Fishing with Gary Teraoka

3 Hook Yummy Flyer

2011-12-29T01:11:00.000-08:00

I just rigged up a yummy flyer for my up coming Accurate sponsored 12 day trip on the American Angler (Jan 6-18, 2012). Here are some photos. I used a 10/0 Mustad 7691 tuna hook on the bottom, 9/0 Mustad 7691 for the back/top hook and a 5X strong Owner 5/0 Stinger-76 treble behind the tail. Thanks to Dennis Yamamoto for shipping the 5X strong Owner Stinger-76 hook to Accurate for me. Most people can only find the 4X strong (which has landed big tuna), but the 5X is the one you want for this application. All the hooks are cabled to the eye of the 10/0 hook with 275# stranded wire. The main line is also 275# wire with a solid ring. I used wire for the internal connections because it takes up less space. I used wire coming out of the yummy because I hope it will survive a Wahoo attack and be reusable for a big tuna. My kite outfit (or big bait/long soak outfit) will have a swiveled escape proof clip for quick attachment and change out.

I wanted to thank Baja Fish Gear in Lomita, CA for supplying me with the correct wire and crimps from their extensive big game lure building section in their shop.

This looks promising. I will let you know how it worked, if I get a chance to use it and if it gets bit.

Thanks for checking out my 3 hook yummy flyer.

Gary Teraoka

Accurate ATD Super 12

2011-11-19T02:10:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to share with all of you the latest modification that I am trying out with the Accuate ATD-12 reel for fishing cows. There are basically two modifications that I made to the ATD-12. I installed the gear set from the ATD-30 and used the arm and handle from the ATD-30. This lowers the high speed and low speed gear ratios from 5:1 and 2.2:1 down to 4:1 and 1.7:1. The longer arm from the ATD-30 gives you more leverage for turning the handle and the new knob has the offset. Here are some photos of thenew parts and the stock ATD-12 reel disassembled down to where the new gear set is installed. Simple!

New gear set from the ATD-30. Pinion, high speed drive gear (larger) and low s

peed drive gear.

New handle assembly with longer arm and offset knob.

Stock ATD-12 disassembled to the point where you can install the new gear set. (Piece of cake to put it back together.)

One limitation that I discovered is that you can not make this conversion on the early production ATD-12 (black silk screened writing on the frame/side plate, like reel in the photo above). The machining of the right side plate does not allow enough clearance for the ATD-30 pinion to clear the side plate. Newer production (laser writing on the frame/side plate) will accommodate the larger ATD-30 pinion.

Why consider doing this? This will give you a lower gear ratio for dealing with the cows. The smaller ATD-12 reel is very easy to hold on to and fish all day at the rail. As far as line capacity for cow fishing, I use 450 yds of Izorline 100# spectra (either hollow or solid) plus 70 yds of Izorline 135# hollow spectra. I then finish it with 19 ft of Izroline 100# fluorocarbon and my nub connection. This fluorocarbon actually breaks at 124.5# making the perfect smallest fluorocarbon that you want to fish for Cows and Super Cows with. The 135# spectra is to support the fluorocarbon connection and so you can put the drag to full when you get the big fish within 200 ft from the gaffs.

This is just something I have been playing with and found to be kind of interesting. Definitely a choice to consider during the slow or pick bite. I re-calibrated the drag pre-set so I can use 33# at strike and 47# at full. If that is not enough, I squeeze the spool with my left hand. If you are interested in converting your reel, I suggest that you convert it when you send it in to Accurate for service. This should save you installation cost (just pay for the new parts). Contact Accurate ahead of time to coordinate any change like this, as they will have to have a spare ATD-30 gear set in stock.

If you are interested in purchasing a new ATD "Super 12", Baja Fish Gear has sold several of them and can help you purchase one of these reels with all the upgrades straight from the factory. (This will save you the cost of purchasing an ATD-30 gear set in addition to the cost of the ATD-12.) Baja Fish Gear's owner (Ed T.) fishes with one himself. Feel free to post a comment on this blog if you have questions.

Here is one additional parting thought. If you want a very fast (high speed) ATD-30, the higher gear ratio gear set from the ATD-12 can be put into the ATD-30. This will give you a 5:1 ATD-30 (for the Salas 6X or 6X jr yoyo set up for yellowtail, not Cows).

Thanks for checking this out,

Gary

September 18 - 20, 2011 Izorline Sponsored First String Trip Report

2011-09-27T22:54:00.000-07:00

The Izorline sponsored 2-day trip on the First String left the docks promptly at 9 PM and headed for the off shore fishing grounds. On the travel out towards the 100 mile region, I was able to describe the latest Izorline products and raffle off some prizes. Izorline provided line for filling reels for all the passengers, ¼ lb spools of XXX line, rolls of flex-wrap, Salas provided jigs, Baja Fish Gear provided gift cards, and I provided custom ringed Mustad hooks.

Owner/skipper Bradley Phillips put on a couple of kelps in the morning that produced a good catch of small to medium size yellowtails. Everyone was pretty happy. On the next patty we caught several nice dorados. Check out the dorado photos of 8-year old Holly with her father Chris and Marice. Wan is shown pulling on the jackpot dorado for the first day of fishing. Wan was telling me how much she loves fishing and she dragged her husband on this fishing trip. “You go girl",the rest of us guys should be so lucky.

Skipper Bradley used his fishing sense to decide to stay out at 110 miles the first night because he liked the signs he saw and thought it was our best chance at bluefin tuna. Well, he was right. Just before gray light, we got our first bluefin on a jig. Everyone that won a Sala 6X Jr the day before was giving it a try. Hot stick on the bluefin was Steve. Here Steve (right) is posing with crew members Mike (center) and Alex (aka Tai).

The Izorline “lunker award” trophy went to David Joe from Pasadena for the largest bluefin of the trip. David was on his first tuna trip and I don’t think it will be his last. He was really stoked and his brother and father were there to share the joy with him.

