Quite a sister act: two tuna for 500 #

[Holi-e-Mackeral]

Quite a sister act: two tuna for 500 pounds




By Ed Zieralski
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
December 2, 2005

Don't mind Rae and Darryl Rounds if they're just a little proud of their daughters right now.

Their grown-up daughters, Kathy and Nancy, fourth-generation San Diegans, are aboard the Royal Polaris on a 10-day trip, and both have caught fish of a lifetime.


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Kathy, a representative for Izorline and Accurate Reels, has a yellowfin tuna that is estimated to weigh 305 pounds. Nancy, who is two years older and whose married name is Page, has a yellowfin estimated to be 195 pounds. Captains and deckhands, using a length-and-girth measurement formula, have erred on the conservative side in estimating tuna thus far during this incredible long-range season. Both fish could weigh in heavier.

"We're sweating it out," said Darryl Rounds, who would love to see Kathy's tuna weigh 300 pounds or more and Nancy's go 200 or better.

Kathy Rounds has some history with trophy fish. The 285-pound Pacific halibut she caught in August 2000 in the Aleutian Islands is the IGFA's line-class world record for 20-pound test line. Her personal-best tuna is a 235-pounder.

Word of the catches spread this week after Captain Frank LoPreste listed them in his daily fishing report on the Royal Polaris' Web site. After a tough first day, fishing exploded Tuesday and Wednesday, and the Royal Polaris went into yesterday with 34 yellowfin of more than 200 pounds.

Other boats are getting into big tuna, too. The Royal Star, with Captain Randy Toussaint, also on a 10-day run, reported 48 yellowfin of more than 200 pounds going into yesterday's fishing. They boated 26 of more than 200 pounds on Wednesday, leading Toussaint to pronounce it "one of the best days of cow fishing in the history of the long-range fishing." Nine more 200-pounders and the Royal Star will break the fleet's record of 57 that was established the day after Thanksgiving, Nov. 25, by Captain Billy Santiago on the Royal Polaris.

Captain Brian Kiyohara of the American Angler reported 22 tuna of more than 200 pounds, and his anglers, like those on the Royal Star and Royal Polaris, were still fishing.

Big fish have been the story of the year both for long-range anglers and what amounts to their complete opposite, kayak fishermen. Kayak angler Larry Laumann of La Jolla landed a 50.65-pound yellowtail on Oct. 30 off Black's Beach to establish what seemed to be an unbreakable mark for kayakers. But Arne Rovell of Escondido ventured out Tuesday to the La Jolla kelp and landed two amazing yellowtail, a 52-pound, 8-ouncer and a 39-14, giving him just more than 92 pounds of yellowtail to paddle back to the La Jolla Shores launch area.

Rovell weighed the record catch at Hugh Cobb's Pacific Coast Bait and Tackle in Oceanside.

"When I got there, I asked Hugh if his scale was up and running," said Rovell, an attorney who lives in Escondido. "He said it was and to bring the fish into the shop in a bucket. I said, 'Bucket? I think I need a garbage can.' "


Noteworthy
These trophy catches will be the talk of Tackle Day at Fisherman's Landing tomorrow. The event goes from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and will feature 20 seminars, all the latest saltwater equipment and tackle reps, boat dealers offering sea trials and discounts on tackle for holiday shoppers. A raffle benefits Friends of Rollo. Call (619) 221-8506.
Lake Openers: Murray, in San Carlos, and Miramar, in Scripps Ranch, reopen for fishing tomorrow. Murray has been stocked three times by the Department of Fish and Game in recent weeks, including this week, and once this week by the Whitewater Trout Co., making it the best bet tomorrow. Whitewater's plant alone consisted of 2,400 pounds of 1-to 2-pound trout, so add in the state's mix of half-pounders, and there's some water loaded with frisky rainbows. Miramar also received 2,400 pounds of a mix of 1-to 2-pound trout on Monday.



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