Saw 4 or 5 fish (marlin) yesterday about 4:30pm between the 152 and the East End

A strong wind and current line about 3 1/2 off Church Rock and all the yellowtail you want. It was sloppy (15 to 20 knts) between Clemente and Catalina but it seems to have backed off a bit (12 to 15 knts) closer to Catalina, 9:30am Giant Squid under the patties!   Osborne Bank, not a lot going on, lots of porpoise, some fir,   It in came on a short one and stayed up on the bait, but wouldn't eat it, (10:20am) 

Another tailer up off the East End 11:20
Mackerel was hard to get at Catalina,
The Church Mouse Marlin Tournament Kicks off tomorrow , Best of Luck!
JD release as many as you can!
A jumper? maybe seen near the oil islands 1:05
Another Jumper 1:15 - 25/45 All you wanted! ( I think food fish)
Inside the 267, Swordfish Up 2:20 7 1/2, , 24 degrees to Dana
8 miles off San Onofre, lots of birds, dorado 33:07:793 / 117:34 :381

Overall it was a fair day, some boats scored well on the yellowtail or dorado, some yellowfin, other not.

Again bait was the issue today, several boaters complained about having 4 and 6 inch anchovies, seems they weren't as active as a baitfish they would have liked them to be, !

Other's this morning make their own bait, catching 60 smelt for bait! Fishing against the coastline in their small 18 ft, boat they scored over 50 fish for the day ,releasing most of them. Catching halibut, Sand and Calico Bass, Lizard Fish, sharks, and bonito for the day,

There were a dozen boats working the West End today, , Some bait and life was seen and prospects look ok for some fish (marlin) to move in.

MARLIN - Allcoast Sportfishing   squidroe  Aug-26-00 at 04:13 PM (PST)
Caught my first local marlin on Fri. The fish was hooked while fishing for dodos under a paddy about four mile straight out of Newport. It was purly luck and god given ability that I landed this fish. The marlin was caught on a Calstar 670 and a Newell 332 with 25lb big game.( NO LEADER )

We went around the West end, saw as swordfish off Cat Canyon, baited him but no luck   33: 06/117: 41 , a single Dorado and a double on the yellowfin, 1:00 pm 

The West end looks good, the waters blue and 71/to 73 degrees, a few seals but we saw no marlin

This is the third jig strike (marlin) I've had today. Between the 152 and the slick towards the East End, ( a marlin caught) 4:20pm

1/2 dozen swordfish seen below the 267 today by the stickboat and spotter airplane fleet. one Marlin seen 10 miles from the slide towards the Mackerel Bank this morning another one seen 5:45 pm yesterday afternoon only 1/2 mile off the slide. Another one just outside the 14 today

Worst day of the year, but I love being out here.

Albacore! 32:25 117:54, 32:11 117:37 between 371 and 390 lot of jig strikes some patties

302 slow

MARLIN - Allcoast Sportfishing   Craig Gilbert Aug-25-00, 09:24 PM (PDT)
"Swordfish Friday" Baited two swordfish today east of the 277 and north of the 367 at the following L/L:
#1: 33.11.806 / 117.59.036
#2: 33.12.713 / 117.56.479
Neither fish was interested but each fish kept popping up for about 30 minutes, and finally sunk away. One decided to give us a look and jumped several times in our direction. Size estimated at 300 lbs. Quite a show. Did not see any marlin in this area. Also saw 100lb mako jumping in this general area also. Water temps from 72 to 76, mostly 72-73, also saw 78 inside near the 14 mile bank. Craig

MARLIN - Al Kelly 8/24
Score= Marlin 1, HideOut 0. That marlin mentioned in Marty's Wednesday's report may have been ours. The report Rich (my guest) gave on the radio was close but just a little off. We drifted off a paddy after hooking about 6 good size Dorado and were slow trolling 'dine back toward the paddy when my bait rod went off. 20 lib line straight tied to a circle hook only held for about 10 minutes but what a show and ride! He came right out of the water behind when he took the bait, right in front of Skips view. I heard the clicker and turned to get the rod as again and then he came out halfway twice more before he really split and the line screamed off my Newell 229. About half my line was out in a giant bow when he start "greyhounding" he did that twice then sounded and the line eventually broke. I wound in and tied on a marlin bait rig I had and resumed slow trolling the biggest bait I could find in the tank again but no takers. We will all remember the show that fish put on, he was lit up as blue as any picture I have ever seen. The radio report went out when I tried to let Mark know of the event. We couldn't reach Mark but we 6 or 7 other people come back asking for our location.
    Other than that the bite was slow. We didn't get our first fish for an hour and a half after we put the jigs out. Our first stop was on a paddy we were trolling around, a guy on a Parker (Fish Magnet) waved us in. We hooked 6, landed 5 Dorado that were 40-50% larger than the ones we got the day earlier. No tuna for the day, no yellows, and one more Dorado that hit a marlin jig on the way in about 2 miles outside North Island.    
    Finished cleaning up the boat at the club around 6:30 and got to bed around 9. We were all too tired to do it again and slept in til 6:30 this morning. I wish I could live with less sleep! Tomorrow we plan to do the Coronado's, I plan to have 2 Marlin jigs on the Riggers while trolling.
Al

MARLIN - Allcoast Sportfishing   MarkW on Aug-24-00 at 07:13 AM (PST)
"NW-NE of the 14" Left HH before the crack,got cured chovy/sardine mix from Bills,caught a few macks,and was off. Headed for the area we've been fishing,2 to 4 nw/ne above the bank.Found a sleeper at 16 miles from HH, n/g,got in the glasses, found a bird school about a mile toward the beach and ran it down. Straight dorado on a meatball,no kelp around,WFO!!! Tacked back to marlin area but didn't see any more, worked west a bit, found a kelp that was loaded,caught a few/released a few more,put the #'s out and ran down to the bank.Very little sign on the shallows but wanted to give it some time, anchored in 62 fth on sw corner, chummed/chunked as I cleaned fish,no sign of yft or bait.Water 71-73 with current barelytrickling to the ne.Pulled anchor,many more kelps with dorado towards A bank,but much less life compared to above the 14.LOTS of wind in the afternoon. Good luck, MarkWisch

Oh, by the way. We ended up with limits for Yellowfin Tuna today. Not counting the 10 to 15 fish the Great Whites ate. I'm sending a picture of some of the guys with their Yellowfin Tuna. Happy Fishing,

MARLIN - Marty Morris -    8/24/00
In the previous 7-10 days or so lots of life (birds, bait, porpoise, and a fair number of marlin) had been seen in the waters off North Island, down well into the upper "finger." Yesterday, however, Skeet Simmons ("Key to the Sea") made the rounds and saw absolutely nothing. Today we traveled the canyon north of Punta Barfo, out past North Island, up to the middle of the "9", down to the 101 and back up and saw - zilch! No porpise, no bait, virtually no birds and, of course, no hint of the "real thing." Rich Johnson ("Marie B") saw 1 or 2 at 11 miles 235 (just outside the "9") and a jumper later in the day at 11 miles around 210. One of the paddy wagons got bit on an albacore jig (straight 25 pd line) at the 425 - didn't stay with him for long and another of the "mosquito" fleet saw two tailers 7 miles north of the 425. The water was a little off color in most areas and highest temp was 72.4. Looks and sounds bleak - for now. Marty

BIGEYE - Rory Hughes - Whaler 27 on Aug-21-00 at 03:10 PM (PST)
"8 Hour Bigeye Battle.." - Having caught my first bigeye two years ago, a 76 pounder on 25lb. p-line, I have both a fond repect and an eagerness to pursue them constantly. As this weekend approached, I literally dreamed on putting us on one of those magnificent creatures. With some numbers from 976-Bite, we headed out of Point Loma with two nice scoops of dines and flat calm weather for the 76 mile ride south on a 151 heading.

Arriving on the spot @ 4:30am, Brian Wilson drops over a sardine on his new Trinidad 20 that he won on my boat this New Years when we caught the first albacore of the Millenium. Instant hook-up, he cried, as he woke us up from a brief nap while we waited for grey light. Soon Brian was calling for me to follow his fish as he was getting spooled. We followed, and followed, and followed. Brian what pound test do you have out?, 25lb flourcarbon w/ cxx p-line, he says.Holy, moly.. Finally, after chasing the fish around for an hour & a half, it finally settles in for a dog fight. After putting tremendous pressure on the fish for 2 hours, forty five minutes, Brian is fading and the fish is getting stronger. Roy Rafferty takes over. Three hours later we've got him at color, we swim him up closer to the boat, damm, its just out of gaff range when it lays its head over and almost spools us again. This fish is doing hugh tuna circles.Up, down, around the boat from one side to the other. Were all thinking that this fish has been hooked before. It really knows how to work the fisherman against the boat and current.

Having caught tuna from 100 - 200 pounds, we all assessed this fish at from 150 - 200 pounds. After 3 1/2 hours Roy passes it off to my cousin Gary Hughes. Gary puts his 6'5" frame to work, with fresh muscle. The fish acts like we haven't even hurt him yet. After over an hour Gary looks to me, the captain!, you pull on him Rory, this tackle/drag pressure is not even getting the fish! I go to work, with Brian at the helm, we go into a full effort with swimming  the fish up and down the current, me pulling as hard as I could. The only way I could gain any line was to thumb the spool a little. Soon the monster was nearing the corner again. With gaffs at the ready for the fifth time we all thought this was the end we had been working toward.

