The move by the long range fleet to install refrigerated seawater holds for keeping fish fresh for up to a week was a great boon to anglers who eat the catch. Initiated by Tim Ekstrom and Randy Toussaint, the idea has been adopted by the rest of the fleet in the past several years.

Do fish in the RSW hold lose more weight than fish in the brine spray hold? I don't know. Maybe they do, what with all the extra surface area exposed within. I know they don't lose very much weight in the brine hold, because Rollo Heyn checked that for me many years ago. We saw big tuna lose maybe a pound or two in the three days it took to come from Cabo to San Diego.

Weights made on boats at sea cause problems when they are higher than the weights made on land. Thanks to Rich Holland, who originated the "Top Ten" list for tuna, it seems now that the best thing to do is require a land-made weight for fish headed for any sort of record. Here's our email discussion from yesterday:

On 1/6/09 3:24 PM, "Rich Holland" wrote: "Hey Bill, (I heard some) boat weights didn't match land weights. Just so you know, every fish that was in the top 10 prior to supercow Monday was weighed on land. As you know, the IGFA only accepts weights on land. Ironically, the list was created to offset the IFGA's refusal to accept some of our big fish due to not being caught completely in accordance with their rules. The only rule I ever had was that the fish be weighed on land." Rich

Thanks, Rich: Many if not most of the boats are now packing certified scales. If they don't weigh their jackpot or XL tuna on the dock, I'm stuck with those weights. But after talking with skippers Patella, Ekstrom and Toussaint, I'm hopeful they will all now weigh the special fish on land. If they weigh on water and on land, I'm going with the land weight. Failing in that, like with the 368 from the Angler, I believe I'll go to the top ten list with an asterisk or a separate ranking... Bill

On 1/6/09 4:23 PM, "Rich Holland" wrote: Bill, Sounds good to me. To make it official, I hereby grant you all rights and appurtenances to the Top Ten tuna list that I initiated and name you keeper of the flame and all the glory and hazards assigned thereto. Rich

Thanks. I am already looking for the next dumm???prospect. Bill

Rich Holland's Blog

If you'd like to see more by Holland on this subject, check his blog:
http://www.wonews.com/Blog.aspx?id=426&AuthorID=59062&t=HEAVY%20SUBJECT

Heavy Handoff

After Nacho Camarena of Oceanside landed his first cow, a 262-pounder on the American Angler's boat scales, "I was a little tired," he remembered.

"I wanted to rest a bit, so I parked my rod and reel. Then Ray Lopez (skipper and deckhand) saw some big fish close by. He picked up my rig and baited it and threw it out and got bit! Then he asked me if I wanted to take the fish.

"I had to say no," continued Nacho, "I wasn't ready for another one yet. So Ray handed the rig to Jake Abbate, and he got the fish."

That kind of generosity isn't new to Camarena, who has for many years worked as a deckhand himself in Oceanside, on the Electra and the Oceanside 95. He always makes an effort to see that everyone on the boat, especially the kids, has a chance to catch a good fish. That the handoff tuna weighed 360 pounds on the dock scales made no difference to Nacho, who was more than happy with his first cow.

"I couldn't have pulled on another one of those right then, anyway," he said. "That first cow takes a lot out of you, emotionally and physically."

We can only hope that more anglers go fishing with that attitude. Less ego involvement and more heart can do nothing but good things for big tuna anglers.

Dolph's Giant Yellowfin

Dolph Ruschmaupt and Marilyn Reece of Fresno teamed up on a 331 and a 296-pounder while on the Intrepid's last trip.

"She got that 296-pounder on the kite," said Dolph in a telephone conversation with Bill Roecker, "and then she hooked up on the kite with the boat rig again, so she gave this one to me. This was my first trip."

That first trip ain't bad when you come back with a 331-pound tuna weighed on the dock. Dolph said the bait was a squid under the kite on both fish. He thought the hook was a 10/0 or larger Mustad 7691, on 130-pound Izorline and 130-pound Izorline Spectra rolled onto an Avet 50 reel and a Super Seeker 6463 XXXH rod. That combo was confirmed as most likely by boat manager Steve Hoffman.

Skipper Bags A Three

A phone call from skipper Mike Spaguolo of Freeport, Long Island got the information for another giant yellowfin. Mike's fish, caught aboard the Excel on her latest trip, weighed 303 pound on the boat's scales.

"It was my biggest yellowfin," said Mike. "He fought for an hour and a half."

Spagnuolo runs a charter boat near his home. If you find yourself wanting to go fishing back East, you can give him a call at (516) 652-7472.

Captain Mike said he baited a sardine on a Charlie Brown 6/0 ringed circle hook, on a 100-pound Basil topshot and 130-pound Line One Spectra. He fished with an Avet 50 reel and a Calstar 6465 XXH rod.