comox valley Fishing Report 2024

Hello everyone, Today our first day of fishing was challenging. An unusual south wind made it difficult to catch these Yellowtail. The South wind is supposed to switch back to a somewhat "normal" wind. Hopefully it turns around tomorrow. Team Supreme

We had been running steady before the big blow with a mix of local Cod trips and Offshore trips. This week we are mostly inshore fishing cod with an offshore adventure on Tuesday. 

Mike Pritchard called in with this report for the Tribute. "We're on the 1st day of a 3.5 day trip sponsored by Okuma, Soft Steel & Seeker. So far the fishing has been very good. We have 36 Bluefin for the morning, some Rockfish to go with it even token Cow Cod.

"We have a few spots open on a 5.5 Day trip departing on October 28th. That is an Ultra Limited Load, only 12 anglers & we're looking for 2 more to go on that trip. If you are interested call Seaforth Landing at 619-224-3383.

This year is my 20th straight season operating a boat at the Coronado Islands. The fishing that is happening right now is the best I have ever seen. Boats from 10 ft to 124 ft all drifting and getting them. Don’t miss out on this amazing display of bio-mass. Please be responsible and only keep what you need. Have fun, be responsible and help a kid or a beginner. The guys are getting them again this morning. 75+ out of their first stop.

Monday, November 21st, 2011

Hi friends. Final day here at Isla de Guadalupe on our Great White shark diving/research trip was a fantastic day. We had two sharks around the boat for most of the morning and sign of that Yellowfin tuna once again. Only a handful of people got in the cages today as today we were on one mission; get tissue samples for Omar and Cesar. After trying to get a good sample from one from the Supreme we knew what we had to do. Put Omar, Cesar, and Chugey in the skiff. After having several good looks at the animal, she was just too far out of reach on every pass. But the last pass, it was go time. All or nothing. Chugey cocked the dart back and got her. A beautiful display of aim and strength and wouldn't you know it, we got the sample. After two days of patience, Omar and Cesar were rewarded for their perseverance and it paid off. They now are all smiles, ear to ear. In the name of science; booyah.

Today was also a day for a little crew cage-time as well. Drew H. and Drew C. got a couple looks at one and it was time for the birthday boy, Chef David Schooler, to get his turn. The picture of Schooler in a full wet-suit was enough for most of us to call it an awesome day but after only about five minutes in the cage, Schooler got out for, as he said "fear of not living to see another birthday". Well, I figured I'd go join Scootch in the cage as he filmed the action and I'd like to spend a couple minutes talking about my experience.

First off, that was the coolest thing I have ever done in my life. The next coolest thing isn't even close. Petting Grey Whales in the San Ignacio Lagoon was a unique experience but that was nothing in comparison to being underwater and being a fingertip away from touching one of the deadliest creatures on the planet. Scootch, myself, and galley assistant Jamie, had probably one of the best shows in the cage in the three days down here and it's one we won't soon forget. Looking this creature in the eyes will humble any person and Shark Week on an HDTV does the Great White shark no justice. at all. I found myself having to put down the camera for a few occasions as trying to get a good shot was taking away too much from just admiring the presence of this majestic creature. Aside from being inches from this beast, on the next pass, we got to witness Chugey lunge the dart into the shark from the skiff as we were underwater. Game over. Sample acquired. After the sample, all we saw was a white flash as the best propelled itself from our viewing and we propelled ourselves out of the cage and the chores of closing up shop began to prepare for the ride back to Ensenada. I'm sure we'll have an accumulation of all of our photos and underwater footage from Scootch on our website and our Facebook page in the next few days. Be sure to take a peak. All in all, it was the experience of a lifetime. Everyone on-board, especially the crew of the Supreme would like to issue a major thanks to Tom and Honey Pfleger, Chugey, Scootch, Cowboy, and everyone at PIER for allowing us to be apart of this adventure. Hopefully, it won't be our last.

