Long Range Fishing Update – 1/7/09

Bill Roecker for FishingVideos.com & the San Diego Sportfishing Council – Net Update January 5, 2009

Super Cows, Super Day, Super Winners

Not since Steve Loomis had a night for ten 300-pound fish in 1977 has a catch like this one arrived at the San Diego sportfishing docks. Six boats arrived and all of them had 300-pound tuna aboard.

“It was a winter night,” remembered Loomis at Fisherman’s Landing January 5, “and the cows, 300-pounders, were swimming all around us under the lights. It was chaos! Tommy Rothery gaffed one going by that went 326. I don’t know how many we got that way. We didn’t have all this good gear and bait. We got some on flying fish and some on wads of anchovies.”

Rookie Comes Up Big

The first boat in was the American Angler at Pt. Loma Sportfishing, with skipper Sam Patella. A remarkable fish was aboard. Sixteen-year-old Jake Abate of Charleston, SC took a handoff and then fought the 360-pound fish to gaff. He plays football and soccer at West Ashley High in Charleston, and fished with his father John.

There were four tuna over 300 pounds on the Angler. Jake’s was weighed at 375 on the boat, but on the dock scales it went 360. It wasn’t eligible for the jackpot because of the handoff. Jake said he fished a mackerel on a 5/0 ringed Super Mutu hook. He used 100-pound Blackwater fluorocarbon leader and 100-pound Blackwater Spectra on an Accurate 30 reel and a Calstar 7465 M rod he borrowed from Nacho Camarena. Jack Nilsen was present and remarked it was the best fish yet on an Accurate reel.

“He boiled on the bait,” said Jake, “and two seconds later he ran forever, with all of my line. He went around the boat three times and came up on the bow. I had 42 pounds of drag. I credit Roy Lopez. I couldn’t have done it without him.”

Rick Okuni of Walnut Grove had a tuna that weighed 368 on the boat. It wasn’t weighed again on the dock, nor was the rest of the catch. He got this one with a squid on an unknown hook under the kite and the boat’s rig: 130-pound Izor fluorocarbon, 130-pound Izorline, and Avet 50 reel and a Calstar 6465 XH rod.

Chris Cruger of San Diego won first place for his 347-pounder. He baited a squid on a 12/0 Mustad 7691 hook, and fished with 130-pound Izorline and 130-pound Line One Spectra on a Fuschia Tiagra 50 by Coffeen and a Super Seeker 66463 XXXXH rod by Pounder 242.

“I got him in 12 minutes,” said Chris. “It was in a gray bite. My best before was 245 pounds.

Ted Cramer of Mission Viejo won second place for a 301-pounder. He fished a sardine on a 5/0 ringed Super Mutu hook, tied to 100-pound Blackwater fluorocarbon leader and 130-pound unknown brand Spectra on a Tiagra 30 modified by Cal Sheets and a Calstar 7465 M rod.

“It was two hours,” he said of the fight. “He ran out, he ran around the boat twice, and came up on the bow. My best before was 140 pounds.”

Eytan Rosenberg of LA won third place for a 266-pound tuna. He bagged it with a mackerel on a 7/0 Eagle Claw hook on 100-pound Blackwater fluorocarbon and 130-pound Izorline. He used an Avet 30 reel and a Seeker Black Steel 6463 XXH rod during the two-hour fight.

Bill Kuehl of Poway took an hour to deck a 290-pound yellowfin that bit his sardine on a 6/0 Eagle Claw hoo on 130-pound Jin Kai and 130-pound Tuff Line Spectra. He fished with a Tiagra 50 LRS reel and a Shimano Talus 60 H rod.

Nacho Camarena of Oceanside had a 40-minute tuna that weighed 262 on the boat. He baited a mackerel on a 5/0 ringed Super Mutu hook tied to 100-pound Blackwater fluorocarbon and 100-pound Izor Spectra on an Accurate 30 reel and a Calstar 7465 H rod.

“He had my nerves on edge the whole time,” Nacho said of his first cow. “He got it all but 100 yards before I put the hammer down, then he took me around the boat two times.”

Calstar rep Gary Gillingham of Duarte took home a 256-pounder that erred by slurping his mackerel on an 8/0 Owner Offshore hook. He used 130-pound Blackwater fluorocarbon and 130-pound Line One Spectra with an Accurate 50 W reel and a Calstar (naturally) 6465 XXH rod.

John Haskin of Lemon Grove got a 246-pounder. He said it took an hour, after the tuna bit a sardine on a 7/0 ringed Super Mutu on 130-pound Izorline and 130-pound Line One Spectra on a Penn 50 VSX reel and a Calstar 6465 XH rod.

