SCRATCHING AWAY...

We have been down here for a day and a half and seen some pretty challenging conditions at times. Fishing has been good at times and slow as well. There is fish sign, that's for sure. We had a couple of chances for cows that did not work out, and around 65 tuna for our efforts so far. 25 of those being 100 to 190 lbs, and the rest 50 to 90 lbs... We are having a great time in the hot tropical weather. We will report again soon as we have something to share. Thanks for checking in on us, Jeff and the Indy crew

THINGS ARE COMING TOGETHER...

THINGS ARE COMING TOGETHER... we had a great day today fishing for trophy yellowfin tuna and wahoo. Lots of chances at quality fish. We had some lulls in the action and other times it was busy, regulation fishing. We ended up the day with 43 tuna, half of which are 100 to 220 lbs, lots of 130 to 190 fish, and 2 fish 210 and 220 caught by Dale Lethcoe. The rest were stock 50 to 90 lbers. Breezy weather and rain made for some challenging conditions At times. In the Wahoo dept we have a dozen fish or so for the lucky ones. We are going to sit tight and hope for more of this type of action tomorrow. Sea ya all then, Jeff and the Indy crew

THINGS ARE REALLY GOOD OUT HERE.

THINGS ARE REALLY GOOD OUT HERE... we had another awesome day today, as far as fishing and weather. Pretty much all day long we had something on the end of our line. The quality is just outstanding with 51 tuna making their way on board, and a few Wahoo... half of the tuna were100 to 220 lbs, and the bulk is 125 to 190 lbs. stand outs today were Dane Barriault - 220, Sal Proetto -202, Ken Buzzell 200, also Cathy Needleman bested her personal best twice today, the best being a 177lb. beast all by her self. Way to go Cathy. The hot tips for today was get up really early and sink your Salas Pl 68 down a ways and hang on. Glow white was on fire for those who had them. We are going to camp out and try this again tomorrow, wish us luck, Jeff and the Indy crew

Great Quality Tuna

good fishing today in the early part of the day, and then slow in the later part.

SLOW FISHING FOR US.

The weather is still up out here, and today fishing was slow for the most part. The early morning hit did not happen as before. The rest of the day was one here and one there.14 tuna and 5 Wahoo for the day. we did have a couple of chances at big ones but we hosed 'em. The weather has been annoying to say the least, and looks to stay for a while. We are hoping for a big finish, please wish us luck, Jeff and the Indy crew

BACK ON TRACT! ...

Well, today was more like the way we like it, biting fish and good weather. We had really good fishing for 60 to 90 lb. tuna, and a hand full of 100 to 140 lb. fish as well. There were 2 stand outs today, as Cathy Needleman caught a giant yellow fin tuna all by her self that taped out at 355 lbs.! WAY TO GO CATHY! The other stand out today was a 290 lb. beast caught by Gary Sturney, great going. The final tally for today was 68 tuna and a couple of Wahoo for the effort. we have a little bit of time in the morning to fish before we have to get going for san Diego tomorrow, so please wish us luck, Jeff and the Indy crew

ENDED WITH A BANG!

We only had a few hours to fish this morning and the guys made the most of it I am sure. The jig guys were out in force and Dane Barriault got things going early on with a 240 lb. tuna caught on a salas super 6x lite glow jig with heavy line. From there we got busy with some more heavies. When all was done we had 13 tuna and 16 Wahoo for the morning. The other stand outs are Joe Solomon with a 240 lb. tuna, Ken Buzzel with a 230 lb. tuna, and Don Klahs with a 210 lb. tuna this morning. The rest of the fish were 140 to 190 lbs for the lucky ones. The weather is on the fence, as there is some wind here and there, but the ride is ok here on the big boat. Thanks for checking in on us, Jeff and the Indy crew

SWEET RIDE HOME.....

We are living rite here on the Independence, as the ride home has been nothing short of spectacular. I think we should have no problem meeting our 0530 E T A on Saturday. Here is what worked for us this trip plain and simple time at the rail, as always, sound rigging, connections are KEY the jig guys have their own agenda, as some use the heavy ones, salas pl 68, and some use lighter ones salas pdq , and super 6x, all modified of course with different hooks. The weather for the most part was not on our side, but we did have a few good days. We caught fish on everything, man baits, sardines, mackerel, chunks, flyers, jigs, kites, sinkers, puffers, salamies, squid, and sea horses. We had as many chances at big ones as one could ask for, and our group did very well this trip. The raider jigs and Capt. Jimmy Wahoo bombs were the way to go for Wahoo this trip. If all goes well at the scale we should have 16 cows and a super cow Saturday morning. Sea ya all then Jeff

Possible Women's Record with Cathy Needleman's 355 lb. catch

If Independence angler Cathy Needleman's 355-pound (by tape measurement, see yesterday's posting) tuna makes that mark when the boat arrives, Cathy will displace Judith Montague at the top of the list of ladies with 300-pounders. Montague won the jackpot for her 353.7-pounder taken aboard Red Rooster III in November 2008.

