Slam for Youngster

“That request we made did some good, I guess, because look at our catch,” said Searcher skipper Kevin Ward at Fisherman’s Landing August 12. On his last trip, Kevin had said, “They need to stock more fish out there…”

Ward continued, “On the first morning we started a drift, and when it ended we were 12 miles away, with limits of bluefin!”

In the end, Searcher anglers managed a great three-day catch of mixed cool and warm-water species.

One angler who got ‘em all was nine-year-old Bo Thevelius of Tehachapi, who sported an array of yellowfin, albacore, bluefin, dorado and yellowtail.

“Where’s the fins for your fish?” I asked Bo.

“On my hat,” he replied.

I asked Bo if he played sports at his school, Cummings Valley Elementary.

“No,” said his mom Melissa, “but he can ride anything that moves; horses, dirt bikes, whatever.”

Bo was proud of his catch, and posed for numerous cameras.

Bryon Mathieson of Napa won first place on the trip for a 34.6-pound dorado he got with a sardine on a 2/0 Mustad hook He said he used 40-pound Stren line on a Penn 240 reel and a Calstar 700 rod.

James Wagner of Napa tied Bryon with a 34.6-pound yellowfin tuna. Dale Dowling of Vacaville took third place for a 34.4-pound yellowfin tuna.

Kevin Ward docked Searcher at Fisherman’s Landing August 9 after a three-day trip with 28 passengers.

“They need to stock more fish out there,” he joked, as he weighed the best of the catch.

Tom Meck of Buckeye, AZ won the jackpot for a 26-pound albacore. He bagged the longfin with a sardine on a 3/0 Mustad hook on 25-pound P-line. He fished with a Torium 20 reel and a Shimano seven-foot rod.

Dan Carrier of Irvine won second place for a 21.4-pound yellowtail and retired fisheries biologist Steve Crooke of Irvine won third place, for a 21.2-pound yellowtail.

Young Stick Is Hot

Tanner Huffer of San Clemente is 15 and already a waterman, on the surf team at San Clemente High. He took a ride on the Searcher with skipper Art Taylor, and came back to Fisherman’s Landing with a first-place fish.

The trip was an Izorline Open, and chartermistress Shauna Barton was aboard as a rep. She presented Tanner with the Izorline Trophy, after Searcher regular Mark Seals of Cambria made a generous offer.

The pair were tied for first place, with identical 35.2-pound albacore. “Let Tanner have it,” said Seals. “He earned it.”

Tanner said he fished a sardine on 20-pound Izorline, an Avet SX-2 reel and a Kencor seven-foot rod.

Tanner and Seals posed with Steve Kivo of Camarillo, who had the third-place fish, a 33.6-pound albacore. The albacore bit better for Searcher anglers than they have for anyone else just recently, so there may be hope yet that they’ll stick around through the fall months.

Kelp-paddy hopping anyone?