West Coast Angler - Long Range Fishing Reports

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

Net Update

January 19, 2008

Pelagic Super Cow From Hurricane

A 307-pound yellowfin tuna was caught by Pelagic rep Sonny Jones of Santa Ana, who was chartermaster aboard the Red Rooster III on a 15-day trip with 20 anglers, co-sponsored by Catchy Tackle. The boat arrived at H&M Landing January 19. Andy Cates skippered the trip, and Wayne Martin and Fred Knilans were aboard to represent Catchy Tackle.

Few 300-pounders have been caught at the Hurricane Bank in recent years, although the bank has produced many fish over 200 pounds.

“I was fishing a big skipjack for bait,” said Sonny. (Skipper Cates said the skippie weighed about six pounds.) “When he bit I let him eat it for at least 30 seconds. My best fish before was a 220-pounder. I was thinking this one was at least a 200-pounder or a shark, and I tried to stop the take with two fingers while he was swallowing the skipjack, with no luck. After the hookset I couldn’t get any line on at all for at least two minutes, and Andy said I had a really big fish.

“Thirty minutes later we could see that it was a big fish. He fought for an hour. He’s my personal best.”

Skipper Andy Cates said the boat had six cows. “It was a pick bite,” he added. “The wahoo gave us the action we needed.”

Sonny Jones’ super cow came on a 10/0 VMC hook, he said, tied to 130-pound Momoi leader and 130-pound Line One Spectra aboard a Penn 70 VSW reel and a Calstar Boomer rod wrapped by Glenn’s Tackle.

Mike Butler of Sonoma won second place for a 239.5-pound tuna. “He was on for an hour and a half,” said Butler, “and he got me in tangles. I had to fight him twice.”

Butler baited a chunk on a 7/0 ringed Super Mutu hook and 130-pound Momoi and 130-pound Line One Spectra. He used an Avet 50 reel and a Calstar 760 XH rod.

Art Green, Newport CPA, took two cows and third place for one that weighed 234 pounds. “He fought hard,” said Art, who used a 5/0 ringed Super Mutu on 130-pound Blackwater fluorocarbon leader and 130-pound Line One Spectra. He fished a Penn 70 VSW reel and a Seeker 6463 XXH rod.

Art also got a 215-pounder on his birthday, and a wahoo on one of the unusual jigs he makes of diverse parts; this time a Shrek figure with plenty of tinsel.

Henry Maze of Dublin, CA bagged a 227.5-pounder with a double sardine rig on the kite. He used the boat’s rig and said his best previous tuna was a 150-pounder.

“I also got six wahoo,” said Henry, “and to me that was the next best part.”

Lewis “Mark” Dennis of Woodland also borrowed a boat rig to subdue a 215-pounder with a squid under a balloon.

The Rooster was scheduled to leave again the same afternoon with skipper John Grabowski at the helm, on an Accurate reels trip with Dave Choate as chartermaster.