Tim Ekstrom tied Royal Star to the dock at Fisherman’s Landing February 4 after a 15-day trip that got 23 cow yellowfin for his anglers. He commented on the truly excellent fishing for all boats in the lower zone.

Larry Ward, 76, of Kerrville, TX won first place for a 285-pound tuna, but he also had one at 272.

“This one got 400 yards on the first run,” he told dock reporter Bill Roecker, “and then he fought on the bottom. I was worried because some of the other guys got broke off like that.”

Ward fished a salami mackerel on a 10/0 Mustad J hook tied to 130-pound Izorline and 130-pound Power Pro spectra. He used a Penn 50 reel modified by Cal Sheets and a Calstar 6455 XXH rod, and got the fish after 50 minutes.

Alfredo Salgado of Norco spent an hour and a half getting to know his 280-pounder before he coaxed it up to be decked.

“I did a lot of praying,” he remarked. “It was the last fish on the last day.”

Alfredo fished a salami on a 12/0 Mustad hook tied to 130-pound Seaguar Premier fluorocarbon and 130-pound spectra, on a Penn 50 reel and a Calstar 6455 XXH rod.

On his first trip, Wayne Waldron of Portland, OR won third place for a 278-pound tuna. He said he got it with a salami on a ringed Owner 10/0 hook, 130-pound Blackwater fluorocarbon, 100-pound Line One spectra, an Accurate ATD 50 reel and a Black Steel Seeker 6460 XXXH rod.

“I got him in 45 minutes,” he said. “I pulled hard in my harness. My best fish before this was an albacore and a halibut up in Oregon.”

Kohei Kikuchi of Nipomo bettered the hat trick with a foursome of cows: 252, 237, 218 and 208 pounds. He said he did not spit on his bait, “…but I used lots of drag.”

He got his with salamis on 8/0 Mustad 7691 hooks. He fished with 130-pound Izorline and 130-pound Line One spectra on a Penn 570 reel and a Calstar 770 XXH rod.

Floyd Abbott of Hobbs, NM got what he called, “…a well-behaved fish. He didn’t take me five steps along the rail. Skipper Ekstrom came by and laughed, and said something about sharks. The fish came on in 20 minutes.”

Abbott’s 219-pounder ate a sardine on an 9/0 Eagle Claw hook. He used 130-pound Blackwater fluorocarbon, 130-pound Izorline spectra, a Sheets-treated Penn 50 reel and a Calstar 6460 XXH rod.

Floyd’s wife Jan Abbott of Hobbs, NM took a 214-pound tuna with a sardine on an 8/0 Eagle Claw hook and 100-pound Blackwater fluorocarbon. She used 130-pound Izorline spectra and an Avet 50 reel on a Calstar 6460 XXH rod to bag the tuna in 30 minutes.

Martin Rudolph of LA picked off a 238-pounder with a salami mackerel on a 14/0 Mustad hook, 130-pound Blackwater fluorocarbon and 130-pound Line One spectra. He fished with a Penn VSW 70 reel and a six and a half-foot unknown brand of rod.

“He fought me for an hour and a half,” said Rudolph. “I cried like a baby when I finally got him up.”

First-timer David Sumethasorn of LA took 40 minutes to beat a 225-pound jig-biter, but he also got tuna of 219 and 211 pounds. He got that big one on a Salas PL-68 jig in glow paint. He used 100-pound leader and 130-pound Line One spectra, and fished with an Avet 30 reel and a Calstar 770 XXH rod.

Geoff Houck of Temecula bagged a 215-pounder in 40 minutes, after it took a salami on a 9/0 Mustad J hook on 130-pound Blackwater fluorocarbon and 130-pound Izorline spectra. He used a Sheets-modified Penn 50 VSW reel and a Calstar 770 XH rod wrapped by Ken’s Custom Reels in Oceanside.

