Weekly Fishing Column: Local trio tackle Los Cabos tournament with 199.7-pound catch

By Phil Friedman
Correspondent

Lomita tackle store owner Ed Tschernoscha and two friends have just returned from Cabo San Lucas $72,000 richer.
Tschernoscha, owner of Baja Fish Gear in Lomita and his two buddies Tommy Cook from Torrance and Pete Ralph from Redondo Beach, took first place in the Western Outdoor News Los Cabos Tuna Jackpot Tournament last Thursday and Friday.
First place netted the threesome $80,000 with 10 percent of it going to the Captain of their boat.

Tschernoscha opened Baja Fish Gear two years ago in Lomita and has been trying to win this tournament for the past four years.
"I have never come close before this year," Tschernoscha said. "This is a dream come true."
Tschernoscha, Ralph and Cook flew down to Baja's East Cape to Palmas de Cortes resort to fish prior to the tournament.
"We got out there and found an area that looked very lively," Tschernoscha said. "We all decided that we would start 20 miles from shore the next morning."

At 11 a.m. last Thursday, El Loco II captain Julio Cota rolled up on a small pod of porpoise. As so often is the case, there were yellowfin tuna mixed in with the porpoise. Cota pulled back on the throttles and brought the boat to a stop. The guys on board immediately started chumming chunks of Humboldt squid overboard. Tschernoscha tossed a chunk of the mollusk into the Sea of Cortes and it was promptly devoured by a huge yellowfin.
"We knew it was a big one from the very first run it took," Tschernoscha said. "It was like a freight train stripping off hundreds of yards of line on its first run."
After 45 minutes, the men on the El Loco II could see the fish down at about 80 feet. Tschernoscha pulled as hard as he could, struggling to lift the rod and then winding down to gain each precious inch of line.
When the fish came to the surface, Cota put a gaff in it. It took three men to lift the 199.7-pound monster on board.
Because of the hot Baja sun and worries that the fish would lose more weight due to dehydration, the El Loco II pointed her bow toward Cabo San Lucas and headed for the weigh-in station. At 2:30 p.m., the first tuna was weighed in, and the waiting began.
"We had to suffer through another day wondering if anyone would beat us, but our fish held up," Tschernoscha said. "I just can't wait to try it again next year."

Boat outings: SKB charters is throwing a big trip on the Spitfire, ¾-day boat out of Redondo on Nov. 20. They are headed to Catalina Island for some yellowtail and have lots of freebies for those in attendance. Everyone on board gets a yellowfin poster, a free lure and a free bag of plastic lures. In addition, $100 goes to the largest fish on a plastic lure as well as another $100 for the largest fish taken on a Sumo lure. Finally, the largest overall big fish goes home with a brand new SKB tackle box. Call Rick to book at 310-328-8426.

Redondo Sportfishing is all set for Veterans' Day with some great specials. All veterans go 2-for-1 on the ¾-day Spitfire. All veterans can go on the ½-day Redondo Special for a children's fare. And all veterans can get free rental tackle as well as free tackle this Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Call Redondo at 310-372-2111.