Sep 10-15
This 5-day trip had 26 anglers and they caught 372 yellowtail and 35 white sea bass. The jackpot winners are:
- Glenn Kerr, Cypress, CA — 39/8# yellowtail (left)
- Jeanette Caldwell, Lake Tahoe, CA — 39.4# yellowtail
- Rob LaHue, San Diego, CA — 36.8# yellowtail(right)
Hookup on Searcher by Bill Roecker
Hookup On Searcher
A Let’s Talk Hookup trip aboard the Searcher arrived at Fisherman’s Landing September 15 after a five-day trip with owner-skipper Art Taylor and 26 passengers. They got another nice catch of larger yellowtail, many by baiting live market squid.
Taylor said green water didn’t diminish the bite or the squid fishing very much.
“We got our best fishing in the gray,” he noted, “and we had on good night bite for yellowtail on the dropper loop. The white seabass were mixed in. the weather was calm, and it got hot in the daytime with the sun out.”
Glen Kerr of Cypress won first place for a 39.8-pound yellowtail he bagged with a squish on a 3/0 ringed Owner Super Mutu hook tied to 40-pound Izorline. He had 60-pound Izor Spectra backing on a Saltist 40 reel and a Shimano seven and a half-foot rod.
Jeanette Caldwell of South Lake Tahoe was thrilled to take second place on her first trip. She got a 39.4-pound yellowtail. Bob La Hue of San Diego won third place for a 36.8-pound mossback.
Sep 3-6
This 3-day trip had 26 anglers and they caught 232 yellowtail and 5 yellowfin tuna. The jackpot winners are:
- Harvey Schroeder, Carslbad, CA — 26.4# yellowtail (left)
- Rick Rosano, Carson, CA — 24.6# yellowtail
- Brooks Iler, San Diego, CA — 24# yellowtail(right)
August 27-30
This 3-day trip had 16 anglers and they caught 134 yellowfin tuna and 3 yellowtail. The jackpot winners are:
- Gary Cotter, Santa Barbara, CA — 22.8# yellowfin (left)
- Pete Maclachlan, Port Townsend, WA — 22.4# yellowfin
- Willy Lewis, Mission Hills, CA — 22.4# yellowfin(right)
Searcher Tests Nearby Yellowfin by Bill Roecker
The big schools of yellowfin tuna that began arriving last Friday drew Art Taylor and his 16 Searcher three-day anglers to try fishing in a tongue of warm water below Ensenada.
“It was clean and 67.5 degrees,” said Art, “and we had jig strikes over a 45-mile stretch on mixed grade tuna and skipjack. We also got some fish on kelps and bird schools on the first day when it was calm. The good fishing extended from about 95 to 130 miles south.”
The trip was sponsored by Accurate, who sent Gary Gillingham along as chartermaster, with 12 sets of loaner rods and reels from the factory.
“They were BX-2 400 and 500 models,” he said. “We also gave away a BX-2 400.”
Gary Cotter of Santa Barbara won first place for a 22.6-pound tuna. He said he got it with a sardine on a 2/0 ringed Owner Super Mutu hook on 20-pound Seaguar fluorocarbon and 20-poundIzorline. He used a Trinidad 16 reel and a Calstar 700 ML rod.
Pate Machlachlan of Port Townsend, WA tied with Willy Lewis of Mission Hills for second place, as both men had 22.4-pound yellowfin.
August 22-27
This 5-day trip had 10 anglers and they caught 150 yellowtail and 1 bluefin. The jackpot winners are:
- Jen Funk, San Pedro, CA — 43.6# yellowtail (left)
- Jack Rausch, San Rafael, CA — 39.8# yellowtail
- David Easton, San Diego, CA — 38.8# yellowtail (right)
Island Special by Bill Roecker
A five-day limited load trip with only ten passengers aboard the Searcher arrived at Fisherman’s Landing August 27. The trip was skippered by Aaron Remy and visited Cedros Island for some extra-large yellowtail.
“It was good fishin’,” said Remy at the dock. “The weather was hot and sunny, the way it’s supposed to be.”
Jennifer Funk of San Pedro fished with jigs, and yoyoed up a toady 43.6-pound mossback on a Salas 6X Jr. in blue and white for first place. She said she fished a 50-pound Izorline and 65-pound Power Pro Spectra and an Avet HX reel and a Calstar 760 M rod. The fight lasted ten minutes.
Jack Rauch of San Rafael got a 39.8-pound yellow for second place. Dave Easton of Pt. Loma took a 38.8-pound yellowtail for third place.
Best Catch Yet by Bill Roecker
Art Taylor brought his Searcher home from a five-day trip with 22 anglers that produced the best yellowtail catch of the season so far: limits of mossbacks that one angler weighed out at an average of 36 pounds. At least a dozen fish were 40 pounds or more, and a huge halibut graced the bag of forkies.
“It was Cedros Island at its best,” said Art. “Each angler had a personal best. It was world-class fishing. They were fish of a lifetime!”
George Guardiano of San Diego fished up a 42-pound halibut out of the congregation of toad yellows. He said he got it with a green mackerel baited on a 4/0 Gamakatsu hook tied to 40-pound P-Line. He used a TLD 30 reel and a Calstar 6460 H rod and brought the big flattie up to gaff in about ten minutes.
“He swallowed it, and I didn’t know he was there until I set the hook,” said George.
Rob Geiger of Simi Valley got a 43-pound yellowtail for first place. He said he took it with a mackerel flylined on a 7/0 Mustad hook and 40-pound Izorline. He used 65-pound Power Pro backing on an Avet JX reel and a Calstar 700 H rod.
Jim Hartwick of Harbor City won second place for a 42.6-pound yellowtail, and he also tied for third with a 41.6-pounder. Mart Pierpoint got one that weighed 41.6 pounds to get the other half of the tie.
The yellowtail catch may have been the best for Captain Taylor since 1988, when Bill Roecker went to Cedros with him, where they found 40-pounders thick as flies in a barnyard. That story is in Roecker’s forthcoming long range book, due from the printer right after Thanksgiving.