West Coast Angler - Long Range Fishing Reports

Bill Roecker for FishingVideos.com & the San Diego Sportfishing Council

Net Update

November 28, 2007

By Paul Sweeney

“It Was Exhilarating!”

“It was very good fishing,” Owner-Skipper Frank LoPreste said after he returned Royal Polaris to Fisherman’s Landing November 28 after traveling to the Southern Banks. “But the weather took a day away from us. Overall, it was a great trip.”

Tom Hurst of Los Osos used the kite to land a 284.3-pound tuna. He said, “It was the boat’s gear; an Accurate 80 reel, a 6463 XXX H Calstar rod, and a 5/0 Owner Super Mutu hook on a sardine.”

An hour-long fight proved to be worth it as Manfred Schiruska of West Hills, took first place for a 247.3-pound tuna that bit a flylined sardine. “Frank had to use the fork in the corner. He didn’t want it to get caught in the props. It was a mean fish.”

Manfred used a 5/0 Owner Circle hook, 150-pound Izorline fluorocarbon leader, 100-pound Izorline mono, an Avet 30 Pro reel and a Calstar 660 XXH rod.

Tony Postolov of Venice took second and third place with 194-pound and 188-pound yellowfin.

Charles West of Orlando, FL posed with LoPreste and his 196.5-pound tuna. Charles is a first timer. He heard on the Internet about the Royal Polaris and Frank LoPreste. “The captain is world-renowned,” he said, “and the boat was great, first-class all the way. I’ll be back.”

Craig Miller of Orange brought along his daughter, Stacie Winters, on her first ten-day trip. “Long range fishing got in her blood real quick,” said Craig. “She got her first fish over 100-pounds on this trip, so she’ll be getting her patch.”

“It was exhilarating!” remarked Stacie after weighing her 167-pound yellowfin at Fisherman’s Landing certified scales. “I went from the bow to the stern, and back up to the bow where I spent most of the time on the fish. There were five of us hooked up on the bow. I love the boat, it’s the only one I go on.”

“We had two really good days in ‘Cow Town,’” continued Craig. “Right outside of Magdalena Bay, near the Lusitania Bank and the Potato. Thanksgiving Day was a great day for tuna. Wahoo were hard to come by. Then the weather picked up and it got pretty rough, so Frank said, ‘Let’s go try up the ridge.’ There were no other boats around; it was just us out there. We didn’t see anybody else till Sunday.”

San Diegan Kathy Rounds; Accurate, Calstar, and Izorline rep, said the boat got a variety of fish. “We ended up with a little bit of everything. Some people get used to only fishing big tuna on these trips. We got a shot at some bigger ones, and then we moved on.

“There was a funny moment though. We were fishing the stern when a 150-pound tuna crashed in front of all of us. Joe McBride and I both hooked up, but Frank knew it right away; Joe and my fish were showing the same head jerks. I’ve never ‘team-fought’ a fish before, we stayed right in the corner, and it came in pretty quick.”

Start To Finish

“Just what we had hoped for!” reported Owner-Skipper Tommy Rothery aboard the Polaris Supreme November 26. “We had a really fun day on some of the bigger grade yellowfin. We landed nine fish over 100-pounds. Charlie got one at 213-pounds and Gunnar, one of our first timers, got the biggest one for the day that weighed in at 230 pounds. He did it all by himself from start to finish. And by the way, he is only eleven years old. He also landed another one that was well over 100 pounds. Our weather is fantastic. We are hoping for another fun day tomorrow.”

Bill Roecker for FishingVideos.com & the San Diego Sportfishing Council

Net Update

November 22, 2007

By Paul Sweeney

Vagabond Super Cow

Vagabond arrived at Point Loma Sportfishing November 20 under owner Mike Lackey’s hand, after a nine-day open-party trip to the Southern Banks with 16 anglers. The boat landed five tuna over 200 pounds, including a whopper super cow; a 327.6-pound yellowfin caught by Tony Saldivar of Laguna Hills.

The fight lasted two hours after the fish hit his fly-lined sardine. “I almost got spooled three times,” said Tony. “I got ‘em in the evening, fought him into the dark. I didn’t think he was anything real big at first, but after an hour, everybody knew it was something bigger. Captain Mike could tell by his tail strokes.”

“It was a seriously mean fish,” said Lackey.

Tony used an 8/0 Eagle Claw hook with 130-pound Maxima line and 130-pound Izorline Spectra backing, a Penn International 50 S reel and a Calstar 655 XXXH rod to land the jackpot winning fish. Tony posed at Point Loma Sportfishing’s certified scales with his 11-month old son Kendall.

“I’m looking forward to our next trip, leaving this Friday,” continued Lackey. “We’re bringing out the big guns on that one, guys looking for big fish. They’re paying to get punished, it’ll be fun.”

Kevin O’Rourke of Long Beach took second place in the jackpot with a 228.6-pound tuna. Kevin fished an 8/0 custom ringed hook by Sav-On Tackle, 130-pound Flourocarbon, a Penn 50 W VSW, and a custom rod by Ron Sears. “The fight was real comfortable,” said Kevin. “I had first-rate gear.”

Paul Pennello of LaVerne was third with a 188-pound yellowfin.

John “JK” Killingsworth of San Diego brought aboard a handed-off 274.6-pound yellowfin on a 2005 9/0 Eagle Claw ringed hook, 100-pound Soft Steel line, a Penn International 50 two-speed reel, and a Seeker 6455 XXXH rod.

