Randy Toussaint brought his 23 anglers aboard Royal Star home from a 12-day trip January 19. The group had three cows and a few close to that status, but the best one was lost.

“It was a squirrely fish,” commented Toussaint to dock reporter Bill Roecker. “He was on the light, 100-pound sardine gear, and I wondered if we’d be able to get that one. Then he swam right past the corner, upright, and I thought, ‘Whew, that’s a really big one!’ Later he broke off.”

The skipper thought the big tuna was well over 300 pounds when he got a good peek at the monster.

Ernie Holmes of Socorro, NM won first place for his 209-pound tuna. That one went into a bin on the dock, so he posed with a slightly smaller fish. He said he got his winner on a sardine and a 9/0 Eagle Claw hook. He used 100-pound Blackwater fluorocarbon, 130-pound Izorline spectra on a Triton 50 reel and a Calstar 6465 XH rod.

Mitch Otera won second place for a 207-pound tuna. He said he got it with a sardine on a 8/0 Eagle Claw hook, tied to 130-pound Blackwater fluorocarbon and 130-pound Line One spectra. He fished with a Penn 50 reel and a Calstar 6465 XXH rod.

Len Cunningham of Alpine won third place for his 195-pound yellowfin tuna.

Dennis McNeely of Soquel got a 204-pounder that wasn’t eligible, so he stood in with the winners on the right end of the lineup. He said he used a salami mackerel on an 11/0 Mustad 7691 hook for bait, and fished with 130-pound Seaguar Premier fluorocarbon, 130-pound Izorline spectra, a Tiagra 50 W reel and a Calstar6455 XXH rod.

“My best fish before was a 62-pound tuna,” he told Roecker, “and a 70-pound wahoo. So this is my best fish ever and my first cow, on my first long trip. I learned a lot; that the rail is for me. I’m changing my seven-day next year to a ten-day trip on the Star.”

Team Hoo Coming Home Early

“We made a stop by Cedros Island today,” wrote Excel skipper Justin Fleck January 18, “where we filled the last few cracks in the fish holds with 70 nice grade yellowtail. Most of the fish were caught on yoyo iron with a few being taken on the dropper loop. With the wells being completely full and an unfavorable weather forecast, Team Hoo has decided to go in a day early. We will be at Fisherman’s Landing tomorrow morning around 0630.”



Indy Back On

“Hey, here we are, back on line,” wrote Independence skipper Jeff DeBuys January 18. “Wow, where do we begin? We just got sat signal and thought we should get up to date. We finished up on the fishing side Tuesday night in a blaze of glory. Rick Ozaki pulled a 240-pounder just before we left the zone, and they were right on the corner biting everything. We have been blessed again with stellar fishing, and good weather. The overall grade for the trip is just awesome, with many, many, 125 to 195-pound fish in the holds.

“As far as big ones go, I think we have nine cows and some more that might sneak in there. I will say one thing that what ever was biting; the guys took care of business, and put the wood to 'em. We have just a little bit of room left for some yellowtail if we have time on the way home. With two wells of RSW fish, and two of frozen there is plenty for everyone meeting the boat on Sunday. We had a couple of bingos on the Wahoo, and they all made it into the fresh well. I will leave it this way; we had chances at cows each day, along with steady fishing for quality all day long. We will give you all a report as to when we will arrive in San Diego on Sunday.



Made It!

“We made it up to the San Benitos Islands around midday,” said the report from the Intrepid January 18, “and again scratched away at some Yellowtail with the Yo-Yo Iron. Crewman Dave Taylor demonstrates how to fight Yellows on the ultra light gear this afternoon. What a riot! We spent the evening tucked into one of the coves sheltered from the wind and enjoyed our Seafood Buffet before continuing up the line. We will make a short stop tomorrow and try for some reds and lings.”



Half Released

Jack Vitek is world records coordinator for the International Game Fish Association. In the Jan/Feb 2012 issue of the organization’s publication, the International Angler, he said that 746 applications for world records were submitted this year, and that half of the fish they represented were released alive.

Honors were accorded in the same magazine to Mike Livingston for his world record 405-pound yellowfin taken on the Vagabond. The fish broke a record that Curt Wiesenhutter held for 34 years.

Other notable 2011 records: Fiona Stallard of Perth, Australia got a six-pound line class record for her 46-pound, four-ounce wahoo. She got her big skinny with a Halco lure called a Lazer Pro on the troll off Fiji. The Halco lures are distributed in the US by Accurate.

A 156-pound, 13-ounce amberjack was picked up in November on a vertical jig fished by Hideyuki Nemoto of Japan was one of 21 new records that went to that country last year.

Alaska produced two all-tackle rockfish records: a 25-pound, 14-ounce bocaccio (known locally as salmon grouper) from Elfin Cove; and a four-pound, one-ounce China rockfish, from the depth of the Gulf of Alaska.

The depths of Black’s Beach in La Jolla yielded two California corbina tippet records for Erv Wheeler: five pounds, four ounces on four-pound tippet; and five pounds three ounces on eight-pound tippet.

Great Praise

 “Dear Bill: The world is a better place with you and your comments and pictures in it. Happy Birthday!”
Phil Havlicek (by email January 18, 2012)

Bill’s Reply

I don’t know if I can live up to that, Phil, but I’ll keep trying. My warmest thanks to you and the dozens of other readers and viewers who wrote, called or emailed me on my 70th, January 17. I feel much honored. Thank you, Bill