pickwick dam Fishing Report 2023

Another great day of fishing out here. We had 160 rockfish 7 lings and 137 whitefish for 16 guys on the Endeavor.

The tenth annual George Davis trip aboard the Polaris Supreme arrived at Fisherman's Landing December 5, after spending ten days in southern waters with a super ultra-light load of seven anglers, including chartermaster Davis. There were five tuna over 200 pounds in the catch. One fish was well over 300 pounds. The big fish came in at 347.8 pounds, caught by Kevin Stokes, who is studying video making and cinematography, working on his B. A. in digital video at Mt. Sierra College in Monrovia. The giant yellowfin bit a sardine on a 6/0 Mustad 7691 hook tied to 100-pound P-Line and 130-pound Spectra on one of the boat's rigs: a Tiagra 50 reel and a Calstar 6460 XXH rod. It fought for 35 minutes. "He didn't fight too hard," said Stokes. He just laid there like a big cow. I almost lost him at the end, because his circles went all the way across the stern. They got him with four gaffs and lifted him over the rail. "My best tuna before this one was 180 pounds. It fought harder. I may have this one mounted. Next, I've got to go back to work and to school." Stokes said he does freelance work in video. Eleven-year-old Gunnar Johnston outscored the men by taking two cows; two yellowfin over 200 pounds. One of his fish weighed 217.8 pounds and won second place. The other went 209 pounds. Gunnar goes to Marinotha Christian Academy, and races motocross. His dad Craig Johnston is a construction manager in Orange County and was close by when Gunnar hooked his big cow. "I was up the rail," said Craig, "and I saw him get bent, and I shouted, ‚Дтdon't let go of that rig,' and I saw him pull back harder." Gunnar got the fish to gaff in 45 minutes, after it bit a sardine on a 6/0 Super Mutu hook on 130-pound Izorline fluorocarbon leader tied to 100-pound Momoi line and 130-pound Line One Spectra. He used an Avet 50 reel and a Calstar 6455 XXH rod. "It's my first long range trip," said Gunnar. "It's fun, hooking up and catching these big fish. Craig Johnston said his son had been on one and two-day trips before, but this was his first long range venture. "My best fish before was a 30-pound albacore or a dorado," said Gunnar. "I want to do it again." His dad felt the same way. "He was bit hard at first," said Craig, "but he did his work in the corner." Charlie Middleton of San Pablo took a 213-pounder and won third place. He said it bit a sardine on an 8/0 Gamakatsu hook tied to 100-pound Soft Steel Ultra line and 130-pound Power Pro Spectra on a Penn 80 SW reel and a five and a half-foot Ugly Stick rod. The fight lasted 20 minutes. "The best fishing was during the squalls," said Charlie. "That's when I hooked this one. He took me around the boat twice. There was a lot of 18-inch squid around."
Jim Jacobs of Murietta had never been fishing before. "I didn't know how to hold the pole," he said. Jacobs got a 202.6-pound tuna after a 40-minute scrap. It bit a sardine on an 8/0 Mustad 7691 hook, also on one of the boat's rigs. "My first trip," said Jacobs, "and my first fish."

The tuna have been popping up quickly in violent “formers”.

The angler who are able to get a quick cast into the chaos have been the most productive ones! 

The trip out now has tuna ranging in size from 30-115 lbs! 

Hopefully they start biting as good as they show.

Team Supreme

Mason and Gage with a couple of our 83 yellowfin tuna. Finesse live bait was once again the star.

Well another carbon copy of yesterday. Traveling in beautiful weather, nice and calm. Rigging gear and eating great food like Huevos Rancheros in the am and rack of lamb for dinner. Sounds like those of you that didn't stay home to watch the *_CHARGERS WIN THEIR FOOTBALL GAME_* went to the boat show in San Mateo had a good time. Dave said he had a chance to talk to a lot of new customers. We look forward to having you as well as our wonderful repeat customers on board the Polaris Supreme.

"Here it is 10:30 in the morning and we already have 16 Yellowtail on the boat," said on an enthused Captain Ryan. He went on, "They seem to be biting a little bit here today. We're having a nice stop, we just gaffed one. Fly line baits are once again the way to go. 25 lb. test is what you should use. We've been seeing these fish down here, some of them bite, some do not. We've had a good shot at them this morning. We have 16 on the boat with 30 anglers. So it's a relatively light load for what we have been carrying. We've had some loads on here the last couple of weeks. The way I look at it, it is like a restaurant. You never want to eat at a restaurant that doesn't have any people at it.

"Come on down and join us. We go out every day, 5:30 AM we depart Seaforth Sportfishing. Bring a 25 lb. live bait rod, bring a 40 lb. rod to Yo-Yo with and you will be all geared up. This fish are right in the 20 lb. class, some bigger, some smaller. Have a good day, I'll check back later with a final report."

We departed today on the Dan Heil Memorial charter with his son Ron Heil as charter head. It's pretty cool to see some of the old faces. Dan's charter has been with me for over 25 years. We were in a panic rush to get out and get to the local fishing grounds before dark. We got about three good hours of fishing and snagged a handful of yellowfin, a bluefin and a beautiful opah. Our weather is absolutely gorgeous. Thanks for checking in. Tommy and crew P.S. Two spots left on the "Let's Talk Hookup" charter departing next Tuesday.

In addition to the great Wahoo fishing last trip JJ was able to sneak a whole skipjack down below then to pull out this nice Grouper! Hell ya JJ!