Chad Schaeffer of Huntington Beach landed a 258.6-pound tuna that was “straight balls.” The handed-off tuna was caught on a 9/0 Eagle Claw 2005 ringed hook, 100-pound Soft Steel line, a Penn International 50 two-speed reel, and a Seeker 6455XXXH rod.

Mark Kim of Fullerton caught a 234.6-pound tuna using a 9/0 hook, 100-pound Mono Topshot, 100-pound Soft Steel line, a Penn International two-speed 30W reel, and a Calstar 655 XXH rod.

Jigmaker Gets Baitfish

Big Jim’s Bomb Squad charter, twelve years running, returned to H&M Landing November 20, after fishing eleven days aboard the Spirit of Adventure with owner Mike Keating at the helm. The boat’s 20 anglers saw eight cows landed. “It’s looking good down there,” Keating said. “I have to admit, I’m excited to get back out on Friday.”

Matt Salas of Salas Lures took first place with a 268.6-pound yellowfin tuna he jokingly said was caught on a Salas 6X iron. “I used a sardine,” said Salas laughing. “He fought for an hour and a half and then he came up head first, dead. †He took me around the boat four times though, it was a tough fish.”

Matt’s bait was on a 5/0 ringed Owner hook, 130-pound Blackwater Spectra from Yo’s Tackle in Gardena, an Avet 50 reel, and a Saber 6460 XXH rod.

“The weather down there got progressively more windy each day,” continued Matt, “But it was never bad. We were chasing porpoise and common dolphin. The black porpoise are hard to see, you just see the tops of their fins.”

Second place went to Pete Fallini of Santa Paula, and his 247-pound yellowfin. †Pete used a 5/0 Owner Super Mutu hook, 130-pound line, a Penn 70 VSW reel, and a Calstar 755 XXH rod. “The fight lasted 45-minutes,” said Pete. “He was tail hooked, it would have spooled an International 50 reel. I’m glad I had the 70.”

Rick Bowden of El Segundo took third with a 245.5-pound tuna caught on a sardine with a 3/0 ringed Owner hook, 100-pound Izorline fluorocarbon leader, 135-pound Izorline Spectra, a Penn 30 S reel modified by Cal Sheets, and a Calstar 7455 XH rod.

Chartermaster “Big Jim” Boyle of El Cajon hooked and handed off at least six of the bigger tuna caught on the trip. “We mostly do wahoo fishing,” said the Chartermaster, “But this was a big tuna trip. Everybody gets a big fish; that was my gig. The Penn International 30 reel did a very good job.”

Stan Kosinski of San Jose took the beating of one of those handed-off fish, a 286-pound brute. “The fight wasn’t bad,” said Stan, “it just lasted two hours. We were on some really nice fish, but this is the biggest fish I’ve landed. I’m ready to go catch some more.”

Drew Alvey landed a “Big Jim hooked” 279-pound tuna that bit a fly-lined sardine on a 4/0 Owner Super Mutu hook, 100-pound Izorline XXX line with 135-pound Izorline Spectra, a Penn 30 SW reel, and a Calstar rod custom wrapped by Wes Drennen. Alvey also hooked and landed a 207-pound tuna the next day. “The 278-pounder killed me,” he said, “but it also warmed me up to fight this one. I’m excited. This was my first cow tuna.”

George Mayfield of Escondido caught a 209.6-pound tuna on a 4/0 Owner Super Mutu hook, 130-pound fluorocarbon, a Penn 50 T reel, and a 765 M Calstar rod. “Small bait, small hook,” said George. “I rail-fished this one.”

359-pound Super Cow

American Angler returned home November 20 after a ten-day CME4TUNA charter that produced 13 tuna over 200-pounds including the biggest catch this season; a 359-pound super cow. Owner Brian Kiyohara was at the helm of the fifth annual charter.

On his first ten-day trip, Erik Kinoshita, of Torrance, hooked and landed the jackpot winning big bruiser. “It was tail-wrapped at first, but about halfway through the fight it came undone and kamikaze’d right at us. I had a lot of help from the crew. We went around the boat several times. I was hooked up right before sundown and fought into night.”

Erik fished a mackerel on a 4/0 Owner Super Mutu hook, 130-pound Izor Blue Top Shot with 130-pound Izorline Spectra backing, a Penn International 50 VSX reel and a Calstar 760 H rod.

A 296-pound tuna was caught by John Yarbrough of Parker, AZ; placing him second in the jackpot. John also caught a 208-pounder. “I’d actually only got bit a couple times,” said John, “but I didn’t lose anything. I’ll compliment ‘Taro’ (Crewman Todd Takeuchi) every day from here on out. He’s calm when you need to be, and he pumps you up when you need it the most.”

John fished a mackerel on a 8/0 Owner hook, 135-pound Top Shot, a Shimano Tiagra 50 reel, and a Calstar 760 H rod.

Retired L.A. County Sheriff Don Garcia, of Long Beach, took third with a 247-pound tuna. “I took my harness off and used the rail,” said Don. “I lost my prescription sunglasses on the fight too. They fell in the ‘drink.’ I went around the boat, I was on my knees, the fight lasted a little over an hour. It was awesome.”

Don used a 7/0 Owner Super Mutu hook, 130-pound Izorline Top Shot with Jerry Brown Spectra and a Penn International 50 S reel and a Calstar rod.

