“Sorry for the delay in the reports guys," reported the Excel December 15, "but we had a problem with our satellite connection for a couple of days. So here's a little recap.

"We arrived here on the beach to find the weather a little less than favorable. We ended up doing a lot of driving around our first day and ended up with a little over a dozen fish ranging from 50-80 pounds. Not the big ones we were hoping for, but nice fish. Our second day out here would end with some of the big boys hitting the deck.

“We were able to find a nice spot of fish that we we drifted on from lunch until dark resulting in 18 fish from 100-290 pounds. Big fish honors went to Dean Ferguson who landed one taped at 250 pounds and Robert Neal with one taping out at 290 pounds.

“Yesterday was another good day of fishing with a lot of action for the guys out here. We found a spot of fish early on that bit well for us in the morning, resulting in a few dozen fish from 60-190 pounds, and later in the day we got on a similar school that bit until dark. We tagged another few dozen fish in that same size class. We will be out here again tomorrow to try our luck. Weather has come down quite a bit.”

Red Rooster III

“Yesterday we drifted most of the day,” wrote Red Rooster III skipper Andy Cates December 15, “after catching a 306-pounder in the morning we figured we should stick with it and see if big fish gets on us. Most of what we caught were 80 to 140-pound fish with just a couple of bigger ones.

"It was a slow pick that never really developed. Mostly small fish bit here again today with a 120-pounder being a big one so far for the day.”

Royal Polaris Report

"Our weather continues to be excellent, with flat seas,” reported the Royal Polaris December 17, “with overcast skies, and humid. We are on day two of our catch and release program. We had excellent fishing again today, with many of the fish in the 70 to 90-pound range. We only kept fish over 100 pounds again.

"Top angler today was Dane Shota. Dane fought this giant for over two hours. His fish taped out at 306 pounds. We had one other fish over 200 pounds; the rest were in the 170 to 190 category.

"With 3 full days left, we are hoping that the giants will show again for us tomorrow.

"We are the only boat left in this area. Everyone else is headed for home.”

Shogun Report

“The Shogun had another successful day fishing large tuna,” said the Shogun report for December 15. “Bruce spotted a bird school at some distance and when we pulled up on the spot there were 200-pounders jumping clear out of the water.

"We hooked several and when the last fish came aboard we continued our search. Today’s fish went into the slammer which we converted into a RSW fresh tank. The big fish were gilled and gutted which insures a quick chill down of the big ones. These last fish will be in prime condition for a Christmas dinner, sashimi and grilled steaks!

“Fishing offshore of Clarion was a challenge, we had to work to locate the fish but they were all respectable size. After a great dinner of calzones and salad we're running for home in calm conditions. There were tough moments but this trip was a great fishing adventure. Today’s photo features Capt. Bruce Smith with Greg Berteaux.”

A Fisherman Passes

On December 17, Bob Hara wrote:

“I understand Matt Salas called you today about the recent passing of our good friend Jason Ariyasu. I would like to thank you in advance for writing about the sad news on your website.

“Jason was a great friend who liked to hang with the boys at Bob's Sporting Goods in WLA and Yo's in Gardena.

"We will all remember the great times we had fishing with Jason on boat like The Fortune, The Endeavor, Pacific Dawn, and The American Angler.

“Here is a picture
of our good friend Jason doing what he loved to do.”

Details of the funeral: