Captain Potato Head
Art Taylor docked his Searcher at Fisherman’s Landing August 18 after a three-day trip with 27 fishermen aboard. It was Dick “Captain Potato Head” Uranga’s 13th annual charter. Searcher anglers took limits of offshore yellowfin.
Tommy Patton of Santa Maria won first place for his 32-pound bluefin tuna. He said it bit a sardine on a 3/0 hook tied to 25-pound Izorline on a Penn 500 reel and a Seeker 970 rod.
Searcher regular Mark Seals won second place for a 31.8-pound bluefin that erred on his sardine. Chris Edmondson of Mission Viejo won third place for a 24.4-pound yellowfin tuna.
Aug 15-18
This 3-day trip had 27 anglers and they caught 281 yellowfin tuna, 44 yellowtail, 3 bluefin, and 6 dorado. The jackpot winners are:
- Tom Patton, Arroyo Grande, CA — 32.8# bluefin tuna (left)
- Mark Seals, Cambria, CA–31.4# bluefin tuna (middle)
- Chris Edmundson, Mission Viejo, CA–24.4# bluefin tuna (right). And an honorable mention to Dick “Capt Potatohead” Uranga, Hermosa Beach, CA for his 29.6# bluefin (not eligible for jackpot)
Aug 11-15
This 4-day trip had 27 anglers and they caught 190 yellowfin tuna, 58 bluefin, 17 dorado and 85 yellowtail. The jackpot winners are:
- Tim Farmer, Bakersfield, CA — 60.6# yellowfin tuna (right)
- Mike Lee, San Francisco, CA–58.8# yellowfin tuna (middle)
- Joe Preciado, San Diego, CA–58.4# yellowfin tuna (left)
Aug 8-11
This 3-day trip had 28 anglers and they caught 264 yellowfin tuna, 34 dorado and 55 yellowtail. The jackpot winners are:
- Joe Otahal, La Mesa, CA — 48.6# yellowfin tuna (left)
- Tony Panetti, San Diego, CA–24.8# yellowfin tuna (middle)
- Michael Otahal, Santa Barbara, CA–21.4# yellowfin tuna (right)
Jul 31-Aug 4
This 5-day trip had 21 anglers and they caught 129 yellowfin tuna, 38 bluefin, 17 dorado and 41 yellowtail. The jackpot winners are:
- Brian Lemburg, San Diego, CA — 100.8# yellowfin tuna (left)
- Ron Phillips, Las Vegas, NV — 91.6# yellowfin tuna (middle)
- Kevin Yoshimoto, Thousand Oaks, CA–63# yellowfin tuna (right)
Photo by Bill Roecker
A 100-Pounder
Art Taylor’s Searcher took out 21 passengers on the four-day Izorline/Bass Pro Shops charter with chartermasters Wendy Tochihara of Izorline and Matt Towner of Bass Pro Shops supervising the expedition.
Brian Lemberg, a sales rep from San Diego, won first place for his 100.2-pound yellowfin. He said it bit on a sardine and a 3/0 Eagle Claw hook. He fished with 40-poudn Blackwater fluorocarbon leader and 40-pound Izorline on a Penn 4/0 reel and a six-foot Calstar rod. He said his drags seized up during the 30-minute fight but the crew spliced him into another rig.
Ron Phillips of Las Vegas took second place for a 91-pounder, and Kevin Yoshimoto of Thousand Oaks won third place for a 63-pound Guadalupe Island yellowfin tuna.
July 26-31
This 5-day trip had 24 anglers and they caught 222 yellowtail and 245 yellowfin tuna. The jackpot winners are:
- Eric Sallis, Santee, CA — 74# yellowfin tuna (left)
- John Yam, Long Beach, CA — 70.3# yellowfin tuna (middle)
- Pat Patino, Orange, CA– 68.6# yellowfin tuna (right)
Searcher Finds ‘Em by the Ton by Bill Roecker
Searcher Finds ‘Em By The Ton
Art Taylor had the best trip he’s ever had to Guadalupe Island over the five days leading up to July 31, when he docked at Fisherman’s Landing at the end of his Strictly Fishin’ Charter with 25 anglers. They appeared to have near-limits of yellowfin and yellowtail. Hoisting all the contenders at the scales had Taylor sweating happily.
Eric Sallis of Santee won first place in the boat’s jackpot for a 74-pound tuna. He said he bagged it with a sardine on a 1/0 Flyliner hook on 50-pound Izorline and 680-pound Spectra backing on a Tyrnos 16 reel and a Calstar 700 H rod.
John Yam of Long Beach won second place for a 70.6-pounder, and Pat Patino of Orange won third place for a 68.6-pound Guadalupe Island yellowfin tuna.