Les Stark of Anaheim had a 246-pound tuna that found his sardine on a 6/0 ringed Super Mutu. He used 100-pound Izorline and 1`30-pound Izorline Spectra on a Penn 50 reel and a Calstar 6460 XH rod, and did the job in 30 minutes.

335-pound Supercow for Long Range Veteran

By Paul Sweeney

Royal Star skipper Brian Simms returned 16 passengers January 5 to Fisherman’s Landing after a ten-day trip. Newell Reels, Hayabusa hooks, and Yo-Zuri chartered the trip.

Clyde Smith of Scottsdale, AZ landed a supercow after it bit a squid hooked to the boat’s kite. The 335-pound yellowfin was hauled aboard using 130-pound Blue Izorline with 130-pound Jerry Brown Line One hollow spectra, a 50 wide Penn International reel on a Calstar XXXH Grafighter rod.

“This is my lifetime best fish,” Clyde said. “I’ve been long range fishing for 40 years now, my previous best was a 279 caught at Clarion Island 20 years ago aboard the Royal Polaris. This one died right before he hit the surface, it was a two hour fight.”

Doug Taylor, of Oak Park, spent his birthday watching his son Chris Taylor fight a mean 202-pound yellowfin. The tuna was good for second place.

“I wanted to give up,” Chris said, “but it was my dad’s birthday, so I stayed on him.”

Chris used 5/0 Super Mutu hooks with100-pound Izorline fluorocarbon, 100-pound Izorline, a Cal Sheets modified Penn 50 reel on a Calstar 760 H rod.

Willy Cloyes of San Diego was third for a 142-pound yellowfin that bit a fly-lined live squid.

K.C. Nasser landed a 260-pound yellowfin, which was not jackpot eligible.

Rooster Cops A Three

Andy Cates docked Red Rooster III at H&M Landing January 5 after a ten-day New Years Special trip to the lower banks.

The big fish was the jackpot-winning 311-pounder caught by Paul Palmer of Temecula, on his first long range trip. Paul baited a squid under the kite, fought the fish for an hour and beat his personal best by 276 pounds. He used the boat’s rig: 130-pound Izorline and 130-pound Izor Spectra on an Accurate 80 reel and a Calstar 760 XH rod.

“What I’ll remember,” said Paul, “was the total fight of the fish, how strong he was.”

Tim Ivy of San Diego won second place for a 277-pounder that ate a mackerel on a 7/0 Eagle Claw hook. He fished with 130-pound unknown line, 130-pound Line One Spectra on a Shimano Triton 50 W reel.

Greg Wahl of Fullerton won third place for a 257.9-pounder. It took a macker4el on a 5/0 Gamakatsu hook. He used 130-pound Izorline and 130-pound Power Pro Spectra on a Penn 70 reel and a Calstar six-foot rod.

Allen Lemberg of San Diego found a 255-pounder at the end of his 130-pound Izolrine and Izor Spectra. It ate a sardine under the balloon on a 5/0 Eagle Claw hook. He used and Accurate 50 reel and a Seeker 6465 XXH rod.

Mike “Slam” Shelton got a 236-pounder. Sarah Reader of Torrance bagged a 230-pounder on the balloon with a sardine on a 7/0 Eagle Claw hook. She fished with 100-poundSeaguar fluorocarbon leader and 130-pound Izorline Spectra on an Avet 50 reel and a Seeker 660 XXH rod.

“I’m just speechless,” said Sarah at the scales. “It took 20 minutes. My best fish before was a 45-pound yellowtail.”

Sarah is 17, goes to South Torrance High and plays softball.

“Coach” Cliff Clark of Union City took a 228-pounder. Richard Zawlacki finished the Rooster’s cow roundup with a 226-pounder.

Four Supercows For Intrepid

Kevin Osborne docked Intrepid at Pt. Loma Sportfishing January 5, following a ten-day Accurate trip with 23 anglers. Fishing on the lower banks was good, and the boat found four supercows and three more fish with kissing distance of 300 pounds.

Mick Coats of Whittier won first place for his 345-pound yellowfin. He got it with a sardine on a 6/0 ringed Super Mutu hook tied to 80-pound P-Line and 80-pound Line One Spectra. He fished with a Penn 16 VSX reel and a Super Seeker 665 XXH rod.

“My best fish before was an 88-pound bigeye,” he said. “This one took me to the bow and kicked my butt. Then he came up, still at the bow.”

David Choate of Torrance nabbed second place for a 316-pounder. Dave is an Accurate/Seeker rep and nearly had a brace of supercows. His second fish weighed 299, and he had a 289 and a 223-pounder. He got his big one on a sardine and a 6/0 Gorilla hook. He fished with 130-pound Seaguar fluorocarbon, 130-pound Spectra backing on an Accurate 30 reel and a Super Seeker 6463 XXXH rod.

Lee Sheperd won third place for a 302-pounder. No information was available at the time.