With his head up and swimming almost within gaff range I could see that the line was wrapped across his gill plate and down the pectoral fin. Just then, the big boy, rolls over, flaps his tail with one powerful move, and the line pops.

I fall to the floor in utter agony. Not physical, just mental. Our only solice was to consol each other, talk it out and learn from the unreal experiences, and marvel at this magnificant creature that KICKED OUR A## for 8 hours. After putting away the crying towels, we put out the jigs and nailed 14 yellowfin, 8 yellowtail and a dodo for the ride home. Now I can only think of BIGEYE, BIGEYE, BIGEYE..See you out there next week. And I'll have that 12 foot gaff I needed this weekend on - board!!

 P.S. forgot to mention the 4-5 complete idots that trolled around us while hooked up to this fish. Were not near a paddy, were clearly hook-up and bent straight over, what the heck, there are no more fish around us!! A Mexican charter skipper on an old 24' something decides that there going to cut us off!! He comes right at me, I'm screaming both in English and now Spanish..I'm 6'6", 260, I know he saw me, I know he's not deaf!! He and his crew look at us with blank stares and they all draw their hands across their throats to portait us being cut off by their boat, they are 25 feet from my transom as they go by. I'll see him again someday soon, it won't be pretty. Rory Hughes - Whaler 27

=============================================

JD'S Tip: from Capt Kenney Dickerson 'El Tigre", Rig Squids for Swordfish with 400lb cable wire, the weight of the cable helps sink out the squid in a better presentation, and it's strength helps in the battle as the fish rolls in the leader. The Fish Spotter http://fishspotter.com JD's Tackle has rigged Jumbo Squid available now!

Dorado, hard to get them to take the baits, try live sardines or small mackerel
Inshore waters:   Schools of Sand Bass and Barracuda have been constant off the Huntington Flats and San Onofre mud bottoms.

$10,000 BIG FISH RESULTS.....
1st Marlin - Kevin Weber - 157# 5oz Striped Marlin
2nd Marlin - Chris Evans - 150# 8oz Striped Marlin
3rd Marlin - Gerald Cherist - 89# 7oz Striped Marlin

1st Tuna - Lou Douchane - 96# Bigeye
2nd Tuna - Pete Ferhagan - 33# Yellowfin
3rdTuna - Mike Bratten - 31# Albacore

1st IGFA  - Rick Deitz - 34# 12oz Dorado
2nd IGFA - Louis Barry - 31# Dorado
3rd IGFA - Lee Mayo - 26# Dorado

Awards 9/7 - Bali Jai Restaurant - 7pm

MARLIN - Chet Spreen  ..So Cal Offshore Reports ..Aug-21-00, 02:12 PM (PDT)
"More Reports for Monday, August 21, 2000 02:08 PM
Marlin- Interesting weekend with not many catches reported up north, but quite a few reported to the south. Also for those of you who haven't heard fishspotters.com are charging now and it's not cheap, something like $5 a viewing. On to the reports, there was a fish released Saturday morning by a boat fishing for marlin for only the 2nd time in his life just inside the Avalon Bank. There were a couple of other jig strikes from that same area on up to off Long Point 2 to 4 miles. We saw an est. 60lb. striper free swimming 2 miles west of the 209(cute little guy). A boat at our dock reported seeing 6 fish in an hour 8 miles off Dana Point, jumpers/tailers/feeders on Saturday as well. There were boats working the 499 for the rumored huge concentration of fish reported by the spotter planes, they found good conditions but no marlin seen. Boats also worked the lee of Clemente and found a lot of swordfish gear in the water but no marlin other than a few jumpers. A couple of fish were seen between the 209 and 181 and also between the 125 and 182 but didn't hear of any caught there. A marlin was hooked off a kelp paddy 8 miles off Oceanside but broke off. There were some fish seen along the ridge between the 152 and Church Rock with a few jig bites.

To the south it was a different story with fish released off the Coronados and the Upper Finger Bank. From 1 to 7 miles west of North Island to 1 to 7 miles Southwest of South Island looked good with feeders, jumpers, and sleepers reported. Also the area from the outside edge of the Upper Finger Bank to the 425 had marlin sightings with at least 1 fish taken on the 425. It's hard to get a handle on exactly how many fish were caught and released but it sounds like as many as 10 could have been caught. These areas near San Diego were by far the most productive for the weekend.

Yellowfin Tuna - Moving on up, moving on up! Ready or not here they come!!!  The Yellowfin went off yesterday and all weekend below the Coronados, with the sport boats reporting over 1,300 tuna Sunday. The fish have been coming off of paddies, porpoise, and jig strikes. They are averaging 15 to 20lbs. with some smaller and some as large as 40lbs. Between the Finger Banks was the most productive area, no further than 20 miles from the coast. Further offshore there are fish to but the meat is in tighter to the beach. If I were going tomorrow I would start my day at 32.00/117.00, that area is loaded with tuna and the other exotics. There have also been Yellowfin reported at the 279, 14, 209, 289, 277, 182, 302, and the Mackerel Bank, mostly under the porpoise but there have been spots of breaking fish to. I heard on Saturday a boat just below the Mackerel Bank reported seeing acres of Yellowfin up crashing on the surface but couldn't get the fish to bite. Wherever you go fish those porpoise!! One last thing we found that the black/purple and red/white rapalas got bit best in the cd-14 and cd-18 sizes.

Paddy Dorado - It's looking a little bit like Cabo!! Except the boat traffic,  it was insane, I have never seen so many skiffs in my life! The dorado are everywhere from Newport to the East End of Catalina to the West End of Clemente to the 43 to the 425. Most every paddy is holding, but the fish are not right under them. You have to spend some time on each kelp and not just bounce when you don't see fish right away. We found fish as far away as 400 yards from a kelp and they are not all biting. There are larger number of fish closer to the beach that seem to be biting better. On Saturday the box from Dana point to the 279 to the 14 to Newport had the best fishing. We got 28 fish on a 3 hour stop 3 miles inside the 279. Fish are also hitting the marlin jigs in that area really well. I have never in my life seen so many free-swimming schools as I did on Saturday in this area! One last thing the Dorado moving in down south are getting bigger with fish over 40lbs. taken, I love it!

Albacore- Looking for me? Well fuel up cuz your going to have to go far! The Dumping Grounds area was holding a very large area of 20 to 40lb. Albies on Saturday, for the boats that made it out here it was WIDE OPEN! Another area with big numbers is out west of the Tanner Bank and west of the Cortes Bank 15 to 25 miles. This area is where many of the multi-day sport boats were hitting the fish before the Yellowfin showed up off the beach. There are still a smattering of Albies closer near the 302 and 371 but the Yellowfin will outnumber the Albies in this area big time. If you really want the chickens of the sea you have got to go west and far west.

Bluefin Tuna - So much for these guys showing up in bigger numbers within 1 day range. The Bluefin have followed there little buddies the Albacore and headed offshore out to the west. Out 20 miles west of the Tanner and Cortes Banks is where you might run into the bigger schools of Bluefin, with fish up to 100lbs. reportedly caught in this vicinity.

Bigeye Tuna - Well, well, well looks like the Giant Squid have shown up right off the beach near Oceanside and have been reported offshore. It is time for my favorite tuna to make it's presence known. There have been some Bigeye caught in the same areas as the Yellowfin so make sure you are trolling with heavy tackle. If you want to target only Bigeyes I would troll marlin jigs or large tuna jigs with some spreader bars starting in the dark and working till around 10am then go get some of the other species until 5pm and then put the Bigeye stuff back out and fish till dark. Also you can try drifting at night in a productive area with some fresh giant squid.

Paddy Yellowtail - Up north there are not as many Yellows as down to the south on the kelps. We found in our travels on Saturday that only 1 kelp was holding Yellows with Dorado, the rest only had Dorado. I would look down below San Diego or outside Catalina and between the East End of Catalina and the West End of San Clemente.

Mako Sharks- They could be anywhere you go. We saw makos as close as 2 miles off Laguna to between the 209 and 289 and everywhere in between. Most of the fish are smaller 20 to 60lbs. but there are some larger girls around, with some of the spotter planes and stick boats reporting fish over 500lbs. seen on the ridge between the west end of Clemente and Santa Barbara Island.
Go get em', Chet Spreen/ www.socaloffshore.com

MARLIN - Marty Morris -    8/20/00
"Sunday Report"  The albacore are generally well outside in the colder water and heading towards Cortez and up to Morro Bay. But the Yellowfin Tunas have invaded the southland and are providing a target for the locals. Lots of Dorado and Yellowtail to keep the kelp crowd happy.  Today, the MC weighed in two more. One (Kenny Schilling's third of the year) came from about 1 1/2 - 2 miles off North Island (off a group of feeders) and the other (an 11-12 yr old young lady) about 4 1/2 miles southwest of South Island. Several reports over the week-end of sleepers and feeders being seen below the islands, towards the 425 and down the outside edge of the upper finger. If there were any releases today - we haven't heard. The "Mil-So-Mar" was prowling around out there all week-end, but Rich doesn't say much and one must be one of the "good guys" in order to get an answer. Hopefully, the warmer water bringing the Yellowfins up here is also bringing more Marlinos. This week should be bringing more attention to the "finger." (Thinking positively - or is it wishful thinking? - I think I already see fish back there in the jigs on Wednesday).  I don't know about you, but North Island is a hell of lot closer than the 499. But don't dismay - if there were a lot of fish out there earlier then, like last year, they are going to pop up a lot closer. Where? I give up! (The East End isn't all that close either) Marty

