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.”