“Way, Way Out There”The good weather and bluefin fishing held up for Sam Patella and his open party group of 27 anglers on an American Angler five-day trip that returned to Pt. Loma Sportfishing August 15. They found a good mixed catch of yellowtail and tuna.
Lynn Cunningham of Winnemucca, NV won first place for his 47.6-pound bluefin, the best of about two dozen larger models.
“He fought hard for about 30 minutes,” said Cunningham, “after he bit way, way out there.”
Lynn said he fished a sardine on a 2/0 Mustad 91450 hook tied to 30-pound Seaguar fluorocarbon and 40-pound Izorline on a TLD 30 reel and a seven-foot Ugly Stick.
Brian Geyer of San Antonio, TX won second place for a 41.8-pounder, and Paul Kim of Laguna Niguel took third for a 41.6-pound bluefin tuna.
“Phenomenal At 145 Miles”Mike Pritchard docked Intrepid at Pt. Loma Sportfishing August 15 following a four-day trip with 16 anglers aboard the Amero Investment trip, with Patrick Casas as chartermaster.
“We had phenomenal fishing at 145 miles,” he told dock reporter Bill Roecker. We woke up with the bigger models under the boat. The bluefin are mixed with school yellowfin.”
Darrell Bolden of San Bernadino won first place for a 42.6-pound bluefin he bopped with a sardine on a 2/0 Eagle Claw hook on 30-pound line with one of the boat’s outfits.
“It was the hardest fight of my life,” he said, “and my best bluefin. It took at least 20 minutes.”
John Elias of Chino won second place for a 41.2-pounder, and Joseph Casas of San Bernadino won third place for his 40.8-pound bluefin tuna.
Red Rooster Report
(August 14, 2011) “Today we fished offshore and had a great day of fishing. We had a mix bag of bluefin and yellowfin. We had 25 of the 30 to 60-pound class. The afternoon was dead, so we started to slide south. We are going to fish offshore tomorrow to see if we can get some kelps with yellowtail and dorado. Wish us luck. We will report back later.”
Searcher Report
(August 14, 2011) “We had a tremendous day of fishing today. We finished the day with a stop on some of the better grade bluefin tuna in the 30- 50-pound class. Long-time Searcher customer Guy Gilchrist from Long Beach landed three of those tuna in the last stop--a great way to end the day. We are spending the night and trying again tomorrow.”
Shogun Report(August 14, 2011) “It was another day of big yellowtail and some big tuna coming over the rail of the Shogun for the Seeker rod group. Again the tuna only showed well for maybe an hour in which time we landed a handful, while the big yellowtail kept these anglers busy throughout the morning. The weather is great while fishing in the lee of the big island, now we are making our way back north to the "hot" offshore grounds to finish up the trip.
“On a side note, it's great to see the popularity of the Seeker Hercules class rods. These lightweight jig and bait rods pack a powerful punch, to tell the truth if I get a chance to throw a bait the Hercules is my first choice. Today and over the course of the last three days we landed yellowfin tuna up to 75 pounds on the SHS 60XH and yellowfin up to 50 pounds on the SHS 70M. Last year at Alijos Rocks, during one of the collection trips here on the Shogun, I was lucky enough to hang the biggest yellowtail of my life, a 57-pounder, on the SHS 60XH paired with an Accurate 500 and a short shot of 50-pound performed without a hitch.”