Things were quiet from noon till the mid-afternoon tide swung (1;27pm) then a little action developed on some of the dorado hitting marlin lures and a few marlin seen/ baited. The stick boat Pilikia ( 65' Dittmar-Donaldson) on the rocks at Clemente? Another Radio hoax on channel 16 (unrelated)  110 miles to 115 out of SD all the 30-40lb Albacore you want.! 4 or 5 off the Head, we got a sample of everything, good fishing! Wide open San Bass Fishing

YELLOWFIN - Allcoast Sportfishing  Yutaka on Aug-21-00 at 10:08 AM (PST)
"Awesome Tournament Weekend"    What an awesome weekend of fishing! I feel like I just returned from another Long Range trip! I had the opportunity to fish in the San Diego Rod and Reel Club's $10,000 Big Fish tournament on my friend Craig Meyer's 35' Viking sportfisher this weekend. We concentrated on the tuna division, and let me tell you, we had a blast and caught an obscene amount of fish. Here's the full report:

After fighting the usual Friday afternoon rush hour and the weekend get-away traffic on the I-5, I arrived at Harbor Island to meet Craig and the rest of the crew. Craig, Rusty, and Tom were already packed up and good to go. Since I was in charge of galley duties, we unloaded all the food from my car and we were out of the slip by 7:15. Both Craig and I had been monitoring the reports pretty closely to come up with a game plan, and after cross referencing our data, we decided to make the 100 mile run out west to the Dumping Grounds. While there were plenty of small yellowfin closer to home, the outside area was still kicking out a tremendous number of good grade albacore. Our plan was to put some big fat longfins on board the first day, and also look for bluefin (which had put on a disappearing act last week). The second day would be spent looking for the elusive Bigeye closer to home.

A stop at the bait receiver revealed what we had expected. Baby 3" and 4" sardines mixed with pinhead anchovies and a few regulation sized sardines. We picked up a couple of scoops and cleared the point by 8:00. Looking into the bait tank, I said, "Well, looks like we have plenty of chum."   We cruised out to the Dumping Grounds at a leisurely pace of 9 knots under great weather. Numerous overnight and Long Range boats passed us as they headed in towards San Diego. A nice bright three quarter moon lit our way during the long smooth ride out to the promised land. I took the helm as we approached the 60 mile bank and watched as the water temp dropped from 70.3 to 69.5 over a few miles and then abruptly plummet to 68.2 degrees. As we moved farther off shore, the temperature kept dropping, at one point registering 64.6 as we approached the Mushroom bank.

My helm watch ended at 0400, so I went down to the cabin to get a couple more hours of rest. But that was cut short abruptly when I was awakened by our first jig strike at 0500. It was still dark out, and the albacore had already found us. It was a single jig fish, so we continued on our way as we were still a few miles from our destination of. A little while later, another albacore jumps on a feather. Both these fish are about 20#, and both go into the kill bag.  At 0630 we arrive at our numbers in beautiful purple-blue 66.4 degree water. 31.47 x 118.50 is what the GPS showed. This area was where the LR boats had been getting wide open albacore, and was also where the Tabi Ho II trip on the Tracer had experienced an epic bite earlier in the week. We had expected to see other boats in the area, but at this time we were all alone.

The jig strikes on the longfins continued in the early morning hours, but none of the schools wanted to stop for us. But at 0930, we get a double jig strike and I braile out a scoop of bait. The fish come boiling up on the chum, and we have a good stop going. Craig and Rusty clear the other trolling lines first, and then bring in the fish, while I continue chumming slowly. By the time both fish were landed, we had fish crashing all around the boat.  We grab our bait sticks and pin on the little sardines. Tom stays on the helm and keeps the boat pointed into the swell and moving forward slowly to help get our baits away from the boat. Almost instantaneously, we have a triple going on the bait and these turn out to be better quality fish in the 25# to 30# range. As we fight our fish, we would occasionally reach back and scoop a few pinheads out of the tank and continue chumming to keep the fish near us.

As we bring each fish up to the boat, we would look at it and assess the size. If it looked like it was bigger or at least as big as what we already had on board, we gaffed it. Otherwise we reached down and released it. All we needed was to weigh in our three largest fish, so there was no need to kill everything.   The Bite continued for over an hour, and for most of that time we were basically hand feeding the longfins. I would throw out one piece of chum at a time, and we would watch as a fish came up and boiled on it seconds after hitting the water. It was a beautiful sight. We caught somewhere around 20 fish in that hour, keeping the largest 6 or so.

The rest of the day was punctuated by frequent jig stops and more albacore. It got to the point where a line would go off, and we would stand there looking at each other hoping someone else would reel in the fish. It was obvious this area was completely blanketed with a large volume of fish, but the funny thing was that we never saw another boat all day long. The location was reported by Fishspotters.com, and the LR fleet was well aware of it, but no one came to join the party. We figured that this was an indication that the yellowfin had gone off pretty good close to shore.  Having gotten our fill of albacore, we motored back to the 60 Mile bank to spend the night. We would troll around the next day, looking for a lucky Bigeye strike in the warmer water, as the Bluefin had eluded us on Saturday. Our largest albacore weighed 30# on the Cardoza scale, and we knew we needed something bigger if we were going to be in the money.

We deployed the sea anchor and settled in for the night. No sooner had we turned on the deck lights, then a bunch of giant squid come floating up. These babies were 18" to 25" and very aggressive. I had already set up a squid rig for night fishing, expecting to use the dead stuff bought at the Asian market, but seeing that the live stuff was available, I jigged one up and pinned it on the hooks. I sent the rig down 100 feet with a cyalume stick and told the boys I would take first watch.

As I sat in the helm chair on the flybridge, I watched my rod closely. Half an hour goes by and the boredom starts to settle in. Just then the rod goes bendo, and I scramble down to the cockpit. I pull the rod out of the holder and start to crank. Hmmm… Wrong kind. It's coming up too easy.   Sure enough, it's a blue shark about 5' long. I get him to the side of the boat and contemplate how I'm going to handle the situation. I don't want to lose the rig, but I know the boys wouldn't take too kindly to being woken up to help release a blue shark. Luckily while all this contemplation is going on, the shark apparently reached up and unhooked himself and swam away. I jig up another squid and this time I send it down 200', but nobody came to visit for the rest of my watch.

At 0500, I am awakened by Craig who says the wind has really kicked up and we need to retrieve the sea anchor before it gets worse. It's still dark, the swell is up, and the wind chop makes it sloppy. For some reason, the trip line is at a 60 degree angle from the boat, and we inadvertently run over it. The line gets caught on the rudder and prop. We are able to grab the line and trip the chute but we can't risk putting the boat in gear. We pull in the chute and assess the situation.   Craig decides to grab a light and jump in. Unfortunately he does not have a mask on board, and it seems we had collected a good number of blue sharks around us during the night. They weren't big, but still made us uncomfortable about putting a person in the water. Small blues, like small children, have a habit of putting things in their mouth and chewing on them out of curiosity. I free gaff a couple of them and they go away, but there are still a couple swimming around. Well, Craig jumps in, and dives down but it's quickly apparent that he can't see a thing without a mask in the dark. We have to wait until daylight.

During that time we talk about the best and worst case scenarios. If it's wrapped around both props, we could be really screwed. If it's just the rudders, it should come off easily. Craig jumps in again and comes back with the entire rope. Luckily it was just caught on the rudders and we back in business.  After that morning crisis, we knew we would be rewarded with good fishing. And we were right. Soon after we got underway, trolling towards home, the yellowfin started jumping on our jigs. Every few minutes we would get a jigstrike - doubles and triples. These fish were in the 15 pound range, so anything not gill-hooked went back.

At 32.08 x 117.41 we run into a series of nice kelps and all of them are loaded with dorado. While they provide some nice entertainment, they weren't going to help us in the tourney, so we leave them behind and keep looking. No sign of that Bigeye yet.     A little while later we get a double jig strike, and it turns out to be bigger grade Ahi. We land two that weigh in at 26# and 24#. Those were kept for the grill. More trolling produces more yellowfin, especially on the little Braid Speedster I was using for the first time. I made a mental note to get some more before my 10 day in October. At noon, we reached the 371 and called it quits for the trip. We pulled in the lines and headed in to the weigh station at the SD Marlin Club on Shelter Island. We arrived at 2:00 PM just as the weigh-in was being started. We found it puzzling that we were the only boat there, especially since the cut-off time was 3:00 PM. But a closer look at the rules revealed that fishing was to stop at 3:00, but weigh-in continues til 5:00. Oh well, so we came in a little early.

Our largest albacore weighed in at 29 pounds 4 ounces, just 4 ounces short of the leading fish at 29-8 weighed in the day before. But the weigh-in was just starting for the day and there was plenty opportunity for us to be bumped down from our current second place standing. After photos were taken, we headed back to our slip on Harbor Island and cleaned up the boat.  I returned to the Marlin Club at 5:45 for the final standings, but they had all packed up and left by then. I did catch word that a 90+ pound Bigeye was weighed in. Well, as it turned out that Bigeye came in first, followed by a 33# Yellowfin and a 31# Albacore. So we didn't end up in the money, but it was a fantastic weekend of fishing nevertheless.