At the end of the trip, I had the privilege of handing out the awards. David Joe with the Izorline trophy, second place to John Valentine (Izorline shirt), third place to Wan Hasenstab (rolls of XXX line), our inspirational angler Holly Slater with the highly coveted Izorline visor, myself and skipper Bradley Phillips. Everyone had a great time. Thank you to the First String owner and crew for a great trip.

Originally this trip was scheduled to be a 4-day trip and was cut back to 2-days. I hope you can all make the trip again next year. Try to save up enough vacation to keep the trip the full 4-days and we can fish further south and get into the larger model fish. Thanks to all the passengers for coming aboard the First String on this Izroline sponsored trip.

Gary Teraoka

July 26 - 31, 2011 American Angler 5-Day Trip

2011-08-12T23:52:00.000-07:00

The annual Harry and Roger 5-day trip on the American Angler started with high expectations as we were going to Guadalupe (after a one year absence). The results met all of our expectations as we had over one hundred large YFT from 50# to 100# and over 50 premium yellowtails from 25# to 40#. A big thank you to Lori Patella for doing all of the paperwork in time to allow our trip to be the first American Angler trip to Guadalupe this year. Great planning Lori !

The check-in at Ensenda, as well as the check-out at Ensenada went very smoothly and only took 30-45 minutes each. The problem is that going to Ensenada eliminates a fishing option if your primary fishing location does not work out. We did really well at Guadalupe so this was not a big factor for this trip but could be for other 5-day trip. Don’t be surprised if 5-day trips become 6-day trips, to preserve the ability to fish a second option.

This annual trip started many years ago as a charter but now we usually have a few openings which allows for new passengers to join us. One of these passengers was Charlie Osaki. Charlie brought his son Trevor on his first long-range trip. Trevor fished like a seasoned veteran. Here is a photo of Trevor with one of his many unassisted catches. Great job Trevor!

Whitney joined the American Angler crew at the beginning of the year. Here she is showing off her Baja Fish Gear shirt while making the salads. Our chef Paul is also new crew member of the American Angler and did an outstanding job of feeding us fantastic meals.

For those that do not know our chartermasters, here are Harry and Roger working on their respective YFTs.

Rick Endo shows off one of the many premium yellowtails we landed. These were really nice size YFT and yellowtails.

Matt Salas (Salas Lures) joined us and provided all the passengers with the latest surface jigs. Thanks Matt. Here is a photo of Matt in action showing us how to use one of his jigs on a good size yellowtail.

One of Calstar’s newest rods is a Graphiter 875H. This is a 7.5 ft long rod that works really well with either 40# or 50# fluorocarbon for the 50# to 100# YFT at Guadalupe. I used an Accurate BX2-500 spooled with 400 yds of 65# Izorline spectra and 10 ft of 50# Izorline fluorocarbon. I was able to use this same piece of fluorocarbon for 5 YFT and a yellowtail. Here is a picture of my first tuna of the trip, a 75# YFT.

Calstar provided a loaner 875H rod for this trip. I put one of my Accurate 2-speed reels on the rod and made it available for any passenger to use. Greg Young used this outfit to land a 95.5# YFT, good for 2^nd place jackpot.

Jay Love took first place with a 101.5# YFT and I was able to land an 81.5# YFT onthe last day for 3^rd place. Lee Ann received an honorable mention for her 83# YFT.

As with many trips to Guadalupe, we had the tax man (great white shark) visit us on the 3^rd day. We were fortunate to only lose 3 fish to the tax man. Charlie Osaki’s tuna was one of the victims. Check out all that was left of Charlie’s tuna. Just the head standing up on the deck.

We took the obligatory group photo on the bow of the boat while waiting for US customs at 5 am in the morning. I want to thank Baja Fish Gear (Lomita, CA) for giving every passenger a store gift card, rod wrap cords, and an on-line discount card. Thank you to Salas Lures for providing every passenger with the latest surface jigs. Thank you to Calstar for providing a loaner 875H rod that was very appropriate for this type of tuna fishing. Thank you to Lori Patella and the American Angler crew for running a top-notch operation. The crew’s ability to save all the fish in multiple fish tangles is probably the best in the industry. I also have to mention the phenomenal RSW system they have developed in their fish holds but their ability to quickly remove the guts and gills of each tuna makes the sashimi grade tuna the envy of even sushi restaurants. My friends are still thanking me for fresh tuna that exceeds anything they can buy at the fish market or get at a sushi restaurant. I hope to see you all next year on this same trip.

Thanks for checking out my blog report.

Feel free to leave a comment if you have any questions.

Gary Teraoka

Accurate American Angler Trip (Jan 6-17, 2011)

2011-01-24T22:43:00.000-08:00

The annual Accurate sponsored 10.5 day American Angler trip left for the southern off-shore fishing area (typically 14 to 16 day area) on January 6, 2011. This trip was designed for fishing “the beach” (lower Baja coast above Cabo San Lucas). Credit must be given to the American Angler for burning the extra fuel and actually making it a 11 day trip, with no additional charge to the passengers. The American Angler really does what it takes to give all of us a chance to catch a big fish and have a great time. We left the bait receiver with the best bait that I have ever seen. Having 9 inch sardines allowed us to use larger hooks which results in very few pulled or broken hooks.

This trip on the American Angler is like an annual family reunion. You look forward to seeing friends that you met the year before. Check out all the smiles in the group photo with Joe’s 247#.

We had the additional pleasure of having a great group of guys from Washington and Oregon. These guys are really hardcore fishermen and we traded great stories with them. We are looking forward to seeing these guys again next year (at the family reunion).

Four lucky anglers were able to land cows on this trip. Jackpot fish were landed by Mark Johnson 287#, Joe Machado 247# and Jeff Norwood 210#. The other cow was landed by John Yarbrough 206#. The rest of us all landed YFT from 125# to 180#. What a great trip, everyone landed at least one big fish.

