We had a great 2-day charter trip on the Aztec!!! The trip started on a Tuesday night at Seaforth Landing in Mission Bay, San Diego, when 24 FIB’ers waited anxiously to board the boat.
We boarded the boat around 10:00PM and after we recovered from the sticker shock of the meal plan, all gathered in the bow to hear about rigging for the days ahead. The plan was to fish 20# test set ups for Yellowfin Tuna below the Mexican Boarder. Excited about limit-style fishing, everyone got their set ups ready and headed for their bunks. The next morning, we woke to partially cloudy skies, a textured sea surface, and a significant combined swell that had the boat moderately pitching and rolling…nothing extreme, but definitely noticeable. At gray light the trolling rods went in the water and we were on the hunt for the right school of biting Tuna. It didn’t take long for 2 of the trolling rods to get bit and shout’s of “HOOOOOK UUUUP!!!!” promptly stopped the boat. Almost immediately one fish came unbuttoned, but as the boat slid to a stop, Walter Valk began to battle a bigger-grade fish. It took him to the bow, where he fought it valiantly. About 10 minutes later, 2 gaffs brought aboard a beautiful 75# Bigeye Tuna!!!!






Within a few minutes of getting the big fish on board, Captain Gregg had us on the move again, on the hunt for a big school of biting fish! It didn’t take long before Captain Gregg told us to reel in the trolling rods because we were going to stop and fish a kelp patty. Within a minute of coming to a stop, fish after fish were hooked up and the melee ensued. Dozens of Skipjack and Yellowfin Tuna in the 8-13# range were landed.






After about 2 hours, the bite started to taper off, and we went looking for another school. About an hour later we got on another school of fish and had similar fishing for another 45 minutes or so. The rest of the morning and mid after noon were relatively slow, but Captain Gregg and crew worked hard searching for schools of tuna that mostly would not stay up long enough for us to catch them. About 2 hours before dark Captain Gregg located a great patty that bit really well for us, and everyone caught their share. Dinner was served and all headed to their bunks for some much-needed R&R from the day’s fishing.


Day 2 didn’t start with any Bigeye Tuna, but we quickly found a few kelp patties that yielded epic fishing for more school-sized YFT and Skipjack.




On one of the stops, Valerie Handzus caught a beautiful 8# Dorado!


The remainder of the morning was pretty slow, and around 1PM Captain Gregg pointed the Aztec back to Mission Bay, and most went down for an afternoon nap. We had a really fun trip with plenty of delicious fish to take home. Despite what some say about Skipjack Tuna, they are really tasty when handled with care and eaten fresh.
Thank you Lord for another blessed trip. We look forward to fishing with on the AZTEC again in October. {Report by, Jayson Quimby}

Fish Report by, Dan Ross
I’m sitting here trying to digest what I saw on the one-day fishing trip aboard the Thunderbird out of Davey’s Locker. Calls were made to the 23 Fiber passengers prior to the trip with mixed reports on where we were going to fish. There was some uncertainty surrounded exactly what the weather was going to bring. I made a few calls to the FIB’ers and said bring the standard gear to fish patties and chase Yellowtail at San Clemente Island. There’s a chance we will chase the notorious B.I.G. Bluefin Tuna that local fisherman have been been chasing. I told everyone to bring an 80 to 100-pound flat fall type of setup just in case the Captain decides to get in the ring with these heavy weights. We were told to leave early because of the potential of the holiday crowd gobbling up the parking spots around the landing. Let’s rumble.
I carpooled with Maynard Pointer and Mark Ross and we arrived a few hours early. First in line was Tom and Valarie Handzus. We all greeted each other with excitement as was the case when all of the eager FIB’ers slowly rolled in that night. The T’Bird was already docked and ready to go due to a trip cancellation that day. She looked in ship shape and ready to do work! We loaded up the boat a little after 9pm and began the slow jog to the bait barge. The crew loaded what looked like perfect sized sardines and we were set. The Thunderbird skipper, Brian, asked if we would like to take a shot and get in the ring with some of the Bluefin that have been hanging around the east end of San Clemente Island and before heading into San Clemente Island to go for Yellowtail. The 23 FIB’ers on board agreed unanimously. Thunderbird’s deckhand, Steve, gave a seminar on fishing the Bluefin and then everyone started heading to their bunks. Steve said boats have been hitting a small window early in the morning and usually hook around three fish. Then the fish go silent. They haven’t been seeing a ton of action throughout the day. Steve’s analysis was prophetic. We were greeted to some decent rolling seas and a little wind. Nothing too big or small. We were off to the east end of San Clemente.
The heavy weight battles started early. A few anglers rolled on to the deck between 4 and 5 and started the arduous process of dropping their flat falls until there was very little line left. Then wind, wind, wind wind. It’s a lot of work to fish this way and a few of the experienced FIB’ers were up for the task. I got out on the deck around grey light only to see the young deckhand, Walker, and Larry Swift locked into what appeared to be a heavy weight battle with two monster Tuna. Larry was in the standup phase with his fish somewhere far away from the boat. Walker began the process of using the rail as leverage to subdue his beast.

