Long range bite is great no matter the conditions
End Of A Trip

"All good things must come to an end," said the Royal Polaris report for January 13. "That's the saying for today. No, the fish didn't stop biting; we are full. We must leave the area we are fishing and head for home. We will be in a day early. Our total for the trip, 225 Yellowfin tuna and 205 Wahoo. The average size of the Yellowfin was 110 to 150 pounds, with some larger. We had four fish over 200 pounds, largest being 268 pounds. With that note, see you on Monday. Good luck and good fishing. The RP crew."

"The bite continues to be excellent," related the Royal Polaris report for January 12. "We had two fish over 200 pounds today. The lucky anglers were Blake Pulford, with a 268-pound Yellowfin tuna, and John Russell, with a 212-pound Yellowfin tuna. So with that note, a picture says a thousand words."

Big Boiler Bites

"Today we woke up with caddy wompas conditions," said the report from American Angler January 12, "as the current was going up into the wind which made for tough fishing conditions. We ended up in a zone where we enjoyed a pick on 90 to 160-pound fish and it seemed that the guys that had yet to catch a hundred pound fish were lucky enough to do so today. Joe Machado from our Everingham Bait Company (who are critical to the success of our San Diego Sportfishing fleet) was today's big fish man. He had a big fish boil on his bait and was lucky to be equipped with the right gear, 100-pound line on an Accurate ATD 30 was his weapon of choice, and that rig went swimming out on backup twice throughout the battle and still worked like a charm. After the sun went down, the entire boat watched the show, and an hour into dark Joe finally bested a whopping 247-pound fish."

Giant Busts Off

"We had pretty good bite on tuna this afternoon," recalled Excel skipper Justin Fleck January 12, "on mixed grade fish from 90 to 140 pounds. There was one GIGANTE hooked in the middle of the bite but after emptying out a 50 W and our back up reel, he broke off. For now it seems like we are in the right place and time is on our side with five more days of fishing down here. Hopefully we can use our time wisely and put a nice catch together."

Couple Dozen Beauties

"We had a good day fishing for quality yellowfin tuna," noted the report from Independence January 12. "The numbers were not huge, but we managed 23 of these beauties, most all 130 to 185 pounds, and the two lucky anglers today were Allen Smith with a 285-pound tuna, and Charlie Smith with a 225-pounder. These two guys are not related, just good fisherman and fun to hang out with. We did have two heartbreaks, as when the big 'uns were biting, we pulled the hooks on two very large fish. The weather is good at the moment, and looks to be shaping up for us. So, with that said, even when everything is looking so good, as in just a few more feet to the gaff, things happen, and that's fishing."

'Nother Day In Paradise

"Another nice day for us here on the "Big X," reported skipper Justin Fleck, on Jan. 13. "where we picked away at good grade tuna throughout the day. The bites seemed to come in waves for us today. We would hook a handful of fish all at the same time, then nothing for a while, next thing you know you hook a few more, all at the same time. Big fish honors goes to Tedd Prager of Seaford New York with his personal best at 284 pounds. That fish was hooked on a mackerel at daylight. We did hook one more giant but after a long battle, he got away."

300-Pound Style

"We started things off in style," said the report from Independence January 13, "as my good buddy, and ace fisherman Allen Smith AGAIN landed an estimated taped wt. 299 lb. tuna first thing in the morning. We pulled the hook on another BIG one, as they say, that's fishing. The other lucky angler was Jeff Liu who caught a 195-pound Yellowfin in the afternoon. We had good fishing again on great quality 125 to 180-pound fish. The weather is good, and the afternoons are a bit slower than the a.m."

"With A Bang"

Today started out with a bang," noted Intrepid's report for January 13, as the first fish hooked on a big bait was for Russell Greve, who lost a big fish yesterday. Russell was ready for his second chance and made the most of it landing a very nice Tuna that taped out at 240 lbs. Soon after he hooked into his fish we hooked a few more jumbos and we ended up boating several more fish that came in at 267 pounds, 285 pounds, and one that just taped out at 300 pounds. It was a good morning indeed. The rest of the day was a scratch bite with 18 fish that were all in the 120-180-pound class. We will catch more bait tonight and do it again tomorrow."

Perseverance

"Photo of the day features accomplished veteran angler Jay Love," wrote Royal Star skipper Tim Ekstrom January 13, "who I have witnessed enduring the above mentioned on a couple of past memorable occasions. I have many, many more memories of the exact opposite however as he is about as skilled an angler as one can be. The proof is in the pudding so to speak. Regardless of the voyage Jay always seems to come out in the top ten percentile; not by accident, and not by luck. Using perfect equipment, perfectly rigged and maintained, Jay applies his knowledge and leaves the rest to Providence that seems to reward those who are prepared and practiced with consistent results. Jay's result yesterday was this 218 that definitely did not come easy. Quite the fighter he was that just about escaped after lighting up and tearing off the gaff after the first attempt. He tangled with the wrong guy however as the gorilla Wasano held fast, and with a sigh of relief, made good on the second round."