cj strike Fishing Report 2024

Thursday, April 11th, 2013

Hi friends. We're still traveling down in decent weather, with plenty of sunshine to make for an enjoyable trek. Although, the travel days can be very monotonous, we always find something out of the ordinary to do to break up the boredom. Today was a unique day, even by our standards; and even after all of the sea time that passengers and crew members alike have accumulated over the decades, we still found ourselves in activities, scenery, and fishing that we don't experience everyday.

Now, I'm not trying to make roses out of you-know-what; we caught Yellowtail today. That's all. We didn't run into the first wave of Albacore or run up on a breezer of giant Bluefin tuna. Nope, we simply caught beautiful 18-22 lb. Yellowtail. Before I go any further - I am not bashing the Yellowtail fishery in any way shape or form. We had a great time doing it today and in all honesty, typing out words to explain the amount of fun we had for an hour would bore everyone half to death. What garners this report is simply the hour-long spectacle that was associated with our Yellowtail fishing. Having wide open fishing and not really trying to compete with other boats or boost our own egos is fun enough, trust me. Just good old fashioned yankin' and crankin' is what we did today but add in the sight of breaching Humpback Whales (two adults and one cute little calf, literally within casting distance) with the backdrop of one of the most beautiful destinations that we fish in one of the most isolated places in the Eastern Pacific was something I'll never forget. Like I said, it was Yellowtail fishing; but add in the group of gentlemen that we shared this experience with, it was hard not to just stop for a moment and take everything in. All in all, it was a super fun day.

I'm sorry for the lengthy report. I'm reading three books at the moment and one of them is 83 Neurobic exercises to increase mental fitness and it encourages you to do some off-the-wall stuff - things that you normally wouldn't do to keep your brain healthy. It's a fascinating read and I'm applying a lot of the little things that the book says to do. I'm sure that I'm driving the crew crazy with how stoked I am to do these things; from switching my watch to my other hand, to navigating my way around the wheelhouse with my eyes closed and let my senses other than sight guide me around (don't worry, I'm not driving), to putting different types of tape on the keyboard (don't ask) - it's all really interesting to me and it's keeping the travel days fresh and exciting. So, I apologize for this whacky report but I'm helping to keep my brain stimulated and hopefully yours too.

Anyhow, With this particular trip -- or any 17-day trip, for that matter -- there is always something new to do to keep us on our toes. From rigging up "Bruce" our new anchor (insert circus music here) to finding a good book to read to learning a new way to rig tackle or just enjoying the ride with some good friends, the entire experience of traveling down to our destination can be looked at in multiple ways - today was one of those good travel days and I felt like sharing it with everyone because we're pumped. Other than good weather and good food, I'll leave y'all with a few more clues as to what in the heck we're doing with our time. It involves: five grown men, a food processor, Yellowtail Milt, a deck brush, and a bait scoop. Stimulate your brains. We'll chat with you manana.

P.S. Devon, Alayna, and Lyall - I caught y'all a delicious Calico Bass today. I wanted to release it but mortality was imminent. I am deeply sorry. Scootch didn't even try to save it either so it's half his fault. Sorry.

Polaris Supreme Trip Report 07-29-2016 Hello good morning anglers. We are already fishing this morning and have four yellowtail to our credit. We have a nice current and are waiting for things to start happening. We left yesterday afternoon with Tom Chaparro's annual five day charter with a limited load of 18 anglers. It is really quite the joy to be able to fish with such a light load on the boat. Most of Tom's guys have been out with us before and are anxious to get at it. We had a nice prime rib dinner last night and Tom and the boys gave our friend Herb Yamanaka a custom-made Oregon Duck's colored raped rod as a thank you for his many years of creating wonderful wood working's in the form of bowls cups salt shakers you name it he made it from different exotic woods and has given them out every trip. I haven't gotten a picture of the rod yet but as soon as Herb catches a fish will make sure you see pictures of both. Thanks for tuning in Tommy and the crew.

Today our 30 anglers were treated to a 6 hour drift which resulted in 33 bluefin tuna from 60 to 100 pounds and 1 twenty pound yellowfin. We managed to keep 1-8 fish hooked at all times. Our bites were coming on 40&50 lb flyline sardines and 130-160 gram Shimano Flatfalls as well as 100 gram Shimano Colt snipers. TIP FROM THE CREW: In order to keep the deck clean and safe. We rinse with a saltwater hose constantly. Wearing rubber boots or waterproof shoes is recommended.

Many of you know Captain Ray Montera who has been involved in sportfishing most of his life. In March, his 32 year old Chris son was severely injured in a C4 blast in Afghanistan. We are holding a fundraiser on October 8th at the Bali Hai on Shelter Island. He is one of our own and we are rallying to support him.

As an Army soldier, Chris Montera was often taken aback when people would thank him for doing the job he loved. On a fateful day in March, he came to face the sacrifice. He was on a dismounted mission and was hit with explosion of C4, which literally blasted and propelled him into a grape field. He suffered major issues with blast lung and severe burns over much of his body. For 9 days he was on ECMO (lung bypass) until he was stable enough to be transported to BAMC in San Antonio for the treatment of his shrapnel wounds and third degree burns. On April 2 a fungal infection set into the wounds on his lower extremities and Chris underwent bilateral AK amputation of his legs. He was further diagnosed with an incomplete spinal cord injury in the thoracic area of the spine at VA Polytrauma Center in Palo Alto.