Joe hooked his fish at dark and his brand new ATD-30T had to go for a swim. At lease it was supported by a great back up outfit (ATD-80). Check out Joe’s style of fishing the back up (I missed the photo with both a beer and a cigarette while sitting down). The paparazzi (passengers with cameras) were running back and forth following Joe when the 247# was at color.

Accurate provided 40 reels and rods for the passengers to test drive for the entire trip. In addition, Calstar provided 6 of their newest rail rods for the passengers to try out. Izorline provided fluorocarbon and spectra for rigging these outfits. Check out these photos of the passengers having fun. Most were using an Accurate reel or Calstar railrod, or both. The hot set up was a ATD-30, 100# Izorline fluorocarbon and a 770XXH. I was trying out a ATD-12 (with ATD-30 gear set, lower gear ratios) with 520 yds of 100# hollow and 135# Izorline spectra and 100# Izorline flurocarbon on a 770XXH. Really easy and comfortable to fish all day with. It did a great job on a180# and a 140# YFT.

I would like to thank Accurate Fishing Products for providing 40 loaner reels and rods along with a give-away Boss reel and other apparel, Izorline for fluorocarbon and spectra for making my “nub” connection, Calstar for loaning us their newest rail rods and providing a 770XXH blank for give-away, Baja Fish Gear for gift cards to all passengers, Bill Roecker’s FishingVideos for calendars, and a copy of his latest book “At the Rail”, FishworksProducts for beanies, Salas Lures for PL-68 glow jigs, and Mario Sportsman’s Seafood for tuna jerky and discounts on fish processing. If you are interested in joining us next year, contact the American Angler office as this trip is scheduled for Jan 6-17, 2012.

Thanks for reading my blog,

Gary Teraoka

Connection Glue

2011-01-02T01:43:00.000-08:00

I have received a number of questions on what glue I use for making my nub connections (see earlier posting on this blog). I use the INSTA-FLEX model from Bob Smith Industries. INSTA-FLEX is a cyanoacrylate (super glue) with just the right amount of flexibility additive to penetrate the spectra weave and bend around the reel spool without cracking. It is only available in a 1 oz bottle and retails for $5.95 (what a deal). The turquoise label color and cap color is unique for INSTA-FLEX (other versions have different names and different color labels).

An additional feature is that BSI also sells a 1/2 oz empty bottle as well as extra nozzles. I pour the amount of glue I need for the trip into the smaller bottle and store the larger bottle in the refrigerator (prolongs the shelf life). The shelf life (un-refrigerated is approximately 2 years). To deal with clogged nozzles, I buy extra cap/nozzles and always seal the bottle of glue with an nozzle that has not had it's tip cut open (acts as an air tight cap). If you examine the design of the cap/nozzle, it has a compression fitting which prevents the glue from getting on the threads and gluing the nozzle/cap to the bottle. One other feature is the cap is made of a material that can be soaked in Acetone. Acetone will release the glue and clean out the nozzle (if you soak it soon after use) so you can re-use the nozzle many times.

I suggest that you check out this glue yourself (at $5.95 for a 1 oz bottle) it will be the most inexpensive connection glue that you will probably buy and you will probably find that it is one of the best performing. With the extra nozzles and smaller empty bottle you will be able to actually use all of the glue.

I included a photo of the glue, 1/2 oz bottle and spare nozzles.

You can find INSTA-FLEX glue at many hobby shops. If you are in the Lomita, CA 90717 area, I have made arrangements with Pacific Coast Hobbies to stock sufficient supplies of INSTA-FLEX, spare nozzles and empty 1/2 oz bottles for your long range connection application. Just ask for the fishing glue that Gary uses. They will mail order this glue to you, as they are doing this for some of the long range boats. Their address and phone is:

Pacific Coast Hobbies

1747 Pacific Coast Hwy

Lomita, CA 90717

310.530-7127

If you happen to visit Pacific Coast Hobbies, I want to encourage you to visit Baja Fish Gear tackle shop. They have a tremendous shop with an impressive amount of inventory. They really understand the San Diego long range type of fishing. The owner Ed and

his employees fish on these trips so they have first hand knowledge. They also sell lots of Accurate reels, in several special order colors, and I have taught them how to make my nub connection for you. They have several great sales and seminars throughout the year. You can usually find me at these events to answer questions on connections, Accurate reels, Calstar rail rods and Izorline spectra/mono/fluorocarbon.

Baja Fish Gear

24603 Narbone Ave

Lomita, CA 90717

310.517-9899

Thanks for checking out my blog,

Gary Teraoka

Accurate 12-Day Red Rooster 3 Trip Report Nov 12-24, 2010

2010-12-02T22:31:00.000-08:00

The annual 12 day Accurate Fishing Products sponsored Red Rooster 3 trip left the docks and headed south on November 12, 2010. We first loaded the 4 top tanks and 2 large slammers with prime cured sardines, in hopes that the big cows will be waiting for our offerings. Jack Nilsen was the host for Accurate Fishing Products and supplied free loaner ATD and Boss reels for the passengers to use for the duration of the trip.

Jack was supported by 3 pro staffers (Leo Reihsen, Gary Gillingham and myself). If you have not fished with Jack before, you need to check out

one of his trips. They are more like a 12 day party that includes some really good fishing. There is always music blasting from the upper deck and the drinks are flowing 24hrs from the “Del Marsh Cantina” (because it is always happy hour somewhere in the world). The major prizes were provided by Accurate (two Boss reels and a Xtreme rod) and by Calstar (770XXH rail rod blank). In addition Calstar provided 6 of their newest rail rods as demos for the passengers. Izorline provided fluorocarbon, mono and spectra, Baja Fish Gear provided gift cards to all the passengers, Salas lures provide pl-68, 7X heavy and PDQ glow jigs for night tuna fishing. Fishworks provided a couple of beanies that came in handy during bait making and for hanging around the make shift bar on the upper deck.

