A great day of angling in beautiful weather here at Cedros that started with three trophy white seabass from 55-63lbs and consistent action on 20-30lb yellows. We worked up the island throughout the day prospecting new spots and trying for halibut. The day culminated with the most incredible show of 30-40lb yellows that I've ever seen when thousands of fish pushed a ball of sardines up against the beach then directly through us. At one point we had these big yellows boiling 360 degrees around us out to 100 yards while everyone onboard had one on. An incredible experience, especially considering we were in only 30 feet of water.

We are traveling up tonight and plan on finishing the trip tomorrow trying for albacore.

Not much to report from the offshore grounds today in spite of very good conditions. We are running up this evening in decent weather and plan on spending a leisurely day fishing Cedros tomorrow.

An overall great day on the inside that started with an excellant surface yellowtail bite on 18-30lbers with a few 40's mixed in. Lots of visual excitement with packs of yellows following the surface iron and boiling on flylined baits. We had our fill by early afternoon and left them biting to go prospecting to the West. A couple kelps in 70 degree blue water produced 25 tuna 18-25lbs and 10 dorado, making for a nice ending to the day. We are running up tonight and plan on prospecting offshore tomorrow.

Tough scratching here at Alijos today with quality making up somewhat for quantity. We ended up with 20 tuna to 75lbs and 20 yellows to 62lbs. We are traveling into the ridge tonight and plan on fishing yellows tomorrow.

We got the trip off to a nice start here today at Alijos with good fishing on 30-55lb tuna and a few decent yellows. Lots of fish boiling around combined with beautiful weather made for a fun day of angling. We are going to give this at least one more day before exploring other options.

Apparently it was our turn to pay some dues offshore as we put in another full day of effort in a different zone for scant results. At the very least, we were better off than the previous day with a couple of albacore jig strikes and a few other signs to stop the boat on, but any way one considers it, it was another dreadfully slow day. Regarding the present offshore picture, none of us really know what to venture as it appears that the traditional zones, and areas off the beaten path, simply have yet to develop. My core sentiment at present is that time will tell, and I know that seems to be a dodge, but most times the truth is that we don't know, and have no other options than to keep working at it and wait for the inevitable change to occur. That conditions, and fishing, will change is the only certain part of the equation, and in the present case, that fact is what drives our optimism.

Speaking of change, it is time for Captain Toussaint to take a round at the helm so look for his daily reports to cotinue during the upcoming weeks. If anyone can make it happen, it is old "lucky" himself, so watch the reports for good fishing news soon.

Tim

We're licking our wounds after a very long day on the outside that produced a fantastic picture of what is going on with the water and fishing productivity in the zone we worked, although we caught nothing and saw only two spots of bluefin tuna that ran for their lives the instant we got close to them. Wild fish is probably a better description as everyone in the area reported the exact same results when they approached small spots of jumpers and a couple bona fide schools that were in the "run and gun" mode rather than stop and eat. At the very least we are feeling fortunate to have a beautiful catch of yellowtail in the hatch as the amount of fish on board affords us a good buffer against exactly what happened in the production department yesterday. It is fishing, and as we all know, such offshore looking missions come with the territory. With the ultimate goal being some form of tuna to sink out teeth into, we will dedicate our final day again to the offshore effort, but obviously in a different zone far from yesterday's dissapointing area.

A picture perfect day of long range fishing with almost nonstop action on twenty to thirty pound yellowtail from just after daylight to 6:00 p.m. The pace of action could not have been more ideal as anglers had to put their time in at the rail to get a bite, but if they did, they caught as many of the big yellows as they pleased. So with that now checked off the list, we are back to the offshore grounds where the search for albacore and bluefin tuna will resume in earnest. We do have some encouraging information to work on, but until we see for ourselves, we'll keep our enthusiasm reigned in. With decent working weather in the forecast, we will definitely know more, and report accordingly, tomorrow.

The morning of offshore searching dragged into the afternoon as we came across nothing significant other than a couple of zones that could have produced small yellowtail. Thus far, the consistent theme in the offshore zones down here has been cold water with sea surface temperatures barely breaking sixty three degrees and many zones remaining in the sixty to sixty one degree range. A quick assesment of all the conditions, and minimal signs of tuna offshore would lead one to believe that ocean conditions are what we typically find in the middle of May rather than June. In other words it looks like the grand mechanism is turning a little slower this year and keeping us waiting as a result. The one certain thing is that the table is set down below as miles and miles of bait is already satisfying plentiful whales, dolphins, and birds. Of course time will tell, but judging by the overall picture offshore, with a smattering of bluefin tuna and albacore signs in several different areas, I will venture the opinion that it is far from time to hit the panic button.

