BY GUNDY GUNDERSON
SAN DIEGO- Cruising along at a nice clip, the long range fleet hit a couple road bumps this week slowing, an otherwise excellent bite, both at Guadalupe and on the bluefin grounds. At the big island, the sharks made their annual, late summer pilgrimage foraging on yellowfin tuna with a hook in the side of their mouths. The losses were heavy but the anglers preservered, bagging a nice catch of large-size yellowfin tuna. Some big tanker yellowtail filled out the catch. On the bluefin grounds, the big bluefin bit well on the backside of the moon but as the tides diminished and the current slacked, the bite slowed dramatically. Still, it has been a pretty consistent summer, overall, fishing for bluefin tuna.
Star at big island
The Royal Star was at Guadalupe Island doing battle with the wily yellowfin tuna population. Veteran Capt. Tim Ekstrom was running the show and sent this report, “So far so good at the island now on our final fishing day. We have accumulated a fine score of this beautiful, 100- to 120- pound class yellowfin with a few jumbo bonus yellowtail to keep things interesting. Every battle is hard fought and hard won; no easy pickin’s in these haunts. Predation by the local thugs is real. But, all pains and gains aside, we are definitely winning.”
RP and sharks at the ’lupe
The Royal Polaris was on the annual Corky 8-Day trip and found themselves at Guadalupe Island in search of trophy yellowfin tuna. The boat found plenty of tuna but the man in the gray suit was also there with a dose of bad luck, “The taxman was back from his vacation, full speed. It was a feeding frenzy today. The taxman took 60 percent of the fish, and we had heavy losses due to tackle failures. You name it, it happened. Anything from hooks pulling to hooks breaking. It was a tough day, after having the excellent day yesterday. We tried different spots, but we ended up with only a handful of yellowtail, and 14 nice size yellowfin tuna. Weather continues to be nice, with sunny skies, flat seas, and warm air. We tried for some night time yellowtail action, but with lack of current, we had a lack of fish.”
Big X on bluefin grounds
The Excel was on the bluefin grounds in hunt of a jackpot fish. The big sportfisher with Capt. Jason Gross at the wheel, filed this report, “We are currently out with our Brown private charter group where we decided to try for a few trophies. We’ve been able to get a few yellowtail in the mornings and catch some of these bigger bluefin in the afternoon and evenings. Pretty Slow overall but catching a fish of a lifetime is definitely possible right now. Beautiful weather.”
Intrepid on blues
The Intrepid with Capt. Sam Moore on the bridge was also on the bluefin grounds. The skipper sent this report, “We spent the day targeting trophies but unfortunately we did not connect. We located plenty of schools of 180 plus -pound fish but they were not in the eating mode. Our weather has been up for a little bit but is backing off now. We are hoping that we can get an opportunity at landing one of these beauties before the trip is over.”
Searcher gals
The Searcher was on a ladies trip plying the local offshore waters for bluefin tuna. The boat put together a nice score and sent this report, “Excellent fishing today for bluefin tuna ranging from 30- to 80- pounds. We spent a lot of time drifting with fish hooked, and had really good signs of fish throughout the day. The preferred method was flyline sardine on 30- or 40- pound test line and fluorocarbon with a # 2 J-hook or a small circle hook. Changing your bait and making sure you have a bait that swims was key.”
