October 2007

Good morning folks. We finished off the trip with 8 wahoo and some grouper. A few keeper yellows as well but most of the interest was on the wahoo. Very nice hot weather and calm seas. Looks like a nice ride home to finish off our trip and we should be in a little early. The boat leaves tomorrow on another 10 day trip

“Yesterday was another nice day at the Rocks,” wrote Red Rooster III skipper Andy Cates on September 28. “More of that nice size yellowtail today and a scratch on the tuna with a nice afternoon shot ending with 57 tuna and 53 yellows, all nice grade for those of you that are looking forward to the next trip.

“After today we are going inside possibly to the Mag Bay area to look in the big tuna grounds from the years prior. With a couple of days on the inside we would love a surprise with maybe some wahoo or at this rate just something different. I think as a group we have had enough of this.”

On the 30^th, he wrote, “Good evening, folks. Yesterday we spent the day in search of wahoo and managed to pick up 16 for the day. A couple of fast pace stops with heavy losses but the excitement was there.

“Today was similar with 20 wahoo and heavy losses as well. Fact is wahoo are hard to catch. And everyone found that out the last 2 days. We did drift up a few grouper and will be trying for more of that tomorrow.”

The trip was a West Coast Anglers charter with Robert Peterson aboard as chartermaster. He said a custom rod was given away to the taker of the best yellowtail, with all proceeds involved going to help Chef Jorge Nicifore.

Glenn Kerr of Glenn’s Alignment and Brake in Costa Mesa, a regular rider on the Rooster was aboard, and remarked, “The yellowtail fishing at Alijos was phenomenal on iron near the bottom. The dropper loop was pretty good, too. We got one toad after another; they were consistently huge.”

Back at H&M Lading October 3, Cates remarked on the fine weather and his great trip, with good fishing on The Ridge and offshore kelps as well as the 40 to 100-pound tuna at Alijos Rocks. He weighed the best of the catch.

Bill Walsh of Chino Hills was the first place winner for his 98.2-pound yellowfin tuna. He said he bagged it with a sardine on a 3/0 VMC hook, Blackwater 40-pound fluorocarbon and 65-pound Line One Spectra. He used an Avet LX reel and a Calstar 7865 XL rod.

“He stayed outside and went around the boat twice,” said Bill. “He was tough to the end.”

Bill Brandstetter of Mission Viejo was second, for an 85-pounder, and Paul Zacks of Fountain Valley was third, for a 76-pound Alijos Rocks yellowfin tuna. Young Tam of Monterey Park, who trolled up a 50-pound wahoo, joined the three in the lineup shot.

FISH COUNT: 152 YELLOWTAIL, 192 YELLOWFIN, 44 WAHOO, 96 DORADO AND A FEW GROUPER

1^st PLACE JACKPOT 98.2 LB YELLOWFIN TUNA CAUGHT BY BILL WALSH OF CHINO HILLS, CA

2^ND PLACE JACKPOT 86.2 YELLOWFIN CAUGHT BY BILL BRANDSETTER OF MISSION VIEJO, CA

3^RD PLACE JACKPOT 76.3 LB YELLOWFIN CAUGHT BY PAUL ZACKS OF FOUNTAIN VALLEY, CA

Note: This was a great start to the long range season, Alijos produced some nice Tuna and yellowtail after we came in and found some wahoo and other species.. The weather behaved quite nicely too.

We want to specially thank West coast Angler.com who sponsored the trip and Salas lures, Lakeside Ball & Tackle and Jimmy Jigs for their contribution of tackle and raffles to the anglers aboard. They have the same trip, same time and price next year so if you’re interested reserve your spot early.

We departed on our annual Newell 10 day trip Wednesday and did not clear Point Loma until 1700 hrs. due to a few mechanical issues we needed to try and resolve at the dock. We spent nearly two hours moving around the bait receivers to get what eventually ended up a very nice load of sardines. We spent our first hour at sea gathered in the galley discussing the safety aspects of the boat and the inner workings of the vessel and her operation while at sea, things went well and we all settled in to a very nice steak dinner and a relaxing southerly ride in flat calm conditions.

