A Golden Kelp

Independence arrived at Pt. Loma Sportfishing November 1 after a ten-day trip with 29 anglers. Skipper Jeff DeBuys said, "Our weather was about perfect; the best. We saw good sign of wahoo, dorado and yellowfin. We fished on The Ridge, the southern banks and at Alijos Rocks for a day and a half. We also got dorado and wahoo on kelps, and one of them was a golden kelp."

In his internet log, Jeff wrote, "We had one heck of a great day today. (October 27) The first part of the day was spent yanking and pulling on good grade yellowtail for hours. These fish were 16 to 30 lbs, and very plentiful. We caught grouper up to 60 lbs., and wahoo up to 65 lbs. All things considered we had a spectacular day today. The weather continues to be just fabulous. We are going to try for some more wahoo and grouper tomorrow."

DeBuys also remarked that he saw some big tuna on the southern banks, a half-dozen or more clearing the water that he estimated at 250 pounds or more. He also noted the tuna he caught there were plugged with squid.

Doug Bidinger of Downey caught a huge yellowtail, a 61.8-pound mossback he bagged with a sardine on a 2/0 ringed Super Mutu hook and 20-pound blue Izorline. (If the line tested at 20 pounds or less, the fish theoretically would have qualified for a world record, as the current 20-pound record owned by Stephen Whybrew weighed 59 pounds, from the La Jolla kelp in 1988.) Bidinger used an Avet SX reel and a Shimano Compre bass rod. It took a half-hour, he said, and, "it was hard work."

Terry Sandoval of Anaheim won first place for a 74-pound tuna, caught on a sardine and a 2/0 ringed Super Mutu hook tied to 50-pound Seaguar fluorocarbon and 50-pound blue Izorline. He used an Avet HX reel and a Calstar 7567 L rod.

Peter Shemet of Anaheim was second, for a 66.4-pound tuna. He shared in the taking of a 130-pound tuna with Thomas Drennan of Anaheim. Doug Bidinger also won third place, for a 66.2-pound tuna, and posed with both his big fish.

Indy Sportfishing Fish Report 11-01-07

Hello from all of us on the Indy, We are back out on another 10 day trip with Young's tackle shop. We want to thank everyone who just returned from the Purfield's 10 day. Jackpot winners are as follows: 1st place Terry Sandoval with a 74.8 Yellowfin tuna, 2nd place Patrick Shemet with a 66.4 Yellowfin and 3rd place goes to Doug Bidinger with a 61.8 Yellowfin. Honorable mention goes to Thomas Drennan and Patrick Shemet with a 130 pound yellowfin. Congratulations guys. We took on what looks like a very good load of sardines with some mackerel mixed in, our weather is excellent by all reports should good for the next few days. We will be on the ridge tomorrow looking for wahoo and yellowtail to start the trip so wish us luck. The Indy guys.

Indy Sportfishing Fish Report 11-03-07

Hello again, Today we started our first day of fishing offshore in search of wahoo and dorado on kelps, the only problem was that we never found a kelp. We traveled into the ridge for the afternoon and only managed a few yellowtail for the day. We plan to be in another area to start the day tomorrow and see how that goes. Bob Levin would like to send a very happy birthday to his grandson Aaron. Another birthday wish goes to Valerie Stevens from her husband Bud and son Brandon, (We're have a great time) Have a great day, The Indy boys.

Indy Sportfishing Fish Report 11-04-07

Good evening, today we fished offshore for good action on wahoo, dorado and marlin. If it were not for so many marlin I'm sure we would have caught more of both wahoo and dorado. At times the marlin were so thick any bait that was fly lined was bit and you could see fish free swimming like mackerel. The weather was very good with flat seas and just a few knots of breeze. Tomorrow we plan on looking for tuna if the weather stays the way it was today. Have a great day, the Indy boys. P.S. Tommy sends his love to the pink princess.

Indy Sportfishing Fish Report 11-05-07

Hello everyone, the day was very long, again the marlin were out in force and we caught many that we released, the wahoo and dorado on the other hand were definitely harder to come but. The wahoo are in the 25-to 40lb. range and the dorado is all in the 20 to 40lb. bracket. Tomorrow we are going in a different direction in hope we can improve the catching side of things. The weather was a little on the windy side but may come down tomorrow. Thanks for checking us out.

Indy Sportfishing Fish Report 11-06-07

Good day, we had good fishing on dorado today, the fish were mostly 10 to 20 pounds. After catching our limits we looked the rest of the day for wahoo with no luck. Tomorrow we are going to the ridge to fish some of tuna spots. Weather been about 15 knots of wind almost everyday so it has not been flat calm but overall the sea state has been good. Wish us luck, the Indy boys. P.S. SR SAYS LULB.

