first yellowfin tuna of 2011

First of all happy New Year to everyone, and secondly I am pretty sure we captured the first tuna of 2011. The fish hit the deck about 0500 hrs, estimated weight 160 lbs. caught by Ivan Fujinaka. Very shortly after that 4 others hit the deck from 160 to 175 lbs. and we were off and running. When we departed at 1400 hrs to head for home we had 56 tuna for the day, all good grade fish. What a great trip we had for the holiday special. The weather is up a bit, and breezy. Thanks for checking in on Jeff, the Indy crew and us

A Great way to End the Year

"Good evening to all," reported Independence skipper Jeff DeBuys December 31. "Today started much like yesterday, (we were) very busy. We had very, very good fishing today on 100 to 150-pound tuna; we again hooked a big'un, but couldn't close the deal, maybe tomorrow. We matched yesterdays tally, 80 of these beauties hit the deck. As for the last day of 2010, I think we ended it with a bang. Everyone is tired and ready for some rest. We are going to start 2011 in the same place, so watch for another report tomorrow."

First Tuna of 2011?

"First of all happy New Year to everyone, and secondly I am pretty sure we captured the first tuna of 2011," reported skipper Jeff DeBuys January 1. "The fish hit the deck about 0500 hrs, estimated weight 160 pounds, caught by Ivan Fujinaka. Very shortly after that four others hit the deck from 160 to 175 pounds, and we were off and running. When we departed at 1400 hrs to head for home we had 56 tuna for the day, all good grade fish. What a great trip we had for the holiday special. The weather is up a bit, and breezy."

Upcoming ISE shows

Hello everyone, Myself and co-owner Paul Strasser will be on hand at both the Denver ISE expo. from Jan 6th. to Jan. 9th at the Colorado Convention center and the Sacramento show from jan. 20th to Jan. 23th at the Cal. Expo. state fairgrounds. Please stop by and see us to talk long range fishing and we can answer any questions you may have on the upcoming trips for 2011. Thanks for checking in, Mark Pisano

Smooth Sailing

The past few days have been very, very good travel days. This is a suitable ending for a fantastic trip. I counted at least 75 % of our passengers had caught their personal best tuna on this trip. A job well done by not only the fisherman, but the crew as well. A good time was had by all pretty much sums it up. We will arrive early wed. Morning, 0530, and unload the catch, get ready for the next adventure. Sea ya then, Jeff and the Indy crew

Years First Three Tuna Sweep JP

Jeff DeBuys docked Independence at Pt. Loma Sportfishing January 6 after a good ten-day trip into southern waters. The trip, with 30 anglers, was sponsored by Baja Fish Gear and owner Ed Tschernoscha was chartermaster.

"We connected with big tuna on all of our fishing days," remarked DeBuys. "They bit on bait and 100-pound line, and some bit early in the morning on jigs like the Salas PL 68 and the Tady 15. When the jig stopped on the way down, you were on!"

Vladmir Kustudic won first place for a 180-pound tuna. He bagged that one, the third to bite in the pre-dawn of New Year's Day, on a sardine on a 6/0 ringed Mustad Demon hook tied to 100-pound fluorocarbon and 130-pound Izorline Spectra on an Accurate 50 reel and a Calstar rod.

Kerry Iwanaga of Placentia won second place for a 177-pound jig-biter, the second fish to come aboard that morning. The iron was a chrome Tady PLQ, tied to 130-pound Izorline and 130-pound Izor Spectra on a Penn 50 SW reel modified by Cal Sheets and a Calstar 7465 XH rod.

"It was a pretty quick fight," said Kerry. "He bit in the dark, went up and down and I got him in a half-hour."

Ivan Fujunaka of San Francisco won third place for the first tuna of 2011. The 167.6-pounder came on a sardine and a 6/0 ringed Super Nautilus Gamakatsu hook. Ivan fished with 130-pound Seaguar Premier fluorocarbon and 100-pound Line One Spectra on an Accurate ATD 30 T reel and a Calstar 770 XXH rod.

Josiah Chaminade of West Hills is 16. He got a 171.4-pounder in an hour. He plays football and wrestles and pulls a 4.0 average at West Hills High.

