We’d like to wish you a happy, healthy and prosperous new year! Fishing was pretty dang good this past year, as was the increase in traffic for us here at FishingVideos.com. Our website had over 100,000 “unique visitors” this year and over eight million hits. More advertisers are becoming aware of the advantages of appearing on the site with the freshest, most accurate information on long range fishing available.

Last summer, San Diego’s day boat fleet had a tough time with the albacore, because the fish didn’t seem to come very close or stay very long. But the long range fleet had one of its very best years ever, scoring on the albies at 100 to 200 miles. Yellowtail fishing at the islands of the Benitos, Cedros and Guadalupe (when it was open) was as good as it gets, with plenty of fish and lots of whopper mossbacks.

Yellowfin tuna fishing was super at Alijos Rocks and a few other spots, like off San Pablo and at Guadalupe. The Alijos fish seemed larger than usual, with 80-pounders common and the average often running about 50 pounds. Dorado fishing started out with a big bang last summer, with the fish running north fast all the way up to the Channel Islands. Something happed in the early fall, however, that sent the flatheads packing.

What can we say about the fall fishing? It was hot, with The Rocks continuing to produce limit catches right up to the end of the year. The Ridge had moments of glory for yellowtail and wahoo, with school tuna making the mix there even better. When the big tuna began to bite in the second week of November and pods of marlin began showing on the southern banks, the fall season fully lived up to its expectations.

Some of the biggest tuna are pushing 350 pounds or more. To break into the top ten, tuna anglers need to come up with a fish of over 362 pounds, so that may well happen before the winter/spring big tuna season ends in June. Last years’ count ended at 49 supercows weighed. They were part of the 504 tuna the fleet caught over 200 pounds.

Right now the count stands at: 319 cows, including 28 supercows over 300 pounds, tallied on December 29, 2009. The fleet’s opportunity to beat last year’s incredible scores seems excellent.

Good as the fishing was, it was a tough year for fishermen, as the sport lost numerous anglers who had reached the highest levels of achievement. Bill Poole, a founding father of long range fishing and the builder of the San Diego sportboat fleet, passed on October 21. Bill showed us how to be confident, comfortable and successful on the best fishing waters in the world. The fleet he built saluted Poole the day before Thanksgiving with a marvelous show off the end of Point Loma.

We lost at least one sportboat captain. Butch (Robert) Harris, who had captained the Cherokee Geisha, died in a gulf coast accident involving a barge at the dock.

Earlier in the year, saltwater fishing lost a real shaker and mover in Carl Newell, who changed salt water fishing much for the better with his graphite reels and short-stroking technique. I’ll never forget fishing with Carl and Russ Izor and other great anglers on Poole’s Excel.

About that same time, the best-known skipper between La Jolla and Dana Point also left us. Richard (Dick) Helgren gave me my first ride as a journalist, and taught me much about fishing with light gear and anchovies, back in the day when there were no sardines. He operated Helgren’s Sportfishing in Oceanside (on his Oceanside 95 we once caught 50-pound yellowfin within five miles of the harbor), and will also be sorely missed.

We lost Del Marsh, known to more west coast anglers than almost any other fisherman. Del’s presence was marked on at least three continents. He caught more species than you can think of, and he could pull your leg in a hundred different ways. Every time I fished with Del he told me he’d never go again because he was too old, for the last two decades.

Just before Christmas, Tony Reyes died. More than any other, he was the man who made multi-day, mother-ship/panga trips into the Midriff Islands of Baja a startling reality for American fishermen. There’s no other way (well, maybe with a seaplane) to get into those islands to enjoy the pristine fishing and incredible, remote and rugged scenery they offer.

We remember remarkable men because of their attitudes. All of these men were positive, cheerful anglers with an appreciation of nature in general and aquatic life specifically. They just liked to be out there, in the middle of living events that have been going on for much longer than people have been around. I seldom if ever heard them snivel about a lost fish, or even about how they’d been treated by others in a highly competitive business. If our sport is to survive and prosper, we’d better hope for more like them. Here’s to these men, and the legacies they leave.

On Some Nice Fish

American Angler is out on her first trip after Christmas, fishing on tuna. Here’s her report from December 30:

“We had another nice day of fishing today on these 70 to 100lb grade fish and we are going to give it a go again tomorrow.

“The weather has been pretty good, a little windy at night but today was nice and sunny out.”



Excel Fishing Southern Waters

“We started out today with a quick hit for 50 or so of those 40 pound grade tuna,” wrote Excel skipper Justin Fleck December 30.

“After that we decided to dedicate the rest of the day looking for a kelp or something floating to give these guys a chance at catching a skin. Unfortunately the wahoo gods were not on our side and we came up empty handed. Talking to the other guys, it sounds like a little bit of big fish showed today so we are going to try our hand at trying for giants for the next couple of days.”



A Few Big Ones

“Today was on the slow side,” said the report from Independence December 29. “We did manage to land 4 larger size tuna, one at 220 and the other three in the 160 to 180-pound range. The weather is on our side with very little wind and a nice calm sea state. We are planning to look at a new area tomorrow and see how it goes.”



A Possible Jr. World Record

“We had a good day fishing Trophy Yellowfin,” reported skipper Kevin Osborne aboard Intrepid December 30.

“We had 18 fish from 130 to 228 pounds. We ended up with five fish over the 200-pound mark for the day. The sign of life is getting better by the hour and we will be making bait again tonight and giving the Cows another battle tomorrow. The highlight of our day came when 16-year-old Jefferey Tedmori landed his first Cow at 202 pounds and then again about one hour later he got his second Cow of the day at 221 pounds. This is a potential Junior All Tackle World Record!”



And A Heartbreaker

“Good Evening Folks,” wrote Red Rooster III skipper Joe D'Acquisto December 30. “We arrived at the three hundred pound bank at eleven o'clock. We got the anchor down at one. It took a little while for the fish to get on us but at three we where busy. We ended up with eight fish, one maybe over two, the rest where one hundred and twenty pounds to one hundred and ninety pounds. We had a few casualties and lost one big one at gaff. We are staying here tonight and will be here tomorrow. Wish us luck.”



Five-Day Trip

“Our good luck continued again today,” reported Royal Polaris December 30, “with more beautiful weather and lots of hungry yellows. We now have full limits of yellowtail, most of which are in the 15 to 20-pound catagory. Tonight we will head up the line and try to finish off our catch with some rockfish.”



Royal Star Doing Steady Biz

“Today was exactly what the doctor ordered,” said the report from Royal Star December 30.

“We stayed at anchor all day and had fish going all day, with just a few short exceptions. The fish today were mostly 60 to 110 pounds, and biting the flyline. Our weather is good and we are hoping for more good fishing tomorrow.

“In today's shot Mike Carlson hoists one of his fish.”