Thursday morning was seminar time and again we spent two plus hours gathered together in the galley going over all the fishing regulations, limits, jackpot rules and various fishing rotations we will be implementing during the course of the trip. We also covered the tackle and terminal gear that will possibly come into use during the course of our fishing adventure, this all took up the better part of the morning and at the conclusion of our talk we settled down to a very nice Mexican style lunch. The entire afternoon was dedicated to preparing our guests tackle for the fishing days ahead, our weather continues to be light and variable winds with a small rolling sea making for a very comfortable and enjoyable southerly trek. Their appears to be at this time a few options on the fishing grounds, we weighed all these options very carefully taking into consideration all the variables and made the decision at dark to start our fishing trip at Alijos rocks. We will be arriving at our destination approximately 1030hrs. Friday morning with the intention of getting this party started, wish us luck.

When we arrived at Alijos we spent a few hours looking around for one wahoo and some visual sign of 40-70 pound tuna up in the shallows. Once we put the anchor down it took a while but late afternoon into evening was very good fishing on a variety of Yellowfin tuna, Dorado and yellowtail, it was very good action to get the trip started. After dinner we filled one bait tank with live squid and one bait tank with perfect Spanish and scad mackerel to keep our bait supply complete. At nine o'clock we began catching a bait and using a bait for yellowtail and we had very steady nighttime yellowtail fishing for those people who opted to stay awake and fish, all in all a very nice start to the trip. The wind is up right now and that coupled with the fact we have good action on nice grade fish and a fair sign of the 40-70 pound tuna made our decision to stay put for at least another day fairly easy. We will weigh our option's at the end of the day Saturday and make our moves accordingly, as long as this weather is up the way it is right now being hunkered down on the anchor scratching away at multiple species feels like a very wise decision. We look forward to another good day of fishing while we wait for the wind to back off, good working and looking weather will open up a multitude of different fishing options for later in the trip. Wish us luck and we will keep you all updated on the progress of our trip.

We spent the day on the anchor scratching at a variety of species here at Alijos Rocks, the wind never did let up and the conditions are less than perfect and seem to be diminishing. We spent one more night on the anchor and had similar results as last night catching nice 18-30 pound yellowtail for those people who opted to stay up and fish. Our plan is to leave here Sunday morning and head East all day looking for that magical kelp or floating object of some type that potentially could produce wahoo and Dorado, our ultimate goal is to be around the lower banks area for a few days in good working weather to try for yellowfin tuna. Alijos has definitely gave us a little start to our trip however it's not going to be the place we can make the quality trip that we are hoping for so we will be on the hunt starting today looking for something we can work on to make a nice trip. Wish us luck and we will report our findings as they develop.

We departed Alijos Rocks Sunday morning after another night of fair fishing on good size yellowtail, water temperature at Alijos had dropped three degree's and it was time to look for greener pastures. We traveled East all day looking for kelp patties and by days end we had a total of fifty Dorado off a variety of kelps located throughout the day, a very long day of looking for sure. We continued east after dark headed for the coast of Baja aiming for the lower banks area in hopes of yellowfin tuna, wahoo and Dorado.

First light brought very encouraging sign as we saw very good sign of life with black porpoise and good bird life being mixed with jumping and breaking tuna, our hopes were high. All this life by 0900 was none existent and was never to be seen again for the rest of the day by either us or one of our code boats we had been working with, very disappointing after the sign we saw just after daylight. We ended the day with a dozen Dorado, one fifty pound tuna and we released three stripped marlin. After dark we put the Red Rooster III on course for Magdalena bay and a tank of live mackerel which was literally accomplished in fifteen minutes once arriving in the bait grounds, if only the fishing where that easy this trip. We have a lot of work cut out for us the next four days trying to complete this catch of fish, reports from around the fleet are dismal at best for tuna so we are going to spend at least a day maybe two along the ridge trying to target a few wahoo before we set our sites on finishing off on yellowtail.

I'm sure things are going to change for the better on the long range front in the future but as of right now things are extremely tough and we are thankful for every little bit we put aboard and hope we get a good finish to what has been a tough scratch thus far. Our weather was great yesterday looking around the lower banks and not bad heading up to the ridge, we are hoping for a good stretch of weather as we start are northerly leg of the trip.

