January 2012 Accurate Sponsored American Angler Trip

The January 2012Accurate Fishing Products sponsored American Angler 12-day trip was another successful gathering of past and new friends on a fishing trip with all the of latest equipment for catching large tuna and Wahoo. Accurate provided 40 of the latest ATD and Boss reels, Calstar provided 20 of the latest 7ft. rail rods and Izorline provided spectra, mono and fluorocarbon. We also had the opportunity to try some of the latest Mustad Demon circle hooks (model 39943 4X strong model in the 5/0, 6/0 and 7/0 sizes).

We had many opportunities to put all of this equipment to the test when skipper/owner Brian Kiohara took us straight to Clarion Island buffer zone. We had a morning of good fishing with tuna up to 119#. Matt Salas (of the famous Salas Lures company) won the daily prize of a Calstar 770XXH rod by acing out his long time friend and swordfish fisherman Leon Bundy’s (117# YFT). Leon told me "he beat me by 2 stinking pounds, that rod was mine for sure".

With reports of tuna biting real well at the Hurricane Bank, we took the 18 hr ride and arrived the next morning where we first trolled for wahoo. After enjoying the excitement of landing approximately 70 wahoo from 10# to 50# we dropped the hook and started catching tuna over 100#. After 2 days at the Hurricane, the fish holds were almost full. Everyone had many big fish. Since the winds were going to be blowing over 25kts the next day, we decided to leave early and try to add some yellowtail at Cedros. It didn’t take long to add 200 yellowtail to the RSW fish hold.

Big fish honors goes to Ed Morrison (209#), Dave Claverie (206#) and Tom Mato(189#). Ed also won the Accurate trophy for the largest fish caught using a Accurate reel.

The fishing (catching) on this trip was exceptional. Lots of big YFT, plus wahoo and yellowtail. The fish preservation from the American Angler RSW is about the best in the fleet. Other daily prize winners were: Mark Johnson won a set of hollow rigging needles from S&S Products (Smitty Belts), James Hotchkiss won a Boss reel from Accurate and Joe Machado won a 770XXXH blank from Calstar. All the passengers received Accurate t-shirts and numerous raffle prizes: gift cards from Baja Fish Gear; upgrade reel parts from Accurate; Izorline spectra, mono and fluorocarbon; Bill Roecker’s (Fishing Videos) latest book “At the Rail” and 2012 calendars; Salas jigs; Mario (Sportsman Seafood) for the smoked and jerky tuna along with t-shirts and fish processing discounts; Maui Jim polarized sunglasses VIP coupons; plus special tools and hands-on instruction on how to make the nail knot “nub” connection.

The crew’sability to quickly “gut and gill” each tuna is unmatched by the rest of the fleet. Sushi restaurants would be envious of the quality of the fish coming off of our trip. Equally enjoyable was the camaraderie between all the passengers and crew members. The card game “31” may have something to do with this, but everyone knew something interesting about everyone else by the end of the trip. Most passengers had trouble finishing the book they brought on board because they spent a lot of time talking and bonding with the other passengers and crew.

A special thanks to Jeff Bott for assembling/editing and copying all of the photos taken by the passengers and providing a copy to all. Also for winning one of the daily prizes but giving it up to another passenger because Jeff already owned that prize.

Accurate will be sponsoring this trip again next year. Hope you can make next year's trip so I can post a photo of you having fun next year. Contact Lori at the American Angler office. Here are photos from the passengers and crew having fun this year.

Hope you enjoy the trip report,

Gary Teraoka

3 Hook Yummy Flyer

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

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

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

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)

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

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