okeechobee Fishing Report 2023

Hi friends. Our first day of the Garry Roberts 9-day adventure found us conveniently traveling right through the Bluefin/Yellowfin zone first thing this morning, so we decided to give it a try for a few hours and then we would continue on with our southerly travels. We managed to troll up a few Yellowfin and we also found a couple spots of 12-18 lb. Bluefin that bit quite well for a short time. After tagging some fish and capturing a handful for the galley guys to sashimi up, we continued on with our journey down to greater points south. A nice warm-up for the guys and a nice break in the long travel days on 9-day tripsthat usually go without even wetting a line for a couple of days. The gang appreciated it very much and were stoked with the outcome of some fresh sashimi for the next few days.

After the fishing was all said and done, we gathered everyone into the galley for our tackle seminar. Another thing fishing this morning was good for was to get a gauge on whether or not the gang remembered the fishing procedures we employ here on the Polaris Supreme. To say they passed with flying colors is an understatement but we called the troops into the galley for the seminar anyways and with one look around the tables and salon area, it was apparent that an in-depth seminar was not needed not only because all of the passengers are on this very trip year after year but because half of the anglers began taking full advantage of the seminar with a good nap. All of the passengers on-board are Polaris Supreme veterans of many years, and I mean all of the passengers. These guys know what's up so we made quick work of the seminar and began the tackle rigging, eating, watching movies, reading, various maintenance projects, and napping. Awesome traveling weather made for a relaxing, laid back day of preparation and last minute check-ups.

As for tomorrow, we'll be offshore looking at some interesting looking water temperature breaks for kelp paddies, porpoise, breezers, and any other signs of life holding Yellowfin, Wahoo, Dorado, and Yellowtail. The weather forecast looks good and we're excited about the prospects of tomorrow. Wish us luck and we'll report back to you tomorrow.

-Team Supreme-

P.S. Layni - Your Dad either can't find the package, left it in Timmy's car, left it in his truck, or just forgot to pack it. Kind of bummed. Anyhow, we just wanted to say hi that gang misses you.

We have an open charter leaving Friday May 27th from Sea Landing in Santa Barbara, fishing May 28th and 29th. Limited to 20 people and the cost is $400 and that includes all meals. Please contact Alan Kato at 562-818-6563 to sign up.

Ok guys I just got the final report from captain Brian Kiyohara. Brian has been driving the San Diego occasionally while the American Angler is shut down. Brian reported seeing 5 or 6 really nice schools of yellowtail today. Most of the schools would pop up to the surface long enough to get the binoculars on them but would vanish by the time he got the boat to them. We have seen this behavior in the past. A mid-day drift however did produce 3 bites from these 15-20 lb. fish. In the end the final talley for 24 anglers was 2 yellowtail 9 barracuda and 1 calico bass. Like I mentioned in my earlier report, these fish should bite better with the improving weather. The coastal eddy that we have had for 2 1/2 days is breaking down. Looks like a lite load tomorrow, make those resos and come on down.

Capt. Ryan

Drew Henderson docked Polaris Supreme at Fisherman's Landing August 12 after four days of fishing. His anglers had near-limits of yellowtail, mostly from Cedros Island, where he found mackerel to be superior bait, and fish biting at both ends. Drew said his anglers released some 200 fish. Henderson's posting for August 10 read: "We started our trip making the long haul down to Benitos Island due to the bad weather and bad offshore report. We got to the Island at about two thirty. We got held up with a giant school of 3 to 4 foot giant squid. I can't say it was bad there, I mean we caught a lot of fish we just had to go through lots of little ones to get the bigger ones. We gave the night bite a couple hours only getting ten fish and took off towards Cedros. "The morning was great. Everyone woke up to bent rods. After a couple hours the current slowed and the slime (barracuda) took over. We did a little scouting and found some large model yellows and had a couple of long plunking drifts. Then we took off to the northern head to gain some time for tomorrow and give it a check and found the honey hole. Mucho Fisho. All the beautiful grade, and they chewed until we all got our fill. We're traveling up tonight to do some offshore tomorrow until it's time to go home." Dave Betz of Huntington Beach won first place for a 27.6-pound yellowtail he bagged with a sardine on a 1/0 ringed Gorilla hook and 20-pound P-Line. He said he fished with his favorite Accurate 270 reel, and a Calstar six-foot rod. The fight ran to 35 minutes, he said. Forrest Broyles of Kelseyville got a 25.4-pounder. He was tied by Ken Wan of Oakland for second place.

