stoddard Fishing Report 2024

1.5 ROCKCOD TRIPS!!! APOLLO'S January/February Rock Cod trips are now online and ready to be booked! Don't miss your chance to get out with JJ and the crew!!! Call FISHERMAN'S LANDING at (619)221-8500 to get your HOT spots!!!

GREAT OFFSHORE TRIP!!! APOLLO on a 2 day trip with 24 anglers, hooked 76 Dorado,72 Yellowfin, 26 Yellows, & 110 Skipjacks. Call Fisherman's Landing for their next available trips @ (619)221-8500.

~~AUG. 6
 We fished hard today.  It felt like a kind of slow day but when you look at our tally it shows we had a good day.  We just never got steady more than a couple of drifts.  We'd stop and get a handful and then have to go again.  Other than a few hour long drifts that is.  But at the end of the day, when only half the people were fishing and I had a yellowtail to give away because the angler who caught it had his limit already and nobody handed me over a tag, I knew it was a good day. 

 Things didn't start off so hot though  Nope.  I knew our bait was dying but I thought we were good for another day of fishing before it would croak.  I was wrong.  "Red Boy".  The sardines were red.  Most were either floating belly up or lying at the bottom of the tank.  We made it through though.  We worked hard and had a good day.  The yellows were nice ones too.  20-25 pounds in the morning and 14-25 pounds in the afternoon.

 The weather through here was great today.  I'm not sure we've had one day at this Island this year where the wind wasn't ripping through the south end where we've been fishing.  Now we have one and it looks like it will remain true tomorrow as well.  We saved one tank of bait from last trip.  I knew the first morning we may not have any survivors for our last day if we didn't save our one tank of good bait.  Hopefully we find something to use it on.  I know we'll be making horrific speed coming up so we won't have any time to "work" an area.  We just have to pick a course and hope for the best.  See ya.
       

Retired LA motorcycle officer Joe Beck served as chartermaster aboard the Polaris Supreme, and came back June 16 with the best yellowtail of the boat's five-day visit to Cedros/Benitos. Owner Tom Rothery skippered the trip, and docked his rig at Fisherman's Landing.

Beck got a 36-pound yellowtail with a sardine bait, and won first place. Gene Lujan of Salinas won second place for a 35.4-pound yellow, and Karen Jackson of Acton tied with Tom Mortenson of LaVerne for third place. Both had 32.6-pound yellowtail. Scott Chapman of Mira Loma caught a 41.2-pound halibut, a thick, sand-colored flatfish.

Drew Henderson docked Polaris Supreme September 22 following a six-day trip with 22 anglers that visited Cedros Island and the albacore grounds with a look for very little at Guadalupe Island on the way through. "The day started up very well for us," he wrote September 18. "It was good scratching up until just after lunch and fishing took a dump. We looked around the Island for a bit and after making a few stops for a few more fish we took off from there and are now heading west to the big Island. We have a great catch of jumbo yellowtail on board and we're hoping to get some jackpot-settling, trophy size yellowfin tomorrow. We had Portuguese style yellowtail for dinner tonight. We had it last trip for the first time and I must say it was by far the best yellowtail I have ever eaten in my life."

Oct.12

Today was a good day out here. We started our morning off with a few yellowfin strikes and at 8:30 we hit a good school of stock 25-30 pound bluefin, a few bigger and a few smaller with some yellowfin and dorado mixed in. We drifted with them for two and a half hours. For most the rest of the day we didn't drive for more then an hour before seeing something. We found a dab of 40-60 pound bluefin and landed one, we found another dab of 25-30 pounders and landed 10, we found a kelp for a handfull of yellowfin along with the occasional yf jig strike. An action packed day, just what we needed. Good weather for us today but the guys down below are complaining about rough weather. We're heading in now and Tommy Rothery is coming back out after a long land stretch and is taking the boat out for 8 days. I'm sure he's looking forward to getting out of the office and back on the water.

Many of you know Captain Ray Montera who has been involved in sportfishing most of his life. In March, his 32 year old Chris son was severely injured in a C4 blast in Afghanistan. We are holding a fundraiser on October 8th at the Bali Hai on Shelter Island. He is one of our own and we are rallying to support him.

As an Army soldier, Chris Montera was often taken aback when people would thank him for doing the job he loved. On a fateful day in March, he came to face the sacrifice. He was on a dismounted mission and was hit with explosion of C4, which literally blasted and propelled him into a grape field. He suffered major issues with blast lung and severe burns over much of his body. For 9 days he was on ECMO (lung bypass) until he was stable enough to be transported to BAMC in San Antonio for the treatment of his shrapnel wounds and third degree burns. On April 2 a fungal infection set into the wounds on his lower extremities and Chris underwent bilateral AK amputation of his legs. He was further diagnosed with an incomplete spinal cord injury in the thoracic area of the spine at VA Polytrauma Center in Palo Alto.

Through all of this, Chris remains focused and committed to rehabilitation. It is estimated that he will remain in Palo Alto for 3-6 months while he works to regain his upper body strength, which will be necessary for the next stages of rehab in the C5 program at Balboa Naval Hospital in San Diego where he will be fitted with prosthetic legs and with determination will learn to walk again. There is no doubt in our minds that Chris will recover to live an independent life. The goal of this fundraiser is to be able to assist Chris with expenses he will no doubt encounter on his journey to independence.

The event will be held at the Bali Hai Restaurant on Shelter Island On October 8th from 6:00-10:00 pm. There will be food stations serving food from many San Diego restaurants along with a no host bar. A raffle, live, and silent auction will take place during the event along with live entertainment by Mango Bay and World Famous Jim Gibson. The outpouring of support of raffle and auction donations from the sportfishing community, tackle, fishing supply manufacturers, and local businesses has been phenomenal. The evening will be great fun for all and will serve to help a young man who put it all on the line.

There are several ways you can help:
First and most important is attend the event.

Tickets are $50 in advance or $450 for a block of 10

Advance ticket purchases will include 3 raffle tickets and assorted swag

Cannot attend but would like to help, make a cash donation in any amount.

Donate an item for the raffle or auction. Anything from fishing items, art, gift certificates, clothing...anything is greatly appreciated.


We look forward to having you at the event. The sport fishing community has come together to take care of a wounded warrior of their own, and it promises to be a fun filled evening for all.

To purchase tickets for Island Nights at the Bali Hai, please visit our website at http://christophermonterasupport.com/island-nights-at-the-bali-hai

To donate items for our raffle/auction please visit our website and complete the donor form http://christophermonterasupport.com/sponsors-anddonors-supporters/donor-form

The San Diego out of Seaforth Landing in San Diego,CA checked in with us today:

30 yellowtail. Yellowtail or bust was the name of the game. Enough fish around to get a big hit just waiting on the stars to align. All techniques are producing, we recommend fishing your strength.