Bruce Helton of Phoenix managed a brace at 250 and 226 pounds. He fished sardines on 7/0 Mustad Demon 4X Perfect Circle ringed hooks, he said, and used 100-pound Blackwater fluorocarbon, 100-pound Line One spectra, an Okuma Makira 20 reel and a Calstar 760 M rod.

Marius Coetzee of Klerksdorp, South Africa caught a 209-pound yellowfin on a chunk bait stuck on a 9/0 Mustad J hook tied to 130-pound Blackwater fluorocarbon and 130-pound Izorline spectra. He fished with an Avet 50 reel and a Calstar 760 H rod.

John Grabowski docked Red Rooster III at H&M Landing February 3 after the 15-day Bluefin Jim & Pelagic charter with 19 anglers. Sonny Jones chartermastered the Pelagic side of the trip, which produced 18 tuna over 200 pounds. One of those was just a meal away from 300 pounds. About 100 wahoo were also caught, mostly while tuna fishing.

“They bit from three AM until dark just about every day,” remarked Sonny. “At night we used heavy gear.”

The star of the trip was second-time long ranger Scott Harper of Camarillo, who caught the winner, a 293.6-pounder, on a double squid bait on Mustad 20/0 circle hooks under the kite with the boat’s kite rig. That rig uses 130-pound Izorline, an Accurate ATD 80 reel (they call it “The Tractor” aboard), and a Seeker 6463 XXXH rod.

“My best fish before this trip was a 160-pounder,” Scott told dock reporter Bill Roecker. “I got him in 15 minutes on that rig. It was a pleasure to fish with the legend John Grabowski.”

Scott also caught two other cows, at 270 and 252 pounds. With that pair he used another outfit: a salami mackerel on a 9/0 Mustad 7691 hook, 130-pound pink Yo-Zuri fluorocarbon, 130-pound Line One spectra, a Penn 50 reel and a Calstar 6455 XXXH rod.

Bill House of Rogersville AL won second place for a 274-pound tuna, and he also had fish of 230 and 217 pounds. He fished mackerel on 10/0 Mustad 7691 hooks tied to 130-pound Seaguar Premier fluorocarbon, 130-pound Line One spectra, an Avet 50 reel and a Super Seeker 6463 XXXH rod. He got the big one in 50 minutes.

Jack Thrush of Millbrae won third place for his 254.9-pound yellowfin, and also had tuna of 211 and 202 pounds. He said he got the big one in 40 minutes, and fished sardines on a 5/0 ringed Owner Super Mutu hook tied to 130-pound Blackwater fluorocarbon and 130-pound Line One spectra. He used an Accurate ATD 50 reel and a Calstar 770 XXXH rod.

Sonny Jones of Santa Ana bagged a nice 240-pound tuna after taking a skiff ride to catch the fish, which came up tail-snagged and dead after a mile and a half chase. Sonny pinned a mackerel on a 10/0 Mustad 7691 hook tied to 130-pound Momoi and 130-pound Line One spectra backing on a Tiagra 50 W reel and a Calstar Baby Boomer rod.

Hector Lopez of San Diego caught a 229-pound tuna with a salami on the kite. The big bait was on a 10/0 7691 hook, 130-pound Izorline and 130-pound Izorline spectra on a Penn 50 reel treated by Cal Sheets and a Calstar 770 XH rod.

Mike Berkman of LA bagged a 215 in 15 minutes. He baited a salami on a 10/0 7691 hook, and used 130-pound Izorline, 130-pound Line One spectra, a Talica 50 reel and a Super Seeker 1 X 3 rod.

David Malmberg of Leucadia picked off a 212-pounder with a mackerel on a 10/0 7691 hook and 130-pound Izorline and 130-pound Line One spectra. He used an Avet 50 reel and a Calstar 7455 XXH rod.

Ray Broders of Pt. Townsend, WA pulled in a 211 and a 209-pounder. He fished with sardines on ringed 5/0 Owner Super Mutu hooks. He used 100-pound Seaguar Premier fluorocarbon, 130-pound Line One spectra, a Cal Sheets-treated Penn 50 reel and a rod he described as “…a generic six-footer.”

