2007 Archived Fishing Reports
|
BETTER WEATHER, BETTER FISHING We had good action on 20 to 91lb fish today. Weather-wise, yesterday and last night was not a whole lot of fun, but throughout the morning the wind backed off and the Sun was shining and the fish bit better. We ended up with 65 tuna, the biggest one caught by Jim Travers in today's photo. There is no doubt that this party is long from being over as we have a few more days down here in the zone and we're not done yet. 
GOOD NIGHT, The Guys |
|||
|
THEY'RE HERE, BUT NOT HITTING This morning started out very promising - things were going according to plan and we had a stop on 50 to 80 lb fish to warmed up on. After we landed 11 of those fish. they stopped biting? We moved on and found another spot and they didn't want it and this went on throughout the day... it's frustrating, but that's the way it goes sometimes. We have plenty of time to make up for today, so we are going to hang tuff and try again tomorrow. GOOD NIGHT, The AA Team |
|||
|
|||
|
The boat returned this morning with a fantastic catch of tuna in all sizes - the largest at 326. These fish were a beautiful grade and hope everyone will be enjoying sushi or the bbque this weekend! Thanks to everyone on board this trip for joining us on this 10 dayer sponsored by Tiburon. Thanks again to Skip, onboard support and Steve Bledsoe for the giveaways. And the biggest thanks to all our wonderful customers - a great trip like this wouldn't be possible without you guys!! Check out the jackpot picture below, congratulations guys. 
Honorable Mention: Anthony Foster 326 lb kite fish Yellowfin Tuna 1st place: Karl Khoe 295 lb Yellowfin Tuna 2nd place: Steve Schneblin 273 lb Yellowfin Tuna 3rd place: Jim Stein 219 lb Yellowfin Tuna The boat will be resting as the crew enjoy their family and friends until our next 10 day which departs on Dec. 26th. Until then, Happy Holidays everyone and thank you for being a part of our American Angler Family!! The AA Team |
|||
|
The Perfect Grade Thinking about how the trip unfolded with the grade of fish that we caught and listening to the guys down below catching that "mid-grade" fish this morning, made us look deeper into what that fish actually represents. First, the grade of fish that we are talking about are 60-90lbs with a few 40'5 and a few tipping the scale over a 100lbs. There has been plenty of times in the past and many more times in the future where we would give, or do just about anything to catch this grade of fish whether on a 10 day or even a longer trip. This fish for years have been even "seasoned" anglers personal bests, and how many times have we heard the story of the 75lb bigeye caught ten years ago while albacore fishing. These fish push all the limits both physically and tackle wise because if undergunned with either - would result in a lost fish. The reason we are writing about this is, that just because one didn't catch a cow we must not lose perspective or appreciation for these beautiful fish. We all know that this is easy to do as we are just as guilty as everyone else as we stress our 7 over 200lbs and 1 over 300{see we did it again}. The enclosed picture shows just how nice these tuna are as we can only dream of these being our bread and butter fish on every trip. In closing, we would like to talk a little about the guys. During this time of thankfulness me and my partner both realize how lucky we are to have such a great crew. From taking care of the boat and passengers,to spotting fish, professionally working the deck, showing the upmost pride in taking care of the great RSW fish and for putting out great meals - we realize that we have some of the best. On this note, we all would like to thank the "brains and glue" behind our operation by wishing Lori a happy birthday. 
Have A Great Holiday, The Guys |
|||
|
Icing On The Cake We finished up at Benitos looking for yellows with limited success. We saw pretty good sign of fish first thing in the morning, but they didn't want to bite. We caught 25 or 30 yellows before the seals figured out that we were around. We then went out and caught some lunch fish before we took off for Cedros. We arrived at the island a few hours later and it was pretty breezy out of the northeast. There wasn't much sign, but we were able to find a kelp line that had a few nice fish. Once again it didn't bite as good as it showed, but we did manage a couple of handfuls of nice big yellows. Skip Stenbro from Tiburon Reels made the trip fun with his nightly give aways and his charismatic attitude. We felt that this trip was a total success not just because of all the fish or the big cows, but the way the group meshed together. There were a few different groups of Friends and Family at the beginning of the trip, but by the end there was only one big group. Have A Great Holiday, The Guys |
|||
|
Good Weather Throughout last night the rain-related wind finally backed off. We pulled the anchor before daylight and ran out to the area where we saw a little sign of wahoo on the way down. For whatever reason whether or not it was because of the wind or something else, the conditions were not the same. The water had cooled off a degree and a half and we never got a strike. We salvaged the day on the beach in the afternoon by catching yellows. Everybody had fun yanking and cranking as they were really biting the yo-yo jig. Overall everyone is relaxed and enjoying the ride up after 3 days of hectic fishing. Fred Best, one of our fine passengers used some of his idle time giving our cooks a hand. He helped in preparing this evening's ribs with his famous rub. We are traveling up and are going to try one of our local islands to see what we can come up with. 
Enjoying The Ride, The Guys |
|||
|
Altitude We moved up from the tuna grounds yesterday in preparation for the 15-20kt wind forecast. After making a tank of bait in a downpour rainstorm, we started up the line and woke up to more of the same. After the defined squall lines went through, the weather forecasters unfortunately were correct with their wind predictions. We rolled up [literally] the ridge and found very little to fish for with only a few yellows caught here and there on the shallow spots. We are going to try for a few wahoo tomorrow as we have plenty of beautiful yellowfin in the hole waiting to be utilized when we get home. Today's picture is from a few days ago. No, it is not a nail that we used to hammer the cows with - it is a reminder of the extreme pressure that the gear is under when fighting these big fish. For the big fish that was lost when this hook straightened, we landed a multitude more on the same style hook showing that even the best tackle sometimes isn't enough. 
Hope For Flat Calm, The Guys |
|||
|
Karma We started in the zone where we caught the big ones the evening before and by chance they were there again. Right away we saw sign of 75lb fish, but because we were no longer shopping for that grade - we left them. It took us about an hour to find a stop where we had the big ones blowing out around the boat and biting. We ended up with 5 fish over two hundred pounds and a multitude of fish in the 160-190lb class. Steve Schneblin lost a big fish yesterday right at gaff and instead of some dramatic show, he laughed out loud and thanked everyone for the chance and opportunity to pull on such a great fish. It seems pretty coincidental that Steve threw out twice and caught two fish over 200lbs on consecutive baits topped by a 273lber. Also joining the good karma group was Barry Gambarana who passed off a fish to someone that didn't yet have a big one, even though he knew it was a cow because we all saw the huge boil it made at impact. 
Working Up The Line, The Guys |
|||
|
The Top For those of us that work on sportfishing boats there are many definitions of our job. One definition is pretty obvious that we are fisherman, but in reality we are educators. Passing on not only tackle tips, but more importantly how to use that tackle to hook fish and land them is one of the many things that we do. The combination of a helpful crew and open-minded passengers can be detrimental to any fish that swims. Today was another great day of fishing. We had three stops where the 60-170 lb fish were biting very good. Because we have no self proclaimed "experts" on board, the hectic 5 and 6 way tangles were unweaved with very few losses. It almost brought a tear to the crews eyes as several first-timers quickly became part of the machine as proof that with a cool head and clear mind, there is no tangle too tough. We had a big day on these mid-grade fish and it certainly does not go unappreciated. In the afternoon we went in search of something different. Through the hard work from the guys in the mast, we were able to get on a little different grade of fish. Although there was only a few fish in the group, by looking at the machines we knew that they were different. We hooked a total of four fish with Steve Schneblin bringing the first fish up to color. The gaffs were out, but on the final stand up and lift, the hook straightened out and the fish swam to its freedom. It was easy to say that it was truly the "big one that got away" because we all had such an intimate look at the fish. We were able to make a pretty good estimation in our minds because in the same stop Jim Stein got one 212, Karl Khoe landed a 295lb monster and Anthony Foster landed an absolute giant 326lber [thanks to his wife Michele]. We tried to fit the whole group in today's picture, but it was hard to get everybody in with Anthony's great fish. We had everyone included because it was the group's togetherness that made the bigger fish possible. 
Only Through Cooperation, The Guys |
|||
|
Good Fortune We were fortunate enough to start the trip off with beautiful weather. Our guys in the mast were able to take full advantage of this and almost made it seem easy to head us in the right direction. All morning we were running for some fish related sign and had a few stops that really paid off. We had great fishing on an absolute beautiful grade of fish. We ended up the day with 78 fish from 40-140lbs with the majority weighing in at 60-80lbs. We could not have asked for a better way to start the trip as everybody on board has a few of these gems in the sack. Skip Stenbro of Tiburon Reels poses with one of the dozen fish caught that weighed over a hundred pounds. 
Grateful, The Guys P.S. Holmie, the new rod was broken in |
|||
|
Bob's Sporting Goods The boat returned in the a.m.after this 10 day adventure which included Giant Tuna Hunting (a couple of bountiful days and a couple of scratch days), a fun day of beautiful Yellowtail fishing at an island and some nice lunch drifts. A Huge thanks to Mike Naoe for all the great giveaways and to Jay Maeda for being the onboard sponsor. Check out pics below of the jackpot winners our and father/son team, The Becks!
1st place: Russell Kimura 260lb YFT 2nd place: John Wilson(standing in,Joe Rubio) 232.5lb YFT 3rd place: Ed Quinten 215lb YFT Honorable Mention: John Liu, Jay Maeda & Liwei Liao 295lb Community Fish The Tiburon trip departed before noon and with plenty of gear - and ready to go. Have a great time, guys! AA Team |
|||
|
CHARGER DAY We traveled all day yesterday making it up the line so we could spend the whole day fishing for a couple of varieties today. In the a.m. we put the sinkers on and let everybody get some Skillet fish to take home and in the afternoon we went fishing for Yellows. The photo of the day is the whole gang with a sample of the fish we had out of a drift while the San Diego Chargers were playing. We are going to run up the line tonight for home and spend one more day traveling before we arrive on Tuesday morning. 
GOOD NIGHT AND HOPING FOR A SMOOTH RIDE, The AA Team |
|||
|
ANOTHER DAY OF HUNTING FOR GIANTS Today we got off to a good start and thought it was going to be a huge day, well that's what I get for thinking. We ended the day with 14 fish - most all over 100lbs and 1 over 200lbs. We just couldn't put anything together in the afternoon, but there were a couple of the boats that did have a nice day. The weather today was very wet with heavy rain most of the time and by afternoon, there was 20 knots of southeast wind to go with it. So as funny as this sounds, we are on our way up the coast going downhill - that doesn't happen very often. The Big fish of the day was Landed by Jim Hall - a 212lb Yellowfin. He told me that he never caught one over 100lbs so he didn't mess around and just got er done. Things look good down here and I think there is going to be a lot of good fishing in the near future so if you are thinking about booking a trip , don't drag your feet.
GOOD NIGHT, The AA Gang |
|||
|
NEVER SAY DIE! Here it is straight up... fishing down here in the lower zone has not been easy. The gang has been working very hard the last couple of days to put fish on their boats, and Today was no different. On the up side of things - all these nice fish are still around, it is just very short windows throughout the day when they want to bite and you better be in one of those spots when that goes down. Today was one of those days - up until dark we had 10 fish on the boat and it was almost quitting time when all of a sudden the Sonar lit up with a school. It was sheer pandemonium for about a half hour with fish 50 to 101lbs hitting full speed. When the smoke cleared, we ended up with another 25 fish which finished our day on a high note. The photo of the day is our buddy, Uncle Larry with his 132lb Tuna he landed earlier in the day...he was stoked. Tommy on the Polaris Supreme caught a 364lb Yellowfin Tuna - so they're still around! 
GOOD NIGHT, The AA Gang |
|||
|
THINGS WERE A LITTLE DIFFERENT TODAY You know with all that's going on right now in the long range fleet, you can't help but look forward to each new day. After yesterday one would think that this would be a "slam dunk"... well I got news for you, it's never the same. We still had a fair day on Quality fish, 16 in total up to 194 lbs. For all you Giant Hunters there was a lack of fish caught over the 200 lb mark today, but tomorrow will be a whole new ball game. The photo of the day is Todd Kawabata, with his YFT weighing in at 162. We are on our way up to the bait grounds to pick up some Greenies and come back down to hit again tomorrow. 
GOOD NIGHT, The AA Gang |
|||
|
JUST GETTING WARMED UP Well we made it down to the zone this morning and started our Hunt for the Giant Tuna. Things looked pretty grim at first light, but shortly after the sun came up over the horizon we started to see sign of fish. The first stop started out with 60 to 90lb Tuna and then we did hook a couple of Cows towards the end of the drift. The afternoon was not super exciting til right before dark when we finally found a little sonar dab and landed 6 fish all over 100 pounds with 3 over the 200 lb mark, the biggest weighing in at 294 - hooked by John Liu and teamlanded by Jay and Liwei. We are very happy with our day and have lots of time before we even have to think about moving up the line..... wish us luck.
GOOD NIGHT, The AA Gang |
|||
|
ARE WE THERE YET? Today was the first day of traveling and we got a chance to wet a few lines. We didn't have too much time to play, but we hit a couple of our Bottom Spots to pick up some fresh fish for lunch - we were successful - and then back on the road we went. The photo of the day is Jay Maeda with our first Cow of the trip (cow cod). The weather is flat calm and the forecast looks good for the next couple of days. Tomorrow there will be some of our Long Range Boats down in the lower banks area and we will be there the day after tomorrow. 
GOOD NIGHT AND THINK OF GOOD VIBES, The AA Gang |
|||
|
Back on the water The American Angler crew had a few days to relax with loved ones and friends - reflect on what they are thankful for, watch a little football and eat a lot of pumpkin pie. This morning everyone showed up rested and ready to go and the bow was pointing South by 8am. Everyone's gearing up for fish mode - hopeful about what the week will bring and what the ocean may yield. Traveling, The Guys |
|||
We would like to thank Mike Farnsworth and the CME4TUNA group on this trip for some great fun & memories down on the lower banks. A Special Prayer & Thanksgiving wishes go out to all our troops serving our country. 