Indy Sportfishing Fish Report 11-07-07

Good evening, today we looked on the ridge and had a rather slow day. We did catch some wahoo and yellowtail, we are planning to give a try for yellowtail tonight and wahoo one more shot in the morning. Weather is about the same as we've had the entire trip about 12 to 15 knots of wind and not much sea to go with it. I would like to make mention of the fuel situation we are in at the moment. Fuel is at an all time high, we have been holding on and not adding a surcharge for most of the season but we may find it necessary to charge one at some point on the remaining trips. Sorry about the bad news but please don't shoot the messenger. Have a nice night, The Indy boys running slow and easy.

Indy Sportfishing Fish Report 11-08-07

Good day, today we started out on the ridge trying for wahoo as our main target species and we had no luck on catching any. In the afternoon we anchored up and had good action on 12 to 20 lb. yellowtail. The weather has become a little on the windy and choppy side also. We plan on traveling up the line and fishing the coast tomorrow. Thanks for checking us out, The Indy guys.

Indy Sportfishing Fish Report 11-09-07

The Indy will dock at 6:30am on Sunday 11/11 at FISHERMAN'S LANDING, not Point Loma this trip. All waiting guests go to Fisherman's for your returning Angler. Anglers going out on Sundays trip will line up in front of Point Loma Landing as before. There is a Marathon on Scott Street on Sunday. Scott Street will be closed from 6am-10am. In order to get into the parking lot go to Fenlon Street off Rosecrans, turn Left on Fenlon go straight into the parking lot after the police guards have instructed you to do so. . Any questions please call our office. Thanks Judy

Indy Sportfishing Fish Report 11-10-07

Hello again, we are on our final leg of the trip and we stopped and caught some lingcod and rockfish to break up the ride back to San Diego. The weather last night was on the bumpy side but today it has been good most of the day. We will be in at 06:30 at fisherman's landing due to 4 boats arriving to point Loma on the 11th. See ya later, The Indy boys of fall.

Young

"Good evening," wrote skipper Mark Pisano November 7, "today we looked on The Ridge and had a rather slow day. We did catch some wahoo and yellowtail. We are planning to give a try for yellowtail tonight and wahoo one more shot in the morning. Weather is about the same as we've had the entire trip about 12 to 15 knots of wind and not much sea to go with it. I would like to make mention of the fuel situation we are in at the moment. Fuel is at an all time high, we have been holding on and not adding a surcharge for most of the season but we may find it necessary to charge one at some point on the remaining trips. Sorry about the bad news but please don't shoot the messenger."

Pisano docked the rig at Fisherman's Landing (Pt. Loma was very busy, with four long range boats arriving in two hours) November 11, and hung the big ones on the scales.

Mike Rennie of Kent, WA won first and second places, for a 58.2-pound wahoo and a 41-pound dorado. He said he got the

Indy Sportfishing Fish Report 11-12-07

Hello again from the Independence. Thanks again to Young's Tackle and our Charter Master Robin Joo for a great trip. 1st place Mike Rennie with a 58.2 Wahoo, 2nd place goes to Peter Kim with a 35.2 Wahoo, and 3rd place goes to Buddy Stevens with a 32.2 Wahoo. Good catch guys. We turned the boat around yesterday, and departed on another 10-day extravaganza with a charter group from Farallon boats. After loading bait in rainy windy skies we were on our way down the coast. We had a tackle seminar today, and have been busy getting everyone rigged up for the trip. We do not have a starting destination yet, but by the end of today we will. Please wish us luck on our trip, Jeff, Paul and the Indy crew, Tommy, John, Tommy, Steve, Ed & blue

Indy Sportfishing Fish Report 11-13-07

Good evening everyone, we have been traveling since our departure, made a few stops today for some small tuna as well as a few grouper and yellowtail. The weather is really great. As I write this report we are still heading down, to the tuna zone for tomorrow. Thanks for checking in on us, and wish us luck, Jeff, Paul and the Indy crew

Indy Sportfishing Fish Report 11-14-07

WOW, what a day out here today on the tuna grounds. Things got started off early for us, as we got into an area all by our lonesome, and got things going around 0700. We had an absolutely beautiful day on fish 285lbs., 280, 245, 185, 180, 170, 170, and the rest were 90 to 125 lb for a total of 30 fish for today. These fish are tough as nails, and the guys did a great job pulling on them. Many of our anglers got their personal best today. The weather is gorgeous out here as well. We are going to try this again tomorrow, please wish us luck, Jeff, Paul and the Indy crew