We started the day at the lower end of the ridge and worked up to the twenty three fathom area where we are currently on anchored for the night. Very good sign of small (5-10 pound) tuna of which we released everything all day long, we also found good sign of very nice yellowtail a few wahoo and a grouper. All in all a very good day of action and encouraging sign's for the possibility's of what tomorrow could bring, time will tell. We have fifteen knots of wind and slightly choppy sea's however it is very comfortable here on the anchor, we have a hand full of people trying for another grouper right now and I expect a little participation at the rail throughout the night. We look forward to what tomorrow could bring and we will report back with our findings.

We ended the day with a few more wahoo from the upper end of the ridge and some incidental dorado and yellowtail, we also saw full speed action on small tuna which where released basically every time we stopped the boat. We are now headed up and plan to stop along the coast in the morning to try and complement our yellowtail catch before heading to San Cedros Island for the evening in search of putting a few trophy yellowtail aboard, that is the plan if everything goes in our favor. Our weather is a bit bumpy in the typical zone outside Abreojos and Hipolito but by no stretch is it rough, we are going up at full cruising speed taking no spray but we are getting pushed around a little in this area. We are looking forward to some good action on yellowtail in the morning and trying for the big grade yellowtail in the afternoon in the calm and tranquility of the big island, we definitely have had our fill of this annoying 15-18 knots of wind this trip. A little flat calm for any length of time will be a very welcomed addition to this trips experience, we will let you know how the plan turns out.

Today was one of those rare occasion that went exactly as we had planed (or hoped), perhaps even better than we anticipated. We caught sixty yellowtail in the morning on the coast then moved up to the south end of Cedros Island in the afternoon looking for the big yellowtail, we did not get disappointed. With the island a mere jig cast away in flat calm windless conditions we landed eighty five of the coveted big yellows in just over an hour fishing in a depth of twenty feet over a sandy bottom. What a great evening, it will be remembered by everyone on board as one of those classic long range experience's that will stay with us all for a lifetime. We are presently headed up toward San Carlos to finish our fishing adventure with a little shallow water bottom type fishing, and who knows we may get pleasantly surprised with something special. We will send our ETA and our final fishing report along tomorrow afternoon.

This morning turned out to be a nice pleasant time fishing for a variety of species in shallow water, we did not get any exotics but we did hook and lose a black seabass. We have very nice weather and are enjoying a good ride up the north part of Baja just outside Geronimo island and we are expecting more of this type weather condition the rest of the way. It looks like we will be arriving back to Lee Palm Sportfishing at 0830 Saturday morning October 13,2007 (Tomorrow).

This trip turned out to be a perfect example of what the 10 day trips in the fall are designed to be like, we fished Alijos, lower banks, the ridge, the beach, Cedros island and a little shallow water variety on the way home. Key word their is variety, not only a variety of fishing areas but a variety of species and fishing styles and it turned out fine. We had to deal with tough weather and tough fishing for the entire trip but we scratched something every day and took advantage of our opportunities when they presented themselves, the big hit to top off the trip on the final evening was a wonderful way to finish the trip. I would like to thank Richard Hightower of Newell reel Manufacturing for sponsoring this wonderful group of guests and for all the giveaways and t-shirts he had for everyone throughout the trip. Thank you Richard.

FISH COUNT: 355 YELLOWTAIL, 21 YELLOWFIN, 17 WAHOO, 122 DORADO & A FEW GROUPER

Note: Special thanks to our sponsor Newell/Yo-Zuri who out did themselves this year , here is a list of all the giveaways. They will be doing the same trip next year for those who want a chance to get on call the office.

(B) Albackore Three (3) Jig Keeper given away in a drawing.
Four (4) Jig Wrap given away in a drawing.

(E) Yo-Zuri Hybrid Line Six (6) 600 Yard Spool of Yo-Zuri Hybrid Line
given away in a drawing.

(B) Hayabusa Bait Rig One (1) Hayabusa (Sabiki) Bait Rig for every passenger.

