johnson lake Fishing Report 2024

Nov. 12

Not too much to report today, but we got our lines in the water, and ended up with a few varieties of fish chilling in the refrigerated sea water. We ended up at sort of a one-stop-shop in that we caught the three species that we were targeting all on the anchor. That is not typical fishing, down this way. We usually find the fish one species at a time. Half the boat caught a wahoo today so that's not a bad start and we caught quite a few 15-30 pound yellowtails too with a handfull of call them 25-40 pound tuna as well. Weather continues to be nice, with a bit of wind that popped up later on in the day. It was great to finally use some of that tackle today, that we've spent so much time rigging over the past few days. Now we can get down to the serious business of (hopefully) catching some creatures from the deep blue sea to bring home, and share with our families at the dinner table.All is well aboard the Polaris Supreme, and it's first call for our evening meal consisting of pork chops, apple sauce, and assorted goodies. This is your nameless guest correspondent signing off, until tomorrow...

Sunday April 14, 2013

Today we had about 7-10 wahoo and several tuna. Four nice ones around 170 lbs., and some smaller ones (many released) 50-60 lbs. We lost 4 nice ones, 2 thought to be over 200 lbs. The guys are pretty tired putting in 36 hours of fishing time. Most only had 3-4 hours of sleep.

I have the Apollo in Santa Barbara again for the spring Channel Islands season. We are chartered on most of our weekend dates but here are a few options if you would like to get out fishing with us while we are up north. First we have a 2-day charter coming this weekend (Sat and Sun March 29/30). This regular charter group only takes 15 people and they are short 2 spots. The cost is $ 440 and includes all food. to book on this trip please contact Craig at (858) 638-7500.

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

30 pass. 12 yellowtail 4 yellowfin tuna 2 dorado. Decent yellowfin sign but they were difficult to hook. Light line and small hook was the best chance. We also managed 2 dorado. Can’t say I have ever seen dorado in 66 degree water but nothing is normal anymore.

It's been hard to find a biting fish offshore lately. But we connected with one in choppy, mixed up seas. Dylan saved the day!!

The San Diego out of Seaforth Landing in San Diego, CA finished the day with176 Yellowfin Tuna, 1 Yellowtail & 1 Skipjack.

Boots or waterproof shoes are highly recommended.

~~Sep 15
 Well today didn't go like we were hoping.  We didn't catch anything on the anchor in the morning like we did yesterday morning.  So we thought at least we could get our 3 wahooless passengers a skin but that didn't happen.  There were quite a few boats trying.  We already caught a bunch of tuna the last couple days, so we stuck with the plan and got out of there way and left to go fish yellows.  That was a bust.  There were three of us looking around and none of us caught much.  Just a few handfuls of yellows was all.  So we decided to take off after lunch and we put it on course for Alijos Rocks.  We'll be there tomorrow morning and our plan is to catch some more wahoo.  We'll give it at least a full day there and maybe even another halfer.  Hopefully we have the place to ourselves there tomorrow.  We did get one really nice hoo during our travels this afternoon.  It was about 65 pounds.  A trip maker for the young Darrel.  You'll see it later on the website when we put it up.  Take care now.