Long Range Fishing Update 4/26/10

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

April 26, 2010
Mikkelsen-Poole Memorial Returns

Excel Coming Home

The annual Ralph Mikkelsen Big Fish trip shared titles and honors with the late Bill Poole this year, and there were big tuna aplenty for the 25 anglers on the 17-day adventure. Most of the fish came from the Hurricane Bank, said skipper Justin Fleck after docking the Excel at Fisherman’s Landing April 26.
“Tuna fishing was good,” he said, “and wahoo fishing was excellent. We took a look at Cedros Island on the way home. The water there really looked good, and there was good fishing for bigger yellows.”
There were 11 cows, or tuna over 200 pounds, on the Excel, along with many fish from 100 to 200 pounds. Anglers had about ten around on the wahoo.

The Stack

Bill Lynd of Green Calley, AZ won first place for a 231-pound yellowfin. He got it with the kite and a flying fish on a 10/ Mustad 7691 hook attached to 130-pound Big Game line and 130-pound Line One Spectra. He used a Penn 50 reel modified by Cal Sheets and a Calstar Baja Boomer rod.
“I had a live flyer for bait,” said Bill, “and he got boiled on as he was swimming out. Then he took off and flew about 25 feet, and when he went back in the fish ate him. I got the fish close pretty fast but then he took off so fast and far we got the backup rig ready.
“Skipper Justin though he was tail-wrapped for sure. Then he stopped, dead on the bottom. All the crew and passengers cooperated to get him back up. I was reeling him close to the boat when a shark came after him, but it turned away and didn’t bite.”

Excel Jackpot Winners

Joann Ciciliano of Las Vegas won second place and the high roller jackpot for her 227-pounder. Her fish ate a double sardine rig under the kite, with the ‘dines hanging on 8/0 Eagle Claw hooks. She said she used 130-poudn Izorline fluorocarbon and 130-pound Line One Spectra on a Penn 50 W reel and a Seeker Black steel 6463 XXXH rod, to beat her prize in 40 minutes.
Janie Massion of Calabasas won third place for a 226-pound tuna he got in just seven minutes, he told Roecker.
“It was that new reel, that Accurate 80 with special high speed gears,” he said, “it has unbelievable speed and power.”
Massion baited a brace of mackerel on 9/0 Eagle Claw hooks tied to 130-pound Momoi and 130-pound Line One Spectra on his Accurate 80 and a Calstar 755 XXH rod.

Cal Sheets on the Royal Star Tagging Yellowfin Tuna

Andy Marcum of Oceanside got a 220-pounder on a flying fish under the kite. He said he used a 20/0 Mustad circle hook and a 12/0 Mustad 7691 tied to 130-pound Big Game line and 130-pound Line One Spectra on a Penn 80 ST reel modified by Cofe, along with a Calstar 755 XXH rod by Peabod.
“It took an hour and 45 minutes,” said Andy. “He kicked my butt. I saw a huge boil, and he was on. He took me around the boat four times, and we ended it up on the bow.”
Patrick Gallagher of Ventura caught a 215-pounder with a flyer under the kite. He said the bait was on a 10/0 Mustad 7691 hook tied to 130-pound Momoi and 130-pound Line One Spectra. He used an Avet 50 reel and a Calstar 7655 XXH rod.
George Meigs of Seal Beach bagged a brace of tuna at 210 and 215 pounds. He fished with sardines for the smaller one and a flyer on the other. The sardine was baited on a new Mustad 6/0 Demon ringed hook, and the flyer on a 10/0 Mustad 7691 hook. He used the same 130-pound Basil topshot and 130-pound Spectra on a Penn 80 W reel and a Calstar 6465 XXH rod on both fish.
Auggie Roberts of Hermosa Beach had a 211-pounder and a tip. He got the fish in 30 minutes, on a flying fish under the kite on a

Tagged Yellowfin Tuna being released on the Royal Star

10/0 7691 hook and a 20/0 Mustad circle. He used a Basil topshot of 130-pound Momoi and 130-pound Line One Spectra on a Penn 80 S reel by Sheets and a Calstar 6465 XXXH rod.
“I got fouled,” he said, “so I was skipping the thing back in when I got bit. He got hooked on the circle, right in the corner of the mouth. “I put a Turk’s Head on my reel butt,” he said, just above the gimbal so the rod won’t slip out of somebody’s hand when I need to pass it off in a tangle.”
Ralph Mikkelsen caught a 211-pounder. He now has over 50 tuna that weighed more than 200 pounds, and five over 300 pounds.
“This one came on a Yummee Flyer under the kite,” he said. “It was on a Mustad 16/0 circle, 130-pound Izorline and 130-pound Izorline spectra. I used a Penn 80 VSW reel modified by Cal Sheets and a Seeker 6463 XXXH rod, and got the fish in 15 minutes. I take no prisoners.”
Bob Buckland of Simi Valley took a 207-pound tuna in 20 minutes. He’s been averaging one cow per trip for many years, he said, and makes about three trips per year. His tuna came on the double sardine rig, on 5/0 Hayabusa hooks, 130-pound Seaguar fluorocarbon and 130-pound Line One Spectra. He fished with an 80 Avet reel and a Seeker 6364 XXXXH rod.
Bob Orth of Moreno Valley got the only baitfish of the trip, a 203-pound yellowfin. It bit his sardine pinned on a 7/0 Eagle Claw hook. He said he used 130-pound pink Yo-Zuri fluorocarbon and 130-pound Izorline Spectra on a Penn 50 T reel by Cal Sheets and a Calstar 760 H rod.
World record holder Curt Wiesenhutter didn’t get a cow this trip, but he said he did score 13 wahoo on bait and one on a bomb.
Tag ‘Em Up, Head ‘Em Out
“Today we borrowed a page from the old Revillagigedo playbook,” wrote Royal Star skipper Tim Ekstrom April 25, “dropping the anchor in the early a.m. and remaining stationary for the duration. Thirteen hours later we had accumulated sixty of the “stock” grade 100 to 175-pound yellowfin tuna with another four or five just under one hundred pounds. By the end of the day we were doing battle with a pretty good gathering of grinners so a new zone was sought to finish on a high note. It took a few attempts to find the right one; and we added another five tuna to the day’s tally for a total of seventy.
“What a pleasure, to take what felt like a step back in time enjoying an entire day of fishing while stationary, scratching away steady on the sardine tackle and kites, is an option completely unique to these Revillagigedo tagging voyages. With the lee side of the island presently the zone of choice, the entire day was spent in calm conditions under the surveillance of the local military garrison on the hillside that was close enough to the action to enjoy the show.
“So with our final day pending, we will finish up our tagging tomorrow and bid my beloved Clarion farewell until the next Revillagigedo tagging voyage in February 2011. I am already looking forward to it. Before I get that far ahead though we have plenty of work to complete tomorrow. I have to say that the indications of fish were fantastic at times today, and pushing into the full moon is traditionally a very consistent period, so my optimism for tomorrow is very high.
“Photo of the day features another dedicated tagging veteran in the process of releasing one of his many big yellowfin during this voyage. By Doug Taylor’s standard’s the 175 in the photo is a dwarf relative to the giant 324 (that was really more like 340) that he released at Roca Partida two years prior. The shot is of Doug’s lucky tuna on it’s way to freedom.”
Still Going
Royal Polaris is headed south on her latest trip. The report from April 25 indicated a brief stop at Alijos that produced “…wet lines.” Fishing reports should commence in another day or two.