Brian Sims docked Royal Star at Fisherman’s Landing November 1 after a ten-day trip with chartermaster Brian Zimmermann of Westlake Village and 21 other anglers. Sims had a look at the inside of the southern banks after other boats had looked there and at the outer banks without finding any biting tuna. The cows were there for skipper Sims, and his anglers got a dozen of them on the boat.

The big one belonged to Herb Jensen of Cordova, AK. It weighed 225 on the boat (the way all the fish were weighed) and came on a sardine and a 7/0 Eagle Claw hook, said Jensen. He used 80-pound fluorocarbon and 80-pound mono and a Shimano 50 reel, he said. Jensen was unfamiliar with his equipment. He did remark that the fish fought him for two hours and took him around the boat three times.

“The first hour he stayed on top,” said Herb, “and then he went down. I got him up on the port bow.”

Jonny Harrington of Alpine won second place for a 218-pound yellowfin that took his sardine on a 4/0 ringed Owner Super Mutu hook on 100-pound Blackwater fluorocarbon and 130-pound Izorline spectra, with a TLD 30 reel and a Calstar Baja Baby Boomer rod.

Chartermaster Zimmermann got the third-place fish, a 210-pounder. Tony Tapp tied that fish with another 210-pounder. Zimmermann’s fought for an hour and 15 minutes on a backup reel after an equipment failure, he said. The fish bit on a sardine and a 4/0 ringed Owner Super Mutu hook on 80-pound Yo-Zuri, 80-pound Izorline and 100-pound Line One spectra on an Avet HX reel and a Seeker Black Steel 6460 XH rod.

Norm Rodewald of Moorepark caught a 209.5-pound tuna on a sardine and a 6/0 Mustad Demon circle hook tied to an 80-pound Basil wind-on leader of Seaguar Premier fluorocarbon. He used 130-pound Line One spectra on an Avet EX reel and a Seeker Black Steel 6460 XH rod, and got the job done in an hour.

Justin Ofreneo of Valencia got a 209-pound tuna with a squid under the kite. He said he used one of the boat’s outfits and that he had help from Blake Wasano, who decked the fish in ten minutes.

Bruce Logan of Culver City had his 208.5-pounder up on the pad, so Bill Roecker was afforded an opportunity for a photo. Bruce said he tuna came on a sardine under a balloon on a 5/0 Gamakatsu J hook on 80-pound Izorline and 100-pound Line One spectra. He used an Avet HX reel and a Baja Boomer rod.

“It took an hour and a half,” said Bruce. “He was a mean one; I saw a big splash and I knew it was a cow.”

Art Hernandez of Newbury Park bagged a 206-pounder with a sardine on a 7/0 hook and one of the boat’s outfits. He said it fought for an hour and 15 minutes.

Ben Malonzo of Northridge took a 205-pound tuna with a sardine on a 5/0 Gamakatsu hook on 80-pound Blackwater fluorocarbon and 80-pound Power Pro spectra on an Avet SX reel and a seven-foot Tiburon rod.



Eight For The Indy

The morning after Halloween, Jeff DeBuys docked Independence at Pt. Loma Sportfishing after the Tunaholics ten-day trip with 29 anglers. Dennis Evans was chartermaster, and like the group just in front of his, he had the third-best tuna.

“I’d have to rate this a ten-plus trip,” said DeBuys. “We had excellent bluefin fishing on the way down, and we also got a lot of pargo and dorado and yellowtail.”

Norman Chibana of Gardena won first place for a tubby 248-pound yellowfin that bit his sardine on a 4/0 ringed Owner Super Mutu hook tied to 80-pound Seaguar Premier fluorocarbon. He said he fished with 80-pound Izorline and 80-pound spectra on a Penn 30 reel and a Calstar 6465 XH rod, and that the fish fought for an hour and a half.

Terry Williams of Lancaster won second place and became the first angler of the season to bag three 200-pound tuna. His winner weighed 225 pounds, and bit a sardine on a 3/0 ringed Super Mutu tied to 100-pound Seaguar Premier fluorocarbon and 130-pound spectra on an Avet 30 reel and a Calstar 700 M rod. His other tuna weighed 200.4 and 200 pounds even.

Dennis Evans of Austin, TX won third place for a 208.8-pound tuna. He caught it with a sardine on a 12/0 Mustad circle hook and 80-pound Seaguar Premier fluorocarbon. He used 80-pound Line One spectra on an Avet HX reel and a Calstar 700 XH rod.

On his first long range trip, Gary Conterno of Rough & Ready CA bagged a 207-pound yellowfin with a sardine and a 7/0 Super Mutu hook. He said he used 100-pound line and 130-pound Line One spectra on an Avet 50 reel and a Baby Boomer rod. The fight lasted 45 minutes.

Jay Graham of Auberry snookered a 206-pounder with a sardine on a 6/0 ringed Super Mutu hook. He fished with 80-pound Seaguar Premier and 80-pound Line One spectra on a Daiwa 30 reel and a Calstar 700 MH rod. Jay said the fight wnet an hour and a half, and that it was his best fish ever.

Keith Kamimura of Fountain Valley caught a 200-pound yellowfin tuna with a squid under the kite on one of the boat’s loaner rigs.




More Big Fish On Way Home

“Our morning produced another handful of these Big Tuna,” wrote Intrepid skipper Kevin Osborne October 30, “before we had to head up the line. The wind came up a little and the current was back and forth, but the signs were still there and some nice Yellowfin were there to be had. What a wonderful 10-day fall trip this has been, with loads of fish, great variety and Trophy Tuna to top it off. Highlight for me was my Father, Robert Osborne, who joined us for this adventure, hooking and landing his first big Yellowfin. He got the bite on a live squid fished under the balloon late in the day yesterday. We are now traveling up against a steady breeze from the North, but the ride is nice.”



Shogun Celebrates Halloween

“We arrived just after lunch and got the jigs in the water. After looking up and down the bank a pack of wahoo jumped on the Marauders and the fun started. A bit more trolling, another wahoo stop and then nothing. We then made some drifts for yellowtail, which wanted to bite the dropper loop and Salas 6x Jr. jigs. We are going to spend the night here and give it the day trying for more wahoo, yellowtail and dorado.”