Upon arriving at Guadalupe, we immediately began searching for schools of dolphin, knowing that the tuna would be traveling underneath them. Time after time, Captain Taylor skillfully positioned the boat in front of the mammals, and heavy chumming would bring the yellowfin boiling to the surface.

As is usually the case in any kind of tuna fishing, a certain amount of finesse was needed to coax a strike. The fish were running large, so "light" tackle was out of the question.

This writer did exceptionally well using a Penn 16VSX 2-speed reel with a topshot of 50-pound test Berkley Big Game mono over 80-pound test Big Game Braid backing. A short 60-pound test leader using the new "Aqua Blue" Berkley Big Game Fluorocarbon made all the difference.

The evidence was convincing that the fluoro's light-blue color [a traditional favorite in mono] garnered numerous extra bites. Hook-wise the hot ticket was a 3/0 Owner Ringed Mutu circle hook with a lively sardine. The long fights with big tuna often resulted in a chew-off for anglers using a regular J-hook.

Chef Charles Howell battled and released a 125-pound striped marlin while soaking a bait after breakfast. The billfish took over an hour to bring to the boat, treating the passengers to numerous leaps and topwater thrashing. Careful handling by the Searcher's crew got the spikebill off the hook and swimming naturally before release.

When the dust had settled, the group had landed some 58 big yellowfin from 40 to over 120 pounds at Guadalupe. Most were fooled by flylined live sardines, but a few were caught on the kite or by anglers flylining live mackerel or live squid.

Of course, no visit to Guadalupe would be complete without some kind of encounter with the island's ubiquitous population of great white sharks. Due to the fact that we were not anchored most of the time, we managed to avoid the "tax collectors" for the most part. However, at one point we had three of the 12 to 16 foot beasts under the boat, resulting in the complete or partial loss of 6 or 8 nice tuna.

The Searcher's travel route went past San Benitos Island, finding decent action on 15 to 25-pound yellowtail. Also present were plenty of the usual island species, including bonito, sheephead, whitefish, and even a few of the exotic gold spotted bass.

The traditional offering of a yo-yo'ed blue/white Sumo #JR jig was the most productive method, with a lightning-fast retrieve the key to getting bit. Having a speedy 6.3 to 1 retrieve ration on a Penn TRQ300 reel filled with 40-pound Berkley Big Game mono made all the difference.

Live sardines fished dropper-loop style also scored some yellows, but the smaller species were constantly harassing the baits, making jigs the more viable option. The group totaled about 60 yellowtail and several hundred assorted smaller fish at Benitos.

The travel days going down and coming back saw the group catch an eclectic mix of 15 to 25-pound yellowfin tuna, small dorado, skipjack tuna, bonito and one lonesome 25-pound albacore by Tim James of Westminster.

Most of this action was the traditional albacore-style approach of trolling and looking for kelp paddies. This writer fooled a bunch of the smaller-grade tuna using a blue/chrome 3.5 ounce Williamson Benthos Speed Jig while field-testing the new Penn TRQ100LD reel. I also got a few tuna using the Penn 560 Slammer spinning reel mounted on a TJ3080S66 Torque Jigging rod.

Veteran Northern California long-ranger Dale Changnon of Healdsburg was aboard, and related, "I caught 5 yellowfin tuna up to 75 pounds, along with 3 yellowtail up to 25 pounds and a 10-pound dorado. We worked hard to get bit, these fish seemed to fight extra hard. The light load made things easy. I learned the 'Double San Diego Jam Knot', which is great for trolling."

Changnon added, "I love the crew on the Searcher, this is my sixth consecutive year on this trip."

Jackpot winner Chris Klein has been on two previous long-range trips aboard the Searcher. "This was the best, absolutely fantastic", said Klein. "I caught 7 tuna, including the big one, along with 5 yellowtail up to 25 pounds. The crew is the best I've ever had on any boat, very down to earth with no attitude. Among the new fishing skills I learned was how fish the kite and how to do the 'long soak' with 50-pound test line and a good 2-speed reel."

Klein continued, "What really struck me was the stark beauty of Guadalupe Island. Maybe even more so I was struck by the size of the shark that ate one of my tuna; how wide he was and how he could take a 60-pound tuna right up to the shoulder!"

Terry Wade of San Diego had an exceptional trip, and came in second in the jackpot competition. "I caught 8 yellowfin tuna up to 89.4 pounds, along with 2 yellowtail up to 25 pounds", said Wade. "I learned how to fight a big tuna using the 'rail technique', and it was a great trip all-around."

Captain Taylor summarized the trip by saying "Conditions were good with plenty of fish, and we had no lost fish due to tangles. There was a big swing with the amount of big tuna at Guadalupe compared with what we caught last week. Hopefully they will be there for awhile."

Taylor observed, "The sharks at Guadalupe could have been worse, but we really weren't impacted."

Jackpot Winners

First place in the jackpot was Chris Klein of Encinitas, who weighed in a beautiful 94.4 pound yellowfin. The catch also earned him a Penn 535GS reel and a tuna trophy. Second place went to Terry Wade of San Diego with an 89.4 pounder, and Richard Lee of Lawndale took third with an 88.8 pound tuna. Several fish over 100 pounds were not eligible for the jackpot, including an oversize tuna caught by Tim James of Westminster that weighed 120.6 pounds after losing it's tail section and a large chunk out of its' side to a great white.

The coveted "Albackore True Sportsman" award as voted by the crew was won by a visibly humbled Arthur Razo of Canoga Park. The "Flying Fisherman" first fish awards were won by John Curtis of Oxford, England [first dorado]; Kevin Mills of Del Mar [first tuna]; and Danny Coe of Woodland Hills [first yellowtail].

The boat's final score was 113 yellowfin tuna [including 4 partials], 64 yellowtail, 2 dorado, 1 albacore and 1 striped marlin.