Thanks to Craig for inviting me to be part of his team. Hope he gives me the call for next year too. And this time we will sweep all three places! Yeah Baby!      Carpe Noctem...  Yutaka

DORADO -  Chet Spreen -   "BITE ME" Aug-21-00, 10:10 AM (PDT) 
"Saturday's Exotic Show"  Saturday August 19, 2000 Final Count: (3 anglers) 28 Dorado, 12 Yellowfin Tuna Area Fished: Dorado taken on the evening tide change off a medium sized paddy a couple miles inside the 279, from 4:30pm to 7:30pm it was every bait= a Dorado. Tuna were taken from under a fast moving porpoise school between the 209 and the 289, they didn't want the bait or feathers, but climbed all over the black/purple cd-14 rapalas and the red/white cd-18 rapalas. Water Temps: 72-75 Bait Quality: Horrible pin sized bait from Newport Harbor. Trick for the Dorado: Chum very heavily if you can right away to get them excited and try to fish a paddy that is holding dorado during the tide change it makes all the difference in their aggressiveness. Also cut the tails off a couple of the live baits right at the tail bone, making sure they do not bleed and chum them, the dorado went insane on these baits when we chummed them late, chet spreen

MARLIN -  Rich Johnson-Marie-B      Date: 20 Aug 2000 18:05:21
Trip on August 19, 2000 The voyage of the Sea Trek. At first light 30 miles- 150 degrees from Point Loma We bait 3 seperate sleepers in the area before 1000. No go--we only have small mackeral--grrr. The area is loaded with small school yellowfin that are a real nuisance on the marlin lures. Excellent area that we fish during both slacks before trolling up the edge to the Coronados. The tuna are on the cold side of the temperature break. Water blue although off color at the end of the Finger Bank. Rich

MARLIN -  Southern California Marlin On-line   Bob Hoose Aug-21-00, 00:02 AM (PDT)
"local YFT 267-209-289"  hey Guys: - Just checked in with the BAC and our first local Tuna Flag went to Brandon Hunt Friday on his boat SEA HUNT. Was caught on a zuchinni 7STRAND Hex Head under the porpoise on the 267. Another BAC boat on the same porpoise school hung a pair of 30 lb. YFT's. Sat. a fleet found the yft west of the 209 to the 289 to the 43. Mostly kelps and porpoise schools, fish from 12-35 lbs. Dorado building in numbers and size... Bob Hoose

MARLIN -  Southern California Marlin On-line   Stan  Aug-20-00, 01:34 PM (PDT)
"In Search of Marlin"  Team HOOKER chased marlin in vain Friday thru Sunday. Followed the super-secret dope up to the 499 Friday, only to find out it wasn't that big of a secret - everyone was there! Worked 499 around to Avalon Bank without success save a single dorado. Not sure why everyone else finds filled paddies and we just find weeds! Wish the marlin would make their appearance - they're running late.

This looks like the work of Chet Spreen...
..So Cal Offshore Reports ...    Thursday, August 17, 2000 01:49 PM
Striped Marlin Reports - The marlinos are moving around! www.fishspotters.com has been seeing the marlin in some new locations. The first spot is 33.05/119.00 they spotted a single finner here which is approximately 1/4 of the way between the west end of San Clemente and San Nicholas Island. The next spot was at 33.17.30/118.40.60 which was a group of 5 sleepers, this area is about 7 miles outside Ben Weston at Catalina. Another area with recent report of fish for this week is inside the 279- 6 sleepers baited by a private boater with no fish biting. Other than that the spot 3 to 4 miles southwest of Pukey Point off North Island Coronados is still happenning, Marty Morris had an interesting day seeing 6 fish in a about an hour. He got a jig strike and saw some feeders, this is the same area that went off during the weekend for SD boys. There was a tonnage of bait in there with the tuna and dorado as well.

Albacore- The question is, where did they go? We had fish counts of over 2,000 fish last Friday but nothing close to that lately. I think the answer is the full moon, those Albies are on the move and it seems they are moving out to the west. The last area of fish close to home was the Butterfly Bank but the water got warm and the fish took off further west to a bank called the Bell Bank which is over 100 miles from the Point. The sport boats are working that area and doing well on multi-day trips. Forget these things and go slam the tropical species the DORADO and YELLOWFIN are going off. They are still getting a smattering of Albies mixed with the Yellowfin and Bluefin.

Bluefin Tuna - Nothing has changed from last week. There have been some Bluefin outside the 302 in with the Yellowfin as well off the Coronados, but nothing spectacular. The paddies have been holding a few Bluefin in the same areas as the Yellowtail/Dorado/Albacore. The best Bluefin fishing is 130 to 200 miles anywhere from 180 degrees to 220 degrees. Haven't heard anything new about out near the Cortez, just know that there were fish being caught there last Friday by some of the multi-day boats. The fish are from 20 to 40 lbs. and have bit best when using fluorocarbon leaders of 30lbs. or less and small hooks. On the trolling leaders I would also use fluorocarbon leaders between 60 and 80lb. Private Boaters have had some success with small mackerel, so it's worth it to have some in the tank. But again, forget these guys and go after the DORADO and YELLOWFIN while they are running, you might run into a few Bluefin in the same areas.

Yellowfin Tuna - THEY ARE HERE!! Man you have to love these aggressive little tunas, they will hit anything and come to the boat with reckless abandon. There have been Yellowfin on the 209, between the 279 and 209, the 181 down the ridge to the 182, and off the 9 mile bank down to the 425. Those are the local areas, down below there off Ensenada the fishing is very good with fish 10 to 15 off Todos 220 degrees all the way out to the 295. The fish are under the porpoise and the paddies, but they are also hitting jigs in open water. Zuchinni Zukers have been working along with cedar plugs and Mexican Flag Zukers. They have even hit marlin jigs, these guys are hungry! WORK THOSE PORPOISE but be courteous to other fishermen! Here are some numbers for down south 32.24/117.23, 32.27/117.32, 32.09/117.14.

Bigeye Tuna - These guys are starting to show up between the 9 mile bank and the 425. www.fishspotters.com reported spotting 6 Bigeye at 32.24/117.27.50 moving to the west. Another traditional Bigeye haunt is the 302 which would be worth a try. The 1 day boats are starting to get some Bigeye in the same areas as the Yellowfin and the Dorado, but nothing more than 1 or 2. Down south 150 miles the multi-day boats are getting a few Bigeye. If you are looking in local waters try fishing in the pre-dawn hours from 3 am to sunrise, fish structure, like the Banda Bank or the 9-mile Bank, the Bigeye bite much better in the early morning and late evening. Also try spreader bars, marlin lures, or large tuna jigs.

Paddy Yellowtail -The yellows are swarming around the paddies down south, especially around the 302 down to the 425, they have been eating the dead sardines, but watch out for boat traffic! Every kelp paddy seems like it has between 2 and 10 boats on it on the weekends, it's really out of hand! The yellows are spread over a large area with good catches especially down south from the 302 to the 425 out to the 295 and then to the inside off Todos Santos. Up to the north the best paddies have been along the inside from La Jolla to Newport but watch out for the traffic!!!! I would check more offshore if you want mostly tails and get out of the congestion. I like the area between the 289 and Mackerel Bank and from there to San Clemente Island. Have a marlin outfit ready, there have been quite a few fish seen in that area.

Paddy Dorado - Once more I say, "AHHHH GET OFF MY PADDY!!! :)" .This will be the motto for everyone over the weekend, I have a feeling it is really going to be UGLY! The Dorado have moved in close to shore once again making it even more important to be courteous to your fellow private boater. Look from 3 miles off to 35 from South Island, Coronados to Newport Beach. This area is holding a ton of Dorado but not on every paddy. But the ones that are have had some large schools. Slow trolled dines have worked well, but mackerel have really been the best bait, especially the MINI-MACKS. There really isn't a best area because the fish are spread in good numbers over a large area. I suppose the best area would be a paddy loaded with Dorado that you don't have to share:).

New Tuna Club Record, "Hot Reels" 8lb dacron for a 21 lb Yellowtail 2 miles east of the Avalon Bank Yellowtail! Dorado on the 152 this morning, jumping all over the place!

MARLIN -  Rich Johnson-Marie-B   18 Aug 2000   06:35:32
BROKEN LEADERS????  Last Sunday I broke leader and Wednesday Marty did the same. I have just started using these double barreled jobs from an outfit in Carlsbad that are sold at Fisherman's Landing and Hook Line and Sinker. I ran out of the old dependable A-7 ones from Sevenstrand. When I pulled like Heck on some of my other rigs to check them, a few failed as well. The leader seems to pull out of the crimp unless it is done just right. The answer may be to double crimp thanks to instructions from One on High who is knowledgable about such matters, but who will remain nameless to protect my secret source of valuable wisdom. So it might be a good idea to tug on your rigs before a marlin does. What a frustrating sport!!!!

Albacore- The question is, where did they go? We had fish counts of over 2,000 fish last Friday but nothing close to that lately. I think the answer is the full moon, those Albies are on the move and it seems they are moving out to the west. The last area of fish close to home was the Butterfly Bank but the water got warm and the fish took off further west to a bank called the Bell Bank which is over 100 miles from the Point. The sport boats are working that area and doing well on multi-day trips. Forget these things and go slam the tropical species the DORADO and YELLOWFIN are going off. They are still getting a smattering of Albies mixed with the Yellowfin and Bluefin.

