“Started this beautiful Sunday morning off with a phone call from the boat,” said American Angler’s report for January 12. “Capt. Brian (Kiyohara) called to share their early morning with us here at home.

“Regular Accurate trip passenger and super nice man Pat Patrykus Sr., started his day with a 349-pound fish. After landing it, he looked at Brian as he was leaning on the rail and said ‘I’m always the other guy, cheering on everyone else, and now I’m that guy.’

"What a great and simple statement to sum up the best of both worlds on these long range trips. Also in the before-coffee club this morning is Tom Mato with a 260, Steve Heffner with a 252 and Jerry Crofoot with a 208-pound tuna.”



“Strong Winds, Good Fishing”

“The wind picked up quite a bit today,” related Excel skipper Justin Fleck January 12, “and it got nasty down here in the lower zone. But that didn't stop Team Hoo from kicking butt once again. We picked up 35 more big tuna from 130 to 220 pounds with three more cows. Unfortunately with the bad weather come heavy casualties on the tuna. We lost way too many fish today, but that's how it goes sometimes. The forecast looks a little bit better for tomorrow so we will stay put and do it again tomorrow.”



Corrigan Scores

“We had another great day of fishing,” said the Royal Polaris report for January 12. Most of the Yellowfin were in the 120 to 150 range, but we did manage to put three more fish over 200 pounds in the fish hole. Lucky anglers today were, John Corrigan, with a 254-pound Yellowfin tuna, Robert Maes, with a 251- pound Yellowfin, and Taka Tanaka with a 216-pound Yellowfin. We had a decent day on the Wahoo also, with most of the fish in the 30 to 45-pound range. Weather today was still breezy, overcast skies, and a bit chilly for down this far south. We will try for bait again tonight, and give this another try tomorrow, so wish us luck.”



0-Dark-30 Bites

“Our day started at 0430 with a 215 hitting the deck," noted Royal Star skipper Randy Toussaint January 12, "followed by a 280 at daylight. We continued to scratch throughout the day on 70 to 110-pounders with a few mid-hundreds mixed in. All methods worked, from the kites to chunks and sardines. If you're on the next trip make sure you bring salami gear as most of the morning cows have been on the big baits.

“An afternoon lull prompted a short move that paid off big time with a ripper at sundown on straight cows. After the dust settled we had another five deuces from 220 to 280 pounds, with a couple 190s on the deck. Nothing like seven heavies hanging in the pitch black to get the adrenaline flowing. We have two more days and a morning so hopefully it keeps up. Today's shot is a 279 taken on the kite by Eric Williams who also landed a 240 today.”