Bill Campbell of Placentia spent a sweaty half-hour getting his 206.6-pound tuna on a sardine pinned to a 5/0 Owner Gorilla hook. He fished with 130-pound Seaguar Premier fluorocarbon, 130-pound Line One spectra on an Accurate ATD 30 reel and a Super Seeker 2 X 4 rod.

Paul Lepore of Dana Point whacked a 204-pound tuna with a salami on a 10/0 7691 hook.

“It was a 30-second fish,” he said. He used 130-pound Yo-Zuri fluorocarbon, 130-pound Line One spectra on an Accurate 50 (Paul’s an Accurate pro-staffer) and a Calstar 770 XXXH rod wrapped by Fisherman‘s Supply of Lawndale.

Robbie Thill of Anaheim rounded up the cow catchers with a 202-pound yellowfin, the last one weighed. He said it bit a sardine on a 5/0 ringed Super Mutu hook on 100-pound Seaguar Premier fluorocarbon and 100-pound Power Pro spectra. He fished with a Penn VSX 30 reel and a Super Seeker 1 X 3 rod.

“My best fish before this one was a 30-pound albacore,” he said.

The trolling jackpot was won by Bob Michener of Oxnard, for a 56.4-pound wahoo.

“It was day and night fishing,” noted skipper Grabowski. “The majority of the bigger fish were at night—one night we had 63. We had nice weather, good bait available, and fine kite fishing.”

Brian Kiyohara docked American Angler at Pt. Loma Sportfishing February 2 after a 15-day Avet trip with chartermaster Ben Frazier, who gave away several HX Raptor reels. There were 27 tuna over 200 pounds in the holds, and three of those were over 300 pounds. Four of the anglers had triples on tuna over 200 pounds. It was the third time the Angler has produced three supercows on a trip, said Kiyohara.

Another major mark was set by Ralph “The Long Ranger” Mikkelsen of Northridge, who fulfilled his lifetime goal of taking six tuna over 300 pounds, which put him bak into the all-time lead for that category.

“I’m 39, going on 81 next March,” said Ralph, whose yellowfin weighed 306 on the boat, where all the fish were weighed. “I’ve been waiting for the next 300-pounder to come for 24 years.”

Ralph told dock reporter Bill Roecker he got his special fish on a salami mackerel pinned to a Mustad 9/0 7691 hook under a helium balloon. He said he used 130-pound Izorline, 130-pound Line One spectra, an Avet 50 W reel and a Calstar 770 XXH rod.

“It took about 30 minutes,” remarked Mikkelsen. “He made several runs up high, so I had to keep changing gears, and he came up on the bow.”

Ralph’s other supercows were 321 pounds (1980), 333.8 pounds (then a world record) in 1981, 305 and 317 in 1982, and 308 pounds in 1988.

Dennis Saylors, a long-time angler himself, scored a 320-pounder (good for first place), a 227 and a 205-pound tuna. He fished a salami on a 6/0 ringed Super Mutu hook from Owner on 130-pound Momoi line and 130-pound Line One spectra on a Penn 50 VSX reel tuned by Cal Sheets, and a Calstar 6465 XH rod wrapped by Performance Tackle.

“I’ve been fishing long range for 20 years,” said Dennis. “This one, my first 300-pounder, bit at 150 yards. I knew it was big by the way it felt. The fish took me around the boat twice and fought hard for a half-hour. When he hit the dick I was like, wow! I thank the crew and the office of the American Angler.”


Rookie long ranger Dan Martin of Felton bagged the third supercow, a 312-pound whopper that took a backup rig and then died on the line. It had to be retrieved later, when the boat could move over it. Other anglers said the float on the backup rig was crushed from its sojourn at 70 fathoms.

Dan said he fished a chunk on a 12/0 ringed Super Mutu hook on 130-pound Blackwater fluorocarbon and 130-pound Line One spectra. He used a Penn 50 reel and a two-piece Killwell (New Zealand) six-foot rod.