“What else can I say?” said Chartermaster Mike Farnsworth of Newport, who was more than pleased. “This crew is just super, very polite and knowledgeable. Brian’s game plan worked out pretty well. Hookups are one thing, catches are another.”

Apollo Finds ‘Em

Skipper JJ Gerritsen returned with his Apollo to Fisherman’s Landing November 21, after an eight-day, ultra-limited trip. The boat’s ten passengers fished Guadalupe Island before taking off for Magdalena Bay to fish big tuna on their final day.

“All of our long range trips are ultra-limited,” said JJ. “It takes away competition factors, we won’t do more than ten passengers. We got limits of yellowfin, Guadalupe’s been great our last six trips, but we did something different this time; we headed out for a shot at these big ones. All of our fish are kept in refrigerated saltwater, so they still look great.”

Matt Bowland of Encinitas took home the best tuna; a 224-pound yellowfin that fought “long and hard.”

Matt used a 6/0 Owner ringed Super Mutu hook, on an 80-pound P-Line topshot, 100-pound Spectra, a Tiagra 30 reel and a Calstar Grafighter 765 H rod. “I butt-hooked the sardine,” said Matt. “The fight lasted two and a half hours.”

Drew Card of San Diego was second with a 196-pound tuna, and Craig Biddick of Rancho Santa Fe was third for a 164-pounder.

“All About Bling”

“The fishing is real good right now,” said Skipper Joe Crisci after docking Qualifier 105 at Point Loma Landing November 21. “We spent four days on those real big ones, then we went and fished the ridge. But going after the tuna is your best bet right now.”

Chris Hall of the Coastside Fishing Club chartered the fifth annual ten-day trip.

Steve Phillips of Windsor, CA placed first in the jackpot with a 218.8-pound tuna. Steve used a J-hook, 100-pound Berkeley Big Game test, an Avet 50 reel and a Calstar rod.

Cynthia Johnson of San Jose placed second with a 207-pound yellowfin. “They took it well that they got out-fished by a girl!“ said Cynthia, who fished with 100-pound Berkeley HIBI Electric Blue line. “Everybody made fun of it, but it was all about the bling!”

Cynthia used a 7/0 Eagle Claw hook, an Accurate 50 W reel and a Calstar 760 H rod to finish her fish.

Jim Kirk of Huntington Beach placed third for a 187-pound tuna. “I lost the biggest one of the trip during a night-bite,” said Jim. “We had two backups on that fish, and there was a lot of pulling.”

“I got a 40-pound dorado on the kite with a squid bait,” said Phil Lisi of Costa Mesa. “There were few wahoo on the ridge, and we had great weather the whole trip. Coming back was real nice.”

John Trummald scored a personal best with a 187.6-pounder, and Dennis Nathan of Pacific Beach also landed a personal best, an 80-pound yellowfin.

“Only Getting Better”

Royal Star returned to Fisherman’s Landing November 21 after an eleven-day trip that saw Guadalupe Island and Mag Bay tuna fishing. The boat’s 17 anglers returned with 21 tuna over 200-pounds, including a 310-pound super cow.

“This is reminiscent of two years ago,” said Owner-Skipper Randy Toussaint. “The water is perfect, and it’s only going to get better this next month. Tim (his partner skipper Tim Ekstrom) will be going back out Friday.”

Steve Ong of Sacramento landed three milestone trophies on the trip; a 100-pound, 200-pound and 300-pound fish. His biggest previous fish before this trip was 60-pounds.

“This was my first long range trip in 17 years,” said Ong. “My last one was way back in 1980 on the Excel with Randy Toussaint. His expertise of fishing big fish is unprecedented, and second skipper Brian Simms assisted with my fight. He taught me patience.”

Ong fished a 2004 9/0 Eagle Claw hook, 130-pound Izor with 135-pound Jerry Brown Spectra backing, a Penn 50 SW reel and a 760 H Custom Rod by Yo’s. “He fought straight out,” continued Ong, pointing to the horizon. “I stayed mostly on the starboard side, for about two hours.”

Royal Star regular Martin Rudolph of Los Angeles is hooked on 11-day trips. “We started at Guadalupe just to get in some fishing, but after a day and a half, we headed down to Magdalena Bay. It was slow the first day, but then we started getting some good drifts. In fact, our last drift of our last day is when we got the 300-pounder and two more close to it.”

Brothers Ethan and Eric Dahlkamp of San Diego landed those final two fish; a 294-pound tuna and a 289-pound tuna respectively on that last stop. Ethan hooked both the fish in a span of 10-minutes, handing the first one off to Eric.

“It was just luck of the draw,” said Ethan. “They were both on sardine. Mine kicked my butt, took me an hour and a 20 minutes. He kamikaze‘d (ran) right at the boat about halfway through the fight.”

“My fish was absolutely wild,” said Eric, who posed with his two-year old son Wyatt at Fisherman’s Landing’s certified scales. “I got 50 yards when he charged the boat, we were up on the bow going from one side to the other, back and forth.”

Ethan and Eric’s fish both used 9/0 Eagle Claw 2005 hooks, 130-pound Spectra, an Accurate 50 W reel and a Calstar 760 H rod. Ethan used 130-pound Blackwater fluorocarbon while Eric had 75 yards of 130-pound Izorline Top Shot on his.

Eric Dahlkamp holds the fleet’s wahoo record at 124.8 pounds.

