Extended 1.5 day trip: Sep 20-22
Good Afternoon Anglers,
Last night up to the north west last night in search of bluefin tuna. Early in the morning we spotted a school of fish puddling on the surface.
We initially assumed it was bluefin but once we got a little closer, we were very pleasantly surprised to see it was large yellowfin tuna. Once we got on the school we had a few bites right away. We lost quite a few fish due to light line, but once we got our anglers fishing the 40 pound we started bringing them over the rail. These are big fish,Megan landed a 74 pounder! We are still on the same drift and picking away with the fly line baits and the kite.
Armando and The Searcher.
Matt got a nice one too, with Bryce and Justin on the assist, even Captain Mike got in on the action. We are still on the
Good evening anglers,
After finishing our long drift for yellowfin tuna this morning, we went on the hunt. We were seeing a lot of large “foamers” of bluefin but they would not cooperate, so we made a move. As evening approached we found the water edge we wanted to be on and found a very large school of big bluefin just beneath the surface. We hooked a big one right away, and as it got dark we put the sinker rigs and flat falls to work. The school stayed with us for a few hours, and we were able to land some very nice fish.
We had an amazing trip with a great group. We are on our way home and will be at the dock in the morning.
Armando and Team Searcher
Josh landed this 140 # bluefin on a sinker rig with a sardine
Extended 1.5 day trip: Sep 20-22
Good evening anglers,
We left this morning on an extended day and a half trip, and headed south looking for kelp paddies. Having fished the zone the day before, we had a pretty good idea of where to start looking. After traveling for most of the afternoon, we found our kelp and it was loaded with dorado and some yellowfin tuna. We had a lot of action and it was a great way to start off our trip!
We are excited to have an entire day of fishing ahead of us tomorrow and plan on being on the bluefin grounds in the morning.
Armando and the Searcher
Gary picked up a nice dorado
Trip #23: Sep 17-20 (3 day) Penn Reels
Good Afternoon Anglers,
We started our morning to the south in the dorado and yellowfin zone. The weather was a bit choppy but we did manage to locate the kelp we were looking for. Once we pulled up, dorado and yellowfin were eager to bite the fly line sardines. We picked up quite a few fish before the kelp went dry. From there we were able to find a good line of kelps that all seemed to have a little bit of fish swimming around them. We are in some beautiful warm water and our weather is steadily improving as the day goes on. Conditions are perfect for some end of summer kelp paddy fishing.
Captain Armando and Team Searcher
Cameron’s nice dorado on the first kelp
Good evening anglers,
This afternoon we continued our search for dorado and yellowfin on kelps. All throughout the day we found kelps with fish on them. It seemed that every we kelp we found had a little bit of fish on it. So we spent the afternoon picking away at the fish in search of that big kelp that was loaded up.
In the late afternoon it finally happened. We found a large kelp that was holding a huge school of dorado. Everyone had a bent rod, they were even biting the 60lb test! We had a blast and ended the trip with a great stop. It was an extremely fun trip with a great group of anglers. Many thanks to Steve Carson and Penn Fishing Reels for the great sponsorship.
We are on our way in and will be arriving in the morning ready to do it again!
Armando and the Searcher crew
Trip #23: Sep 17-20 (3 day) Penn Reels
Good afternoon anglers,
We began our morning on the bluefin tuna grounds. Shortly after sunrise we saw a school of birds picking on the surface with a few tuna boiling underneath them. Once we got close we realized that it was a very large school of tuna. We had bites on the fly line sardine, the sinker rig, and the Colt Sniper. Steve Carson from Penn Reels got a nice one on the fly line sardine on 25lb test. 
We have amazing weather and are seeing lots of fish. Everybody is enjoying an awesome carnitas lunch and we are ready to put some more on the boat!
Captain Armando and Team Searcher
Mike and Greg got in on the good bluefin tuna action!
Good evening anglers,
This afternoon was a little slow for us in the bluefin zone, though we did manage to land a few more. We are hoping to get a stop in the dark tonight to drop the flat falls down for some more bluefin, and then we are on our way south to try for some dorado and yellow fin tuna on kelp paddies.
Captain Armando and Team Searcher
One of the Hawaiian shirt bunch, Mark, and his bluefin!
Tackle Tip Thursday Vol. 117 (Favorite Set-up)
It’s Tackle Tip Thursday! Today we have Nathan W. from Penn Fishing. Nathan gives us the run down of his favorite fishing and his favorite set up. 8 foot rod with a Penn Fathom (FTH25N LB2) 2-Speed reel. Is his favorite set-up. Do you want to try out this set-up? Penn Fishing has given us this set-up as a demo set for you to try. Just let our land crew know and we can set you up with a demo set-up for you to try with out having to purchase anything. It’s all about stay on top of whats biting.
Huge thank you to Nathan and Penn Fishing for the tackle tip and the demo gear.
Hook 🎣 more Tackle Tips here.
Biter’s Private Charter: Sep 11-14 (3 day)
Good morning, anglers:
We managed a few on the flat falls last night and this morning. We’re seeing the same grade bluefin as yesterday: 30-50lbs. It’s a very good sign of fish, but it has been tough to get a bite. We had one stop for a dozen or so all caught on the fly lined sardine on 25lb test.
Captain Mike and the boys,
Mark with his morning bluefin
Good evening anglers:
We opted for a change of pace here this afternoon and went in search of big bluefin. We searched all afternoon, finally got on them at about 5:30 p.m. and had a shot at them. We had quite a few bites but we only landed a few of these beauties. There was very good sign here once we did get on them. Our biggest fish on the boat this year taped in at 239lbs. We”re going to try catch some on the flat falls here tonight before we have to run in.
Captain Mike and the boys
Jeanine and Pat (husband and wife) double-teamed this cow bluefin (239#)
Biter’s Private Charter: Sep 11-14 (3 day)
Good morning anglers,
We stopped on a nice school of bluefin in the dark and picked one up on the flat fall. There was a very good sign of fish, however we were forced to relocate due to an unannounced Navy training exercise.
We have gotten on a different batch of fish since then and have been picking away at 30-50lb bluefin. We’ll check back in a bit. We’re currently in a stop.
Captain Mike and the boys
p.s. Check all our Tackle Tips here: Tackle Tip Thursday videos
Bluefin in the dark
Good evening anglers,
We had a nice “plunker” going for most of the day on 30-50lb bluefin, In fact, we just about have our daily limit.
We got another shot late on the same grade of fish, as well as some 60lb yellowfin. We’re going to try flat falls tonight and camp out and try again in the morning.
Captain Mike and the boys
Jeanine and a sample from today’s catch.
Tackle Tip Thursday Vol. 116 (Crimping)
Tackle Tip Thursday is here! Today we have a special guest, Billy from Fisherman’s Landing Tackle Shop. Billy tells us what hot right now for big fish fishing. He gives insider tips on how to crimp and secure your hook properly. You will need line, a crimp, crimping tool, chafing sleeve and a lighter. Now that you have all the tools Billy will give you the step by step instructions on what you need to do. Stay hooked here for all the latest Tackle Tips.
Thank you so much Billy and Fisherman’s Landing Tackle Shop for the great Tackle Tip!