Roy Rose docked Royal Polaris January 17, after a 17 ¬? day trip sponsored by Taka Tanaka, whose tackle shop is well-known in Anaheim. Roy‚Äôs assistance in the following story is acknowledged and welcomed by Bill Roecker, because Roy asked his anglers to assist in the recording of the catch. They each did so, at least all who caught cows, or tuna over 200 pounds. They forgot to include their hometowns, though, so apology is made for that missing piece of information, outside of the jackpot spots and Craig Drummond‚Äôs supercow.
That giant yellowfin weighed in a 318 pounds on the boat, culminating many years of a quest began by Craig back in 1957, when he started fishing on San Diego boats.
“He’s my first 300-pounder,” said Craig. “I’ve hooked two before. One got eaten by sharks at Clarion Island offshore, and the other took 600 yards of line and pulled the hook.
“This one got to close color,” continued Drummond, “and he made at least 60 circles at the bow, and that’s where they gaffed him.
“It was a slow pick. We fished in really long soaks, some of the baits were at least 200 yards out. At that distance it’s hard to feel the bait. The current was varied, and it started and stopped.”
Craig’s tuna ate a flying fish under the kite, which made it ineligible for the jackpot. He said the bait was on a 20/0 Mustad circle hook. He fished with 130-pound Izorline and 130-pound Line One Spectra on a Shimano 80 W reel and a Calstar 6455 XXH rod. He also got a 212-pounder on a sardine, which he wrote was a one-hour back break.
“We had good timing,” said Roy Rose. “We got to the bank and they were biting. They bit the sardines, some squid on the kite and flying fish, too. It was like a lake out there. We had no problems with sharks and the water was about 76 degrees.
“Thje tuna were all mixed on the bank,” continued Rose, “from 80 to 300 pounds, in schools of different sizes. We filled up and came home early.”
Chartermaster Taka Tanaka won first place for a 293-pounder, his best tuna ever. He also had a 210-pounder.
“I was very lucky,” remarked Taka. “He was tough. He bit close to the boat, ran, came back fast, and went down. I pulled him up on the stern after 45 minutes, and I was tired.”
