By Pete Gray
It’s one of those things that just gets under your skin once you have experienced it. Fishing for big tuna is contagous. The cost- both personal and financial are high, but the rewards are legendary. Some times the trips are epic, sometimes they are not. Though our Royal Star 11 day fly down and back trip had some great moments, it will go down in the books as a “tough” trip in comparison to others I have experienced. Captain Randy Toussant and the crew of the Royal Star made everything that could be controlled incredible. The food that Chef Drew and Nestor produced in the galley is nothing short of 5 star.
The crew consisting of Captain Brian Sims, Blake, Paul and Ryan were right there with us at the rail making sure we optimized every opportunity. Captain Randy Toussant worked tirelessly to find the fish and get us on the bite. It was just luck and timing were off. Needless to say, we caught a lot of beautiful fish including 3 yellowfin over 200 pounds and several in the 170 to 190 range, a few handful
s of wahoo, buckets of laughs, great weather and good times.
Let’s Talk Hookup’ s sponsors provided some fantastic giveaways including a coil of Seaguar Fluorocarbon for each angler- just that on it’s own was worth over $100 each. Aftco, Rapala, Williamson, Maui Jim Sunglasses and Shimano also provided some great giveaways and most anglers walked away with at least one and many two prizes. Speaking of fluorocarbon, one interesting change to previous long range trips I have been on was the fact the picky tuna during the daytime bites seemed to prefer the Seaguar Pink Fluorocarbon over clear while fishing a sardine. Can’t explain why, but I guarantee I will be taking a selection of pink on my next trip.
We started the trip at Hurricane Bank where the Royal Polaris just finished an epic catch. The Shogun arrived a couple days ahead of us and though things were starting to slow down, the quality of the fish was fantastic. When we arrived at the bank on Saturday, the kite bite was “going off”. I was number 1 on the kite and was bit on a live flying fish in less than two minutes. Captain Randy Toussant commented “looks like a good one”, but unfortunately after about a 10 minute battle the big fish ran around the anchor line and despite the efforts of Captain Brian Sims we lost it. That morning we went thought almost the entire kite rotation, with most fish from 130 to 190 pounds. Unfortunately, there was not a lot of bites to go along with the kite, but Bob “Turbo” Ryan did his usual and outperformed other anglers with a couple big fish on the live puffer. We only managed 21 fish this day -all quality, but unfortunately things the next day started getting even slower. The 
kite slowed and getting bit on sardine or puffers was challenging. We would have a shot on heavy sinkers near the bottom in the dark just before dawn, then almost nothing for the rest of the day. Captain Randy had seen enough at the bank and we made the 18 hour move the next morning to the “buffer zone” around Clarion Island. We arrived before dawn, made some “salami” mackerel and Mark Loman hooked a big one only to be attacked by ravenous sharks soon after. With nowhere else to go, we knew we had to make the best of this situation. Captain Randy, the crew and anglers battled tuna and sharks for the next 4 days. The area was loaded with tuna and a few wahoo. Had the sharks not been so plentiful, we would have had an epic trip. As it was w
ith the hard working crew of the Royal Star, the 19 passengers did manage many nice fish. Big fish honors went to Bruce Campbell for a 230.7 on the kite. Next was Royal Star regular Stuart Extall with a 230.3 on the kite, then Mark Lorman with a 227 also on the kite, and Terry Mines with a 193 on bait. There were several more notable fish including Mike Hein -190 and several more over 150. Dave Bookin a 190 on our last day of fishing. One of the new rising stars was first time long range angler Steve Pazol. Just a few years before, he was casting the shores of Lake Michigan as a Chicago resident. He moved to San Diego a few years ago and got bit by the saltwater fishing bug. After several one day and 1 ½ day trips, he decided to jump in with both feet and go on this trip. Steve listened and learned and using all Shimano gear borrowed from his friend Dave Pfeiffer landed several big fish including a 185 on the kite. There is a great video of part of this battle 
with a very mean tuna on our You Tube Channel-Let’s Talk Hookup Radio Show- the video titled “ Royal Star Above and Below “ which also includes underwater footage of a giant whale shark that gave us a great show!
This is a perfect way to experience the ultimate long range fishing for giant tuna and wahoo in just 11 days. Here’s how it works- you load the boat in San Diego- 3 days later you fly to Cabo and board the boat. Usually you are fishing in about 1 ½ days instead of the 4 day ride. At the end of the trip you are dropped in Cabo and fly home, and then meet the boat and your fish back at Fishermans Landing. This trip always sells out quickly- usually 10 months in advance, so if you would like to join us next year, dates are Tuesday April 19 to Saturday April 30, 2016. For reservations and more information call the Royal Star at 619-224-4764 or check www.royalstarsportfishing .com
