love Cedros Island. And 99% of the passengers we bring here leave with the same feeling. When you cast a surface iron in front of a breezer of large yellowtail and then watch as fifteen yellows from that school peel off and follow your iron to the boat before crushing it at your feet, how could you not like this place?

"Or maybe it’s when the yellows slow down and you go into the beach and make a couple of drifts for halibut and come up with a handful of 18 to 30-pounders, just to fill the dead time. How about anchoring up for the night on a rock pile and scratch out a few fifty pound broomtail grouper, before the bait bites?”

Skipper Kagawa said, “We had good to very good fishing on standard issue yellowtail, 15 to 20-pounders, mostly, with some big ones. They bit on the flyline, with sliding sinkers and on the dropper loop. They bit the jigs, too. The water was 65.5 to 66 degrees at the South End, and pretty clean; good yellowtail water.”

Van Smith of Costa Mesa won the jackpot for a 39.6-pound yellow. He got it with a mackerel on a 12-ounce dropper loop rig. He used an Eagle Claw 7/0 hook, 50-pound Big Game line, a Shimano 12 two-speed reel and a Calstar 700 XH rod.

“I got him in ten minutes,” said Smith. “I hammered it down and put it in low gear. He came up on the bow.”

Roger Young of Reno, NV won second place for a 35.6-pound yellowtail that bit on a slider rig. He was tied for second by Bob Kaisaki of LA, who flylined a 35.6-pound white seabass on a 40-pound outfit.

Rick Hall of Bakersfield stood in with the winners to display his 20-pound halibut.



Finished With The Yellowfin

“With an unexpected change in conditions due to weather,” wrote Excel skipper Justin Fleck July 1, “we found ourselves doing a bit more work to get our share of these Alijos tuna. The morning started a bit slower than the previous morning even though there was no shortage of quality tuna around. After a bit of searching and an equal amount of patience, we finally found an eager school of fish. The bite was a steady pick that lasted until dark. We finished this visit to the ' Rocks' on a high note. We have pulled the anchor and are heading to the beach in search of big yellowtail.”



Looking For Tuna

“We are currently on our annual Purfield's 5-day adventure,” read the report from the Independence July 1. “The offshore fishing has been slow so we made the run down the coast to start the trip fishing yellowtail at the islands and we were not disappointed to say the least. The last two days of fishing has been outstanding for yellows in the 15 to 20-pound class. We also have had a few hits on the bigger fish in the 25 to 40-pound range along with a couple of nice halibut. The weather is very good as well. With a great catch of yellowtail in the hatch, we are planning to head offshore in search of albacore and bluefin.”



Party On, Party On!

“It was an action packed morning,” said the Royal Star report for July 1, “that began with steady fishing on 50 to 75-pound yellowfin tuna, then switched to 20 to 30-pound yellowtail, then switched back to tuna with a sprinkling of yellowtail in the mix for the remainder of the day. By noon we were well on our way to a big day with good signs of fish and conditions favoring just such.

“Then, just like someone hit a switch, we were overrun by voracious 10 to15-pound “shaker” yellowfin tuna that rained on our parade in a big way, annihilating all baits that hit the water, creating mayhem across the transom. Over the past few days our character has been tested by an occasional flurry of the little terrors but today we were inundated to the point where it became unfishable.

“So, good steady action on beautiful quality yellowfin tuna and yellowtail segued into small fish chaos that we resolved by taking a 30-minute break to allow the unwelcome guests to move on. And move on they did, along with the majority of the bigger fish that were around us in droves before the little devils crashed the party.”



Bluefin Are Biting Today!

Searcher skipper Kevin Ward filed this morning report July 2 at 8:30 a.m. from his ongoing day and a half trip:

“We are fishing 110 miles southeast of San Diego and we found a school of 12-20 pound bluefin. We've landed 15 of them so far, with several more hook-ups. There's also albacore around--we've got just two so far. The weather is good too. Wish us luck for the rest of the day!”

