Hello anglers:
We have been working hard to get a bluefin tuna school to bite all day today and we haven’t had much success. We see a lot of tuna around us, and even have tuna boiling on our chum, but not biting the baits on our hooks. We have a sample aboard and catching those is a lot of fun, but we wish every single angler had a tuna.
Here is crewman Justin and Steve E. with a nice bluefin tuna from one of our many stops.
Captain Art and Team Searcher
Hello anglers,
We started our 1.5 day trip last night we found a big school of tuna in the dark. We had a few people start out with flat fall lures . We hooked our first fish and it was a 75 pound bluefin tuna. We had 7 hook ups and we landed 3 bluefin all about 75 pounds. Here is Kirk G. with a 74.8 pound bluefin.
After daylight we had a few fish stay around but did not bite. We changed things up and tried for yellowtail in kelp paddies until lunch time with very little success. We landed 4 yellowtail in the 12 pound range. We are back in the tuna zone hoping for some action this afternoon.
~Captain Art and Team Searcher
Hello anglers,
We saw a tremendous amount of tuna today and it was an impressive sight. We stopped multiple times and had opportunities to catch bluefin tuna up to 85 pounds. We drifted for 4 hours in a school of fish and had several chances. We ended up with 14 bluefin and three yellowfin for our efforts.
Looking forward to returning to the area on Wednesday.
Capt Art and Team Searcher
Hello anglers,
We had some action on 8-15# yellowtail for the morning, and then the fish stopped biting in the afternoon. We continued to see yellowtail on kelp paddies but they didn’t want to cooperate.
We travelled out to the bluefin zone and saw multiple schools. We hooked a couple big ones, but lost both. We are spending the night and hoping for a good day of tuna fishing tomorrow.
Check this past “Tackle Tip Thursday” on big fish reels by Gary Gillingham: Accurate Reels for big tuna
Here is Vern W. with a nice yellowtail that Capt Mike Todter hooked and handed to him using one of the boat’s loaner gear thanks to Accurate Fishing Products.
Wish us luck with some tuna tomorrow!
Capt Art and Team Searcher
Day 1 (Part 2):Hello anglers,
This morning we decided to changed things up this and concentrated on yellowtail. (kelp paddies.) We have had some action on 8-15# yellowtail and a chance at some bluefin tuna as well. Here is a photo of Gary G. from AccurateProducts with a bluefin tuna he landed on a knife lure trying for yellowtail. (The fish pictured with Gary, weighed 144#’s ) Great job Gary!
More to come, Stay hooked here!
~Captain Art and Team Searcher
Day 1:
Hello anglers,
We departed on our first trip of the 2019 season today. Thanks to Everingham Brothers Bait Company for a tremendous load of bait.
We briefed everyone on safety items and then talked about rigging for this afternoon’s fishing for bluefin tuna. We recommended fly-line sardines with fluorocarbon and a 2/0 circle hook, a flat fall lure with 150 pound leaders and finally a live bait outfit with a 6 oz sinker.
We arrived in the zone and started seeing fish immediately. We several spots of fish all afternoon but couldn’t get any response. There were no boils or bites until the final stop of the day. We hooked four bluefin and landed three in the 50-pound range. Here is Bernard C. his bluefin landed on a flat fall lure.
We have beautiful calm seas and are looking forward to tomorrow.
Capt Art and Team Searcher
Want to hop aboard a short trip to get offshore for a chance at a tuna or yellowtail? Fishermans Landing has booked us for a 1.5-day and two 2.5-day trips coming up soon. The 4th of July 3-day trip spots are going quickly!
Click here for all the details: Searcher Trips
Congratulations to Ed W. for being our trivia contest winner in celebration of Searcher’s 49th birthday TODAY! She was launched in Newport Beach, CA on May 24, 1970.
The question was: “What other trips has Searcher offered besides sportfishing and natural history tours?” We would have accepted birding trips and great white shark cage-diving trips (to Guadalupe Island). Ed was the first to respond with a correct answer. Thanks to all who played along!