5) (A) Seaguar Every passenger will receive
Two (2) Seaguar Fluorocarbon 50 Yard spool or

Good morning folks. We left yesterday on our annual 14 day kick off for the winter season. With visions of big tuna and wahoo. We have all the same guys as years prior and the energy is in the air. Hopes of success similar to the years prior. Our bait looks good and a stop will be made tonight looking for Mackerel to take to the Bank.

With the days of travel ahead of us and rigging we should be busy here the next couple of days. We will report again tomorrow.

Good afternoon folks. With the stop for mackerel and the stop for squid both being successful we are headed down and will be at the bank tomorrow at lunch time. The weather forecast shows a clear road down and better weather to come.

With everyone rigged up tomorrow morning will seem like forever before we start fishing , but we have a great load of bait in the event some biting cows are available. Loftus and Martin put together a great raffle and proceeds all went to Jorge Nicifore. I raffled of a Seeker, John Grabowski mode3l which was a beautiful rod from Bill at Rod and Reel radio that racked up over a thousand dollars for the Jorge Nicifore fund. Thanks Bill at Rod and Reel Radio.

Good morning folks. We arrived at the bank after lunch and got the anchor down at about 100. We had very steady action all afternoon until dark. Most of the fish being 140 to 190 pound and 7 fish over 200 pounds up to 270.

Not a lot of surface sign and it took a while for the fish to really gather. But when it was on it was good. Most of the bigger fish were taken on the kite or balloon with one fish on the chunk as well.

So far this morning we have kept a handful of 160 to 190 pound fish and now there is quite a bit of mid grade fish around. We are looking for another shot on cows and hopefully we get it today.

Good afternoon folks. Yesterday was another good day with 7 fish over 200 and good action on the 140 to 180 pound fish. We were selective yesterday and looking to stretch out at least 2 more days of fishing at this rate probably 3 .

Today there was less sign of the bigger fish with just one fish over 200 but still plenty of action on the mid grade fish. Every once in a while get a stand out but not like the first two days.

We made a tour of the bank today and only had one jig strike so hopefully some wahoo move in by the end of the trip. We still have this evening to look forward to and hopefully we can finish the day with a couple of big fish.

Good morning folks. Yesterday was another great day down here. We trolled up 22 wahoo in the morning, and were pleased to see a little bit moved in to the bank.

The afternoon was one of those classic days. Things don't come together like that very often but when they do it is truly enjoyable. Perfect weather, nice downhill current and 140 to 190 pound fish jumping and boiling as far as you could see. Not to mention biting as well.

One fish in the 200 pound class but plenty of action on 140 to 190 pound fish. One of those days to mark down on the calendar.

We are going to try for wahoo again today and then get the anchor down for the afternoon and see if we can pick off a couple of big ones before the day is done We will report again tomorrow Andy Cates

Good morning folks. We finished off yesterday afternoon with one more fish over 200 pounds and another 10 fish in the high hundreds. From 175 to 198.

We trolled around and picked up a few wahoo and with no room left for tuna we decided to head up and fish offshore in hopes of wahoo on kelps. Once again the weather was great and another classic day at the Bank.

If you are looking for a trip to get in on this epic fishing we have another extended day trip leaving the day after Thanksgiving that does have spots available .

With what we caught and saw It has the set up for another great trip in November. Call the office and set yourself up for the late fall and big tuna.

Good morning folks. We spent the yesterday offshore looking for wahoo on kelps. Most of the morning we struck out. We finally got in an area and had a dozen wahoo and good action on dorado. With the flat calm weather it made for an enjoyable day.

We started this morning in the area where we left off last night and hit a few kelps for only dorado. No wahoo. We are working up now looking for kelps on course for Cedros. If we do not stop we will be at at the Island first thing in the morning.

Good morning folks. We spent the day at Cedros and ran skiff trips for bass. With great weather and good action in the skiffs it was a great experience for all. Not much sign of yellowtail but a few were caught on the big boat and a few in the skiffs as well. Once again we have great weather on our way up and should be in tomorrow between 830 and 900.

