Sep 1-3
This 1.5-day trip had 30 anglers and they caught 6 albacore, 3 dorado, and 133 yellowfin. The jackpot winner:
- Chuck Woodward, Oceanside, CA — 52.8# yellowfin
Searcher 5-Day Report by Kevin Justen
I just returned from the Searcher 5-day trip and, for the seventh year in a row, had a successful trip. The boat’s total catch for 22 anglers was:
- 212 Albacore
- 53 Yellowfin Tuna
- 14 Bluefin Tuna
- 15 Dorado
- 294 Total
The nice thing about the count was that 80% of the fish were 30+ pounds, and the Yellowfin went up to 55 pounds. My biggest was a 50 pounder, and I also had a nice Bluefin. Also, almost all of the Albacore were 30-40 pounds. A typical size is shown in the picture below.
We fished three days on the Tuna grounds, 120 miles SW of Point Loma, and one day at Guadalupe Island. At the island we chased Black Porpoise to find the Yellowfin. Amazingly, we landed 19 of 21 hooked. Most anglers got one, and two anglers got two. My friend Georg from Utah managed two and was only disappointed that he didn’t beat the 88 pounder he caught last year. Since we never anchored we never had trouble with the White Sharks taking our fish. We saw two, but they never got near the boat when we were on a bite.
Most fish were taken on 25#, 30# or 40# line and most of the larger Yellowfin were caught on 40#, with a few on 50#. At the Island we mostly used circle hooks, and a 2/0 ringed version worked well. On the tuna grounds a 2/0 ringed flyliner “J” hook worked well. Our bait was all sardines and only one fish was caught on a jig. My friend Jim got it on a Salas 4/0 in Dorado colors. On the troll another friend, Tanner, used a Braid Speedster in yellow and green and got hooked up almost every rotation. I also did very well with an orange/yellow/brown cedar plug and got bit on about half of the rotations. Zucchini and Mexican Flag feathers were also productive.
A personal highlight was catching a 40 pound Bluefin Tuna on 20# line. It took me around the boat one and a half times and was one tough fish. Captain Art Taylor doesn’t like anglers using 20# on his boat and was justifiably irritated at first that I was taking so much time during the prime bite hours (3 p.m. until dark). However, after a while the Albacore came through and people started hooking fish again. After landing the Bluefin I went back to 25# line, except on the slide where I got a number of fish on 30# and 40#. My 50 pound Yellowfin at the island was caught on 40# using a Torium 30. It would have been much nicer to have had a smaller version of a two-speed reel and I think I’ll get one before the next trip.
My friend Jim brought his friend Mike from Chicago on the trip. It was his first trip and he got 19 fish. All but the big Yellowfin were caught on spinning reels. At first everyone thought he was crazy, but since he had the second highest count it was hard to argue with his success. Who knows, maybe he’s onto something.
The service level and fishing on the Searcher are excellent and have brought me back year after year. Captain Art Taylor, his wife Celia, and his crew are seasoned professionals and they definitely go the extra mile to make sure that everyone has fun and catches fish. With 600 pounds of fish this was the second highest amount I have brought home. Each year it has been between 200 and 1,000 pounds and none of it has ever gone to waste. I’ll be going on another Searcher 5-day next August if anyone wants to join me. Pictures of the trip and other related information are on their web site at: www.searchersportfishing.com.
Kevin Justen
Aug 30-Sep 1
This 1.5-day trip had 21 anglers and they caught 98 albacore, 1 bluefin, 77 yellowfin and 1 short-billed spearfish. The jackpot winner:
- Justin Mock, AZ–62# yellowfin
Sniffs Out A Shortbill by Bill Roecker
“Today was a amazing day!” Searcher skipper Aaron Remy reported August 31. “Once again the fishing and the weather were in our favor. We had a steady day of albacore fishing–all very nice-size fish, up to 40 pounds. We totaled 98 of those beauties and shortly before dark we saw some jumpers and had a 3-hour bite on 25 to 70-pounders.
“We ended up with 77 of those and we also got a nice bluefin in the gray. To top off the wonderful trip we got to add a shortbilled spearfish to the report. We totaled 176 fish for the day and we are stoked.”
Aug 25-30
This 5-day trip had 22 anglers and they caught 212 albacore, 53 yellowfin, 14 bluefin, and 15 dorado. The jackpot winners are:
- Alfonso Hernandez, Santa Ana, CA — 62.8# yellowfin tuna (right)
- Jim Marshall, Jackson, CA — 55.6# bluefin tuna (middle)
- David Park, Los Angeles, CA — 53.6# yellowfin tuna (left)
Searcher Finds ‘Em Close by Bill Roecker
Searcher Finds ‘Em Close
“We spent the afternoon 110 miles from home fishing for big albies, yellowfin tuna and blufin tuna. We had great fishing, good weather and a lot of fun!
