According to Temo Verboonen, skipper of the Secuestro De Amor, very few boats fished the area over the past 14 days but those that did landed sailfish and dorado.  He reported a continued run-off from the rains and river overflows that is allowing for a stockpile of bait throughout the area.  The inshore roosterfish bite has picked up steam and there are good opportunities to target the bigger roosters.

IZ Climate:  Mostly cloudy with temps from 72 nights to 90 daytime highs, humid.

Sea Conditions:  Temps from 83 inshore to 85 offshore, more debris in the water from the runoffs and good clarity and calm waters.

Bait Supply:  Very good supply.

 

Excel returned August 28 to Fisherman's Landing after a five-day Haj Shimada Open.  The boat's 30 anglers fished Benitos Island and offshore.

"It's the same old story," skipper Justin Fleck said. "Good yellowtail fishing and the weather was awesome.  The water's warm right now, with a lot of dorado."

Lyle Foster of Lake Isabella was first place for a 24.6-pound yellowtail.  Lyle fly-lined a sardine on a 2/0 Owner Gorilla hook, 40-pound Izorline, a 4/0 Penn reel and a Calstar rod.

"It was a good trip," said Lyle. "There were a lot of new guys on the trip, that's probably why I won!"

Keith Elmer of Newhall was second for a 23.2-pound yellowtail and Gerald Fukui was third for a 21.4-pound yellowtail.

 

The Larry Fancher charter returned August 28 under Shogun skipper Bruce Smith's helm.  Smith docked at Point Loma Sportfishing, as Fisherman's Landing was fully occupied.  The four-day charter visited Benitos Islands and then tried offshore for dorado and tuna.

"We had a good variety of fishing," Chartermaster Larry Fancher said. "Good conditions the whole trip.  We did a jackpot each day, with money and trophies.  We like to make some fun out of it."

Brothers Tristan, 20, and Brendan Friend, 16, both of Huntington Beach, posed with their best yellowtail caught.  "This is my personal best," Tristan said.

"Open water fishing wasn't bad," Jan Silverstein of Las Vegas said. "We caught a lot of fish, and we threw a lot back."

 

Royal Star skipper Brian Sims returned to Fisherman's Landing after a 5-day Mitch Otera charter August 28.

"We had premium grade fishing," said Sims. "This group is a great bunch of guys, they busted their butts. We had a great night bite at Benitos."

Chartermaster Mitch Otera won first place in the jackpot with a 47.2-pound yellowtail.  Mitch fished a small Spanish mackerel on a dropper loop with a 9/0 Mustad hook, 100-pound Izorline, a Shimano 50 LTD reel and a Seeker rod.

Dennis Dowden of Vista was second for a 40.2-pound yellowtail that "fought like a brute."

Palos Verdes native Mike Russel took third for a 38.6-pound yellowtail.

"I caught him on a Salas 6X green and yellow iron," said Russel. "So he fought pretty good."

"Third place was highly contested," Sims added. "We had a lot of quality yellowtail."

 

American Angler returned from a five-day limited load Chasin' Tuna charter to Point Loma Sportfishing August 28.  Owner skipper Sam Patella produced the first tuna to surpass the century mark in weight this year. "We got lucky," he said.

"It was a 45-minute battle on the bow," Mark Schneekluth said after learning his Guadalupe yellowfin weighed 140.6-pounds. "It was a total blast, and it was totally exhausting.  My arms still shake.  The crew did a great job maneuvering around the anchor, back and forth."

Mark landed his big tuna after he flylined a squid on a 6/0 hook, 80-pound line, a Trinidad reel and a six-foot Calstar rod.

 

Owner skipper Tommy Rothery docked his Polaris Supreme August 28 after a five-day Bob Vance charter.  The boat's 24 passengers saw a great night-bite at Cedros Island.

"We had great fishing at the islands," reported Rothery at Fisherman's Landing.  "Good quality yellowtail throughout, and we found some nice yellowfin up to 40-pounds."

Steve Pistone of West Hills won first place with a 49.4-pound Benitos yellowtail.  Steve fished a ‘dine on a 4/0 Owner Gorilla hook, 30-pound Ande line, a Pro Gear Albacore Special reel and a custom jig stick rod.

"I was amazed," Pistone admitted. "I never would have thought he was going to be that big.  It was only a 10-minute fight, not long at all. My daughter probably would have got jackpot at Guadalupe, but the shark took a chunk out of her tuna."

Chris Mohs of Ventura was second for a 40.4-pound yellowfin, and Kub Ito of Harbor City took third for a 38-pound yellowfin.

The Supreme will be heading out on a nine-day charter today, said Rothery.

 

Very slow on the anglers this week in conjunction with a couple of port weather closure days took its toll on the fish report for the Aries Fleet this week.  Still, there were some good dorado catches made, with fish up to 50 lbs., and with a number of boats reporting dorado limit fishing.  The offshore billfish action slowed a bit, with only 50% of the boats reflecting a landed billfish.  Overall fish counts for the 10 reported offshore fishing days reflected 5 sailfish released and mostly limits of dorado  and 32 dorado and 6 red snapper for the 5 inshore fishing days with the super pangas.