Bluefin Tuna - Nothing has changed from last week. There have been some Bluefin outside the 302 in with the Yellowfin as well off the Coronados, but nothing spectacular. The paddies have been holding a few Bluefin in the same areas as the Yellowtail/Dorado/Albacore. The best Bluefin fishing is 130 to 200 miles anywhere from 180 degrees to 220 degrees. Haven't heard anything new about out near the Cortez, just know that there were fish being caught there last Friday by some of the multi-day boats. The fish are from 20 to 40 lbs. and have bit best when using fluorocarbon leaders of 30lbs. or less and small hooks. On the trolling leaders I would also use fluorocarbon leaders between 60 and 80lb. Private Boaters have had some success with small mackerel, so it's worth it to have some in the tank. But again, forget these guys and go after the DORADO and YELLOWFIN while they are running, you might run into a few Bluefin in the same areas.

Yellowfin Tuna - THEY ARE HERE!! Man you have to love these aggressive little tunas, they will hit anything and come to the boat with reckless abandon. There have been Yellowfin on the 209, between the 279 and 209, the 181 down the ridge to the 182, and off the 9 mile bank down to the 425. Those are the local areas, down below there off Ensenada the fishing is very good with fish 10 to 15 off Todos 220 degrees all the way out to the 295. The fish are under the porpoise and the paddies, but they are also hitting jigs in open water. Zuchinni Zukers have been working along with cedar plugs and Mexican Flag Zukers. They have even hit marlin jigs, these guys are hungry! WORK THOSE PORPOISE but be courteous to other fishermen! Here are some numbers for down south 32.24/117.23, 32.27/117.32, 32.09/117.14.

Bigeye Tuna - These guys are starting to show up between the 9 mile bank and the 425. www.fishspotters.com reported spotting 6 Bigeye at 32.24/117.27.50 moving to the west. Another traditional Bigeye haunt is the 302 which would be worth a try. The 1 day boats are starting to get some Bigeye in the same areas as the Yellowfin and the Dorado, but nothing more than 1 or 2. Down south 150 miles the multi-day boats are getting a few Bigeye. If you are looking in local waters try fishing in the pre-dawn hours from 3 am to sunrise, fish structure, like the Banda Bank or the 9-mile Bank, the Bigeye bite much better in the early morning and late evening. Also try spreader bars, marlin lures, or large tuna jigs.

Paddy Yellowtail -The yellows are swarming around the paddies down south, especially around the 302 down to the 425, they have been eating the dead sardines, but watch out for boat traffic! Every kelp paddy seems like it has between 2 and 10 boats on it on the weekends, it's really out of hand! The yellows are spread over a large area with good catches especially down south from the 302 to the 425 out to the 295 and then to the inside off Todos Santos. Up to the north the best paddies have been along the inside from La Jolla to Newport but watch out for the traffic!!!! I would check more offshore if you want mostly tails and get out of the congestion. I like the area between the 289 and Mackerel Bank and from there to San Clemente Island. Have a marlin outfit ready, there have been quite a few fish seen in that area.

Paddy Dorado - Once more I say, "AHHHH GET OFF MY PADDY!!! " .This will be the motto for everyone over the weekend, I have a feeling it is really going to be UGLY! The Dorado have moved in close to shore once again making it even more important to be courteous to your fellow private boater. Look from 3 miles off to 35 from South Island, Coronados to Newport Beach. This area is holding a ton of Dorado but not on every paddy. But the ones that are have had some large schools. Slow trolled dines have worked well, but mackerel have really been the best bait, especially the MINI-MACKS. There really isn't a best area because the fish are spread in good numbers over a large area. I suppose the best area would be a paddy loaded with Dorado that you don't have to share.

Mako Sharks- Makos are here! There are hordes of them along the inshore areas from La Jolla to Newport out to the ridge 209, 277, on to the slide off Catalina. The stickboat AVISPA spotted a 900+lb. Mako on the 209 on Sunday, so the big boys are around. Overall, the fish are generally small but there are some larger fish around, you just have to weed through the puppies(tag and release the little guys). Where the dodos and tuna are the makos are around, and probably some large specimens at that.

Now Go Get Em'! When you get back file a trip report it only takes a few minutes of your time and it is so helpful to everyone!

Tight Lines,

32:26 /117:44 Yellowfin. Just west of the 302 Yellowfin and Dorado! 

"I Dream of" just caught a Marlin @ 33:17/ 117: 51 A tailer came up on a jig and ate the dropback!
10:30 am

Sounds like alot more boaters out this morning , the radios been jumping with reports around the high slack tide this morning 3 miles south of the 371, blind strikes of a triple of yellowfin 117 33 12

Dorado on the Mackeral Bank. Maybe yellowfin of the 14 Mile Bank, a few dorado towards the 209 from here.

YELLOWFIN - Allcoast Sportfishing   Aluminator on Aug-15-00 at 06:33 PM (PST)
"PLUGGED AGAIN YFT!!!!!!!!! TUES"   Slept in and left SD at 5am ran a 222 degree for 19.5 miles and the fun began. Tuna jumping all over. Yellowtail jumping all over. Dodos jumping all over. What can a guy do? Filled limits within a very short time with all three fish. The nice thing was that we were all alone!!! I am sure that Jim Day/ no boat and Mike/ Lady Bay will give you a report that is more fun to read than mine. Was still catching them 6 miles from North Island on the way in.  Dennis Hytinen (ALUMINATOR)

BOAT SINKING - Allcoast Sportfishing   Tarpoon on Aug-15-00 at 05:40 AM (PST)
From the LB Press Telegram:  8 saved from sinking   By Joe Segura    Staff writer LONG BEACH A wake-up call quickly turned into a Mayday distress call early Monday morning for eight sports fishermen.  Returning from a weekend fishing trip off San Diego, the crew of eight was forced to abandon the 42-foot-long boat (Lydia Lee) at about 1 a.m., after it slammed into the rocky breakwater and sank about two miles east of the Long Beach entrance into the harbor area, said Fire Department Battalion Chief Rick Pillsbury. There were no injuries, according to Pillsbury.

The boat took only five minutes to sink after hitting the rocks, but it was enough time for the passengers to send out the Mayday call, which was received by Fire Department lifeguards, Pillsbury noted. Just before the accident, the operator of the boat, who was not identified, put the vessel on automatic pilot so that he could awaken the seven other fishermen, since they were close to their destination, Pillsbury said. While the operator was below, the boat slammed into the sharp-edged barrier, which is designed to reduce shoreline waves that can cause serious sand erosion problems, among other things. The eight sports fishermen quickly put on life preservers and jumped into the water. Two Lifeguard Rescue Boats and one Harbor Fire Boat picked up the eight about five minutes later, Pillsbury said. The eight were treated for minor bumps and bruises they suffered being thrown about in the boat, the battalion chief noted.

Hook Line and Sinker Fishing Contest   Affordable Marine      Tue, 15 Aug 2000 14:00:00 -0700
Current Leaders....
Albacore: 41.1# Mike Bingham, Poway.
Halibut: 45.8# Jack Pearson, San Diego
Yellowtail: 40.0# Sybil Lovaas, San Diego

MARLIN -  Chet Spreen - "BITE ME"   14 Aug 2000  21:38:12
August 14, 2000 Marlin- Another weekend of spread out fish. ESPADON released a fish Friday afternoon 3 miles off the Slide, another Friday fish was Alan Sheridan on COMANCHE releasing a jig fish off the San Onofre Domes which was quite large with the fight lasting 2 hours. DOUBLE D released a fish 2 miles off Church Rock on Saturday morning, Don Blackman released a fish on his boat RETRIEVER 15 miles 184 degrees from Point Loma on Saturday,  John Ashley on TENACIOUS released a fish as well on Saturday fishing south of North Island about 16 miles 180 degrees, FIJI GIRL took a fish 4 miles inside the 181 on Sunday. Also on Sunday, three marlin were caught above, outside, and below North Island. Feeders were seen in various areas including 9 miles, 200 (on the lower edge of the canyon or "notch" just north of Pukey), outside of Pukey, southwest of the island and about 4 miles further south. We found two amongst meatballs of feeding Dorado. When we slowed to drag a bait through it a fish came up!  on the slow moving bird/jig, but failed to bite when I punched it. Kenny Schilling on a new boat destined for charter service at the Cape caught one on straight 40 with a sardine slow trolled over a feeder and released it. An hour later he had his 11 year old son wired to a jig fish. It came up tail wrapped and weighed in at 153. About 4 miles south of the island John Ashley on his "Tenacious" wired a jig fish. It was a "small one" and John released it. In the afternoon Joe Lops ("Jigger Joe") found feeders at the "notch." They dumped a bait which was eaten immediately and had a jig nailed. First, the jig fish came off and later they got the hook back on the feeder. More reports: A couple feeders and sleepers seen between the 289 and Pyramid, feeders on the Mackerel Bank, www.fishspotters.com saw fish at 33.09.70/118.28.60 and another at 33.11.00/118.30.50 which is west of the Mackerel, group of tailers seen by TIGHTLINES 3 miles from the Avalon Bank, WILD BILL baited a "drunk feeder"(it was at least acting like it was drunk, swirling on trash, very peculiar) somewhere near Clemente Isld. TYEE baited or saw around 6 fish near the 152 Saturday afternoon.

