BY BOB SEMERAU
POINT LOMA—With plenty of yellowfin action in days prior to the Western Outdoor News Sea Adventure 80 annual charter, everything came together with great weather to boot. Especially good news since the hurricanes down south did not bring any serious wind or waves into the mix.
For this trip, participant’s swag bags were packed with Gamakatsu hooks, a 275-yard spool of Izorline first String Mono, P-line jigs, Costa gear, and a voucher for a multi-day vacation stay in Cancun or Orlando.
Captain Mike McDaniels and the crew were ready to rock when 10:00 a.m. rolled around with 24-anglers geared up for exciting tuna action. With Captain Terry Barnes running the boat and Cpt. Ulysses “Ricky” Perez driving at night, plus three deck crew and Marriane in the galley, we were well taken care of on this offshore tuna adventure.
WON charters are known for the great vibe of fishing with friends and the SA80 charter was no exception. Anglers Ruben Gonzalez, Hennock Bekele, Sommer Le Blanc, Avier Montalvo, John Srack, and Carter Shuffler had all been out on WON charters several times before the 2026 SA 80 trip. Other friends included Ron Flowers and his family, Destiny Flowers, Matthew Flowers, and 16-year old, Shia Usher, along with Chris Coyoli, John Melton, and Brian “Shaggy” Dickson joining the party.
The long afternoon run up northwest led to several stops on kelps which had been cleaned out of fish. Finally, in late afternoon, SA80 arrived at an offshore weather buoy at a spot about 27 nautical miles southeast of San Clemente Island.
Action on smaller grade yellowfin filled the afternoon and angler “Shaggy” managed to hook a sizable striped marlin on a sardine, but the prized fish broke off after a few minutes fight. My own luck held and I boated a huge skipjack weighing in at 13.2-pounds.
San Diego angler and frequent WON charter guy, Carter Shuffler pulled in the big fish for the trip with a winning yellowfin tuna. Carter took home a prize package including a Penn Carnage rod, a pair of Costa sunglasses, Adaro pliers, and a $50.00 AFTCO gift card.
SA80 cook Marianne made a delicious pork loin dinner and action at the rail turned to a flurry of Humboldt squid that charged the boat. Laughing and dodging blasts from the squirmy beasts, anglers caught all they wanted for the next few hours, including college student, Destiny Flowers, who mastered the art of bouncing her catch with several larger model squid.
Spending the night drifting in the area under light winds, Captain “Ricky” took the boat back up to the buoy at first light and action began once again. Anglers Matthew Flowers, Hennock Bekele, “Shaggy” Dickson, and Sommer Le Blanc landed their share of the half dozen dorado boated during the trip.
Several moves throughout the day while heading to the Butterfly Bank, brought few paddies into view with even fewer holding fish. As the day wore on, the time came to roll back down to Point Loma over glass-smooth waters and the docks at H & M Landing.
Contact:
H&M Landing 2803 Emerson St, San Diego, CA 92106
www.hmlanding.com (619) 222-1144