Here We Go Again

After a brief one-night vacation, we are back at it again. We returned from our annual Baja fish gear 10 day. I would like to personally like to thank Ed Tschernoscha for another successful trip, as well as all who joined us for another new years fishing event. Jackpot winners were as follows: 1st place goes to Vladimir Kustudic of Vista, Ca, with a 180.2 Yellowfin, 2nd place goes to Kerry Iwanaga of PLACENTIA, ca, with a 177.8 Yellowfin, and 3rd place goes to Ivan Fujinaka of SAN FRANSISCO, with a 167.6 Yellowfin.. 16 year old Josh Torres of Sylmar Ca. brought home a 171 pound Yellowfin. Way to go Josh...... Everyone that participated in our Christmas special trip brought home several tunas over 100#. Super trip for everyone.. We are currently traveling, as we departed yesterday on yet another extravaganza, Rick Ozaki, west coast marketing 16-day trip. We have lots of good sardines as well as a boatload of top-notch fisherman eager to do battle with whatever we might encounter. Today was spent rigging, relaxing, and handing out all the HUGE giveaways for the trip. The weather looks to be in our favor, and we will report anything that might interest you all that are stuck on land. Sea you then, Jeff, Billy, Kevin, Justin, Paul M., Doug, Rolf and Ed,

Here We Go Again

After a brief one-night vacation, we are back at it again. We returned from our annual Baja fish gear 10 day. I would like to personally like to thank Ed Tschernoscha for another successful trip, as well as all who joined us for another new years fishing event. Jackpot winners were as follows: 1st place goes to Valadimir Kustudic of Vista, Ca, with a 180.2 Yellowfin, 2nd place goes to Kerry Iwanaga of PLACENTIA, ca, with a 177.8 Yellowfin, and 3rd place goes to Ivan Fujinaka of SAN FRANSISCO, with a 167.6 Yellowfin.. Everyone that participated in our Christmas special trip brought home several tunas over 100#. Super trip for everyone.. We are currently traveling, as we departed yesterday on yet another extravaganza, Rick Ozaki, west coast marketing 16-day trip. We have lots of good sardines as well as a boatload of top-notch fisherman eager to do battle with whatever we might encounter. Today was spent rigging, relaxing, and handing out all the HUGE giveaways for the trip. The weather looks to be in our favor, and we will report anything that might interest you all that are stuck on land. Sea you then, Jeff, Billy, Kevin, Justin, Paul M., Doug, Rolf and Ed,

rolling and rigging

Not much to report from the last few days, the weather is good, the raffles are excellent, and the company is great. We are all rigged and ready for battle, and will start fishing tomorrow. Thanks for checking in on Jeff, the Indy crew and us

Off To A Good Start

Here is what we have been up to so far. The last 2 days we have been fishing, and having lots of fun in the process. The first day was on the slow side, but today was good fishing for tuna in the 125 to 180 lb. category. There are even some Wahoo on the bank that want to play. The weather is still breezy, but not too bad. We have lots of time left, so we hope to have some more action like today. Today's hot hand belonged to Dane Barriault, as he was unstoppable. Rick Ozaki was a close second with a hand full of nice tuna for his efforts. Thanks for checking in, Jeff and the Indy crew

another Good Day

Good evening from the Independence. We had good day fishing for quality yellowfin tuna. The numbers were not huge, but we managed 23 of these beauties, most all 130 to 185 lbs. and the 2 lucky anglers today were Allen Smith with a 285 lb. tuna, and Charlie Smith with a 225 lb. tuna. These two guys are not related, just good fisherman and fun to hang out with. We did have 2 heartbreaks, as when the bigguns were biting, we pulled the hooks on 2 very very large fish. The weather is good at the moment, and looks to be shaping up for us. So, with that said, even when everything is looking sooo good, as just a few more feet to the gaff, things happen, and that's fishing. Jeff and the Indy crew

Having Lots Of Fun

"Here is what we have been up to so far," said the report from Independence January 11. "The last 2 days we have been fishing, and having lots of fun in the process. The first day was on the slow side, but today was good fishing for tuna in the 125 to 180-pound category. There are even some Wahoo on the bank that want to play. The weather is still breezy, but not too bad. We have lots of time left, so we hope to have some more action like today. Today's hot hand belonged to Dane Barriault, as he was unstoppable. Rick Ozaki was a close second with a hand full of nice tuna for his efforts."