Kyle Walker of Los Angeles caught a 284-pound yellowfin on a fly-lined mackerel, a 2004 9/0 Eagle Claw hook, 130-pound Izorline Top Shot, an Avet 50 W reel and a 760 XH Calstar rod custom-wrapped by Bob Sands in Van Nuys.

First Class Operation

“I can hardly wait to go back,” Skipper Jeff DeBuys said after he returned Independence to Point Loma Landing November 21 after a Farallon Boats charter, a 10-day trip. “There is some good fishing down there, we had beautiful weather and noon to dark drifts.

“We had 26 anglers, ages 16 to 82,” Jeff continued, “and they all got their personal best. We’re extremely happy.”

Bill Asbell, 68, took first place with a 356-pound super cow. “I used a friends rod and reel,” Bill said. “I wasn’t prepared for this stuff. The reel was toast when I got finished. I caught a 400-pound thresher shark in Cabo San Lucas 34 years ago, but this was a lot better fight.”

Bill fished a 5/0 Owner Super Mutu hook, 100-pound Seaguar fluorocarbon liter, 100-pound P-Line Top Shot with 125-pound Spectra backing, a Penn 50 S reel, and a Calstar 6465 XH rod.

Dan Shubin of Bloomington took second for a 294-pound yellowfin that was a “great fighter.” Dan fished a 4/0 GYMAKASU hook, 100-pound Blue Izorline fluorocarbon, a Penn 50 VSW reel and a Calstar 655 XXH rod.

Steve Nowak of Lodi, CA took third with a 293-pound tuna. “This was the first time I’ve ever went in and knew I was gonna get my butt kicked,“ remarked Steve at Point Loma’s certified scales. “This trip was well beyond my expectations. The Independence has a first class operation.”

Steve fished a sardine on a 4/0 Hyabusa hook, 100-pound Izorline, an Avet reel, and a Calstar rod.

“We had plunker bites,” said Philip Havlicek of San Francisco, who landed a 264-pound tuna. “I’ve been doing these trips for 25 years, and this one was what it’s all about. We only had two burn-offs!

“The kite was good. All these cows were stuffed with giant Humboldt squid. We finally found something that’ll eat them, because up north where I live, the squid clean us up.

“We had a lot of new guys, but when a Captain like Jeff Debuys comes down to the galley and says, ‘I’m really tickled about this,’ that’s when you know it’s a good trip. Jeff’s the reason I’m on the boat.”

Joe Carter, owner of Farallon Boats and charter master, brought along his grandfater Jim Carter and nephew Brad Carter on the trip. 23-year old Brad of Sacramento landed a 261-pounder while grandfather Jim nearly matched him with a 259-pound yellowfin. Joe brought home two cows, a 233 and a 222-pound tuna.

Larry Campbell of Wilton, CA caught a 249-pound tuna using a sardine on a 4/0 Hyabusa hook, 100-pound Blackwater fluorocarbon, a Penn 50 reel, and an 80 to 130-pound custom rod. “The water was as good as you could get, and you couldn’t ask for better seas,” said Larry. “I’ll definitely do it again, the Indy is a first class boat.”

Run ‘N Gun

“I think we’re going to be in good shape,” said Skipper Andy Cates after docking Red Rooster III at H&M Landing November 21. “Anytime you get some big ones, you’re gonna be stoked.”

The boat returned with ten tuna over 200-pounds, including a whopping 331.5-pound super cow. Late-afternoon crowds gathered at H&M Landing’s scales, cheering at weigh-ins and taking pictures.

Outdoor Writer Ed Zieralski of the San Diego Union Tribune was also at the weigh-in; covering the recent surge in big tuna caught. “It looks like the average size is bigger this year than two years ago.”

Bob Lubach of San Diego hooked and landed the big bruiser. “I went from 60-pounds as a previous best,” he said, “to 300-pounds. I was stuck up on the bow for the fight.”

Bob fished a mackerel on a 7/0 Eagle Claw 2004 hook, 130-pound Izorline Top Shot with 130-pound Izorline Spectra backing, an Accurate ATD 50 W reel, and a Calstar 760 H rod. He did not enter the jackpot.

“It was Run ‘N Gun fishing,” said Jack Nilsen of Accurate Fishing Products, who chartered the ten-day fly-back trip. “We went into Magdalena Bay and made bait two times,” said Jack, “so we were in the area anyways. You fished hard all day long to get one good stop—usually at sundown.”

Gary Gillingham of Duarte, CA took first place with a 297-pound tuna that fought “straight up and down.” Gary fished a mackerel on an 8/0 Owner hook, 130-pound Izorline mono with 200-pound Izorline Spectra backing, an Accurate 50 W reel, and a Calstar 6465 rod.

John Wentzel of San Clemente caught a 247-pound yellowfin; good for second place. “I used nothing but sardines,” said John, “and nothing but Izorline. I caught a 244-pounder on the kite, but the big one worked me. †I used an Accurate 30 reel, a Calstar 760 rod and a 7/0 Owner Super Mutu hook on the 247-pounder.”

Long range regular Allen Lemberg of San Diego took third for a 240-pound tuna. Allen fished a mackerel on an 8/0 Owner hook, 100-pound Izorline with 135-pound Izorline Hollow Spectra, and an Accurate 50 two-speed reel.