“We landed 64 albacore with all the fish in excess of 25 pounds with some fish weighing over 40 pounds. We also landed 19 yellowfin tuna in the 18 to 25-pound range.
“We had several troll fish and one trolling lure stood out as being really hot with fish on almost every rotation. It was a Braid speedster, green and yellow.
“This was a great way to end a good five-day trip. The group was great and Steve Carson from Penn University did a great job and had lots of tackle raffle off. Everyone went home with something to add to their box.
“Tanner Huffer from San Clemente received the sportsman of the trip award and won a new tackle box. Jim Hendricks won the artificial lure contest and won a new rod and reel. Steve also brought several demo outfits with Penn rods and reels and everyone had a chance to use that equipment with positive results. Penn is still one of the leading tackle manufacturers in my opinion.”
Searcher 3-day Capt Potatohead charter sizzles
FEATURE REPORT
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Second day’s bite defined the trip’s fishing, but drawings, crew, cuisine and antics made it a special annual charter
EDITOR’S NOTE: Each year WON blesses its pages, blessedly once a year, with Dick Uranga’s account of his annual “Mr. Potatohead” charter on the Fisherman’s Landing-based Searcher. Same boat, same landing, same antics, and always the same Uranga, former owner of Ironman Lures and a dead ringer for Mr. P. with an eye for onboard evil. Yes, he’s “that” guy.
In typical fashion, all 27 exited anglers boarded the luxurious 95 foot sportfisher Searcher. Capt. Art Taylor requested a meeting in the galley to discuss our game plan, fishing tips and the required Coast Guard safety regulations. Art informed us that we would be headed approximately 100 miles southwest to an area where the Searcher had found very good fishing on the previous trip. Our fishing expectations were now in the capable With the welcome sound of Searcher’s engines, away we went. We arrived at our destination approximately 11 hours after our departure with several hours of darkness still remaining before the sight of gray light. With the first ray of light came the welcome words of “Hook-up!” right where we had spent the night. Several bluefin were hooked, but only three came to gaff. A handful of yellowfin were also landed during our first few minutes of fishing! Not a bad start! Top: DEBORAH BLAKE AND SARAH CLIFTON combined to conquer a respectable total of 13 yellowfin. Capt. Art now called for the “First Trolling Team” to begin in our hunt for more exotics. As part of the fun, Capt’n Potatohead (me) played “Beat the Dealer” by means of cutting the deck of cards for prizes. The prizes were generous donations of fishing tackle provided by Izorline, Haddock Fishing Products, Owner Hook Company, Sumo Fishing Products, and Zuker Trolling Products. Adding to the fun was the help provided by 15-year-old anglerette Sarah Blake, a tough one to Beat! The giveaways were conducted throughout the trip every 2 to 3 hours to keep everyone entertained inbetween jig strikes. The first was good, but our payload came on the second day! We started off again with jig strikes and a few bait fish. Somewhere around mid morning came what we all dream about, a quadruple jig strike followed by a 2 ½-hour bait stop! Wow, it was crazy! There were hook ups everywhere along with yells of “Deep color!,” “Gaff!!,” and….“Gaff!!” Crew members did a masterful job of untangling, gaffing, throwing chum, tagging and moving fish into the slammer! What a stop!! The result was a band of merry, tired, smiling fishermen and a slammer full of yellowfin tuna 12-pound to 25-pound grade! Whew! Now that we were plugged with yellowfin, Capt. Art decided to head for an area where albacore were reportedly caught. Unfortunately, there no longfins, but we weren’t disappointed since we had already been treated to a sizzling bite of “fastfinned” exotics. This trip was a great measure of the expertise of the Searcher and its great crew! –Changing of 3/0 hooks to #10 silver hooks Our 3-day trip was a great success yielding the following totals: 3 bluefin, 281 yellowfin tuna, 44 yellowtail, 6 dorado. Congratulations are in order for our Jackpot winners: Capt. Art, this trip was certainly “Taylor Made”! Thank you!! |
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Aug 22-24
This 1.5-day trip had 30 anglers and they caught 40 albacore, 19 bluefin, 1 yellowfin and 1 dorado. The jackpot winner:
- Warren Worth, VA–49# albacore