The great fishing continues

What does a fisherman ask for before he makes a trip? Good fishing! Good Weather! Good friends on the trip! Big fish! Lots of fish!. The last three days have had it all. Today we had great weather again to go with excellent biting fish, at sundown we posted 55 more beautiful yellowfin tuna for the day, again the fish were in that 120 to 170 range. The guys today to land cows were Dale Lethcoe with a 238, Joseph Solomon with a 220 and Ron Barron with a 210. Everyone is tired and sore and sitting down to a nice dinner in the middle of the pacific. If you want to get on a trip we have only the last trip of the season departing on Jan. 6th with 19 anglers signed up to go. Give us a call as this is usually sold-out a year in advance but due some unforseen events several people have had to cancel. Thanks for checking in, The Indy crew.

More great fishing

Good evening everyone, I do not want to sound like a broken record but.....!!! fishing continues to be outstanding along with the weather. Today we tagged another 50 beautiful yellowfin tuna in the 130 to 270 pound range. Cow catchers today were John Hancock with a 270, Dan Hoover with a 240, Dale Lethcoe with a 220 and Sam Raiter with a 210. Their are lots of fish in the high 100's range, call it 150 to 195. We still have lots of fishing time left so we are hoping to land some more cows and top things off. Thanks for checking in, Jeff and the Indy crew.

More of the same

Good evening everyone, I do not want to sound like a broken record but.....!!! fishing continues to be outstanding along with the weather. Today we tagged another 50 beautiful yellowfin tuna in the 130 to 270 pound range. Cow catchers today were John Hancock with a 270, Dan Hoover with a 240, Dale Lethcoe with a 220 and Sam Raider with a 210. Their are lots of fish in the high 100's range, call it 150 to 195. We still have lots of fishing time left so we are hoping to land some more cows and top things off. Thanks for checking in, Jeff and the Indy crew.

Still very good out here!

Hello again, This is the rap-up for the last two days 12/3&4, Fishing out here is still very, very good, we have had another 5 cows come over the rail with Vlad Chernoguz landing the largest at 277 and another 220, Sam Raiter caught another cow going 210 and added a 190 to that, Mike Banda put in some time night fishing and landed a 240 at midnight using a Skipjack for bait, and Joe Solomon from New York put another cow on the boat that went 260. We have been catching a handful of wahoo each day as well. The wind has come up a bit to a steady 20 knots, still very comfortable on the big ole Indy. Sardines have been the hot ticket, chunks have been working also and the heavy jigs in the early AM have been a way to get bit, Fishing is very much like back in 04/05 with excellent sign of fish day and night. Overall we have tagged another 74 fish the last two days in the 130 to 277 range, we plan on giving this one last shot tomorrow then heading up the line with a stop or two along the way for yellowtail or dorado to add a little color. Thanks for checking in, The Indy crew.

A slower pace today

Today's fishing was a little slower for us, still plenty good for the guys that still wanted to catch a fish or two, 30 fish in the 100 to 200 pound range went into our 30 degree fresh well. Only one fish today taped right at 200 pounds. We are headed home in some choppy weather which seems to be coming down all the time. We may stop on the way home if we can pick up a little time in good weather. Our ETA will be posted in a few days. It's been a fantastic trip with full limits of good times. thanks for checking in, the indy crew.

The Independence lands 5 more Cows

"Fishing out here is still very, very good," noted the report from Independence December 4. "We have had another five cows come over the rail with Vlad Chernoguz landing the largest at 277 and another 220. Sam Raiter caught another cow going 210 pounds and added a 190 to that. Mike Banda put in some time night fishing and landed a 240 at midnight using a Skipjack for bait, and Joe Solomon from New York put another cow on the boat that went 260 pounds.

"We have been catching a handful of wahoo each day as well. The wind has come up a bit to a steady 20 knots, still very comfortable on the big ole Indy. Sardines have been the hot ticket, chunks have been working also and the heavy jigs in the early AM have been a way to get bit. Fishing is very much like back in 04/05 with excellent sign of fish day and night.

"Overall we have tagged another 74 fish the last two days in the 130 to 277-pound range. We plan on giving this one last shot tomorrow then heading up the line with a stop or two along the way for yellowtail or dorado to add a little color."