Larry Fernandez of Garberville, CA, hooked and landed a 287-pound tuna. “It just about ripped my arm off,” Larry said, who didn’t enter the jackpot. “This was my first long range trip, it was just awesome.”

Accurate Pro-Staffer David “Wahoodad” Choate, of Torrance said, “There’s some wahoo in that Mag Bay cow zone. I saw a couple guys get zipped off.

“Usually the tuna down there is weather sensitive, but we got some wind that last day and they bit right through it.”

Angler Jeff Fox of Torrance booked the trip a couple days before leaving. “These anglers were probably some of the nicest bunch of guys I’ve ever been with; no egos, no competition. We got some lovely fish, I had a wonderful time.”

Bill Roecker for FishingVideos.com & the San Diego Sportfishing Council

Net Update

November 19, 2007

Seven Baja Cows

Justin Fleck didn’t exactly discover the big tuna on the southern banks this season, but he may have been first to make a catch on the cows. Fleck docked Excel November 19 after the ten-day Team ‘Hoo trip with 25 anglers. Chartermasters Mark Dorton and Ken Bell were aboard, and Fleck weighed his catch on the commercial scales at Fisherman’s Landing.

“There’s incredible sign of cows down there,” reported Fleck at the dock. “It’s like it was two years ago. I think maybe we’re seeing more 200-pounders this year.

“The water’s 74 to 78 degrees,” continued Fleck, “and it’s loaded with big 30 to 40-pound squid. The big fish we got were milling on the surface in breezers of squid.

“But they’re biting on sardines and mackerel,” he pointed out. “They prefer the fin bait to the squid for bait. We lost several big fish; the guys on them looked like they were stuck on the bottom for two or three hours. Billy Webb got a 228 on a Yummee Flyer, a plastic flying fish. He got spooled and went to the backup rig and the fish died, but he got it up.”

Cows weren’t the only story. Many of the tuna caught were in the 170 to 190-pound class, and there were also numerous tuna of 50 to 100 pounds swimming near the big boys.

Dean Jefferies of Paso Robles won first place for his 261-pound yellowfin. He said it fought him for an hour after he hooked it on a sardine on the kite, with an 8/0 Eagle Claw hook. Dean used 130-pound Big Game line and 130-pound Spectra on a Penn 70 VSW reel and a Calstar 6455 XXH rod.

“It was at color for 15 minutes,” he remarked.

Chartermaster Ken Bell won second place for his 230-pounder. He said he baited a sardine on an 8/0 Eagle Claw hook. He used 100-pound Big Game line and 130-pound Line One Spectra on a Penn 50 VSW reel and a Calstar 7455 XH rod.

John Dillen of San Diego won third place for a 229-pound tuna he bagged with a mackerel on a 9/0 Eagle Claw hook. He said he used 100-pound Big Game line and 130-pound Spectra backing on a Penn 30 W reel and a Seeker 6455 XXH rod.

Billy Webb was only a pound out of the winner’s lineup with his 228-pounder. He said it bit on a sardine trailing a flyer under a balloon. He fished with a 9/0 Mustad 7691 hook on 130-pound Big Game line and 130-pound Spectra backing on a Penn 30 reel and a Calstar 6455 XH rod.

Bill Cashman of Glendora got a 205-pounder with a mackerel on a 7/0 Eagle Claw hook. He fished 100-pound Big Game line, 130-pound Power Pro Spectra on a Penn 30 W reel modified by Cal Sheets, and a Seeker 6463 XXXH rod.

John Preston of South Lake Tahoe bagged a 204-pounder.

Carl Dorton of Tarzana caught a 202-pound tuna with a mackerel on a 7/0 Eagle Claw hook. He used 80-pound Big Game line and 130-pound Line One Spectra on a Penn 30 W reel and a Calstar 760 H rod.

Bill Roecker for FishingVideos.com & the San Diego Sportfishing Council

Net Update

November 18, 2007

By Paul Sweeney

Fishin’ The Hurricane

Owner Frank LoPreste brought home Royal Polaris and its 29 passengers to Fisherman’s Landing November 18. The 10-day Davis Boats charter fished trophy-sized tuna at Hurricane Bank. The boat returned with five tuna over 200-pounds.

First time long-ranger Maryanne Olley of Kill Double Hills, North Carolina thought her first big fish was going to pull her over.

“The biggest fish I’ve ever caught before this trip was 20-pounds,” said Maryanne, “So I had an awesome time. We had great camaraderie, great food and I’m already booked for an 18-day next year.”

Thirteen-year old Zach Schenk of Santa Cruz landed a 193-pound yellowfin on the kite. Zach said the fight lasted an hour and a half.

“I helped Zach a little by holding onto the reel,” said Chartermaster Mike Stanton, “keeping it from twisting back in forth, but he figured it out real quick. He said on the way down that if he caught a fish over 100-pounds, he’d shave his head.”

“I personally got snake-bit on the kite,” said Kelly Palmer of Valencia, “but that was just my bad luck. The kite produced well, it was the way to go.

“We had great weather on the way down, and great weather coming back. For two days coming back up, it was like glass.”

On that ride up north, Royal Polaris found a hot bite off a small kelp paddie to finish off the trip.

“I’ve never seen a dorado bite like that,” said Richard Grimes of San Francisco. “It was off the hook! They were eating everything, I put one of my tags on a hook and ‘Bam!’ they’d hit it. Big dorado too.”

“Frank took a chance,” continued Grimes, “but is it really a chance when you’re a pro? Nobody could have done it but him.”