Jackpot Winners Erik Kinoshita - 359lbs John Yarbrough - 296lbs Don Garcia - 247lbs "Happy Thanksgiving" The American Angler Staff |
|||
|
Mag Bay Cows Before we talk about tackle, we must first talk a little about the style of fishing that we do. There have been bites on the anchor at various shallows but majority of the bites have happened while drifting in deep water. We fish these fish much like "Albacore Style" - where we look around with our sonars while the crew is in the mast or on the wing burning with binoculars for birds, breaking fish, jumpers, and sometimes mammals in order to get us in the right zone. The importance of our code boats is key in narrowing down the 50 mile area that we fish. As with most things there is a learning curve for all of us but as a fleet we seem to be making more sense of things and are figuring out patterns. Once these areas of life are pinpointed is the time when the anglers must be ready to go at a moments notice. Quite often when we slide into these stops there are 150-350lb fish busting water all around the boat. To slide a sardine or mackeral in the water when this is going on, is definitely the apex of sportfishing. During the slide is the time when we hook our first round of fish, at times bending half the boat. After the boat "settles in" is when we start drifting with everyone on the windy side of the boat while on the other side there are kites or other flying apparatus being deployed. When in the zone we have never seen a better chance at hooking a cow as it is not uncommon for more then half the fish hooked to be over two. With this in mind, we must touch base on a sometimes touchy subject. My partner Sam Patella's uncle made the famous saying that "everybody kisses their wife but everybody does it different". We do not wish to offend any "sewing circle", we just would like to give our suggestions on tackle based on a" hand's on" point of view. Before writing this, not only was the crew of the American Angler asked for input but I also talked to many of my fellow captains whose opinions I not only trust but also live by. The fact that the targeted species are big tuna, we will try and help navigate through all the information out there and try to customize your tackle to specifically fish for these "cows". Reels Because of the before mentioned reasons, a "50" sized reel is the minimum size reel that is recommended. Even though there have been plenty of big fish caught on "30"sized reels, or the fact that they are souped-up or turbo-charged, they have an application.....and it is not here. A "50" sized reel or larger, has the necessary line capacity which is very often an issue and it also has the necessary guts and torque necessary for doing the job. As far as brands, we don't represent one specific brand but instead stand by most of the higher end reel manufacturers because they all put out a quality product. The Accurate 50, Penn International 50 VSX, Avet 50SDS, and Shimano Tiagra 50 are some of our favorites. The wide versions have the line capacity advantage with the drawback being a little more cumbersome to handle. Although they work fine out of the box, the enthusiast might take their reels to Ken's Custom Reels (760) 967 7335, or our sweetheart for life Nancy Sheets at Cals, and there are other reputable tackle establishments for ultimate freespool and beefier drags. Line All the reels should be filled to within 80-90% full capacity with 200lb hollow core spectra. Ifyou have 130lb spectra please do not take it off, as a length of 200lb can be spliced on top. Recommended topshots of 130lb mono should be at least a boat length long. This has been a controversial subject in the past, but once again the crews and captains of most of the long range boats have found this to be the practical length. For the average angler, a short topshot does allow the "give" necessary when fighting a big cow close. Too long a topshot is not preferable because it makes it a little tougher to properly soak a bait. We use Izorline on the boat due to our familiarity, but we also back all of the major brands of line because they are all quality as long as the angler always is fishing with "fresh" line. Tracy from Blackwater sent us some 130lb Flourocarbon top shots that seemed to be "coincidentally" getting more then its share of bites and although relatively new, we're sure it will work fine because everything they make is of the highest quality. When it comes to connections, every boat has a little different method. Because we are talking about the big gear we will only talk about the big line connections. The 30 turn Albright connection is good with the right guides, the loop to loop connection, or the traditional splice finished with a crimp, overhand knot or whipped, are all accepted methods.. Our guys on the AA use the Sato crimp stlye exclusively bonding the 200lb hollow core spectra with 130lb monofiliment. For those of you riding with us, this is done for a nominal charge because we are not in the tackle selling business, we only want to have our guys prepared for the bite of their dreams. Rods Like all different aspects of gear, there are many high quality rods on the market. Cal Star, Seeker and Loomis are some of the many fine rods that are available. These rods should be 6 to 6 1/2 feet with high quality rollers. Our personal favorite is an old style, all glass 6 1/2 foot rod although we have been seeing more graphite, graphite composite rods on the rig and they have been doing the job. The longer rod helps keep the line away from the boat on the tuna's inside part of the circle and the longer rod also provides a little more shock absorption in the modern-time-shorter-topshot era. Hooks When it comes to hooks, all of us are in agreement that there is not the perfect hook. Like connections when each hook is under this extreme amount of pressure no one is foolproof. The Eagle Claw 2004 and 2005 in the 8/0 and 9/0 version, Owner super mutu in 6/0 and 7/0, Hayabusa magnum 6/0-8/0,and some of the tuna hooks designed for big fish by Mustad are the hooks we most commonly see. All these types are fine although no hook is foolproof as some bend and some break under the extreme pressure. A pulled hook is not a reason to throw a certain brand away or quit fishing - it is simply bad luck so keep a good attitude and stay away from Vegas. Other Necessities The most commonly forgot item that is left behind is the proper state of mind. Booking a 10 day trip only under the premise of catching big fish might leave you disappointed. Remembering that it is a fishing vacation should be first and foremost because we all are here because we love to fish. Having a down attitude because of a lost fish or lack of bites might start a snowball effect, so having a good positive attitude equals more bites. Keeping things in perspective can be very tough because there is so much media around a 200lber, it sometimes leaves the beautiful hundred pound class fish unappreciated. An open mind is the most important part of any angler's arsenal. The crew members that work on these boats are here because they love to fish. The personal self gratification of helping an angler land a personal best is definitely another important reason. As an angler, it would be wise to use this resource as it is available on the decks of all the boats during the two day travel down to the grounds, so ask questions! If you are coming out on a future trip or just thinking about it, and the thought of the overall expense seems intimidating , don't buy anything..On the AA we have loaner rods available for the cost of line. Therefore you can come test the waters and see if you like this style of fishing and get your own "hands on" experience and what kind of tackle is for you. Also don't worry about a kite rod because on the boat we always have at least five of them ready to go. I am writing this on our first evening of travel up from the grounds listening to the day's final fishing reports. My old roommate Randy on the Star reported in with 10 fish out of his final drift, 6 of which weighed over two with one over three. He also said that they had several other "heavy, like they were hooked to the bottom" type giants hooked that they lost where the 250's that were landed were small in comparison. Hoping This Clears Some Tackle Questions Up, The Guys |
|||
|
Predictions The reason why so many people enjoy fishing is the unknown factor. Forrest Gump and his box of chocolates is the perfect analogy when it comes to picking trips and this trip was the perfect example of the unexpected. Not to say that catching cows this time of year is uncommon, but we didn't exactly leave the dock knowing that the only outfit we would be using is the big gear. This reminds us of when we used to fish the islands down below. The last thing one would want to hear when leaving the dock was that fishing was wide open, and the best report you could hear would be of scratch fishing. The reason for that would be that there would be a pretty good chance that in the three and a half day travel down, fishing would change. We guess that the moral of the story is that it is impossible to predict how fishing is going to be and one just has to join the adventure with a good attitude and understand that this is fishing. Charter master Extraordinaire, Mike Farnsworth, and his group of guys were the perfect example. When we told them leaving the dock about the previous weeks tough fishing and conditions most everyone did not even flinch - the overall consensus was that everyone would be ready to enjoy their vacation and make the best of it. As for today's report, we woke up in the morning after a very windy night ready for our last fishing day. Right away we had a small spot of fish that really wanted to bite. We had 40-80lb fish going through the corner, biting good, and we had 10 to 15 fish hooked up at a time for about 45 minutes. After the commotion was over, we had put aboard well over thirty fish with several fish weighing over 100lbs. What was laying on deck after an hour, we would be proud to have caught in an entire day at the "Lupe" or the "Stones". The rest of the day was spent looking for cows and we found a couple of stops where we had our shots - we ended up the day with seven fish from 160-238lbs. Today's pictures are the Seattle boys and Derek Davis with his 236lb fish. Our second picture is Pete Jones and the guys with the trip's last fish put aboard that weighed in at 238lbs. We feel extremely fortunate with our lucky timing on the grounds. We truly appreciate the one fish over three (there were 5 caught in the fleet during this time frame), the thirteen over two and the numerous other quality fish that we caught.
Traveling Up, The Guys |
|||
|
No Where Else In The World The fleet enjoyed another great day of giant yellowfin tuna fishing on the grounds. The day started off with 30-60lb fish and in the afternoon we got on the trophies. For those lucky enough to be fishing on one of the long range fishing boats right now, it is truly a unique experience. There are plenty of locations in the world where these large fish are caught - but not like this. To pull up on a spot of 150-350lbers jumping out of the water right on the stern while the anglers cast live bait right into the middle of the mess is a scene that cannot be easily duplicated. Our good fortune of landing a large percentage of the big fish we hooked was due to end. We got into the zone and had a couple of stops late where we had our shots at fish. One stop we hooked a dozen fish and for one reason or another all except for two just came off. By now it was a race against the sun in order to find another stop which we lucked into right before dark. Our streak seemed to continue as we hooked four fish in the first ten minutes with two of them coming off after extended battles. The first one landed was a 180lber and the last fight took Erik Kinoshita well into the dark. Right about the time we were considering today's off-luck, our group's good faith persevered with a happy ending. With the help of the entire crew, Erik proudly poses with his 359lber with everybody's smile telling the tale. 
Feeling Fortunate, The Guys |
|||
|
Perspective No matter what we do, it always seems like it is easy to lose perspective. After another day of seeing and catching a few big fish, we had a stop on biting 40-60lb fish. At first the thought crossed through our minds to leave and look for bigger ones but then we remembered that it was just four days ago we could only dream of catching these. We dropped down to sixty pound test and had a good time putting some of these aboard. As far as the big ones are concerned, there could not be better news. As a fleet we all saw plenty of scattered sign which hopefully means that this could turn into a consistent thing. There sure is as good of sign of cows as we have seen before in the past. For the day we ended up with 50 fish - a dozen of those were 150lbs or better. We had three fish over two hundred pounds topped by a monstrous 297lber landed by John Yarbrough. Tomorrow we hope to be fortunate enough to have a few chances at the good ones again. 
Appreciative, The Guys |
|||
|
It's too early for today's fish report - Brian and the gang are fishing, but last night they sent a couple more pictures of yesterday's action on deck - check back tonight! Pictured below AA crew with Michael Odonnell and his cow - also Taro with John Yarbrough during his battle yesterday....
|
|||
|
It's On After testing the the water yesterday with our tippietoes - today we jumped in. Big reels, big line, good hooks and mackerel were the reasons we landed a high percentage of our fish today. Today was one of those days where there were many chances to get a good one... there were plenty of cows showing around the boat during several of our stops today. We caught some school-sized fish in the morning and finished off the day with 16 fish from 80-247lbs. Four of our fish landed were over 200lbs, caught by Don Garcia, Erik Kinoshita, John Yarbrough and Mike Odonnell. Leading the Big Fish Hit Parade is Etti Yootanawin (Hi to his daughter Tylin) who had the hot hand with 3 fish in the 100lb class. Today's pictures are Erik Kinoshita with his cow and the other from left to right are Don Garcia, Richard Baca, Etti Yootanawin and Bruce Inniss with their trophies!
Using The Big Gear, The Guys PS one spot on next Saturday's 10 day.... |
|||
|
Cows Today we got a taste of the "first day jitters" on the tuna grounds - not really knowing what to expect at times makes it hard to choose the right gear. Small reels with hundred pound mono and smaller hooks proved to be overmatched. After several long battles with a heartbreaking end, today was one of the few days where the saying, "that was a big one too" was not wrong (have you ever heard someone say they lost a small one?) The fleet had a conservative count of 10 fish over 200lbs and one fish over 300lbs for the day, so we knew that a few of the ones lost were Grande. We ended up the day with 5 fish over a hundred with Don Garcia leading the way with his 207lber. We also had a bunch of school-sized fish to fill in the cracks. Tomorrow we are hoping for a few more shots at these trophies and plan to be armed with bigger bait and bigger gear. 
Kudos To Those That Already Booked Trips, The Guys |
|||
|
Preseason After traveling for a couple of days, it was nice to stop and put the anchor down to fish. We arrived at the upper end of the ridge and had a few hours of jig cranking and bait tossing. We had fun action on small grade yellows, most of which were tossed back with a few better ones chilling in the RSW for the barbecue at home. Today's stop was to straighten out the kinks and wet a line which was a success aided by the beautiful weather. Today's photo of Hal Freidlander needs no explanation as his smile says it all. One of our code boats connected with the cows today and we are in position to start the season in the morning. 
Warmed Up, The Guys |
|||
|
Angler's Choice trip docks this morning The boat returned this morning with a nice catch of Wahoo, Dorado and Yellowtail. Tuna was missing from the equation - but just as unusual, our passengers caught and released, unharmed, in the neighborhood of 200 marlin. It was definitely a different kind of trip for these guys this year. A big thanks to Luc of Angler's Choice for his generous giveaways and to Frank for representing the trip. We also want to thank all of our wonderful passengers - we appreciate you guys!! Check out the jackpot Wahoo winners below, congratulations guys. 
1st place: Dennis Saylors 57.4lb Wahoo 2nd place: John Metcalf 43.8lb Wahoo 3rd place: Ed Kaminaka 35lb Wahoo Honorable Mention: Dick Stokes 55.8lb Troll Wahoo The CME4Tuna guys just headed out today - tune back in to check on their progress. (Also a few more pics up on the photo gallery on #25 - thank you Rich!) AA Team |
|||
|
QUALITY YELLOWS We made it up to Cedros Island this morning after a bit of a bumpy ride last night and we tried a few spots before we finally were able to stay put and pick at Yellows ranging from 20 to 30 lbs. We ended up with a total of 40 of these fish for our 16 anglers for the day - most of which came in the morning before lunch. The photo of the day is Bob McPherson with his first fish on the long rod. We are going to be rolling up the line tonight and if the weather will allow us, we're going to try and pick up some Frying Pan fish before we head it for the Barn. 
GOOD NIGHT, The AA Gang |
|||
|
YANKIN AND KRANKIN ACTION Today reminded me of the olden days of fishing the Ridge, with steady action on all kinds of stuff - we had Yellows, pargo and a few small Tuna this morning. We let go a lot of fish and put tags on some and everybody enjoyed the hot action on deck. We are running up the line tonight to fish around some Dirt and try for Yellows. The weather is just a little bumpy right now - not bad - but still we're looking forward to the lee of an Island. GOOD NIGHT, The AA Gang |
|||
|
A FEW MORE SKINS FOR THE BARBY We did some trolling today and managed to pick up a few more of these nice quality Wahoo - the weather is very nice and we will spend one more day down here before running up and switching gears to Yellowtail mode. The photo of the day is Mr. Dick Stokes with his Big Wahoo. 
GOOD NIGHT, The AA Gang |
|||
|
I SURRENDER TO THE TUNA GODS We tried again this morning to get back on that Tuna that has been around this fall season but sometimes things just aren't Right. I would put money that in a few days when all of you out there in Iternet land pull up the Long Range websites, things will be back on track. The photo of the day is Bill and Ray with the lone Wahoo for our day. We did have some action on Dorado this morning - most of which were released. We are going to start working our way up the line and start targeting anything but Tuna here the next few days... so that's the plan for now. 
GOOD NIGHT AND FOR ANY TUNA OUT THERE, YOU'RE NOT SAFE IN THE FUTURE, The Mighty AA Crew More pics in the photo gallery (M&M trip - thank you Peter!) |
|||
|
FUN DAY OF STOP AND GO FISHING We put together a nice day on Wahoo and Big Bull Dorado, not to mention all the Marlin a guy could ever want. We released all the Marlin of course, but it was an action-packed day. We are going to give it another try out on the Tuna grounds and hope that things are back on the up and up - even if you look back in the log books, there has always been down periods even in the best of fall seasons. This Tuna will bite again, we just hope it's tomorrow. GOOD NIGHT, The AA Gang A few new pictures up in the photo gallery, thanks Martha - and more on the way from other trips soon.. |
|||
|
DID SOME FISHING TODAY We started out in the Tuna Zone and the hand writing was on the wall that things weren't going to happen. So we went looking inside to the Potato Bank and picked at the Wahoo for most of the afternoon. The photo of the day is Dennis Saylors... you may have seen him before, back in the day he played for the Oakland Raiders. He's lost a few pounds and shrunk in size since his ball playing days. 
GOOD NIGHT, The AA Team |
|||
|
MAMA TOLD ME I'D HAVE DAYS LIKE THIS Things have to get better... we arrived down here in the lower zone this morning and the weather had backed off from the day before and it didn't take long before we saw our first spot of fish. Well, after a couple of hours of working the spot all we had to show for it was one Tuna which made its way into the Galley for Sushi Rolls. It was a long day, but late in the afternoon we did see more dabs of fish, which didn't bite, but gives us hope for tomorrow. We have lots of time left in the trip and by no means are we giving up yet, so tomorrow has to get better - there's no where to go but up. GOOD NIGHT TO ALL, The Worn out AA Capt. |
|||
|
WELL, WE HAD ONE ON! We didn't have much time for fishing today, due to a very strong uphill tide which prevented us from making a good speed traveling down to the Ridge. We did have a bite - but as bad luck would have it, nothing to show for it. Tomorrow we will be down in the Lower Bank zone and have many days to get the party started.... this Gang is all rested up and ready to rumble. GOOD NIGHT AND WISH US LUCK, The AA Gang |
|||
|
HAPPY HALLOWEEN TO ALL Just thinking of everybody at home Trick or Treating tonight - as for us, we just got done with a nice dinner and are still traveling down the coast. Tomorrow we'll be somewhere on the upper end of the Ridge late in the day, so we will try to send a fish report for you. 
GOOD NIGHT AND GIVE LOTS OF GOOD CANDY AWAY TONIGHT, The AA Gang |
|||
|
Sport Chalet Gang Back At The Dock The boat pulled into the slip this morning about 6:30am, with a nice variety including 4 Yellowfin Tuna over 100lbs. It is always so great to see everyone from this trip and spend this time together. Another huge thanks to Brad for diving up a lobster dinner for the group - that's a fine meal - and don't forget Dale Monday's world famous toffee candy dessert! Check out the jackpot winners below, congrats guys. 
1st place: Bob Clark 180lb Yellowfin Tuna 2nd place: Bill Randall 160.5lb Yellowfin Tuna 3rd place: Fred Mcnulty 116lb Yellowfin Tuna The annual Angler's Choice 11 day departure got away just before noon - check back for that first fish report... AA Team |
|||
|
Fall These fall trips offer all different types of fishing opportunities. This trip we had fast action on mid-grade yellowfin tuna 18-60lbs and we crossed paths with the cows as well. We were able to catch 4 fish that were well over one hundred pounds and we saw plenty of those blow out which is very encouraging for trips to come. There was also wahoo fishing to be had - some of our code boats had the classic style stop and go fishing around some high spots, but our wahoo action was centralized around finding the right kelp. There is also good sign of flats around both kelps and in the open water. We finished up our surface fishing yesterday on the beach catching yellowtail on the anchor. Today we bundled up our rods after a few hours of bottom fishing - like the one caught in today's picture of "Ying and his Ling". We would like to thank Brad Lemoine and his Sport Chalet group for making our job easier. With a regular and experienced group, it enabled us to take chances in our pursuit for quality fish. This is a great group and because of their every-year-loyalty, we have been fortunate enough to provide them with many memorable trips with the hopes of many more to come. 
Don't Sweat The Small Stuff Just Come Fishing, The Guys PS Happy 80th Birthday, Robert Cass, love your #1 son. |
|||
|
Timing Today we started on the beach fishing for yellows. We got to our desired destination mid-morning. It was lucky we were there when we were, because we saw decent sign of fish and had nice fishing current. We kept one to five hooked for a couple of hours until the current died around lunch. We picked up the anchor and moved up the line in search of more but never found them. Everybody ended up with a few yellows for the bbque and we were once again blessed with good weather. Today's picture is of a catch and release juvenile black sea bass displaying its colorful mottling. 