Albacore- The albies are trying to make a comeback from Friday's slaughter of over 2,000 fish. Today the boats out of San Diego were spread out over a large area south of Point Loma. Fish were again taken near the 425 down to the Banda Bank off Ensenada but nothing like Friday. Today the sportboats did best out at the Dumping Grounds which is too far for me for albies at this point in the season. A good area to look would be from 31.50.12/117.21.50 to 31.40/117.01.40, this area will have kelps that are holding albies along with the other species. The 390 today also had some fish on it but nothing blockbuster. I am sure a private boater would do good on the inner banks off Ensenada, no worries.

Bluefin Tuna - The paddies have been holding a few Bluefin in the same areas as the Yellowtail/Dorado/Albacore. Some boats did decent with some double digit counts at the 295 and inside that towards Todos. The best Bluefin fishing is 130 to 200 miles anywhere from 180 degrees to 220 degrees. There have also been some big counts by the sportboats out at the Cortez Bank. The fish are from 20 to 40 lbs. and have bit best when using fluorocarbon leaders of 30lbs. or less and small hooks. On the trolling leaders I would also use fluorocarbon leaders between 60 and 80lb. Private Boaters have had some success with small mackerel, so it's worth it to have some in the tank.

Yellowfin Tuna - Evidently a private boater got some Yellowfin from under the porpoise at the 209 over the weekend!!. The 1 day boats are also reporting catches of Yellowfin in the area inside the 295 towards Todos Santos and then up towards the 425. Fish have been on kelp paddies and porpoise schools throughout that area. Some 1 day boats had double digit counts on Yellowfin in the past few days. Other than those reports we don't have much to work with except the fish being taken at Guadaloupe Island by the multi-day trips out of San Diego. Work those porpoise!

Bigeye Tuna - BIG CATCH made 25 miles south of SD near the 425. A 121lb. BIGEYE was taken on a Mean Joe Green Marlin Jig and weighed at SD Marlin Club. The 1 day boats are starting to get some Bigeye in the same areas as the Yellowfin and the Dorado, but nothing more than 1 or 2. Down south 150 miles the multi-day boats are getting a few Bigeye. If you are looking in local waters try fishing in the pre-dawn hours from 3 am to sunrise, fish structure, like the Banda Bank or the 9-mile Bank, the Bigeye bite much better in the early morning and late evening. Also try spreader bars, marlin lures, or large tuna jigs.

Paddy Yellowtail -The tails have been a little line shy on the paddies the Dorado are on, probably due to the heavy private boat traffic. Every kelp paddy seems like it has between 2 and 10 boats on it, it's really out of hand! The yellows are spread over a large area with good catches especially down south from the 425 out to the 295 and then to the inside off Todos Santos. Up to the north the best paddies have been along the inside from La Jolla to Newport but watch out for the traffic!!!! I would check more offshore if you want mostly tails and get out of the congestion. I like the area between the 289 and Mackerel Bank and from there to San Clemente Island. Have a marlin outfit ready, there have been quite a few fish seen in that area.

Paddy Dorado - AHHHH GET OFF MY PADDY!!! was still the motto for the weekend. We got our Dorado between the 14 and 209, and south of the 209 on the 312. The kelp paddies from the 209 south to the 182 had less boat traffic Saturday but by Sunday the traffic was out there as well. The dodos have been offshore between 15 miles and 35 miles off from La Jolla to Newport. Not every paddy is holding but the ones that are have had some large schools. Slow trolled dines have worked well, but mackerel have really been the best bait, both chunked and flylined. The best area is between the 14 and the 277.

Mako Sharks- Makos are here! There are hordes of them along the inshore areas from La Jolla to Newport. They are generally small but there are some larger fish around, you just have to weed through the puppies(tag and release the little guys). Where the dodos are the makos are around. A 776lb. Mako was taken off the backside of Anacapa Island 2 weeks ago near the barracuda schools and some other large fish were encountered over the past weekends.

Go Get 'em, Chet Spreen/ BITE ME

Sunday started off the slide but saw little life, so we worked down to the 152. We saw a couple more blue whales, some schools of sauries lazily puddling on the surface, scattered bird life, 6 small makos, and more sunfish than I care to count. Seeing nothing of particular interest we went south back to the 209 for some more dorado. Only 1 marlin seen today, a jumper about a mile away near the 312 again. Water temps 70 to 74 and beautiful hot flat calm weather. Good fishing but bad catching!! later,  Chet

MARLIN -    Barry Rockwell      Date: 14 Aug 2000 08:03:59
Sunday, August 14 - Marlin fishing with Sybil Lovaas (yellowtail lady). When Kenny Schilling started catching fish we were already outside the 182 and I was cussing myself for going the wrong way again. The ocean was glassy  and the sea temp was 73 degrees. Just short of the 43 we found a paddy where I caught a dorado and Sybil got two yellowtail, all on bait. The seatemp on the 43 was 75 degrees by my guage but there didn't seem to be any life anywhere. We turned and started trolling toward the Coronados and started getting the occasional dorado on the marlin lures. About noon I had a real screamer of a bite on a Mean Joe Green Collector Peanut, 20# line, on the 1st wave but never saw the fish. It fought like a marlin but never showed and the hook pulled after 35 minutes. We were at 31 miles, 258 degrees, just inside the 43 and the seatemp was 75.4. Caught several dorado to 15 lbs in the area on the marlin lures. When we got to a point about 3.5 miles south of the 182, my sea temp guage said the water was 76.1. None of the area looked fishy - no birds or bait - but we had a lot of action between the 43 and 182. Sybil was thrilled to have caught her first dorado (she caught three). Barry - Drift-A-Way

MARLIN -  Rich Johnson-Marie B    14 Aug 2000   06:04:58
Saturday August 12--Marie, Son Pete and his 2 kids Peter and Olivia from Colorado. Mid nine to 178 to fish temperature break at ther slack-0, off to the 302--little green faces. 302 purple and dead. In to 3v miles west of north island--lots of life-possible feeder in school of dorado--little faces pale. Sunday August 13--7-up and Saltines for the little faces. A bounty is offered for marlin- $10 and any other fins $1. 200 degrees 8.8 miles $10 feeder--no go on huge mack. 2 more feeders--no go on large mack and sardine. 0715. Hear about Kennys fish. Joe and Marty seeing fish off North Island. I swear I see a feeder in dorado pushing sauries. Marty hooks a dorado inside of us--big school. Work down to Kenny at 180 degrees 14 miles--what a fisherman. Huge paddy and bird school outside--get in the bird school-  marlin stike 3.5 Zucher mean Joe Green Big fish -hot and big-about 200 -right at the boat all silver belly-will it stab the kids!-much black smoke   and blue water--much screaming from little faces. Broken crimp!! Don hairshirt and whip myself-being an imperfect human being is tough, deep breathing, it's the journey not the destination, life is a process, blame it on the Lupron. Porpoise start to feed-birds gather-man-there are a bunch of marlin feeding with the porpoise. Let's feed them the plastic--All over the black and purple Collector in the port rigger--drop back a hefty mack-- marlin hits ahead of the lure and won't take the mack. Olivia said she would see a blue whale on her trip--You think it may be my face but no-- we now actually do see 2 blue whales. Another bird school in the gyros-down when we arrive hours later--I try and call Kenny who is just above all this nonsense not to leave. Joe and Marty are up ast the nine mile spot having their own frustrations. Boat covered with Saltine crumbs, crushed 7-Up cans and shining little faces. A great day --fish spread in the life from 12 to 18 miles south of the Point. Water  purple--off color at the 9 mile spot.

Today, three marlin were caught above, outside, and below North  Island. Feeders were seen in various areas including 9 miles, 200 (on the lower edge of the canyon or "notch" just north of Pukey), outside of Pukey, southwest of the island and about 4 miles further south. We found two amongst meatballs of feeding Dorado. When we slowed to drag a bait through it a fish came up on the slow moving bird/jig, but failed to bite when I punched it.

Kenny Schilling on a new boat destined for charter service at the Cape caught one on straight 40 with a sardine slow trolled over a feeder and released it. An hour later he had his 11 year old son wired to a jig fish. It came up tail wrapped and weighed in at 153. About 4 miles south of the island John Ashley on his "Tenacious" wired a jig fish. It was a "small one" and John released it.

In the afternoon Joe Lops ("Jigger Joe") found feeders at the "notch." They dumped a bait which was eaten immediately and had a jig nailed. First, the jig fish came off and later they got the hook back on the feeder. Up above Kim Sage on the "Fiji Girl" took a fish 4 miles inside of the 181 - weighed in at 109.

Around three the MEATBALLS, FOAMERS, BREEZERS, were up. Nice mix of Blue-fin and big Albies. One note here why do some people have to charge right into the middle of the foamers and chase everything down.. Learn to come at them from upswell and move NEAR them at troll speed, not Mach 5, and shut down and let them come to you. They will come over and see what that big dark object is. A little chum in the water and your in there.....See Ya TRITON

Allan Sheridan-COMANCHE     12 Aug 2000   15:13:25
Comanche caught its first Marlin of the year today off the domes near Dana Point. It was a blind jig strike on a custom Melton black and purple small Marlin Jig. The fish was released after a short amount of CPR to live another day- The fish was big and the fight was about 2 hours.