Brandon Kreutel of SDLongRange.com, said “it was three days of anticipation which proved to be worth it, because we had solid full-speed fishing at the Hurricane.”

Kreutel will be posting his report within the next two days at his site.

Mike Stanton of San Luis Obispo took first place with a 189.9-pound yellowfin tuna. Mike fished a sardine on a 5/0 ringed Super Mutu hook, 90-pound Momoi with Jerry Brown Spectra, a Penn 50T, and a 7460 Calstar rod custom-wrapped by Yo’s.

Carlos Becerra of San Pedro was second with a 178.3-pound tuna, and Robert Deloaca of Rancho Cucamonga was third with a 177.3-pound yellowfin.

“Full-Speed Fishing”

Tommy Rothery returned Polaris Supreme to Fisherman’s Landing November 18 after a ten-day Ocean Tackle Research charter. The boat had 13 anglers aboard. Chartermaster Lon Mikkelsen of Hood River, OR saw his father, Bill Mikkelsen of Olympia, WA land the season’s first super cow; a tuna over 300 pounds.

“It was full-speed fishing,” said Chartermaster Lon Mikkelsen.

Bill Mikkelsen’s big fish won first place after it weighed in at 308.8-pounds, caught on a fly-lined sardine. Bill used the boats gear, including a 6/0 Mustad 7691 hook, 100-pound P-Line, and a Shimano rod and reel.

“Tommy said it was tail-wrapped from the beginning,” said the elder Mikkelsen. “And he was, but he got lose and went on another run. He took me around the boat twice.”

“We started with yellowtail fishing on the ridge that turned out to be a real good bite,” said Rothery. “We easily could have got limits on yellowtail and dorado, but these guys normally release most of their fish. We had one day of awesome marlin fishing, which this group enjoyed quite a bit.”

“I think we had maybe 200 hookups on marlin,” said John Esler of Portland. “But our yellowfin bite was pretty amazing. Once Tommy would find them, he’d shut the motors off and just drift. They didn’t need a lot of chum either, they were boiling all around the boat.”

Esler landed a 206.7-pound yellowfin.

Matt Kiesse of Cederville, CA was second place with a 279.8-pound yellowfin.

“The trip was just spectacular,” said Kiesse. “We got everything.”

Lon Mikkelsen was third with a 277.9-pound tuna. The trip scored five tuna over 200 pounds.

Bill Roecker for FishingVideos.com & the San Diego Sportfishing Council

Net Update

November 14, 2007

First 300-Pound Tuna!

Cow catching has commenced. Much of the long range fleet has now arrived on the big tuna grounds south of Magdalena Bay. Excel has not posted again since the initial report indicating 200-pound tuna were biting, but several other boats did. Here’s what they’re saying.

Polaris Supreme Report, Tuesday 11-13:

“Jackpot! Wow, what a great day. We had very, very good fishing on nice grade tuna. With the light load we have on this trip the anglers had lots of action. Our scores are as follows: Lon 274 lb., Greg 144, 110, and 152-pounders, Matt a 136 lb., John a 200-pounder, Mike 90, 125, and a 70-pounder, Tim 195 lbs., Chris 70 lbs., and Bill 70, 160, and a 304-pounder! Our weather is good. Lunch was a great seafood pasta and for dinner we went down home with some bar-b-que ribs, beans and corn on the cob. We were all so excited to have this nice big hit on the big fish.
Thanks for checking in. (Tommy Rothery and Polaris Supreme crew)

Red Rooster III Report, November 13:

“We spent our first day down on the lower banks and were very excited to see the sign and the amount of quality that is available. With the action on school size fish and the big fish that have now moved in the next couple of months could be the best yet. Finishing the day with 30 school size fish and 3 fish over 200 pound and another 8 fish from 110 to 190 the chance for a big fish is here. The weather outlook is good and a recipe for success for this type of fishing. The sign of fish looks better than last year and when they really start to bite, look out its going to be good.
We will report again tomorrow. (Andy Cates)

Royal Polaris Report November 13:

“Weather was sunny again with 7 to 12 knots of breeze. Fishing today was sensational once again with action all day long. There was steady action on the kite and good steady fishing on the sardines. Most fish today were from 100 to 245 pounds with approximately six over 200 pounds. Thirteen-year-old Zachary Schenk got a fish that was estimated around 175 pounds, almost twice his weight.

“For a few folks one of the highlights of the day was a good bite on large Dorado. Our catch today consisted of 72 Yellowfin tuna, 37 Dorado, and 3 Wahoo. We are planning to fish till 11:30 hours tomorrow and then head for home.

“There are two spots open on our 10-day November 28th trip and four spots on the 15-day trip leaving December 8. Call our office and speak to Scotty or Andrea’.” (Frank LoPreste & RP crew)

American Angler Report November 13, 2007:

“Today we got a taste of the “first day jitters” on the tuna grounds - not really knowing what to expect at times makes it hard to choose the right gear. Small reels with hundred-pound mono and smaller hooks proved to be over matched. After several long battles with a heartbreaking end, today was one of the few days where the saying, “that was a big one too” was not wrong (have you ever heard someone say they lost a small one?)

“The fleet had a conservative count of 10 fish over 200 pounds and one fish over 300 pounds for the day, so we knew that a few of the ones lost were Grande. We ended up the day with 5 fish over a hundred pounds, with Don Garcia leading the way with his 207-pounder. We also had a bunch of school-sized fish.