Homeward Bound

Back on line, headed home. We have signal now to send a report from the bridge of the independence. We had to call in a few reports to get us by, so here is a re-cap for the trip. We arrived at the grounds, and right away we got busy, and down to business. Every day was action packed, as things would get going before daybreak, and end into the night. The first 3 days were the real stand outs, as we were filling up fast, and then the last 4 days were more civil, 30 to 40 fish a day. There were shots at big ones every day, and we made the most of every chance, with possibly 14 cows up to maybe 277 lbs. For the most part the rest of the fish is a beautiful grade, 125 to 195 lbs. With a few bigger, and a few smaller. All methods worked, as there was something for everyone, chunk, sardine, man bait (skipjack), jigs, you name it, at the right time it worked. We are headed up the line now, most recovering from the battles with these brutes, and some watching movies, some comparing stories from the trip. The crew and myself are resting, preparing for another voyage when we unload this catch on Saturday. We will post another report when we get closer to home. Sea you then, Jeff and the Indy crew

Report from the Independence, December 7, 2011

The report from Independence December 7 included a recounting: "We arrived at the grounds, and right away we got busy, and down to business. Every day was action packed, as things would get going before daybreak, and end into the night. The first three days were the real stand outs, as we were filling up fast, and then the last four days were more civil, 30 to 40 fish a day. There were shots at big ones every day, and we made the most of every chance, with possibly 14 cows up to maybe 277 pounds. The rest of the fish is a beautiful grade, 125 to 195 pounds, with a few bigger, and a few smaller. All methods worked, as there was something for everyone, chunk, sardine, "man bait," (skipjack), jigs, you name it; at the right time it worked.

"We are headed up the line now, most recovering from the battles with these brutes, and some anglers are watching movies, some comparing stories from the trip. The crew and myself are resting, preparing for another voyage when we unload this catch on Saturday."

ETA Saturday AM 5:30

Rolling right along. Not much to report out here, as we are steadily making our way up to San Diego. The weather has improved, and the ride is good, and looks to continue. Looking back on the trip, we were blessed with good weather, and great fishing, and a really great group of guys. I took a quick show of hands, and quite a few of these guys caught their personal best tuna on this trip, which is always a good thing in my book. We should be back to the dock Saturday 0530, so with that said, we will sea you all then, Jeff and the Indy crew

Independence is making its way to San Diego

"Not much to report out here," said skipper Jeff DeBuys aboard Independence December 8, "as we are steadily making our way up to San Diego. The weather has improved, and the ride is good, and looks to continue. Looking back on the trip, we were blessed with good weather, and great fishing, and a really great group of guys. I took a quick show of hands, and quite a few of these guys caught their personal best tuna on this trip, which is always a good thing in my book. We should be back to the dock Saturday 0530."

The Independence boards 15 Cows on their Sav-On Tackle trip to Hurricane Banks

Paul Strausser called in to report on the fantastic trip aboard the Indy at the Hurricane Bank, "We just got in on our Sav-On Tackle 15 Day Trip with an unbelievable catch from Hurricane Bank. We had a lot of fish, from 130 to 200 lbs. We had 15 fish over 200 lbs. Our average fish, other than the 200 pounders went from 150 to 190, really, really good tuna fishing.

"The Independence is leaving today on a 12 Day and will be returning back on the 22nd of December. We have one more trip and that leaves on January 6th, it is a 16 day trip, we have 3 spots left on that trip. If you haven't caught a Cow you might want to consider going on that trip. If you think you might want to go give us a call at 619-226-6006.

12-Day Indy Cow Challenge

Here we go again. Yesterday we returned from a very successful 15-day Sav-On Tackle extravaganza. I thank everyone who came out on the trip, and the good people from Sav-On Tackle. Jackpot winners were: Big Cow for 1st place Vlad Chernoguz 283.7 YF, 2nd place Joseph Solomon 264.4 YF, 3rd place Ron Barron 236 YF. We had a total of 15 cows. Posting cows in no particular order were: Sam Reiter 216, Don Klaus 210, 211, Dan Hoover 217, VLad Chernoguz 227, John Hancock 206, 270.6, Joseph Solomon 230, Mike Banda 225, Dale Lethcoe 223, 215 & 215, Ron Barron 200. Excellent Catch guys. After getting the boat turned around and loading up with sardines we are on our way down south again, this time a 12-day Indy Cow Tuna Challenge. There are huge prizes for the 12 largest tuna. We have an eager group of anglers, and good weather at the moment. If the sat phone will allow it we will try to post a few reports when we get down there. Thanks for checking in, Jeff and the Indy crew. We still have a few openings on our 16-day trip departing Jan 6.

