Bluefin Bracketed
The next bluefin to show up on Fisherman’s Landing dock was a 26-pounder caught by Dennis McDougall of Idyllwilld, one of only three taken from a good school on The Ridge found by Art Taylor and his Searcher.
“I got him after a long soak with a sardine,” said McDougall. “I had half my spectra out.”
He told dock reporter Bill Roecker the trip was seven days with 14 anglers, and that he used a 2/0 Owner Flyliner hook on 30-pound Blackwater fluorocarbon, 30-pound P-Line and 60-pound Line One spectra on an Avet MXL reel and a Calstar 700 M rod.
It appeared at first that McDougall’s bluefin would win the jackpot, but it was sandwiched by a pair of yellowtail caught by Bruce Gothar of Menifee, who got his 27-pound yellow along with a 24-pounder, good for first and third place. Bruce said he got the better yellow on a mackerel bait and a 4/0 Mustad hook on 20-pound Izorline and 30-pound Power Pro spectra. He fished with a classic 220 Newell Blackie reel and an eight-foot Seeker Deckhand Special rod.
“Excellent fishing,” pronounced skipper Taylor, “with good variety on The Ridge.”
October 14-21, 2011
This 7-day trip had 14 anglers and they caught 146 yellowtail, 66 yellowfin, 67 dorado, 3 bluefin, and 4 grouper. The jackpot winners are:
- Bruce Gothar, Menifee, CA– 27# yellowtail (left)
- Dennis McDougall, Idyllwild, CA — 26.8# bluefin tuna
- Bruce Gothar, Menifee, CA — 24.2# yellowtail
Guadalupe Super Sweep by Bill Roecker
It was 88 degrees at Fisherman’s Landing when Bill Roecker departed the docks Thursday morning at 10 AM. It was almost as hot as John Lindsey was at Guadalupe Island when he caught the three fish that swept the jackpots for a five-day trip with Aaron Remy skippering Searcher, with Lindsey and 14 anglers aboard. A three-fish sweep can only be done on a few of the fleet’s boats, and it makes hen’s teeth seem common.
There was a larger fish caught than the winner, weighing 86 pounds on the scales, but it was missing a foot and a half of its propulsive unit, courtesy of one of the island’s numerous white sharks, and therefore ineligible. It was Remy’s first trip with the boat to Guadalupe, and he remarked that it was a good one.
Lindsey’s fish were: a 75-pound yellowfin tuna, a 48.3-pound tuna, and a 34.8-pound yellowtail. The big one bit on a sardine and a 1/0 ringed Owner Super Mutu hook tied to 50-pound Suffix fluorocarbon and 65-pound Suffix 832 spectra on an Avet MX reel and a Seeker Black Steel 6470 H rod.
“He fought for about 45 minutes,” said Lindsey.
“He got into the rudder and the props,” added skipper Remy, “with two sharks around.”
“My advice to get a big fish,” said Lindsey, “is to change your bait.”
He then made a request.
“I was a good friend of Bill Poole’s,” he told Roecker. “Would you mind taking my picture next to his statue?”
October 8-13, 2011
This 5-day trip had 14 anglers and they caught 78 yellowfin tuna, 73 yellowtail, 11 bluefin tuna, and 3 dorado. The jackpot winner swept the jackpot:
- John Lindsey, Costa Mesa, CA– 75# yellowfin tuna, 48.3# yellowfin tuna, and 34.8# yellowfin tuna
Hook-free Skin by Bill Roecker
Jennifer Funk of Long Beach took the top two spots aboard Art Taylor’ Searcher October 8 following a seven-day trip with owner-operator Art Taylor and 21 anglers. Her 29.6-pound wahoo wasn’t huge for its kind, but big enough to beat out the boat’s near-limit catch of yellowtail and dorado. It was even more notable that it came aboard without ever being hooked by the scrambled eggs Salas 6X Jr. jig in its mouth. It just refused to let go until it was gaffed, and then the jig just fell out.
Jennifer’s jackpot was all the more remarkable in that she swept the top two spots for her second-place fish, a 26.8-pound yellowtail. The wahoo was brought to the boat on 50-pound Izorline on a Penn Baja Special reel and a Calstar 700 M rod.
“We had excellent yellowtail fishing on The Ridge,” commented skipper Taylor, “and we tried Cedros on the way home, but there wasn’t much going on when we were there. We got lots of dorado down below, too, in 75 to 76-degree water.”
Jim Marshall of Jackson won third place for his 26.4-pound yellowtail, a fish he bagged with a green and yellow CP 105 jig.
October 1-8, 2011
This 7-day trip had 21 anglers and they caught 205 yellowtail, 19 yellowfin, 3 wahoo and 94 dorado. The jackpot winners are:
- Jennifer Funk, Redondo Beach, CA– 29.6# wahoo
- Jennifer Funk, Redondo Beach, CA — 26.8# yellowtail
- Jim Marshall, Jackson, CA — 26.4# yellowtail
September 24-October 1, 2011
This 7-day trip had 23 anglers and they caught 230 yellowtail, 91 yellowfin, and 138 dorado. And congrats to the non-jackpot wahoo caught by Tim James. The jackpot winners are:
- Terry Wade, San Diego, CA– 47.6# yellowtail
- Michael Otahal, Santa Barbara, CA — 35.4# yellowtail
- Ron Bryan, San Clemente and Marshall Ransdell, Fresno, CA — 30.8# yellowtail (tied)
Penn U Charter by Bill Roecker
Penn U. Charter
Searcher docked at Fisherman’s Landing September 24 under owner-skipper Art Taylor’s hand. Following a six-day trip chartered by Penn University’s Steve Carson, who acted as chartermaster. He also caught the largest tuna of the trip, a 92.5-pound Guadalupe whopper yellowfin.
Gary Chung of San Jose got the first-place fish, an 87.6-pound tuna that bit his sardine on a 2/0 Mutu hook and 50-pound pink Yo-Zuri fluorocarbon tied to 50-pound Big Game line and 80-pound Izorline on a Penn 16 S reel and a Calstar 765 L rod.
Matt Kirkpatrick of Bakersfield won second place for an 86.4-pounder. Curtis Howard of Diamond Bar tied with Leon Walraven of Whittier for third place. Both men had 84.8-pound tuna. Kirkpatrick and Howard were on their first long range trips.