surf nj Fishing Report 2025

A five-day Dan Heil Annual Charter aboard Polaris Supreme with Skipper Drew Henderson, arrived August 21 at Fisherman's Landing. "It's been 20 years now, since '87," said chartermaster Ron Heil, "that I've been doing this trip. My father Dan, who passed away this last season, had been doing it since Tommy (Rothery) bought the boat back in '80 or '81." Dan Heil had been chartering with Rothery since the early eighties on the Polaris Deluxe, now the Breezers. He sailed with Rothery on the Polaris Supreme since '85. Rothery bought the boat from Bill Poole in 1987. "It was a little choppy on that first day," said Skipper Henderson. "But we had great albacore fishing. Cedros was great, we spent a half-day kelp fishing with little action, so we finished up at Benitos, and it was all the fish you could get." "We had a good trip and great timing," continued Heil, who hails from Portland, OR. "Drew did a great job, right out of the chute the first day, we were on a great albacore bite. It was a well rounded trip."
Mike Hunting of Riverside landed a 48.4-pound yellowtail at Benitos Islands, good for first place in the jackpot. Mike fished a sardine on a 5/0 Owner hook, 40-pound P-Line, an Avet HX 2-speed reel, and a Calstar rod. "We were in a shallow spot on the ridge" said Hunting, "and there were guys losing fish in the kelp. So when I got bit, I decided he wasn't gonna get to the kelp, so I buttoned down, past strike, and started cranking." Bill Byler of Covina was second for a 37.6-pound albacore and Gary De Void of Encinitas was third for a 36.4-pound albie.

The Apollo has a two day trip departing on August 27th from Fisherman's Landing. The fare is $450 and meals and permits are included. We will be targeting Tuna and Yellowtail. Contact: Steph Franklin, 7945 Camp Chaffee Road, Ventura, CA 93001; phone #805.708.5276.

Polaris Supreme update  10-4-12  14:00 hours

Hey Anglers,

Richie and the gang got out at 18:00 hours last evening and neglected to put out a report. But I can tell you I talked to him at 12:00 hours today and he was very disgruntled with only jig strikes to be had so far. I talked to him later on at 14:01 hours and he was doing back flips with over 100 bluefin in a wide open bite and they were still biting. They have great weather and I'm sure Richie will have a report for you by the end of the day or tomorrow morning when they arrive at 06:00 hours. Our next 1.5 day trip is full but we do still have openings on the 6-day departing this Sunday, October 7th.

Thanks,

Tommy

~~Aug 20
 It was a slow day out here today for us.  It was a slow day for many.  But of course it depends on who you talk to, some might say it was a great day.  It all depended on which school you found.  Just like it's been, most schools don't produce, but the few lucky ones do.  We didn't find the lucky one.  Our best school was for 20.  But no matter who you ask, it was a slow afternoon today. After lunch, we didn't find a school till after 6:00.  We're due.

 The weather today was awesome.  Again.  We're going to drift out here tonight and try it again tomorrow.  I thought about doing something different, like hunting bluefin, but it hasn't been very good and our plan B., that being San Clemente island is closed tomorrow darnit.  Plus these yellowfin we're catching are just too beautiful.  Such a nice grade.

 One more day.  We're due.  It won't take much more to get 200 of these things for the trip.  200 of these things would be nice.
        

Today was a tough day at the island. There was a lot of fish around but we had trouble getting bites. However the bites we were able to get were great grade. Most being 50-70 lbs and one standout that was well into the mid hundreds. We are going to try our hand at the variety the day after tomorrow. Hopefully Wahoo, Dorado, Grouper, and school sized tuna. Pictured here is Randy with the big tuna of the day also pictured is John in the heat of battle with his tuna.