Long time no report! 3 skunk trips in a row didn't help... After chasing giant bluefin tunas unsuccessfully, I decided to take the crew down south to try for some yellowtail and dorado. We launched from San Diego at 1:30 am and got some sardines from the bait barge. It was not very good - I think they left it in the crowder too long, I basically had a tank full of scales. We tried for mackerel but only caught one and a bunch of croaker.

So we head out into the darkness and arrive some 50 miles south of the border at daybreak. (31.55 / 117.17 to be exact) We set out some troll lures and scanned the water for kelp paddies. They were not easy to find. Overcast with a glare on the water didn't help. After about 2 hours I finally found a small paddy and it was game on from there. The yellowtail started out small and then just kept getting bigger and bigger! In the mix were also a few dorado. We ended up with 2 dorado, 5 yellowtail from 20 - 35 pounds and countless smaller ones. It had been a while since I got to pull on some decent fish and was excited to break in some of my new Rainshadow rods from Fishing Syndicate. I haven't given up on the giant bluefins yet, but it was certainly nice to put decent fish on my boat and in the freezer as well