MARLIN -   12Aug 2000   15:13:25
8/12 Shirley Blackman - Caught 105 lb. stripper on 20 # test, Lure. Took 55 min. Hooked at 10.35 am., 184 degree from Point, 15 miles out. Boat - Retriever

BIGEYE - Allcoast Sportfishing    Holi_e_Mackeral on Aug-11-00 at 06:43 AM (PST)
"Thursday tuna coordinates" Fished on a charter on the Gallalean on Thursday. We caught a mixed bag of bluefin (smaller variety 18#), Albacore (nice grade up to almost 30#), dorado (smaller) and some very nice yellowtail on the paddies (I caught one close to 30#) Here are the numbers were we fished at..
Started the day at: 3147.198 x 117 23 777
Lots of kelps at 31 43 854 x 117.26 063
Weather was pretty snotty with wind and swell out there.... Good luck to you.... may your decks run red...

MARLIN - Ed Waldman    10 Aug 2000   20:47:00
Marlin: Ed Waldman -Sunshine Too - Thursday fished for marlin on 302  --nothing. Then went to 226 - zilch. Then up ridge to 182 - zero. Then to 178 where we saw a jumper at around 100 yds. Worked for him but no go.  Weather was sloppy. Temperature 69 F on outside and 70 at 178 and 9 mile  bank. Score for the trip -- NOTHING.

Bluefin Tuna - Some boats did decent with some double digit counts at the 295. There are fish hitting the rapalas and jetheads down inside the 295, with most jig stops resulting in a few baitfish. The fish are from 20 to 40 lbs. and have bit best when using fluorocarbon leaders of 30lbs. or less and small hooks. On the trolling leaders I would also use fluorocarbon leaders between 60 and 80lb. Private Boaters have had some success with small mackerel, so it's worth it to have some in the tank. The best Bluefin fishing has still been at 135+ miles 200 degrees from Point Loma, but the seiners are hitting them HARD and making the fish skittish.

Yellowfin Tuna - Evidently a private boater got some Yellowfin from under the porpoise at the 209 today!!. JD www.jdsbiggame.com is reporting that fish in the 40 to 60lb. class were seen near the 14 mile bank breaking water on Tuesday. The 1 day boats are also starting to report catches of Yellowfin in the area inside the 295 towards Todos Santos. Some 1 day boats had double digit counts on Yellowfin in the past few days. Other than those reports we don't have much to work with except the fish being taken at Guadaloupe Island by the multi-day trips out of San Diego. Work those porpoise!

Bigeye Tuna - BIG CATCH made 25 miles south of SD near the 425. A 121lb. BIGEYE was taken on a Mean Joe Green Marlin Jig and weighed at SD Marlin Club. The 1 day boats are starting to get some Bigeye in the same areas as the Yellowfin and the Dorado, but nothing more than 1 or 2. Down south 150 miles the multi-day boats are getting a few Bigeye. If you are looking in local waters try fishing in the pre-dawn hours from 3 am to sunrise, fish structure, like the Banda Bank or the 9-mile Bank, the Bigeye bite much better in the early morning and late evening. Also try spreader bars, marlin lures, or large tuna jigs.

Paddy Yellowtail -Today if we wanted to catch yellows we had to weed our way through the dorado, what a horrible problem to have. The yellows are spread over a large area with good catches especially down south from the 425 out to the 295 and then to the inside off Todos Santos. Up to the north the best paddies have been along the inside from La Jolla to Newport but watch out for the traffic!!!! I would check more offshore if you want mostly tails and get out of the congestion. I like the area between the 289 and Mackerel Bank and from there to San Clemente Island. Have a marlin outfit ready, there have been quite a few fish seen in that area.

Paddy Dorado - AHHHH GET OFF MY PADDY!!! Today we got all the dorado we wanted fishing from just inside the 152 to between the 209 and 279. The best areas have been along the coast between 8 miles and 15 miles off from La Jolla to Dana on out to the 209 and down the ridge to the east end of Catalina. Not every paddy is holding but the ones that are have had some large schools. Slow trolled dines have worked well, but mackerel have really been the best bait, both chunked and flylined. The best area is between the 14 and the 279. Go Get Em, Chet

Clear skies early in the morning and a little westerly allready by 9 am. By 1pm the flags were straight and some popcorn on the water. Kinda a washboard effect as the wind came down the inside of Catalina channel and also wrapped around from the outside. Only a few marlin sited off the "Slide" or along the ridgeline from the 277 towards the Avalon Bank.

One report of a marlin double hookup as a boat returning from Avalon had a double on the jigs on the Avalon Bank, both fell off but he was able to get a bait back and got wired. Released the fish. ( unconfirmed report)

Albacore between the East End of Clemente Island and the 43 Fathom Spot. Good Numbers reported
Dorado and Yellowtail hitting the marlin jigs in the area of 33:16/ 118:10
Big time Dorado bite under the paddies offshore from Oceanside 5-10miles. 10 boat on one kelp everyone was wired!
Sailboat's have taken over ch 72.
One angler got spooled on 30lb tackle while fishing a kelp patty near the 267 Fathom Bank, never saw the fish but he thinks it was a big tuna!

BIGEYE - Allcoast Sportfishing    Rachel on Aug-10-00 at 06:55 AM (PST)
"BIGEYE changes itinerary !!!!!!!"My body aches as I write this post. Every muscle is talking to me. After leaving San Diego harbor yesterday a.m., we were on a course for the 295. We were going to spend the next several days fishing out of the Marina Coral. All those plans changed instantly when a 121 lb. bigeye decided to inhale a mean joe green tied to a 50W with 80 lb. and a matching roller guided tuna stick. We have been looking for this fish for the past 10 years and finally got him. Next one will definitely go to a passenger. Seas were fairly sloppy which added to the fight. We were on this guy for approximately 2 1/2 hours. I new what to do but my body refused. Everytime we would get him to the boat, it was a standoff with him winning until the very end. This was one GREAT FISH. Adding to our difficulty was a 150 lb. leader that was too darn long. Last time I make that mistake. Fortunately, my 16 year old son Jason, did a perfect job leadering and gaffing simultaneously. I was totally out of gas to give him any help. Decided to head back to San Diego Marlin Club for weigh-in and pictures. What a class act. We are not members (yet) but they were waiting for us at 6 p.m. I had requested a photographer who also met us and a picture should be available on their web page soon. Can't wait to shoot out links to family and friends. Fish was in perfect condition as we had just iced up that morning. Our Blackman has an insulated fish hold that was home for our prize catch on the slow uphill trip home. Seas were definitely up with 10 knots being max for reasonable comfort. Not too many 1 fish full fishing days but I guess it was our turn. God is good. Hope you guys enjoy the story as much as we enjoyed the experience. Fred Murray

Dorado - Allcoast Sportfishing   deepcolor on Aug-08-00 at 09:36 PM (PST)
"all the yellows &dodos ya want"... I fished just 4 miles above the 209 today on a huge paddy i found around 1030am.huge volume of nice yellows 15-25lbs and all the dodos you wanted in the 8-12lb class. I launched out of dana at 6am, passed on the pinheads and made some macks for bait. snagged around 12 pieces and headed out towards the 209. i passed the 267 where 8 boats were being stupid and crowding around a little kelp paddy; i seen a couple of the boats were hooked up,but why they were in 20ft of each other is beyond me. I blew by that circus and stopped on a nice big kelp w/birds on it, 19miles from dana. That kelp was the right one as i was the only one on it w/ nobody around. i ran out of bait around noon,,and finally got a yellow to chew the iron. around 1230 i called a boat in (striker) and he handed off a dozen nice macks to me, which was awesome (not to mention the 2 beers he gave me). he and his crew were very happy as they started hookin fish right away, telling me that I saved there day, as they were not having much luck. final count was 10 dodos 8-12lbs and 9 yellows 15-25lbs. back at the dock at 3:45pm. water temp was 69 and the seas were nice and smooth w/ little wind and swell. all fish caught on my new calstar 700m and a new 20/40 star drag shimono w/30lb test....real fun set-up for the paddys. time to crash, as im beat...........those 25lb yellows had me workin up a sweat out there big time.......

Cattleboats out of Dana, Newport and San Pedro are attacking the kelps with a vengeance It's bully to the rails on the port and starboard aft corners as anglers fell over themselves trying to get a baits or jigs in the waters. The Freelance out of Newport had over 80 at rail for 42 dorado today. The sardines were best in the morning but as they ran out of the anchovies and jigs complemented the catches. Rough house tactics and bulling their way to the rail was common. Foul mouths and cussing till the beer took effect some of these chouderheads caused problems for others. Still half the boat caught fish, one guy used his same sardine two times to catch fish then lost it to a third fish!

Sardines work!

The cattleboats out of San Diego have been struggling these past few day with the counts being hit and miss, one boat reported two yellowtail and two bluefin for their days catch, but another boat reported 50 albacore and 30 bluefin and still catching, so there are a few schools around it's just being lucky and not missing your chance when they show up.

Still the reports of bigger 40-60lb tunas breaking water near the 14 Mile Bank over these last couple of days, no ones catching them but they were there.

Late afternoon report! of a boater hooking and fighting an estimated 30/40lb tuna only 10 miles off Newport, taken on an old rotten tuna feather, it's purple and black feathers falling off. Rusty hooks and all he brought the fish to the boat after a 15 minute battle, finding an gaff, it's tip runty and broken off he tried to stick it, failing to strike home the fish bolted under and broke off!

There's tuna out there boys, go get em'! Bluefin!!  Albacore on the 390  The Chinese have taken over ch 72.  A lot of dorado on the 14 Mile bank today.

