madison river Fishing Report 2024

Aug 17

We started off early yesterday morning in the hunt for yellowtail unsuccessfully. Great fishing on it the day before but the water dropped 2+ degrees and they were very inactive. We were getting the "should've been here yesterday" vibe so we took off to fish for yellowfin. After a couple hour move and a few hours in the zone, we were getting the "should've been here yesterday" vibe again but shortly after chowing down a big fat cheeseburger the call came down from Gunny. "kelp". It's those black eyes I tell you. Gets um every time. After that we pretty much drifted till dark scratching at 20-40 pound yellowfin with the occasional flurry for 20 or so. In fact right at dark there was about 6 people fishing, all with one on and the 18 other anglers standing around with a cigar and a cocktail in hand.

The weather was choppy and rolly today but it didn't bother us. As long as your catching fish who cares what the weather does. We were all very sore and tired after today and I think we're all ready for a nice pork chop meal and a pillow and blanket. We'll be fishing for yellowtail all day tomorrow then setting us up for our last day of bluefin fishing.

Mama bear- The litluns doing fine. Pretty much had a bent rod all day.

Friday, July 27th, 2012

Hi friends. Short report this evening as the weather is up once again. We checked out a different zone today and were only rewarded with a few fish for our efforts. We feel that the weather is jacking things up and once it backs off, the water structures will form again and we'll get back to business. Anyhow, like I said, our weather is sloppy but everyone is taking it fine and enjoying their dinner. We'll arrive back to the docks tomorrow morning and our ETA is looking like around 0630 hours. We'll brief you tomorrow and give you a trip wrap-up. Take care.

The San Diego checked in with this today:

2 yellowtail and all the bottom grabbers you could want. Water conditions seem to be improving but the south wind we’ve dealt with the last couple days have made things interesting.

Hey sports fans the voyager is running a 1 day mexico coast trip fishing pescadaro, salsipuedes, mezqiute and surrounding areas! It has been fun bass fishing this year so far down there!! It is a open party trip so first come first serve. As of now four spots have been taken. We arew only taking 16!!! Call me 8582201593 or seaforth for reservations. $100 ticket price

115 yellowfin tuna 98 skipjack tuna. 80 of our yellowfin were 18-30 lbs. the rest were 10 pounders. The skipjack are extra large. Please bring a 25 lb rod and a 40 or 50 lb rod. Size #2 hooks for your 25 lb rod and size #1 for your 40 or 50 lb rod.

Still heading down here. Had to go a little further than planned, but we did manage to put our first fish on the boat. Here we have Wild Bill Walsh with the first Wahoo of the trip!

Tommy Rothery docked his Polaris Supreme after the annual George Davis Expedition, with only eight anglers aboard. Rothery tied up at his space on the inner wing at Fisherman's Landing, ending his long range season on a positive note with a visit to Baja's southern banks and the Cleofas Bank, where all the fish that were kept were caught. Four cows were among the fish offloaded January 13. "All the big fish were from Cleofas," said Tommy. We released about half the fish we caught there, and nearly everything, including 15 big tuna, we caught up above. "So many people put so much emphasis on their pile of fish at the dock," remarked Rothery. "It disgusts me." Rothery and his anglers consistently release many fish of all sizes. Charlie Middleton of San Pablo got two cows; one with a sardine and the biggest one on a chunk. His tuna weighed 201.4 and 245.6 pounds. He said he fished with 8/0 Gamakatsu hooks, 130-poudn Maxima line and 130-pound Spectra backing on a Penn 80 SW reel and a new Ugly Stick 130-pound class rod. "That rod works good," said Charlie, who got his smaller fish in only 15 minutes. Al Tokunaga of North Hollywood took a 232.4-pounder after a 30-minute tussle. He said the fish bit on a sardine pinned to a 9/0 Eagle Claw hook. He fished with 130-pound Momoi line and 130-pound Spectra, with a Cal Sheet-s prepped Penn 50 S reel and a Calstar 6455 XH rod. "I used an eight-ounce torpedo sinker attached with a rubber band," noted Al. "He bit right after daylight. They were down there about that time every day." Roger Brown of Riverside bagged a 210.9-pounder with a mackerel on a 6/0 ringed Super Mutu hook. He said he fished with 100-pound Jin Kai line and 130-pound Jerry Brown Line One Spectra on a Tiagra 50 W reel and a Calstar 6455 XH rod. Brown's fish was notable in that it fought for 35 minutes, and then pulled skipper Drew Henderson over the side when he single-gaffed it. They were both brought aboard without further incident. Rothery noted that he will be doing boat work from now until May 31, when he will begin his summer season of three to five-day trips.

These yellowtail are keeping us on our toes ! After two slow mornings in a row, we decided to start our trip out fishing sandbass. While we were catching bass for our mostly beginner group we got the word that the yellowtail were biting a little bit. After running the 12 miles to get in position we managed to land 15 yellows. These fish are 15-25 lbs. and extremely mean.

Please bring a 30 lb. rod to fly line sardines if you are coming out with us. Tomorrow we have a private charter but will be back to our open party run on Sunday. I will check back tomorrow.