st simons Fishing Report 2025

This season has been full of extreme conditions. Our weather has been either flat grease calm with air temps pushing triple digits or victory at sea borderline dangerous. Our fishing has been either crazy wide open or scary slow. Today’s trip had a little of everything. Strong South wind in the morning followed by calm seas in the afternoon. Empty kelp patties in the morning followed by crazy wide open bonito smash. We never found a wide open dorado kelp but managed to scratch 27 along with 8 yellowfin tuna and a handful of yellowtail and skipjack.

Capt Ryan Bostain from the San Diego 3/4 day trip called in with a trip report from todays trip. They decided to head west from the Coronado Islands in search of some offshore fish, with the report of the tuna racing up the coast. We started they day with a stop on some really nice grade Bonito from 5 to 10 pounds and left them biting after we had 55 on the deck. We some mixed schools of Yellowfin and Bluefin and ended the day with 20 Bluefin and 36 Yellowfin that were all between 10 and 35 pounds. We had mostly beginner anglers on the boat today, very few had ever fished offshore before. We will be heading back out there tomorrow and until they go away. You will need a 20 pound bait rods, today they we biting 20-40-50-60 and even 80 pound line. If you come out with us the perfect setup will be a live bait from 20-40 pound set up, some size 2 and 2/0 hooks for either the Anchovies or Sardines. Come on down and get in on the action.

Captain Ryan Bostian called in with an update from “The San Diego” out of Seaforth Sportfishing. Today Cameron is running the boat. The big Bluefin have been missing for awhile but they have been found. We have one 119 pound Bluefin Tuna with 2 hanging. We are still fishing Yellowtail but we need to be prepared for the Bluefin.

For the Yellowtail we recommend 25 pound live bait rod.

For big Bluefin 50 or 60 pound bait rod. Use a 2o circle hook and if they are deep try a rubber band and a sinker to get it down. Also a Shimano flat fall has been working. Fish a Talica 12 or 16. Fill the reel up with spectra 65# or 80#. Then connect to a short 80 fluroucarborn leader.

We run every day but please be ready for fish anywhere from 5 pounds to 150 pounds. CURRENT SCHEDULE We are online and have open party trips everyday this week. This photo is from the about 2 weeks ago. Ryan will update us with current photos from today later this afternoon.

Monday, November 21st, 2011

Hi friends. Final day here at Isla de Guadalupe on our Great White shark diving/research trip was a fantastic day. We had two sharks around the boat for most of the morning and sign of that Yellowfin tuna once again. Only a handful of people got in the cages today as today we were on one mission; get tissue samples for Omar and Cesar. After trying to get a good sample from one from the Supreme we knew what we had to do. Put Omar, Cesar, and Chugey in the skiff. After having several good looks at the animal, she was just too far out of reach on every pass. But the last pass, it was go time. All or nothing. Chugey cocked the dart back and got her. A beautiful display of aim and strength and wouldn't you know it, we got the sample. After two days of patience, Omar and Cesar were rewarded for their perseverance and it paid off. They now are all smiles, ear to ear. In the name of science; booyah.

Today was also a day for a little crew cage-time as well. Drew H. and Drew C. got a couple looks at one and it was time for the birthday boy, Chef David Schooler, to get his turn. The picture of Schooler in a full wet-suit was enough for most of us to call it an awesome day but after only about five minutes in the cage, Schooler got out for, as he said "fear of not living to see another birthday". Well, I figured I'd go join Scootch in the cage as he filmed the action and I'd like to spend a couple minutes talking about my experience.

First off, that was the coolest thing I have ever done in my life. The next coolest thing isn't even close. Petting Grey Whales in the San Ignacio Lagoon was a unique experience but that was nothing in comparison to being underwater and being a fingertip away from touching one of the deadliest creatures on the planet. Scootch, myself, and galley assistant Jamie, had probably one of the best shows in the cage in the three days down here and it's one we won't soon forget. Looking this creature in the eyes will humble any person and Shark Week on an HDTV does the Great White shark no justice. at all. I found myself having to put down the camera for a few occasions as trying to get a good shot was taking away too much from just admiring the presence of this majestic creature. Aside from being inches from this beast, on the next pass, we got to witness Chugey lunge the dart into the shark from the skiff as we were underwater. Game over. Sample acquired. After the sample, all we saw was a white flash as the best propelled itself from our viewing and we propelled ourselves out of the cage and the chores of closing up shop began to prepare for the ride back to Ensenada. I'm sure we'll have an accumulation of all of our photos and underwater footage from Scootch on our website and our Facebook page in the next few days. Be sure to take a peak. All in all, it was the experience of a lifetime. Everyone on-board, especially the crew of the Supreme would like to issue a major thanks to Tom and Honey Pfleger, Chugey, Scootch, Cowboy, and everyone at PIER for allowing us to be apart of this adventure. Hopefully, it won't be our last.

So that is all. Our crossing from the island to Ensenada is a tad windy but we're aren't rolling around too much so we're happy with our ride at the moment. We're scheduled to arrive to Ensenada tomorrow morning and our ETA back to San Diego is sometime tomorrow in the early evening. We'll be tying up the Supreme for Thanksgiving and we'll return to fishing for our 12-day departing on the 29th of November. We have a few spots still available so if you're interested in being apart of the big tuna chase, give Susan a call at 619-390-7890. Speaking of Susan, tomorrow (the 22nd) is her birthday and we all would like to wish her a very happy birthday and thanks for being the glue to our operation. Happy Birthday, Susan! Good night everyone and we'll chat with you on the 29th.