Heading into the weekend, there were three things to concern the offshore anglers - the iffy weather, the dropping sea surface temperature, and the fact that every fisherman with a hull and some fuel would be out chasing dorado on the kelp. I'm happy to say that at least two of the three were not an issue. Unfortunately, if you tried to fish the 267/279 or the 14 Mile Bank, you already know just how crowded it was. There were some pretty amazing stories about stupid fisherman (and diver) tricks performed out there this weekend. The sad part is that, in spite of the numbers of boats trying to catch them, very few dorado were actually caught. A lot of the kelp paddies had emptied, and many of the ones that held fish simply wouldn't give them up. I suspect the dropping water temps had a lot to do with it, but one can only guess how the pressure of all the boats impacted the fishing.

As is often the case, your feelings about the marlin fishing depends on your perspective. A lot of folks think this season is getting off to a very slow start. I, on the other hand, think it's already a great season. Of course, that's mostly because my brother Rick, fishing on HOOKER, released a marlin Sunday morning about 5 miles off the power plant on Catalina (not off San Mateo, as reported elsewhere). Details can be found in the Trip Reporter, and photos should soon be available in La Galería. Several others found success as well. Also on Sunday, OH JOY got a double jig strike on the 289. Chris Brown was able to release his fish, but the other was lost. Further south, Dick Sieminski on JIDONA found the Upper Finger Bank to his liking and released one marlin there. Earlier in the weekend, Hal Schroeder on BOUT TIME landed a 182-lb marlin that took a tuna feather on the Mackeral Bank. Later Saturday, we received unconfirmed reports that one marlin was released on the 267, and two more on the 9-Mile Bank. Finally, Sandy Gruwell, fishing with Rich Hamilton on MIL-SO-MAR, boated a 144-lb'er late Thursday 6 miles out of Dana Point. As you can see, the marlin are starting to bite, even if there hasn't been any accumulation of the billfish. Stickboats and spotter planes continue to report scattered swordfish sightings, but nothing like a few weeks back.

The tuna action has diminished significantly in the past few days. Those chasing the albacore found some success at the 390, 371 and 302 banks. The lack of numbers was compensated for by an improving grade of fish, typical for later in the season. Bluefin were found on the 302, including several that weighed in at over 100 lbs. We've received reports of yellowfin tuna under schools of porpoise as far north as the 267, but no one has reported catching any, so it remains an illusive rumor.

Tournament season will be upon us soon, and, unlike last year, it appears that there will be some fish to catch! Check out the upcoming events in our Tournament Calendar, and check in at the Marlin Club and Trip Reporter to see how the results pan out.

Striped Marlin showing more and more these past few days, Stick boat Mirage reported seeing quite a few fish from about 4 miles off the east end of Catalina Island on a straight course towards the 267 fathom, Bank, one about every mile or so. Basically look for fish in the shipping lanes. Some Dorado outside the oil rigs , but the best show on the dorado has been between the Domes and Oceanside Harbor from 5 to 10 miles off the beach.

Stan and his son Rick on the Hooker caught and released a Marlin today. 9:30 am, 30lb tackle only 4 miles out from to the power plant (San Mateo), the fish took a Zukers Bleeding Mackerel Lure. A double marlin hooked @11:20 am on Dewayne Brown's" O Joy" a double hook up on jigs, one fell off the other still on, they intend to release it which they did. The first double hook-up of the year.

Decided to continue east to the 209 while listening to everyone fighting over the patties loaded with dorado inside the 267. A commercial contact had told me about a report of some yellowfin mixed with the dorado at the 209 on Friday. Stopped 1 mile east of the 209 and worked 5 or six patties in 68.5 degree water for nothing. Too many whales and porpoise to count. Heard of a couple boats 6 to 7 miles east of the 209 that found a few dorado while slow trolling live ones past the patties.

Decided to see just how bad it was at the at the 267 before making the uphill turn for home. Let me just say that the coast guard is going to have to start playing highway patrol if the behavior of some of these guys doesn't improve. Cut off jigs, lines, patties getting run over without permission. Come on guys, there is more than enough to go around. When are these idiots going to learn that if you are patient, polite and wait your turn, you'll get called in on the action. Nope not for these guys..enough on the soap box. Water temps from 2 miles east of the 267 to 5 miles west of the 267 were in a good range of 70 to 70.9. Stayed on the outide of the 267 in search of a lone patty. None found and decided to head for home.

Didn't hear of a billfish seen. Saw plank boats working the Avalon Bank and the 267 if that's any indication. Kinda quiet out there except for the dorado guys. If you want in on that action, get out there early on Sunday between 4 miles off Laguna and the 267. The primary bite was between 9:45am and 11:00am. Well at least we got the gear wet and covered 120 miles. Still better than a day at the office. Russ Long CONQUEST

Whets a guy to fish for anyway, there's White Sea Bass and, Yellowtail at Catalina Island, Mako Sharks, Blue Sharks, Thresher Sharks offshore, even a White Sharks or two around (you can't keep them). Striped Marlin and maybe a Blue or Black Marlin reported around, the Broadbill Swordfish are biting and the Yellowfin Tuna, Bluefin Tuna and Albacore are offshore and the Dorado, Bonito, Bass, Barracuda and Halibut are against the beaches, What more could you ask for? Salmon?

 MARLIN -  Marty Morris - Date: 02 Aug 2000 17:31:32
This AM, Wednesday, Aug. 2, I did a half-day troll with two laps around the weather buoy off La Jolla. The water temp was 74.5 - exactly as shown on the Terrafin SST.  With regards to the "Big Fish" reports - it is time to whiskey line a Blue marlin jig back there along with the standards. We may be in for some Blue-Bites this summer. Marty

An 1000lb swordfish taken? The rumor mill has begun and the telephone rings off the hook, "is it true?" we'll find out. Bonito, Dorado and Marlin abound! A more marlin were reported seen along the coastline this afternoon. Party boats reported seeing them outside Newport to Dana Pt. while they were in search of the Do-dos'. 3 jumpers seen 2 miles off Abalone Pt.

Bonito, 2-5lbs off Newport to Huntington Beach and all along the 200 Fathom line. Anywhere from 2 miles off the beach to 8 miles just east of the outside oil rigs. Attacking the trolled bonito and tuna feathers at random. Also bunch of kelps out there holding a some yellows.  My guess would be there several marlin in on these bonitos and a pair of them rigged and slowed trolled should produce a marlin strike or at least a dozen Bonito Shark strikes.

The Freelance out of Newport is reported to have caught dozens and dozens or dorado off North Laguna Beach this morning off the same kelp, coming back three times getting bit each time. They finally drove away from it in search of other game.

The Satellite images this afternoon shows a strong band of warm water against the beach only to 5 miles. 71-73 degrees. Looks like there might be a swing of this warmer water stretching over towards the inside of Catalina Island. Yellows were biting on the Avalon Bank . Seem the yellows have moved off the island and to the patties, hungry! Sharks everywhere. Makos outside the Red Buoy outside Newport.

DORADO - Affordable Marine:      Tue, 1 Aug 2000 17:30:34 -0700
Dennis: Caught the show Sunday morning, when Marty decides to retire you are a shoe-in. After 3 weekends of doing boat work, My friends Tony and Carol Zaha talked me into fishing on Sunday. I know that 2 day old info is as good as yesterday mornings constitutional, but here goes. I did not leave 'O'side harbor until 8:30 in the morning. After putting 75 gallons of $2.399 fuel in the boat, the 30' Luhrs "Luck Pair" was ready for her first trip in 3 months. Tony and Carol on their 35' Viking "Double ZZ's" was at 33 07.550 and 117 22.990, and had Dorado at a paddy with NO biters. After a short 6 mile run from the harbor, we were surrounding the paddy. I had 3 bites with no hook-ups. Thinking I was a little rusty, I switched to the 10lb blue IZOR and 4/0 circle hooks. Carol had just got their first Dorado of the season when I hooked mine. You have not had fun, until you have fished on a 30 foot sportfisher for Dorado, BY YOURSELF! There was 3 other boats that had moved into the area, making the total of 5. And to my surprise everyone worked as the had fished together for years. There was a skiff next to me that a Father and Son each caught their first EVER Dorado, and a small Bayliner that a 12 year old girl caught her first one. I ended up with 4 Dorado,(1 on a sardine, 1 on a mackeral strip and 2 on live mackerel) Double ZZ's 3 Dorado (2 on small bonito and 1 on frozen squid!!),("Thanks Pete") and all of the other boats at least 2. By the way I was back in the Harbor washing the boat by 1:00. Thanks to Tony and Carol Zaha, and all of the other fisherman and woman for working as a team not as a group of individuals. Tight Lines Capt. Jim Squibb

The wind was out of the southwest 20/25 knts this morning, then switching to the west by noon 10 knts then again back out of the southwest this afternoon, a little sloppy

Carl on the Fish Spotter http://fishspotter.com reported Yellowfin under porpoise yesterday. Over the past several weeks I've heard from boats which metered what they thought was yellowfin or at least bigger fish found under the schools of porpoise, though they never got anything to bite. Maybe now we'll start to see a few catches, wouldn't that be nice to get a bunch o yellowfin in her now, Some of the first catches skipjacks were being off- loaded by the commercial boys this past week.

The El Tigre dumped a swordfish yesterday, pulled the hook on a rigged squid after a 5 min.battle. These swordfish are hungry, they've been feeding on these small anchovies and they want more of an meal.