We're off to a slow start again beginning our annual Michael Doi four day charter with a fair morning hit on albacore in the grey but dropping the ball there as the day progressed into evening. Similar to last trip, the day could not be described as a loss as we put together a respectable score compared to the competition, but our expectations and definition of a fine day of long range angling are far from what we ended up with in the hatch. The good news is that we have two full days remaining and as we have demonstrated on so many past occasions, two days can be more than enough time. Of course we are hoping this is the case as we make a move down the line in search of bluefin and yellowfin tomorrow.

With two tough days on the local albacore grounds under our belts and very little to show for a valiant effort, we opted for a move at day's end believing that even if we caught nothing, it would be better than suffering through another day where we were. This is not to say that there weren't plenty of fish around; there were, but I can only look at them without catching for so long before going half crazy with the need to find something else. Of course this approach does not always work in our favor. Admittedly, I have suffered the sometimes negative consequences of this character trait, but I have also never missed a catch of fish from a lack of boldness or effort.

In yesterday's case we could not have been more fortunate as the fish Gods cast a beaming smile upon us when dawn broke placing us smack in the middle of an ocean alive with life. Whales, dolphins, birds, bait, and most importantly, yellowfin tuna were all around and the tuna were in the right mood to help us settle the score from the past two day's struggle. Yellowfin tuna in the 15 - 25# class began coming over the rail just after we began moving at dawn and aside from a three hour mid day lull did not stop until our departure for San Diego at 1915 hrs. No doubt about it, yesterday was our day to shine as everything we did seemed to fall into place and produce another good stop on fat, school size yellowfin. The ultimate icing on the cake was the final stop that filled out our limits then, just as we were about to leave, ( I actually started to engines in preparation to travel) a school of what appeared to be bigger tuna showed up on the fathometer. It turned out that a school of big eye tuna found us and conveniently settled jackpot positions one, two, and three as the final three fish landed. Unbelievable. Needless to say we are extremely thankful for our good fortune that transformed what was looking to be a tough trip into a banner long range adventure.
We turn the boat around again tomorrow venturing out on our annual Michael Doi four day charter. Captain Toussaint will be joining me at the helm this trip as we return offshore to what we hope will be more good fishing.

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Well I hate to break the news but long range fishing is not always wide open; only about eighty percent of the time. Unfortunately yesterday and today fall into the realm of the remaining twenty percent that can vary anywhere from painfully slow to a fair pick. I would say that yesterday's fishing fell somewhere in between being far from the worst day we have seen on the water but leaving much to be desired in the catching department. Seeing the fish was not the problem; there are plenty of both bluefin and albacore around, but catching the wily, well fed, not biting devils has proven to be a momentous task. Frustrating is how I would best describe the action that consists mainly of short stops where none to a handful of fish are hooked then the fish move on and we follow suit. As reported seeing the fish is not a difficult task with big spots of breaking bluefin and albacore visible at most times, but this only adds to the frustration as we approach adrenaline pumping foamers to be denied while the fish continue crashing within yards of the hull and ignore our offerings. Such are the woes of offshore fishing and the good news in the story is that the fish are around and the weather continues to work in our favor. With tomorrow will come a change of scenery as we target bluefin, albacore, and yellowfin in another zone that we hope will be more productive in the catching department.

We began our voyage on a high note with a fantastic load of bait, a fine group of anglers, and huge expectations following last trip's epic catch and grand finale on trophy bluefin. Oh how quickly things change however as our first day was a huge struggle with very little sign of albacore compared to the past six days and plenty of sign of small bluefin that had zero interest in what we had to offer. Of course changes like this are no surprise to any of us who work out here, but following such a fantastic stretch of good fishing and good weather they are never received well. For all of us out here now there is no choice other than to get out and start over covering new and old ground as a group to get back on some biting fish as soon as possible. In this case we are hoping for sooner rather than later as are down to two days remaining in our trip.