“He bit 40 feet under the boat,” said Dan, “on a 12/0 ringed Super Mutu hook. “He dived, came up outside, took me around the boat twice, and then we got out the backup outfit, and then he died.”

Jan Howard of Mission Viejo got her best tuna to date, a 286-pound yellowfin that came rather easily (40 minutes) for its size, she remarked. Jan baited a salami on a 10/0 Mustad J hook tied to 130-pound Berkley fluorocarbon, 130-pound Big Game line and 130-pound spectra on a Sheets-treated Penn 50 reel and a Calstar 6455 XXH rod she wrapped herself.

William Leonard of Lake Havasu City got his first cow and best fish ever, a 266-pounder that won second place and ran him five times around the boat. He decked it in 40 minutes, however. He fished a salami on a 9/0 Owner Super Mutu hook tied to 130-pound Blackwater fluorcarbon and 130-pound Line One spectra on a Penn 50 W reel and a Seeker Black Steel six-foot rod.

Galen Steward of Simi Valley also got one at 266 pounds, and it brought along a couple of cow buddies at 210 and 205 pounds. He fished a chunk on a 8/0 ringed Super Mutu on 130-pound Momoi and 130-pound Line One spectra, and used a Penn 50 S reel by Cal Sheets and a Calstar 7465 XH rod wrapped by Bob Sands Tackle.

“I got slammed right away,” he said, “but he came in after 20 minutes.”

Bill Randall (who had over 100 days aboard the American Angler last year) won third place for a 255-pounder, and also had fish of 240 and 228 pounds. He said the big one came on a salami mackerel and a 9/0 Mustad 7691 hook tied to Jin Kai 130 and 130-pound Izorline spectra. He used an Accurate ATD 50 reel and a Super Seeker 2 X 4 rod.

“I also used a backup outfit,” he said. “It took an hour and 15 minutes, and he came up in the starboard corner.”

Robin Lemaster of Brawley tripled with tuna of 240, 232 and 230 pounds. The big one came in 45 minutes, he said, after it bit on a salami and a 9/0 ringed Super Mutu. He fished with 130-pound Blackwater fluorocarbon, 130-pound Line One spectra, an Avet 50 reel and a Super Seeker 2 X 4 rod.

John Metcalf of Hayward pulled a hat trick with tuna of 233, 206 and 203 pounds. He said he fished a sardine on a 6/0 Owner ringed Super Mutu tied to 80-pound Blackwater fluorocarbon and 80-pound Line One spectra on a Tiagra 20 reel and a Calstar 765 H rod.

“The big one was squirrely,” he said. “He seemed to like it up by the bow and the cathead.”

Chartermaster Ben Frazier of Oxnard nabbed tuna of 225 and 209 pounds. He fished salami mackerel on 5/0 Mustad Demon hooks. He used 100-pound Maxima fluorocarbon and 130-pound Line One spectra on an HXWW Avet Raptor reel and a Super Seeker 1 X 3 rod to get the bigger one in 45 minutes.

Steve Leonhart of Murietta whipped a 222-pounder with a salami on an 8/0 ringed Super Mutu on 130-pound Blackwater fluorocarbon and 130-pound Line One spectra. He used an Accurate ATD 50 reel and a Super Seeker 2 X 4 rod.

“It was a piece of cake,” he quipped.

Glenn Bummer of La Crescenta got a 213-pounder with a salami on a Mustad 9/0 7691 hook tied to 130-pound Seaguar premier fluorocarbon and 130-pound Line One spectra. He used an Avet 50 reel and a Calstar 770 XXH rod.

Sam Cornell of Kenai, AK bagged a 208-pound cow with a sardine on a 5/0 Mustad Demon 4X hook on 90-pound Momoi and 100-pound Line One spectra on an Avet HXW reel and a Calstar 770 XXH rod. The fight lasted one hour.

“This is the third time for us to get three 3’s,” said skipper Kiyohara, “But what’s important is we were lucky with our timing and being in The Zone without being bothered by sharks. There’s a lot of sign of big fish.”



