FISHING NOTES : Baja Trip a Success for 20 Anglers

The Shogun returned to L.A. Harbor Sportfishing from a successful five-day, 250-mile trip off Baja’s Geronimo Island and needed two hours to unload and line up the catch along the Ports O’ Call dock.

Norm Kagaw, captain of the Shogun, said the big concentration of fish was west of the island.

Kagaw said the weather and sea conditions were perfect. The 20 anglers caught tuna, dorado and yellowtail.

Topping the catch were 618 yellowfin tuna, 178 dorado, 44 yellowtail, 15 skipjack and eight bluefin tuna, all weighing more than 40 pounds.

The jackpot winners were Mel Komatsu of Gardena with a 49 1/2-pound bluefin tuna, Louie Loya of West Los Angeles with a 48 1/2-pound tuna and Kent Iwata of Gardena with a 45-pound tuna.

Jackpot contenders with 40-pound-plus tuna were Craig Shiozaki of Palos Verdes, Paul Mahabin of Culver City and Sam Soler of Inglewood.

Another L.A. Harbor-based sportfisher, the Pacifica, was 150 miles off San Diego on a three-day trip for albacore. Only one albacore was caught, but it was a whopper.

Ron Holloway of Hawthorne was trolling when the fish hit. After a 20-minute battle with what he thought was bluefin tuna, Holloway brought the albacore to the surface.

It weighed 66 pounds, the largest albacore reported by a sportfishing boat this season.

On the same trip, Randy Campbell of Hawthorne caught a 41-pound dorado. He also caught a limit of yellowfin tuna and skipjack.