Trip Reports

Hello  anglers:
We departed yesterday on our 6th annual Captain Potatohead Memorial and fundraiser trip. I can’t believe it has been six years since our good friend Dick Uranga has passed from pancreatic cancer. He is definitely here in spirit as we have had a few pranks and laughs already. There are lenty of giveaways in store for everyone and we raffled off Dick’s re-wrapped rod and reel combo. Jay Frey from Santa Fe, New Mexico was the lucky winner and many thanks to Terry Onishi for donating that!
Timing is everything, we left with high hopes for catching some yellowfin tuna today but we have the wrong day. That tuna bit a little bit yesterday, but not today. I guess Dick is playing a trick on us! The fish are still around so maybe in another day or two we will have an opportunity. We’re headed south to try for yellowtail on the coast tomorrow.

Many thanks to all our sponsors of this trip each year, including Izorline!

Capt Art and Team Searcher

Congratulations to our jackpot winners!

1. Michael Ray, Huntington Beach, CA- 27.8# yellowtail
2. Ian Rimando, Santa Clarita, CA – 23.8# yellowtail
3. Brett Goldberg, Newbury Park, CA – 23.4# yellowtail

Howdy anglers, With high hopes of finding kelps this morning, we managed to find one with some fish on it. We’re gonna keep working at it until it’s time to head for home. Here is the trophy of the day by Michael Ray with Capt Ryan Stahl at the gaff.

Capt Aaron and the Searcher crew

Howdy anglers, This morning we had some steady action on some yellowfin tuna. The size isn’t great, but there was a school that was hungry and we had fun catching and releasing some tuna. We also watched three striped marlin put on a acrobatic show for us!

We’re working north in hopes of some better-grade fish. The weather is wonderful. The sun has come out and we like that.
Capt Aaron and the Searcher crew

Howdy anglers, The afternoon was a bit slower on the tuna though we did manage to catch a few more. We’re headed up and will finish the trip off looking for kelps or more schools of tuna. The weather is still very nice and we’re happy about that.. Fresh yellowtail for dinner–that’s also a bonus for tonight’s ride up
Capt Aaron and the Searcher crew

Howdy anglers: We’ve had a fantastic morning here fishing for yellowtail.! The best methods were yo-yo and flylining a sardine. The weather is superb and we’re hoping for a little more action before we start heading north, looking for some tuna or dorado. Here is a sample of our yellowtail caught by Ray Daniels.

Anglers are eating well, a delicious swordfish dinner last night and we think there’s fresh yellowtail in the forecast!

The weather is beautiful and there will be updates later today and in the coming days. They plan to look around for other species to catch.

Searcher office crew

Howdy anglers: Not much action to report this afternoon after we went offshore looking for tuna. We’re moving up the line to be in a zone that has had some tuna. We’re hoping that they are hungry and plentiful. The weather is still nice and we’re enjoying that. Wish us luck to find those elusive fish. Here is another nice yellow from this morning with deckhand Ryan (R2) and Jack Rauch.

Congratulations to our jackpot winners!

1. Ashley Maisel, Truckee, CA – 27.8# yellowtail (grand prize winner of Accurate reel and Seeker rod)
2. Matt Gilchrist, Long Beach, CA – 27.6# yellowtail
3. Richard Yoshioka, La Palma, CA – 22.8# yellowtail

Congratulations and a big thank you to sponsor Gary Gillingham of Accurate Reels and Seeker Rods for a great trip!

Hello anglers,

We had a slow afternoon for catching. We saw plenty of fish but it wouldn’t bite very well. And we had some wind to contend with. Regardless everyone had a good time!

Today (August 13) we finished our trip with Accurate Products, Seeker Rods and Gary Gillingham. We stopped and fished for a short time on the coast. We caught just a sample of yellowtail and bonito.

The weather is pretty good for travelling home. We had a movie matinee with plenty of gourmet popcorn and Clint Eastwood on the screen! The galley did their usual great job and served cheeseburgers for lunch and fresh yelllowtail for dinner.

Crew member Ryan (R2) Lindahn and angler Mark Stout (right) with a yellowtail caught on a blue and white yo-yo lure and 50-pound line.

Check back to see who will win the sweet Accurate Reel and Seeker Rod outfit, generously supplied by our sponsors.

Team Searcher