West Coast Angler - Long Range Fishing Reports

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.”