Islander Charters: Captains reports and current news

10/26 3.5 day Kayak Mothership San Clemente Island

NCKA with Cortez bank Yellows

NCKA with Cortez bank Yellows

Absolutely perfect conditions here this morning. We started at China Point and some of the guys found Yellows right away. While many guys headed out away from the island in search of more Yellowtail, others went inshore for some trophy Calico Bass fishing this island is known for. Throughout the day the guys caught a few more Yellows, lots of Bonito and some nice Halibut. The water was 66 degrees and as blue as you’ll ever find here at San Clemente.

Pyramid Cove Halibut

Pyramid Cove Halibut

10/24 3.5 day Kayak Mothership Cortez Bank

Cortez Bank Yellows

Cortez Bank Yellows

After three years, NCKA’s quest to be the first group to the Cortez bank finally paid off. We arrived at 8:30 am in absolutely gorgeous weather. The near glassy conditions and beautiful 65 degree blue water had everyone excited. It did not take long before the first reports of Yellowtail started trickling in over the radio and they just kept coming all day. Dozens of Yellows and all-you-want Bonito kept anglers busy all day. We’ll stay here tonight and hope the good weather and fishing continue.

10/25 3.5 day kayak Mothership Cortez Bank

Zilla next to CB Bouy

Zilla next to CB Bouy

Patchy fog and moisture throughout the night was a tell-tale indicator that the offshore flow we’ve had for the last couple days was starting to break down. The weather was still nice (especially for the Cortez Bank) and everybody was eager to get back out. A few Yellows were caught but things were clearly different than the day before. The current switched and there were noticeably fewer Bonito around. We pulled anchor and re-set in to the east allowing Kayakers to cover more of the bank in search of yesterday’s Yellows. By lunchtime the ground swell increased and the current picked up. Conditions were still beautiful for fishing from an 85 footer but things were getting tough for the Kayaks. We’ll be at San Clemente Island tomorrow.

Guadalupe Island 5-day

Oct 22nd

We made the run across to Colnett to finish off the trip. We looked at several stock rockfish spots but none were holding straight Reds like we were hoping. Conditions were beautiful with blue 68 degree water. We got the anchor down and caught a couple Dorado, two really nice Yellowtail and some Lingcod. Looking for better action, we headed offshore in search of school sized Yellowfin. We got a couple short bait stops but nothing great before we ran out of daylight. It was great trip with a great bunch of guys. Thanks to all who came out and we hope to see out next year.

Guadalupe Island 5-day

Guadalupe Island Tuna

Guadalupe Island Tuna

Oct 21st

We managed to tank up on perfect five inch greenies throughout the night. With our deck wells full of ammo, we set off in search of some trophies. The first stop we hung several fish from 80-100lbs. We lost all but one which went close to 100lbs. For the next few hours we stayed busy on school size Tuna. Toward mid-day, we got on a few spots of that bigger fish and were able to get quite a few. 50-60lb line and 2-speeds were the ticket. It was a great day of fishing. Tonight we’re making the run into the coast for some variety on our last day.

Guadalupe Island 5-day