Moving Up The Line, The Guys |
|||
|
Rolling The Dice Today we ventured out to the Rocks with great expectations. Playing the long range boat driving chess game, we thought that we were lining ourselves up for a hit. The old adage of "you can't get a hit if you don't go to bat" came into play but unfortunately we fouled everything off. We woke up to a beautiful sunrise and had perfect fishing current, and we started off with a bang as the first fish of the day was a 60lb tuna. We were licking our chops with anticipation for the upcoming wahoo troll. Unfortunately we never got a single strike as we circumnavigated the stones. It was not a total loss as we had an enjoyable pick on school grade tuna and yellows. We stayed til midmorning before going offshore to look for kelps which never produced. We are continuing up the line to fish for yellows on the beach. We included two pictures this evening to make up for days past. One is Greg and Nate (both missing their gals) with the reason why they were biting full speed in the galley. The other is Dave Samarin (slava bohoo) with his first of two wahoo for the trip.
Rolled A Seven, The Guys |
|||
|
Is This Real? The weather has been indescribable for the last 4 days. The flat glass weather made spotting kelp paddies a pleasure. Once we stopped on these kelps the Dorado would instantly make their presence known. Also spicing up some of the kelps were the free swimming wahoo which sometimes bit and sometimes didn't. At the end of the day we caught limits of Dorado and three handfuls of wahoo. Todays picture shows a triumphant Bob Cass and the Fat Kid Chris Cruger ( Jacqueline TOU Chris) posing with the rest of the gang and their wahoo. 
Today's Photo Courtesy of Matt Romaine and Tony Duprey (wish you were here Rocky) ENJOYING THE UNREAL WEATHER!!! The Guys |
|||
|
Moody Most people, fish and wildlife go through different moods It is impossible to figure out the reason why attitudes can change so quickly. Weather it be the full moon, the weather too nice, or any other of the many exuses we always hear.The only thing that we know for sure is that today they were not biting. The fleet still saw sign of fish including cows, and a couple of our code boats landed fish in the 180lb class. We are changing our zip code taking advantage of our ten day range and pursuing other ventures. The Guys |
|||
|
It's Here Today was an all-show and no-go type affair. It's easy to get frustrated when the endless search for fish is rewarded with no bites. Throughout the day we saw several spots with the same sign on machines (as far as good ones are concerened) as we did in past years. One of our code boats fought a good fish for a couple of hours only to lose it at deep color. It was guesstimated at 240lbs equipped with long sickles. We looked at fish all day, capturing some school-grade tunafish. At the end of the day we had a stop where we hooked a round of good ones. Bob Clark led the hit parade landing a fish that weighed 180lbs. Hope Things Are Turning For The Better At Home, The Guys |
|||
|
Space On A Ten Day? We are sure that there are many reasons why there aren't as many people booking trips this year. We would like to think that because everyone reading this is a fisherman, fishing definitely cannot be the reason. The wise angler knows that in order to experience the "bite", you have to book a trip and be there when it happens. Today we fished the "Cow Zone" and had several stops during the day where there were 100lb+ tuna breaking around the boat. We boated over 80 fish in that 40 to 90 lb range, with 2 fish over 100lbs - our top angler today was Bill Randall with a 160lb Yellowfin Tuna. What we saw today was excellent for things to come. In recent history, fish in the mid 100's haven’t shown this early and this excites us for the rest of the Fall fishing season. Today’s picture shows one of our most experienced groups - as the majority of these anglers make this an annual trip - and so they are enjoying some of the finest fishing we have ever seen. For those at home, we hope the humidity is high, the wind is calm and everyone is safe. 
GOOD NIGHT, The AA Guys A couple spots on the next two trips - call Lori at the office guys - 619 223 5414... |
|||
|
Conditions, Our satellite weather maps that we rely on predicted no wind, but when we arrived in the area where we were going to search for kelps, we were greeted with a very large and confused ocean. The strong northeast winds that are plaguing Southern California & the Baja Peninsula were strong enough to reach us a 100 miles offshore with dust driven by 18 - 20 kts. of breeze. Throughout the day the winds diminished, however we were never able to find an area holding anything except small tuna and Dorado. Dan Shubin was one of the two lucky anglers to land one of the targeted species. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families and firemen involved with the wildland fires. 
GOOD NIGHT, The AA Gang |
|||
|
Penn Trip Returns The boat returned on time early in the morning, and had a great catch of Yellowfintuna up to 82lbs, a great catch of preium Yellowtail and a few Dorado for a little variety. Again, we want to thank Steve Carson for representing this trip and the gifts - we appreciate it! Also thanks to all the passengers on board, we had a lot of new faces that we hope to see back next year. Thanks guys! Check out the jackpot winners below, congrats guys! 
1st place: Bob "Chappy" Chapman 82lb Yellowfin Tuna 2nd place: Mike Nielsen 81.5lb Yellowfin Tuna 3rd place: Fred Harris 79lb Yellowfin Tuna Honorable Mention: Jim Macmillan 80lb Yellowfin Tuna
The annual Sport Chalet 10 day departure went smoothly with old friends getting reacquainted and new friends being made. There was some talk of losing at cribbage - this group's favorite pastime... - check back for reports and cribbage winners! AA Team |
|||
|
HOMEWARD BOUND Today was the last leg of our journey and we will arrive home in the morning. The gang had a nice day of just relaxing by watching movies, taking naps, eating and just about anything they wanted to do. We would like to say Thank You to everybody on the trip - we saw good fishing and at times a lot of wind. And also a special Thanks to Steve Carson, our Penn Rep., for bringing out all of his great giveaways. Thank you all so much and looking foreward to next years trip. 
GOOD NIGHT AND SIGNING OFF, Your Crew Sam, Jesse, Matt R., Matt B., Taco , Nate and Paul TEAM AA ETA 0600 |
|||
|
THE RIGHT WAY TO FINISH A TRIP After a long ride up the coast, we wanted to stop and fish behind a big Island to get out of the weather and maybe catch a few fish while we were at it. We didn't arrive until after lunch which didn't give us much time, but we made good use of what daylight we had. Our first stop we picked 45 of these beautiful grade of Yellows and we thought it was over for the day.... but it wasn't. Right at dark we had a bite that was the stuff dreams are made of, which brought us another 35 big Yellows from sundown til dark - Wow was that fun. The photo of the day is Bob Chapman and Capt. Jesse with one of Chappy's fish he picked up on the Iron. 
GOOD NIGHT AND HOMEWARD BOUND!!! The AA Gang |
|||
|
RUNNING FOR COVER Today was not much of a fishing day - we did spend 3 hours doing a little fishing and breaking down some of the big gear and then it was time to get back on the road. We have had a lot of wind last night and today and now we are working up the line. Our goal is to get up to Cedros tomorrow - do some fishing and enjoy the lee of the Island for the late afternoon. Good Night, :The AA Gang |
|||
|
LITTLE HIT BEFORE THE WEATHER BLEW UP We were very luck to get a couple of stops this morning before the wind picked up, and without a doubt the better the weather the better the fishing. The photo of the day is Jack and the guys taken earlier today. We are now enjoying a nice dinner here inside Mag Bay before making our next move up to the Ridge to do some fishing in the morning and then it's time gain some altitude. 
GOOD NIGHT AND SOMEBODY TURN THE WIND MACHINE OFF!!! The Gang PS To Lori, Happy Birthday I miss you a lot and can't wait to see in a few days - Scott. |
|||
|
NOW THAT'S MORE LIKE IT! Well yesterday is history and today was a new day. It didn't take very long this morning before we found our first spot that wanted to bite for us. Most of the fish were 30 to 60 lbs with a few token fish 70 to 80lbs. Throughout the a.m. we picked fish to put together a nice morning. Then this afternoon we got on a spot of 60 to 80lbers that wanted to play. The photo of the day is Jim Macmillan with the first 80 lb fish to hit the deck. NOTE, IT WON'T BE LONG BEFORE THE BIG BOYS BITE. 
Good Night, The Gang PS Happy Birthday to Paul, from Jim. |
|||
|
NO GOOD NEWS ON THE RIDGE Today was mostly a travel day because we didn't put many tagged fish in the hatch. We were targeting Wahoo for the most part but it just seems that the bulk of the fish are not here yet. Tomorrow is time to do some Tuna fishing and the gang is all prepared and ready so I hope we have a better report for you tomorrow night. Wish us a bunch of luck. Good Night, The AA Gang |
|||
|
GET IT AND GET GOING We had another great morning of Yellowtail fishing which started at the crack of Dawn and lasted for a few hours. We are very happy with our luck so far into our journey and we have and now it's time to start making the move down the coast. The photo of the day is Mike Nielsen with one of his Yellows in the hot morning action. 
Good Night, The AA Gang PS Sue, Happy Anniversary - can't wait to see you. Love, Ken PSS Lucy, yes that is your Bill! |
|||
|
GOOD QUALITY FISHING We put the brakes on and fished one of our favorite spots on the way down the coast and this morning it paid off good. The afternoon was a little on the slower side for catching fish, but when the day was done we had a nice score. The photo of the day is Bill and Matt with a sample of these nice Yellows. We are going to give it the morning and then it's time to make a move. 
Good Night, The AA Gang |
|||
|
M&M Home The trip returned this morning with the gang and they began their task of unloading a beautiful catch of fish and the fall variety were all present and accounted for - Yellowfin Tuna, Wahoo, Yellowtail and Dorado. A huge thanks to Monte Parsons, for all he does throughout the year to put this adventure together and thanks to everyone who joined in. Check out the jackpot winners below, congrats guys! 
1st place: Mike Devereaux 89.5 Yellowfin Tuna 2nd place: Tom Szczeblowski 73.5 Yellowfin Tuna 3rd place: Kurt Kohler 73.0 Yellowfin Tuna
The Penn Trip with on board sponsor, Steve Carson, are on their way for the 2nd 10 day trip. Check back on Friday night for the first fish report. AA Team |
|||
|
HOT AND SUNNY, WOW! The weather was great and the fishing was very slow for most of the day, but we did manage to catch 33 just beautiful grade of Yellows for our 18 anglers this afternoon. The photo of the day is Merrill Walstad & Capt.Ray, with just a sample of the fish we caught. We are rolling up the line and going to make a pit stop in the morning for some Pan fish and then it's Homeward bound. 
Good Night, The AA Gang |
|||
|
ROLLING UP The best news we have to report is that the weather is back to normal, fishing was slow today we only managed to pick up one wahoo on the upper end of the Ridge ... there was plenty of small, untagable fish, but we were not in the market for those. We will do some stopping and fishing tomorrow. 
Good Night, The AA Gang |
|||
|
THE WIND IS UP AND THE FISH ARE DOWN We ran inside down the beach in hopes of finding some Tuna action on the anchor sytle fishing. The weather is not nice, but it is forecasted to come down here soon. We spent the morning catching and releasing some Striped Marlin and picking a few Dorado before it was time to run up the road. We did find a floating tree that had some very nice Dorado on it, allowing us some good action - and was the highlight of our day. Tomorrow we are going somewhere on the Ridge and then will run up from there. GOOD NIGHT AND WE HAVE HAD OUR LIMIT OF WIND, The AA Gang |
|||
|
NOTHINGS COLDER THAN YESTERDAYS HOTDOG Well today didn't go like we had hoped it would. To give you the short version, it was basically a long boat ride today. First thing in the morning we did see some spots of fish that we could not even get close to and so we planned for the afternoon bite, which never happened. The photo of the day is Kurt Kohler with the only fish of the day. The weather is up a bit, so we are running in towards the beach to check out some other spots and fishing on the anchor tomorrow. 
Good Night and wish us luck, The AA Gang |
|||
|
TOP OF THE 9TH INNING Well, we rolled down to the Lower Banks and I'd have to say the morning was a little slow - we saw fish, but they didn't want it for most of the day. We slugged it out all day and by late afternoon things started to come together. We had about an hour and a half window when things were right and we took full advantage of that time frame. We had two schools that made our day and it ended up being just a great day. When the sun went down, we had boated 84 Yellowfin Tuna and one For the day. The photo of the day is our Uncle Dee with one of the first fish caught weighing in at 69lbs. The Big fish of the day weighed 89 lbs caught by Mike Devereaux and some were in the seventy lb class. We see much Bigger fish around here... it is just a matter of time before the Cows are going to get on the bite. 
Good Night, The AA Gang PS...We have spots on our upcoming 10 day trips - call Lori! PSS...There are new pictures up on the photo gallery tonight thanks to Walt Nakamura on the Skinny Pirates trip and Scott Taves on the Turners trip - appreciate the shots guys! |
|||
|
FLAT CALM Today was the day to work on down the line. We did troll some Wahoo lures and had a little success on one of our spots and managed to end the day with 10 Wahoo for our efforts. The photo of the day is our fearless leader, Monte Parsons... that's Mr. M&M Custom Rods to you. We are still on a southbound journey to our destination on a hunt of the Big Tuna, so wish us luck. 
Good Night, The AA Gang |
|||
|
We arrived at our destination late last night and got just a sample before we actually had a full day of fun in the sun. This morning we spent time fishing for the trophies in the Lee and by lunchtime, it was time to make a move down the road. Late this afternoon we had a couple hours of good fishing to finish our day. Tomorrow we are going to be on the Ridge and try our luck at some Southern Barracuda, so we'll just see what happens. GOOD NIGHT, The M&M Gang |
|||
|
Ken's Custom Reels returns The trip returned early, early this morning and John Wilson brought home the season's largest Albacore - a 51.4 Fat Albert - way to go, John!! All three jackpot fish (all Albacore) were caught using Progear reels bought from Kens Custom Reels. We want to thank Ken for sponsoring the trip and to Wes for putting it into play. They would also like to send a special thanks out to Accurate, Tady, Burns Saltwater Outfitters and Maui Jim for their generous donations. Thanks to everyone on board and we want to recognize Elise Harshman and thank her for the shirts she had made for all the gang, which they'll cherish and one of Ray's reels (won by a grateful Frank Hess). Check out the jackpot winners below, congrats guys! 
1st place: John Wilson 51.4lb Albacore 2nd place: Nic Hess 36.6lb Albacore 3rd place: Dick Brown 36.2lb Albacore
M & M crew led by Monte Parsons is on their way to our first 10 day adventure - check back! AA Team |
|||
|
We spent all day traveling up the line and I'd have to say as far as the weather goes, this was one of the best trips for calm weather all season. Everyone spent their time just reading books or watching movies and maybe taking a nap. We really had a great time with all of the gang on this trip and we had good fishing. We were able to hit those Albacore when they were up and in the bite mode, and then we spent a couple of days down at Cedros fishing for beautiful quality Yellowtail. We would like to say thanks to Ken Corwin of Ken's Custom Reel for all the goodies, and that we all missed Ken who was unable to make the trip. But not to be discouraged, we had Ken's right-hand man Wes onboard.. so all was good. Thanks to all of you, we are looking forward to fishing with everyone again soon. THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH, Your Crew, Sam, Matt, Ray, Taco, Gerald, Nate and Greg ETA 0500 |
|||
|
ANOTHER HOT AND SUNNY DAY IN THE LEE Today we tried a lot of spots and caught just a little bit of fish here and there, and then finally we had an anchor job which helped us get down to business and we ended up putting together a nice day of quality Yellows. Pictured is Cary Topham with an example of today's catch. 
We are on are way home now and so far the weather looks good for us. Tomorrow the gang will have a day of R&R before getting back to the hustle and bustle of life at home. Good Night, The AA Gang |
|||
|
TODAY WE HAD TO WORK FOR IT We arrived here just before sunrise and were able to catch a few Greenies for hook bait, at daylight we moved to our first spot to try and we started picking fish right away. It seemed like it was going to be easy, but that's why they call it fishing - the fish stopped biting. We made various moves here and there and had a lull in the middle of the day for around 3 hours, but by early afternoon the fish got back on the bite and everything turned out just fine. The photo of the day is Darrel Willis with just one of his nice Yellows. 
GOOD NIGHT, The AA Gang P.S. Happy Birthday Josh from Dad, Nic and the rest of the Gang. Check the 2007 Photo Gallery Click here for lots of new photos. Bob Hara sent pics for Bobs Sporting Goods, Barry our webmaster put up pics from the Badfish trip and Dan Dongelmans sent some pics from the last trip, Turners Rod and Reel. If you've just returned from a trip on the American Angler - and would share your pictures, please email it to the American Angler office, we'd love to put it up in the photo gallery! |
|||
|
HERE'S TO YOU RAY A year ago today was Ray Harshman's last fishing trip, he left this world as we know it and journeyed to a new fishing spot. Today we spent the day just traveling to our next destination, and it gave everybody a chance to rest and think about their fishing buddy. We just got done toasting Ray in the Galley tonight before dinner and in his honor told a few stories and said a prayer in our hearts for him. To Elise, the kids and rest of the family, Ray is still missed by all of us and will be for a long time. 