I know of four other women claiming yellowfin tuna of over 300 pounds. Joyce Corrigan had the best tuna of the Royal Polaris trip that returned January 20, 2004: a 310-pound yellowfin made ineligible by handling. The fish beat her previous best, a 304-pounder. During the early 1990s, June Pierce, fishing with her husband Larry aboard the Red Rooster III on an 18-day, 18-passenger limited load trip, caught a tuna of 305 pounds.

Gail Wade-Adams of Pleasant Hill fished with skipper Justin Fleck on a 2012 trip that visited Clarion Island and produced her 340.8-pound whopper. Her tuna slipped past a 315-pounder taken by Liz Franzino of Hemet. Liz won first place for her sardine-biter, caught on 80-pound line when she fished with Randy Toussaint on Royal Star one year earlier. I have a suspicion I may have missed a deserving woman angler here, but I can't find her in my records. If I've forgotten a lady with a 300-pounder, please let me know.

Thanksgiving Trip

Just returned for a great trip.. Many thanks to all our sponsors: Westcoast Marketing-Rick Ozaki with his vast array of give-a-ways, Avet Reels, Seaguar, Graft-Tech, Raider jigs. (Hopefully I didn't anyone), Let me just say thanks. Passengers were extremely happy. Our biggest cows for this trip were: (Not necessarily in order of weight) Robert O'Neil 213, Don Klahs 201, 210, Vlad Chernoguz 206, Gary Sturney 281, Sal Proetto 208.7, Leon Bundy 250.4, Joseph Solomon, 246.8, Cathy Needleman 336, Dane Barriault 224.2, 233, 238, Fred Lee 228, Ken Buzzell 235.2, 210, Dale Lethcoe 228, 212, 253.4, 17 cows total. Then we had a couple of Wahoo we'd like to give mention to Bud Edwards 46.8 and Richard Martinez 47.4.... Many Many tuna rolled in or the 100# mark. Excellent, Excellent trip...Great Group and will see you all next year...Jeff and the Indy Crew..

Independence returns from a great trip with lots of Cows

"We didn't do a regular jackpot on this trip," Independence skipper Jeff DeBuys told Bill Roecker December 16, "but we had a really great trip, with 17 cows and Kathy Needleman's 337-pounder. We're in for Christmas now, and the next trip will leave Pt. Loma Sportfishing January 11."

DeBuys posted on the Indy's website: "Many thanks to all our sponsors: Westcoast Marketing-Rick Ozaki with his vast array of give-a-ways, Avet Reels, Seaguar, Graft-Tech, Raider jigs. (Hopefully I didn't miss anyone), Let me just say thanks. Passengers were extremely happy.

Our biggest cows for this trip were: (Not necessarily in order of weight) Robert O'Neil 213, Don Klahs 201, 210, Vlad Chernoguz 206, Gary Sturney 281, Sal Proetto 208.7, Leon Bundy 250.4, Joseph Solomon, 246.8, Cathy Needleman 336 (pictured above), Dane Barriault 224.2, 233, 238, Fred Lee 228, Ken Buzzell 235.2, 210, Dale Lethcoe 228, 212, 253.4, 17 cows total.

Then we had a couple of Wahoo we'd like to give mention to for Bud Edwards, 46.8 pounds and Richard Martinez, 47.4 pounds. Many tuna rolled in over the 100-pound mark.

"Kathy's fish came on a Seeker 6463 XXXXH-6 rod, Avet Pro Ex 50-3 reel, Seaguar Spectra 200-pound and four feet of 300-pound Izorline clear mono tied to a Mustad 7691 8/0 hook with a green mackerel. The tuna fought for one hour, 30 minutes.

"Next biggest was the 281-pounder for Gary Sturney, San Diego, on the same rig, with Dale Lethcoe's (Sunland) 250-pounder following that."