Indy Sportfishing Fish Report 11-15-07

Here is the report from the tired Indy crew. Today was as good as it gets for cow tuna, and some that are close to cows. Today was gooooooooood! As far as names of the lucky anglers goes, it would take me all night to write them all down. We did have fish from 297 down to 204 lbs. 12 cows for the day quite a few from 250 to 285 lbs. along with 18 others 165 to 195 range. We ended up with 30 tuna for the day. The one-standout catch of the day belongs to Joe carter our charter master, as he single handedly landed a 230 lb. tuna on an accurate 870 reel and 50 lb. line, quite a feat. I cannot begin to tell you how excited everyone is on board here. The weather is perfect as well. We plan on doing this again tomorrow, so please wish us luck, Jeff, Paul and the Indy crew

Indy Sportfishing Fish Report 11-16-07

Good evening everyone, Things started off early for us with some smaller grade tuna, and then in the afternoon the big ones were on the chew again. We had fish up to 250 lbs. with 3 fish over 200 lb., and some others that were close, for a total of 39 fish for our efforts. The weather is a bit breezy at present, and we hope it slows down before tomorrow. I am pretty sure that passengers on board here have caught their personal best tuna this trip, quite a feat. We are going to give it another go tomorrow, please wish us luck, Jeff, Paul and the Indy crew

Indy Sportfishing Fish Report 11-17-07

Hello again from the independence. Todays report is not as exciting as the last few days, as we saw good sign of fish today, but they did not respond the way we like them to. We did manage 5 big fish today, a 354 lb., and 230, 190, a couple of 150's for our efforts. We did have a couple of heart breaks, as the weather was up today and the big swell had something to do with hooks pulling and lines breaking. We plan on finishing off our trip here tomorrow in hopes of a banner day. Pleeeeeease wish us luck, Jeff, Paul and the Indy crew

Indy Sportfishing Fish Report 11-18-07

Today was the icing on the cake. Things got off to an early start with some smaller grade tuna 50 to 100 lb. fish, and then in the 1100-hour things got up to speed. We were really busy till dark pulling on 180 to 240 lb. brutes. We had 24 of the premium grade, and 4 over 200 for the day. What a way to end our already epic voyage. As far as numbers go, I will have to figure out how many cows we have on board, but I think we might have 24 of them for the trip. Conditions down here look really good right now for the up coming trips. We are now on a course for San Diego, and the weather is not perfect, but good enough. Good night from the tired Indy crew

Indy Sportfishing Fish Report 11-19-07

Hello everyone, not too much to report for today, as we traveled and cleaned our gear, and watched movies for most of the day. This is just what we needed, some r & r. the weather is good for the most part, and we hope it stays that way. We will have an arrival time tomorrow as to when we will dock on wed. See you all then, Jeff, Paul and the Indy crew

First Class Operation

"I can hardly wait to go back," Skipper Jeff DeBuys said after he returned Independence to Point Loma Landing November 21 after a Farallon Boats charter, a 10-day trip. "There is some good fishing down there, we had beautiful weather and noon to dark drifts.

"We had 26 anglers, ages 16 to 82," Jeff continued, "and they all got their personal best. We're extremely happy."

Bill Asbell, 68, took first place with a 356-pound super cow. "I used a friends rod and reel," Bill said. "I wasn't prepared for this stuff. The reel was toast when I got finished. I caught a 400-pound thresher shark in Cabo San Lucas 34 years ago, but this was a lot better fight."

Bill fished a 5/0 Owner Super Mutu hook, 100-pound Seaguar fluorocarbon liter, 100-pound P-Line Top Shot with 125-pound Spectra backing, a Penn 50 S reel, and a Calstar 6465 XH rod.

Dan Shubin of Bloomington took second for a 294-pound yellowfin that was a "great fighter." Dan fished a 4/0 GYMAKASU hook, 100-pound Blue Izorline fluorocarbon, a Penn 50 VSW reel and a Calstar 655 XXH rod.

Steve Nowak of Lodi, CA took third with a 293-pound tuna. "This was the first time I've ever went in and knew I was gonna get my butt kicked," remarked Steve at Point Loma's certified scales. "This trip was well beyond my expectations. The Independence has a first class operation."

Steve fished a sardine on a 4/0 Hyabusa hook, 100-pound Izorline, an Avet reel, and a Calstar rod.