Independence returns from Save On Tackle Trip with 15 Cows to their credit

Jeff DeBuys docked Independence at Pt. Loma Sportfishing after a 15-day Save On Tackle trip with Roger Eckhart as chartermaster. There were 15 cows for 28 anglers. "I only made the one anchor job," remarked Jeff about his location. "We had steady action with a shot in the morning for the big ones and a lull until two PM and then a good bite until closing time, until midnight some days."

One of the most interesting tuna wasn't a cow. It was a 160-pounder that bit on a skipjack being reeled in by the cook, "Frenchie," on 50-pound line, after dinner one evening. The white Tady 4/0 with a red lightning stripe got the skippie to bite, and then the tuna ate the skipjack.

Vlad Chernoguz of San Francisco won first place for his 283.6-pound yellowfin tuna. He said it bit a chunk on a 12/0 ringed Owner Super Mutu hook. He also caught a 227-pounder. Vlad told dock reporter Bill Roecker his winner came to the boat on 130-pound Blackwater fluorocarbon, 130-pound Line One spectra, an Accurate ATD 50 W reel and a Calstar 770 XXH rod.

The second-biggest tuna wasn't in the jackpot, though it won the side jackpot. The 270-pounder was caught by John Hancock of Prescott, AZ, who posed with his grandson John Hancock and the fish. Granddad John used a 5/0 ringed Hayabusa hook, 100-pound Momoi and 100-pound Line One spectra on an Avet HXW reel and a Calstar 6465 XXH rod. He also caught a 206-pound tuna. John took the honorable mention spot at the right end of the lineup.

Joseph Solomon of Brooklyn, NY won second place for a 264-pound tuna. It went for the double sardine rig under the kite, on one of the boat's kite outfits. He also had a 230-pound yellowfin.

Ron Barron of La Crescenta won third place for a 236-pound tuna, and he also had one at 200 pounds. He said the big one ate a sardine on a 5/0 ringed Super Mutu tied to 100-pound Seaguar Premier fluorocarbon and 100-pound Line One spectra, on an Avet 4/0 reel and a Shimano six-foot rod.

Dale Lethcoe of Sunland bagged three cows of 223, 215 and 215 pounds. He used sardines on 6/0 ringed Owner Super Mutu hooks, tied to 100-pound Seaguar Premier fluorocarbon and 130-pound Izorline spectra, with an Avet HXW reel and a Calstar 770 XH rod.

Dan Hoover of Irvine got a 217-pound tuna with a chunk on a 10/0 Owner Offshore hook on 130-pound Izorline fluorocarbon and 130-pound Line One spectra on an Avet 50 reel and a Super Seeker 6463 XXXXH rod.

Don Klahs of Valencia got his first two cows at 210 and 211 pounds. Don fished with chunks on a 9/0 Offshore hook tied to 130-pound Seaguar Premier fluorocarbon and 130-pound Line One spectra. He fished with an Accurate 50 reel and a Calstar 760 H rod.

Sam Raiter of San Francisco took 40 minutes to nab his best fish ever, a 216-pound tuna. It bit on a chunk and a 10/0 Owner Mutu hook tied to 130-pound Seaguar Premier fluorocarbon and 130-pound Line One spectra. He fished with an Accurate ATD 50 W reel and a Calstar 770 XXH rod.

Mike Banda of LaVerne bagged his best one, a 225-pounder, with a skipjack at night on an 8/0 ringed Super Mutu hook on 130-pound Seaguar Premier fluorocarbon and 130-pound Line One spectra on an Avet 50 reel and a Super Seeker 6463 XXXXH rod.

WE'RE GETTING READY

Almost there. We have had good traveling weather for the most part, some rain, and wind. A few tackle seminars, and movies, and rigging for the trip. We should be at our destination Wednesday morning, so if we have satellite signal we will report our activities. Please wish us luck, Jeff and the Indy crew

Over The Rail!!!

Wow, off to a great start. We arrived early today and got busy right away. Paul Geurts started things off with a beautiful 280 lb. tuna, and we were off and running. We picked fish all day, and the afternoon was fast pace action. Mark Backus landed a giant 365 lb. tuna, followed by Moe Alcala with a 240 lb. fish. When the dust settled we had 32 tuna for our efforts, the rest being 125 to 190 lbs. we are going to try this again tomorrow, and will send a report if we have signal. Sea yaw then Jeff and the Indy crew

Independence angler, Mark Backus lands 365 Yellowfin Tuna

The whopper yellowfin tuna caught aboard San Diego long range boat Independence yesterday taped at a weight that will put it in the number ten spot on Bill Roecker's All-Time Top Tuna List, if the scales at Pt. Loma Sportfishing are in agreement when the boat returns next Tuesday. Here's the latest news on that catch.

