Jan '99
By now many of you who have visited my web site know that our annual 5-day trip is scheduled August 10th to August 15th. What is different about this year’s trip is that it is planned to fish Guadalupe Island. The reason for the change in destination is to allow our group to have a chance at "quality" size tuna and yellowtail.
Albacore are a fun fish to catch as last year's trip proved. Longfin tuna can also be "stupid" on occasions and we were fortunate enough to find a couple of these schools last time. Many of our anglers on our five-day trip are from Northern California. We have had three years of better than average albacore fishing. Now we are looking for something different this year. There is more to a mini-long range than Albacore and that’s why we have planned this trip.
With Guadalupe Island being our primary destination I would like to cover the gear you will need if you want to catch the larger tuna and yellowtail that roam this island’s water. Next month I will cover that to bring if you are heading to Cedros or San Benitos Islands.
The gear needed to catch the homeguard
yellowtail is simple. Bring the largest reel and the heaviest rod you have.
When you fish the bottom you never know how big of a ‘tail you are going to hook. It
could be a 30 pounder or a 60 pounder. You may get smaller fish up with the light
gear. The big ones take lots of luck even on the heavy stuff. To have a chance
use a Penn 114H loaded with 60 lb. and a short "tuna" rod. If you have an
International 50S loaded with 80 lb. all the better. As for terminal gear">
Jan '99
By now
many of you who have visited my web site know that our annual 5-day trip is scheduled
August 10th to August 15th. What is different about this
year’s trip is that it is planned to fish Guadalupe Island. The reason for the
change in destination is to allow our group to have a chance at "quality" size
tuna and yellowtail. Albacore are a fun fish to catch as
last year's trip proved. Longfin tuna can also be "stupid" on occasions
and we were fortunate enough to find a couple of these schools last time. Many of
our anglers on our five-day trip are from Northern California. We have had three
years of better than average albacore fishing. Now we are looking for something
different this year. There is more to a mini-long range than Albacore and
that’s why we have planned this trip. With Guadalupe Island being our
primary destination I would like to cover the gear you will need if you want to catch the
larger tuna and yellowtail that roam this island’s water. Next month I will
cover that to bring if you are heading to Cedros or San Benitos Islands. The gear needed to catch the homeguard
yellowtail is simple. Bring the largest reel and the heaviest rod you have.
When you fish the bottom you never know how big of a ‘tail you are going to hook. It
could be a 30 pounder or a 60 pounder. You may get smaller fish up with the light
gear. The big ones take lots of luck even on the heavy stuff. To have a chance
use a Penn 114H loaded with 60 lb. and a short "tuna" rod. If you have an
International 50S loaded with 80 lb. all the better. As for terminal gear, large
hooks and lots of different size torpedo sinkers. Do not forget a good rod belt and
a "butt harness". You may not need to be "harnessed up" for the
‘tails but what about the tuna. When fishing the "lupe" you
have a chance at tuna from 40 to 100 lbs. There are even larger bluefin tuna but
they are so difficult to catch I do not include them. Usually there are yellowfin as
well as a few bigeye tuna that are willing to bite. Let’s talk about what rods
and reels to use on these brutes. Leave your light tackle in the rack. Bring
out the 2-speed reels with at least 40-lb. mono and 50 lb. is even better. Reels
like the Penn 16S or Shimano TLD 30 II are perfect. Match them with a Calstar 760L,
765L, 6460H or 6465H and you are set. Using a 2-speed lever drag reel on a 40-LB
tuna is overkill but you what to be ready when that 80 or 90 pound tuna hits. That
is the key at catching the tuna at the "lupe". You have to be ready when
the fish show up. Unlike fishing for albacore, where
there maybe many chances to hook another fish, you may only get one or two shots at the
"lupe" for big fish. Every thing must be in perfect shape. Do not
fish with used line. Re-load your reel with fresh line. Do not use small live
bait hooks. Bring out the quality tuna hooks like Owner Mutus or Mustad
"skippy". Be sure your reel is functioning properly. There are times when you have to drop
to lighter line to get hooked. Please take heed when using light line. Most of
the time you will lose the fish. If you must use light line be sure everything is in
absolutely perfect shaped. Then you might have a chance at getting that big fish
in. Now you have scope on fishing the "LUPE".