It should be a great show as the first load of big fish hit the dock. We will see you then

3^RD PLACE JACKPOT 222.8 LB YELLOWFIN CAUGHT BY ART CABALLERO OF TEMPLE CITY, CA

Special notes by Bill Roecker

First Hurricane Cows

Andy Cates took his 24 Red Rooster III anglers on a long 14-day trip to the Hurricane Bank for the first such adventure of the season, and as he has the several past years, opened it up with a good catch of tuna over 200 pounds. There were 12 cows, according to his notes at the scales October 28.

“They bit good the whole time! We released as many fish as we kept on the boat,” he told me. “The water was 80 degrees with no sharks around. The best baits were sardines and Spanish mackerel (we picked up a box of mackerel on the way down), and fishing on the kite was good.

“The weather was so good we called it ‘Calendar Days.’ We got the big fish mostly on two days, and one day they put on a great show all over the bank. The fish averaged 130 to 190 pounds.”

John Loftus of Irvine won first place with a 271.5-pound tuna. “I got it on a squid with the kite,” he said.

Loftus used a 10/0 Mustad 7691 hook, 130-pound Maxima line and 130-pound Izorline Spectra on a Penn 70 VS reel and a Calstar 755 XXH rod by M&M.

Bob “Scrappy” Michener of Oxnard won second place for a 263.7-pounder he caught with a squid on a balloon. He used a 9/0 Mustad 7691 hook, 130-pound Izorline and 130-pound Izorline Spectra on an Accurate 80 W reel and a Calstar 760H rod. Bob also had a 217-pound yellowfin.

Art Caballero of Temple City took third place for a 228-pounder. He said he used a sardine on a 6/0 Super Mutu ringed hook, 130-pound Izorline and 130-pound Izor Spectra backing on a Penn 50 T reel modified by Cal Sheets, and a Calstar 760 H rod.

Dennis Bidigare of Oscoda, MI caught a 223.9-pound tuna with a sardine on a 9/0 Mustad 7691 hook, 130-pound Izorline and 130-pound Izor Spectra on an Accurate 50 reel and a Calstar 6460 XXH rod.

Ron Haro of Huntington Beach got a brace of cows at 210.8 and 216.7 pounds. He baited sardines on 9/0 Gorilla hooks. He said he used 130-pound Jin Kai line and 130-pound Power Pro Spectra on a Penn 50 VSW reel and a Calstar 6455 XXXH rod.

Al Jackson of Buena Park only needed 40 minutes to beat a 216.4-pounder that took a squid on the kite. The “Squish” was pinned to a 9/0 Mustad 7691 hook tied to 130-pound Izorline and 130-pound Izor Spectra.

John Wichmann of Oceanside finished with a 209 and a 201-pound tuna. He got those with sardines, he said. He used 5/0 ringed Super Mutu hooks, 130-pound Soft Steel line and 130-pound Spectra on an Accurate 50 reel and a Calstar 7465 XXH rod wrapped for him by Ken’s Custom Reels of Oceanside.

Bob Peters of Medford, OR used a sardine on an 8/0 Mustad hook to take a 208.7-pounder. He fished with 130-pound Izorline and 130-pound Line One Spectra on a Penn 70 reel and a six-foot unknown brand rod.

Larry Martin of Dayton NV bagged a 203.2-pounder with a mackerel on a 9/0 Mustad 7691 hook tied to 130-pound Jin Kai line and 130-pound Line One Spectra. He used a Penn 70 VSW reel and a Calstar 760 H rod.

The trip’s oddest fish was likely the 35-pound bigeye tuna that bit on a sardine offered by Ralph Cox of Placentia.

Chef Jorge Nicifore visited the event, where he was affectionately greeted by his many friends. John Loftus and Larry Martin conducted a raffle aboard the boat during the trip that raised $3,000 for Jorge’s ongoing medical bills. To help with the effort, viewers can go to the Rooster’s web site and click on the line “Jorge Nicifore Fund.”

The cows brought home by Cates and the Rooster are the first of the new big fish season, and the 271.5-pounder taken by John Loftus will stand as the season’s best, until it’s beaten.

	Lee Palm Sportfishers Home of the Red Rooster 111
	Fishing Reports -- Report Archives
	Fishing Schedule
	Photos -- Videos
	Links
	FAQ
	Site Chart
	Home
October 2007