After about a half hour someone said, “deep color”. I pulled out my phone and began to get pictures and video. The original tuna weight assessment was 80 to a 100 based on the way Walker was taking the wood to this fish. As the fish came closer one of the deckhands said, “No, this thing is a lot bigger… Much bigger!” The fish circled a few times. Walker had to hold his rod over the rail so the fish didn’t rub the line under the boat. Then the tuna began the final circles. The crew stuck two gaffs perfectly in the monster’s head, blood started coming out and the fish completely exploded out of the water and came off the gaffs. What in the world just happened? Just like that the fish made a run. Walker thought the fish was gone only to wind down and get that bend back. I have never felt such an up and down emotion but was happy to see Walker lock down and get the fish back to the boat. I thought I was taping the entire event only to find out I didn’t switch over to video. Duh!!!!! Ok, I got another shot and made sure to capture this battle. Walker was able to get the fish back to the boat and finally the deckhands sank 4 hooks into the beast. They walked the fish down from the front of the starboard side of the boat and in unison pulled the Tuna over the rail. Tuna blood was all over the boat. Hi fives around for the amazing event that just took place. Then I think it was deckhand Steve that said, “Whatever Larry has on is bigger than the 178-pound beast we just landed.” Huh? Bigger?


Now everyone’s attention shifted to Larry Swift and his stand-up battle!
Larry was still fighting his fish for what seemed like an eternity. His fish was straight out as were all of what seemed like the 100’s of boats chasing these fish. His fish was hooked deep when he set the hook so this means he must have had 3 or 400 feet of line out.
- All three Bluefin were hooked around the same time. Tony Marino also hooked a monster, but the line failed. More on that later….They dropped their jigs to the point that there wasn’t a lot of line left on their reels. We heard the skipper say that if your jig stops suddenly then start reeling fast because that isn’t the bottom. Back to the bout! — Larry wasn’t losing or gaining much on his TLD 30- 2 speed attached to his 6.5 foot Shimano Talaver medium/Heavy 40 to 80 Lb Rod. This was a slug fest. Keep that setup in mind while the story continues. Close to 1.5 hours had passed and all of the FIB’ers were cheering on as Larry made his laps around the boat and the Thunderbird crew coached him. I even heard fellow FIB’er, Derek Demun, shouting Philippians 4:13. The fish was still way out, and it didn’t seem that Larry was gaining a lot of ground. This battle seemed more and more like a 12 round heavy weight bout. Larry held his own and didn’t pass this fish off. The only time he handed off his rod during the first couple of hours was when the crew had to chase the fish to the front of the boat. By watching Larry put on a show, I learned a lot about Larry. He’s a determined fighter! He looked like a track athlete making laps around the boat. It was around an hour and forty-five minutes and the fight started going straight up and down. Larry had about ¾ of his line and still had a long way to go. Did I mention that the crew handled this fight like seasoned long-range crew? Captain Brian, Captain Chris, Cole the Cook, Marlin (Yes, that is his very cool name) and Walker all helped Larry with his fish.
This is the part of the fight that got interesting. The old TLD was hanging in there but the crew had to make some adjustments to the drag that was slipping a little. This fish was starting to do its up and down circles. Larry would gain a little and the fish would take it back. The FIB’ers were all still on deck watching and praying that Larry knocks this beast out. We finally heard someone yell, “DEEP COLOR!” Captain Brian and Steve were pulling the line so that Larry could gain. We could all see the faint blue of the fish deep down. The arduous back and forth battle was like watching two heavy weights throw in their final jabs before the final bell rings. The crew had to grab the rod and lean way over the rail to keep the line away from the propellers. This beast was pulling out all the stops trying to gain its freedom. The giant made a few large circles and four upper hooks(gaffs) were sunk into its head. Down goes the Tuna! Down goes the Tuna! Larry and the Thunderbird crew pulled off a thriller. All of the FIB’ers applauded, and Larry breathed out a sigh of relief. When asked how Larry felt, he responded, “tired!” Pretty impressive for a guy who has never caught a Bluefin Tuna on a TLD 30- 2 speed reel and recently recovered from rotator cuff surgery.