The Trip Home

“We had beautiful traveling weather,” wrote Red Rooster skipper John Grabowski February 1, “the first two days coming from the grounds to Cedros Island. We spent the entire day at the Island yesterday for some action on small grade yellowtail which we released and a hand full of good grade yellowtail which we tagged and put on top of our existing catch. After breaking down the remaining tackle and having dinner in the flat calm lee of the Island we started the last leg of our trip home. We will be tying up at Lee Palm Sportfishing at 7:00 A.M. and begin taking the tackle and personal gear off the boat, we should start unloading our catch at approximately 7:30 AM. Lee Palm's office will be open between 7:30 and 8:00 AM tomorrow if you need to contact them for any reason.


“A couple of pictures I'm sending along today are of two terminal gear products that work very well for us during the trip. One is a set of three Captain Jimmy's wahoo bombs that fished well, produced good fish and held up to the test of wahoo fishing. Owner and designer Jim Kokesh was on board this trip and caught a very nice limit of wahoo fishing these bombs.
“The other picture is the new Mustad Demon Perfect Circle Offset 4X Strong hooks (39943BLN). Prior to this trip Captain Andy Cates told me the Red Rooster III had found "The Right Hook" for fishing giant Yellowfin Tuna with live bait, it is the Mustad 6/0 ringed 4X strong Demon circle hook, he went on to describe how perfect the hook was for hooking the live bait with out killing it and that he has seen zero failures with the hook. We fished the 6/0 ringed 4X Strong with the 100 and 130 pound test all trip and saw those exact same results. We also made our double sardine kite leaders with the 7/0 and 8/0 4X strong non ringed hooks and they worked to perfection on "The Big Gear." WE did not do much helium balloon fishing this trip but the same 7/0 and 8/0 size 4X strong will be the go to hook for the 150-pound application under the balloons. Mustad nailed it when they designed this hook for our live bait fishing application for Big Fish.”

A phone call from Lori Patella this morning reminded Bill Roecker that the next round of incoming long rangers is about to begin. Tomorrow, February 2, the American Angler will dock at Pt. Loma Sportfishing with a wonderful catch of cow tuna, including three super cows, noted Lori. This last round of trips has been excellent, and the catches aboard the boats are worth seeing. Come on down!



Still Going Strong

“Conditions changed on us here,” said Excel skipper Justin Fleck January 31, “but fishing was still good. Only one cow hit the deck, caught by Mike Jennings on a chunk. His fish went 225 pounds and is his personal best. Mid-grade tuna from 60 to 120 pounds were still plentiful and most of these guys are releasing their fish, still trying for that big one. We are now in the final RSW well with two more days to fish. Hopefully we use up the remaining space for big ‘uns.”



From Frank LoPreste And The RP Crew

“On January 30 we had 3 more fish over the 200-pound mark. Today (the 31st) as of 9 AM we have landed another 2 over 200 pounds. “Big D” is hoping to be able to post pictures by Thursday or Friday. It will happen as soon as they get satellite reception.”

Today’s report reminds us that the longtime little used method of chunking still works. In fact, several boats have recently noted that tuna were biting on the chunk. It seems to odd to many anglers that tuna will bite on a small piece of dead meat floating or sinking slowly at moderate depths, say, the upper 60 feet. Even stranger, so will wahoo, and I have the underwater video to prove it.

American Angler is on the way home with a great catch, one that will be matched by the other boats now fishing. The AA will be in Thursday morning, with the Red Rooster III coming the next day and the Royal Star the day after. Excel and Royal Polaris look to be arriving next Monday. There are many big tuna on all the boats with at least a couple of supercows among them.

Chunker Heaven

“And just like that, they were gone,” noted Tim Ekstrom aboard his Royal Star January 30. “Virtually zero sign of jumbos today, despite continued fantastic action on 70 to 120-pound yellowfin, with a few standouts in the 160 to 185-pound class. We did have one shot at a giant early, but to our chagrin the brief skirmish ended with a bare hook coming back trailing only a small piece of skin. At least the skulking beast now has a pierced lip to remember us by.

