smith river montana Fishing Report 2025

Today we scoured the zone we had been seeing our tuna and today they were nowhere to be found. Hoping they show themselves again tomorrow. 16 yellowtail 3 dorado 59 bonito 1 skipjack.

We have only 5 spots remaining on our June 1-6, 5.5 day trip! This trip is limited to only 18 passengers and is filling quickly!! Trip departs at 6pm May 31st, and returns 6am on June 6th. We will be fishing Cedros and Benitos targeting Yellowtail and calico bass. As well as fishing offshore for those early season bigger bluefin tuna! Ticket cost is $1300 per person. Contact Jodie at 858-220-1593 or [email protected]

Steady stop and go action with an end of the day finale. Our 30 anglers managed limits of bluefin and 12 yellowfin.

Our PM Half Day saw excellent Calico Bass fishing, highlighted by a big Black Seabass trying to eat one of our hooked bass. We ended up spending just an hour and half on the anchor for over 30 bass released. We spent the rest of the trip looking for Yellowtail, but not finding the ideal conditions. 

~~Sep 13
 Thank goodness for slow speed.  Even though we got a really good jump yesterday, we weren't going to be getting anywhere down below till late tomorrow.  Our speed was horrible.  1.5 knots below average.  But we sped up this morning.  Yup.  This morning we were only making .75 knots below average.  That all costs a whole lot of time when you're traveling great distances so we decided we'd have to be stopping short.  So that's what we did this afternoon, arriving at 4:30.

 Wow!  It didn't take long before everyone had a tuna on.  And they weren't those 8-14 pounders either.  There were some of those, but the majority of them were those 20-30 pounders.  I say again, "wow".  It bit steady the whole time we which is a couple of hours.  During the stop, I had tied a few hooks and cast a few baits out, you know , like we do, and quite a few times the hook would fall off and I would scratch my head and ask myself, " are my knots failing"?  They weren't.  It took crew member Justin to spot a wahoo flying out of the water to figure it out.

 So we wound them in and threw back the marauders.  Before dark, which wasn't long, we had a little binger for 5 and then one for 1 50 pounder.  Say it with me now.  "Wow"!  We aren't going anywhere tonight.  We'l just kick back and see what the day has to offer.

 My buddy Glen caught the 50 pound wahoo today.  Every year for a while now he has been the last member of the little troll team that I like to call, " the troll of shame"  That's the last few people on board who have not yet caught a wahoo.  He will not be joining that team this year.  Nope.  This year he can join the heckling party.  He get's to see what it's like from the other side.  Way to go Glen.
       

 

One stop shop. 111 yellowfin 146 skipjack 54 yellowtail 15 dorado.

 We are implementing a new satellite buoy tracking system to better assist us with re finding productive kelp patties and other floating debris that may hold fish! 

Check it out:

https://www.facebook.com/longrangefishing/videos/2239378316087165/

We spent our last day looking at school after school of albacore. A very good sign of no biting fish. Frustrating? Yes. Oh well. That's just how it goes sometimes. A very good trip in all. Thanks to everyone on board and to the charter master Wayne Martin with Catchy Tackle lures. We'll be rolling back out tomorrow on another 5 day trip. Stay tuned.