"Wow, off to a great start," observed the report from skipper Jeff DeBuys of the Independence December 14. "We arrived early today and got busy right away. Paul Geurts started things off with a beautiful 280-pound tuna, and we were off and running. We picked fish all day, and the afternoon was fast pace action. Mark Backus landed a giant 365-pound tuna, followed by Moe Alcala with a 240-pound fish. When the dust settled we had 32 tuna for our efforts, the rest being 125 to 190 pounds. We are going to try this again tomorrow, and will send a report if we have signal."

The current number ten tuna on the list: Dick McKenzie, 364.8 pounds, Royal Polaris, Clarion Island, April 20, 1982

2nd Day Fishing

Sorry Everyone, This report just came in late last night due to Sat Reception Hello again from the independence. Our second day down here was again a good one. We had chances at these beauties all day long, and when the day was over we tallied 20 good grade tuna, and 5 cows. Here are some standouts; John Lawrence caught 2 fish, 285 lb. and a 205 lb. tuna. Hubert Owen got a 260 lb. tuna, Moe Alcala got another 260 lb. fish, and big fish guy Mark Backus got a 220 tuna to add to his collection. The weather is good, and everyone is having a great time. We hope to keep the ball rolling, as the over all grade of fish is just outstanding, 120 to 195, and some big ones to spice things up. We will keep a report going as long as we can get a signal to send them. Please wish us luck, Jeff and the Indy crew

We're Back on Line

Back on line after losing our sat. signal. here is what we know so far. We are on our way back to San Diego now, and here is what went on the last few days down here. We were able to keep the momentum going and put together a great trip for quality yellowfin tuna. We were catching 25 to 40 tuna a day, with shots at big fish a couple times a day. We landed some real beauties, and lost some real beauties, but that's the way it goes with bigguns. There are 4 guys that have a couple of fish over 200 lbs. and some with 1 big fish over 200lb. the over all grade is exceptional, 125 to 195 lbs. We will wait and see what mark Backus's fish weighs on the scale, as it taped out at 365 lbs. a true chubby monster. All I can say is, we had our chances, and you get what you get out here. The weather was good to us, and made for perfect drifts in the buffer zone. On a different note Bob Jutras would like to wish his wife a happy birthday. We will report again in a day or so, with our E T A for Thursday, so in the meantime, thanks for checking in on Jeff, the Indy crew and us

When you go fishing, "you get what you get" and it seems the Independence did some "getting"

"(We're) Back on line after losing our satellite signal," said the report from Independence December 18. "Here is what we know so far. We are on our way back to San Diego now, and here is what went on the last few days down here. We were able to keep the momentum going and put together a great trip for quality yellowfin tuna. We were catching 25 to 40 tuna a day, with shots at big fish a couple times a day. We landed some real beauties, and lost some real beauties, but that's the way it goes with bigguns. There are four guys that have a couple of fish over 200 pounds and some with one big fish over 200-pound mark. The overall grade is exceptional, 125 to 195 pounds. We will wait and see what Mark Backus's fish weighs on the scale, as it taped out at 365 lbs. a true chubby monster. All I can say is, we had our chances, and you get what you get out here. The weather was good to us, and made for perfect drifts in the buffer zone."

Soon To Arrive Home

Good weather, smooth sailing. We are making good headway coming home due to the good weather, so I will have to say we will be arriving back to San Diego around 0545 Thursday if all goes as planned. We again have been blessed with great fishing, and good weather for this trip. There are many guys that caught their personal best tuna, and everyone gained vast amounts of priceless experience you can only obtain out here on one of these trips. If all goes well at the scale, we should have 13 cows, and a few that might sneak in there. This was an Indy cow shoot out, so we would like to thank some of our sponsors who help out in the prize dept., Avet reels, Seeker Rods, and The owners of Independence. We will see you all when we get back, Jeff and the Indy crew

Good Weather, Smooth Sailing for the Independence on the way home

"We are making good head way coming home due to the good weather," said the report from Independence December 20, "so I will have to say we will be arriving back to San Diego around 0545 Thursday if all goes as planned. We again have been blessed with great fishing, and good weather for this trip. There are many guys that caught their personal best tuna, and everyone gained vast amounts of priceless experience you can only obtain out here on one of these trips. If all goes well at the scale, we should have 13 cows, and a few that might sneak in there. This was a Indy cow shoot out, so we would like to thank some of our sponsors who help out with prizes: Avet reels, Seeker rods, and the owners of Independence."