We started fishing at the Morgan Bank. Good for 20 mid-size tuna, but not enough to make Capt. Andy Cates happy so we moved over to the Finger Bank. We got the jackpot fish at the finger (239# by Chris Stavaridis, 204# by Ernie Osuna and 195# by Al Walbridge), but Andy was still not satisfied so he made the call to go to Puerto Vallarta. What a gutsy call but it really paid off as we boated 60 YFT per day of the 125# to 160# size. Just to spice it up, there were a couple that were in the 180# class. The weather was perfect for the trip up until the time thatmost of the passengers got off at Cabo to fly home. The weather really came up on the trip home and I think those that rode home will consider flying home next year.

Many of the passengers took

advantage of the Accurate loaner reels and had great success landing these fish. With the additional Calstar railrods aboard, several of the anglers learned how to rail fish and I noticed that they were not using their harness at the end of the trip. This collection of passengers meshed very well together and openly shared information with each other. I have to mention the crew on the Red Rooster. They are truly an experienced long range boat crew. The Rooster is probably the most proficient boat at doing the “circus act” type balloon and kite fishing. These are some of the most effective way of hooking really big tuna.

This trip was like one big happy family get together where we also caught some really nice fish. We all met new friends, learned more about long range fishing, and I expect that a lot of the passengers will be returning next year so if you want in on this action, you better give the Red Rooster 3 office a call (and tell Christina that I said Hi).

Thanks for viewing my blog and good luck on your next trip,

Gary Teraoka

American Angler 5-Day Trip (July 27 - Aug 1, 2010)

2010-08-09T22:22:00.000-07:00

The annual Harry and Roger 5-day trip on the American Angler was skippered by Brian Kiyohara. The majority of the passengers are part of two charter groups that were combined several years ago. These guys have the reputation of the most rods in rocket launchers. We turned left at the point with a fantastic load of sardines. On the first day of fishing we were looking for tuna off shore around 130 miles south of San Diego. Our first hook-up was on a kelp paddy. It was a good luck, bad luck, good luck situation. I hooked the first fish of the trip (good luck), a miss-step due to the rough seas resulted in my rod and reel going overboard with the yellowtail on the hook (bad luck), but 2^nd ticket Ray took over Tony Contreras’ rod and snagged the line of my lost rod and reel (good luck). Besides getting my Accurate BX2-500N and custom rod back I also got the yellowtail on the boat.

For his role in retrieving my rod and reel from the lost depths of the ocean, the fish gods rewarded Tony Contreras with a first place jackpot fish. Tony hooked and landed a 126 lb Opah (moon fish). Since this was the only fish hooked at that time, Tony had a paparazzi of spectators with cameras recording his catch. Here is my photo of Tony.

The second day of fishing was at the Cedros for yellowtails. We were able to catch nice size yellows the entire day. Ben Kawata caught the largest yellowtail at 33 lbs and Gordon Toguchi got the 3^rd place 29 lb yellowtail. We had so much fun that we all

had trip limits in one day. Since the weather was bad and the tuna fishing not promising, we elected to catch a stringer of reds on the 3^rd morning. That afternoon and on the last day of fishing we looked offshore for tuna. The weather improved greatly but the albacore fishing did not. We got a couple of Albacore for our efforts. All the passengers had a great time and great service from the American Angler crew. We can’t wait for next year when we do it again.

As for the reel that went for a swim, I fished the Accurate BX2-500N for the rest of the trip with no

change in performance and took it all apart after I got home. I thoroughly cleaned the drag washers, dried out the internal parts, lubed and reassembled the reel. The reel is ready to go fishing again.

Thanks for checking out my blog,

Gary Teraoka Pro Staff for Accurate Reels and Izorline

3-Day Izorline Trip on the First String (July 11-14, 2010)

2010-07-16T00:03:00.000-07:00

At 10pm all 25 passengers were all on board and the First String took off for a 3-days off-shore fishing. Izorline provided 2 bulk spools of its popular "First String" mono (25# and 40#) for the passengers to load onto their reels in anticipation of fishing for albacore, bluefin and yellowtail. In addition, I provided a raffle prize for each angler. These included personal spools of Izorline mono, Izorline fluorocarbon, Izorline's XXX line (new supermono), Flex Rap, Swifty line remover, jigs from Salas lures, gift certificates from Baja Fish Gear (Lomita, CA), and custom ringed Mustad 94150 hooks. The passengers were shown how to connect fluorocarbon to mono, how to connect mono to spectra and simple mono to hook knots.

We started fishing the next morning approximately 60 miles south of San Diego. The weather was up and the fish were down. After a long day of trying hard we had a handful of albacore on board. I have to give a lot of credit to Scotty for manning the crows nest all day long in the rough seas. Not only does it really rock up there, it is really tough to find fish in the choppy white cap seas. Based upon information from the long range fleet, skippers Brad and Mark decided to make the long run down to 190 miles. The next morning we started looking for the tuna. Although the fishing was slow, the highlight of the day was a 4 fish jig strike.

On the way home, the crew was cutting the albacore that was kept in the very cold brine spray (not frozen). Passenger Victoria Tamblyn was on her first multiday fishing trip and helped out the crew. Check out Victoria in the orange slickers along with crew members Sal and Patrick.

Izorline honors the largest fish caught using Izorline. On this trip, the First String uses 80# Izorline mono so all troll fish were eligible. Koji Tanaka from Japan was the winner of the lunker award trophy. Charlie Need had the second biggest fish and received a Izorline hat. Victoria received a hat for being the inspirational angler (and honorary crew member).

I want to thank the First String for allowing Izorline on board for this

trip. I want to thank the passengers who were in great spirts all trip long and always ready to get their bait into the water. Izorline will be running two more trips on the First String in 2010. I hope you can join Izorline on the First String on either Aug 1 and/or Aug 31.