So that is all. Our crossing from the island to Ensenada is a tad windy but we're aren't rolling around too much so we're happy with our ride at the moment. We're scheduled to arrive to Ensenada tomorrow morning and our ETA back to San Diego is sometime tomorrow in the early evening. We'll be tying up the Supreme for Thanksgiving and we'll return to fishing for our 12-day departing on the 29th of November. We have a few spots still available so if you're interested in being apart of the big tuna chase, give Susan a call at 619-390-7890. Speaking of Susan, tomorrow (the 22nd) is her birthday and we all would like to wish her a very happy birthday and thanks for being the glue to our operation. Happy Birthday, Susan! Good night everyone and we'll chat with you on the 29th.

-Team Supreme-

Sunday, November 20th, 2011

Hi friends and happy Sunday y'all. Day two of our Guadalupe Island Great White shark adventure started off the same as it did yesterday. A couple of viewings for the folks in the cages and a decent sign of that 60-100 lb. class tuna swimming but it wasn't as consistent as it was yesterday, atleast on the tuna end of things. We had sporadic shark viewing today with the majority of our views being of the "smaller" sharks. A while after lunch, "Large Marge" showed up and boy, did our viewers get the thrill of their lives. Up close and very personal cage-time as this creature really put on a good show for our party of three inside the cage. Even seeing her from the boat, it was a sight that we all won't soon forget. Aside from that, our next best viewing went to Polaris Supreme crewmen, Jed and Ensenada scientist, Omar. After hanging out in the cage for a while and without seeing a shark for a couple of hours, patience paid off and they were both treated to a nice showing on about a 15 foot shark. Most everyone had the opportunity to get a nice viewing and we're looking to finish up tomorrow with a banner day. Our weather today was much better than yesterday's wind, cloud-cover, and light rain showers that would most definitely wash off our bronze. Today, we had premium bronzing for most of the day and great visibility for our divers. Let's hope for a repeat manana. We'll chat with you tomorrow evening and wish us luck.

***2015 hours update***

At the conclusion of Chef Schooler's delicious seared Ahi dinner, the battle ensued. A singing battle between classically-trained Riley McGuire versus relief crewmember, co-owner of the M/V Pacific Queen, and my roommate, Drew Card. Early on, It looked like a sure runaway for Riley but with a some expert coaching from Drew Henderson and myself, Drew rocked a lovely rendition of Neil Diamond's classic "Sweet Caroline". After a vote, it was decided that both Riley and Drew would ultimately have to share victory as no winner could be decided upon. If I personally had to pick a winner it would be Riley on every level except for two; singing most out of key and crowd participation (you just can't help belting out the words to the chorus of "Sweet Caroline"). Those two victories definitely went to Drew. A little post-dinner fun lasted for only a few minutes as rain squalls bombed through and the wind began to howl. It only lasted about an hour or so and we're now sitting comfortably as we get rested up for our final day tomorrow. So that is all. Just thought it would be fun to send out a little bit of an entertainment report to hopefully, well, entertain you. Reports aren't always about fishing and bronzing conditions. We'll chat with you tomorrow. Good night.

-Team Supreme-

Saturday, November 19th, 2011

Hi friends and good evening from Guadalupe Island. We cleared Ensenada customs at 0100 on Friday morning and traveled all throughout the day to arrive to the island last night at around 2200. We got our bearings straight this morning and got the cage in the water around mid-morning. While eating breakfast and awaiting the cage briefings, we had a friendly juvenile shark swimming right next to the boat for an hour or so. When we got our divers in the water, it wasn't long before this little guy was giving our divers a nice little opportunity for some up-close and personal views. While in the cages, our divers saw Yellowfin tuna in the 50-100 lb. range all throughout the day, which made for some excitement from us fishermen and fisherwomen on-board. Although the "smaller" shark was a sight to see, we had been hearing rumor of a giant female lurking around these parts. In the afternoon time, we saw her, Large Marge. Not necessarily the longest shark seen but my goodness, she is one of the girthiest sharks our scientists have ever seen. In all honesty, this beauty of a shark is as wide as a school bus. Only a few of the divers were able to see her from the cages but the folks who viewed her from the boat were in shock by the size of this animal. Hopefully, everyone gets to witness this behemoth from the cage.