The Independence brings in a 355 lb. Super Cow on their "Indy Cow Shootout" Trip

The last boat in for Christmas this season had the best fish of the year to date: a 355-pound whopper of a supercow that took a squid under the kite. Jeff DeBuys skippered the 12-day trip with 29 anglers. It was billed as the Indy Cow Shootout, and it produced 11 cows, or tuna over 200 pounds. "We had excellent drifting weather," said skipper DeBuys. "We had many, many chances at big fish. We lost one other tuna that looked as big as the big one."

Mark Backes of Del Mar won first place for his big boy. He said he got it with a boat rig that featured a 12/0 Mustad 7691 hook, 130-pound Izorline spectra, an Avet 50 reel and a Super Seeker 6463 XXXXH rod. He said his previous best tuna was a 240-pounder. "There was a huge explosion on my kite bait," he remembered, "when he slurped it up, and then he took all but 50 yards on my spool. He fought straight out for an hour, took me around the boat twice, and came in up on the port side bow."

John Lawrence of Glendale got a 286-pounder and won second place. He couldn't make the lineup shot, so deckhand Matt Kaullen posed with his fish.

Dog Mets of Cornville, AZ won third place for a 275-pound yellowfin he got with a sardine on a ringed Owner 7/0 Super Mutu hook on 80-pound Izorline on a Tyrnos 30 reel and a Calstar 760 H rod.

Hubert Owen of Downey got his best tuna ever, a 265-pounder, on a squid under the kite with the boat's rig. His previous best fish was a 100-pounder at Guadalupe Island.

Paul Gerts of Santa Rosa took an hour with his best fish, a 274.8-pound yellowfin tuna. He got it with a squid under the kite. He used a 12/0 Mustad 7691 hook, 130-pound Line One spectra, an Accurate ATD 50 W reel and a Calstar 7465 XXXH rod.

Phil Havlicek of San Francisco caught a 233.5-pounder with a sardine on a 4/0 Hayabusa hook on 130-pound P-Line fluorocarbon and 130-pound Line One spectra on an Avet 50 N reel and a Calstar 770 XXH rod.

Other cow-catchers were: Michael Noblett, 205 pounds; Bob Carter, 207.4 pounds; Jeff Harris 2000.7 pounds; and Modesto Alcala, 264 and 231-pound yellowfin tuna.

Cow shoot-out returns

Hello everyone, We have returned from the cow-shootout 12 day adventure. First off we want to thank everyone very much who made the trip with us this year. In terms of fishing and weather it was just a fantastic trip. The prize winners this year were Mark Backes with his monster 355.2 yellowfin which looks to be the biggest yellowfin tuna caught in the long range fleet this year, Mark won the grand prize $1,500 gift cert. for a 2012 Indy trip. 2nd place went to John Lawrence with his 284.2 and won an Avet HX reel, 3rd place went to Doug Mets and he won an Avet LX reel, 4th place was caught by Paul Geurts with his 275.2 yellowfin tuna which took an Avet Jx reel, 5th place was Owen Hubert with 265.1 and won a Seeker rod, 6th place fell to Modesto Alcala with a 264.2 and took home Seeker rod, 7th place went to Phil Havlicek with a 233.5 yellowfin an also won a seeker rod, 8th place went to Bob Carter with his 207 and won an Indy jacket, 9th was Michael Noblett with his 205 and took an Indy Jacket, 10th place was caught by Jeff harris with his 200.7, 11th place fish went to Steven Zeng with a 198.4 and Mark Backes took 12th place with his 192 yellowfin and each took home an Indy Sweatshirt.

Happy Holidays

We want to wish everyone a happy holiday and a great new year. We will be in until our Jan. 6th to 16 day adventure with Rick Ozaki and Westcoast marketing. We will resume reports when the fishing begins.

Happy Holidays

We want to wish everyone a happy holiday and a great new year. we will be in until our Jan. 6th 16 day adventure with Rick Ozaki and Westcoast marketing. We will resume reports when the fishing begins.