"I been looking for that sonofagun for 35 years," remarked Robert Ramirez of Costa Mesa to dock reporter Bill Roecker April 24. Ramirez, a retired firefighter of 72, fished aboard the Royal Polaris with owner-skipper Frank LoPreste on the 23-day trip that returned with a good load of tuna and wahoo from Clipperton Atoll. The group fished eight and a half days, and cut time aboard by getting on and off the boat at Cabo San Lucas. They came home with eleven tuna over 200 pounds, including Bob's big fish.

"That sonofagun" was the 339-pound yellowfin tuna Ramirez bagged. He'd been close before, with a 298.8-pounder, but this one put him over the top and he was feeling good, telling his buddies he wasn't interested in those little 200-pounders anymore. "I hooked him up on the bow," said Bob, "and the first thing he did was get wrapped. Frank and Daryl helped me a lot. After we got him off, he just went out and swam around for a half-hour. That's when I knew he was big. I had him up to 50 feet for a long time, because the whole fight took about an hour. He came up in the starboard corner."

Ramirez said he fished a Mag Bay mackerel on a 7/0 ringed Owner Super Mutu hook for his lifetime whopper. He used 130-pound Hi Seas Quattro ("We call it camo," he said), 100-pound Izorline and 130-pound Line One spectra on a Penn 30 modified by Baker and Sheets, and a Calstar 770 H rod. Big Tuna Bob also had a 202-pounder.

John Lesiczka of Long Beach won second place for his 236-pounder, taken on a caballito on a 7/0 ringed Super Mutu. He tied the hook to 130-pound pink Yo-Zuri fluorocarbon and 130-pound Line One spectra. He fished with an Avet 50 reel and a Calstar 6465 XH rod. "This guy took over 500 yards of line," he noted. "He came up on the port stern."

Mark Meissenburg of Amarillo, TX won third place for the smaller of his two tuna, which weighed 238 (kite) and 225 pounds. He got it with a mackerel on a 5/0 ringed Super Mutu and 130-pound Blackwater fluorocarbon. Mark used 130-pound Line One spectra and a Penn 30 reel by Cal Sheets, and a Calstar 770 H rod. His fish fought for an hour and 20 minutes.

Judith Montague of Cardiff got the second-largest biggest fish, a 270-pounder. She said it bit on a caballito and an 8/0 Mustad Demon circle hook. She used 130-pound Blackwater fluorocarbon and 130-pound spectra on an Accurate ATD 30 reel and a Calstar 760 H rod.

Rich Losey of Carlsbad also bagged a brace of cows, at 216 and 218 pounds. He got 'em with caballitos on 9/0 Mustad Demon ringed circle hooks. He fished with 130-pound Blackwater and 130-pound Line One spectra on an Accurate ATD 50 reel and a Calstar 770 XXXH rod. "I got 'em both in about 25 minutes," said Rich. "I always set my drags high, up to 60 pounds at strike. The little one didn't even take any."

Vince Corbaci dropped a glow knife jig of a type he called a "banana" into the depths after dark and after a struggle reeled up a 202-pound tuna. He fished with 130-pound Blackwater and 130-pound Line One spectra on a Penn 50 S reel by Cal Sheets and a self-wrapped Calstar 6460 XXH rod.

Ken Kouchi of Huntington Beach got the final brace of cows at 200 and 202 pounds. He said he baited caballitos on 8/0 Mustad Demon circle hooks tied to 130-pound Izorline fluorocarbon, 130-pound Izorline and 130-pound Izorline spectra on a Sheets-treated Penn 50 reel and a Calstar 6465 XXH rod.

Kathy Rounds made her trip to Clipperton Atoll a good one with what she will enter for an apparent world record, a blue star jack of 29.2 pounds. She took that one from a skiff in the shallows, on a Salas 7X jig in "green with pink dots," on 25-pound Izorline, an Accurate BX-2 400 N reel and a Calstar 700 XLH rod.

The fish is listed under the name bluefin trevally (Caranx melampygus) by the IGFA, and the women's 30-pound line class record is 19 pounds, 13 ounces, for Ms. Michiru Moroe in 1996. The all-tackle record is 26 pounds, seven ounces, by Tom Taylor in 1997. That one also came from Clipperton.

Skipper LoPreste summed up the trip: "It was a great time for everybody. Clipperton is an amazing place, and it ought to be on everybody's bucket list."

Photos:
Main Photo Above: Kathy Rounds Blue Star Record 29.2 lbs.
Photo #1: Kathy with her record fish
Photo #2: John Lesiczka with his 236 lb. Yellowfin Tuna
Photo #3: Robert Ramirez with his 336 lb. Yellowfin Tuna
Photo #4: Gary Jioras with his 55 lb. Halibut