north captiva Fishing Report 2025

Another slow day at the islands coupled with a great catch from our code boat Liberty has resulted in us switching our run back to offshore fishing. November is the new September, Viva El Niño

The San Diego out of Seaforth Landing in San Diego,CA checked in with us today:

4 yellowtail and plenty of rockfish. We saw a couple nice schools of yellowtail. They act like cold water fish !

Friday, July 22nd, 2011

Good evening. With all of the life around the boat last night, we never managed to hook a fish this morning so we made a move and relocated the good sign of fish from yesterday. All in all, it was a very slow day up until the afternoon time when we got on a big breezer of smaller fish and had a nice little flurry on that smaller grade of fish. They really responded well, boiling within ten feet of the transom but for whatever reason we only managed to hook and land a handful. That was pretty much our hot action of the day. We saw a couple good spots of fish today but the Bluefin were Bluefin and it was a struggle to get a bite. There's potential for some decent hits in this area but for now, it's only for a couple of lucky boats and today, we were not a lucky boat. Sometimes, that's just how the cards fall.

With a beautiful load of Yellowtail in the fish holds and an annoying load of kelp flies everywhere else, we put a bow on the 2011 Paul Hess five day trip. Our utmost gratitude goes out to Paul for once again putting together a stellar group of folks and continuing to bring them back year after year. No matter what type of economic situation or what type of fish we catch, this group has a great attitude and they come out here to have a good time. Also, thank you to Sandra and Dave Lafferty for bringing some delicious food, especially the Cherry cobbler. We'll see y'all next year. Go Giants...not.

So there you have it. We're enjoying a fine ride as we motor back to port and we're shooting for a 0730 ETA tomorrow morning. We'll be coming back out with the Costello gang for five days of fun with Captain Drew Henderson at the helm. We'll check back with you tomorrow and have a good weekend.

-Team Supreme-

Thursday, July 21st, 2011

Hi friends. We finally made it to the hot Bluefin grounds in the afternoon and as soon as we arrived, the bite shut off. We saw good life and a few schools but we never saw the whites of their eyes. There is potential to scratch out a day here as the few boats that were in the area all day had a few fish to show for their efforts. Based on that, we rigged up and tossed out the sea anchor and will be drifting offshore all night. There is a ton of life around us right now with squid, sauries, and birds all around so hopefully with all of this life, we'll wake up and pick away at some shortfin's. Wish us luck.

-Richie and Team Supreme-

Wednesday, July 20th, 2011

Good evening friends. Yellowtail fishing aboard the Polaris Supreme was outstanding today. From right after breakfast until the late afternoon, we were pulling on 'tails in the 14-20 lb. class. Massive breezers, meter marks, and color spots were repeatedly located and we enjoyed steady catching all day long in beautiful weather. We had a very entertaining day and the evening time found us on the hunt for "premiums" which we managed to boat one right around 35 lbs. Hot rigs today was 30 lb. test, fly-lining a sardine with a J-hook tied on. No fluorocarbon, no designer circle hooks. A Yellowtail's mouth is like sandpaper, so there is no reason to waste the money on more abrasion resistant/expensive line and a hook that is designed to be set in the corner of the mouth so you don't get chewed off by a fish with teeth. With the exception of cow tuna fishing, we see more fish lost on circle hooks than landed. Granted every type of tackle worked today but time after time, we see just a simple 30 lb. rig filled with mono and tied up with a J-hook catching more fish than a rig with fluorocarbon and designer circle hooks. For Yellowtail fishing, it's an unnecessary expense when a so called "cheap rig" will get the job done just as good. Hey, when you step foot on the Supreme, you can fish with whatever type of tackle you wish. But take it from the people who are out here everyday, when it comes to Yellowtail fishing, keep it simple. Outfit yourself with mono and a J-hook and save that money that you would've spent on the fluoro/designer hooks because you're going to need to put it towards your fish processing bill. Get what I'm saying?

So that is all. The gang has had their fill on Yellowtail so the decision was made to venture offshore to focus on tuna fishing for the remainder of the trip. A couple of our community boats had an OK day on the Bluefin grounds so we're looking forward to seeing if we can't track down a few schools and add to our beautiful catch of Yellowtail before trips end. Our weather is a little bumpy but everyone is too tired to notice, they're out and so are we. Wish us luck and we'll chat with you tomorrow.

Happy Hump Day,

-Team Supreme-

Tuesday, July 19th, 2011

Hello friends. We began the hunt for Bluefin tuna early this morning by shutting down in the gray light on a school of tuna and just as soon as everyone woke up to begin fishing, they vanished. So we followed suit and the hunt for greener pastures commenced. It took us a little while to get a school located but when we got it located, it was a good one. We immediately saw fish boiling up good all around the boat and we hooked a few right off the bat. We landed a handful and we lost a handful but what we did land were a beautiful grade of Bluefin in the 25-35 lb. range. With the massive surface show 360 degrees around the boat we decided to get the kite out. Multiple fish attacked the baits but missed the hooks and after that, all we could do was watch them boil within ten feet of the baits and turn their nose away from our double sardine rigs. We watched the show for a couple of hours before they bailed and it was a slow day from that point on. We did pull a couple of nice Yellowtail from a kelp paddy and we even trolled up a smaller grade Bluefin tuna later in the day. Not too shabby considering a lot of boats in the prior weeks have been calling in zero's for fish counts, so we're very happy with what we caught and we'll be back on the tuna grounds after we do some Yellowtail fishing. A couple of boats in our long range community had a pretty steady day on smaller grade Bluefin in another area so we'll keep our ears open to that developing situation. Like I said, we're going to go do some Yellowtail fishing as the bite has been hot and we're looking forward to finding out for ourselves just how hot the bite is.