Surrounded by Tuna

Good evening everyone, we started things off in style, as my good buddy, and ace fisherman Allen Smith AGAIN landed an estimated taped wt. 299 lb. tuna first thing in the morning. We pulled the hook on another BIG one, as they say that's fishing. The other lucky angler was Jeff Liu who caught a 195 lb. Yellowfin in the afternoon. We had good fishing again on great quality 125 to 180 lb. fish. The weather is good, and the afternoons are a bit slower than the a.m. Jeff and the Indy crew

Oh What A Day

Hello and good evening from the Independence. Here is a quick rundown of our day. The early morning was the best showing, but we were busy for most of the day. The quality just keeps rolling right along, as today's big fish honors go to Philip Nishida for an absolute beast that taped out at 375 lbs., in second place was Rick Ozaki for a 266lb. cow, and Charlie Smith and Dane Barriault each had 180 to 190 lb. fish. The rest of the guys had to settle for the stock grade fish, 125 to 180lb. fish. We had a fantastic day, our best day yet. The weather is great, and everyone is super high spirits. We really hope to keep the ball rolling, so please wish us luck, good night, Jeff and the Indy crew

300-Pound Style

"We started things off in style," said the report from Independence January 13, "as my good buddy, and ace fisherman Allen Smith AGAIN landed an estimated taped wt. 299 lb. tuna first thing in the morning. We pulled the hook on another BIG one, as they say, that's fishing. The other lucky angler was Jeff Liu who caught a 195-pound Yellowfin in the afternoon. We had good fishing again on great quality 125 to 180-pound fish. The weather is good, and the afternoons are a bit slower than the a.m."

another Good Day

Good evening from us here on the Indy. Today was very much like yesterday, as things got going early on, and then we kept busy until dark. Today's super stars are Rick Ozaki with a 265 lb. tuna, and Wesley Cerny with a 230 lb. tuna. These were the 2 fish that stood out from the rest. I am positive everyone is happy with the stock grade 100 to 180 lb.ers we have been catching, although seeing these jumbos every morning has everyone in high hopes of connecting to one. We are going to give it another try tomorrow, Jeff and the Indy crew

no complaints here

Hey, just checking in from the independence. Today was again very good action for us here on the Indy. The quality is just awesome, all good fish. We had lots of chances today, and made the best of it. As far as the big tuna, they bypassed us this morning, and we caught 1 fish 255 lb.er by our chef Ed Lacomb. The weather is very good, toasty, hot. All I can say is, things are going very well for us, and I might add, we are really enjoying ourselves to the fullest. Jeff and the Indy crew

What Happened

Today was the day I was dreading, as the beautiful fishing conditions we had went away, and so did all that great fishing we had. We did manage a fish or two, but today sucked. The weather is gorgeous, so maybe things will turn back around tomorrow.
Jeff and the Indy crew

Weather Update

So much for the good weather. The good weather we had is all gone now, as we have had steady 18 to 20 kts. of wind for the last few days, and it looks to stay this way till we get back to port. Everyone is still in high spirits, movie mode, and is looking forward to Sunday arrival. It looks like a 0600 E T A. so if anything changes we will post it. Sea you all then the Indy crew

Smooth Sailing

The last few days have been very enjoyable for the ride home, as the entire ocean has been flat, and very little wind out here. The perfect ending to a great trip. Everyone is well rested now, and ready to unload the boat tomorrow. We have a 0700 E T A for our arrival tomorrow. I must say this trip has been very enjoyable in every aspect, and I look forward to the trip next year, thanks for checking in on Jeff, the Indy crew and us

Chartermaster Bags Brace

Another supercow arrived at Pt. Loma Sportfishing January 22 when Jeff DeBuys docked Independence after her last long trip of the season. The trip was 16 days with 24 anglers, a West Coast Marketing expedition with owner Rick Ozaki. Six cows were in the catch, including the 333-pound supercow.

"This was one of our expert angler groups," commented DeBuys. "They did very well, and we had some good chances every morning."

