BY CAPT. CHUCK NEWBERRY
AVALON – Every year I get asked the same question, “When are you finally going fishing?”
Most of my buddies are chasing bluefin the minute the reports start lighting up. Meanwhile, the 37-foot Freeman, Wahooson—owned by Capt. Pat Wade—usually sits tied to the dock while everyone reminds me how much fish I’m supposedly missing.
I hear it every season.
“You’re late.”
“The bite’s on.”
“You’re blowing it.”
Maybe I am.
But there’s a reason. I wait for my favorite crew.
For nearly a decade, one of my closest friends has sent his boys from Georgia to Southern California every summer. This year, Tristan Fife took it upon himself to organize the trip, convincing Harrison Calles and Easton Stewart that it was time to leave SEC country behind and come experience giant Pacific bluefin.
The three proud UGA Bulldogs fans traded Athens for Avalon, and we joked that when the SEC shows up in California, they’re built different.
Turns out, they might be.
Our Pelagic-sponsored trip departed aboard the Freeman 37 Wahooson with owner Capt. Pat Wade, Capt. Joseph Ta, and yours truly. Anyone who’s fished with me knows there are two things that rarely change: I’m usually reaching for a G-Fly frozen flying fish to fish the kite, and I’m probably wearing my beat-up Nike Dunks instead of what most people would call “proper” fishing boots.
They’ve become my lucky boots over the years, and judging by this trip, I don’t see myself retiring them anytime soon. This time, though, we made one small change. Instead of my usual G-Fly, we clipped on a Cali Delta Flier.
It didn’t take long before the kite disappeared and the reel absolutely came unglued. Watching Tristan, Harrison and Easton battle giant tuna reminded me why I wait to start my season every year. All three landed personal-best bluefin, but the fish of the trip belonged to Easton Stewart.
When the kite rod buried over on what would become the biggest tuna ever landed aboard Wahooson, Easton settled in for the fight of his life. Calm, coachable, and tougher than most adults, he stayed on the rod through an exhausting battle with a true Pacific giant.
When the fish finally came into color, Capt. Joseph Ta took over at boatside and put on an absolute clinic with the gaffs, sealing the deal on a fish none of us will ever forget.
By day’s end, the deck looked almost unreal:
330 pounds
210 pounds
150 pounds
110 pounds
The 330-pound bluefin established a new Wahooson boat record while every angler onboard landed the largest tuna of their lives. As incredible as the fishing was, my favorite part of the trip came afterward. Normally we’re racing daylight looking for one more opportunity. But the boys put us on the fish so quickly that, for the first time in nearly ten years of making these annual trips together, we actually had time to point the bow toward Avalon.
We tied up, wandered the harbor, introduced the Georgia boys to Catalina’s legendary Buffalo Milks, and spent the afternoon doing something we’ve never had time to do before—simply enjoying the island together.
People always ask why I wait so long to start my bluefin season.
This trip is exactly why. The tuna will eventually get eaten. The boat record will eventually be broken. But bringing your best friend’s boys across the country, watching Tristan Fife organize another unforgettable adventure, seeing Easton Stewart battle a 330-pound giant, celebrating Harrison Calles’ personal-best tuna, sharing the deck with Capt. Pat Wade and Capt. Joseph Ta, and finishing the day with Buffalo Milks in Avalon. That’s the kind of trip that reminds you fishing has never really been about the fish.n And maybe there really is something to those Georgia boys. Because when the SEC rolled into Southern California, they didn’t just show up, they left with a boat record four giant bluefin, and proof that Bulldogs are built for more than Saturdays in the fall.
