A Big Meanie
Frank LoPreste’s Royal Polaris returned from an 18-day Accurate trip in the afternoon of February 25. There were eleven cows in the catch, and Bob Ramirez of Costa Mesa had the biggest; a 244.6-pound yellowfin he bagged with a sardine.

Bob said he needed the extra-low gearing in his Penn 30 that was installed by Cal Sheets with a Baker conversion.

“He was a mean fish,” noted Ramirez at Fisherman’s Landing. “He was long and mean and he fought for 45 minutes. There were a lot of fish built like that on this trip.”

Ramirez said he fished with a 6/0 ringed Super Mutu hook on 130-pound Seaguar and 100-pound Izorline, which was connected to 130-pound Line One Spectra. He used a Calstar 765 H rod. He also had a 204.8-pound tuna.

Jeff Shapiro of Rancho Santa Margarita won second place for a 224.9-pounder, and he also had a backup fish, a 203.4-pound cow. He said he fished squid chunks of a 14/0 Mustad circle hook tied to 130-pound Seaguar and 130-pound Line One Spectra on a Tiagra 50 reel by Cal Sheets and a Calstar 760 H rod. The big one fought for a half-hour, said Jeff.

Roger Hawtree of Kona picked off a pair at 211 (good for third place) and 208 pounds. He fished sardines on 7/0 Hoodlum hooks, tied to 130-pound Seaguar fluorocarbon and 130-pound Line One Spectra. He used a Penn 50 reel modified by Sheets and Baker and a 765 H rod, and whipped his winner in a half-hour.

Chartermaster Jack Nilsen caught a 208-pounder on the kite with a squid on a 20/0 Mustad circle hook. He fished with 130-pound Izorline and 130-pound Izor Spectra on a reel that his company calls “The Tractor,” an Accurate 80, on a Calstar 760 H rod. Nilsen is a master of the on-the-rail technique, and brought his tuna to gaff in 15 minutes.

Chris Stavaridis of Venice got a 205-pounder, as did Stas Velonakis, and Francois Mangeot of France found a 203-pound tuna.

The most excited cow-catcher was Shauna Barton of Carson, who got her first cow, a 200.6-pound tuna. She fished it up with the kite and a flying fish for bait, pinned to a Mustad 20/) circle hook on 130-pound Izorline and 130-pound Izorline Spectra on a Penn 50 reel and a Calstar 66465 XH rod.

The second-best cow wasn’t eligible for the jackpot because it was caught on the kite. The angler was Paul Coelho of Yuba City. The 235-pounder bit on a flying fish and a 20/0 Mustad circle hook, a 39960 model. Paul used 130-pound P-Line and 130-pound Line One Spectra, on a Penn 80 N reel modified by Sheets and Baker, and a BTG 6460 XH rod to take his best-ever tuna.

“I saw him hit the flyer,” he remembered, “when it was trying to get away. Then he fought me for two hours. It was the greatest feeling I ever had when Frank LoPreste told them to open the gate for my fish!”

Skippers Get Dreamboat
Long range skippers Randy Toussaint and Brian Kiyohara (of the Royal Star and the American Angler respectively) have been fishing for lobster, diving and occasionally going after swordfish for many years. Now they can do it in style, with a brand new fiberglass rig from New Brunswick, Canada.

The new 43-foot Donelle is presently parked at Fisherman’s Landing, where the two skippers are readying it for action. The boat has Down East lines, and an enormous flat deck over most of the aft portion of its 15-foot width. The new boat’s name is the Traola Margaux, after Tracy Toussaint, Viola Kiyohara and the daughter of a friend, said skipper Toussaint.

Randy said the cruising speed of the new boat should be around 16 knots, making it a fairly speedy commercial-type craft. He said the engine was a 450 Cummins, a type also in use aboard JJ Gerritsen’s Apollo.

Hurricane ‘Hoo Hits Heavy Hook Hard
The Loftus & Martin charter aboard Red Rooster III with skipper Andy Cates returned to H&M Landing February 25 after a 15-day trip with 19 anglers. Eight tuna aver 200 pounds were in the catch, along with smaller tuna and several dozen wahoo.

One of the wahoo came to chartermaster Larry Martin after he lost his skipjack bait and was reeling in a bare 10/0 Mustad 7691 hook when a wahoo bit it and became captured on the heavy tuna gear Martin employed to fish the skippie.

“We got to the Hurricane Bank at the end of things,” said skipper Cates as he weighed tuna in the rain. “We made the move to Clarion and were surprised with a good catch the first day. The tuna ran from 50 pounds up to 230 pounds. It was explosive action, the kind we get off Mag Bay in the fall.

“The fish stuck with us,” Cates continued, “and on the last day we had three cows up to 280 pounds. The best rig was a 6/0 Super Mutu with 130-pound line and a two-ounce sinker. It doesn’t seem like much, but that weight was the key.”

At the scales, Mark Moffett of San Diego learned his tuna weighed 285.7 pounds and won first place (photo at top).

In his own words, Mark “…was put into one of the skiffs with Captain Julio Ochoa, and the pair were towed away from the Rooster by the fish. After an hour, the fish was brought to color and gaffed with a flying gaff. The hook ripped out, straightened by the power of the fish.

“After another long battle the fish was brought to the surface a second time, and was successfully gaffed. The time total was about an hour and a half, and the fish was brought onboard the skiff by Julio and Mark.”

Mark said his sardine bait was pinned to a 5/0 ringed Super Mutu on 130-pound Maxima fluorocarbon leader, 130-pound Maxima line and 130-pound Line One Spectra. Mark fished with a Tiagra 50 wide reel and a Daiwa 6460 XXH rod.

Chartermaster John Loftus of Irvine won second place for a 245.4-pound tuna that took a sardine on a 5/0 Super Mutu on 100-pound Maxima fluorocarbon and 100-pound Maxima line, with 130-pound Line One Spectra. He used a Tiagra 50 reel and a Calstar 6460 XXH rod.

John Aviles of Tracy won third place for a 235.2-pounder that bit a sardine on a 6/0 ringed Super Mutu on 130-pound Blackwater fluorocarbon leader and 130-pound Line One Spectra. He fished with a Tiagra 50 reel and a Seeker 6463 XXXH rod, which he won on the boat. Aviles also had a 233.9-pound tuna.

“The big one took 45 minutes,” said John, “and these are my best two fish ever.”

Al Babashoff got a 234.4-pound tuna, but wasn’t available for comment.

There was a hat trick on the boat. Rich Rose of Manhattan Beach trounced a triple, a 204 and a 201.5-pounder. He said he fished with chunks on a ringed Super Mutu hook, with 130-pound Blackwater fluorocarbon leader and 130-pound Maxima line and 130-pound Line One Spectra. He used a Penn 50 W reel and a Calstar 760 H rod.