-Team Supreme-

Sunday, November 20th, 2011

Hi friends and happy Sunday y'all. Day two of our Guadalupe Island Great White shark adventure started off the same as it did yesterday. A couple of viewings for the folks in the cages and a decent sign of that 60-100 lb. class tuna swimming but it wasn't as consistent as it was yesterday, atleast on the tuna end of things. We had sporadic shark viewing today with the majority of our views being of the "smaller" sharks. A while after lunch, "Large Marge" showed up and boy, did our viewers get the thrill of their lives. Up close and very personal cage-time as this creature really put on a good show for our party of three inside the cage. Even seeing her from the boat, it was a sight that we all won't soon forget. Aside from that, our next best viewing went to Polaris Supreme crewmen, Jed and Ensenada scientist, Omar. After hanging out in the cage for a while and without seeing a shark for a couple of hours, patience paid off and they were both treated to a nice showing on about a 15 foot shark. Most everyone had the opportunity to get a nice viewing and we're looking to finish up tomorrow with a banner day. Our weather today was much better than yesterday's wind, cloud-cover, and light rain showers that would most definitely wash off our bronze. Today, we had premium bronzing for most of the day and great visibility for our divers. Let's hope for a repeat manana. We'll chat with you tomorrow evening and wish us luck.

***2015 hours update***

At the conclusion of Chef Schooler's delicious seared Ahi dinner, the battle ensued. A singing battle between classically-trained Riley McGuire versus relief crewmember, co-owner of the M/V Pacific Queen, and my roommate, Drew Card. Early on, It looked like a sure runaway for Riley but with a some expert coaching from Drew Henderson and myself, Drew rocked a lovely rendition of Neil Diamond's classic "Sweet Caroline". After a vote, it was decided that both Riley and Drew would ultimately have to share victory as no winner could be decided upon. If I personally had to pick a winner it would be Riley on every level except for two; singing most out of key and crowd participation (you just can't help belting out the words to the chorus of "Sweet Caroline"). Those two victories definitely went to Drew. A little post-dinner fun lasted for only a few minutes as rain squalls bombed through and the wind began to howl. It only lasted about an hour or so and we're now sitting comfortably as we get rested up for our final day tomorrow. So that is all. Just thought it would be fun to send out a little bit of an entertainment report to hopefully, well, entertain you. Reports aren't always about fishing and bronzing conditions. We'll chat with you tomorrow. Good night.

-Team Supreme-

Saturday, November 19th, 2011

Hi friends and good evening from Guadalupe Island. We cleared Ensenada customs at 0100 on Friday morning and traveled all throughout the day to arrive to the island last night at around 2200. We got our bearings straight this morning and got the cage in the water around mid-morning. While eating breakfast and awaiting the cage briefings, we had a friendly juvenile shark swimming right next to the boat for an hour or so. When we got our divers in the water, it wasn't long before this little guy was giving our divers a nice little opportunity for some up-close and personal views. While in the cages, our divers saw Yellowfin tuna in the 50-100 lb. range all throughout the day, which made for some excitement from us fishermen and fisherwomen on-board. Although the "smaller" shark was a sight to see, we had been hearing rumor of a giant female lurking around these parts. In the afternoon time, we saw her, Large Marge. Not necessarily the longest shark seen but my goodness, she is one of the girthiest sharks our scientists have ever seen. In all honesty, this beauty of a shark is as wide as a school bus. Only a few of the divers were able to see her from the cages but the folks who viewed her from the boat were in shock by the size of this animal. Hopefully, everyone gets to witness this behemoth from the cage.

With our shark viewing and tuna viewing all day, we're hunkered down in the cove and the guys and gals are enjoying some Prime Rib before they hit the racks. It was a successful first day of "getting our feet wet" and tomorrow, we're hoping for a full-day of sharks and tuna and hopefully some time for a little research for our PIER guys and our scientists from Ensenada, Omar and Cesar. Omar and Cesar are hoping for some tissue samples so we'll hopefully make their wish come true. The female we saw today has plenty of tissue to give and hopefully, they can get a sample from her and not the other way around. We'll report with you tomorrow.

-Team Supreme-

The Apollo had another successful overnight trip up the coast. They had limits of rockfish. The weather is great and they will be fishing the island tomorrow.

Captain Mike Pritchard checked in with an audio update from the Tribute out of Seaforth Sportfishing in Mission Bay.  We have been drifting for 5 hours now.  We have 16 Bluefin Tuna in the 60 to 80 pound class.

The Tribute is online at Seaforth by the seashore.

16 good grade bluefin tuna. We swung and missed at the yellowfin. Our bluefin were very challenging to hook. Please bring a 20 lb rod and a 30 lb rod

~~Aug 29
 Today was mostly a travel day for us as was planned. We did stop late after 4:00 in the evening for some yellowtail. It took a bit of looking around but we eventually found some action. It wasn't exactly what we were looking for but it kept us busy for a while. 8-15 pound yellowtail is what we caught. We released most of what we caught but we tagged some of the 14 pounders we were getting. The fish bit until we left it to try and find a better grade. We never did but we didn't have much time left to look. The weather was definitely on the choppy/windy side of things today but it didn't bother us because we were rolling down with it so we didn't notice. We'll make a move tonight and fish first thing tomorrow targeting D, all of the above. See you then.