Trip 25 (6 day) Sep 14-20 Penn Open with Steve Carson
Hello anglers: We travelled north to the coast to try for yellowtail this afternoon. Unfortunately we had bad timing–the current went slack as soon as we arrived at our first stop. We saw plenty of yellowtail, it just wouldn’t bite for everyone.
However Team Ohio (Ron Shultz and Brian Virost) had some luck. Each of them landed a good size yellowtail.
The highlight of the day was the galley! Dan and Charley put out a spread of fresh yellowfin tuna sashimi and California rolls for this afternoon’s snack. Then we had fresh wahoo with a butter lemon sauce for dinner. Great job, chefs!
Team Searcher
Trip 25 (6 day) Sep 14-20 Penn Open with Steve Carson
Hello anglers, What a great day on The Ridge today! We had excellent yellowfin tuna and wahoo fishing, with a few yellowtail, dorado and a pargo too. We had action for most of the day, starting with yellowtail before daylight, wahoo before lunch and then a great tuna bite for the afternoon! We finished off the day trying to get everyone a wahoo and we came close.
Click here for some wahoo fishing tips: Getting prepared for wahoo!
The weather was good, with light winds and sunny skies. It was a classic “Ridge” day with variety and lots of action.
We are headed north tonight with hopes of some fishing time tomorrow afternoon on the coast.
Captain Art and Team Searcher
Trip 25 (6 day) Penn Open with Steve Carson
Hello anglers,
We finally made it to The Ridge! There were so many sharks at our first stop here, that we couldn’t really land any yellowfin tuna. So we decided to travel another 30 miles to the south where the reports were good and the sharks weren’t as numerous.
We arrived late in the afternoon and had steady action on 12 to 30 pound yellowfin tuna. Everyone had a good chance to land a fish and we had a great time! We are spending the night so we have some time to try it all again tomorrow.
Captain Art and Team Searcher
Trip 25 (6 day) Penn Open with Steve Carson
Hello anglers: Anglers were busy today rigging up their gear, with lots of anticipation for tomorrow. Everyone is getting wire leaders ready for a chance at a wahoo in the next two days. The crew had an assembly line set up to make live bait leaders for everyone to use for a wahoo.
Read all about wahoo fishing in our “Ask A Captain” article titled Wide World of Wahoo.

Ron Schulz and friends enjoy dinner with a view! Chef Charley’s lasagne, Chef Dan’s fresh bread, and veggies from Rick DeVore’s ranch! And perhaps a certain Michigan IPA is on tap at this table too?
Steve Carson had some more giveaways after dinner to keep anglers entertained with new gear. Everyone went to bed early to rest up for the next two days.
We plan to arrive to the fishing grounds mid-morning tomorrow.
Team Searcher
Trip 24 (1.5 day) Sep 12-14, 2016 Jackpot winner
Congratulations to Joe Tyler of Long Beach, CA for his 39# yellowfin tuna, winner of the jackpot!
Trip 24 (1.5 day) Sep 12-14 Mid-day report
Howdy anglers: We had a great stop this morning and caught some yellowfin tuna. They average about 25 pounds. The weather is great and we’re hoping to catch some more this afternoon.
Searcher friend, Ray Diaz, shows off his nice yellowfin in our photo posted here.
Capt Aaron and the Searcher crew
Afternoon update: Less action this afternoon, though we found a really nice school that stayed with the boat and bit a little. We’re headed home to come back out on a 6-day. The weather is amazing all day.
Trip 23 (3 day) Sep 9-12 Jackpot Winners
Congratulations to the jackpot winners:
- Curtis Stewart, Desert Hot Springs, CA — 70# yellowfin tuna (right)
- Ken Wright, Napa, CA — 25# yellowfin tuna (left)
- Tony Cruz, San Diego, CA — 22# yellowtail (center)