skykomish Fishing Report 2025

Nov. 16

                I'm pretty sure there are no yellowtail on this side of the Island.  If there were, we would have seen them.  This place was very lively this morning.  Pretty much, everywhere we looked, there was good bait and bird sign.  I'm sure if there were any yellows around they would have made a showing.  We stayed in the best area for hours, drifting for groupers and halibut and what ever else would bite our lines hoping to see those yellows pop up but they never did.  They weren't around here.  Unfortunately, we couldn't look anywhere else because the weather was no good.  It was fine where we were.  A strong wind but the swell was blocked by the Island.

 

                So we're just sitting here now waiting for the wind to back off above here.  We're messing around catching bass.  The wind pretty much went away in the lee here.  Hopefully that's a sign things are backing off up above here.  We should be on our way home around midnight.  Our weather program shows very tolerable weather then.

                                                                               

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-

Had a great morning bite this morning! We did so well that we decided to take a scenic tour of the island to give the people a look. Tomorrow we may try for tuna but we will also try to mix it up with some yellowtail!

Hello Everyone, We had a great day of fishing today. We were able to slide on a nice Bluefin Tuna Breezer and pick from noon till dark. The Tuna were all 30-35lb average, great size fish. We are hoping for similar fishing tomorrow. Will report again tomorrow, Team Supreme

Monday, August 1st, 2011

Hi friends and happy August to all of you. Our ride last night was a little bit sloppy and we made horrible speed but we checked out a couple of coastal spots anyways. They were dry but we gave it a look and the call was made to break down the gear for the final clean-up. Throughout the day, our ride progressively changed for the better but as of 1900 hours this evening, we're bouncing around a little bit. Nonetheless, the gang are downstairs enjoying their final meal aboard the 2011 Tom Chaparro/Stern Hogs five day trip. We're still making less than normal speed and we'll hopefully make up some speed up the line so that we arrive to Fisherman's Landing on-time tomorrow morning at 0700 hours.

For this evening's report, we'd like to shine the spotlight on Tom Chaparro. As I said last night, this year was his fourteenth year chartering the Polaris Supreme and for the last five years that I've been involved with the Supreme, I feel that I can sum up Tom pretty well and it's pretty simple - Tom Chaparro is the man. Not only being an outstanding fisherman, Tom makes sure that everyone on-board his trip has a great time and does it the right way, the Polaris Supreme way and nobody knows that way better than Tom. It's just Tom's vibe that makes his trip special. Yes, he wants to catch fish more than anybody on the vessel but he still wants people to do things the right way and have an outstanding time. Tom makes you feel like you've been riding his charter since day one, he gives you the respect that he wants back in return and in this day, that is hard to find in some people. Most of Tom's charters are familiar faces year in and year out, and that is a tell-tale sign of Tom's desire for fishing and his desire to make sure that everyone on-board is happy. I could go on for paragraphs about Tom but all I can say is come find out for yourself. His sister Mary is one of the sweetest people you could meet and we were sorry that Tom's son, Thomas, couldn't make it this year. Get well man and we'll see you next year.

So that's all. It's dinner time and like I said, we're trying for a 0700 ETA. Tomorrow, the gang will be departing on the Prigmore four day adventure so look for Tommy's reports to continue tomorrow evening. Take care.

-Team Supreme-

Sunday, July 31st, 2011

Hi friends. We completed our tour of Yellowtail Land this evening the same way that we started this morning by landing a couple of lunkers in the 30 lb. range. Our time in the middle of our day was spent chasing breezers and color spots of Yellowtail with decent success and the size of these fish wasn't bad either with most being in the 15-18 lb. class. We would occasionally hook them on the surface jig's and yo-yo iron's but it was mostly a bait fishery. Fly-lined sardines on 30 lb. test was working with great success and our two days down here at the Yellowtail Grounds was a fine stay once again. Our weather today was awesome with the exception of a little afternoon breeze and the weather we're currently in now as I type this report. We're rockin' and rollin' up the line and depending on our speed, we'll see if we can get a couple hours of coastal fishing time in tomorrow. We'll see.

After Chef Schooler kicked out a Yellowtail dinner with his Polaris Supreme famous lemon-butter-caper sauce, charter-master Tom Chaparro extended his gratitude for 14 years of quality service by teaming up with Herb Yamanaka and presenting the crew with some of Herb's handmade exotic mahogany bowls/pepper grinders and University of Oregon merchandise. We say thank you to Tom and also a big thanks goes out to Herb. Herb normally fishes on Lon Mikkelsen's Ocean Tackle Research ten day trip in the fall but decided to hop on with Mr. Chaparro and his exceptional group. Herb took countless hours of footage on last year's ten day and made an awesome video from last year's OTR trip that is currently on our website and Herb is flat-out one of the nicest guys you will ever meet and we issue many thanks to him. He also tells Donna that he loves you and go Ducks.