Through all of this, Chris remains focused and committed to rehabilitation. It is estimated that he will remain in Palo Alto for 3-6 months while he works to regain his upper body strength, which will be necessary for the next stages of rehab in the C5 program at Balboa Naval Hospital in San Diego where he will be fitted with prosthetic legs and with determination will learn to walk again. There is no doubt in our minds that Chris will recover to live an independent life. The goal of this fundraiser is to be able to assist Chris with expenses he will no doubt encounter on his journey to independence.

The event will be held at the Bali Hai Restaurant on Shelter Island On October 8th from 6:00-10:00 pm. There will be food stations serving food from many San Diego restaurants along with a no host bar. A raffle, live, and silent auction will take place during the event along with live entertainment by Mango Bay and World Famous Jim Gibson. The outpouring of support of raffle and auction donations from the sportfishing community, tackle, fishing supply manufacturers, and local businesses has been phenomenal. The evening will be great fun for all and will serve to help a young man who put it all on the line.

There are several ways you can help:
First and most important is attend the event.

Tickets are $50 in advance or $450 for a block of 10

Advance ticket purchases will include 3 raffle tickets and assorted swag

Cannot attend but would like to help, make a cash donation in any amount.

Donate an item for the raffle or auction. Anything from fishing items, art, gift certificates, clothing...anything is greatly appreciated.


We look forward to having you at the event. The sport fishing community has come together to take care of a wounded warrior of their own, and it promises to be a fun filled evening for all.

To purchase tickets for Island Nights at the Bali Hai, please visit our website at http://christophermonterasupport.com/island-nights-at-the-bali-hai

To donate items for our raffle/auction please visit our website and complete the donor form http://christophermonterasupport.com/sponsors-anddonors-supporters/donor-form

Mike Pritchard called in to give this report for the Tribute. "We're on day 2 of a 4 day charter trip with a light load of guys. It is just an 8 man charter. We're having very good fishing. We started off fishing for Bluefin yesterday, with a little bit of Rockfishing in the afternoon. We also caught a couple of nice Lingcod up to 28 lbs. We made a move about 100 miles down the beach and got into some really good Yellowtail fishing, 35 to 40 lb. yellowtail. The best techniques have been fly-lined fish, yo-yo jigs and surface irons. Just very fun fishing. We're going to spend the rest of the day down here and go offshore tomorrow. We'll target some yellowfin tuna and keep you updated.

Capt Ryan Bostain checked in from the San Diego out of Seaforth Sportfishing, we went out with 43 anglers today and ended the day with 120 Yellowtail. Today they were from 12 to 28 lbs, with an average around 15 lbs, today they bit mostly on the surface with either a flylined bait or surface iron. We did also manage to get some on the yoyo jig, the ocean is alive down there. Come on down and get you some, make sure you bring a rig for every occasion. See you on the boat.

Wednesday, August 29th, 2012

Hi friends. We made it back up to the tuna grounds at first light and found absolutely beautiful weather and the "football" yellowfin tuna were hungry today. Steady jig strikes all morning all the way up until we found a kelp that accounted for most of our score on this day. It was a really fun kelp too. You could look in the water and see brown for most of the stop and these fish were on the squid real nice and the skip jig as well. Kub Ito even got in on some hand-line action which was pretty entertaining. Speaking of Kub, Kub had ten minutes of hardhat time for two minor offenses. Good job, Kubby bear. Anyhow, fun morning of fishing and flat calm, sunny weather to boot. A fine way to end a fine trip and Joe Beck and the boys are pumped.

Anyhow, we're traveling up the line in a very calm ocean and we're looking to arrive to the docks at 0600 where we will be getting the boat turned around and heading out on our annual Gary Roberts 9-day trip. We'll chat with you tomorrow evening sometime. Take care.

P.S. Absolutely no hardhat time for Mark this trip. Shocking, I know. Granted he was in the galley this trip but nonetheless, he was on the boat. Good job, Mark. You now have nine days to reclaim that beautiful yellow dome of yours. Stay tuned.

Aug. 25

I've said it before and I'll say it again. Bluefin are the most unpredictable fish out there that we fish for. If you would have told me yesterday that we were going to have a day like we had today, I would have laughed in your face. Never again though. I will never trust this fish. For the last several days the bluefin fishing was very poor. I really thought that it was over for the year. I was wrong. Today we experienced the best bluefin tuna fishing I have ever seen. This is on a quantity to quality ratio that I'm talking about here. In my 13 years of long ranging, today was the best for the Bluefins.

Just after 6:00 this morning we stopped on a single fish mark under the boat. Just after 6:00 tonight we left them. The whole time we drifted it was pretty much wide open. The fish were from 25 up to 75 pounds. Most of them being in the 30-40 pound range. Once again we went into battle and we won. Oh yeah, we fished in the rain. At around 11:00 it started raining and it never stopped. Everyone on board was absolutely drenched all day and it was awesome. By the end of our stop no one was fishing so Mark and I grabbed a couple of rods and boated 3 of them ourselves. It was only Mark and I fishing and I was bringing one in and wouldn't you know it, when the fish was at gaff, there was Mark's spectra tangled all over my fish. 2 anglers fishing and he manages to make a big tangle. MAAAARK!!! I would have made him put on the dunce helmet but he was already wearing it. Heres why. There was a 2 fish tangle and Mark grabbed 1 of the rods to unwrap it and he dropped it right in the water. MAAARK!!!. Unbelievably another person fishing managed to hook one of the guides on the rod and we got it back. Fish and all. I immediately tossed Mark the yellow dunce helmet and he wore it all day.

Needless to say everyone on board is beat tired and we will not have any trouble sleeping through the night tonight. We're headed for the yellowtail grounds now and will be there first thing in the morning.