Gary Teraoka

Pro Staff for Izorline and Accurate Reels

December 2009 10-Day Red Rooster 3 Trip Sponsored by Izorline, CalStar and Accurate

2010-01-03T01:33:00.000-08:00

The trip left with 23 anxious anglers trying to anticipate what lies ahead at the “big fish area” along the beach just above Cabo San Lucas. As the Rooster headed south, generous amounts of prizes were given away to the passengers from Izorline, CalStar, Accurate, Salsa Lures, Eagle Claw hooks, Smitty Belt Rigging Needles, Maui Jim Sunglasses, and more.

Pro-staffer Norm Fujimoto represented Izroline and CalStar while I took care of the Accurate loaner reels.

We spent 2 and half days anchored up at the big fish area picking at the numerous tuna around the boat. With the wind and the sea acting like it was mad at us, it was a slow pick bite with a lot of fish around the boat. Bill Falls easily landed a 237# kite fish on the boat’s ATD-80 reel, CalStar rod and Izorline spectra and mono (photo of Bill standing up the cow). The other big fish was a 332# super cow landed by Dana Sterling flylining a sardine (photo with fish too big to pick up). Bob Michener pulled the hook on a really good one. With the hooking and catching very slow, Andy decided that we needed to make a change and so we pulled the hook and headed for Alijos Rocks.

After we had enough YFT, we headed to Cedros for yellowtail. We looked for home guard big yellows but could only find the small to mid size units. We had fun with the 2 oz sinker rigs and surface & heavy jigs. (Photo of Joe D'Acquisto and Norm Fujimoto with a CalStar jig stick, new Accurate BX2-500 and a Tady surface iron) Now that the weather settled down we had a very smooth leisurely cruise back to the barn.In one and a half days, we filled one RSW fish hold with mid grade YFT, a wahoo and a few yellowtails. Everyone had a great time yanking and cranking on these filler fish. The kite was wide open. We went through the full rotation more than two times in one day.

Besides having a good time and catching all the fish we needed to take home and share with family and friends, we all made new friends and acquaintances. We shared fishing stories and non-fishing stories. I have to include the Rooster crew in these story-sharing episodes, as they were all very personable and participated in some of the playful pranks. The long distance award goes to David Nunez who traveled from Tokyo, Japan to be on this trip. (Photo of David testing out an Accurate reel and a CalStar Graphiter rod.)

The last photo is a group shot of most of the happy anglers with Cedros Island in the background.

This trip is on the Red Rooster 3 schedule again next year. In addition, Izorline, CalStar and Accurate run other trips on the Red Rooster 3 throughout the season. Check the Red Rooster 3 schedule on the web (www.redrooster3.com) and call Linda or Christina at the Rooster office to sign up (619) 224-3857. You can leave me comments or questions on this blog.

Hope to see you on one of these future trips,

Gary Teraoka

Pro-Staff for Accurate Reels and Izorline

Nail Knot "Nub" Connection Status, October 2009

2009-10-20T23:54:00.000-07:00

It is time to get ready for the 2009/2010 long range trips. I hope the COWs show up in big number soon. (The Q-105 got some at the Hurricane and Rooster is heading there right now.) In case some of you are thinking about mono to spectra connections to use on these trip, here is the latest data on my “nub” connection that uses spectra nail knots (see my earlier posting for the concept of my “nub” and nail knot connection.)

I have spent over 6 months developing the strongest way to install the nub on the mono. The final result is that you can put 174# of tension on Izorline 135# First String mono before the nub will start to slip on the mono. This is key to an effective nub and it is also the reason that you can use my connection multiple times.

More testing at Izoline showed me that my nub connection is a 100% connection without the Chinese finger trap. To test this on a real fish, I asked Brian Sims from the Royal Star (April 2009 tagging trip) to test some special connections that had virtually no Chinese finger trap insertion of the mono into the hollow spectra. Brian (and the Royal Star crew) landed 6 tuna in the 100# to 150# class as well as 15 sharks on the same connection. The connection started out with 45 ft of Izorline 135# mono and Brian fished and re-fished it until there was 4 ft of mono left. He had similar results with two other special wind-ons with no Chinese finger trap. This on ocean testing validated to me that my Izorline lab testing results were correct. Bottom line is that I can make a nail knot nub connection that is 100% strong and can be used multiple times without the Chinese finger trap holding mechanism.

Please keep in mind that using my nail knots alone is a very risky situation, as it has no room for error. (Like a flying trapeze act without a safety net.) If any part of the nail knots were not installed exactly right, the connection may slip. If anything damages a critical part of the nail knot while fighting the fish, the connection will probably fail. Knowing how each part of my connection behaves under all conditions is necessary to design a very effective connection system. My design approach is to know what the contribution of each part is and whether it is a primary or secondary contribution.

So what does this mean to my connection? It means that the insertion of the mono into the spectra is for margin of safety. I have previously found that between 6 and 12 inches of insertion (for 135# Izorline mono into 200H Izorline spectra) is a 100% connection. The problem with only inserting 12 inches is that with most other connection techniques, the loading and re-loading of the line will induce a small amount of slippage from each re-loading of the line. This is one reason why you may end up having less than the required 12 inches of insertion and that is why most riggers use between 3ft and 5 ft of insertion. With my “nub”, I preclude all creep type of slippage on re-loading and so if I start out with 12 inches, I end up with 12 inches. Sorry to get carried away with my microscopic observations but this observation was what drove me to come up with the nub. I still recommend that everyone use between 2 ft and 3 ft of insertion to provide 200% to 300% margin of safety.

Right now I am working on how to reduce some of the excess margin of safety so that my connection can be made quicker. Sorry, but this is not just the simple act of shorter insertion length. I am evaluating some faster nail knot installation techniques.

