Trip Reports

Good afternoon anglers:

Today we woke up to a little breeze from the northwest. But we were still able to find a nice kelp paddy and catch some nice dorado to wrap the trip up.

We are headed home and will be back out for 7 days tomorrow.

Wish us luck and until then, tight lines!

Here’s crewman Hector and Ken Y with his dorado.

Captain Shawn and Team Searcher

Good evening anglers:

This afternoon we did find the magical kelp paddy and had very good dorado and tuna fishing. Tuna were on the small side so most were released, but the dorado were nice size. We all had a lot of fun fishing, but the best part of the day was calm seas!

All methods of lures and bait were working. Here is a nice shot of Captain Mike and Ron W. with a dorado.

Captain Shawn and Team Searcher

Good evening anglers:

Today we fished along the coast for yellowtail. Most of them were caught on fly-lined sardines, and a few were caught on a surface iron. We are heading offshore to look for tuna and dorado, so wish us luck. 

Tommy T. and his yellowtail.

~ Captain Shawn and Team Searcher

Good morning anglers!

We spent most of the morning traveling to our destination on the Ridge. We were welcomed by a nice wahoo! Now it’s time to look around for some yellowfin. Wish us luck!

Here’s Tommy T. with his wahoo caught on a nomad trolling lure.

More tonight,

Captain Shawn and Team Searcher

Hello anglers,

We’ve had some action on small tuna and better size dorado so far today. We are releasing the small tuna and keeping the dorado. However the small tuna are biting and are lots of fun on light tackle!

Tanner S brought some unconventional tackle with him this trip. He used spinning gear for yellowtail yesterday and did very well. Today he broke out a hand-line similar to what kids might have used back in the day– a coffee can with line wrapped around the outside so they can cast their bait or lure out. Tanner landed a dorado on his version of this outfit with a live sardine.

We are all having a lot of fun this trip!

Capt Art and Team Searcher

Evening update:

We had plenty of action with small yellowfin tuna and dorado associated with kelp paddies. We released the majority of the smaller fish so they can continue to grow. But it was fun catching them on light tackle with poppers, lures and live bait.

We are also continuing to enjoy great weather with light winds and partly sunny skies. We are headed northwest for our last day close to San Diego with hopes for some better size yellowfin tuna.

Yellowtail sashimi and skipjack poke

Today was a seafood day in the galley. We had yellowfin tuna melts for lunch, yellowtail sashimi and skipjack poke for afternoon snack and pasta alfredo with scallops for dinner. Delicious!

Capt Art and Team Searcher

Hello all,

Good fishing for yellowtail this morning. The fish are 12 to 20 pounds with a few stand outs that are 25 pounds. Tackle tip for you is, live sardine on 40 pound line and a 4/0 Owner hook was the method of choice today. A few fish were landed on yo-yo lures, scrambled egg (Tady), chartreuse and white (flat fall) were the good colors. Here is Tanner S.of Bay City Brewery with a nice yellowtail. The weather is awesome, sunny skies and light winds.

Evening update:

Our great fishing continued until 2 pm today. Everyone caught what they needed for yellowtail. It was one of our best days this year with good-size fish and great weather. Even the crew got in the action! I hooked and handed several fish and Captains Kenny and Mike had some fun doing the same.Towards the end of the bite Ryan landed a fish after hooking a few. Even Chef Roger had a few bites. Here is Ryan and Mike with a nice yellowtail.

~Captain Art and Team Searcher