Searcher Sportfishing Trip 30, Accurate Fishing Products Open with Gary Gillingham was clearly a trip to remember! Gary added not only his fishing expertise and stellar Accurate/Seeker gear, but he also shared his talent as a photographer when he captured memorable moments during the 7-day trip to Alijos Rocks.
Photos: Gary Gillingham
Hello, Searcher friends! It’s me, Jen 🙂
What a wonderful time I had on Saturday, Nov. 7! It was my first “Tackle Day” — Fisherman’s Landing Tackle Shop’s big event of the season! Searcher was the venue for three seminars:
We also hosted an Open House with refreshments and a gourmet popcorn bar. Yum!
I was there with Captain Aaron and Captain Ryan to meet all of our Searcher friends – and we made some new friends, too! Can’t wait to fish with everyone next season!
Booking has already begun, some trips are filling up fast or are already sold out.
Be sure to bookmark our schedule and don’t let your spot slip away!
Hello, Searcher friends! It’s Jen, back to share more about my first season with the Searcher team!
Well, I’ve observed my first season of San Diego sportfishing, and I have learned so much.
As I look back on my experience, what is the aspect of sportfishing that stands out most?
It’s definitely the camaraderie that exists between anglers and crew! Our Searcher crew is always eager to provide support and assistance to our guests, and a great example of that practice is “Hook and Hand.” For those who are unfamiliar with the term (like I was), it describes the process whereby a crew member prepares a rod, reel, line and terminal tackle and works to hook a targeted gamefish. The crew member then hands off the rod to an angler–like a teammate passing the baton in a relay race–giving that angler the opportunity to work hard and get that fish on deck! When I learned about “Hook and Hand,” I was delighted to see that our crew has that opportunity to pass along that special blend of expertise, proper equipment and good fortune to a lucky angler aboard Searcher.
Jack Nilsen, owner of Accurate Fishing Products, recently contacted us about a new “Hook and Hand” program they were piloting. We were thrilled to be selected to participate in this partnership! Jack said,
Let’s put Accurate reels into the hands of anglers, and make sure there’s a fish on the end of the line! Especially when you are new to the sport, the real fun begins when you get hooked up.
So we selected our new Boss Extreme TwinDrag BX2 series, and we sent three models to cover all line classes from 20-50#. Seeker Rods helped us out with some great rods to complement the reels, and Izorline filled them up with Spectra so that the Searcher crew could change the topshot depending on the day’s conditions. The reels for this program will always be the latest and greatest – these are 2-speed reels – the angler will see the big difference when they push that button and bring that fish to the boat!”
Pro-staffer Gary Gillingham brought the “Hook and Hand” gear down to Fisherman’s Landing at the start of our recent Accurate-sponsored 7-day trip to Alijos Rocks. Captain Art Taylor said, “It’s great to have the support of tackle manufacturers like Accurate, Seeker and Izorline who are willing to supply us with quality gear that enhances the experience of anglers aboard Searcher. “
A crew member who was able to put the “Hook and Hand” gear in the hands of anglers during the trip shared the following comment:
“Hook and Hand doesn’t always occur with a new angler, but it often does. It’s great to be able to start them out with a fish on the line so that they can get a feel for the process. It’s definitely a part of developing a one-on-one relationship with them on the deck, which is one of the best parts of my job.”
On that trip, Brian Meadows of New York was the first one to land a “Hook and Hand” fish, and it was a wahoo! Anglers agree that the wahoo is not the easiest fish to land, so it was definitely a triumph. It was his first wahoo, and it happened during his first long-range trip! Captain Joe Soares was there for the assist.
I’m looking forward to more photos documenting that passing of the lucky “Hook and Hand” baton to other Searcher anglers! All Searcher trips in 2016 will have the Accurate “Hook and Hand” gear on board and the crew will be ready to get YOU hooked up!
Special thanks to Jack Nilsen and Gary Gillingham, Accurate Fishing Products, Eric Maulhardt from Seeker Rods and Steve Ichinokuchi of Izorline for the gear!
Check out our Accurate-sponsored trips on the 2016 schedule!
Kudos to Ken Franke and The Sportfishing Association of California for gaining permission for our fleet to catch bluefin in Mexico.
Exciting news to hear the limits will be 2 bluefin per day, per person, with a 3 day bag limit for a total of 6.
The new bag limit for sportfishing was published in the official diary of the Federation of Mexico yesterday.
Looking forward to our 2016 season!
-Captain Art
Congratulations to our jackpot winners!
1. Tim James, Westminster, CA (left) – 51.4# wahoo
2. Rob Geiger, Somis, CA – 46.2# wahoo
3. Rob Geiger, Somis, CA – 42.2# wahoo
Howdy anglers: We ha some tough fishing conditions today with a lot of wind. But we found a little bit of yellowtail action and some really good calico bass fishing mixed in as well. We are now moving up the beach to fish for a couple of hours before we head back to the dock.
Capt Aaron and Searcher crew
Fishermans Landing Tackle Shop: sales, seminars and open-house aboard Searcher!
Howdy anglers: There were more wahoo for us today and good weather! Here’s a father-son combo of happy wahoo fishers–Don and Doug Nance of San Diego, CA–part of our long-time Searcher family.
We are hoping for more before we head up the line to our next destination.
Wish us luck!
Capt Aaron and the Searcher crew
Brian Meadows of New York is having quite a trip so far! This is his first long-range trip and today he caught his first wahoo, courtesy of Capt Joe Soares (left) and some great gear from Accurate, Seeker and Izorline! They have supplied three outfits for us to use to “Hook and Hand” a fish to an angler. You can see one of those outfits in Brian’s hands. Today it was Brian’s opportunity to reel in and land this nice wahoo! Many thanks to all involved, especially Gary Gillingham, Accurate’s trip host on our current trip.