Dolph Ruschmaupt and Marilyn Reece teamed up on a 331 and a 296-pounder.

Fred Gates got a 296-pound tuna. David McDaniel got a 281-pound fish. Edward Plants had a 285-pounder. Robert Brown got a 258, Henry Aguilar found a 247.

Mark Bueker produced a 231 on a squid and the boat’s kite rig.

Mike Blumenfeld of Laguna Hills got a 224-pounder on a sardine and a 6/0 Matsuo hook. He fished with 100-pound Blackwater fluorocarbon and 100-pound Line One Spectra. He used a new Accurate B2-30 reel and got the fish in 30 minutes.

The count for the trip: four over 300 pounds, 12 over 200, and three over 100 pounds

Six Supercows For Excel

By Paul Sweeney

Excel skipper Justin Fleck returned January 5 after a ten-day trip that produced six yellowfin over 300 pounds. The boat also produced 18 tuna over 200-pounds.

“For us,” Captain Fleck said while unloading their catch, “it was a waiting game. We didn’t move our anchor for four days. Sometimes we saw fish on the meter, sometimes we didn’t. But I’ve never seen anything like it. I’ve never seen this amount of 300-plus pound tuna before. Never. They were crashing right through the stern.”

Chris Kumai of Berkeley used the bow to get away from everyone else to cast a mackerel. After an hour and half long soak, Kumai got a bite off the port side of the stern. His fish weighed 344 pounds all said and done at Fisherman’s Landing’s certified scales Monday morning.

“He wasn’t particularly strong,” Kumai remembered. “It was a standard fight, took me around the boat one time. My Cal Sheets one-to-one gears really helped out. That was key.”

Kumai used a 9/0 2004 Eagle Claw hook, 100-feet of 100-pound Blue Izorline topshot, 800 yards of 130-pound Jerry Brown Line One spectra, a 50 wide Penn SW reel blueprinted by Cal Sheets, on a homemade Baja Boomer rod.

“Every fish you hooked was a potential 300-pounder,” Excel chef Jason Fleck added. “It was just unreal for a ten-day trip.”

Bobby Reid of Simi Valley was second for a 321-pound yellowfin weighed at Fisherman’s Landing. The hefty tuna started the fight tail-wrapped.

“Once he came undone,” Reid said, “that’s when he came alive. It’s a fish of a lifetime.”

Reid fished a squid on the kite with 19/0 Super Mutu hooks, 130-pound Blackwater fluorocarbon, 130-pound Big Game with 130-pound Jerry Brown Line One spectra, a Tiagra 50 reel and a Calstar Baby Boomer rod. He also caught a 241-pound tuna on 80-pound line.

Dennin Peterson’s yellowfin weighed 310 pounds on the boat’s scales, placing him third in the jackpot. Peterson, of Port Aransas, TX fly-lined a sardine on a 9/0 Eagle Claw hook, 100-pound fluorocarbon, a Shimano 30 W reel, and a Seeker rod.

“We had to use a backup rig,” recalled Peterson. “My rod broke and I was sent out on the skiff. We chased it for three miles, it took about three hours to bring him in. Skiff fishing was different, but it was fun.”

Bob Smisek of Rosamond took two and a half hours to bring in a 309-pound yellowfin that was “mean and onery.”

“I used a 1976 Penn International 50 reel that was modified by Cal Sheets,” Smisek said proudly. “This fish would get to the boat and take off, I’d get him back, and he’d take off again. It was a mean one. The crew was fantastic. I had to go around the anchor a couple times.”

Smisek watched his fish crash on a squid attached to the boat’s kite. He used 130-pound Triple Fish line, 130-pound Izorline spectra, and a Baja Boomer rod to go along with his pre-mentioned antique reel.

Kyle Menath, of Carson City, NV caught a 302-pound yellowfin after he fly-lined a live squid on a 7/0 Mustad hook. Menath hooked seven thresher sharks before he was able to fight his big yellowfin.

“I used 130-pound Big Game fluorocarbon,” Menath said, “with 130-pound hollow spectra and a Penn 50 SVX reel.

“I don’t know what the rod was,” he laughed. “But I got it at Bass Pro Shops.”

Michael Spagnuolo caught a 303-pound supercow as well, but was unavailable for comment.

“Everything Was Perfect”

A ten-day trip with 27 anglers aboard Independence with Jeff DeBuys ended January 5 at Pt. Loma Sportfishing.

“This was an Accurate trip,” said Jeff. “Everything was perfect, the amount of big fish swimming around. There were big schools of cows. We had two days of the sort every angler dreams about. We had four fish over 3000 pounds and 19 over 200.

“The key was finding fish in the morning. Then you could stay with the school all day. We had a couple of epic days drifting, and on the anchor.”

