Independence Update 2/1/06

Hello again everyone. Just another day in paradise. the bite once again was steady all day. We tagged 22 fish from 150 to 220 lbs. and 3 were over 200. We also had 9 wahoo. We're going to continue on fishing tonight to see if we can catch more of these big tuna. Take care and check back again for more updates

Independence Update 2/2/06

Good evening everyone, The fishing continues to be good and steady. The fish also are going to more of a night bite pattern. Last night we kept 21 tuna in the 150 to 250 lb. range of which 3 were over 200. Today we only had 7 fish but 3 were over 200 lbs. as well. We also tagged 12 wahoo for the day. With the night fishing being the ticket we will split the crew up so everyone can either fish day or night or both. Beth Smith landed a nice fish that taped out at #247 first thing this morning. The weather is nice with the wind down to 8 to 10 knots. We still have 4 more days to fish so check back for more on this trip in progress.

Hello again, Another good day on the tuna as we had 10 over 200 with two tapeing out at about 290 lbs. We also had 1 last night at 240 lbs. We are going to stay put to night in hopes of a night bite on the cows. We also kept 9 more tuna in the 160 to 195 lb. range as well as 17 wahoo. weather is the usual 15 knots we have had the entire time here fishing. Thanks for checking us out and we will report again tomorrow. The boys.

Independence Update 2/3/06

Hello Again everyone out there in web-land. The fishing these days seems to be good both day and night. Last night we landed 7 cows with 6 others between 160-195. Today's fishing we caught 4 cows and kept 6 others between 160

Good evening everyone, The fishing continues to be good and steady. The fish also are going to more of a night bite pattern. Last night we kept 21 tuna in the 150 to 250 lb. range of which 3 were over 200. Today we only had 7 fish but 3 were over 200 lbs. as well. We also tagged 12 wahoo for the day. With the night fishing being the ticket we will split the crew up so everyone can either fish day or night or both. Beth Smith landed a nice fish that taped out at #247 first thing this morning. The weather is nice with the wind down to 8 to 10 knots. We still have 4 more days to fish so check back for more on this trip in progress. The Indy boys.

Independence Update 2/4/06

Hello everyone, We had a slight computer glitch, as everyone knows our server was down for Saturday This posting is being posted Sunday morning. Friday night we fished into the wee morning hours and picked up 10 big tuna, 4 of which weighed in over 200. Today, Saturday was a little slower in the fishing sense. Managed to pick up 25 wahoo and 12 fish were released. We notice lots of big tuna hanging around the boat so we anticipate some good night fishing in hopes of picking up some cows. Today the weather was very good and on our side, no wind to speak of. Check back tonight for more info on Sunday fishing.

Independence Update 2/5/06

Hi everyone, just a quick run-down on our night bite last night. We caught 13 tuna 6 weighed in at 165-190; 7 of which was 210-265. Our fish story for today... Little slow on the tuna bite, We brought in 41 wahoo and 2 tuna. The tuna each weighed in at about 195 pounds. Some of smaller tuna were release. This evening after watching the Super Bowl and having dinner we just set out for our night bite. At the time of this report we now have 4 Tuna on the boat, 2 hanging.. Those are estimated at 170

Independence Update 2/6/06

Hi Again everyone, here is a run down on our night bite from last night. We managed to catch 14 total tuna ranging in size from 165

Independence Update 2/7/06

We are headed home in good weather with a very nice catch of tuna and wahoo in our wells. We will stop on the way up the line and fish for something different for the dinner table, either reds or yellowtail or hopefully both. Thanks for checking in and wish you were here

Independence Update 2/10/06

Good evening everyone. Just a quick update on the Independence. She will arrive at Point Loma Sportfishing at 6:30 am, If you wish to see them unload the fish, be there early. Mark will put on the internet the winning totals. Thanks for checking in with us.

