Searcher Nabs Yellowtail by Bill Roecker
Searcher owner-skipper Art Taylor returned to Fisherman’s Landing October 15 after a five-day open party trip for yellowtail. He got plenty of fish for his 14 anglers.
Bruce Gothar of Menifee won first place for a 32.2-pound yellowtail. He said he got it with a Spanish mackerel on an 8/0 Mustad hook, with 80-pound Izorline on a TLD 50 reel and a Calstar 6460 XH rod.
Mike Einstoss of Lomita won second place for a 31.8-pounder, and Craig Provance of Murietta won third place for his 31.6-pound yellowtail.
Oct 10-15
This 5-day trip had 14 anglers and they caught 79 yellowfin tuna, 197 yellowtail, and 30 dorado. The jackpot winners are:
- Bruce Gothar, Menifee, CA — 32.2# yellowtail (left)
- Mike Einstoss, Lomita, CA — 31.8# yellowtail (middle)
- Craig Provance, Murrieta, CA — 31.6# yellowtail (right)
Searcher Tries The Ridge by Bill Roecker
Art Taylor docked his Searcher at Fisherman’s Landing October 10 after a week-long journey down The Ridge and back. Winds were up and the current ran wrong much of the time, said Art, but his anglers made a good catch anyway.
“We fished on The Ridge and found excellent fishing on yellowtail at night, and on dorado and tuna during the day,” he said, “and then we had excellent yellowtail fishing at Clam Bay.”
Erik Kinoshita of Torrance won first and second places for two 57-pound yellowfin tuna. He said he used sardines on 4/0 Flyliner hooks with 40-pound Seaguar fluorocarbon leader, 40-pound Izorline XXX line, a Torium 30 reel and a Calstar 700 H rod.
“He spooled me down to the last three wraps on my reel,” said Erik. “I short-pumped him to get him back with a buttoned-down drag. He came up midhship on the starboard side.”
Kinoshita narrowly lost third place to Tyler Kimbrough of Newport Beach when Tyler found a tuna in his catch that was larger than Erik’s. Tyler won third spot for a 38.2-pound tuna. Oddly, he and Erik shared in the catching of a dorado of 38 pounds when the fish ate both their baits.
Oct 3-10
This 7-day trip had 21 anglers and they caught 248 yellowfin tuna, 315 yellowtail, 33 dorado, and 1 wahoo. The jackpot winners are:
- Eric Kinoshita, Torrance, CA–57# yellowfin tuna, two of them!(left)
- Tyler Kimbrough, Diamond Bar, CA– 38.2# yellowfin tuna (right)
Sep 26-Oct 3
This 7-day trip had 16 anglers and they caught 183 yellowfin tuna, 18 dorado, 132 yellowtail and 30 wahoo. The jackpot winners are:
- Dave Thiessen, Irvine, CA — 36# wahoo (right)
- Jeff Nagle, Laguna Niguel, CA — 29.8# yellowfin tuna (middle)
- Gary Labee, Yucaipa, CA — 29.8# yellowfin (left)
Searcher Finds Big Yellowfin by Bill Roecker
A couple of days at Guadalupe Island produced some dandy yellowfin in the grande size for Art Taylor and his 17 Searcher anglers, who also fished for dorado on kelps and for yellowtail on the Baja coast. Fishing was pretty good, and they got near-limits on the yellows, and “great dorado fishing” in between, said Art.
Tim James of Westminster got the big one, a fine 111.6-pound yellowfin tuna he described as a “butt-kicker.”
“He took 200 yards of line and then gave me a lot of trouble up by the bow,” said James. “He came up there, too.”
Tim said he baited a sardine on a 3/0 ringed Super Mutu hook tied to 40-pound Seaguar fluorocarbon leader and 50-pound Ande line. He said he used 80-pound Izorline Spectra backing on an Avet HX reel and a custom Calstar 700 H rod by M&M.
Matt Bruce of Mission Viejo bagged an 83.4-pound tuna for second place. Ron Bryan of San Clemente used a new Accurate rod and reel combo to win third place for a 75.8-pounder, and John Curtis of Oxford, England came a long way to catch his honorable mention 74-pound Guadalupe Island yellowfin tuna.