“After the local fleet's tough weekend," read the American Angler report June 30, "we were encouraged when we left the dock by a few decent reports. A couple of boats managed a few decent scores on albacore which seemed to mean that things were on the upswing. We were on the grounds at daylight and got an immediate jigstrike. There were several short stops for most of the fleet but right about the time we were getting a few, things changed. Where there were once scattered meter marks within minutes the fish were down and there was no sign. The fleet split up in search of and unfortunately the only thing found was increasing wind.

“We covered quite a bit of ground for not very much but on the other hand, we saw scattered sign over a big area which leads us to believe that there is more around. We ended the day with a stop for 8 albacore - such as the one caught by Brianna Lees - which sure helped the cause. Our total of 15 albacore and seven bluefin was not from lack of effort by crew or passengers but hopefully can by written off as a down day. The tough day for the fleet should not discourage interest in any way for many reasons.

“The old saying, ‘you should have been here yesterday,’ does not apply for tomorrow and the chance to be here when things bust open is very realistic.”



50’s Biting On 40

“We had another good day of fishing out here with 59 tuna and 63 yellowtail hitting the deck,” wrote Excel skipper Justin Fleck June 30. “The average size of the tuna was a little bigger today. Most were in the 50 pounds or better class.

“The key to getting bit today was dropping down one notch in your tackle. Our boat outfits are set up like this: 6' to 7' medium action Seeker rods, Penn 4/0 reels, 65-pound Power Pro spectra backing, 50 ft. of 40-pound Berkley Trilene, and 2 ft. of 40-pound Berkley 100-pound fluorocarbon tied to a 6/0 Eagle claw circle hook.

“This seems to get bit pretty steady. Fishing has been good here so we are staying another day. Depending on how tomorrow goes will decide whether we will finish our trip here or move up the line.”



Fishing Spreads Out

"Good morning folks," Red Rooster III skipper Andy Cates reported June 30, "yesterday was not near the action that we had the day before. It was a decent scratch, with some bigger fish mixed in. there were a couple of fish around the 100-pound mark and a dozen others from 70 to 90 pounds. We caught 31 tuna for the day, just one or two at a time, for most of the day.

“With three boats here things seem to have spread out a bit, and it sounds like the scores are similar. We plan to stay here until after lunch and then head in to finish the trip fishing yellows.”



Star Is On Pace

“With a steady pace established on day one," Royal Star owner skipper Tim Ekstrom reported June 30, "we kept with the program today remaining in the same location while keeping one to five fish hooked and riding out the occasional lulls. Between the 15 to 35-pound yellowtail that were marauding below and the fantastic grade of yellowfin tuna picking off the surface baits, it was another memorable day of long range style fishing that perfectly fit the description of what this fishery is about.

“A handful of standouts today broke the century mark, and a couple of handfuls were close behind in the seventy five to ninety five pound range, but the vast majority of our tuna landed were in the fifty to sixty-pound class. All day fishing for good quality tuna and yellowtail on the anchor; yes, we are all very pleased and grateful for good timing. We could not ask for a better scenario.

“The only downside was the good working weather we enjoyed yesterday made way for sloppier conditions by mid day that came on with a freshening afternoon breeze. A steady downhill current kept our bow into the wind and swell, making for a pleasant ride and easy fishing conditions. It's all good.”



See The Light: Sportfishing Lamp

A fresh offering from Pelagic looks like it could be a good deal.

Three lamps are being offered for $89, marked down from $199. The one I liked best was called Tuna, Mahi, Ahi.

The other sculptured lamps feature billfish in a patina or colored finish. Here’s where you can see more about their offer!

Yellowtail Fishing At It's Best

This NEW Standup Fishing with Bill Roecker DVD has exciting action on the iron, and great tips and how-to’s from Matt Salas of Salas Lures and long rod expert Captain Bruce Smith of the Shogun and BigFishHappen.com:

Jig Fishing Mossbacks!

Cedros Island Yellowtail Aboard Shogun

You know fishing’s good when you have to leave ‘em biting! Join Bill Roecker and Matt Salas as they fish with skipper Bruce Smith aboard the 90-foot sportfisher Shogun, on a four-day summer trip that visits the Benitos Islands and Cedros Island. Whopper homeguard yellowtail load up rods and snap any line not up to the task. They’re biting on surface iron, yoyo iron, and live sardines. See ‘em bite right next to the boat! Top off two days of fantastic fishing at Cedros/Benitos with a morning of angling like it used to be, at Sacramento Reef, near Jeronimo Island. Bass, bonito, rockfish, lingcod and yellowtail jump on jigs as fast as the guys can chuck ‘em! Rapid-fire fishing, good food and long rod demonstrations from skipper Smith and jig maker Salas make this DVD special for all anglers who love to fish for hard-slugging yellowtail.