 October 15th, 2012

Hi, friends. We woke up this morning to lovely weather and a lovely Mediterranean omelet for breakfast. Drew didn’t care for the egg dish, at all, but what Drew does care for is his new book that he recently completed in a whopping day-and-a-half, The Hunger Games. That’s right, Drew Henderson is in the club. With no military background or training, I carried out a stealth reconnaissance mission—complete with a summersault—and snapped a super stealthy photo of Drew getting in a couple chapters in the salon before we began our trolling/mast rotations (you'll see the photo on Sunday). Those books are captivating! I’ve completed the trilogy, Chef Shawn is midway through the second book, and Drew is just starting the second so within a matter of a few days, our book club meetings will be just dandy, complete with T-shirts that read "I Heart Katniss".

Anyhow, on to the fishing. Our morning saw us snag a few nice flatheads on the troll and we also managed a few on the bait/jig rigs. A little bit after lunch; we had a few wahoo strikes with our best stop producing four beautiful skins. Dale Goss to looks to be in the lead for jackpot thus far as he landed what looks to be about a fifty pounder on bait. Although the wahoo action was short-lived, the mahi-mahi action was just enough to keep us busy today and who doesn’t love the mahi-mahi action? For the most part, this area was unproductive but we had to give it a shot, as it will be our only shot fishing south of the 28 latitude this trip.

Speaking of one shot, it was a good thing I got my bronze on these last two days as it might be a little windy the remainder of the trip and I’m going to Oregon when this trip gets back in. Bottom line, I need to glow and not embarrass the reputation of a San Diego boy whom works on a long-range sport fishing vessel that charters the waters deep into Baja California Sur. I've heard that some people in the northwestern states get really depressed because they don't see the sun for months at a time. Fear not, friends of OR/WA, I'm coming up there to spread the joy of sunlight and give hope to those who desperately seek this natural wonder of the universe. It's okay, my cloudy companions, we here on the Polaris Supreme have plenty of UV rays to share and I shall deliver the gift to all of you from all of us. You're welcome.

Okay, back to the topic at hand. At around 1600 hours, we bid farewell to the wahoo zone and began to make our way up the line to not only put us in position to do some yellowtail fishing tomorrow but to also keep ahead of Hurricane Paul. Our weather currently is very nice where we are but in a matter of hours, it won’t be and we’re bailing out to make sure that we don’t stick around to prove the weatherman correct. Hurricane Paul has thrown us a slight curveball but we’re more than happy to fish for some cow yellas, mahi-mahi’s, twenty-five to fifty pound yellowfin, and twenty-five to one hundred and twenty-five pound bluefin tuna closer to home and further from a hurricane. It might be a blessing-in-disguise. We’ll see.

So that’s all. We’ll be doing some yellowtail fishing tomorrow before we decide on our next move. We’re taking things as the come and we’ll keep you informed on our whereabouts. Everything is just fine here on the boat and we’re all safe and sound. We’re just hoping that Hurricane Paul is a Chargers fan and fails after giving his all for half of his cycle. I would be very concerned if this hurricane was named Hurricane Peyton. Very concerned.

In closing, I had some time to type up the on-goings of life here on the Polaris Supreme so I took advantage of it. I’m sorry for the novel but to get a better perspective on how we roll here on the Supreme, one must get a perspective on how we live life here on the Supreme. Sometimes, it’s not all about fishing but I promise to give you a glorious fishing report tomorrow. With that, I leave you with a few shout-outs. Take care.

- Joe says hello to his lovely wife, Andy. Hi Andy. You’re the star that shines brightest in Joe’s life.

- Riddler says, and I quote, "no ‘hoo for Chaparro." Sorry Chappy.

- Dan Anderson says hello to his stunning wife, Beverly. Hi Beverly, Dan also says, "Daddy caught you a wahoo. Still working on that grouper."

- I would like to say hi to Layni and also to Herb Yamanaka. That bowl you made was sweet. I forgot who won it but they were pumped. I'm sorry I'll miss you in Oregon. Go Ducks.

-The Supreme Team

The Pacifica checked in this afternoon with an audio update from offshore.   We have limits of Yellowfin Tuna and 4 Bluefin Tuna.

We have plenty of room on our 1.5 day trip leaving Monday night and other 1.5 and overnight trips throughout the week.  We also have a full day trip Sunday at 5:30 AM.  

Bring your 20# and 15# sticks with fluorocarbon and small flat falls.

Today was better fishing. It was still a grind but we were able to get some real trophies for our last day. Pictured here we have Mic with his beautiful Yellowfin. Also we have Jim Holman and Jon Collins with their big fish of the trip! Nice Job guys!