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With a beautiful catch of quality albacore in the hatch, one final day, and plenty of bait to make it happen, the stage was set for us to head for trophy bluefin to try our hand at the wary, reluctant to bite gamesters. Before I report further I want to remind everyone of the Ekstrom trademark for pulling it out in the final hour that has proven true on so many occasions now that I can't begin to recall. Here was the set up yesterday. Our departure for home time was set at 7:00 p.m. as we needed to travel home with sufficient time to make our scheduled morning arrival. We found the fish shortly after 10:00 a.m. and began hitting spots for zero success despite the fact that several demonstrated interest crashing around the boat leaving Volkswagen sized boils for us to marvel at. As the day wore on frustration was slightly offset by a couple of shots at 30 - 40# bluefin and 20 - 25# yellowfin but the big fish continued to ignore every offering; most times simply sounding before we had a chance to get bait in the water. Six p.m. rolled around then six thirty and we finally found another good area to work in at about seven p.m. Needless to say calling it a trip at that point was out of the question but as we arrived in the zone and hit the final school for the same depressing results - nothing, it was looking like this time we were going to have to give it up and wait for another day. Being hardheaded and persistent however, I could not give it up as the same school popped up again about a half mile away cruising along in plain view. Darkness was rapidly approaching and we figured what the hell, we'll give it one last try. We lined up on them, ran it, threw bait, and that was it, bluefin in the seventy five to one hundred fifty pound class erupted in every direction flying out of the water tearing the flat calm surface to shreds. One hookup! Two! Four! Five! And so it was that with twenty minutes to spare before dark we got our shot at trophy bluefin landing six from seventy five to one hundred twenty three pounds ending an already fantastic voyage on a incredible note that will remain fixed in these angler's memories for a lifetime.

Without a doubt the most beautiful day of offshore weather we have seen all season with greasy, balmy conditions gracing the effort to stay on bluefin and albacore. I am pleased to report that our efforts were successful both in the afternoon and evening with very good action on jumbo 30 - 40# albacore with a handful of 30 - 40# bluefin mixed in. The only difficult part of our day was the effort to avoid hoards of twelve to eighteen pound bluefin that appeared everywhere in the mood to eat. As we have a beautiful catch of big albacore already in the hatch, we are focusing strictly on quality and although this is a sound plan, yesterday it was much easier said than done. Suffice to say that we saw plenty but convincing them to bite is another, unfortunately familiar story. It would be criminal to complain however as we are catching plenty otherwise and basking in the glorious, flat calm weather.

Another nice day on albacore in the offshore grounds with steady morning and afternoon action on the fat longfin. Incredible, gorgeous, flat calm weather graced the effort and the fish, as well as us, appreciated the generous ocean. One note that I have to mention is the staggering quantity of albacore we observed yesterday with the thirty mile stretch of ocean we traveled holding signs of fish that were difficult to imagine. It is always remarkable to witness these events that we have deemed "float days" when just about every tuna and/or albacore comes to the surface revealing volumes about how many of them there really is. On many different occasions we have been amazed by areas that didn't appear to be holding large quantities of fish transforming into oceans full of life before our very eyes. Yesterday was such an occasion and at the very least indicated that albacore fishing in the local grounds stands to be good for some time to come. As this is only the first full day of our voyage, we have plenty of time to make "hay" as the saying goes. There have been some very exciting developments down the line so don't be surprised if this incredible offshore fishing continues to develop.

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We began our annual Steve Kimbrough four day with plenty of time to take advantage of some local albacore action being reported as close as twenty five miles from San Diego. As it turned out, the reports were accurate and we were able to piece together a fine first evening of albacore fishing hatching seventy five of the longfin in the three hours before dark. With a good beginning to our trip, good weather in the forecast, and plenty of time to prospect offshore, we will be searching for bluefin and other offshore gamesters for at least the next two days.

This was one of those days offshore that we wait for and are very thankful that we did not miss. Very good fishing on mixed fish was the theme that continued to improve as the day progressed. The weather jacked up from flat calm in the morning, but the action was so good that we hardly noticed and definitely didn't complain. True to form the full moon phase proved once again to be the right time to be fishing offshore. Now we begin a new adventure returning to San Diego tomorrow and departing again on our annual Steve Kimbrough four day voyage. Look for reports to continue and those of you planning a trip soon get ready.

A nice day of offshore action with the albacore cooperating mid day and in the late evening and glorious, fantastic, flat calm weather. Of course we don't need the weather to be flat calm to catch fish, but it sure makes the overall experience much more pleasant. Overall the signs offshore continue to look good as more fish move up the line and conditions remain favorable. There continues to be good sign of yellowfin and bigger bluefin down below and one of the guys yesterday had a sign of a few dorado on kelps as he worked up the line. It definitely appears that the prospects are good for at least the next few weeks offshore. Time will tell of course and one would expect some change as the moon passes, but the main element in the equation, the fish, are present and we hope will continue to bite.

