Long Range Fishing Update – 10/21/09

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

Net Update October 21, 2009
Limited Load Limits Out

Royal Polaris Jackpot Winners

Roy Rose docked Royal Polaris at Fisherman’s landing October 21 after a good 10-day trip with 19 anglers.
“We went to Alijos Rocks, The Ridge and offshore,” he told dock reporter Bill Roecker. “We got limits of tuna, yellowtail and dorado. The weather was beautiful, and a lot of the water was 81 degrees. It needs to cool a little for the big fish to start biting. We took a look at one of the southern banks and didn’t see much going on.”
Bob Kubota of Huntington Beach got the trip’s best dorado, a 36.4-pounder he caught on the troll.
Les Quan of San Francisco won first place for a 91.8-pound yellowfin. He said he got it in just 15 minutes after it bit a sardine on a 3/0 Mustad Hoodlum hook. He used 40-pound Blackwater fluorocarbon leader and 65-pound Line One Spectra on a Tiburon 8 SST reel and a self-wrapped Calstar 800 H rod.
Seiji Iwamura of Modesto won second place for a 91-pound tuna, and Don Asbury of La Mesa got third place for an 86.2-pound Alijos Rocks yellowfin tuna.

A Good Day (Independence)
“Good evening from the Indy,” said the report from Independence October 20. “we had another good day out here on the high seas. We got off to a great start catching yellowfin tuna, 20 to 35 pounds with some hot & heavy action at times. There was some good grade yellowtail in the mix as well. The weather has made a change for the worse, as we had lots of wind this afternoon. We are going to try for trophy yellowtail tomorrow to round out our already fabulous catch.”

Bait Marathon (Intrepid)

Intrepid Wahoo

“After a bait making marathon last night, the macks finally floated around 3:00 am,” said the report from Intrepid, “and we got all we needed. We spent the day chasing Wahoo and Dorado with some nice skin and flats for our efforts. We also landed a few nice Yellows to go along with the catch. The wind picked up today and the fishing was just o.k. The sign was good, but the biting was slow. Tomorrow we will target some Yellows along the beach.”

Northward, Eyes Peeled (Royal Star)
“With our eighteen wahoo and couple of handfuls of miscellaneous gamesters in hand,” noted skipper Tim Ekstrom of the Royal Star, “we head north in search of the final, but rapidly becoming critical, missing element of our vision of a highly successful long range voyage. We have the quality, we have the variety, now we need some form of red hot fishing where all anglers are engaged and some real quantity is coming over the rail. Of course this is my standard I am espousing, but no doubt the vast majority of long range anglers are in line with this perspective.
“Really it only takes one such bite on any length of voyage to launch it into that caliber of fishing unique to long range so we are hard driving with two full days remaining to get it done. Our northerly track, and the beloved forecasters are promising rapidly improving sea conditions ahead. That should help the cause. Regardless we are hard at it with a solid strategy in place for the next couple of days that will likely include one night anchored in a heavenly sheltered zone. You see, there is always a silver lining to be found.
“Richard Agrusa is obviously pleased with his skinny that fell for a Marauder on the troll.”

Fishing The Big Island (Shogun)

Shogun Yellowfin Tuna

“The Shogun arrived at the North end of Guadalupe mid morning and Norman set up on a spot targeting big yellows. There was steady action for an hour or so, with a few lost to the rocks. Those fish all have their favorite razor sharp rock to run for!
“Around lunch time we motored down toward the South end looking for tuna. A big South swell has really churned up the lee side, but Norm managed to find a nice school that we drifted with for a few hours. Yellowfin to 60 lbs were taking fly lined sardines. As the day ended we moved tight to the island, anchoring up for the night. A few anglers kept at it past midnight and were rewarded with more of those 30 lb plus yellowtail. Tomorrow we’ll be chasing tuna in the same area, looking again for those bigger fish.”

Four Around (Prowler)
Buzz Brizendine came home to Fisherman’s Landing October 21 after a day and a half trip aboard his Prowler.
“It’s not wide open,” he said, “but it’s still pretty good fishing. We had four around: 18 albacore, one yellowfin and 20 yellowtail for ten anglers. The albies came on the troll.”