News

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?”

Captains Art Taylor and Aaron Remy
(619) 226-2403 – Fisherman’s Landing

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.

Captains Art Taylor and Aaron Remy
(619) 226-2403 – Fisherman’s Landing

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.

Captains Art Taylor and Aaron Remy
(619) 226-2403 – Fisherman’s Landing

Art Taylor brought his Searcher home to Fisherman’s Landing August 21 after a fine five-day trip with 21 anglers.

“We had an excellent day at the South End of Cedros Island,” Art told dock reporter Bill Roecker, “on 15 to 20-pound yellowtail. Most came on bait, but they bit on the yoyo and the surface iron, too. Then we fished offshore for three days and had very good tuna fishing. About 75 percent of them were yellowfin and the rest bluefin. The yellowfin averaged about 18 pounds.

“We got ‘em on sonar marks, meter marks, blind jig strikes and jig strikes when we were heading toward a spotted school. Our best trolling jigs were blue and white Zucker’s with some pink color, and the Braid Speedster. We ended up with near-limits by fishing on a 30-mile spread of tuna. We saw no seiners.”

Harold Guy of Winnnetka won first place for a 22.8-pound yellowfin tuna. He said he got it with a sardine on a 2/0 Owner Flyliner hook tied to 25-pound fluorocarbon, 30-pound Izorline and 60-pound Line One spectra on an Avet JX reel and a seven-foot Sabre rod.

Jeff Nagel of Laguna Niguel won second and third spots for his yellowfin of 22.6 and 22.2 pounds.

Captains Art Taylor and Aaron Remy
(619) 226-2403 – Fisherman’s Landing

Uranga Memorial Gets Rare Albacore

The first memorial trip for recently deceased Dick Uranga, who was also known to his many friends as “Captain Potatohead,” was aboard the Searcher, a three-day trip that arrived at Fisherman’s Landing August 16 with 28 passengers. It was skippered by owner-operator Art Taylor.

Three albacore were caught at one stop, noted second skipper Aaron Remy. Two of the fish came on bait and one on a trolled Zucker jig in Mexican Flag pattern. One of the baitfish was handed off to Anthony Yumori of Culver City, by Loren Rowton of Durango, CO. Later Rowton traded a bluefin to Yumori for the longfin. They posed with the albie, a rarity this season, on the dock.

Derek Taguchi of Orange won first place for a 44-pound bluefin tuna. He said he took it with a sardine on a 2/0 Owner Flyliner hook on 30-pound Seaguar fluorocarbon. He fished with 65-pound Power Pro spectra on a Talica 10 reel and a Seeker Hercules 70 M rod.

Bob Bayus of Azusa won second place for a 42.2-pound tuna, and Jim Arens of Bayfield, CO won third place for a 42-pound bluefin tuna.

Captains Art Taylor and Aaron Remy
(619) 226-2403 – Fisherman’s Landing