GOOD NIGHT AND RAY, WISH US LUCK TOMORROW, The AA Gang |
|||
|
FLAT CALM AND THEY WERE HITTING We started out this trip on the Albacore scene, and when we woke up this morning, the weather was just beautiful but I would have to say things didn't look right. By 8:00 am however, things started to show themselves and the rest is history. We basically went from spot to spot all day, some bit and others did not. When the day was over, we had a wonderful catch of fish for the day. The photo of the day is of one of our favorite lady anglers with one of many Albacore she caught today. We are going to make the long run down to our Yellowtail hunting grounds, so time for the gang to get a little break tomorrow. 
GOOD NIGHT, The AA Gang |
|||
|
Turners returns The American Angler returned early this morning with a boatful of Albacore and Yellowtail. Mother Nature showed her generous side this trip supplying the boat with beautiful weather and a bountiful catch. A special thanks to Rich Jenkins who works all year to help make this trip a success and he wanted to send out a big thank you to the following donors: Matt Salas of Salas Jigs, Jason from Accurate, Tim Campbell of Swifty Manufacturing and Rick Ozaki - thank you all for your very nice giveaways. Check out the jackpot winners below, congrats guys! 
1st place: Jeff Brown 53lb Bluefin Tuna 2nd place: John Gailey 41.4lb Yellowtail 3rd place: Phil Leitner 39.0lb Albacore
Capt. Sam & crew departed early with the gang from Ken's Customs Reels for a 6 day - They will dearly be missing their fishing friend, Ray Harshman, on this voyage. AA Team |
|||
|
What a great way to end the trip - the albacore floated, it was all you want, and the weather was perfect. The gang from Turners and the passengers not from Turners meshed together beautifully and what a super-nice group they were collectively. Jeff Brown from Colorado sewed up the jp with a 55lb BFT and the rest will be settled up at the dock by Capt. Brian. Martha and Margaret added a special touch to the trip, keeping the guys real -thanks girls! ETA 0600. Good Night, The Guys |
|||
|
Once again one of our Paradise Islands produced a very nice day on Quality Yellows - we have just been blessed with this Epic fishing for most of the summer. The gang enjoyed flat calm weather and plenty of action to end the day with sore arms and worn out line. The game plan is to spend tomorrow on the move and be up in the Albacore zone on Sunday. So far the weather seems to be in our favor, hope it holds up. Good Night, The Guys |
|||
|
Talked to Capt. Brian tonight who relayed that they arrived at their destination around 1600 hours and started enjoying some very steady action on those nice grade of Yellows. The Gang is going to spend the night, have all day at the Island tomorrow and then just take it from there. Brian also mentioned that yesterday two of the Long range boats were at the Lupe - neither boat liked what they saw and left to go fish other areas. Good Night, The Guys |
|||
|
Skinny Pirates are home The Skinny Pirates group returned early this morning with a beautiful catch of Cedros Yellowtail, an honest days worth of work of Albies and 4 BFTs. Thanks to Chris Cruger and everyone that joined in on the fun........ Check out the jackpot winners below, congrats guys! 
1st place: Steve Yoshimura 40.2lb Yellowtail 2nd place: Steve Powell 39.2lb Yellowtail 3rd place: Ron Tom 36.2lb Yellowtail Honorable Mention: Steve Powell's 2nd fish - a whopping 49.4 Yellowtail
Capt. Brian departed with the Turners Rod and Reel Gang - have fun! AA Team |
|||
|
After a long run, we ended up having a good afternoon of fishing, with 76 albies and 4 BFTs - which were all caught in the afternoon, what a nice way to finish up the trip. Thanks to all the Skinny Pirates Gang - we miss you already..... Good Night and 0600 ETA, The Guys |
|||
|
Today was very, very good fishing starting at daybreak and lasting throughout the day. Again the quality of the fish averaged 25lbs, with some stand-outs at 35lbs and a few jackpot contenders bigger than that. We're all sunburned and will be traveling back up tomorrow to chase Albies the following day. We're having a good time, The Guys |
|||
|
Tomorrow We arrived at our destination close to sunset and got a late start. There are plenty of fish around and we ended up with 26 nice grade yellowtail. We're hoping for a big day tomorrow... Good Night, The Guys |
|||
|
Badfish Is Back Capt. Brian returned with the Badfish group this morning with another great catch of Yellowtail and Albacore. This group caught plenty of fish and didn't let the not-so-nice weather get the best of them. A big thanks to Louis Papai and everyone on board, hope to see you all next year! Check out the jackpot winners below, congrats guys! 
1st place: Chris Rinauro 43.0lb Albacore 2nd place: Carl Zimmer 42.6lb Albacore 3rd place: Dennis Liao 36.2lb Albacore The guys departed with the 2nd annual Skinny Pirates open - check back for reports! AA Team |
|||
|
Gettin 'Em Good Due to weather constraints, our destinations to fish were limited. After our fantastic day of albacore fishing we decided to spend the day traveling in order to put ourselves in position for yellowtail. We took full advantage of the day and had steady fishing from daylight to dark. After two days of wide open fishing, we are now preparing ourselves for the uphill journey. Today's picture is Will Warren with his nice yellow. Louis Papai from Badfish.com has taken great care of their gear and it sure payed off. This group's attitude was to relax and enjoy their fishing vacation. 
Hoping For Decent Weather, The Guys |
|||
|
Southern California Today we had fantastic albacore fishing and enjoyed the day with people from Georgia, New York, Alaska, Washington, Arizona, Nevada, Iowa and a few Californians. What an interesting collection of people who spent the day getting reacquainted (most reunite on this trip annually) and who will have plenty of fish stories to recount over dinner tonight. We are traveling downwind. Having a great time, The Guys |
|||
|
Bobs Sporting Goods Comes Home Capt. Brian brought back Mike Naoe and his guys and gal to Pt Loma Sportfishing this morning with a beautiful and plentiful catch of Yellowtail and Albacore. Bob's Sporting Goods and the American Angler would like to thank Don from Blackwater, Jason from Accurate, Matt Salas of Salas Jigs, Berkeley and Pelagic for your generous donations. And a huge thanks Mike Naoe for everything he puts into his trip - from all the expense of the great giveaways to the time and effort it takes to put this wonderful trip together - Thanks!! And also our appreciation to Jaimie for sending Mike off - we are hoping for your father's quick recovery. Check out the jackpot winners below, congrats guys! 
1st place: Jeff Soga 47.8lb Bluefin Tuna 2nd place: Greg Stoney 40.8lb Albacore 3rd place: Jon Ichino 37lb Albacore Check the 2007 Photo Gallery Click here for new photos from the James Hardware Gang Trip. If you have photos you'd like to share from a trip you just got back from on the American Angler - please email it to the American Angler office, we'd love to put it up in the photo gallery!) Also be on the lookout for photos from this Bob's Sporting Goods Trip. Sources have it that our friend, Mr. Bob Hara, has a nice collection of photos he's donating. The guys departed a little later than usual today (we just installed a brand new computer program on the boat and there were a few wrinkles to iron out) with the annual Badfish group - and a lot of familiar faces. Good luck folks and check back for the first report on Monday night. AA Team |
|||
|
Albacore What started off as a slow day of fishing albacore, ended up a fine day of albacore fishing. When it was all said and done - 120 longfins were on board. We want to thank Mike Naoe of Bob's Sporting Goods and all his great gang - it is a pleasure fishing with you guys and gal.. Thanks, The Guys ETA 6:30am |
|||
|
Travel Day Today was an uneventful travel day to relax with your favorite book or movie or take a nap - check in tomorrow night to see how Longfin fishing went. Until Tomorrow, The Guys |
|||
|
The Right Place At The Right Time After a slow day yesterday, we had high hopes for the day's Yellowtail fishing. There is always uncertainty and second guessing as far as the right place to be when the sun comes up. With the help of my partner, who is guest Captain aboard the Excel, we were fortunate enough to be at that right place at the right time. When it got light, the 25-35lb Yellowtail were there and in an agressive biting mode. The combination of biting fish, excellent anglers and the right tackle only meant one thing - we got 'em. Tomorrow is a travel day because the zone between Yellowtail and Albacore is a desert. Looking Forward To A Nap, The Guys |
|||
|
HIGH HOPES Because of rough weather in the Albacore area, we ran down the beach to start our trip off fishing Yellowtail. With good reports from the previous couple of days, we could not help but think that we would have good afternoon action. Reality set in when we saw Yellowtail on several different spots - but they would bite right at first and then immediately stop. Due to the lack of current, the frustration was made better only by the good attitude and general comraderie of the whole group. We scratched 50 Yellowtail by the days end and we are looking forward to a full day of action tomorrow. Keeping the High Hopes, The Guys one spot opened up on our 5 day departing this Sunday - call the office for details. |
|||
|
Stanley Chin/Little Tokyo trip returns The boat pulled in early with a light load of albacore, but a group full of gracious fishermen. We appreciate everyone in this group and want to thank all - and until next year... Check out the jackpot winners below, congrats guys. 
1st place: Nobe Takasaki 38.6lb Albacore 2nd place: Tim Ebner 36lb Albacore 3rd place: Andy Smith 34lb Albacore The boat got away Tues. @ 9am with the annual Bob's Sporting Goods Gang - things got started right with a whole bunch mouth-watering Kalbi for everyone, thanks to Scott Okamura. Check back for the first report on the 5th. AA Team |
|||
|
BOUND FOR HOME I would like to say we finished up with a bang but it wasn't easy catching today for most of the boats. There is still good sign of fish in a lot of different zones, but you had to be the chosen one to get a good bite. The best part of today was the weather which finally straightened out - not that it's been rough - but late today it was downright nice. We would like to say Thanks to all of the group for being a part of the Stan Chin - Little Tokyo charter - what a great group of guys and gal that make up this trip! Thank you all so much. Your Crew, Sam, Jesse, Tony, Ray, Taco. Greg and Paul. ETA 0600 |
|||
|
THINGS CHANGE SOMETIMES We have been out here on the Albacore grounds the last couple of days and they haven't been easy to catch. There is still plenty of fish to be had, but they just aren't in the same mode they were in a week ago. We have one more day of our trip and are hoping that tomorrow will be the day they get back in the mood. The gang is all in good spirts and they deserve a big finish. Good Night, The AA Gang |
|||
|
THE HUMP! Things are never the same from day to day, fish have tails and believe you me they know how to use them. When we arrived on scene this morning, we started picking at these beautiful grade Albacore and about the time the Muffins came out of the oven, things just seemed different. We spent the next 6 hours wondering what happened - it was time to do some of that Capt. stuff. By late afternoon our hunch paid off and things started to click. We ended the day with 107 fish..... the fish made a move and we were able to get back on them to save the day. The photo of the day is Mike Henderson and Capt. Taro with the Gaff. 
GOOD NIGHT AND WISH US LUCK, The Gang |
|||
|
Return of the James Gang !! The American Angler returned from the annual James Hardware Gang charter this morning - early. They had absolutely the best albacore fishing of the season. A huge thanks to David Samarin for once again organizing this trip and to Dan Shubin for putting together the special menu and food items. The group would like to send out a thank you to the following people for their generous donations - Tim Campbell of Swifty Manufacturing, Jeff Jost of Albakore, Ben Secrest and the rest of the folks from Accurate and to their good friend Brett Rankin of Eagleclaw hooks - Hope you feel better." 
1st place: Carlos Allen 39.8lb Albacore 2nd place: Dan Shubin 39.2lb Albacore 3rd place: Gary Samarin 39.2lb Albacore The boat got away early with the yearly Stan Chin/Little Tokyo trip. There will be lot of sushi on this one, with owner, Toyomi Koshu, of Little Tokyo onboard! Check back for the first report tomorrow night! AA Team |
|||
|
Localism After our excellent albacore fishing and iffy bait we were forced to come back into the bay to reload. The common sense choice of a fishing destination was our Coronado Islands. There has been decent yellowtail fishing to be had for the last four months. Our timing wasn't the best as with the local wind on the beach the water temp dropped dramatically. There was only sign of fish in a few spots and your timing had to be perfect. Some of our local 3/4 day fleet that fishes there every day had a better clue as to whats going on. Even though we only managed a handful of fish morale on the deck remained high. This concludes one of our favorite trips of the year. The guys from James Hardware with all their faith and fishing experience, always make the trip a good one. Believe, The Guys |
|||
|
LIVING THE GOOD LIFE. We were very lucky to have another good day of fishing, without a doubt we are enjoying the best Albacore fishing of the entire season. Today was a little different we never had any big stops but it was just steady fishing all day long. With plenty of Albocore onboard we are going to shift gears and run into the beach and fish some shallow water. The photo of the day is David Samarin and Dan Shubin in just one of our many stops today. 
Good Night The Gang |
|||
|
FLOAT Today we were very fortunate to be a part of the albacore grounds when it bites. It seems like it is very well deserved after all the times when we were here when it didn't cooperate. We experienced it all from scratch fishing to wide open stops. George Nazaroff took time out of his hectic day to pose with one of his many fish. 
Let's Get Some !!! The Guys |
|||
|
Chasin' Tuna Charter Chartermaster Mike Goldsmith and his group returned today from a very successful 5 day trip. They had a nice catch of beautiful grade Cedros Yellowtail, and nice catch of Albacore. This trip will be a 5 day charter again next year. Thanks to Mike Goldsmith for all his hard work organizing this trip and to all the guys! 
1st place: Dwight Carwell 33.6lb Albacore 2nd place: Tom Kelleher 33.2lb Albacore 3rd place: Mike Goldsmith 33.0lb Yellowtail The boat departed at noon with the James Hardware Gang - good luck to David Samarin and all his guys! The AA Team |
|||
|
Right Place At The Right Time This year's albacore fishing has been very frustrating. There has been no lack of fish, but finding them during bite time has been a challenge. Today we were able to take advantage of the good weather and sharp eyes of the crew. They kept us running on spots of fish under birds pretty much all day. We had steady stops with one of them producing 50 fish. Today's picture is a few of the guys yucking it up as the mood on deck was FUN. 
Feeling Fortunate, The Guys ETA 7:15am |
|||
|
Spread out For a better part of the summer, we have been enjoying good fishing with one major drawback. The distances between areas are often time too far for an overnight run and involve areas of the ocean with very little sign of fish. Today's travel area consisted of the red hot kelp zone of 2 weeks ago. Once again we proved to ourselves that as fast as fishing changes for the better, the opposite can also happen. We stopped on several kelps with small fish that were good for the initial excitement of a bite but not much more. With the help of Greg Muller, Dwight Carwell and Tom Morgans display a small BFT and Dorado that was a part of today's slow catch. 
Alaba hunting, the boys |
|||
|
The Pace Today we woke up on the yellowtail grounds right at daylight and were rewarded immediately - we were lucky enough to start in the right zone, and did not have to move far for action. We started hooking fish right away which led to one of our steadiest days of fishing; picking away at 25-30lb fish all day long. We had a few flurries, but for the most part kept one to four hooked the majority of the day. Michelle Mccaffrey shows off a typical-sized yellowtail with the help of the crew. 
Moving Up, The Guys |
|||
|
An afternoon start After a beautiful ride to the grounds, we got our lines wet and started the trip off with a sprinkling of yellowtail. It took a few stops and a couple hours, but just before dusk we had our anglers on the right road to working together and communicating at the rail. That greatly improved our hook to land ratio, but other factors came into effect making getting these nice grade of yellowtail a little more difficult to get to the boat. Showing off one that we did manage to land, is our chartermaster Mike Goldsmith assisted by Tony Villasenor..."Hi Miss Marie". 
More to come, with lots of sun, The Guys |
|||
|
Uesugi-Kimura home The boat backed in this morning at 6am with plenty of albacore and beautiful Cedros yellowtail. Thank you so much to George and Russell for putting this trip together and the nice commemorative hats. Thanks everyone and see you same time next year... Check out jackpot winner below, congratulations! Our youngest angler, Alex Owyoung, caught the biggest Albie of the season so far, (thinks Bill Roecker )- a whopping 48.4lber and winners 2 and 3 are the Brothers Kimura. 
1st place: Alex Owyoung(with proud dad, Andrew behind) 48.4lb Albacore 2nd place: Terry Kimura 45.4lb Yellowtail 3rd place: Tosh Kimura 43.8lb Albacore The boat departed 10:30am with another long time annual charter - Chasin Tuna. Good luck to Mike Goldsmith and the rest of the guys. Check back tomorrow night for the first report on this 5 dayer. The AA Team |
|||
|
QUICK STOP FOR SOME FRYING PAN GOODIES AND BACK ON THE ROAD After a nice ride up the line last night, we made a few stops to break it up and had great weather all day - a perfect way to finish things up. We would like to say Thanks to George Uesugi and Russell Kimura for putting this trip together. It's a pleasure taking this gang fishing every year and we are looking forward to next year's trip already. Thank you all so much, Your Crew, Sam, Ray, Jesse, Nick, Tony, Nate and Paul. ETA 0600 |
|||
|
SPENDING A FUN DAY AT AN ISLAND We arrived here at Cedros in the early morning and had a little 2:00 a.m. bait-making party and then went fishing. We had a very productive morning and by the afternoon, the fish were a little harder to come by, but it still was a great day of fishing. Again the grade of fish we are able to catch at this Island is just awesome. The photo of the day is Terry Kimura with by far the biggest Yellow of the trip, Nice one! Tomorrow is our last day and we are going to fish the coast for a few hours and then start running up the line and call it a trip. 
