Blog Post

Hello anglers,
I think it is safe to say the 2014 season has begun! Boats fishing this weekend on 1.5 day trips had incredible bluefin and yellowfin tuna fishing–some of the fish were up to 90 pounds. We are working every day to get the new refrigeration installed and should be completed by the end of this week.
Stand by for Searcher to be on-line for 1.5-day trips soon. We are excited to get the season started. If you haven’t booked your trip for this season, NOW would be the time. Sign up on-line and make sure you have a spot. Don’t be left at the dock.
Stay tuned, Capt Art

Tune in to AM 1090 from 7-9 a.m. and listen to all the fishing and tackle news, and call in to talk with Capt Art! Sunday, April 27.

Art Taylor skippered his Searcher on a seven-day trip with 21 fishermen, and docked at Fisherman’s Landing October 6.

“Boy, there’s plenty of warm water,” he remarked. “There’s wahoo on kelps north of Benitos, far north, in 77 degrees. There’s plenty of yellowfin, lots of dorado and excellent fishing. We got to fish on six of our seven days.”

Mike Townes of Lodi won first place for a 45.2-pound yellowfin tuna. He said he bagged it with a sardine on a 2/0 Owner Mutu hook on 25-pound Seaguar Premier fluorocarbon, 30-pound Izorline and 60-pound Line One spectra on an Avet LX reel and a Triton seven-foot rod.

Bill Battocchio of Camarillo won second place for a 28.4-pound yellowfin, and Matt Kirkpatrick of Bakersfield took third place honors with a 27-pound yellowtail.

Kyle Yates of Carlsbad posed with a fish not much seen in these parts for the past ten years or so, a broad-striped skipjack of the species anglers call “purple skipjack,” as distinguished from the more common tropical black skipjack. He said he planned to have it filleted for eating.

Captains Art Taylor and Aaron Remy
(619) 226-2403 – Fisherman’s Landing

Aaron Remy tied Searcher up at Fisherman’s Landing September 15 after a five-day trip with 26 anglers aboard. The group had a nice mixed catch of tuna, yellowtail and dorado.

Robert Chavez of San Diego won first place for a 52.4-pound yellowfin. He said it bit his sardine on a 2/0 Mustad hook. He fished with 40-pound Big Game line, a Penn 4/0 reel and a Penn Sabre seven-foot rod.

Tommy Bailey of Santa Rosa won second place for a 49.2-pounder, and Duane Richardson of Las Vegas took third place for a 46-pound yellowfin tuna.

Captains Art Taylor and Aaron Remy
(619) 226-2403 – Fisherman�s Landing

“Well we got extremely lucky today finding a big school of bluefin tuna, offered the Searcher’s report for July 22. “It didn’t happen until 11 am, so we were a little worried if we were going to connect today. It all worked out though. We drifted for five and a half hours and landed 51 bluefin and 5 nice size yellowtail. We stayed until the bait ran out. Everyone had a chance at some bluefin tuna.

“The weather cooperated with light winds and hardly any swell. We left from 163 miles from home so we are going to be a little late. All in all a great trip with 102 bluefin tuna, five yellowtail and four dorado.”

Captains Art Taylor and Aaron Remy
(619) 226-2403 – Fisherman’s Landing

The next bluefin to show up on Fisherman’s Landing dock was a 26-pounder caught by Dennis McDougall of Idyllwilld, one of only three taken from a good school on The Ridge found by Art Taylor and his Searcher.

“I got him after a long soak with a sardine,” said McDougall. “I had half my spectra out.”

He told dock reporter Bill Roecker the trip was seven days with 14 anglers, and that he used a 2/0 Owner Flyliner hook on 30-pound Blackwater fluorocarbon, 30-pound P-Line and 60-pound Line One spectra on an Avet MXL reel and a Calstar 700 M rod.

It appeared at first that McDougall’s bluefin would win the jackpot, but it was sandwiched by a pair of yellowtail caught by Bruce Gothar of Menifee, who got his 27-pound yellow along with a 24-pounder, good for first and third place. Bruce said he got the better yellow on a mackerel bait and a 4/0 Mustad hook on 20-pound Izorline and 30-pound Power Pro spectra. He fished with a classic 220 Newell Blackie reel and an eight-foot Seeker Deckhand Special rod.

“Excellent fishing,” pronounced skipper Taylor, “with good variety on The Ridge.”

Captains Art Taylor and Aaron Remy
(619) 226-2403 – Fisherman