Also, Joe Gigliotti, who has been riding with Tom since the beginning of his charter, has an Accurate sponsored 8-day trip leaving October 15th returning October 23rd, limited to 20 anglers, and he's informed me that there are some openings on it. This time slot is prime time Alijos Rocks and Ridge fishing for tuna and wahoo and Joe will have plenty of goodies to hand out as well. Joe is a super cool cat and if you'd like to come join up with him and Accurate, give Susan a call at 619-390-7890 and let's get in on some limited load, early Fall action at it's finest.

So that is all. As I've said before, our weather isn't ideal but we're doing just fine and not rollin' around too much. We'll hopefully get in some fishing time tomorrow and we'll check in with you tomorrow as well. Wish us luck and have a great start to the work week.

-Team Supreme-

Saturday, July 30th, 2011

Hey folks. Yellowtail fishing was limits today on The Polaris Supreme. We a steller start in the morning a lull to allow everyone a chance to get rested Then back at it in the afternoon. There wasn't a whole lot of times during the day that we weren't pulling on 'tails. Our grade of fish is still very nice with a few 40 pounders to round out our day in style. We caught them using all of the methods that we employ while fishing for Yellowtail and we're hoping for a repeat tomorrow, at the least. We're hanging out in the "premium zone" where we'll hope for a some big ones in the morning. That is our plan for now, Chappy and the gang are having a simply splendid time, and Garth Kubeldis is currently in the lead for the Lizard-fish jackpot (woo-hoo). We're enjoying the goregous weather and we'll be giving it a go bright and early tomorrow morning. Wish us luck and we'll chat with y'all tomorrow.

-Team Supreme-

Friday, July 29th, 2011

Hi friends. Windy offshore conditions made for a tough day but we managed to piece together a couple stops for Bluefin, Yellowfin, Yellowtail, and a couple handful's of Dorado as well. With the kelp paddy scene starting to take shape, we're excited about future ventures down this way. Throughout the day, we continued our southerly trek down to the Yellowtail grounds and we'll be fishing before the sun even rises. As a matter of fact, as of 0458 this morning, Chappy has already boated two 'tails on the dropper loop. We're off to a good start. Wish us luck and happy Friday.

-Team Supreme-

P.S. To Donna - Herb says he loves and misses you and I say - Hello Donna. The Oak floors are going to look marvelous, keep up the good work! Take care.

Thursday, July 28th, 2011

Good evening friends. We arrived at 0700 this morning to unload the Costello group and their catch of beautiful Yellowtail, Bluefin, Yellowfin, Calico Bass, Vermilion Rockfish, Lingcod, and the token White Seabass. Once our turn-around chores were completed, we brought aboard Tom and Mary Chaparro for their annual Stern Hogs five day limited load charter. They've brought along quite a few familiar faces with them, except they forgot "Little Chappy", but we're looking forward to catching up with the crew on-board and catching fish. Our bait is looking OK and we'll be monitoring the situation overnight to ensure that we have healthy bait. When all of the loading, eating, rigging, napping, and seminars were complete, the gang feasted on Prime Rib and hit the racks to prepare for the activities we have planned for them tomorrow.

For tomorrow, we'll be giving the offshore scene a try with the hopes of locating some Yellowfin and Bluefin. If a kelp paddy happens to pop up, we'll try those too as there has been some kelps kicking out some nice Yellowtail. So that is our plan, the weather is quite nice, and we'll get things rolling tomorrow morning. Wish us luck.

-Team Supreme-

A pretty slow couple of days. We saw plenty of fish in tuna zone only finding one school that would react. We hit it a couple times before it scattered and we had to try and find something new. The next day we hit a couple of the shallows along the ridge. It was slow there too. We hooked a few marlin, a couple handfuls of dorado and a skin trolling around. We tried various anchor jobs for a few yellows here and there but we weren't going to get the job done there. We will be kelping tomorrow, way out far.

Captain Andrew Viola called in today at 10:33 AM with update from the Pacifica out of Seaforth Sportfishing in Mission Bay.  We returned this morning from a 1.5 day trips.  We had good action yesterday on the Bluefin Tuna.  We had a total of 45 Bluefin Tuna.  We had two Bluefin over 300 pounds (356 and 353).  We also had three Bluefin Tuna over 200 pounds.  Then we had about 12 nice fish weighing in between 80 and 180 pounds.  Late in the day we found a good school of 30 to 40 pound fish.   We had about about 25 of this nice fish.  It was good action right before the sun went down.  Good fishing and good weather.

Next few trips are overnights going for Yellowfin and Dorado.  Our next Bluefin trip departs on Monday night.

UPDATE: I just talked to Andrew and the 356 pounder is a boat record.

Capt Ryan checked in last night from the San Diego out of Seaforth Landing with a report for yesterdays trip, we went out with 36 anglers. We ended up with 35 Yellowtail, we have had a few days of weather this last week and it dropped the water temperature. We had a lot of novice anglers today who caught their first ever Yellowtail. Everything worked today from dropper loop to surface irons, we caught a few each way today. Things are looking really good right now and it is rebounding nicely, come on down and see us we are running these trips everyday.