As for yesterday, we weren't overly condfidant in the offshore scene going into the day, and as such, made provisions to visit the islands in the late afternoon if things on the outside didn't work out. It turned out to be a good call as the long day of working south was forgotten amidst good action on seventeen to twenty two pound yellowtail that pvovided a great surface show in six or seven productive stops. It was a good start for our trip shaking out the kinks and cobwebs in preparation for what we hope will be a yellowtail filled day of island action tomorrow and perhaps beyond. We have beautiful working weather and every else in place so it is now up to the fish gods during the next couple of days.

Our one and one half day adventures have come to an end and we now return to our regular schedule departing on the Eddie Marty five day voyage with a fine load of bait, and an even finer limited load of twenty four happy anglers who were the first this season to take advantage of our new "ALL INCLUSIVE" advertised pricing. That's right, our prices on the schedule are certainly higher than the rest, but when our anglers arrive and see Tracy on departure day there is NO FUEL SURCHARGE, and NO ADDITIONAL PERMIT FEES! We hope this change in our operating policy will be to your liking.

Overall the day and a halfer's served a fantastic purpose allowing many anglers who would not have otherwise ventured a long range voyage the opportunity to fish Royal Star. We wish to extend our sincerest gratitude to all those anglers who joined us during the past two weeks on our "mini" long rangers and at the same time invite, and encourage, all of you to join us on a longer voyage where we have much more time to build a successful fishing adventure. As for the 2008 Royal Star schedule, we will likely return to our regular routine of five to eight day spring long range voyages, but I wouldn't be surprised if we squeeze a day and a half trip or two in if space is available.

In the meantime, look for our reports to continue tomorrow as we head down the line in search of offshore glory with plans to visit the islands after for what we hope will be a few days of satisfying fishing fun.

The final one a one half day "introduction to long range" voyage has ultimately arrived and with it, we hope, a major change in the local offshore picture that promises good things to come. Before we start counting our lucky stars however, we have our work cut out for us with a full day of offshore prospecting to complete. I can say with certainty that the feel of things has definitely improved with several different zones showing signs of life and favorable conditions developing at a rapid pace.

Overall this series of short trips, a marked deviation from our regular long range routine, has been a huge success in that we had a good time fishing with many new anglers we now consider friends. Of course we have high hopes that at least some of those who made one of these rare short trips on Royal Star will take the next step and venture a true long range voyage with more time on the water to build a varied catch of quality gamefish. So far this early season on the offshore grounds has been slow to develop but thankfully all of our trips were fortunate enough to put at least a fair to decent catch of offshore yellowtail in the hatch. A fishing trip should be judged by the overall experience however, and in this respect, this year's series of one and one half day voyages have been a huge success. Whether or not we include a few of the shorter trips in next season's schedule is yet to be decided, but it is likely that you will see at least a couple of one and one half day trips on Royal Star in late May or early June 2008.

Before all that becomes relevant however, we will focus on the present and do our best to put together a good trip on the local offshore grounds today. Look for consistent fishing reports to continue for at least the next week as I, with my obvious affinity for story telling, am back on the boat for a short stretch.

Tim

The lucky anglers who took the first albacore of the season were Richard Cota, Scott Whitman and Morrise Kendall. After the stop we continued working the immediate area for no more bites. We then took off to find some yellowtail on kelps. A few produced just a few fish each then just before lunch, we found our best kelp of the day. For about 15 minutes it was sheer pandemonium and when things settled down we had 23 yellows on board. We then went back to the area where we had the albacore in the morning to see if they would come back up in the afternoon or evening. We found the right water with good signs of life but unfortunately, no more strikes were to be had. We had beautiful weather and a happy ride home knowing we had a very successful trip. Many thanks to Miguel Hernandez of North Pacific Group for putting together such a great group of anglers for this company sponsored trip.

Captain Randy Toussaint will be at the helm Thursday night for the next one and one half day introduction to long range style fishing.

ALBACORE! ALBACORE! ALBACORE!

Captain Brian Sims of the Royal Star has landed the first three albacore of the Summer 2007 season on a three way jig strike that produced the three 22 - 25# albacore landed and one tragically lost baitfish that spit the hook following a short battle! The fish were taken approximately ninety miles from Pt. Loma in good sea conditions with good weather. Look for futher updates as the day develops or upon our return tomorrow. And of course - Keep your fingers crossed for more good news!

Well, my return to Royal Star felt very much like a happy homecoming. It was great to go fishing again with old friends and meet new ones. We spent the day chasing 6 - 15 # yellowtail down the beach. We had hopes of finding bluefin tuna mixed in with the yellows. The water conditions are good enough for them to show, but alas they remained elusive. We had beautiful weather and the crew preformed like the professionals they are; all of which adds up to a very fun trip. Worthy of note was first time long ranger, six year old Maclane Block's first yellowtail, which he captured after a 10 minute battle. Congratulations to young Maclane and huge thanks to all Royal Star anglers new and veteran alike for making the trip. We will depart tonight on our next one and one half day voyage seeking glory on the outside with Captain Brain Sims again taking the helm.