Phil Nishida of Fresno got the big one. His 333 bit on a squid under the kite. The squish was pinned to a 10/0 Mustad 7691 forged hook. He used 130-pound Izorline and 130-pound Line One spectra on a Penn 70 reel modified by Cal Sheets and a custom rod, a Calstar 755 XXH wrapped by Cosmos.

"He bit about eight AM," said Phil. "He ran out, went down and across the stern, then up and down the starboard side. In the end he went up the port side to the front of the deckhouse, where we gaffed him. He's my best fish ever."

Allen Smith of Santee, an Avet pro-staffer, won second and third places for tuna of 276 and 289 pounds. He said the fish bit his salami mackerel about eight in the morning on the grind. The fight was mostly on the starboard side, and the big tuna came up on the port corner after a half-hour. The big one was his best fish.

Chartermaster Ozaki caught two cows of 242 and 262 pounds. He fished with salamis on 9/0 Super Mutu hooks, and used 130-pound Seaguar Premier fluorocarbon, 130-pound spectra, an Avet 50 SDS reel and a Calstar 770 XXH rod. The bigger tuna fought for about 40 minutes, he told dock reporter Bill Roecker.

Chef Ed LaCombe popped a 253-pounder on a chunk, the last fish of the trip. The crew spotted fish in the chunk line, so Ed went out on deck and hooked up.

"They hosed off the decks," said Ed, "so I dropped in and got bit in about three minutes. He fought 45 minutes and came up on the bow."

Ed used an 8/0 Hayabusa hook on 130-pound Yo-Zuri fluorocarbon and 130-pound Izorline spectra on an Avet 50 reel and a Seeker Black Steel 6460 XH rod.

Wes Cerny of Fallbrook took a 228.7-pounder on a mackerel and a VMC 5/00 hook. He said he used 100-pound Yo-Zuri and 100-pound Line One spectra on an Accurate ATD 30 reel and a Super Seeker 6460 XH rod. He bagged his fish in 35 minutes.

Charlie Smith of Menifee was hair-close with a 228.6-pounder. He said he got that one with a squid under the kite. The bait was on a 9/0 Hayabusa hook and 130-pound Izorline, with 130-pound Izorline backing on an Avet 50 reel and a Super Seeker 6463 XXXH rod.

The trip was Indy's last of this big fish season. She'll go into drydock for boat work and be back on line next spring.

Thanks to the 16 day sponsers

We would like to take the time to thank all the great sponsers of the westcoast marketing 16 day trip, A big thanks to Rick Ozaki first off for putting this trip together for the sixth year in a row, Avet reels gave away a 50SDS, PROEX30, HXJ 2SP and HX 5/2 and 2 reel bags, Seaguar gave away 25 spools of 100 pound flourcarbon leader, 36 shirts and 25 hats, Raider jigs gave away 50 Raider 200's and 36 t-shirts, Graftech 6 jig rods, Yozuri hybrid line for the entire trip along with 25 large Marauders, Izorline 100 lb. Mono., Bloody decks custom t-shirts for everyone, Doug Taylor Custom T-shirts for everyone, Five star fish processing $400 worth of gift certs., tackle packs with the following tackle for everyone: Yozuri and Seaguar flouracarbon, fish trap jigs, yummy flyers, Michael Flowkes dvd's, Mustad hooks, Owner hooks and Berkley big game line and Spectra. A special thanks to Richard Hightower for many of the gifts. From the Indy Staff we want to thank all the Passengers and sponsors on the trip, next year again will be a 16 day trip so please confirm with Rick to assure your spot, Have a great day and the jackpot winners will be posted later today.

Jackpot winners

The Jackpot winners for the last trip of the 2010/11 season were the following anglers: Philip Nishida's 333.8 yellowfin tuna took top honors on the trip followed by Allen Smith with the 2nd and 3rd place fish 289.8 and 276.7, other cows on the trip were landed by Rick Ozaki with 2 fish going 262.8 and 242.7, Wesley Cerny with a 228.7 and Charles Smith with a 228.6. We again want to Thank everyone onboard this year as well as the sponsers for all the great gear. The Indy will be in doing the usual paint and yearly dry dock to clean things up. We will be at the fred hall again this year, check back for dock location of the Independence during the show for tours of the boat.