Well everyone keeps asking what happened on our annual 5-day trip on the Red Rooster III.  I have kept you waiting long enough so here goes.  Let me first start off by thanking all the anglers who joined us this year.  We had anglers from all over Northern and Southern California as well as a father and son team from Connecticut.

Trip fishing trip did not start off well for yours truly.  Two of my fishing buddies were bringing my truck down from the Bay Area with all of our fishing equipment.  They did eventually arrive the night before departure.  But they had to nurse my truck into San Diego.  So there we were will an injured truck but ready for a fishing trip.  The folks at Lee Palm Sportfishers were great.  They were able to take my truck in and get it repaired while we were out fishing.

Leaving my truck in their hands off we went to the fishing grounds.  Skipper Andy Cates decided to load up on bait before loading the passengers.  Bait was in short supply and Andy wanted to get what he could before the other boats showed later that afternoon.  So as we left the harbor at 1:15 PM and we headed directly to our destination, Guadalupe Island.  With the Red Rooster III running at 12.5 knots with her new engines, Guadalupe Island was visible at first light.  Andy wanted to try the north end of the island.  Our first and only stop was Pilot Rock.  There had been signs of fish there the previous week.  Andy felt it was good for at least a look.  For those who have not been to Pilot Rock it is usually cold, overcast and blowing 20 knots.  Well this time the wind was bearable, blowing only 10 knots at the most.  So two out of three isn’t bad.

That look lasted the whole day.  The Yellowfin tuna out target fish, showed about 15 minutes after the anchor came tight.  This was one of those steady bites at Guadalupe Island.  It never got to be a wide open but there were always a fish or two hooked up.  When ever the current ran off the stern and towards Pilot Rock the tuna came calling.  When the current switched away from Pilot Rock it was difficult to get hooked up.  So what was the key to getting your share of the tuna? 

First off you had to have bait in the water.  I know this sound basic but the anglers who fished hard were the ones that hooked the most fish.  There were times when you could wait for the bite to start, toss in, and get hooked.  But most of the time when the fish came though if you were not in the water it was too late.  So if you were in the water and ready for the tuna to come by how could you improve your chances?

A short top shot of Fluorocarbon leader was the next trick.  Charles Tanaka fished with 25 feet of 30 lb. Fluorocarbon attached to his 50 lb. Spectra.  Charles was hooked up most of the time to a Yellowfin.  I tried using 40 lb. Fluorocarbon to see if the line test made a difference.  It did make a smaller difference.  For those who do not feel comfortable using 30 lb. line on 40 – 70 lb. tuna I would suggest that you use the 40 instead.

Another trick is to use circle hooks.  This is very important if you are going to use the light line, 30 lb.  When your are fight a tuna for 30 minutes your line can get frayed by the small teeth that Yellowfin tuna have.  With circle hooks you do not have this problem.  Circle Hooks usually hook the tuna in the corner of their jaw, thus leaving your mono safe from the teeth of your hooked tuna.  Our first day at Pilot Rock ended with 134 yellowfin tuna being landed.  Next month I will let you know what happened when we moved inshore to San Benitos Islands.