Thursday, February 13, 2014

13-Day Accurate American Angler Trip (Jan 8-21, 2014)



The Accurate sponsored 13-day trip on the American Angler got away eary in the morning.  Checkin was at 6 AM and we pulled away from the dock at 7 AM.  We loaded up on the healthiest batch of 6-8 inch sardines from the receivers and headed south (thank you Everingham Bros. Bait Co).  These sardines were so big, I used a larger circle hook.



Which one do you want to use?


Accurate supplied "lots of" Accurate reels and Calstar provided the latest rail rods in the 770 and 775 series.  This makes for a very formidable combination for landing cows.  The reels are all loaded with Izorline spectra and Izorline also provided mono and fluorocarbon top shots for these outfits.  (The tuna didn’t have a chance.)  The JP photo shows 1st place to Steve Heffner (242#), 2nd place to Matt Bruce (232#) and 3rd place to Ron Bryan (231#) along with skipper Brian Kiyohara.




1st Steve Heffner 242#, 2nd Matt Bruce 232#, 3rd Ron Bryan 231#

Steve also won the Accurate trophy for the big fish of the trip


Accurate t-shirts were passed out to all passengers and crew.  My friend Ernie Seko provided custom built line keepers for fluorocarbon spools.  Quite simple, effective and ingenious.  Everyone loved them.  We had a raffle after every seminar.  Baja Fish Gear provided gift cards for their shop,  Bill Roecker provided calendars, videos and a copy of his “At the Rail” long range book, jigs from Salas, spectra washing spools from Swifty Mfg.,Mustad hooks, connection glue from BSI, line products from Izorline, trolling lures from Halco, Maui Jim sunglasses provided discount vouchers and upgrade reel parts from Accurate.



When not rigging outfits, the passengers were all tuning up their “31” card game in preparation of the “31” tournament on the ride home. 

We fished the buffer zone at Clarion Island for 4.5 days.  The fishing was so good that after 2 days we were cutting off tunas under 100#.  The next day, we raised the minimum size to 140# and on the 5th day the cut off was “cow” or better.  We kept 5 fish on the 5th day morning and then left one day early to give Cedros a try.  We did this 2 years ago and it was a blast.  This trip ended with 16 cows and the boat plugged with the “good size” tuna.  We only managed a dozen yellowtail but we caught and released many large calicos.   I’ll let the photos speak for the details of the trip.  You can tell that everyone was having a great time.  


Matt Salas won the Calstar 775 XXXH rod daily prize for day one with a 215# cow.  On day 2, Pat Jr. won a Accurate sweatshirt for his 232# yft.  The biggest fish for day 3 and 4 won a Accurate Boss reel and Matt Bruce was the lucky angler with a 232.5# tuna.  On day 5, Steve Heffner took the prize of a Maui Jim sunglass voucher for 70% off with a trip jackpot winning 243# yft.  Steve was also the winner of the Accurate trophy.  Harvey Rosen received a 50% off Maui Jim sunglass voucher just for his enthusiasm for the sunglasses.  



Matt Salas won a Calstar 777XXXH for his 215# tuna

Jr. won a sweatshirt for the big fish for the day

Seth got a sweatshirt for releasing the most fish

Matt Bruce won the Boss Reel with his 232# YFT


Steve and Harvey got the Maui Jim sunglass voucher











The "Final 6" in the "31" Tournament
On the trip home we held the 2nd annual “31 Foldem Bitches” card tournament.  We had one and a half day of qualification play with 24 passengers and crew participating.  (It is really cool that we can compete with the crew members and really expand the bonding process.)  The semi-finals reduced the field from 12 to the final 6.  The 6 finalist were Taro, Mac Beare, Steve Heffner, Leon Bundy, John Flocken and myself.  Congratulations to the winner Leon Bundy (received a Accurate plier, sheath and lanyard) and runner-up Mac Beare (received a Accurate t-shirt). 

Mato made a sweatshirt for the "31" Tournament











The "31" Tournament.  Winner: Leon Bundy,  2nd: Mac Beare

















Thank you to all the passengers, crew and sponsors for making this a very successful trip.  Next year this trip will grow by one day to become a 14-day trip.  I am looking forward to fishing with everyone again next year.  I hope to see you all at the Fred Hall show in Long Beach.  Stop by the Accurate, Calstar and Izorline booth.  I will be at one of them every day of the show. 

Gary Teraoka 






Taro "wrenching" on a "good one"

Steve, that is a "big one"

"Rail Shot"

Go Drew, Go Drew, the clock is ticking
Bobby in charge of the bait

"Tiny" Josh

Wally, "license and registration please"

Harvey, are we having fun?
Hey Captain, "where did you get the nice fishing gear"

My buddy Drew, Brian is fishing with the "good stuff" in the background
Ron, are you smiling because of the tuna or the beer?

Joe, fishing with smokes and a drink, "really"

Way to go Jr.  Dad got the big one last year, you got the big one this year

Cameron thinking about what John has hooked

Tom and I looking for a bite
Matt showing us how to use a Salas jig

Darrell, uses the same fishing stance as Gary G. (below)

Gary using the same fishing stance as Darrell (above)

Nice Calico Darrell, especially on a "Cow" tuna trip
Sr. showing off the "349" style on a small fish (200#)

Mac having fun
Bill, nice hat, matches the reel

"Nice one" coming over the rail

Sr., that fish is so big you need a bigger t-shirt

"get-um"  John

John concentrating, don't bother him now

John getting wahoo ready

Tom threw the outfit in on a back-up and got if back (now he gets to change the bearings)

Brother Ed on a "good one"

Cameron yanking on one for the crew speed contest

Matt has the best outfit for the "31" game

Seth, modeling his Baja Fish Gear T-shirt

Joe,Wally and Seth

Leon, John, Bill, John, Ed

Tom, Mac, Ron, Steve, Pat Jr., Pat Sr.

Matt, Jerry, Harvey, Matt, Darrell
Leon having fun
"Screen Saver" sunset at Clarion Island

Saturday, February 1, 2014

Installing a Torpedo Sinker with a Rubberband

The following sequence of photos describes how to install a torpedo sinker to the line (with the hook already tied to the line).  This method allows the torpedo to be moved up (towards the rod or down towards the hook).  The rubber band can quickly be cut to remove the sinker.  I learned this method from the crew of the American Angler on my January 2014 Accurate sponsored trip.  This is a really simple and quick method, it can be moved to any spot on the line and it can be removed even quicker than you can install it (simply cut the rubber band).

I hope you find this useful.  It is a great and simple method to use when the birds are picking off every surface bait.  The torpedo sinker does not bounce around and is less likely to get caught on other lines in the water.  

Thanks for viewing my blog,
Gary Teraoka


1. You can add a torpedo sinker to line with hook tied
2. Loop rubber band around line

3. Pull rubberband tight on line
4. Push rubber band through upper eye of torpedo sinker


5. Push sinker close to line
6. Push rubber band through bottom eye of sinker
7. Push hook through loop at end of rubber band

8. Pull hook through rubber band loop and pull line tight
9. Sinker can be moved up or down the line and cut off