We began our voyage on the 17th in high spirits as reports on the outside favored good weather and good fishing. With an excellent two day forecast, a fine load of bait, and a fantastic group of seasoned anglers, the odds of having a good day of offshore action were definitely in our favor. As it turned out, the weather, which has been hounding me on the last three trips I've run, once again kicked up, and as has been the pattern over the past month, the fish responded to the weather change negatively. Not that the action fizzled completely, thank goodness, but it was way below our high expectations and we definitely earned every fish that came aboard the hard way. By day's end we were all ready for a change of venue and we headed south with a respectable score of bluefin and albacore in the hatch and plans to target yellowtail and yellowfin at Guadalupe for at least a day tomorrow.

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Woke up in the morning to flat calm weather.We had high hopes that the fish we be up on top enjoying the same weather,they did not.We atleast got to cover some good water and let Tim know where not to go.We will be arriving in san diego at 0800.

We had a good day of yellowtail fishing.We had beautiful sunny weather sitting at cedros.We are going to top off are bait,and start working up in hopes of bftor albacore.

This morning started out with a handful of quality yellows in the grey light, as the sun rose we picked up our anchor in search of wahoo,it didn't take long before we had some more skin in our R.S.W. fishhold.When our anchor was dropped for the final time the tuna were waiting and we were willing.By afternoon it was time to head for cedros island in hopes of yellowtail.

After a day of traveling we arrived at alijos rocks to find beautiful blue water and to our surprise wahoo. We spent a good portion of our morning trolling for wahoo, which proved to be very productive, by noon every one had a good shot at wahoo.As we anchored up the tuna began to boil up around us, by the end of the day we had a good catch of yellowfin tuna and wahoo under our belts.It made the decision to stay here easier.

Traveled down to the Stones all day.We were praying to get lucky and bump into something.We still have good weather and have high hopes for the morning.

We had a fabulous day of albacore fishing.Started out a little bit slow,but we finished up strong.We had a beautiful grade of albacore in grease calm weather. We are going to start heading to Alijos in hopes of catching a couple nice yellowfin and wahoo for the fresh tanks.

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Fabulous day of long range fishing here at Alijos that started with a night bite for 28 yellows from 20-50lbs, followed by a drift for 9 wahoo, and culminated with a nice all day scratch on quality tuna. We ended up keeping 75 tuna from 30 to 115lbs and releasing over 100 15-25lbers. We are presently running up the line in good weather and plan on finishing up in the albacore zone on the ninth.

Unfortunately we have no big bft to report today but we did have wide open action on school size yft which made for fun angling. After catching all we wanted we took off for Alijos where we hope to get a shot at some bigger fish tomorrow.

We had a great day on 18-40lb yellows while enjoying the flat calm lee of the island. Everything was surface oriented so the flylined baits and light jigs were the way to go, which made for fun fishing. We are going to run down the line tonight and prospect for the big bft tomorro

Nothing to report for an entire day of offshore prospecting this Fourth of July. The weather was very nice today but we simply never found any good water structure. We are presently traveling inside where we hope to have a nice day fishing yellows tomorrow.

We started our trip in the albacore grounds today for very scratchy fishing. The weather was beautiful and we saw plenty of fish, but it was simply a down day. We are sliding down the line tonight and plan on prospecting offshore for yft and bft tomorrow.

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We favor the saying "timing is everything" in fishing and such was the case yesterday as we arrived in the albacore zone on the day that every fish in the ocean decided to bite. In addition, we somewhat avoided what we expected to be a horrible ride north as the wind and seas abated considerably despite a dubious forecast. At present we are enjoying good offshore weather ready to begin and finish our final day with more albacore and possibly bluefin action. Overall I have to say that yesterday's showing of fish was very encouraging, even inspirational, as we all got a good idea of just how much fish is around. Now we can definitely say that things look good for the upcoming weeks as both the spread and quantity of albacore seen yesterday was excellent. In addition, this area of fish is on track to make a good showing in the local zone soon so look for the overnight trips to begin making consistent good albacore catches soon.