In this clip, Captain Bruce Smith explains to Bill Roecker how a bait ball attracts birds and fish.

Available to ORDER at FishingVideos.com

(Press Release)

The International Yellowtail Derby is set to start on September 26 and run for 8 days of fishing and on the ninth day the winners will be awarded on Oct 4. $50,000 in cash and prizes will given out if the r the goal of 2,000 entrants is reached. 100% of the entries will be returned to the anglers in cash and prizes.

Anglers will include individuals on open party sportboats and private boats and teams of 2 to 6 members. Between 1,500 and 2,000 anglers overall are expected in both private boater and open party categories. IGFA rules will apply for all anglers.

Entry fees will be the following for individuals and teams:



The original Yellowtail Derby ran for 28 years, 1946 to 1973. It was sponsored by and produced by the San Diego Jaycees. It was a multi-month event with qualifying periods and finals. Prizes ranged form cash to cars, trailers, trips and fishing gear. It built up to where every year more than 2,000 anglers competed and many from LA, Orange Riverside and San Bernardino Counties and often won.


This, the first annual of the new International Yellowtail Derby, will be only 8 days of fishing. The plan in the future is to increase the number of days of fishing and include a qualifying period and a final fish-off.

The Derby is being supported by the Unified Port of San Diego, Frank LoPreste, Fisherman’s Landing Tackle, San Diego Port Tenants Assoc., Boyce Image, the Maritime Institute, Seatow Services, BlueSkyNews.com, the Island Palms Hotel and the Bay Club. There will be warm-up parties and events at a different restaurant each evening during the Derby.

Headquarters will be at the Outboard Boating Club at Trailer boat Ramp on Shelter Island Drive in San Diego. The mailing address is 3960 W. Point Loma Blvd. Ste H347, San Diego 92110.

The challenge is to beat the record fish of 62-pound, 8-ounce yellowtail caught by George Willet in 1953 during the Yellowtail Derby.

From Jack Nilsen’s Fishing Journal

Accurate Jack’s back, from a Tony Reyes fishing expedition from San Felipe to the Midriff Islands. Here’s a short account of what he experienced.

“Del Marsh and I fished with 25 other anglers on a Tony Reyes mother ship, a trip we booked through Longfin Tackle in Orange, California. The trip departed from San Felipe in Baja Mexico. The mother ship Tony Reyes carried nine 22-foot pangas and six kayaks.

“The pangas carry a skipper-guide and three anglers. Yellowtail, grouper, cabrilla, pargo and more are the target species. We had wonderful fishing on all of them.

“We drove to San Felipe, crossing the border at Mexicali. There is very secure parking at the Tony Reyes facility in San Felipe. The 120-foot Tony Reyes is a very comfortable and a well-run operation.


“There are two and four-person staterooms that are air conditioned and spacious. The restroom and shower facilities are roomy, clean and excellent in all respects.

“The scenery and views of the Sea of Cortez are an added bonus to the excellent fishing. Free diving is another option that is also available. Dive areas can be accessed on pangas or kayaks. An area on the north end of Isla Angel Laguardia called Punta Refugio is magnificent for dive opportunities as well as fishing.

“The Tony Reyes trip is similar to long range fishing, but also very different and unique in its own right. Fishing from speedy pangas allows access to large areas of fishing during the morning and afternoon trips.


"We departed on two trips each day, returning to the big boat for lunch and break and then departing again for afternoon fishing. Live bait is available on each panga.

“The all-inclusive cost of the trip includes, live bait, all soda & beer, filet & vacuum-packing, all food, and a Mexican fishing license, a very big bang for the angler’s buck.

“These trips may be booked through Longfin Fishing Tackle in Orange. You can call them at (714) 538-8010.”