driftless angler Fishing Report 2025

First things first !! I think a hearty Sportfishingreport.com congratulations are in order for J.J Gerritsen and the crew of the Apollo for their clean #1 sweep in annual SFR fishcount standings for 2006. Yellowfin Tuna # 1!!!!!!!!!!!, Albacore Tuna # 1!!!!!!!, Dorado #1 !!!! Very impressive numbers indeed !!!! Way to go guys, awesome year !!!!So when good friend and Santa Barbara local Doug Browand called and said a bunch of local firefighters and friends had chartered the #1 boat in the land for a little Island Freelance trip, I was packing my gear and clearing my schedule in a hurry. We loaded up on time and headed out of Sea Landing in Santa Barbara straight to Santa Rosa Island in case the squid and WSB wanted to show. J.J promised us some outrageous rockfish and lingcod action if the seabass were still MIA. We gave it a solid effort but with no signs of squid or WSB we motored up and headed out to some of Captain J.J's secret rocks and reefs. The first drift of the day produced monster reds and chuckles that rival some of the nicest and biggest rockfish I've seen and caught in many years. The Channel Islands Rockfishing is on Fire !!!!!! Throw a bunch of nice legal lings into the mix and you're talking a really fine day of fishing and a great time for all. The fishing at the Islands is only going to get better and J.J and the boys on the Apollo will be there fishing for them everyday. Check their website for their open party schedule and don't forget about the upcoming SFR charter on the Apollo.

Saturday, July 28th, 2012

Good evening, friends. We departed on an open party 5-day trip today with a healthy load of people and a healthy load of bait. Our weather traveling down is quite nice and we're looking like the weather is going to clean up for the next few days, so we're pumped. As far as the fishing outlook, one boat in the area today did equally phenomenal on bluefin and yellowfin. Straight up.We'll be in the area tomorrow and we'll chat you up tomorrow on our day.

Getting back to yesterday, we'd like to thank Paul Hess and his crew that tagged along with him this year. If I recall, this was Paul's 12th annual trip and we look forward to seeing him, his son, Matt, and the rest of the gang that comes back year after year (thanks for bailing, Boomhower. More bluefin and yellowfin for us.) Anyhow, It's a fantastic trip, one of my favorites every year, and we'll see y'all next year.

So that's all. We'll chat with you tomorrow.

Captain Ryan Bostian called in last night with an update from the San Diego out of Seaforth Sportfishing. The water temps are still hot. We have 72 to 77 degree water. Today we had 47 anglers catch 131 Yellowfin Tuna. It is hight risk fishing. On good stop makes the difference. Be sure to prepared for Anchovy and Sardine fishing. Come on down and go fishing with us this fall.

After another slow day offshore. We have decided to make Monday and Tuesday an island trip. We will be targeting yellowtail, kelp bass, barracuda and we even heard of a bluefin sighting today. Summer island tackle consists of a 25 lb bait rod, a 40 lb yo-yo rod, your favorite jig stick and your favorite kelp bass rod. Passports are required. Reservations are light but both trips are a definite go.

Capt Ryan Bostain checked in from the San Diego the 3/4 day boat as they have had some of the best Yellowtail fishing we have seen in years at the Coronado Islands. But things have changed anf the water temperature has dropped and the Yellowtail have really slowed down. Yesterday we had 33 Yellowtail and around 20 Yellowtail today. So we are going to shift gears and start fishing offshore in Mexican waters outside the 12 mile area, so you will not need passports to fish. We will be in search of Tuna, Yellowtail and Dorado which are in our range. Make sure to bring your standard offshore gear from 20 to 50 lb rigs, we will check back in again tomorrow and let you know how things go.

Today’s charter group had a great time catching 5 yellowtail, 30 calico bass and plenty of shallow water bottomfish. However, 5 yellowtail is not going to pay the bills for an open party run. Tomorrow and Tuesday we will be fishing offshore targeting Tuna, yellowtail and mahi mahi. Come prepared with a variety of line sizes from 20-60 lb. might want to bring a popper or a colt sniper rod as well. No Passports required.

July 27
Well hello all.  We departed today on a 5 day trip with many regulars on board and so far a good load of bait which is key to starting off a successful trip.  As I'm writing this I still don't know where we're going tomorrow. On the one hand I'm listening to the boats on the radios and hearing them finding schools of bluefin in the 15-30 pound range that aren't biting well, and on the other hand there is a whole lotta 50-70 pound bluefin that are unaccounted for.  2 weeks ago it was everywhere and then it vanished.  It's somewhere out here and we want to find it.  I'll make the decision at dark whether to stop short for the local bluefin or keep her rolling down in search of the bigger grade BF.  Tune in tomorrow to find out where we end up.  I'll be curious myself.  For now that dinner bells getting close to ringing and we're looking forward to that prime rib.
Drew and the Supreme team.

Well we had good fishing on albacore until about 10am and then headed off to Guadalupe. We traveled in beautiful weather and had a great Mexican fiesta lunch of carne asada, rice, beans, and all the toppings you can imagine. For dinner Pedro served fresh albacore with a curry cilantro sauce, and fresh veggies on the grill. Really tasty.
The guys have been resting up and getting their gear ready for tomorrow. We will be fishing Guadalupe for big yellowfin tuna by daybreak. Wish us luck!