Come join me on one of my long range trips and your can ask questions, ask about my latest findings and try out one of these connection that I can custom make for you. (You tell me how you fish and whether you plan on re-using the connections more than once.) I am running the Accurate Reel sponsored 10.5-day trip on the American Angler (Jan 5, 2010). I am trying to clear my calendar at work so that I can be on December 11, 2009 Izorline Red Rooster 3 trip. Check with the Red Rooster office.

Thanks for reading about the latest on my nail knot nub connection,

Gary Teraoka

American Angler 5-Day (July 27 - Aug 1, 2009)

2009-08-23T00:21:00.000-07:00

I was on the annual Harry Yamada/Roger Kuramoto 5-day trip (July 27 – Aug 1, 2009) on the American Angler, skippered by co-owner Brian Kiyohara. This trip is made up mostly of passengers from a charter group that formed many years ago. These guys really know how to fish and the results reflects the skill of the anglers combined with the skill of the American Angler crew to locate the fish.

We went straight to the southern end of Guadalupe Island and fished for the larger yellowfin tuna. We were able to put 100 of the 40# to 70# YFT in the RSW that first afternoon. Pretty good for a half day of fishing. Each of these large YFT were gutted and gilled before being placed into the 29 deg. RSW. My parents, family, and friends continue to comment on how Sushi quality the tuna was.

On the second day at Lupe we put another 100 YFT on the boat by noon. With plenty of the big YFT in the RSW we left the southern end and fished for yellowtail near Latitude bay. We were able to land 100 yellowtails in under 2 hours. The biggest yellowtail was 34# and landed by our chef Paul.

On the way to the southern end of Guadalupe, Kub Ito was trolling with the right stuff (wired mediun black and purple Yo Zuri). Kub landed a big wahoo (60# class) and graciously donated it to the galley for dinner. Thanks Kub, it was delicious.

After the successful YFT and yellowtail catching at Guadalupe, we wanted to try for bluefin tuna. At our evening family meeting we found out that we were going to fish off-shore tomorrow for bluefin and albacore.

Andy Cates (Red Rooster3) shared a school of YFT and BFT with us. We landed around 20 of the 30# - 40# BFT. On the last day of fishing, most of us were not looking to keepanything, but you know how that goes. We had a mix of small YFT, good size BFT, small yellows, and some dorados. (Photos of Roger in the orange slickers with his BFT; Dr. Ben Kawata, John Liu and Dr. Mike Uyeki with nice tuna.)

The jackpot fish were all caught at Lupe. I was fortunate to have a 105# YFT bite my bait while using the newest Accurate boss reel (BX2-500). I used 65# Izorline spectra and 25 ft of Izroline 40# fluorocarbon. Tony (the Harley ridding big boy) Contreras had a 71# YFT for second and John Liu was a close third with a 70# YFT.

This annual trip is always fun to be on due to the fishermen playing jokes on each other but always working together to land every fish hooked. We had very few hooked fish lost due to tangles and attribute this to the effectiveness of the “controlled free spool” that is used on the American Angler (no tension, no cut off lines). The crew has always been very good at locating fish so it is not surprising that we had such a great fish count. This trip is on the American Angler schedule next year at the end of July 2010. Thank you to Harry Yamada and Roger Kuramoto for doing a great job organizing this trip every year (All photos were taken by the American Angler camera.)

American Angler Long Range Trip

2009-02-10T08:07:00.001-08:00

The 2009 Accurate sponsored American Angler trip left Point Loma at 6 PM on Jan 5 for 10.5 days of the most beautiful weather that I have ever experienced on a long range fishing trip. By leaving in the evening the logistic of the traveling time works out that we get to fish 6 days at the lower banks above Cabo San Lucas, in search of the large Yellowfin tuna. Accurate Fishing Products supplied 40 ATD and Boss two speed reels along with Cal Star and Seeker rods for all passengers to use during the trip. All reels have either Izorline, Blackwater or JB spectra so the passengers are only responsible for the top shot on the outfit(s) that they borrow.

With generous prizes provided by Accurate, Izorline, Pelagic, Smitty Belts, Baja Fish Gear, Yo’s Custom Rods, Salas Lures and Fishing Videos, I started giving away prizes to all passengers from the very first night. These included 6X Jr Salas Jigs for all, 2009 Calenders from Fishing Videos for all, Accurate T-shirts for all and gift cards from Baja Fish Gear for all. Izorline provided a 2KG spool of 135# blue First String mono for all the passengers to use and is the perfect mono to make top shots for the 2-speed Accurate reels. This is the line you want to be using for the best chance of successfully landing the 200# plus yellowfin tuna. In addition, we held drawings for Pelagic hats and shirts, Izorline spectra and XXX line, Accurate upgrade reel handles, and some very special mono/spectra rigging tools.

I usually have a Daily Derby prize for the biggest fish, but I wanted the passengers to be able to use some of the prizes on this trip so I awarded some Daily Derby prizes before the fishing began. Jim Stein won a set of hollow splicing needles donated by Smitty Belts. Dr. Corey, Burak, Feliz Weaver, Jim Hart, Joe Gigliotti and Ted Williams were the lucky winners of Pelagic gloves.

On the morning of the 3rd day, we arrive at the upper end of the 300# bank. It didn’t take long for the crew to spot “blackies” that were holding big tuna. Skipper Brian Kiohara put the boat in position and the rest was up to us. The big fish results for the first day was Ted Windham 232#, Jeff Price 240#, Jim Hart 196# on a Accurate 30, Harvey Rosen 124# on a Accurate 50, and Jim Stein 185#. We also boated two wahoo (one with a pink Salas 6X jr).

On the 2nd day of fishing, we woke up with fish under the boat. Randy Rich landed the first tuna before sunup. Dr. Corey Burak landed the big fish for the day, which was 267#. Corey also landed a 182# YFT using a Blue/White Salas 6X jig and 60# Izorline mono. Thanks to crew member Bobby (aka Bubbles) for giving Corey a hand with the less than minimum standard equipment on that fish. Ray Coombs landed a 137# kite tuna and Fred Best had a 140# kite fish.