Andy Bosforo of San Diego won first place for his 346.8-pound yellowfin. The fish ate a squid on a 10/0 Mustad 7691 hook under the kite on a boat rig: 130-pound Izorline and 130-pound Izor Spectra on an Avet 50 reel and a Seeker 6463 XXXXH rod. He said his best previous fish was a 130-pounder.

Joao Brasil of San Jose won second place for a 323-pound tuna he got on the boat rig.

“This is my first trip,” he said. “The best. He fought me for three hours.”

Mike Brenan stood in with the winners holding his 307-pounder. He said he got it with a sardine on a 6/0 Super Mutu hook on 100-pound Seaguar fluorocarbon and 130-pound Power Pro Spectra on a Tiagra 50 reel and a Seeker 6465 XXH rod.

Bob Dreessen of Buena Park spent three hours with a 290-pound tuna he got to know very well. It bit a sardine on a 6/0 Super Mutu hook. He fished with 100-pound Izorline fluorocarbon and 100-pound Ande line with 100-pound Big Game Spectra on a Penn 30 W reel and a Calstar 755 XXH rod.

Calvin Kumamoto of Boulder Creek bagged a 258-pounder on the boat rig, on a 14/0 Mustad 7691 hook.

Larry Lauve of Ramona caught a 256-pound tuna on a squid and the kite in just 30 minutes using the boat’s rig. His best previous fish was a 216-pound tuna.

Ryal Richards of Newport Beach nabbed a 246 and a 222-pounder. He fished with sardines on 6/0 ringed Super Mutus. He used 100-pound Blackwater fluorocarbon and 100-pound Spectra on a Penn 50 reel and a Calstar six-foot rod.

Sam Fillingame of Las Vegas got a 242-pounder. He best before was a 167, he said. He got this one on a squid under the kite, with the boat rig.

“It took 35 minutes,” he said.

Ruben Brasil of San Jose won third place for a 322-pounder. He also had a 240 and a 215-pounder. He said he fished squid under the kite with the boat’s rig.

Roy Sakul of Ontario was spooled and spent two hours on his 240-pounder. He also got a 230. He fished sardines on 10/0 Mustad hooks. He used 130-pound Blackwater fluorocarbon and 130-pound Line One Spectra on an Accurate 12 reel and a Calstar 6455 XXH rod.

Doal Miller of Encinitas took a 216-pounder on a squid and a 6/0 Super Mutu hook on 100-pound Blackwater and 130-pound Spectra. He used a Tiagra 50 reel and a rod wrapped by P-Bod, a Calstar 665 XH.

Bob Douglas of Rancho Palos Verdes took 25 minutes to bag a 229-pounder on a sardine and a 5/0 ringed Super Mutu hook. He used 100-pound Blackwater fluorocarbon leader and 100-pound Izorline on a Penn 30 W reel and a Calstar 6455 XXH rod.

Mike Williams of La Mesa got a 224-pounder.

Alfredo Besara of Oznard got a 202-pounder with a sardine on a 5/0 ringed Super Mutu tied to a 100-pound Basil topshot and 130-pound Line One Spectra. He fished with a Penn 50 VSW reel and a Calstar 6455 XXH rod. The fight went for one hour.

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

Net Update January 6, 2009

Best Supercow Day Ever?

The dust has mostly settled, but we’re still chasing some numbers for big fish here at FishingVideos.com. Any late-coming information will be shared here as it becomes available. Our apologies to Izorline, who sponsored the Intrepid trip we mistakenly attributed to Accurate in yesterday’s posting.

Here are the scores, by the boat, from yesterday’s arrivals. It likely was the best day ever for the weighing of supercows, or tuna over 300 pounds.

American Angler had 12 tuna over 200 pounds, including four over 300.

Royal Star had three fish over 200 pounds, including a 335-pounder.

Red Rooster III had eight fish over 200 pounds, including a 311-pounder.

Intrepid caught 16 tuna over 200 pounds, including four over 300.

Excel had 24 tuna over 200 pounds, including six yellowfin over 300.

Independence found 19 cows, including four fish over 300 pounds.

Total for the day: 82 cows, including 20 supercows.

New Information

Lee Shepherd of Long Beach called to tell us about his 302-pound yellowfin tuna on the Intrepid January 5. He used a two-ounce egg sinker to get his sardine down, with a toothpick to hold it about three feet from the hook.

“He almost spooled me,” said Lee. “They said I had about ten more seconds to stop the fish, and they attached the backup rig. I did stop him and he fought for about an hour and 15 minutes. He came up on the bow.”

Shepherd pinned his sardine on a 6/0 ringed Super Mutu hook, tied to 100-pound Izorline and 130-pound Izorline Spectra, on a Sheets-treated Penn 50 W reel and a Super Seeker 6463 XXXH rod.