“Focusing on the positive however, all enjoyed the final full day of fishing logging in time at the rail, enjoying primo weather, and pulling with remarkable consistency on spirited tunas. In particular, the chunk fishermen were absolutely slaying the fish, by far the best chunk fishing I have ever seen, remaining steady on the big gear throughout the day. There were numerous times during the day when of the three or four fish that were hooked all were enticed with the chunk. And it has been this way for the past three days. For whatever reason all sizes of the fish around here appear to be keyed into to that type of feed; we'll take it.

“Photo features another of the Northern Albacoreman Wayne Waldron who is captured in a classic moment of agonizing ecstasy. No doubt this is a perfect example of the slight difference in brawn between the cool water, delicate albacore, and the warm water brawler yellowfin tuna; the extra one hundred twenty pounds the tuna on the other end of Wayne's pole was carrying over the average twenty two pound albacore didn't hurt either. Anyway it is fitting that another Northern Albacoreman, Captain Brett Rouintree, previously of the Royal Star, is at Wayne's side in this photo making his annual one or two winter cameo's on Royal Star far from his own albacore bait boat the Anna Maria.

“With the final morning looming the stakes are gargantuan for a strong finish. With plenty of energy in reserve we are ready and willing to take everything they are willing to yield, and then some.”

“We had a big day here,” wrote Excel skipper Justin Fleck January 29, “with tuna and more wahoo hitting the deck Since I last checked in we've had five more cows come aboard Phil Ruemmler got two at 208 and 210 and Tim Turis has a 221, Nonon Alvarez and Doc Gooing picked off a 224. What a great time to be fishing I'll send pictures later.”



Hacking Them Off

“We spent yesterday's morning bite cutting off everything we hooked,” wrote skipper John Grabowski on the Red Rooster III January 29, “looking for two more good ones that we could fit in our last fish hold. Hector Lopez and Bob Michener had the best two fish and that’s the ones we took to finish off the tuna portion of our trip. I must mention and highly commend the sportsmanship of Bill House, he cut off a 230-pound fish yesterday morning due to the fact he already had two good ones in the hold, leaving room for someone else to have the opportunity to put a duce or better aboard. We spent the rest of the day targeting a few more wahoo and at dark started heading up the line to take advantage of a weather window right now that is just perfect. Flat calm seas traveling north this morning makes our decision to leave the grounds seem to be a good one. We have some time and are gearing up to fish Cedros Island on the way home for a few yellowtail to fill in the cracks between the fish on board. We will continue to report
our days activities and results as we work our way back to San Diego.

"I have been saving a couple of pictures for the ride home of Ray Borders. Ray spent most of the daylight hours each day fishing with his Accurate 50 size sinning reel matched to a Calstar spinning rod designed I believe specifically for this high quality spinning reel. Ray had the reel filled with spectra and used a top shot of 100 fluorocarbon line, he had some epic one to two-hour battles on tough 90 to 150-pound Yellowfin tuna and the gear held up flawlessly. All of us on board where highly impressed with the amount of pressure Ray could put on the fish and the tackle without a failure. Ray is 6' 6", has been an Alaskan commercial fisherman his entire life and fishes extremely well. He truly put that Accurate spinning reel and Calstar rod to the test."



The Morning Hit

“Another fine day,” wrote Royal Star skipper Tim Ekstrom January 27, “that for us again peaked early, with the morning hit yielding four more solid deuces and a couple of handfuls of 130 to 192. Then there were the mid-graders that inserted themselves into the fray from the beginning and unlike their larger brethren, that to our disappointments did not stay, remained with us the entire day.

“Following our big morning the action tapered into plentiful catching on 70 to 110-pound yellowfin with only the occasional fish over 150. However, with the strongest emphasis possible, we are in no state to complain. And, wouldn't even think of doing so on such a prosperous occasion.

“Photos today features Bruce Kelton with his chunk-enticed 245 coming through the gate.”



