DEL MAR — Southern California’s incredible ocean fishing season went into beast mode Friday when an Oceanside angler caught what could be the heaviest
dorado in 30 years.
Captain Roy Tuck reported that Robbie Mailat, owner of the Malachi, a 30-foot Nor’Easter commercial boat, landed a 58.3-pound dorado that was weighed
on a certified scale in Oceanside Harbor. The present dorado mark is a 66-pounder caught trolling in 1985, and there was a 53-pounder caught in 1987
that is mounted at Pacific Coast Bait and Tackle in Oceanside.
Mailat is a commercial fisherman who sells his catches at the Farmer’s Market in Vista, in front of the courthouse every Saturday.
“I’ve been fishing for over 40 years, and this is a once-in-a-lifetime fish Robbie, a hard-working commercial fisherman and great guy,” Tuck said.
Mailat used 35-pound test line with a leader of 35-pound Blackwater Flurocarbon attached to a 2/0 Owner hook pinned with a sardine. His outfit
included a Shimano Trinidad 12 reel on a “Jaws” rod. Tuck said they thought a marlin hit the bait at first because the boil was so huge. He jumped
into the wheelhouse and began following the fish and finally backed down on it before he and fellow angler Lance Magee could get gaffs into the huge
dorado.
“It took him 25 minutes to land it,” Tuck said. “We chased it over a mile and a half.”
Tuck termed it a “great team effort.”
Tuck said it had been a slow day and they were heading back to the dock when they spotted birds circling a kelp paddy. They stopped on it and landed
two dorado, with Mailat’s fish dwarfing an 18-pound dorado he caught earlier on the stop.
“It’s been an incredible season, and I see it going well into the fall and even later,” Tuck said. “We found 77-degree water out there off a break,
with cobalt blue water on one side. We have caught yellowfin tuna, and just last week we lost a big marlin. Lost a big tuna, too, and we saw a 15-foot
Great White Shark eat a dolphin shortly we saw a dead seal floating in the water. Lance is an old shark fisherman, and he’s seen a lot of things, but
none of us had ever seen a dolphin taken whole by a shark like that.”
Tuck, who estimates he put 500 anglers on their first marlin when he was a captain on sport boats in Cabo San Lucas and other destinations, said the
best part of the whole experience was the way they all worked together. He said his business, moving large palm trees, has taken him off the water in
recent years, so he was glad to join up with Mailat and Magee, men connected deeply to the Oceanside community and the fishing scene.
Tuck said Magee is a third generation Oceanside resident whose family members were pioneers there. His aunt donated Magee Park to the City of Carlsbad
before passing away. His father mined tourmaline and paved most of the roads around Oceanside with his paving company. And Mailat sells his
hook-and-line fish every week at the Vista Farmer’s Market under “Robbie’s Fresh Fish.”elgatoloco - 9-1-2015 at 07:07 PM
Nice. 55steve - 9-1-2015 at 07:09 PM
There are thousands of them off the coast right now - I doubt very many are 58 lbs though!Bob53 - 9-2-2015 at 11:58 AM
I've known Roy since he was a kid. We've been on many Baja fishing trips together over the years. Lived in the same neighborhood in Oceanside back in
the 70s. shari - 9-2-2015 at 03:05 PM
what no photo????? pretty cool that he caught it!55steve - 9-2-2015 at 03:49 PM
