The season got off to a slow start with bouts of ugly weather and a very spotty spring yellowtail bite. Several trips produced a total of only one yellowtail and a few bottom fish. Bruce Ito caught the first yellowtail of the season.
The Albacore arrived in mid June with limit fishing ( It must have been the new Seabear shirts !) at the 295 bank. We weren't quite ready for them and lost a gaff in a tangle of three fish. Despite a slow start we managed to get much more efficient as the day wore on and limited before noon. This school moved west. However, I suspect that there were fish on the 295 all summer. Everytime we went down there we caught fish. The next trip was also at the 295 Bank in the first week in July and we were getting much better. We limited by 8:30, and Jeff Lannon stepped into Seabear history as he went forward to fight a fish and slipped over the side. He made it back aboard and still wet boated the albacore that dunked him. Mid July and early August brought three trips to the banks west of San Diego. The first was an outstanding trip to the Butterfly Bank. The Neumans and The Smiths combined to put over 30 fish in the freezer and the trip home with the swells was a joy. The next two trips in rough weather scrounged a few albacore at the butterfly bank. Alex Begg and David Sohn .
We then returned to the 295 bank area for two more highly successful trips with a catch of mixed albacore and blue fin with a few Dorado thrown in. We played Albacore catch and release on the last of these trips. After a month off for Seabear R and R and a grant or two we finished off the season in style with a long run 80 miles down on the inner banks. Adam Jonas woke everbody up with a 70lb troll caught Tuna. We spent the rest of the day in the same area working single jig strikes for Albacore. We were able to hold the school at the boat on two occasions and brought back about 20 nice Albacore. We picked up 4 10 lb to 15 lb Dorado and the day was completed with a huge Yellowfin caught on the same rod and feather as the fish that started the day. This one (by formula) went 98 lbs. Neil Berkeley Quite a way to end an outstanding 1999 season.

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