star ledger Fishing Report 2025

Capt Mike Pritchard called in last night from the Tribute last night with an update, they were on day 2 of a 4.5 day trip. They arrived Colonet around 10 am, very good Yellowtail fishing from 18 - 28 lbs. We did have a lot of casualties and ended the day with 53 Yellowtail and probably lost just as many. The Yoyo fishing was the most fun, but we had a hard time getting them off the bottom with 50 lb rigs. So far today we have 25 Yellowtail, as the weather gets nicer we are going to head offshore. We will check back in again later.

47 yellowtail 29 bonito 6 calico bass. A couple of good shots today. Surface iron fishing is a technique that should be attempted once you are completely comfortable with your gear. I believe that you will enjoy fishing a lot more if you become very good at bait fishing first. Flylined sardines were the most productive today.

Today we caught 2 yellowfin tuna and did not like what we saw offshore. We are going back to the islands starting tomorrow. Bring a 25 or 30 lb flyline setup and a 40 or 50 lb yoyo setup. Passports required !

Spent most of our day in search mode after spending 2 days on the beach. Late in the day the group effort was rewarded. We ended with 55 yellowfin (15-35 lbs) and 75 small yellowtail for 36 anglers. Some nice schools of bluefin were also seen in the same area. A 20,30 and 40 lb rod will be perfect.

65 yellowfin tuna (15-25 lbs) 129 purple skipjack aku tuna.  The skilled bait fisherman with a 20 lb setup and #2 hook was hooked up all day today.

Longtime charter company Burgesons Heating and Air experienced a good stop on 18-30 lb yellowfin as well as good Skipjack fishing. Back to open party fishing tomorrow. Please bring a 20 lb rod and a 40 lb rod.

"Today we went offshore you know we have some political stuff going on at the Coronado Islands," said Ryan Bostian captain of the San Diego. "So we are fishing offshore for the time being. It looks like our timing was pretty darn good. Today we went out there and caught 15 Bluefin tuna and 13 Yellowtail. It's nice to be able to go out there on a 5:30 to 5:00 trip and catch exotics like Bluefin tuna. We had one really good shot at them. They were boiling on the corner.

"Most of our group today were beginner fishermen. If you are looking to join us for some offshore fishing our next Open Party trip is next Thursday. This Thursday we will be fishing Open Party, we will be on out offshore schedule. That means a 5:30 to 7:00 trip. The ticket price is $115 which includes your Mexican fishing license. We saw a good sign of Bluefin tuna. It seemed like every kelp paddy had a few Yellowtail on it, but we're mainly fishing the Bluefin out there. Some schools bite, some do not, but there are certainly plenty of them out there. If you'd like to join us please make reservations at 619-224-3383."

"We released over 200 fish in our four days at the Rocks," said Polaris Supreme owner-skipper Tom Rothery September 6, after his nine-day trip with 20 anglers. "They were yellowtail and yellowfin tuna."
Rothery's anglers had just over half-limits of wahoo and near-limits of tuna, the best score so far this young fall season. Wayne Campbell of Huntington Beach managed a quick limit of 15, he said, on bait and 58-pound single-strand wire leaders.
Chuck Eiser of Rancho Mirage won the jackpot for a 106.8-pound yellowfin that chowed down a squid under the kite, using one of the boat's kite rigs.
Brent Hough of Palm Springs used a sardine and 50-pound line to take a 91.4-pounder and Simon Housman of Palm Springs nabbed a 74-pounder in just 15 minutes on a sardine and 30-pound line.