Independence Update 2/11/06

Hello again, Today the boat returned with another great catch of yellowfin and wahoo. The jackpot fish were as follows 1st place went to Brent Taylor with a 285 lb. yellowfin, 2nd place went to Larry Wicker with a 279 lb. yellowfin and 3rd place was Craig English with a 266 lb. yellowfin. Honorable mention with a 280 lb. yellowfin when to Richard Bartholomew. In all the trip returned with 47 tuna over 200 lbs. to go with many fish in the 150 to 199 lb. range, there were also 127 wahoo to go along with the tuna. We will post all the big fish for the trip in our hall of fame section ASAP. We leave monday on the rod and reel radio 15 day trip which will be our last trip until april. We will start our reports again next week so wish us luck and we will talk to you then

Strasser Loads Indy

Owner-skipper Paul Strasser docked Independence at Pt. Loma Sportfishing February 11 after a great 18-day trip with second skipper Carl "Rooster" Karcher to the Hurricane Bank with 22 anglers. The group found 47 tuna over 200 pounds. Rooster said there might be several more that were crew-caught.

"We had a good day bite for four days," remarked Strasser, "and then we had very good night fishing for five days.

"It was flat calm nice at the end," he continued. "One Kamikaze jumped out of the water in the lights after it was hooked, tore off and then came back to the light, shaking its head.

"Another one bit and then came up in the lights on the other side, and then it was fre-gaffed. We got 80 percent of our fish at night."

Brent Taylor of Riverside won first place for a 285-pound tuna he took on a chunk and an 8/0 ringed Super Mutu hook. He said he used 130-pound Seaguar fluorocarbon leader, 130-pound Soft Steel Ultra line and 130-pound Izorline Spectra backing on a Tiagra 50 reel and a 7465 H rod made by Mark Kiohara. He also had a 261 and a 205-pound tuna.

""It was late afternoon," said Brent, "and he ripped off 300 yards of line, and then 100 yards, and then he just made gigantic circles."

Larry Wicker of San Diego won second place for a 279.5-pound tuna. He fished squid on the kite, on a 7691 Mustad 12/0 hook. He said he used 130 Izorline and 130 Spectra on an Avet 50 reel and a Seeker 6463 XXXXH rod. He also had a 207-pounder.

Craig English of San Diego won third place for a 266-pounder. He said he fished a squid on a 10/0 VMC hook, with 130-pound Momoi line on an Accurate 80 W reel and a Calstar 655 TSSL rod. He also had a 202-pound tuna.

"It took about 40 minutes," said English. "I was fishing close to the bottom. He made one good run, and then he was just up and down."

Rick Bartholomew of Van Nuys bagged a 280-pounderwith a chunk bait on a 12/0 ringed Super Mutu hook, with 100-pound line, 130-pound Spectra backing on a Tiagra 50 reel and a Seeker 6463 XXXXH rod. He wasn't entered in the jackpot.

Photographer Barry Wiggins got his first cow, a 211-pounder, on a chunk with a 12/0 Super Mutu hook, 100-pound Izorline, 130-pound Izorline Spectra on an Avet 50 reel and a Seeker 66463 XXH rod.

Larry Hendon of Alta Loma got seven cows, at: 260, 243, 237.4, 228, 228, 215 and 205 pounds.

Independence Update 2/13/06

Good evening everyone. We just left San Diego harbor, got a good load of fresh bait and we are headed down the coast. Our sponsors this trip is Rod & Reel Radio and Catchy Tackle. We look forward to getting into some big tuna once again. Check back in a few days for more updates.

Independence Update 2/19/06

Hello everyone, Sorry that there were no reports displayed for the last few days. Judy was out of town from Friday til late Sunday night. Reports will be back on track again. The computer is still not able to send reports, so they must be done the old fashion way. Jeff called in report for Sunday as follows. They fished the beach the first day and a half only to catch some small fish, so they headed on down to Hurricane Bank. They arrived at noon on Sunday, fished until dark with catching about 27 nice sized wahoo and tagged 6 tuna. They averaged from 70-100#, losing sevaral bigger tuna. Check back Monday night after 7:30pm for updates on Mondays fishing.