So that's it. Our weather is fair and we're in excellent company with Paul Hess and his good friends. We'll be in the zone first thing tomorrow morning and we'll report back to you tomorrow. Take care now.

-Richie and Team Supreme-

P.S. Te amo, Anna. From: Mark.

Monday, July 18th, 2011

Hello friends. We're back in business as we departed on our annual Paul Hess five day trip this morning. Paul has been putting together a great group of anglers for the better part of a decade on the Supreme and we're happy to see all the familiar faces that he's brought aboard this year. Our bait loading went smoothly and we've been traveling in calm weather ever since leaving the harbor around lunch time. With boats spread out in different areas along the coast and offshore, we're taking our time in deciding what our game plan is. Part one of our journey will be on the hunt for Bluefin tuna tomorrow morning as one of our companions in the long range fleet saw good sign and had an OK day on the shortfins today. We'll begin looking around in the morning and we'll see if we can't boat a couple of tuna fish tomorrow before we worry about part two. Wish us luck and we'll report back to you tomorrow.

Happy Monday,

-Richie and Team Supreme-

36 yellowtail 95 reds 165 rockfish. Couple good shots at winter time yellowtail and plenty of taco meat for everyone.

Guadalupe Update

7/27/2011

Passports

Dear Polaris Supreme Anglers,

I hope this letter finds all of you well.  As summer fast approaches we have gotten final Guadalupe questions answered.  And below I have done my best to try to convey them all to you.

Not all trips will go to Guadalupe.  Last year there was already excellent fishing at Guadalupe mid July.  In a normal water temperature year like we have now, we start to see Guadalupe produce good yellowfin by mid August.  So mid July, mid August is the time slot we may start fishing Guadalupe.  Your guess is probably as good as mine.  But we do know if the yellowfin do show, they will be there in full force by September and October. Either way we want to be to be prepared for any scenario.

Passports, Visas, Mexican Permits, and Guadalupe Permits (one bracelet for each day of fishing at Guadalupe) will be required by all passengers on all trips four days and longer from July 18^th on that may go to Guadalupe.  This is a Homeland Security US and Mexico Customs and Immigration requirement to go to Guadalupe Island.

I realize the logistics seem very complex, but all you, as a passenger will need to acquire, will be a passport.  We will acquire all other documents.

The decision to go to Guadalupe will be made four to five days prior to departure.  This will give us time to prepare our forms, and notify our customs brokers, (Us and Mexican), Department of Homeland Security, Customs, Immigration, Agriculture, and Coast Guard.

We need your passport information now!

Our decision to go to Guadalupe will be made on the basis of whether there is good fishing or not at the Island, weather, input from charter heads and passengers as to their desire to go.  The Captain and owner will make the final decision based on the above-mentioned and any other issues that may come up.

A typical route on a five-day trip would be as follows:

     Day 0 – Board 9:00am * Depart Landing11:00am * Depart Bait Receivers 1:00 pm

                   It is 60 miles from San Diego to Ensenada * Arrive Ensenada 7:00 pm *

                   Two hours to clear * Depart Ensenada 9:00 pm

     Day 1 – Fish day light until dark off shore for albacore, bluefin, and yellowtail on

                  kelps.  It is 182 miles from Ensenada to the North end of Guadalupe and 196

                  miles to the south end.  217 miles from San Diego to north end of Guadalupe.

                  237 miles to south end.                                   

     Day 2 – Fish Guadalupe daylight and on into the night for yellowtail and tuna.

    Day 3 – Fish Guadalupe until dark.  You could also go back off shore at the end of the

                   Previous day to fish albacore, bluefin, and yellowtail on kelps this day.

     Day 4 – Fish off shore for albacore, bluefin, and yellowtail on kelps.  We must be within

                  60 miles of Ensenada by 4 pm to be into Ensenada by 10 pm to clear out of

                  Mexico.  Depart Ensenada midnight.

     Day 5 – Arrive San Diego customs 6:00 am.  One hour to clear.  Arrive back to the

                  dock 7:30 am.

The typical scenario for a four-day trip would be one day less at Guadalupe.  If indeed the Island was the main destination.  The time involved to target Guadalupe on four and five day trips will not allow us to have time to fish Cedros or Benitos.  Six or seven day trips will.

This is the longest expected clearing times.  We are hoping to keep Ensenada down to one hour and San Diego down to a half hour.  There is no scheduled check in into Guadalupe, but we expect to be inspected by Conapesca and/or the Mexican Navy.

Only on trips going to Guadalupe requiring clearance there will be a clearance fee of approximately  $3260.00  divided up amongst the passengers on board.  This will cover the cost we will be required to pay in and out of San Diego and Ensenada for customs, Immigration and Agriculture.  Other cost will include the following

Cost 5-Day:  (carrying 24 people)

                      Mexican Fishing Permit $ 87.00 (cost incurred on all trips to Mexico)

                      Mexican Visa  $25.00

                       Daily Guadalupe Bracelet  $ 5.00   (per day) times 3= $15

                       Clearance Fee  $135.00

                       Approximate total $257.00       

Our bait dying in Ensenada Harbor has been a question brought up and will not be an issue.  Ensenada Harbor is very clean, if not cleaner than San Diego Bay in the summer when there is no runoff.  It is also cooler than San Diego Bay and chance of red tide is slim in both bays this year with no El Nino. 

Thank you all for your patronage.  If you have any questions or concerns please call me or Susan at the Polaris Supreme office.  619-390-7890

Thanks,

Tommy