La Paz/ Las Arenas Fishing Jan. 22-29, 2012

“It was another productive week,” reported Jonathan Roldan of Tail Hunters International, “at least for half the week. Early in the week conditions were excellent and we got into more of those nice yellowtail and pargo. However, by the time mid-week showed up, the days started out nice, but my mid-morning, the winds were up and howling. Seas were up and choppy and just as well to either head back in or not to have gone out at all, pretty typical for this time of year. But then again, as the weekend drew near, conditions settled again and the bite turned on again!

“When the bite was one, boats averaged 1 to 5 fish each. These were 15 to 45-pound fish eating live sardines, mackerel, jigged heavy iron and deep diving Bomber, Yo-Zuri and Rapalas over areas deep enough to drag the deeper running lures. It seems the larger fish were closer to Cerralvo Island with fish averaging about 30 to 40 pounds. The “smaller” fish, still tough 15 to 30-pounders were found just outside of Muertos Bay, Punta Perico and Boca de Alamo.

“Inshore, the cabrilla, jack crevalle, sierra, bonito, snapper keep it fun, but the focus has been on the big pargo that, like the yellowtail, appear to have shown up earlier than usual this year. The big mullet snapper pargo are ranging over the rocky areas in water as shallow as just a few feet as they come in to spawn. The big fish are ranging from 10 to 20 pounds, but larger ones are tough to get out of the rocks!

Accurate "BXL" Lite Line Reels At Miami Boat Show

(Press Release) Accurate Fishing Products is introducing the "New Lite Line Special" in a BX-600 and BX-600W for tournament Sailfish, Kingfish, and World Record anglers. This reel was developed to help alleviate the mono compaction issue seen in reels when using 500 - 600 yards or more of 15-pound and 20-pound mono. The reel was designed with less drag surface that is centered on the arbor and the walls are reinforced to the spool edges giving the spool more material to minimize deflection.

Mono compaction is a common problem with reels when using light line as mono is spooled on with a machine under load it stretches going on with a smaller diameter. Once the line is on the spool, it can happen immediately, or after a few hours, the mono regains its original size causing the line on the spool to expand and push sideways causing the spool to spread.

With the new "BXL" 600 or 600W, the smaller diameter drag washer located in the middle of the spool where the most material is located sees little or no sideways deflection. There is no drag washer around the outside edge of the spool, which under normal mono compaction circumstances pushes the drag plate closer to the washer deceasing your drag range and increasing the probability of the drag to increase upward.

The new "BXL" reels are designed to get upwards of 15 to 18 pounds of max drag. These reels are offered in two sizes the BXL-600 and BXL-600W and in 6.1 and 4.1 ratios with line capacities of 600 yards of 20-pound on the BXL- 600 and 550 yards of 30-pound on the BXL-600W. The "BXL" reels are made of 6061 T6 aircraft aluminum which is light and extremely strong and feature Accurate's patented TwinDrag® system.

For more information on Accurate Fishing Products please visit us at: www.accuratefishing.com.

New Guy Harvey “STRIKE” Board Short From AFTCO Bluewater

(Press Release) Be the envy of other fishermen, with our “eye-catching” Guy Harvey “Strike” Board Short, a serious fisherman’s short, with a board short feel. Made from quick-dry polyester micro suede for wear in and out of the water, this garment sports a dynamic underwater scene sublimated on the entire short. On the right side is a fisherman-friendly, Cordura-lined pliers/ utility pocket. The pliers pocket sits behind a large cargo pocket with quick-drain grommets. Both the pocket and the grommets have the Guy Harvey signature. Other features include baggy “board short” styling, 21” length (9” inseam), two side-seam front pockets, zippered back pocket, triple-stitched seams for extra durability, fixed waistband with zipper, and a front tie for easy fit.

The MH26308-Guy Harvey “Strike” Board Short is offered in Blue (BLU). MSRP $49.99. To see the entire Guy Harvey sportswear line, go to GuyHarveySportswear.com.