“Tomorrow we are hoping for a few more shots at these trophies and plan to be armed with bigger bait and bigger gear.”

Bill Roecker for FishingVideos.com & the San Diego Sportfishing Council

Net Update

November 13, 2007

First Baja Cows

The waiting by long range fishermen appears to be over, Excel skipper Justin Fleck reported November 12: “The skill of our fisherman produced our first two cows of the season! Carl Dorton caught the first one on the kite and Greg Vourdouris soon followed with a cow on a flylined sardine. We had 14 other big fish most from 130-190 pounds. We are spending the night on the anchor and will do it all again tomorrow.”

The rest of the fleet is aware of the development, said Royal Star skipper Tim Ekstrom, and will be hustling to take advantage.

Ekstrom wrote the following for the Royal Star website: And just like that, it happens. The guys blew out of Guadalupe mid afternoon gladly taking their twenty five 50 to 120 pound yellowfin while charging below for reports of exactly what we have been waiting for all season. Our valued colleagues on the southern grounds, through perseverance and appropriate timing, knocked it out of the park with several good stops on trophy yellowfin in the 130 - 200 pound and larger class. The signs of big fish were reported as “the real deal” and needless to say we are practically jumping out of our skin at the thought of finally getting some justice on this season’s extremely crafty giant yellowfin tuna. So there it is in living color.

“If you look at history,” said Ekstrom to dock reporter Bill Roecker November 13, “November is always the best month down there. It isn’t at all uncommon for the big fish not to show up until then.”

Hurricane Is On

Frank LoPreste had big news from the Hurricane Bank November 13: “Our weather here today was pleasantly warm, with a 15 knot breeze out of the north. Our fishing today was absolutely phenomenal. We caught 84 Yellowfin tuna and 65 to 70 of these were from 100 to 195 pounds. We had 2 fish definitely over 200 and a few more that might make that number. We also had 17 Wahoo.

“There were many 10 to 15 pound Yellowfin caught in the morning, most of which were used for chunks. I believe this is the first time I have ever fished the bank and not caught or seen a shark. Obviously we are hoping for another good day tomorrow.”

Bill Roecker for FishingVideos.com & the San Diego Sportfishing Council

Net Update

November 11, 2007

Rod Rack Open

Dan Nichols, Intrepid skipper, wrote the following on November 6: “We all know that on Long Range trips Marlin are not the usually targeted game fish. With that said, what do you do when they are so thick you can walk on them? Well, you catch and release them unharmed for a phenomenal day of Marlin fishing. By adding in Bull Dorado and a round or two of Wahoo, our patrons are happy and tired after a great day of fishing. The weather has turned kind of ugly.”

Dan docked the rig at Fisherman’s Landing November 11 and offloaded his 16 anglers before he weighed the best of the catch from the 10-day trip.

Ken Bush of El Cajon won first place for a 38.8-pound yellowfin tuna. He said he got it with a sardine on a 3/0 Super Mutu hook and 50-pound Blackwater fluorocarbon leader tied to 80-pound Line One Spectra. He used an Accurate 665 two-speed reel and a Calstar 700 XH rod.

Glenn Nakazono of El Sobrante was second for a 34.8-pound tuna, and Tony Prestella of Castro Valley took third place for a 34-pound dorado.

“About Timing Now”

Qualifier 105 arrived at Pt. Loma Sportfishing November 11 after the ten-day Boss Hoag/Ahi open charter with chartermasters Hoag and Gary VanDerLyke. Skipper Joe Crisci docked the rig and weighed the fish.

“Fishing is about timing right now,” said Crisci. “Get to the right place and you can catch some.”

Dennis Murphy of Camarillo won first place. He caught a 54.8-pound wahoo on a sardine and a 5/0 Mustad hook on 40-pound Big Game line and 65-pound Spectra, with an Avet JX reel and a Calstar six-foot rod.

Dominic Cardoza of Lakeside won second place for a 46.4-pound ‘hoo, and Steve Brooks of Camarillo was third, for a 44-pound dorado.

Young’s Tackle Open

“Good evening,” wrote skipper Mark Pisano November 7, “today we looked on The Ridge and had a rather slow day. We did catch some wahoo and yellowtail. We are planning to give a try for yellowtail tonight and wahoo one more shot in the morning. Weather is about the same as we’ve had the entire trip about 12 to 15 knots of wind and not much sea to go with it. I would like to make mention of the fuel situation we are in at the moment. Fuel is at an all time high, we have been holding on and not adding a surcharge for most of the season but we may find it necessary to charge one at some point on the remaining trips. Sorry about the bad news but please don’t shoot the messenger.”

Pisano docked the rig at Fisherman’s Landing (Pt. Loma was very busy, with four long range boats arriving in two hours) November 11, and hung the big ones on the scales.

Mike Rennie of Kent, WA won first and second places, for a 58.2-pound wahoo and a 41-pound dorado. He said he got the ‘ski n on a gold Raider jig tied to 40-pound Izorline. He fished with n Avet JX reel and a Rain Shadow seven-foot rod.

Eric Traut of Westminster won third place for a 35.6-pound dorado.

Anglers aboard noted that many large dorado were swimming with marlin down south, but they were picky, and the marlin usually beat them to the baits. Robin Joo was the chartermaster, for Young’s Tackle.

