california aqueduct Fishing Report 2024

Sep. 2

Well we started in some traditionally tasty grounds today. The weather was magnificent and so was the water we were in. Warm and a beautiful glassy blue. It was also lively as could be. There were birds buzzing around all over, little dabs of dolphin, big herds of dolphin that were "all birded up"(that's code for "looks right"), a dead animal floating,(known for holding lots of dorado),kelp paddies and floating fishing gear buoys(also known for holding mucho dorado and wahoo). Well none of it was holding !@#$. I'm just bummed about it too. We had this area all to ourselves for 3 days in early September with beautiful weather and fishing conditions and it stunk. I can't sugar coat it. We covered a lot of good looking spots for not much fish. It just wasn't there. If I had a time machine I would go back 5 days ago and do it all over again. We would start above and fish our way down instead of starting below and fishing our way north. At least then my stress level wouldn't be high because we'd have fish in our holds. Fishing would be so easy with a time machine. Maybe I shouldn't write such downer reports but my friend Rob on board says he enjoys reading the good with the bad and you know what, this sort of thing happens. Fishing can be good and it can be bad. Oh well but hey, our trip is only half over, we're going to catch a bunch of yellows tomorrow, get some bait, maybe catch some more yellows and some more bait then go and whip on the tuna. Right? I hope so.

Your bummed but still very high spirited captain, Drew

We spent all day looking for kelps and never saw a single scrap. Not a single scrap. One beautiful wahoo on the troll late and that was all we tagged. We will be anchoring up Alijos Rocks early morning trying for a night bite and try for tuna and skin during the day.

29 Yellowfin Tuna, 38 Dorado, 33 Skipjack and 77 Yellowtail. Ernie Escalante with one of our nice Dorado from today.

O.k. O.k. I'm sorry. I missed a day. I had fishing on my mind and I forgot about you guys. The next day was worth our while. It was slow at times but we put together some good stops. We bailed out of the grounds before dark to put ourselves in position for the next quest, Bluefin. The weather couldn't of been better today. We found a school of BF a couple hours after first light and for the next two and a half hours it was quite the show. Bluefin were flying out of the water doing flips, cartwheels and other various tricks. Unfortunately they weren't very interested in our anglers baits. We did hook four and landed three that taped out at 99,120, and 127. I always get the measurements wrong so they'll probably weigh more when we weigh them at the dock tomorrow morning. It's like a lake for our ride in which will make the rack of lamb tonight all that better.

3 yellowfin 65 skipjack 12 yellowtail. Steady action all day long.

17 yellowfin 12 mahi 36 yellowtail. An angry ocean made finding kelps a bit interesting but we were able string a few together. Encouraging sign starting to show up in our zone. A flyline setup with 25-40lb is what we recommend.

Had another great day of grinding away at Yellowtail and Wahoo. The Wahoo are still around, they are now on live bait better than the trolling jigs and casting lures. There was also a nice shot on quality Yellowtail in the dark, so you may be going to bed late or waking up early if you are on an upcoming trip! Working up tomorrow, Team Supreme

Tom Rothery docked his Polaris Supreme September 28 following the 10th annual Jeffery Hall charter. He tied up at Fisherman's Landing and weighed the top fish from the five-day trip with 22 anglers. Dick Langlois of Rancho Cucamonga won first place for a 69-pound tuna from Guadalupe Island. He said the fish bit on a sardine and a 4/0 Mustad hook. He used 50-pound Ande line, a TLD 20 reel and a Calstar 765 L rod. "I got him in 15 minutes," said Dick setting up for the punch line. "It was 90 percent skill." Dick's son Tom Langlois of Rancho Cucamonga was second, for a 57-pound tuna, and Kalob Hall of Victorville won third place, for a 45-pound yellowfin tuna.