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Chasing Tuna on the
Huli Cat
By: Ron Wilson
September 5, 2002....
Norval Pimentel and I left Modesto last Monday morning at 12:30 a.m.,
heading to Princeton Harbor to go Tuna fishing on the Huli Cat Charter
boat.
The drive over was nice
with very little traffic. We arrived at 3:00 a.m. in plenty time for the
4:00 a.m. departure.
 I
greeted Captain Tom Mattusch when he arrived, his was quick to comment,
"You do actually exist." I didn't know if his statement was
based on the fact that I was invited to go fishing several times and
finally accepted, or that he had heard rumors about my wife Diana
actually writing my outdoor columns!
The weather seemed
great as we headed through the dark toward the tuna grounds 45 miles
away, light winds and small swells. For the next couple hours I took a
much-needed nap as I had very little sleep the night before.
When I awoke it was
breaking daylight and we would soon be there. The fishermen were divided into
two groups. Group one would man the trolling rods while group two would
cast plastics and iron on the slide once a fish was hooked up. Fishing
the slide is the technique of casting plastic swim baits or heavy iron
lures once the tuna are located by trolling. Once a jig strike occurs
the captain will put the boat in neutral, turn the boat sideways, and
slide to a stop allowing the wind to take control of the boat. As the
jig fish are reeled in, schooling fish such as tuna tend to follow them
to the boat making for incredible action. Once the fish were landed, the
groups then would change positions.
The fishing was slow
and Captain Tom couldn’t find the action he was looking for. So with
only 3 fish in the box, it was time to make a run.
During the move the
fisherman got into their lunch boxes, we enjoyed pepperoni
sticks, smoked salmon, smoked tuna, sushi, fried chicken and all types
of chips and drinks. After 9 years of not fishing aboard a charter boat,
I had completely forgotten how the majority of the party boat
fishermen shared with each other!
We arrived at another
area and were immediately rewarded with fish. Team 2 rotated in followed
by team 1 again. What looked so promising, however quickly died, and for
the next 45 minutes Norval stood by his rod patiently waiting for a fish
to strike before the skipper came on the microphone and told team 2 to
take over again. Norval no more then sat down and the clicker on the rod
he was just using buzzed like an out of control chain saw as line peeled
off the reel. Needless to say Norval was back up again, and this time Captain
Tom said the next fish is Norval’s since everyone else has landed at
least one. However, in the next two hours there was only one short
strike.
The water looked so
perfect for tuna that you could almost smell them. Water almost flat,
birds diving and
skittering above the waves, the only thing lacking was the albacore
busting bait on the surface.
4:00 p.m. came and it
was time to head for the barn. Norval would continue as an albacore
virgin until his next trip! Although he was fishless, Norval still had a
great day on the high seas. He saw dolphins, some with white sides along
with plain gray ones, chasing the boat, Bluefin Tuna, in the 100-pound
class jumping out of the water, A Killer Whale, Humpback Whale,
Bluewhale and a wonderful day of commordery on the high seas.
At the dock Norval and
I were handed a sack of fresh albacore to take home. One of the anglers
who had caught more than he wanted had donated it to the unlucky anglers
aboard!
Now is the time to go
chase the albacore as the fishing should only get better for the next
couple months! The boats have been coming in with some fantastic numbers
if you hit the bite on the right day! For more information call Tom at
650-726-2926, visit his website at www.hulicat.com
or send him an e-mail at hulicatsport@earthlink.net |
