kern river fly Fishing Report 2024

Mike Pritchard called in with this report from the Tribute. "So far we have a really good sign of Bluefin. We have definitely lost a lot more than we have landed. Right now we have 7 or 8 fish. The fish are running 40 lbs. to 50 lbs. Some of the fish we have lost is just due to insufficient tackle. These are really very large Bluefin. I know there was 1 Bluefin caught here yesterday that ran about 180 lbs. So if you are coming out on a trip you want to make sure you bring the right tackle. 40 lbs. would be the bare minimum. We'll keep you informed as the day progresses.

Today we arrived to the grounds late. We were looking around for wahoo a little after noon. We only scraped up one Wahoo. However around 4pm we got the anchor down and started catching some great quality Tuna. 18-25lbs with the 30-40 lbers making a showing in the mix as well. Very clean tuna fishing here today. Hopefully we can get these Wahoo figured out tomorrow. Here we Have Bryan and Wai Hung Man showing off their quality tuna.

A few nice yellowtail and very fun calico bass fishing. Flylined sardines, surface iron and MC Swimbaits.

"It was really good fishing wahoo at the bank," said Rothery at the sales. "We stayed there two days and then went in to the southern banks where the big fish were." All the big fish (there were 13 tuna over 200 pounds weighed on the certified scales at Fisherman's) came from the southern banks. There were just as many from 100 to 200 pounds as there were cows, and those were found in both spots. "The Baja tuna were real steady biters," said Rothery. "There were lots of ‚Дтem around, we could see ‚Дтem at the surface and on the meter most of the time." Research biologist Chugey Sepulveda got the big one, related his pal and fellow biologist Scott ("Scootch") Aalbers of San Diego. Chugey wasn't able to be at the weigh-in. The fish weighed 306.2 pounds. Chugey had two more cows, at 220 and 201 pounds. "Scootch" said Chugey got the big one and the others on one of the boat's heavy rigs and the kite. He used two sardines on 6/0 Mustad 7691 hooks, tied to 130-pound P-Line and 130-pound Izorline Spectra, on a Tiagra 50 W reel and a Calstar 655 XXH rod. "He got it on the next to the last day," said Scootch, "about four p.m. He fought it for an hour and 15 minutes, and it wrapped him around the anchor line about 15 times. The crew helped out a lot with the fork." Tom Bass of Newport Beach won second place for a 274.8-pound tuna. He also had a 232 and a 206-pound yellowfin. Tom said he got his fish on a sardine and an 8/0 Eagle Claw hook, pm 100-pound Blackwater fluorocarbon leader of 15 feet, tied to 130-pound Izor Spectra on a Tiagra 50 reel and a Calstar 6460 XXH rod. Hack Bernstein of Valencia bagged a 269.6-pounder. He fished a sardine on an 8/0 Eagle Claw hook tied to 130-pound P-Line and 130-pound Izor Spectra on a boat rig: Tiagra 50 reel and a Calstar 655 XXH rod. Pat Jaeger of Bishop posed with his daughter Maggie, three, and the 268-pound tuna he got with a double sardine rig on the kite. He said he used 100-pound P-Line and 130-pound Izor Spectra on a Penn 50 W reel and a Baja Boomer rod. Ryan Gillette of Orange was another who used a double trouble sardine rig on the boat's rod and reel to take a 246-pounder. Robert Kalatschan found a brace of cows, at 226 and 213 pounds. There were two more cows that appeared at the scales without tags, said Susan Rothery. One weighed 214 pounds and the other went 202.

Captain Ryan Bostian checked in via satellite phone at 11:47 AM. We have caught four Bluefin Tuna (115, 108, 103 and 101). We hooked 8 and landed 4. You need to make sure you bring the correct gear. CURRENT TACKLE RECOMMENDATION
A Shimano Talica 12 or 16 two speed filled with 65 or 80 lb spectra. Connected to 5 feet of 80 or 130 lb flouro and a 250 gram flatfall. A sinker bait rig fished with a Talica 16 or 20 two speed filled halfway with 80 lb spectra than topped off with 60 or 80 lb mono to a short leader of 80 lb flouro. A 2/0 or 3/0 circle hook and a 4-6 oz torpedo sinker. We will check back in later tonight after we finish the day!

Wow, what a day. Absolutely phenomenal albacore fishing.
Fun, fun, fun!! This is the best many anglers and crew alike have ever seen. We fished from daylight until they shut off at 5pm. Just like a 9-5 work day only a heck of a lot more fun. We had a break for a yummy breaded veal cutlet on top of fettuccine with fresh vegetables for lunch and dinner was a really good old St Patrick's feast of corn beef, cabbage, veggies and probably the best potatoes I have ever had with corn beef. They were cooked in some sort of mustard horseradish, and they were a standout in the meal. We are really delighted to have found Pedro. Weather is still good and we will fish tomorrow until 10am and then head off to Guadalupe for some big yellow fin!

31 bass 47 whitefish for our 11 anglers. We spent our day in the shallows trying to stay in position to catch a yellowtail but never connected. Still plenty of action for our light load.

Sunday, June 3rd, 2012

Good evening, friends. Sorry for the lack of reports. Not a whole lot of excitement going on the with us on the Supreme but around the fleet, is an entirely different story. More on that later.

For us, it's been a lot of work down in the guts of the vessel, ensuring that the Polaris Supreme is running at tip-top performance. On Friday, the day finally arrived: Coast Guard "top side" inspections. At times, the thought of Coast Guard can be somewhat daunting for some boats. For us, it's no big thing. With our weekly maintenance schedules that we perform throughout the year and quality of care that Tommy has given to his beautiful ninety-two foot sportfishing yacht, Coast Guard is no big thing. We appreciate what these people do for us, which is make sure that the vessel operates properly and continues to take our passengers time and time again and return safely. On this day, they also made sure that our crew could properly handle a man overboard situation. In short, we passed with flying colors and as for the operation of the vessel, all is fine for the exception of a couple "minor" things, we passed. We're pumped. This next week Drew, Tommie, Mark, Jamie, our electrician guru Greg Hibbs, master carpenter Steve Russo and myself will take care of the few items that we need cross off the list before our follow-up appointment with the USCG. Our fishing season is nearing and things are starting to get very interesting on the water.

I'm sure most of you read the reports from the boats our on trips right now. Bluefin tuna in the 25-40 lb. class as well as some beauties in the 60-100 lb. category are biting, the Royal Star has captured the first Albacore of the season, a couple Bluefin have also been captured in the day and a half range and spotter planes have been flying around some of the local waters and have seen a few fish as well as some tasty looking conditions. Bottom line, it's time. It's time to get yourself on a trip. Call Susan ASAP, ask what trips have openings and get on a trip now. This crew is ready to go. Let's make it happen. It's just around the corner and you aren't going to want to miss a shot at what is shaping up to be a tasty summer season.

Take care everyone. We'll report back in a few days.

-Richie & Team Supreme