The next day skipper Brian put us on a lot of fish but it was real tough to get a bite. Dan Spiegel landed the biggest fish of the day (126#) and won the Daily Derby prize of a Accurate Boss reel. Fred Best landed a 114# for second best of the day.

On the 4th fishing day, we anchored up on the Morgan Bank to try for some of the more nominal size tuna. We all hooked and landed several of the 30# to 100# tunas and had a great time. Jeff Price had the big fish for the day (100# YFT) and won the Daily Derby of a $50 certificate towads a custom rod from Yo’s. Dan Speigle used a dropper loop to land several Tan Grouper and a outstanding 43# yellowtail.

On the 5th fishing day, it was back to Lucitania bank looking for the giants. Now we were fishing with the Royal Star. Together both boats were able to get on schools of Cows that were blowing completely out of the water. Unfortunately they were chasing schools of squid and did not pay much attention to our choice sardines or mackeral. We did manage to get a few Cows to make a mistake. Joe Gigliotti 180#, Joe El-Deiry 227#, Joe Cribben 174#, (at this point I was going to change my name to Joe) Dan Spiegle 208# and Felix Weaver 279 (the largest fish of the trip). Since you can only win on Daily Derby prize for the trip, Joe El-Deiry was the winner of a 2-speed Boss reel. Boy was Joe a happy camper.

On the last day of fishing, we decide to spend one more day trying to catch a fish of a lifetime. We saw Cows jumping out of the water all over the place. Even as close as 10 ft from the boat. At one stop, we all dropped in as Captain Brian slid the boat to a stop with a big heard of Cows jumping out of the water on the port side and crossing right over our baits. The two lucky anglers were Ron Volmer and Randy Rich. Scott Wolf hook the last fish after the smoke cleared. Large fish for the day went to Scott Wolf where he won Pelagic wear for the Daily Derby.

In summary, we landed 6 Cows and 9 big fish between 100# and 196#. The biggest fish for the trip was landed by Felix Weaver using a ATD-50W that was one of the loaner gear provided free on this trip. Everyone learned something new about fishing for the big tuna and the cooperation between the passengers was phenomenal. Many passengers that signed up by themselves had new friends when they walked off the American Angler 10.5 days later. We all had a great vacation and caught some big fish. I have to commend the American Angler staff for the fantastic job they did on; finding fish, line untangling, individualized big fish mentoring and delicious meals/snacks. Hope to see many of this years passengers next year as well as new passengers looking for a good time and a chance to use Accurate fishing products to land a fish of a lifetime.

Gary Teraoka
Accurate Pro-Staff

"Nub Connection" Test Results

2008-07-12T01:46:00.000-07:00

This is a follow-up to the “nub” connection that I described in my last blog. In this blog I will provide the test results of the “nub” connection that I have so far. Since this mono/spectra connection design is primarily for large mono, the test results are based on Izorline 135# First String mono connected to Izorline 200# hollow spectra.
I recommend that you insert the mono into the hollow spectra 5 feet (others use 3
feet with success, but I use 5 feet because it has been very successful for me). I made
up five test specimen connections with way less than 5 feet of insertion
(due to the limitation of the testing machine.) I tested
these five specimens on the same Izorline test machine that is used for the knot-tying contest at the Fred Hall show. In all five tests, the “nub” connection was a 100% connection with either the spectra or mono breaking. The breaking loads ranged from 170# to 196#. The spectra broke in four of the test, but in all four tests, the spectra broke where it was anchored to the test machine. On the test where the mono broke, I ran the load up gradually until I reached 183# and then stopped the test machine. As the mono stretched, the load reduced down to 140#. After 1 hr and 20 minutes, the mono broke d
ue to the necking down from the stretching over time.

The photo with the lavender background is one of the test

specimens. Notice the black mark on the mono. That was the point on the mono that was at the top of the red nail knot before being pulled. This indicates how much stretch the mono goes through (under 183#
of load). The wrinkled spectra between the dark green and red nail knot is an indication of how much more the mono stretches than the spectra. This also indicates that if you have more than one nail knot on top of the hollow spectra, at least one of them will have to slip to accommodate the difference in stretch between the mono and the spectra. This may indicate that you only want to use one nail knot (or crimp) on a connection. I am still evaluating this affect to determine if it is advisable to use more than one nail knot on the outside of the spectra.

As further verification of the “nub” connection, Accurate Pro Staff, Leo Reihsen tested a prototype “nub” connection on the Red Rooster 3 June Heat trip sponsored by Accurate. I installed this connection on an ATD 50 reel. Leo hook around 15 sharks and in his impatience he cranked the sharks to the boat with the reel drag at full (he did not care if anything broke, as it was not a tuna). Leo mailed the connection back to me and you can see what it looks like in the green background photo. Note that the connection looks very

similar to the test specimen with the wrinkled spectra. This connection did not fail. Leo replaced it because he did not understand the wrinkled spectra.

In an attempt to make further improvements to the “nub” portion of the connection, I have made tests that show the nub can hold between 40# and 100# of load. These loads are driven by the fact that the mono necks down at these loads. I have successfully tested four gluing approaches for the nub that can maintain a non-slipping grip on the mono when the mono is loaded and stretched to 177.5# (mono broke).