With our shark viewing and tuna viewing all day, we're hunkered down in the cove and the guys and gals are enjoying some Prime Rib before they hit the racks. It was a successful first day of "getting our feet wet" and tomorrow, we're hoping for a full-day of sharks and tuna and hopefully some time for a little research for our PIER guys and our scientists from Ensenada, Omar and Cesar. Omar and Cesar are hoping for some tissue samples so we'll hopefully make their wish come true. The female we saw today has plenty of tissue to give and hopefully, they can get a sample from her and not the other way around. We'll report with you tomorrow.

-Team Supreme-

We are gearing up for our upcoming 7-10 day trips down south. Ready to get our masks on and pull on some fish.

~~9-9-2014

 Good evening from the bridge.  Today was yet another great day out on the water in the yellowfin tuna zone. We were blessed again with some awesome weather. The crew always loves it when we can go up into the mast from 6 am till the sun drops to look for fish and only have to wear some light long sleeves at the most, even driving straight into the wind.   The fishing was pretty good for most of the day today. We were getting on some descent schools this morning and scratching away. The grade was mixed again, some spots had the smaller 15-19 lbers and other brought in the same with some tuna up wards of 30 lbs so you can't complain about that.  The entire afternoon was bird schools galore, but a lot of them were just not the right kind. A lot of birds on kelp paddy's and spots of Skipjack. Instead of hitting every little school and throwing a bunch of bait, we just kept her rolling till we found the right sundowner school.  Rob was sure stoked we found that one since he was able to come in in the bottom of the 9th with his daily jackpot yellowfin of just about 30 lbs. Congrats to you Rob!! All and all we were please to add today into our books as a successful day out to sea.
 Right about the time we called it a day, Chef David rang the dinner bell and sat us down for the evenings cuisine. As he was dishing out the sesame seed crusted seared Ahi (yes, only 24 hours old, as fresh as it comes, so eat your heart out tuna lovers), forikake seasoned steamed rice and snow peas, Robin bust busy popping corks on the wine of the evening. 2013 Justin Sauvignon Blanc was the flavor and it smelled really good! I believe he told me it was a New Zealand white wine, but it really went great with the "catch of the day".  Dessert was a warm fresh peach cobbler with vanilla ice cream sending everyone to bed with nice full bellies once again.
 And  for Robins personal note of the day, he wants to let all of his friends know to make some room in the freezer for some amazing already packaged yellowfin tuna fillets. "I miss you all and want you to know this has been a truly amazing trip in all respects: a bit of heaven. 5 days and nights with the coolest people on the planet. The crew is off the chart and has been very accommodating".
 Thanks so much again Robin and friends for making this trip just fun working for you guys!
 So till this time tomorrow everyone, this is Jed signing off.
 
 Team Supreme

Four big bluefin bit for anglers fishing aboard the Fischbeck Charter aboard the Polaris Supreme with skipper Drew Henderson, and three of them were decked. Drew weighed the fish on the certified scales at Fisherman's Landing July 23 after the five-day trip with 23 anglers. He also weighed an unusual escolar, caught at night. The boat returned with a catch of yellowfin tuna and albacore.
Dick Emerson of Roland Heights won first place for his 134-pound bluefin, and also took over first place for that species on Bill Roecker's big fish list for the season.

Dick said he cranked that baby aboard in only 15 minutes on his single-speed Accurate 665 reel. The tuna took a sardine on a 5/0 Eagle Claw hook, on 60-pound Seaguar fluorocarbon leader and 50-pound Big Game line. Emerson used a Fenwick 665 rod, he added. Tom Donnelly of San Clemente got second place for a 126-pounder, which will make second on the big fish list. His fish fought for 40 minutes on 60-pound Seaguar Fluoro leader and 60-pound P-Line. Bill Byler of Covina made it a trio of 60-pound Fluoro users, and won third place for his 105.6-pound bluefin, which came on a small Accurate 870 reel.
The escolar came to Jason Severn of Petaluma. The 31-pound, strange-looking critter (some scientists think the escolar may be a progenitor for tuna) bit on a squid that Severn was fishing in the dark.
Skipper Henderson said his anglers were treated to a show of jumping bluefin, many of which were larger than the fish his anglers caught. They didn't want to bite, however, and it didn't take long for a fleet of seiners to show up with their spotter aircraft.