I spent a few minutes with Larry and his carpool partner in crime, David Weeks. Larry shared that his daughter was featured in the Orange County Register Sports Section earlier Wednesday for her achievements in Tennis. She has a scholarship to play Tennis for the Air Force Academy. What a week for Larry! I asked Larry and David how they knew each other. They know each other from their Church. We all shared stories of our faith and involvement in our men’s ministries. Larry and David were true men of faith and reminded me of what FIB’ers is all about. We have the common bond of Christ and fellowship through our love for fishing.
One lesson learned by Larry and his wisdom was how he prepared his setup. He had the staff at the Longfin set up what he called his knock-off flat fall and 160lb leader. He also had the Thunderbird crew check his drag and complete setup. Who knows what would have happened had he not had the crew set the drag correctly the first time. Larry also had some fray in his line which could have been what broke off Tony Marino’s fish. We were 2 for 3 on the giants. It would have been a different story had the seasoned Thunderbird crew not been there for Larry. Hats off to the crew! I have never fished on the Thunderbird, but I was highly impressed from start to finish. BTW, Captain Brian made sure that the crew Bluefin was given to all the passengers and Larry gave 1/2 of his giant BFT to the rest of the passengers too, so we all went home with a lot of fillet!! That was a very classy move. BTW, the crew noticed that a clip on Walker’s set up was undone, but he still landed it. A bullet was dodged on that one.
A few anglers fished for the Bluefin while Larry was on his fish. Steve was correct in that we only had one quick shot in the morning and we hooked three fish. Brian decided to make a move to the backside of San Clemente to chase the Yellowtail. It was about 8:30am and we made our move. It was a slow pick for the rest of the day. We ended up with 12 quality 15 to 20lb Yellowtail. All but 1 Yellowtail were caught on bait. Walt Galen caught a yellow on the bottom with a jig. Valarie Handzus and Mark Montgomery ended up with two yellowtail each.

Mark Ross had the big yellowtail of the day at 23lbs. Tom Handzus caught a 5.3lb Barracuda. There were a few exotics caught too. We ended up running up the entire backside of the island and finished the day closer to the Island. Brian pointed the boat to home and off we went.
None of the FIB’ers have ever seen Bluefin this big caught. These types of memories will go with us forever. It was truly an honor to watch these battles live and fish with a great group of people. Every FIB’er on the trip were an absolute pleasure to fish with. The crew was great from start to finish. I can’t wait to make some Poke out of the tuna and grill up some of the Yellowtail. Until the next time, tight lines!