GOOD NIGHT AND WE ARE ALL SUNBURNT, The AA Boyz |
|||
|
NICE DAY DOWNHILL What a wonderful ride we had today and if you had to make a long move - our direction was the way to go. We are going to arrive at one of our favorite Islands in the early morning hours and get set up for a full day of fishing. We did manage to pick up a few Yellows off kelps in our travels, which broke up the ride a little. Todays photo is Dick, Michelle and her Uncle George with shots of their fish. For all of you Albacore fans, the word on the street is they did bite again today up the road. 
GOOD NIGHT , The AA Boyz |
|||
|
LIVING THE GOOD LIFE Just when we all thought a couple of days ago that the Albacore fishing was on the tail end of things - after last night and today this is a whole new outlook on the true meaning of fishing. ( You just never know!). We had another great day of fishing for these quality longfin and to top that, the weather is finally backing off. We are on a southeast course for the next 200 plus miles to shift gears and go do some Yellowtail fishing day after tomorrow. Tonight's photo of the day is a very special shot because it's a long time fisherman friend which I have had the honor to fish with for over 25 years of my life - that is the one and only George Uesugi with yours truly. George has been fishing for many years and let me tell you, he hasn't lost his touch. 
GOOD NIGHT AND TIME TO BURN UP THE MILES, The AA Gang |
|||
|
FREE DAY! On most multi-day trips on the first day when you leave the dock, it's normally a day of travel and then you arrive at your destination the following morning. Today was different - we got an early start and after running around 55 miles, we thought we'd wet a few lines to get the bugs out. Never in my wildest dreams did I think that today was the day that we'd have good fishing on these good grade Albacore to start out the trip. When the sun went down we had put together a few stops for a total of 62 Albacore. Wow. Needless to say we are going to start up here in the morning and give this a try again and hope it acts like it did today. Good Night, The AA Boyz |
|||
|
Albacore Capt. Sam returned to the docks this morning at 6am with those beautiful longfin. Thanks to Doug Hone for organizing his group, and to our other regulars onboard for joining us on this open August 4 day. The guys spent most of their trip offshore which is traditional and was productive as well. On the last day, they fished the beach for a little variety. Check out jackpot winner below, congratulations! 
1st place: Scott Forvilly 38.2lb Albacore 2nd place: Taylor Allen 36.0lb Albacore 3rd place: Richard Baca 34.6lb Albacore The boat got away early this morning with the annual Uesugi-Kimura Charter. It is such a pleasure to see everyone. Henry thank you for the produce and Mrs. Lim for the delicious cookies and George for your goodies as well! Check back later for first fish report. The AA Team |
|||
|
ANOTHER FINE DAY ON THE BANKS Well, it sure was nice to catch some of these nice grade Albacore two days in a row. There is a great volume of fish out here and if you work hard and have a little luck on your side, you can put a nice day together. With success under our belt, we are going to make a move down the beach to have some fun tomorrow and just see what we come up with?. The photo of the day is Byron Merrill with Capt. Jesse on the gaff. 
Good Night, The AA Gang |
|||
|
IT'S FUNNY HOW THINGS WORK OUT SOMETIMES Yesterday we got an early jump to make the long run down to Cedros Island, but when we heard those stubborn Albacore finally started to bite, we made a right turn and I've got to say it's not all the time one would make a move like that. Now to get to the good stuff... we arrived in the zone around 8:00 in the a.m. and got to work. We saw a lot of fish all day and some of them wanted to bite and some did not. When the sun went down over the horizon, we had our best day of Albie fishing for the year. Sometimes things are just meant to be. The photo of the day is Chris and Nick with just one of the fish we caught today. We are going to hang out here and do this again tomorrow and then just take it from there. 
Good Night and thank you fish gods, The AA Boyz!! |
|||
|
Anglers Choice returns This trip opted to head straight for big Yellowtail and that's what they did. They came home with a beautiful catch of up to 44lb Yellows. Thanks again to Luc and Angler's Choice Tackle and we'll see you all next year. Check out the jackpot picture below, another almost-family sweep with nephew Mark and his uncle Nildo taking 2 of the spots - congratulations all! 
1st place: Ed Powers 44.6lb Yellowtail 2nd place: Mark Yasuda 43.4lb Yellowtail 3rd place: Nildo Massucco 40.6lb Yellowtail The boat got away earlier than scheduled this morning with our August open 4 day. Check back tomorrow night for first fish report. The AA Team |
|||
|
ROLLING UP THE LINE After enjoying a couple days of fishing for good grade yellows, our only option was to go look offshore for a little something. We did not have a good ride up leaving the Island last night which took some time out of our day, and we only found a couple kelps that weren't holding much. At the present time the weather is great, making it a nice ride to finish the trip with. We would like to thank everybody for being a part of this trip, it was really a good time at the Island down on deck with you all. Thanks to Luc of Anglers Choice for all the give away prizes, Luc couldn't make the trip so Uncle Bill and Jim Kastorff sponsored. THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH. Your Crew Sam, Taco, Ray, Jesse, Tony, Nate and Greg |
|||
|
DINNER IN THE LEE Well, we had to wait most of the day but without a doubt the afternoon was our best action of the day. Once again the quality is still holding up for us which made for a wonderful time for all the last couple of days. The photo of the day is Taro serving the gang dinner in the Lee of the Island before we take off up the line in search of the mighty Lucky kelp. Tomorrow is going to be our last day before we have to run up the line for home. 
Good Night, The AA Gang |
|||
|
SOMETIME THINGS JUST WORK OUT With the weather up, we made the long run down to the Big Island to start our trip in the calm of the lee and it was late in the day by the time we arrived, but the run was well worth it. It took a little time to get located, but when we got where we wanted to be, it was steady action til dark on these beautiful grade of Yellowtail. The photo of the day is Melissa Palmer with just one of her big Yellows that she landed this afternoon. We have one more day here before we have to move up the line, so wish us luck. 
Good Night, The AA Gang |
|||
|
Ty's trip home The 5 day trip returned this morning with very nice-sized kelp fish - Yellowtail and Dorado. Thanks to Ty for organizing the trip and everyone in the group for coming out fishing - we love having you! Check out the jackpot picture below, congratulations guys. 
1st place: Doug Taylor 45.8lb Yellowtail 2nd place: Mike Peddicord 41.0lb Yellowtail 3rd place: Dan Spiegel 36.0lb Albacore
The boat got away around 10:30 this morning with the Anglers Choice 4 day. Check back tomorrow night for first fish report. The AA Team |
|||
|
Networking We decided to spend the final day of our voyage albacore fishing. Although fishing the previous day had tapered off from the day they bit, we were confident that we would have a good day. It started off with the "rich get richer" syndrome right off the bat as we found a kelp with biting yellows. We got the call from some of our comrades about biting fish 3 hours away. By the time we got up there, the fish were still there but not in the biting mode. We ended up having a very tough day of fishing. We would like to thank Ty Breitman for assembling such a nice group of folks. We enjoyed lots of fishing time, caught a bunch of fish and had a great time. Always Trying Ou Best, The Guys |
|||
|
Chaos We ran back up the line to take advantage of the nice weather kelpin. During the am hours we found plenty of kelps that had sign of just a little bit of fish. We caught a few here and a few there and enjoyed steady action. In the afternoon, we decided to get off the the beaten path and found a nice kelp, that supported a large school of fish, 15-22 lb yelllowtail mixed with a few nice flats which proceeded to bite with a vengeance and create a scene of utter chaos. Rusty and Matt Bennett are one of three father-son teams that tightened their bond and friendship using the vehicle that we call fishing. 
In search of longfin, The boys |
|||
|
Sunburns and Bent rods We got what we wanted today fishing on the beach. It was a steady day of fishing with beautiful weather and plenty of fish for everyone. After spending the morning at the south end of cedros island with yellowtail on the move, we decided to head up the lee side in search of a differnt variety to put a fish tag on. Making a few drifts at dusk we managed to get a handful of nice halibut before the sunset and then it was time to eat dinner and travel up the line. Doug Taylor shows off one of our nicer yellowtail for the day - an estimated 45 pounder on the long rod. 
Movin on up, The Guys |
|||
|
A little here, a little there We started out in kelp land, hoping to work the kinks out. We never found our lucky kelp, but throughout the day we managed to pick a few here and pick a few there. By dark we ended up with a nice bunch of fish and had a good time doing it. Proudly displaying part of the catch is our own" Tatonka" from Lunada Bay, with future dorado fish tacos. 
Suntans and Scenery, The Guys |
|||
|
Harry Yamada's group home Capt. Brian brought home the American Angler and the annual Harry Yamada Charter + a few new members. We want to thank everyone for joining us on this trip. A special thanks to Harry and Roger for all the organizing. Also thank you to Roger for all the delicious Hawaiin Bakery goodies and a shout out to Scott Okamura for the Kalbi enjoyed by everyone. These guys came home with a nice catch of Dorado and Yellowtail and a few of those nice sized Albacore to top it off. A heads up guys - this one is going to be a 5 day trip next year! Check out the jackpot picture below including a father/son team, congratulations guys. 
1st place: Ken Fujimoto 32.6lb Albacore 2nd place: Larry Deweese 32.0lb Albacore 3rd place: Reid Fujimoto 31.4lb Albacore 
The boat got away early with the annual Ty's trip - good to see everyone. Check back tomorrow night for first fish report. The AA Team |
|||
|
Where Do They Go? We started out albacore fishing in beautiful weather. Right off the bat things looked as good as it gets. We saw a pretty good-sized spot of albacore jumping around, but never got there. In our first stop they were showing all around the boat and biting pretty good. After we landed about three handfuls of fish, we started the hunt. For the next hour there were fish jumping and showing on the fish-finding equipment with regularity. At about 9 o'clock somebody flipped the switch. The whole fleet spread out and there was not even a scale to be found. The rest of the day we toughed it out for only a few more fish. We would like to thank Harry Yamada and all of our beloved regulars for welcoming the newcomers. Once again, the group camaraderie is what made the trip. So Long, The Guys |
|||
|
Is It Always This Easy? We decided to take advantage of the good weather forecast and start our trip offshore kelping. At daylight there was not a breath of wind and it took our mast man about 45 minutes to put us on our first kelp of the day. When we stopped, we were pleasantly surprised to have the entire vessel hooked up. There was a mix of 12-25lb yellows and 5-25lb dorado biting good. After the initial flash, we were stoked that they just kept on biting. We ended up doing extremely well on several kelps and a good time was had by all. A smile says it all as Larry Deweese is assisted by chef extraordinare Paul Cloutier with his golden gift from the sea. 
The Answer To The Question - NOOO, Looking For A Homerun, The Guys |
|||
|
Ken's Custom Reels returns Capt Sam returned from a long 5 day trip with our regulars Ken and his gang. The group was great about the slow fishing and we want to thank you guys - we appreciate your business so much! The albacore they did catch was a nice grade fish. Check out the jackpot picture below, congratulations guys. 
1st place: John Cheek 36.0lb Albacore 2nd place: Chris Demcak 32.4lb Albacore 3rd place tie: Ken Corwin & Scott Cummings 31.2lb Albacore The boat got away at 10:45 this morning with the annual Harry Yamada trip. Check back tomorrow night for first fish report. The AA Team |
|||
|
TODAY DIDN'T WORK OUT LIKE EVERYBODY THOUGHT IT WOULD After seeing all that fish yesterday, we just knew today was going to be the day... well that's what I get for thinking. First thing this morning we started seeing jumpers and catching just a few fish and again said to ourselves, Here we go. Well let me tell you - did we have a long day, some of the boats that fished this area never even caught an Albacore. We ended our day with 8 fish, but we saw enough on our machines to know they're still around. We coverd a lot of ground to find schools that wanted to bite, but it just never really came together for us. So we just want to say Thanks to the whole Gang for being with us on our journey and a special Thank you to Ken Corwin of Ken's Custom Reel for being our sponsor. THANK YOU ALL AGAIN, Your Crew, Sam, Jesse, Ray, Nick, Nate, Tony and Greg |
|||
|
THINGS ARE LOOKING UP We made it back down into the local Albacore area this morning and it didn't take very long before we were swinging on Sonar spots of fish. Most of the spots did not bite, but after all day of much effort we did manage to catch 37 Albacore that weighed in between 25 and 35lbs. The volume of fish here is unprecedented and when this fish decides to bite it's going to be awesome. We hope tomorrow is that day. The photo of the day is Corky and Ray with just one of the average size fish that we picked up during today's catch. 
GOOD NIGHT AND LOOKING FOR A BIG DAY TOMORROW, The AA Gang |
|||
|
DIDN'T FIND WHAT WE WERE LOOKING FOR! After a couple of days looking way offshore for some new schools of Albacore, it's time to run back inside and make the best of what's around the local area. We did pick up a dozen fish today in a long, spread-out zone and most of the fish were 10-12 lbs. Maybe our timing was off and/or we weren't in the right spot - but we tried. We have 2 days left for catching, so we have high hopes that this fish gets back on the bite and that we can get some justice for our efforts. GOOD NIGHT, The AA Gang |
|||
|
TO BOLDLY GO WHERE NO BOAT HAS GONE BEFORE... We had to make a move just to get things honest, up and outside where any of the San Diego boats have been fishing. The weather was good most of the way up here, but by daylight it got a little choppy and well - it is what it is. Now let's talk about the fishing for the day, it was slow for us as it was slow fishing for the boats 200 miles south of us. By the end of the day we had 8 Albacore but we found a few schools late that gave us hope for tomorrow's fishing. We are going to give it another day and take from there. GOOD NIGHT AND WISH US LUCK, The AA Gang |
|||
|
Sport Chalet home Capt Brian brought the Sport Chalet guys home from an outstanding five day trip - they had a huge variety - the most you could imagine in five days! Yellowfin tuna, Yellowtail, Bluefin from 122-135lbs and albacore all in a few days time. Thanks as always to our friend, Brad Lemoine, for everything he does from promoting the trip to the great giveaways, we appreciate you! And of course, thanks to our wonderful passengers. Check out the jackpot picture below, congratulations guys - photo courtesy of Bill Roecker, thank you. 
1st place: Jared Zeable 130.5lb Bluefin Tuna 2nd place: Michael Zeable 128.5lb Bluefin Tuna 3rd place: Tom Szczeblowski 124.0lb Bluefin Tuna Honorable Mention: Barry Nicholas 122.0lb Bluefin Tuna The boat left at 10:30am this morning with Ken's Custom Reels Gang. Check back tomorrow night for first fish report. The AA Team |
|||
|
The Boss We didn't know who was in charge of the weather the last 5 days, but whoever it is , they need a raise. The weather was flat calm all trip, so with that kind of conditions it was easy to have a great trip. Brad Lemoine from Sport Chalet and the large nucleous group of regulars opened their arms and made the "first timers" feel welcome. Today we took advantage of the weather and did a little albacore fishing. Everyday there seems to be a handful of lucky guys that catch a few fish while the majority of the fleet scratches. This does not have anything to do with their lack of abundance, but purely revolves around their non- biting attitude. Once again there was plenty of volume seen by everyone, as the common phrase over the air was, "I hope they bite later". We were one of the fortunate ones, as we capitalized on our good morning fishing. We ended up with 82 beautiful albacore for which there is no daily picture because we were.... waiting for later. Who's The Boss? The Guys ETA 5:45am |
|||
|
Dreams Long range sportfishing anglers have many thoughts as their perfect fish to catch. After enjoying two days of steady action on school-sized yellowfin tuna and yellowtail, we thought today would be a perfect day to go "Trophy Hunting." Taking a shot at trophy-sized bluefin tuna sounded like a good plan, but to have it become a reality was a dream come true. With the help of friends and a few other code boats, we were able to be lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time. All 27 passengers and crewmembers witnessed a show of 100 pound plus bluefin flying out of the water, that will not soon be forgotten. Not only were we fortunate enough to hook 4 fish, but we were able to land them as well. Jered Zeable, Tom Szczeblowski, Barry Nicholas (Nick), Mike Zeable and crew proudly display their cookie cutter 122-130 pound trophies. Unfortunately for us, we spent the later part of the day proving how big this ocean can be. 
In search of Longfin, THE GUYS We are blessed with the presence of three Pastors which probably explains our good fortune. Marshall Zeable and Josh Lobato are not present, but are not forgotten. We just had one spot open up on trip#15, a 5 day departing Thurs. Aug 2 - call the office for details @ 619 223 5414 |
|||
|
Good Fortune We have been blessed with beautiful weather and great fishing. Today we went down the beach in search of yellowtail and were fortunate enough to get some. Dale Monday with the help of Jesse Kemble displays one of the many fish captured today. 
Going Back Offshore, The Guys |
|||
|
Pick And Scratch We spent the day offshore looking for a place to call home. The weather came down from an ominous 20 knots to a gentle breeze. With the weather on our side, we were able to scratch away at a few fish on kelps and random jig-strikes. Darrell Goss shows the effectiveness of the "old standby" zucchini zuker with a school-sized yellowfin tuna. 
