“We went, we caught fish, and the people were nice,” said Royal Polaris skipper Roy Rose after he docked at Fisherman’s Landing January 17. “There’s no better people than Taka’s. You can say it was a very good fishing trip. We had some good wahoo fishing, too, at Hurricane Bank. Most of ‘em came on the iron.”


Roy’s 25 anglers on the 17-day Taka’s Tackle trip had enough tuna and wahoo to fill the holds, and the skipper opted to bring the boat in a bit earlier than the projected date of January 18.

There were five cows in the catch. Four of them came on the kite and so weren’t eligible for the jackpot.

Ichiro Shintsubo of Irvine bagged a brace of vacas at 225 and 204 pounds to win first place. He said he got the big one in 25 minutes after it ate a sardine on a 6/0 ringed Super Mutu hook. He said he used 130-pound blue Izorline and 130-pound Spectra on a Penn 50 W reel and a Calstar 6460 XXH rod.

Pete Mirelez of Buena Park won second place for a 171-pounder, but he got a 215-pound tuna on the kite with a flying fish baited on a 12/0 Mustad 7691 hook. He fished with 130-popund Izorline and 130-pounbd Izor Spectra on a Penn 70 VSW reel and a Calstar 6465 XH rod.

“It took me 45 minutes,” said Pete. “He’s my best fish.”

Bill Gilpin of Camino Island, WA won third place for a 165-pound yellowfin tuna.

Dominic Cardoza of Lakeside bagged a 226-pounder with a sardine under the kite on a 6/0 ringed Super Mutu hook. He said he fished with 130-pound Blackwater fluorocarbon leader and 130-pound Power Pro Spectra on a Penn 50 W reel and a Seeker 6463 XXXH rod.

Jack Preston of Alta Loma got a 213-pound tuna with a flying fish under the kite. He said it took 25 minutes. He used a 12/0 Mustad 7691 hook on 130-pound Izorline and 130-pound Line One Spectra, an Accurate 50 W reel and a Super Seeker 6463 XXXXH rod.



“Straight Down For Three Hours”

Tim Ekstrom docked his Royal Star at Fisherman’s Landing January 17 after a good 12-day trip to the southern banks that filled his holds with tuna, including 15 over 200 and a brace over the 300 mark needed for supercow status.

The two 300-pounders were nearly identical in size, with one pound of difference, “…as though they were brothers or something,” said one angler on the dock.

Jeff Crouse of Costa Mesa, a maintenance supervisor in the Long Beach Unified School District, got the biggest, a 332.5-pound giant yellowfin, after a long fight.

“He was straight down for three hours,” said Crouse, who winched the tuna up after it ate a sardine on a 9/0 ringed Super Mutu hook. He used 100-pound Blackwater fluorocarbon and 130-pound Line One Spectra on an Accurate BX-2 50 reel and a Super Seeker 2 x 4 rod.

“My best tuna before this one was a 92-pounder,” remarked Crouse.

Miles Redman of Lakewood bagged the other giant, which weighed 331.5 pounds. All the fish were weighed on the boat before being gilled and gutted for the refrigerated saltwater holds.

Redman took two hours and 45 minutes on his tuna, which bit a sardine on a 9/0 Eagle Claw hook. He said he used 100-pound Izorline fluorocarbon leader and 130-pound Line One Spectra on a Tiagra 30 reel and a Calstar 765 M rod.

“He spooled me,” said Miles, and then he got most of the line off the 80 W backup reel. When I got him to the boat, he finally came up in the starboard corner.”

Darren Seiji of Vallejo won third place in the jackpot for his 292.5-pounder. It bit a sardine on a 5/0 Mutu hook tied to 100-pound Izorline and 130-pound Izorline Spectra on an Accurate ATD 50 reel and a Calstar 7465 H rod. His fish fought for two and a half hours.

James Cahillane of Hilton Head, SC caught a 277-pound tuna with a chunk bait on a 9/0 Eagle Claw hook, said his dad, James Sr., who posed for a shot with the fish after Jr. boarded a plane for home. The young Cahillane used 130-pound Blackwater fluorocarbon and 130-pound Line One Spectra, said James Sr., and an Accurate ATD 50 on a Calstar 7460 H rod.

Dan Esmay of Alpine got a 263-pound sickle fin on a sardine and an 8/0 Eagle Claw hook. He said he used 100-pound Blackwater fluorocarbon and 130-pound Line One Spectra on a Tiagra 30 reel and a Calstar 760 H rod.

Longtime angler Bruce Chisholm of Temecula fished on the Star with his equally experienced wife Eunice, and bagged a good one at 255 pounds. He also had one at 213 pounds. Bruce said he fished sardines on 9/0 Eagle Claw hooks, on 130-ppound Yo-Zuri fluorocarbon and 130-pound Spectra. He used a Penn 50 reel modified by Ray Lemming and a Calstar 655 XH rod.

Chuck Greenstone of San Francisco caught a 237-pound tuna on a sardine pinned to a 6/0 Super Mutu hook. He fished with 125-pound Soft Steel Ultra and 130-pound Tuffline Spectra on an Accurate TDR 30 reel and a Calstar 760 H rod.

John Cox of Irvine used a chunk to entice a 219-pound tuna. He said he fished with a 7/0 ringed Super Mutu hook on 90-pound Momoi fluorocarbon and 130-pound Tuffline Spectra on an Accurate ATD 30 reel and a Super Seeker 6463 XXXH rod, and bagged his fish in one hour.

Mike Noremberg of North Pole, AK got bit on a sardine and took an hour to land a 215-pounder. He used a 5/0 ringed Super Mutu hook on 100-pound Blackwater fluorocarbon and 100-pound Izorline Spectra on an Accurate ATD 30 reel and a Calstar 770 H rod.

Wayne Nichols of Long Beach nabbed a 214.5-pound tuna on a sardine and a 9/0 Eagle Claw hook. He used 100-pound Blackwater fluorocarbon and 130-pound Izorline Spectra on a Tiagra 50 reel and a Calstar 6460 XXH rod. The job took two hours.

Clyde Smith of Scottsdale found a 210-pounder and dealt with the fish in 25 minutes. Clyde baited a sardine on a 5/0 gorilla hook tied to 100-pound Blackwater fluorocarbon and 130-pound Line One Spectra, on a Tiagra 30 reel and a Calstar 6455 XXH rod.

Jay Love of Carlsbad got two cows at 207 and 202 pounds. He said he fished sardines on 6/0 Super Mutu hooks. He used 100-pound Blackwater fluorocarbon and 100-pound Izorline Spectra on an Accurate ATD 30 reel and a Calstar 7465 H rod. His larger fish gave him a 45-minute tussle, he said.