West Coast Angler – 5 Day Returns – 08/18/11

More will come later from me but here is the report from FishingVideos.com:

For FishingVideos.com & San Diego Sportfishing Council

WestCoastAngler.com 11th Annual 5-Day Trip

Chartermasters Rosenthal & Peterson

Captain Joe D’Acquisto backed Red Rooster III into her slip August 18 after a five-day WestCoastAngler.com trip with co-chartermasters David Rosenthal and Robert Peterson and 17 other anglers aboard. “We started off the trip with a massive giveaway with lots of stuff from our sponsors, VMC Hooks, Salas Lures, Five-Star Fish Processing, The Fish N Fools Bait & Tackle, JimiJigs, FishingVideos.com, Hobie Polarized, Lakeside Bait & Tackle and more. I think every angler had their number pullled 3 or 4 times for the first drawing alone, we had so much stuff to giveaway we had drawings on 3 days.” said David Rosenthal.

They fished offshore, at Cedros Island and up the beach, said Joe.

Three halibut were caught, two by chartermaster Rosenthal and one by Peterson, when the boat tried inshore up the beach.

Red Rooster III Jackpot Winners

James Pollard of Grand Terrace won first place for his 40-pound bluefin tuna. He told dock reporter Bill Roecker it bit on a sardine and a 2/0 ringed Owner Super Mutu hook. He used 40-pound Seaguar premier fluorocarbon, 40-pound Big Game line, 60-pound Izorline spectra backing on an Avet JX reel and a Graftech seven-foot rod.
Dan O’Leary of Pt. Loma won second place for a 38.3-pound bluefin and Pete Peterson, Robert’s brother, won third place for a 37.2-pound bluefin tuna.
Day At Guadalupe
“Our first full day here at Guadalupe turned out to be a fun ,” said the report from Intrepid for August 17. “We did however catch some very nice grade fish today in the form of Yellowfin up to 90 pounds and Yellowtails up to 40 pounds. Highlight of the day was young Conner Morrison on his first Long Range Adventure landing a Yellowfin around 90 pounds, pictured with Co-charter master Brian Porter who handed the fish off to Conner. Brian was the hot stick today landing several nice Tuna and several big Tails. Also, first time Long ranger Joseph Pagano landed a new personal best Yellowfin around 75 lbs. The night bite produced a couple of handfuls of Yellows in the 30-pound class and a couple of Black Seabass, one of which was around 250 pounds, caught by co-charter master Dennis Kaneoka and was released in perfect condition as he powered his way down to the depths to be caught again someday. We will stay put and make some bait for tonight and give it a go again tomorrow.”
Qualifier 105 Report 8-16-2011
Melton’s Tackle, B.H. Cops 7-day: It was as good as it gets today. We started out with a drift for some yellows and kicked the anchor over. After that it was full speed, every bait that hit the water type fishing. Most of the guys had a limit or very close to it on yellowtail. We had to drive away from them and looked for some tuna. No luck, more yellows are all we found and they were everywhere today. We eventually started the trek to the rocks and will be there in the morning. We are hoping for some of the tuna like we found last week on our last trip. Wish us luck, the Q crew’s out!”

Outstanding ‘Tails
Royal Polaris reported for August 17: “Yesterday we had an outstanding day of yellowtail fishing, we had 8 to 12 fish going and at times everyone body on the boat had one on, it was as good as it gets, We had limit style fishing, and it was much needed after a couple of scratch fishing at the rocks, the yellows were in the 18 to 25 pound class and we even caught 3 Bluefin 15 to 18 pounds. Our group is very tired and worn out, they’re gonna’ need to add a few more days to their vacation as they recuperate from yesterday. We will be fishing for halibut and sea bass today at Cedros.”

Royal Star Saga
“Boy, I laid it out to perfection in yesterday’s report,” said the report for August 17, “less frantic, more consistent, and more fulfilling, all these descriptions fit the fishing today to the letter. The change of pace was complimented by stunning contrast in scenery as well with the ocean displaying a staggering abundance of life in the form of miles of dolphins, whales, herds of sea lions, and, most important to our objective, miles and miles of 15 to 22-pound yellowtail. Fortunately the majority of the mammals were focused on sustenance apart from our efforts but naturally a few pinnipeds latched on to irritate with their thievery. It comes with the territory, and is tolerable in minor percentages such as today.
A nice steady pace was the theme; perfect even by our standards as one to five scrappy yellows seemed to remain hooked the majority of the morning aside from the occasional rush when a wave of ten or fifteen would come through. At this pace they accumulated well while providing anglers the opportunity to switch it up tying different methods to draw a strike and employ the full compliment of gear they brought for this exact purpose. Surface irons on the bow, fly lined baits all around, one to four-ounce sliding sinkers, and/or yo-yo jigs were all effective at times. Honestly the yo-yo jigs were probably most consistently effective but the laborious requirement of furiously winding again and again sapped enthusiasm for the method beyond the first hour. And, it really didn’t matter as there were plenty of bites to be had otherwise.
After the noon hour, however it was a different story. The abundance of yellowtail we took advantage of early on moved out, down, or up leaving all the additional life behind mopping up an almost unbelievable amount of bait that seemed to multiply in spite of every critter out there shamelessly gorging. Beyond noon we poked, kicked, and scratched our way along finally throwing in the towel in increasing wind and seas after tea time. The overall score was just enough to fully satisfy and initiate the final leg of travel to the grand destination, we hope.
The big island west has been a difficult prospect at best during the past week to ten days. A few here, and a few there would best describe the picture with the real quantity of tuna no showing in the shallows now for quite some time. It has been dismal and difficult, so much so that we are under no illusions about the prospects. However we have three things in our favor that can not be overlooked: one is our indefatigable optimism inherent in all true fishermen, two is our knowledge of change in ocean conditions and how fast they often occur, three is the Captain Toussaint factor never to be ignored; the man’s timing and uncanny fish sense could wring rain from a sunny Sahara sky in the middle of summer. This will be a true test. I’m already a believer but this time the Shaman really needs to show up for the party.
But, with the quantity goal mostly fulfilled, time to make the crossing, and a pressing need to place our anglers in position to target an exceptional catch, we are all in. Even if the pattern holds, and we wind up with only a few trophy class Guadalupe tuna, it is the right thing to do. We’ve made a lot from a little many times in the past. Don’t be surprised if we do it again.
On the photo front I have been floundering taking perhaps the worst shots of my career during the past couple of days. The perfectionist in me just won’t allow anything less than good to grace this narrative. I’m hoping it will come around tomorrow. I’ll try shutting one eye or something.

First One Best
“The first stop of the day brought 40-pound bluefin tuna crashing at the corner of the Shogun. Lines snapped, backlashes happened and hooks were pulled, but after the bite settled into a plunker we started to put them on the boat. For the next hour we kept one to four big bluefin on the line and coming over the rail. After that stop we managed some yellowfin jig strikes with a few more bait fish thrown in, and in our travels to the south we came across a couple of productive kelp paddies when the yellowtail bit for us.