Down The Beach For Yellows, The Guys |
|||
|
Crystal Pier Charter Home The boat returned this morning from the annual 5 day trip with another catch of magnificent Yellowtail, 35 albacore and a token bluefin tuna. We want to thank Jim Bostian for putting together this trip once again this year and everyone that joins this special group. It is such a pleasure to have you guys as part of the American Angler family. Check out the jackpot picture below - courtesy of Bill Roecker - congratulations guys! 
1st place: Steve Mellentin 43.0lb Yellowtail 2nd place: Mark Poehlman 37.2lb Yellowtail 3rd place: Travis Basom 35.3lb Yellowtail
Check the 2007 Photo Gallery Click here for photos from this Jim Bostian Extravaganza. These photos are courtesy of our friend BJ Beck, thank you! If you have photos you'd like to share from a trip you just got back from on the American Angler - please email them to the American Angler office, we'd love to put it up in the photo gallery!) The boat got away early with the Sport Chalet 5 day trip - check back tomorrow night for the first report from Capt Brian. The AA Team |
|||
|
TODAY WE FISHED After a long ride up the line in not-so-nice weather, we managed to make it up to where we had a good chance of catching some Albacore. It's been a least a week and a few days since this fish bit all day and again today, it was very short periods when the fish came up and wanted to bite. We stopped on many schools that didn't want anything to do with us and then others where we got a few samples. When the day was done we landed 35 Albacore and 1 token Bluefin Tuna for the day's efforts. The photo of the day is our One and Only Jim Bostian, hanging out with the Mighty Crew of the AA - getting ready to scrub down the boat after the trip. Jim Bostian: Charter Master, Father, Boss and also a man of Wisdom...they broke the mold when they made Jim. To Jim and all the Crystal Pier Gang - Thank You all so much for coming out with us again this year, it's always a great time! 
Thank You. Your Crew, Sam, Jesse, Taco, Ray, Tony, Greg and Paul ETA 0600 |
|||
|
LONG DAY Timing is everything, and again our ride up the line to the local zone was not good. We have had Wind and seas all day, but we did not let that bother us, tomorrow is a new day. No Fish for us, there is just a blank Ocean from Cedro's up to the Albacore area and any way you slice and dice it, It's a long run. Wish Us Luck in the Morning !! The AA Gang |
|||
|
WHAT ANOTHER GREAT DAY IN THE LEE! Well this has been an awesome day, this morning we made the whole tour and saw a great sign of fish but it didn't really act the way we had hoped but with a little luck things worked out just fine in the afternoon for us. We had steady 1 to 4 going for 4 hours of all of that premium grade Yellowtail which just topped off the day with a bang, The photo of the day is of Travis Basom with one of his fish he caught on the plug. It is time to say goodbye to our Sunny warm lee of the Island and make our way offshore. Our goal is to make it up to the Albacore area for the day after tomorrow so we are going to do some looking on the way. 
GOOD NIGHT, The AA Team |
|||
|
OFF TO A GOOD START We got an early jump yesterday leaving the dock in order to make it down to Cedros Island for the afternoon and I've got to say the long run was worth it. It took a little while to get positioned, but when we found our sweet spot, it was good times. We ended the day with 86 of these good grade Yellows for the Team's efforts and now they're all down enjoying a hot dinner before bedtime. The photo of the day is Steve Mellentin with a sample of the grade of fish caught today. 
GOOD NIGHT, The Gang |
|||
|
SFVJAFC Home The boat returned this morning from this annual 5 day trip with a beautiful catch of Yellowtail and 30 something albacore. We want to thank Al Tokunaga and Eddie Wong for putting together this trip for the 5th consecutive year - we appreciate you guys - and we missed seeing you this year, Mario! Check out the jackpot picture below, congratulations! 
1st place: John Ito 46.4lb Yellowtail 2nd place: Ed Royles 34.4lb Yellowtail 3rd place: Gregg Dahle 33.8lb Yellowtail
The boat departed early with the Crystal Pier gang - good luck guys! The AA Team |
|||
|
All Show And No Go We made it up to the local albacore grounds by daylight. When we saw the traffic, we did our best to stay on the fringes. By late morning it became apparent that wasn't working and we had to go right in the middle of the carnival in order to play the game. We saw decent sign of fish but it was the same worn out story. We would get the boat over the top of the fish but could not make them bite. We ended up the day with about 30 fish and each of those were earned. Today's picture is father and son tandem, John and Matt Arndt. 
They Will Eventually Bite, The Guys ETA 0600 |
|||
|
Dues After enjoying good weather and quality fishing for premium grade yellowtail, we thought that we would take a look offshore. The ride last night was not good but we were still able to head towards our planned starting point. Things changed after daylight as the wind velocity picked up to 20 plus knots. We went from fish mode to travel mode as we hunkered down and tried to gain altitude. We will be somewhere around the local zone finishing off our last full day in search of albacore. We Paid, The Guys |
|||
|
Fun We spent another day fishing yellows on the beach. Flat calm weather,sun shining,and big yellows rolling around the boat is hard to beat. Pictured is Glenn Matsushita, Matt Salas along with our own Sam Patella as they display a couple of the many that licked the Salas 7X. We did good enough to leave before dark to hopefully intercept part of the annual albacore migration. 
Too Much Fun, The guys |
|||
|
A great start... We opted to run down the beach to fish for yellows rather than fish for the temperamental albacore. We arrived at our destination in the afternoon and found good sign of fish, but no conditions. We saw 20-48lb yellowtail on most of the major spots, but failed to find conditions that would keep them biting. After chewing all our fingernails off, we got lucky and found a school that wanted to bite. We ended up having great action on the surface iron and flylined baits, only to be stopped by the cover of darkness. Catching a 48lb yellowtail on the surface plug in water shallow enough to see the bottom, is a once in a lifetime thrill that John Ito will never forget. 
Hoping for more, The guys |
|||
|
Capt. Brian brought home the American Angler at 7am this morning, with a nice catch of longfin and Yellowtail. Thanks to everyone on board this trip for joining us on this unique 4 day trip that featured many new passengers - we hope to see you again next year! If anyone has any digital photos they'd like to share on the website in the photo gallery, please email them to the office: office@americananglersportfishing.com Check out the jackpot picture below, congratulations guys! 
1st place: Steve Sato 34.2lb Albacore 2nd place: Steve Taylor 33.6lb Albacore 3rd place: Matt Herrington 32.8lb Yellowtail
The boat is leaving early tomorrow on the annual SFVJAFC trip - everyone needs to sign in by 9am and we can't wait to see the gang! Check back tomorrow night for first fish report. The AA Team |
|||
|
HEADING HOME The boat spent the morning at San Martin - great Yellowtail fishing for an hour or so on average 15-20lb Yellowtail, until the giant squid became a nuisance, then after trying a few more spots it was time to break down and come home. The sun was shining and the weather was beautiful which made it a nice way to end the trip. (Thanks for this report, Steve!) ETA 7:00am The Gang |
|||
|
ALL SHOW AND NO GO! Talked to Capt. Brian and his report was that they spent most of the day spinning on one spot of fish to another. It seems these fish are in that mood where they just don't want to stick around the boat and bite.(we've seen this before.) Enough about fish that don't bite - the good news is that there is still plenty around and one thing is for sure, they will bite again. When the sun went down the tally on the board was 44 Albacore and we have all seen slower... but for a change of pace, tomorrow the guys are going to take a break from the offshore scene and fish San Martin Island and if need be blast offshore in the afternoon. WISH THE BOYS LUCK, The Gang |
|||
|
Typical albacore Today began as another day of offshore albacore fishing. It was all day driving with jig strikes and short bait stops. After our first afternoon on the grounds yesterday, today was our first all day shot at em. We scratched up a great day with everyone on the boat having at least one. We got to the magic number for the day of 100. Tomorrow shall be a day of the same - we're hoping. 
The guys |
|||
|
Its a start... After enjoying the 4th of July fireworks, our day started early in order to get some fishing time in before dark. We had a real nice sample of albacore fishing from 4 o'clock til dark. We ended up the day with 35 fish from our four stops. Albacore fishing makes tame men go wild, and wild men go tame. GOOD NIGHT, The AA Gang |
|||
|
The summer day and a half trip another success this year! What a great group of people - many returns - on this 1.5 day that brings home fish for everyone's 4th of July bbque! They had limits of Albacore and 3 Yellowtail. Congratulations to Richard Johnson for his jackpot fish of 32lbs! If you haven't already signed back up for this one, better do so now because it's almost full for next July with the same passengers!
Check the 2007 Photo Gallery Click here for new photos from this day and a half trip. If you have a photo you'd like to share from a trip you just got back from on the American Angler - please email it to the American Angler office, we'd love to put it up in the photo gallery!) The guys leave tomorrow morning on an open 4 day trip and this one has a lot of newcomers - we are excited and want to thank everyone for giving the American Angler a try! Check back tomorrow night for first report on this 4 dayer Team A.A. |
|||
|
WHAT A WONDERFUL DAY ON THE OCEAN Well the weather was awesome and the fishing was just as good. We started out in the morning rolling in and out of steady stop and go Albacore hits. Today was a day where we saw schools of fish like I haven't seen in a couple of years. By shortly after lunchtime we had captured our 5 fish limit per person and were in search of something different, but had no luck in the afternoon finding any Shortfin Tuna for our efforts. 
We would to Thank all of you for coming on our annual 4th of July day and a half trip - and what a great trip it was! Your Crew, Sam, Brian, Taco, Ray, Nick, Nate and Paul ETA 0530 |
|||
|
The American Angler returned at 6am this morning, with Both Capt.s Brian and Sam, bringing home BIG Yellowtail, a nice catch of Longfin and 3 BFTs, one of which weighed 50lbs and some change. We would like to thank everyone who joined us on this trip and a special thanks to Barry, Clyde and Mark for bringing along all your friends! 
1st place: Rikk Lea 50.6lb Bluefin Tuna 2nd place: Mark Jacobson 50.4lb Yellowtail 3rd place: Jack Purtell 43.0lb Yellowtail Honorable Mention: Jake Solo 35.2lb Albacore
The boat is leaving at 6pm on it's only summertime day and a half trip - check back tomorrow night for the report. Have a safe 4th of July! The AA Team |
|||
|
FINISH IT UP WITH A BANG! We started onscene this morning looking for Albacore and just like any other day of fishing, sometimes they bite early and other days it might be late. Today was one of those Late days, but we don't really care when it happens as long as it works out. We caught fish in a line that was about 20 miles long, of course it took us all day to find where we wanted to be, but nonetheless we Got Er Done. What a great sign of Albacore we have right now, let's all cross our fingers and hope this is for real, I think it is. The Photo of the day is Ricky Bobby with the Jackpot Bluefin of the day and some of his brothers helping him take the shot. We would like Thank all the Bobby Brothers for making this a great trip, and hope to see all of you again soon. 
THANK YOU SO MUCH, Your Crew Sam, Brian, Jesse, Ray, Nick, Greg and Paul ETA 0600 |
|||
|
THE MOVE PAID OFF! We made a move up to the Albacore area and arrived on scene at 1500 hours, and thanks to our local fleet they seemed to be in the right place for us to take advantage of the fishing. We are very happy with the final marks on the scoreboard. When it was all said and done the tally was 81 Albacore and 1 BFT. We have all day in the zone tomorrow to finish up the trip so we have high hopes of finishing it up with a bang. The photo of the day is of some of the gang with a sample of the fish we caught. 
GOOD NIGHT, The AA Gang |
|||
|
ANOTHER DAY IN THE LEE We had a great day fishing for quality Yellowtail, and of course, just the nature of being a fisherman we would always like to get more, but we ended the day with 60 nice grade Yellows. At the present time we are heading up the line to fish Albacore tomorow. Today up above was without a doubt the day of the year for Longfin, so we have high hopes of getting in on this fun waiting on our bow. GOOD NIGHT The AA Gang. P.S. Tunaman wishes Mona a happy anniverisay |
|||
|
NICE RIDE DOWN THE COAST We arrived at the North end of Cedros around 2:00 o'clock this afternoon, and it didn't take long before Rods started bending. It's always good to get the first day out of the way, because everybody gets used to working with each other and you get a chance to work out all the bugs. We have just a wonderful group of Anglers so it didn't take long for the Gang to get in the groove. We ended the day with 49 nice Yellows for our efforts, and most of those fish were caught by 6:00 p,m., so everybody is going to get a good night's rest and we'll go at it in the morning. The photo of the day is Gerald Gaughen with just one of the average size fish that was landed today. 
GOOD NIGHT, The AA Gang |
|||
|
CME4TUNA IS HOME The formula for this trip was big yellowtail, a few albacore, beautiful weather and a great group of guys/gal. The multiple monster yellowtail was the highlight of this 5 day trip and these passengers put the first albacore on the American Angler. Thanks to Mike Farnsworth for all his hard work putting it together and to the newcomers that joined in. Congratulations to our jackpot winners! 
1st place: Ken Pooley 51.2lb Yellowtail 2nd place: Larry Felando Jr 48.0lb Yellowtail 3rd place: Pat Patrykus 47.4lb Yellowtail The boat departed early with an eager 5 day group on this open trip, consisting of a few groups - check back in tomorrow night for the first report. The A.A. Gang Anyone that took digital photos on this trip - if you email a couple to the office we'd love to put them up in the photo gallery. Thanks! |
|||
|
Call it a trip! Last night we moved up the line to fish a little closer to home in order to catch the late bite. This morning right out of the gate we had a couple of stops on Albies which made us feel good about our location. Then, wow! was it a long day before that fish came back up late in the day. We did manage to get a few more fish late to end the day with 23 Albacore for the day, most importantly everybody on board got one with yesterdays and todays effort. We would like to Thank Mike Farnsworth and his gang, some old and some new for being a part of our trip. We can't wait to see everyone again in the Fall. (Check the 2007 Photo Gallery Click here for new photos from the Zuker G Loomis trip. If you have a photo you'd like to share from a trip you just got back from on the American Angler -looking for Catchy Tackle and more Zuker G Loomis pics - please email it to the American Angler office, we'd love to put it up in the photo gallery!) Thank you all very much. Your Crew, Sam, Jesse, Tony, Nick, Taco, Nate and Gregg. ETA 0600 GOOD NIGHT AND IT'S GOING TO BE A GREAT SEASON. |
|||
|
TIS THE SEASON Well it's no new news that the Albacore are here, but it is very much a relief for the whole fleet. After a great day of Yellowtail fishing yesterday, we ran all night and most of today to make it up into the lower zone in hopes of catching some fish. We finally started fishing around 4:00 o'clock and managed to pick up 19 Albies out of a few stops. The weather isn't the greatest, but it's plenty workable. We are going to move up a little closer to home and mix it up with some of our old friends in the One Day fleet and fish 'til dark. This is really a great sign for the upcoming season. GOOD NIGHT The AA Gang. |
|||
|
We started our day at the south end of Cedros, and as soon as it was daylight, the Yellows started to show. Throughout the morning we had steady action on 20 to 25 lb fish and by lunch time it seemed like it was all over. We made about an hour and half move and saw just a couple of fish under a few birds and went to go check it out. Little did we know it was going to one of the best bites I have ever seen or will ever see again in my life. The fish averaged around 30 lbs. We are heading up the line in hopes of getting in on some of this Albacore fishing and will arrive tomorrow afternoon so right now we're enjoying a nice ride after a great day of fishing. GOOD NIGHT AND THINK OF LONGFIN, The A.A. Gang |
|||
|
Well, we caught nothing today, after putting in a full day of searching, but there was good news in the fleet as closer to home some boats had 25-50 albacore. We're going to fish yellowtail tomorrow and so even though it was a long day today, we have high hopes for our near future. The A.A. Team |
|||
|
Zuker/G Loomis back from their 7 day adventure Capt. Brian returned from this annual trip with a happy group of anglers- many of whom already signed again for next year - thanks guys! They had a nice catch of Yellowfin Tuna and a beautiful grade yellowtail. A special thanks to John Lloyd of Zuker and Phill Oliva representing G Loomis, we appreciate all the great give aways. And to all our passengers, you're the best! Congratulations to our jackpot winners. 