He Called It

The long range fleet’s 10-day tuna catch for the week was likely beaten soundly by Gordon Lackey’s five-day catch at Guadalupe Island. Vagabond anglers scored 53 tuna the first day there and 32 on the second. Some good-sized yellowtail were mixed into the catch, and a morning g of rock fishing produced plenty of reds, boccacio and ling cod.

Lackey put his 21 anglers on the dock at Pt. Loma Sportfishing November 11, after the GRUSA and Maxima-sponsored lark. He remarked that the water was 656.8 degrees at Outer Rock.

“I called it,” said jackpot winner John Jordan at the scales. “The birds were coming and I said some body was going to get bit. It was me, and he was the only one that bit.”

“He” was the 78.6-pound yellowfin Jordan bagged with a 5/0 ringed Super Mutu hook and 30-pound Big Game line. Jordan said he used an Avet 6-3 reel and a Calstar 800 H rod.

Dave Nguyen of San Diego was second, for a 66.6-pound tuna, and Dave Lupo of San Diego got third place for a 60.6-pound Guadalupe yellowfin tuna.

“It was a great trip,” said skipper Gordon. “The fish gods smiled on us, and the people on the boat were great.”

November 10, 2007

Skins Are Winners

Wahoo swept the jackpot for the American Angler’s ten-day trip for Angler’s Choice Tackle in San Diego. Sam Patella docked the rig at Pt. Loma Sportfishing November 10 and weighed the best of the catch. He remarked that fishing was good for all species but yellowfin.

While he was still fishing Sam wrote the following on November 6: “A Few More Skins For The Barby…

“We did some trolling today and managed to pick up a few more of these nice quality Wahoo - the weather is very nice and we will spend one more day down here before running up and switching gears to Yellowtail mode.”

Dennis Saylors of Long Beach won first place for a 57.4-pound wahoo. He said it bit a chrome Raider jig on 60-pound Izorline. He used a Trinidad 40 reel and a Calstar 660 rod.

“He ran like hell,” said Saylors. “I played him for about five minutes.”

Dr. John Metcalf of Danville was second, for a 43.8-pound wahoo, and Ed Kaminaka of Oceanside took third place for a 35-pound skinny. Dick Stokes of Caldwell, ID got the best wahoo trolling; a 55..8-pounder that ate his black and purple Marauder.

Fred Fukunaga Open

Tim Ekstrom docked Royal Star November 10 at Fisherman’s Landing after a ten-day open charter with 22 passengers.

Like most recent trips, fishing was good for everything except tuna. On November 8, Tim wrote, “If there is anything such in fishing, we had a typical day of angling along the beach region today, putting together a fair catch of yellowtail from various spots. Ultimately, the scenery was beautiful, the weather was calm, and the day was relaxing as we worked up the line pleased to be doing a little catching in the process.

“With a little extra time at day’s end, we will likely make a few quick drifts tomorrow for some lunch fish before throwing in the towel and heading for home. With the present gap between vessels fishing down below, things should have time to settle into a new pattern before the next round of voyages begin. Let’s hope so anyway as some kind of dramatic change is definitely in order. On that note, Captain ” Old Lucky” Toussaint himself will be gracing the helm next voyage.”

Jackpot winners:

Red Rooster IIII arrived under Julio Ochoa’s hand November 10 after a ten-day trip with 18 anglers. It was a Charkbait charter with owner Mark Smith along as chartermaster. He wanted to thank Smitty Belts, Gary Sato, Yo-Zuri, Blackwater and his other sponsors for many prizes handed out to the anglers aboard.

Ochoa’s report on November 5 was like other recent experiences: “We did not start at the rocks like we thought we were instead we started at the Rosa bank. First thing that morning we got on a very big kelp loaded with small fish, it was all four to eight pound on the yellowfin and small yellowtail. We ended up releasing everything we hooked.

“When we got on the Rosa Bank it was cooler water and we decided to work down to the southeast where there was a good temperature break. There was no shortage of kelps, but none had any life on them like the one we saw in the morning. We kept working to the southeast all day long for very little.

“The next day we started out at the “big fish grounds” with the Excel. Early in the morning we both got on common dolphin, which had forty to sixty-pound tuna that would not bite or boil on anything we threw over. We kept getting on them, hoping to get some but we ended up with the same results. We worked down towards the Lusitania Bank. On the way down we got on some black porpoise with no fish on them. We ended up coming back up the line a little after lunch.

“Late in the afternoon we managed to get some action on wahoo, dorado, and striped marlin. The grade on the dorado was twenty-five to thirty-five pounds on average, and the wahoo was on average twenty-five to fifty pounds. The striped marlin were mixed with the wahoo and dorado. Every time we got a jig strike we’d hook at least fifteen to twenty marlin; the action on the striped marlin was incredible. Today we started offshore again trying for more of the same. We ended up with good action on more wahoo, dorado and marlin.”

Mike Mattusch of Mahopac, NY won first place for his 45.3-pound yellowtail, a Cedros Island mossback that took a sardine on an unknown hook. He used 50-pound Izorline on a Penn 12 T reel and a seven-foot Seeker rod.

Todd Wickstrom of Boise, ID took a 44.3-pound yellowtail for second place, and his dad Jon Wickstrom of Claremont won third place for a 36-pound Cedros mossback.

Chartermaster Mark Smith won the trolling jackpot for a 45.7-pound wahoo. He said it bit a black Marauder.