Long Range Fishing Update – 8/19/09

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

Net Update August 19, 2009

On The Twin Spin 30

Chartermaster Pat Casas and his 22 anglers from the Amero Charter arrived aboard Intrepid with skipper Rick Kelly August 19 after a four-day trip. Kelly spoke with dock reporter Bill Roecker.

“We spent one day offshore by the 1010 Trench,” he said, “and one day at Guadalupe Island. The current was off, but we got some tuna and yellowtail. Offshore fishing was good.”

Chris Rodriquez of San Bernadino won the jackpot’s top spot for a 48.4-pound yellowtail, a dandy fish he bagged on a spinning outfit. He said he baited a slab of scad mackerel, and used a 6/0 Mustad hook, 50-pound fluorocarbon and 65-pound Spectra on an Accurate Twin Spin 30 reel and a six-foot Seeker rod.

The fight only went 10 minutes, remarked Chris. “He just kept running, taking off again whenever I’d get him close.”

Scott Ellis of Huntington Beach won second place for a 38.2-pound yellowtail, and Policarpo Kantun of Highland won third place for a 37.6-pounder.

Will Fish Tackle

The annual Will Fish Tackle trip of five days returned with chartermaster John Wadden August 19 after skipper Norm Kagawa took the group to Guadalupe and Cedros Islands.

Angler Brad Hall of San Diego won the first place for a 36.6-pound yellowtail he got with a sardine on a 3/0 ringed Super Mutu hook. He said he used 40-pound Seaguar Premier fluorocarbon leader and 65-pound Line One Spectra on an Accurate 870 two-speed reel and a Calstar 765 L rod.

Chartermaster Wadden won second place for a 35.5-pounder, and Dave Stanton of Chula Vista got third place for a 37.6-pound yellowtail.

Tuna Wars

Carl Fanucchi’s 19th annual charter returned August 19 aboard the Excel after fishing five days with skipper Justin Fleck. You could say it worked out pretty well, as Carl won the jackpot with his 55.8-pound yellowfin tuna, caught at Guadalupe Island.

Fanucchi said the boat also fished at Cedros Island and San Martin. Gunning for a big tuna, he got his winner in 20 minutes with a squid on a 7/0 Mustad hook and 80-pound Big Game line, with a Penn 6/0 reel he’d modified and a self-wrapped Calstar 760 H rod.

“I reeled as fast as I could,” said Carl, “because Whitey (white sharks) was taking about 40 percent of our fish.”

“He got the last five,” pointed out Bob Fletcher of San Diego, former skipper and SAC president. Bob won second place for a 55.1-pounder. Marvin Yotsuya of Fresno won third place for a 51.4-pound tuna.

Big Bluefin! Late Afternoon Delight

Mike Lackey docked his Vagabond at Pt. Loma Sportfishing August 19 after a three-day trip that produced the best catch of big bluefin tuna so far this season.

“It was our last evening,” said Lackey. “We got 13 big tuna. They started biting about 5:30 and went until full dark. We lost a few.”

Eleven-year-old Andrew Eastman of San Diego got his first big bluefin with 50-pound Soft Steel Ultra line on a new Torsa two-speed reel, said Mike.

Andrew goes to Dana Middle School in Pt. Loma, where he’s a baseball pitcher.

Butch Ward of Tucson won first place for his 91.2-pound bluefin, which becomes the best of the season. He said it took a sardine on a 3/0 Mustad hook, on 30-pound Soft Steel Ultra line and a Tyrnos 12 reel. He used a Seeker 670 rod to beat the fish in a hour.

Second place was won by Aaron Fraser of San Francisco for an 86-pound bluefin on a ‘dine and a 3/0 ringed Super Mutu hook tied to 45-pound Yo-Zuri fluorocarbon and 80-pound Berkley Braid on a Cabo 80 spinning reel and a custom rod. That fight lasted an hour and a half.

Mike Livingston of Sunland got third place for a 79.4-pound bluefin he bagged on 40-pound line. Bill Peirce of Cota de Caza sat in for the lineup shot with his honorable mention 87-pound shortfin.

Captain Mike Lackey said he made his catch “…in the bottom corner of where everybody else was fishing.” He expected other boats had made some contact with the big bluefin, and thought we might be hearing more about that. His brother Gordon was to take the Vagabond out again the same evening.