"We had plunker bites," said Philip Havlicek of San Francisco, who landed a 264-pound tuna. "I've been doing these trips for 25 years, and this one was what it's all about. We only had two burn-offs!

"The kite was good. All these cows were stuffed with giant Humboldt squid. We finally found something that'll eat them, because up north where I live, the squid clean us up.

"We had a lot of new guys, but when a Captain like Jeff Debuys comes down to the galley and says,

Indy Sportfishing Fish Report 11-21-07

Welcome back Farallon Charter group. Superb fishing!!!!. Jackpot winners were as follows: Bill Asbell 1st place 356 Yellowfin, 2nd place Dan Subin 294 Yellowfin, 3rd Place Steve Nowak 293 Yellowfin. A total of 24 Cows were landed. Honorable 200 pounders noted and but not in order: John Bartholomew 203, 204, Kevin Black 208, 234, Larry Campbell 249, 2476, 289, Brad Carter 261, Jim Carter 259, Joe Carter 222, 233, Gerard Fitzgerald 246, Philip HAVLICEK 221 264, 14 year old Andy Johnsen 215 and 195, Dave Johnsen 231, Peter Kozel 251, 80 Year old Frank Machado WWII Vet strolled in with a 256 and 196, Mike Nolan 290, Steve Nowak 293, Jeff Rowland 208, Dan Subin our 2nd place also reeled in another 200 ponder, weighing in at 219, John Thomas 207. Great catch, also just to let everyone know other fish on deck weighed in between 150 and 196. Comming soon-watch our website for Hall of Famers. Next trip will depart on Nov 24 at 9am; sign in will begin at approximate 7am. Our customers are very important to us if you have any questions regarding any of our upcoming trips or 2008 trips, please call in 7am-9pm. I'm available on Thanksgiving Day and Friday for your convenience. Happy Thanksgiving...Judy

Indy Sportfishing Fish Report 11-24-07

Hello again everyone, and happy thanksgiving. We departed early Saturday on a 15-day trip, sponsored by Sav-On Tackle with Charter master David. After wedging the boat with sardines we headed south, and had a great prime rib dinner around dark. Today we had a tackle seminar, and went over every detail fishing these big tuna. After lunch there were some great giveaways for everybody on board, rods, reels, hooks, tackle boxes, and many more useful items. The weather is very good right now, and we pray it stays this way. We are hoping to try our luck at the fish we encountered last trip, so pleeeeese wish us luck, Jeff, Kyle and the Indy crew, John, Bill, Sean, Frank, Ed, & Rolf

Indy Sportfishing Fish Report 11-27-07

Well, a good evening to all. Today was a great day for us out here on the high seas, flat calm weather and biting fish. We had one heck of a day, as we drifted all day long yanking & pulling on big ones. The grade of fish here is once again just awesome, as we had fish from 321 lbs. to 150 lbs. and a total of 39 fish for the day, 10 over 200 lbs., 291, 255, 250, 233, etc..... we were very fortunate for todays gift from the sea. We are going to try this again tomorrow, please wish us luck, Jeff, Kyle and the Indy crew

Indy Sportfishing Fish Report 11-28-07

Good evening everyone, things were a little different out here for us today. The sign of big fish we saw yesterday was absent today for the most part. We did see some smaller grade; 50 to 110 lb. Sixteen fish made their way on board today, The weather is still very good, so we have that going for us. We plan on giving this another try tomorrow, so please wish us all luck, the Indy crew

Indy Sportfishing Fish Report 11-29-07

Just a quick update. Jeff called in to say they are traveling to Hurricane Bank they should reach fishing grounds by am 12/1. Check back tomorrow night for more updates.

COME JOIN US ON A 16-DAY LONG RANGE ADVENTURE ABOARD THE 112 FT LUXURY LONG RANGE VESSEL!!! INDEPENDENCE has a 16-day trip departing January 23 to February 8, 2008. Over $5,000 in giveaways, high roller jackpot & complimentary video of the trip. Trophies for the largest Tuna & Wahoo. Seeker loaner Tuna Rods will be available. Cost is $4250. Limited load to 25 passengers. Two person staterooms. All passengers with a 50% deposit prior to Dec 1st 2007 will be eligible for a special drawing for Super Seeker rod($400 Value) on the trip. Winner must be present. WIN FREE STUFF. Call Judy in the INDEPENDENCE office for reservations & information at (619)226-6006.

Indy Sportfishing Fish Report 11-30-07

Just a quick update. Jeff called in to say they are traveling to Hurricane Bank they should reach fishing grounds by am 12/1. Check back tomorrow night for more updates.