1st place: Bob "Chappy"Chapman 80.0lb Yellowfin Tuna 2nd place: Ed Gonzales 67.4lb Yellowfin Tuna 3rd place: George Blanks 56.2lb Yellowfin Tuna The boat departed at 11:00am with the CME4TUNA group - check back in tomorrow night for the first report. The A.A. Gang |
|||
|
Today we had great Yellowtail fishing with a lot of them averaging 25 - 35lbs and one exotic - a White Seabass - caught by Ron Hatada. Everyone had tons of fun, so we are calling it a trip and heading home to our loved ones.  The AA Team |
|||
|
Moving up! Today the conditions were not the same, but the guys still managed to have a fair pick on the tuna before it was time to roll up the line. Tomorrow the Gang will be switching gears for some Yellowtail fun - breaking out the Long rods, yoyo gear and having the flyline ready as well. Brian said the weather was getting better this afternoon, so they should get plenty of rest on the ride up for a full day at the Island. The AA Team The Gang |
|||
|
WHAT A DIFFERENCE A DAY MAKES What had a great day - we woke up and had a little bit of current, and after adjusting current-wise by the book, the tuna were right where they were supposed to be. We had 2-5 fish going at all times on 30-60lb tuna for the better part of the morning. When it was all done, the final count was 55 tuna. By lunchtime it was over and so we spent the rest of the day trying misc. spots and catching a few yellowtail. We are giving it one more morning in hopes of a repeat performance before running to Northern fishing points. Oh and by the way - the weather is beautiful! The Gang One spot just opened up on Friday's 5 day trip - call the office for details @ 619 223 5414 |
|||
|
GETTIN STARTED Capt. Brian arrived at the Stones midmorning today and at first he wasn't too happy with what he saw. After a couple of hours it was time to do some of that Skipper stuff and get things going. Late in the afternoon Brian relocated the boat and had the sign he was looking for. They managed to catch 5 Yellowfin, 40 to 60 lb fish accompanied by 20 Yellowtail. They are going to give it another day and have high hopes to get that ball rolling early tomorrow. The Gang |
|||
|
Catchy Tackle 8 day home Capt. Sam brought back the American Angler at 6:40 this morning and everyone had plenty of fish to take home. There were 40-941b Yellowfin Tuna from the Rocks and a beautiful catch of nice sized Yellowtail from another island. Thanks to Drew Grindley for his sponsorship on this trip and all our wonderful passengers - you make it great! Congratulations to our jackpot winners and passengers who caught the Albacore pictured below. 
1st place: Bill Nada 94.0lb Yellowfin Tuna 2nd place: Glenn Emerson 66.0lb Yellowfin Tuna 3rd place: Don Lee 50.5lb Yellowfin Tuna Albacore fishermen from center to end - Don Lee, Armando Castro, Craig Tyler, David Dahlin, and Jimmy Miller The boat departed at 11:30am with the annual Zuker/G Loomis 7 day trip - check back in a couple of days for the first report. It was great seeing everyone back this year!! The A.A. Gang |
|||
|
NOT TODAY Well, they spent what part of the day today they could looking around with no luck. Check back for trip pictures from this Catchy Tackle 8 day trip returning tomorrow. The boat's ETA is 7am - see you then. The Guys |
|||
|
ALBACORE! We spent the day offshore today looking for that needle in the haystack and had a small victory - 5 albacore ranging in size from 20 - 25lbs. We saw a few other fish, but that was all that wanted to eat today. We are going to continue the search tomorrow. Check back tomorrow night for the last report of this 8 day trip and Friday morning's ETA. The Guys |
|||
|
FUN IN THE SUN We ran up to one of our favorite yellowtail spots and what do you know, we had awesome fishing on 20-30lb yellowtail today. Beautiful weather topped off the excellent time on deck and the highlight of the day was Tony Castro's 35lb White Seabass(check back after trip for picture). It was a great day! Check the 2007 Photo Gallery Click here for new photos from the Sport Chalet trip. The Guys |
|||
|
Capt. Sam called with today's report - decent fishing on Yellowfin Tuna, average size was 40-60lbs. The highlight of the day was Bill Nada's 94lber and the gorgeous weather. They are taking advantage of the nice water and running up to one of their favorite yellowtail spots for tomorrow's adventure. The Guys |
|||
|
A BETTER DAY We had good tuna fishing this morning with 26 tuna, the bulk of them 40-60lbers and 53 nice-sized Yellowtail up to 35lbs. The fishing slowed way down in the afternoon, but the good news is that the weather was beautiful all day. We're going to try this again tomorrow.. The Guys P.S. Hi to Mimi - love, Don |
|||
|
We rolled into the Rocks around 10:30am and immediately saw a few fish, but after a full day of effort, no current and overall poor conditions it got the best of us and we were unable to produce Charlie the Tuna. We're hoping he'll want to bite for us tomorrow and we're going to give it another day. The weather is nice so we're just hoping for better fishing this next 24 hours. The Guys |
|||
|
Sport Chalet 8 day returns Both Capts Brian and Sam were on board this productive fishing trip and want to thank everyone that joined them. They had great fishing on the Yellowfin Tuna and Yellowtail. Thanks as always to sponsor Brad Lemoine from Sport Chalet. Congratulations to our jackpot winners pictured below. 
1st place: Rafael Perez 91.5lb Yellowfin Tuna 2nd place: Richard Johnson 65.8lb Yellowtail 3rd place: Bill Randall 58.8lb Yellowfin Tuna Honorable Mention: Brad Lemoine 103lb Yellowfin Tuna The boat departed at 11am with the Catchy Tackle sponsored 8 day trip - check back in a couple of days for the first report. The A.A. Gang |
|||
|
The boats ETA tomorrow is 6am. Check back tomorrow night for trip picturs and that last day fish report. We have another 8 day departing tomorrow - Catchy Tackle sponsored and we'd like to have everyone signed in by 9am. See you then! The American Angler office |
|||
|
We woke up this morning to excellent weather and started motoring around - checking out one of our favorite spots, lo and behold the birds were working and the fish were crashing and there we stayed. We had very, very good fishing on 25-35lb Yellowtail. By lunch, it was time to move on and we spent some time drifting for Halibut. We had a few 25-35lbers and then began heading up the coast. Marcus with a nice Halibut !! 
Check back tomorrow for the last report of this 8 day trip and the ETA, The Guys |
|||
|
We started our day at the south end of Cedros in the late morning and saw good sign of Yellowtail everywhere. We kept moving to find a nicer grade, which is a good problem to have and now we're enjoying a fine evening and a fine dinner in the lee, in hopes of catching big Yellowtail tomorrow. Miguel with a beautiful grade sized Cedros Yellowtail !! 
The Guys |
|||
|
Another First Conditions changed today - the morning was a repeat of a very nice pick on beautiful grade Yellowtail...until the afternoon. The big change was the fact that the big hit on YFT's never came - we ended the day with 12 Yellowfin Tuna. However, the bonus of today was this season's first Rocks-produced 100lber (to our knowledge) - Brad Lemoine caught a 103lb Yellowfin. Also gaining trophy status was Ralfy Perez with his 91lb jackpot contender, which is appropriate because he, his brother Ruben and friend Miguel have been on this 8 day adventure since the trip's inception. We left this afternoon in search of an island......
The Guys |
|||
|
Game Day Today we felt the full effect of yesterday's warm up. We had very, very steady fishing for most of the day with multiple hook ups on 30 to 70lb Yellowfin tuna and a bonus 50 Yellowtail. The highlight of the day was the 66.5lb Yellowtail caught by regular, Richard Johnson. To top off things off, there was just a light breeze for nice fishing weather. Richard Johnson with a brusier 66.5 lb. Alijos Yellowtail !! 
What a great day, The Gang P.S. Hi to Shelly, Keala & Andrew! |
|||
|
WARM UP We arrived at the Rocks after lunch, and conditions were iffy but still we were able to start picking a few tuna fish. Along with all of our sport chalet regulars, there are a few guys new to this mixed in the group and they very quickly got an advanced lesson on hectic tuna fishing. We had an hour and a half flurry where we boated several 30 - 50lb Yellowfin Tuna. But then unfortunately, they departed as quickly as they found us. We're hoping for good conditions in the morning. Today's photo is Jim Stein with a 40 lb. Alijos Yellowfin !! 
The Guys |
|||
|
Capt. Brian called tonight to report today's fishing for this day and a half trip - he said they had to work hard for the 43 yellowtail and one bluefin tuna, caught by regular, Uncle Bill. The kelps didn't want to bite or boil, but the weather was nice and they managed to catch a few. Thanks to everyone on board - regulars and newcomers alike - we appreciate you coming out for this trip. Tomorrow the annual Sport Chalet 8 day trip departs - so check back in a day or two for next report. Thanks. 
The A.A. Gang ETA 6:30am |
|||
|
3 day trip brings home some variety The American Angler returned today from it's only 3 day adventure of the season. They had a plentiful catch of kelp-sized yellowtail, 9 bluefin tuna (weighing in from 25-37lbs) and a 77lb Opah! Congratulations to our jackpot winners pictured below. 
1st place: Gabe Slatton 77lb Opah 2nd place: David Gross 37lb Bluefin Tuna 3rd place: George Swarberg 27lb Bluefin Tuna We're back out tonight with another day and a half trip so check back tomorrow night for results on this Memorial Day Trip. The A.A. Gang |
|||
|
The boat checked in tonight to let us know that fishing was slower today. They saw some good water and some not so good water and caught 13 yellowtail - the highlight of the day, though, was the 77lb Opah that Gabe Slatton picked up along the way. Pictures will be posted after the boat returns tomorrow morning. (We have a new system that won't be data ready for a few more weeks and then we'll be back to normal wheelhouse reports straight from the horse's mouth and pictures from the boat). 
Gabe Slatton with his 77lb Opah !! The A.A. Gang |
|||
|
BFT Capt. Sam called this evening to give us a report on today's activity on their first day of this three day trip. There was steady action on kelps for just under limits of Yellowtail and they had an afternoon bonus - nine Bluefin ranging from 25-37lbs. The weather was beautiful and a good time was had by all!! They're heading off to check out some different ocean, so tune in tomorrow night... The A.A. Gang |
|||
|
That makes 2 Capt. Brian called this evening to report limits of yellowtail, which were a nice grade (kelp-size)and one more bluefin tuna. He said the group was wonderful, the weather was nice and the day and a half fishing was great. The boat departs Friday morning for a 3 day adventure - look for the next report on Saturday Night. This party's getting started.... The A.A. Team |
|||
|
TIS THE SEASON Just talked to Capt. Brian at sundown and he reported that they caught the first Bluefin tuna of the season. This morning they went through an area where they saw a jumper, they went back up into the zone and had a kelp where a few boiled up and got one of them to bite. This morning he had some steady action on kelps for Yellows and also Brian said the weather was very nice, just to make an awesome day. We have another 1.5 day trip leaving tomorrow night at 6:00 p.m. that still has room.... There are new photos up in the photo gallery from our 1st trip of the season with Bob Hara's group. 
David Choate with the 2007 Seasons 1st bluefin !! Sea ya soon, Sam ETA 6am |
|||
|
Todays report from the guys - a day of beautiful weather and slow fishing. They saw fish, but only a handful of Yellows wanted to eat. Thanks so much to Brad Overfield who puts together this trip for Harrah's Imperial Palace. Check back for next 1.5 day trip report on Monday night... A.A. Team ETA 7:30am |
|||
|
Good Times Well we're back on the ocean and the American Angler started this season with a great day of Yellowtail fishing. Due to the offshore weather forecast, we chose to spend the day fishing the Island and it was a good call because it was a fun day out here. We finished up with 52 Yellowtail ranging from 10-22lbs and every angler caught a couple to take home for dinner on the bbque, in the pan or with just a little wasabi... We want to thank Bob Hara for putting the majority of this trip together - we are grateful for the chance to have so many new people check out our operation on this day and a half trip! We have one more Intro to the AA 1.5 day trip that still has plenty of room and is definitely a go. It departs next Tues. May 22nd at 6pm and will return early Thurs am on the 24th. Think about it, you could enjoy 1.5 day fishing with a light load, top notch accommodations and as-good-as-it-gets atmosphere. It doesn't matter if you're 20 miles from home or 120 miles from home - you'll have a great time and will have the opportunity to go long range fishing in a day and a half on board the American Angler. If you want to join us on Tues night for fishing Wed., call the office @ 619 223-5414 and get your 2007 fishing season started!! It's great to be back, Sam, Ray, Jesse, Taco, Tony, Paul and Greg ETA 6am |
|||
|
Hi American Anglers Wanted to let you know what the guys have done during their 2 months off the water … Here are just some of the maintenance upgrades for the 2007 season: New water maker that will produce 70 gallons an hour - that's a capability of making 1700 gallons in 24 hours! New carpet and upholstery in the galley New tinted windows in the galley Refinished all the woodwork in the galley - it looks beautiful New lights in the staterooms with 110 volt plugs in every bunk for your personal DVD or laptop enjoyment An additional weather facsimile to ensure real time weather forecast anywhere the boat is located Overall, they gave the usual American Angler polish to the entire boat We also wanted to give you an up-to-date list of 2007/2008 trips that have openings. Call the office @ 619 223 5414 and go fishing on the American Angler this season!! (#42) 1.5 days Tues. 5/22 - Thurs. 5/24 - 12 spots (#2) 1.5 days Mon. 5/28 - Wed. 5/30 - 4 spots (#3) 8 days Wed. 5/30 - Thurs. 6/7 - 4 spots (#5) 7 days Fri. 6/15 - Fri. 6/22 - 2 spots (#27) 10 days Sun 9/30 - Wed. 10/10 - 5 spots (#30) 11 days Tues. 10/30 - Sat. 11/10 - 1 spot (limited load) (#31) 10 days Sat. 11/10 - Tues 11/20 - 7 spots (limited load) (#34) 10 days Wed. 12/26 - Sat. 1/5/08 - 8 spots (#35) 10.5 days Sat. 1/5/08 - Wed. 1/16/08 - 12 spots (#37) 14.5 days Sun. 2/3/08 - Mon. 2/18/08 - 4 spots Our first trip back on the water will be (a day and a half trip) departing Wed. May 16th - we'll be back with everyday fish reports from that point on and we can't wait! See you soon! The American Angler Gang |
|||
|
Kens Custom Reels wraps up the season The American Angler returned today from a 16 day adventure sponsored by Kens Custom Reels. The fishing was decent (everyone onboard had a fish over 100lbs and everyone got RSW fish to take home and enjoy), the weather was not-so-good for the most part, but the people were fantastic (key) and we thank everyone of them for being on board this trip. And a special thanks again to Ken for all he did to put this trip together! Check out our jackpot picture below and Ken Corwin with the biggest Yellowtail of the trip - a 50lber. 
1st place: Dale Puett 185lb Yellowfin Tuna 2nd place: Elmer Lackey 160lb Yellowfin Tuna 3rd place: Ken Corwin 135lb Yellowfin Tuna Well that's it for a couple of months folks. Our next trip departing is a 1.5 day special departing May 16th. Until then, we'll be at the Long Beach Boat Show which begins Wed. March 7 and runs through Sunday March 11th where we invite you to come visit with Brian and Sam and talk details about your upcoming trip or book an upcoming trip! Also check back to see what maintainence projects are in store for the crew for the next 2 months and what improvements are on the board. Thanks everyone for a great season - we appreciate you! The American Angler Team |
|||
|
CALL IT A TRIP We finally made it up to San Benitos Island today after a very bumpy ride up from the Bank. The weather has not been in anybody's favor here lately but that's just the way it goes sometimes. We had to earn the fish we caught today with a lot of looking around in many places, but we finally got something going. The photo of the day is our fearless leader, Ken Corwin of Ken's Custom Reels, with the biggest Yellow of the day. We would like to say thanks to all of the Gang on this trip, and especially Thanks to Ken for all the hard work he puts into these trips to make them so special. We have one more day of traveling and then will return on Monday morning at 0615, back at the dock. 
Thank you all so much. Your Crew, Sam, Brian, Jesse, Taco, Tim, Gregg and Mitch. |
|||
|
WHO TURNED ON THE WIND MACHINE? Well, fishing was better for us today but the 20 knots of wind we can do without. We had a slow pick on various size fish today, Tuna and Wahoo with 12 of them well over the 100 lb mark so the gang was happy with that after yesterdays fishing. We are going to start our long voyage up the line and will be stopping at the Rocks on Friday to break up the ride and plan to move on and finish off at Cedros Island. The photo of the day is Randy Rich and the boys with one of his Tuna for the day. 
GOOD NIGHT AND WISH FOR CALM SEAS AGAIN, The AA Gang P.S. Allan wants to thank Sheila for encouraging him to go fishing for his Birthday. Thank you, Sheila! |
|||
|
DIFFERENT DAY! We all know what's coming when I use this caption, yep you got it, slow fishing. The thing about coming on a fishing trip is that some days you get em and some days you don't. We were very excited after yesterday's fishing, but things were just not the same today. We are going to give it another day and just take it from there - one thing is for sure the fish are here, we just hope they get with it tomorrow. The photo of the day is Jamie and Brian with the only Bait fish landed. Jamie hooked a fish early in the morning that got away so he was pretty stoked to put this one onboard. 
GOOD NIGHT AND TOMORROW IS ANOTHER DAY, The AA Gang |
|||
|
THINGS ARE GETTING BETTER EVERYDAY Once again beautiful weather, and by the time the sun went down it was our best day yet. The fish we have been catching are for the most part 100 to 180 lb with some 25 to 50 lb fish in the mix. We hope this trend continues the next couple of days. The photo of the day is Nacho Camarena with Ken, Dale, Elmer and Carter cheering him on - the fish was a 130lber, and the gang is really having a good time. 
GOOD NIGHT, The AA Gang |
|||
|
WE WEATHERED OUT THE STORM Yesterday it was Hurricane Bank, but today we called it Bahamas Bank. The weather was just awesome, light wind barely enough to fly the kite and everybody scrambled to find their sunscreen. Now on the fishing end of things, we wound up with 15 fish over the 100lb mark and most of those were caught in a two hour window throughout the day - the potential is here. The photo of the day is John Wilson and today he had 2 personal best fish of his life. We still have plenty of time, so we hope any day now will be the all day party. 