Given all of this data, I believe that the nub system is showing promise as a viable system for connecting mono to hollow spectra. I will continue to do lab testing at Izorline and can not wait for the fall to do some ocean testing when the long range boats go down to “the Beach” looking for Cows. I will be on the following Accurate sponsored trips: Red Rooster 3 on Dec 12 – 22 and American Angler Jan 5-16. I will be happy to share detailed information on the connection with you on any of these trips. I will also be happy to make one of these connections for you to try and would love to hear what you think. Each of us will have to decide what we think works and what we are capable of using/installing. I am trying to provide you my data so that you can make your own evaluation without having to do all the testing and data collection. (The on-ocean testing is a lot more fun than the lab testing,

Thanks for looking at my blog,
Gary Teraoka

The "NUB" Connection System

2008-06-26T01:26:00.000-07:00

This connection system uses a series of “nail knots” made from solid spectra. It was created for the heavy mono (1

00# to 200#) to spectra connections used on the San Diego Long Range trips that target large yellowfin tuna (200# Cows). It

starts with the typical monofilament inserted into hollow spectra but uses a nail knot instead of a crimp or serve. The nail knot can be installed on a

ny size mono connection.

This connection differs from other connections with a unique feature that I call a “nub”. The “nub” is simply a nail knot installed on the mono (red nail knot in photo). When the mono is inserted into the hollow spectra, the “nub” should end up 3 to 6 inches inside the edge of the hollow spectra. Therefore, the “nub” is inside of the hollow spectra. The primary nail knot (green nail knot in photo) is then installed on the hollow spectra/mono just to the side of the “nub” and provides the same clamping function as a crimp or serve. If there is any slippage of the mono inside of the hollow spectra, it will be limited because the “nub” moves with the mono but the “nub” can not move past the primary nail knot on the spectra.

In all the mono insertion type connections (as well as my “nub” connection), the principle holding mechanism is the braided hollow

spectra squeezing down on the inserted mono when it is tension. (The same principle as the Chinese toy that locked your fingers together when you tried to pull them apart.) The longer the length of insertion of the mono, the larger the gripping strength of the hollow spectra. I would recommend approximately 5 ft of insertion length. The crimp or serve only acts as a clamp on the end of the hollow spectra to ensure that there is tension in the hollow spectra. It is not intended to have enough clamping strength to hold the load of the connection.

When you hook a large fish, the mono stretches (elongates) and becomes smaller in diameter. When the mono becomes smaller in diameter,

the clamp may not provide enough tension in the spectra and that is when the mono can start to slip inside of the hollow spectra. In my connection design, the “nub” (red nail knot in photo) is locked onto the mono and if the mono starts to slip through the primary nail knot (green nail knot in the photo), the slipping mono is stopped when the “nub” (red in photo) runs up against the primary nail knot (green in photo). This is the unique feature of this connection design. The “nub not only assures adequate tension in the hollow spectra, it also provides additional holding force to add to the holding strength of the hollow spectra squeezing on the mono. The “nub” would provide the same benefits for a crimp system however I could not install the “nub” and a crimp on the same connection. That was the motivation to perfect the nail knot as the new primary clamp. As a result, I have a connection system that is also smaller in diameter and very inexpensive. Currently, it takes me between 1 and 1.5 minute per nail knot (2 or 3 nail knot per connection).

To finish off the connection I install a third nail knot at the end of the hollow spectra (yellow in photo). It acts as a back up to th

e primary nail knot (green in photo), and it does a really good job of cleaning up the end of the hollow spectra. I glue the primary nail knot and the “nub” with swifty glue and the connection is ready to fish.

I am still testing this system as this system is very new. I tested just the primary nail knot (without the nub) and successfully landed a 215# YFT. This connection was tested on the Accurate sponsored Red Rooster 3 June Heat trip. It landed both big tuna and many sharks. (I am waiting to see the connection that is being mailing back to me.)

Currently I am using a inexpensive “special tool” to tighten the nail knots. The photos of the nail knots with the tag ends not trimmed are nail knots that have not been pulled tight. When pulled tight the nail knot turns shinny and darker in color. When the connection is glued, the “nub” (red nail knot) shows clearly through the hollow spectra.

I have most of the details for this connection worked out, but there is always the fine details

that can make the installation even smoother and faster. If you are interested in the details of this connection system consider joining me on one of my next scheduled fishing trips. I am on the pro staff for Accurate Reels and Izorline and will be the chartermaster or pro staff representative on the following trips:

Jul 4 – 8 Searcher Izorline Sponsored

Sep 6 – 9 Islander Izorline Sponsored

Dec 12 – 22 Red Rooster 3 Accurate and Izorline Sponsored

Jan 5 – 16, 2009 American Angler Accurate Sponsored

This connection system was devised for 200# class tuna fishing. I also have a scaled down version for use on under 60# line. Both 50# and 40# connections were successfully tested on Wahoo and small to mid size tuna. You can not feel the connection go through the guides. The lighter connection version would be ideal for the 5-day Guadalupe island trips when fishing for 100# YFT that requires a long cast to soak a sardine 100 yds from the boat.

Hope you catch your fish of a lifetime,

Gary Teraoka

I want to thank David Choate for looking at my new connection, however he is not involved with the testing of this connection. The error in the FishingVideo posting is my fault and I apologize for the error.

Who Is Gary Teraoka

2008-06-13T00:38:00.000-07:00

I am a aerospace engineer with a passion for San Diego Long Range style fishing. This season I have several trips planned on long range boats that range from 3 to 5 days in the summer and a couple of 10 day trips in the fall/winter. I am on the pro staff for Accurate Reels and Izorline products.

I am a equipment fanatic and am constantly trying to improve on the rod/reel/line combinations for specific applications. I will pass on to you my thoughts on the combinations that I use. I am also currently testing a new alternative mono to spectra connection design. My latest connection system involves using nail knots, made from small diameter spectra, which takes the place of crimps or serves. The unique feature of my latest connection system is what I do to the mono under the spectra. I am currently in the process of testing this system. I will be posting directions on how to install this connection system. The primary application is for big mono (over 100#) however I do have a version of this system for small line (40#) that would be ideal for the long cast, 100 yd soak style fishing at Guadalupe Island that can yield 100# YFT. My system is very economical as it costs about 4 cents a connector.