Ridge high spots produce good catches of wahoo, yellowfin, yellowtail, and dorado
BY GUNDY GUNDERSON
SAN DIEGO — The long range fleet embarked on a stretch of longer fall trips finding good mixed-bag fishing mostly on the high spots that make up the Ridge. Legendary banks like the Thetis and Uncle Sam produced good catches of wahoo, yellowfin tuna, yellowtail and dorado. With a catch in the hold, many of the boats have been finishing up on the local bluefin grounds with good results. The dorado bite on kelp paddies was of particular note this week.
Intrepid 8-day returns
The sportboat Intrepid returned to the dock with a nice catch on a late summer 8- day. The boat with Capt. Bill Cavanaugh at the wheel sent this wrap, “We returned home this morning from our Delany 8-Day trip at 0700. Yesterday’s fishing was a little slow, but we did find a school of bluefin that we were able to catch some fish off during a long drift. Two of our fish went around 80 pounds and the rest were in the 30-pound class. A huge thank you to our host Doug Delany and to everyone that makes this trip so special every year. It was a pleasure.”
The report continued, “Our jackpot winners for the trip go as follows: third place went to Brad Freeman with a 37-pound wahoo, second place went to Robert Beideman with a 53.7-pound bluefin, and first place goes to Charley McGhee with a 125.7-pound bluefin. Honorable mention goes to Jen Bennett with an 80.6-pound bluefin tuna.”
Indy 7-day
The Independence was also down below on a 7-day trip. The boat with Capt. Matt Kaullen on the bridge filed this first report, “We are off to a great start on our United Composites 7-Day. We had very good fishing for yellowtail today and managed to troll up a few wahoo. We are hanging tight in hopes that this primo yellowfin makes a showing. We saw a bit today and managed to catch a few to keep us interested. It is hot and humid down here and the water is hot as well.”
After a couple of days of fishing, the skipper sent this report, “Another amazing day of fishing for us. We had steady action on 18- to 30-pound yellowfin today and great weather to go with it. We trolled up a few more wahoo and picked away at some more yellowtail for our effort. We are very grateful to say the least and are moving on in search for more wahoo. The guys spent the last part of the day wiring up and we have high hopes.”
The move paid off, “We made a little move yesterday to hunt for wahoo and a change of scenery. We had good wahoo fishing throughout the day with steady action on bigger fish. The fast skinnies were biting first thing in the morning and we had plenty of opportunities. We made a tour and found some beautiful homeguard yellowtail to go with it. We had a lot of fun pulling hard with heavy tackle. We are working our way up now hoping to find a kelp offshore. The weather remains civil with some humidity in the air but no complaints.”
Supreme on the Ridge
The Polaris Supreme was another boat on the Ridge fishing the front end of a series of 8-day trips. The boat sent this report after a shot at yellowfin tuna, “We had a good morning on good grade tuna, spent mid-day catching small to medium grade yellowtail and the afternoon scratching away at the good grade tuna. Our weather is a little windy today.”
The next day more action, “It was a fair bite on the good grade tuna in the morning. We caught the only angler who didn’t have a wahoo, one. And then went scouting. We were rewarded with a boomer school of dorado. We fished it for 45 minutes, releasing most all fish. We kept only 14. Yellowtail tomorrow.”
Red Rooster finishes open 8-day
The Red Rooster also returned from an 8-day trip with catches of several different species. Capt. Andy Cates sent this brief report, “Not much for wahoo on the kelps but we did get our trolling jackpot out of the way. The dorado were very nice though. The yellows have been nice with great top water action fishing in shallow water.”
Star chooses
Capt. Tim Ekstrom embarking on the ‘Redneck Rodeo’ 8-Day, described the choices that skippers must make when deciding a trip itinerary. With good fishing for local bluefin and excellent mixed-bag action on the Ridge, the veteran skipper must make a decision. Here is the thought process as described by Ekstrom, “Off to a good start heading south on the front leg of the journey before making the decision to continue down or flip around. As before the variables are many. Weather, timing, production, information; all combine to build the picture. Then comes the one big, make or break swing. Bluefin glory, bluefin bust, or a trip to the southern zone? Time will tell. Some good fishing fortune early will certainly assist the decision. A wealth of beautiful product in the RSW tanks is a calming influence to be sure.”
Angler 3-day
The American Angler returned from a 3-day trip targeting local yellowfin, bluefin and dorado. The boat filed this report, “This 3-day returned with a group of happy campers – sushi all the way around and dorado tacos are going to be on the menu for the next couple of days. Congrats to the jackpot winners – Paul Kim with his 85-pound bluefin tuna and Josh Anguiano’s 80-pound bluefin tuna. Thanks to everyone who came out.”