GOOD NIGHT, The AA Gang |
|||
|
WEATHER SEEMS TO BE GETTING BETTER Today was just a better day all around, first the fishing and second the weather. The fish seemed to want to hang around the boat more than yesterday and give us a few more opportunities; we ended the day with 12 fish over 100lbs and few handfuls of 20 to 40lb fish, along with a couple of Wahoo to round out the catch. We hope with continuing better weather in the near future, the fishing will improve even more. The photo of the day is Elmer Lackey with one his fish he picked up on the Kite. 
GOOD NIGHT TO ALL, The AA Gang |
|||
|
CHOPPY WEATHER Yesterday we stopped at Clarion Island to see if that was to be the starting point of our trip and found plenty of Bird schools that weren't holding any fish. We traveled all afternoon and last night to arrive at the Bank this morning, and we like what we see here, but the weather has taken a turn for the worse. Today was very hard to work with the winds gusting up to 25 knots at times and we hope this is a short term thing.(it seems to be laying down as I write this tonight). We did manage to scrape up a few nice Tuna for our efforts and a few Wahoo - it wouldn't take much for this party to get going. The photo of the day is John and Ken with the biggest fish of the day landed by John. 
GOOD NIGHT AND THINK CALM SEAS, The Gang |
|||
|
The American Angler returned today from the 16 day Sport Chalet sponsored trip. We had a great group of people, beautiful weather and caught enough fish to put together a trip. We also want to thank Brad Lemoine, our sponsor, for the line supply this trip and for all he does to help put this trip together. Pictured below is Rich Jenkins and his 62lb dogtooth snapper and our jackpot winners - congrats everyone! 
1st place: K.C. Brotherton 144lb Yellowfin Tuna 2nd place: Bill Randall 125lb Yellowfin Tuna 3rd place: Ted Cramer 121lb Yellowfin Tuna The boat departs Sat. am - early - for the final 16 day trip of the season with our friend, Ken Corwin, owner of Ken's Custom Reels, and his gang. We wish them good luck and great fishing....tune back in for a report in a couple of days. The American Angler |
|||
|
On Our Way Home After more traveling with no results, we are beginning the last leg of the trip and heading for the barn. We expect to be in San Diego on Thursday afternoon - call the office on Wed. for an exact ETA. GOOD NIGHT, The gang |
|||
|
BUFFER ZONE! After spending the first part of our trip fishing the coast outside PV, we had to make the run out to inside Islands in hopes of having a shot at some more Tuna. We arrived yesterday at Socorro and it wasn't til late in the day we found what we came there for. Today started out on the right foot with a few stops here and there putting together a very nice morning. The photo of the day is just a taste of what the guys had fun with. We are on our way up the line tonight to finish up fishing outside Cabo and enjoy the Superbowl. The Buffer Zone is a 6 to 12 mile area surrounding the Islands and we are all thankful for these places to fish. 
GOOD NIGHT, The gang |
|||
|
JUST CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE After having a glimmer of hope in the form of seeing good sign of fish yesterday, I thought today things were going to start clicking, wrong again. We have had very slow production the last few days and now it's time to make a move. Our destination is the 6 mile perimeter around Socorro Island and we will be there day after tomorrow, so we still have some time to get it done and that's going to be our goal. The photo of the day is John Wilson with his 106 lb Yellowfin that he caught this morning and that was the highlight of the day. 
GOOD NIGHT, The AA gang |
|||
|
HOPE WE ARE HERE WHEN THEY DECIDE TO BITE! Today's title pretty much sums up the day. On our first drift, Bill and Ted picked up a pair of 120 lb Tunas and we thought we were off to the races. We saw fish all day that would not bite and it wasn't til right before dark before we had another shot at some fish..... but when you see them - someday they will bite. 
GOOD NIGHT AND SOMEONE SAY A PRAYER, The AA gang |
|||
|
We are hoping that we're in the right groove here soon, today was a lot better sign of fish, once we figured out where to be and when. The weather is still on our side and there is plenty of time to get her done. Our lucky angler today was Bill Miller with two weighing in over the 100lb mark. GOOD NIGHT, The AA gang |
|||
|
We arrived at our destination way down the coast just before the sun was up. Shortly after daylight we started to catch a few fish - ranging from 50 to 100lb grade - but it was very short lived. Throughout the day it was very slow and it wasn't til right before dark we hooked the best fish of the day, which gives us high hopes that things will improve. The photo of the day is Guilermo Medrano with the biggest of the day, weighing in at 170 lbs. 
GOOD NIGHT, The AA gang |
|||
|
Today we took a look at the Lower Bank zone for most of the morning and did not like what we saw. By lunchtime we hadn't seen or caught a fish, and so it was time to make the decision to stay or go. We are making a move and will arrive at our destination day after tomorrow. The photo of the day is Brian and KC just enjoying the weather. 
GOOD NIGHT AND WISH US LUCK, The AA gang |
|||
|
The American Angler returned today from the 16 day Bob's Sporting Goods trip. We want to thank everyone on board for being a part of this adventure. Next paragraph is written by passenger, Bob Hara, with the trip donation details. Thanks so much! Thanks to our Charter Master Gerald Scholl for putting together the trip, Bob Hoose from Pure Fishing for the generous donation of Berkley Products, Matt Salas of Salas Lures for his “Out of Control” contribution of Sales Lures, and Todd Garret for contacting his peeps at Pelagic. And of course a special thanks to Mike Naoe of Bob’s Sporting Goods of WLA for sponsoring the trip and donation of the custom wrapped fishing rod for the onboard raffle. Check out our jackpot winners below, including our fourth 300lber this season - 
1st place: Greg Stoney 315lb Yellowfin Tuna 2nd place: Jay Love 240lb Yellowfin Tuna(Wes Cogan standing in for Jay) 3rd place: Christian Rydgren 235lb Yellowfin Tuna The boat departs tomorrow for the 16 Sport Chalet Trip - tune back in for the news in a couple of days. The American Angler |
|||
|
Today we kept up our search for biting tuna fish. We started in an area Southwest of Cabo and looked east along the 1000 fathom curve. Our hopes were high when an hour after daylight we spotted our first sign of animals. These porpoise had a decent amount of what looked like 25-45 pound tuna, although we cannot confirm that because we never saw one boil or bite. A couple of hours later we found spots of black porpoise which was very reminiscent of the Mag Bay style of tuna fishing. We saw a very nice ball of cows, but were once again met with disappointment as they wanted nothing to do with what we had to offer. We ended the afternoon on one of the local banks catching a handful of school size tuna such as the one displayed by Matt Whieldon. It is easy for many of us sitting at home on the internet to come up with lots of different conclusions. What moon phase, what time period, what boat, what destination? In our experience, as fast as the fishing can take a downturn it can improve just as quickly. Quite often the last report that we want to hear while leaving the dock is that fishing is wide open. With a three or four day travel to your fishing destination one thing that we can say for sure is that things are going to change. 
Hoping for a nice ride up, The Guys |
|||
|
It seems like everywhere we go we catch marlin. It doesn't sound all that bad unless you are an avid tuna fisherman. We started at the Potato Bank in hopes of catching some school sized tuna and a few dorado. At daylight we hooked a few dorado but shortly afterwards it turned into straight marlin. We then picked up the anchor and saw a decent school but once again it turned out to be our billfish friends. Everywhere we have gone including today, we saw sign of fish. In the afternoon we were on the bigfish grounds and stopped on a nice meter mark. We drifted with them for quite a while for not even a bite. Today was a special day for Anthony Iuni as he celebrated his 44th birthday. He would like to send a big long range kiss to Noreen. 
Hope To End It With A Bang, The Guys |
|||
|
The longer we do this, the more we figure out how much we don't know. Today we sat on the anchor and watched fish show all day. Not only were they showing on the fish finding equipment, they were also making a visual appearance splashing around the boat. There were fish from 75-240lbs making their appearance known on a regular basis. This all sounds great except that we could not get them to bite. For those of you at home wondering "did they try this, or did they try that?"... trust me when we say that they weren't hitting. We tried all the bait available, different aerial techniques, and all the appropriate gimmick gear to no avail. This seems like a time period on the beach that they are in this non biting mode. Our other code boats experienced the same thing over a two hundred mile stretch of the coast. We did get one bite on a tuna fish today and it was the right one. Once again Jay Love was the angler chosen from above and he capitalized on the situation by landing a 236lb cow. We also had steady action on the billfish scene as many small stripers were hooked and released as well as a bonus sailfish. 
We'll Keep Trying, The Guys |
|||
|
We spent the day on the anchor again and it was the same story as yesterday. We had sign of fish on the fathometer all day but because of the lack of conditions, it was very hard to get a bite. What kept everybody in the game was the possibility of a shot at a fish of a lifetime. It is hard to imagine that pretty much the whole time there were 200lb fish swimming less than 150 feet away from us. That was reality because we ended up getting one fish over two and losing another big one right next to the vessel. We only got a handful of bites today but it was exciting to know that every bait in the water had a chance. We are giving this another day tomorrow for a couple of reasons. First, we know that there big fish around. Second, the weather will be better the day after tomorrow. Lastly, it seems like the fish are not biting anywhere. Greg, Jesse, Matt and Travis are Karl Kristkeitz's large yellowfin tuna welcoming party. 
Keeping The Faith, The Guys |
|||
|
We had a weather change last night and our good conditions turned for the worse. We had rain squalls on the radar at night and once we got into it, we experienced the wind that is usually associated with them. We had downpour rain and 20-25kts of breeze which made bait-making very interesting. After bait the wind did not subside, so we thought that a day spent on the anchor would be more conducive to the capture of cows than one looking offshore. Upon arriving at our destination, we saw decent sign of tunafish on the meter. After we got the anchor down, they got on us halfway decent but the lack of current prevailed. In a nutshell, no current means no fish. All day we had them under the boat and occasionally showing themselves with a half-hearted boil. It was frustrating that we didn't get a whole lot of bites and that we only landed three fish. The groups that we carry are the best. The days of "how many" have been given up to the pursuit of their personal best. As captain, it is appreciated the understanding that they have while trying to achieve this goal. Today's fish of the day was landed by Chris Rydgren and it topped out at 235. He was completely stoked that his hard work paid off and he would have the opportunity to tell his girlfriend Angie how much he loved her in print. 
It's Going To Pay Off, The Guys |
|||
|
For the last six days the offshore area in the lower zone has been on the same pattern. There has been very little sign of fish in the morning and what has been seen has not been biting. In fact the bite time "window" has only been about three hours. We got lucky and got a stop at about 3:30 and the fish stayed around the boat. We ended up hooking about ten fish and landed seven fish that weighed between 110-175lbs. Corey Kong had the hottest hand today landing all three of the fish that he hooked. Mark Rubins also landed one but had the misfortune of losing a cow of good size proportion. Our seasoned group of anglers are forgoing the option of possibly more action on midsized fish to have the opportunity at a shot at a trophy. Hoping They Bite, The Guys |
|||
|
Today we tried one of the lower banks for a change of pace. We have been driving around open water fishing for 3 days and it was nice to put the anchor down and just stay put. In the morning we had a few tuna boil around us but the marlin came around and stole the show. Tom Bishop from Green Bay,Wisconsin was telling us all that he had never caught one so he took full advantage of the situation and hooked and released a couple of them. Afterwards we pulled the anchor and looked around the perimeter of the shallow for nothing and then went back and put the anchor down. We ended up having a fair show of tuna and were able to pick 13 fish from 80-150lbs. A special shout goes out to one of our favorite girls Lee-Ann . We can all rest easy as your man Jay Love did it. At sunset Jay hooked a fish that took the battle well into the dark. He did a great job with his Accurate 30 as he landed a beauty that eighed in at a whopping 240lbs. 
Looking for COWS! The Guys |
|||
|
After yesterday we had extreme high hopes for the day. When we woke up in the morning we were once again blessed with beautiful weather. We used this weather to our advantage as we were able to get on several spots of black porpoise.Unfortunately most of the spots either carried only a few fish or none at all. There still is sign around as two of our code boats ended up there day with a couple of handfuls of 100-170lb fish. Wes Cogan was our savior of the day as his 127lb tuna kept the skunk off our boat. Helping display the fish is our guest deckhand, fellow Oceanside brother, and New Lo-an captain Travis Vaughan. 
Changing Our Address, The Guys |
|||
|
Stress is a part of life when driving one of these long-range vessels. Should we stay or should we go is always the question. After driving around all day for nothing all the different plans of attack go whirling through our brains. Throughout the day we stopped a few times only to have the fish not want to cooperate. We stopped the boat for the last time with about an hour of daylight left. Even after we boated 3 fish from 75-140lbs the decision on our next fishing destination was still pending. Right at dark we hooked one fish and it appeared to be a good one. This fish not only was a good one, but it made all the decisions an actual no-brainer. Greg Stoney was the difference-maker as he landed a 315lber. He would like to send out his love to Christy, Monica and Matt. 
An Easy Decision, The Guys |
|||
|
We got down to the big fish zone and found ourselves with beautiful conditions. Flat calm weather with good visibility was all that was needed to find our first stop of the day. Our group of seasoned anglers knew exactly what to do and the handful of fish hooked were quickly brought to gaff. Greg, Jenifer, Chris and Karl were responsible for the first 160-180lb grade of fish that hit the deck. We had one other stop where we boated a handful of 80-100lb fish. We had a birthday to celebrate in our family today, it was Matt Whieldon's fifty first birthday, and most of the guys were there to help him toast in the new year. 
Flat Calm, The Guys |
|||
|
Almost Gametime We finally were able to escape the strong NNE wind sometime during midmorning. For the last two days we rolled our eyeballs out but when we left the wind behind, we found ourselves in flat calm. Around lunch we stopped on one of the high spots along the ridge and enjoyed some great yellowfin tuna action from 10-25 lbs. We kept some for the galley and chunked a few up for bait, but basically we broke up the ride with a little action. Jenifer Barner was lucky enough to catch the only Mahi of the day and it will get well utilized in the galley. Tomorrow at daylight we will find ourselves on the large tunafish grounds as the guys on the Indy got back on the cows. 
Wish us luck, The Guys |
|||
|
The American Angler returned today from the annual After Christmas Trip with another 300lber for the season, 15 big fish (5 over 200lbs), nice school-size tuna, and excellent Yellowtail fishing. The weather was challenging, but our guys hung in there tough - thank you!! This trip brings people from around the USA every year, this year being no exception - from Iowa to Hawaii and we appreciate you all. Thank you and happy new year!! 
1st place: Wally Kakemoto 343lb Yellowfin Tuna 2nd place: Gary Sos 238lb Yellowfin Tuna 3rd place: Jeff Taylor 218lb Yellowfin Tuna The boat departs tomorrow for the 13/16 Bob's Sporting Goods Trip - tune back in for the news in a couple of days. The American Angler |
|||
|
YELLOWS! We enjoyed good action this morning on 12 to 20 lb Yellows to finish up the trip. We are running up the line in good weather at the present time, but it looks like there will be some more wind coming tomorrow night; we should be fine because we got a jump on traveling up the coast. We would to Thank all of the gang that finished up the 2006 season with us and started the 2007 season. You all were just a great group of guys and gal and we are looking forward to fishing with you all again soon. Thank you all so much,. Your Crew. Sam, Taco, Dustin, Matt, Jesse, Greg and Paul. ETA 0600 Friday morning. |
|||
|
JUST WHAT THE DOCTOR ORDERED After 4 days of hunting for Cows it was time to shift gears and try something else. We arrived at the upper end of the Ridge just after daylight and made one anchor drop where we stayed busy all day long Yanking and Cracking on Yellows and Yellowfin Tuna. We are running up the line tonight to close the gap to home and will finish it up looking for some Yellows tomorrow. GOOD NIGHT, The AA Gang |
|||
|
ALL DRESSED UP AND NOBODY SHOWED After having a great day yesterday, we thought one more day fishing for Big Tuna was a no brainier, but by 1:00 in the afternoon things didn't look like they did the day before and we knew we were in trouble. There were 4 boats looking around in the Zone and no Tuna hooked or landed - all of the guys did see a little bit of sign, but the fish probably stayed up late last night and weren't feeling good today. We are on our way up the line to fish on the Ridge tomorrow then work up from there. GOOD NIGHT AND COWS WILL BITE AGAIN SOON, The AA Gang |
|||
|
WHAT A GREAT WAY TO FINISH UP THE YEAR Today was our day - after a slow morning of seeing fish that wouldn't bite for us, we finally got on a spot right before lunch that stuck with us all afternoon. We ended the day with 14 fish, 5 over the 200 lb mark and the photo of the day is our regular passenger, Jim Stein, with the big one weighing in at 261 lbs. Taking into consideration our luck today, we are going to start the New Year off by fishing for these beautiful fish again tomorrow before heading up the line. We would like to say Thank you to all of you that were a part of our 2006 fishing season and hope that you have Happy New Year and that 2007 will be even better! 
Have a great night and may God Bless you, Good night for now. The AA Gang ps. Hi to Vicki, Michelle and Heather, Daddy sends his love. (We have a few openings on upcoming 13 to 16 day trips in Jan & Feb) |
