Fisherman lll Report

Wed. we had our charter on the Fisherman lll at H&M Landing, San Diego. The fishing was good all day but the seals made it tough eating our baits and some hooked fish but we still managed to get 90 big bonitos, 6 yellowtails and some calico bass.

Catching Up On Fish Reports

First we had a weekend in Ensanada, Baja Mexico fishing on the Azteca Too. The fishing was great catching yellowtail, big bonitos, barracuda, calico bass and rockfish. Most of the fish was caught at Isl. Todo Santos, Trolling the hard baits and throwing the Magic Metals. Everyone had a great time. The Azteca Too is a beautiful modern boat.

Fishing Report Fron the Freelance

We were going to fish the local sandbass and barracuda but the waters along the coast turned cold and the fishing shut off so it was decided to go to Catalina Isl. and fish the calicos. Fishing west of Avalon we started catching calicos and the infamous Hat Man, Ernie Branch showed his skills and landed the only yellowtail of the day. Fishing different spots around the east end we continued catching and some releasing nice calicos. Towaeds the end of the day we did see the yellowtails around the boat but they didn't want to bite.

From our Web Host Brandon

As many of you know I was fortunate enough this past weekend to catch a very nice Golden Trout. I have attached some photos. Ed Zieralski of the San Diego Union Tribune also wrote about it in today’s paper. Here is the link to the story. http://www3.signonsandiego.com/stories/2009/jul/28/after-trout-angler-may-need-bigger-wall/?sports/outdoors&zIndex=139336. Besides this great story by Ed, the local papers have contacted me as well. I also spoke with the department of Fish and Game yesterday. While typing this I got a phone call from Western Outdoor News. This is quite exciting.

There are five primary species of trout that I am able to find around my neck of the woods. I have already caught a nice Brown, Rainbow, Cutthroat and Brook. The one missing was the Golden. The odds of catching one that would match the others on my wall were very slim. They are usually 8 to 10 inches and if you catch one bigger than 12 it is a good day. I had heard of a lake that might have a few bigger ones and I set off on the mission. I fished the lake a few times without success. On Saturday I was able to catch the fish of my life. It is currently being mounted by Davidson Taxidermy here in town. In a few months it will complete the living room wall.

It was a bitter sweet day on Saturday. I was very happy to catch such an amazing fish, however the aspects of the chase being over and taking the fish from the lake were not easy to deal with. I was sitting there with the fish on my lap taking in everything about what was around me, remembering all the attempts up that mountain and realizing this was a great personal moment for me. It is just very interesting how confused I feel with the entire situation. As the smoke clears and the fish ends up on the wall, what will really matter to me is being able to sit down in my living room and relive the moment over and over, and to have this fish remind me of what I am passionate about and why I live where I live. It symbolizes the beauty of the sierras and will offer so much for me personally for the rest of my life. Now it is time to find another goal to pursue. I have some other things in mind. As I am sure you can tell, this was not just a story about a big fish, there was so much more to the story. The fish will just remind me.

Cell Phone # go Public

REMEMBER: Cell Phone Numbers Go Public next month.

All cell phone numbers are being released to telemarketing companies and
you will start to receive sales calls.
YOU WILL BE CHARGED FOR THESE CALLS
Even if the message is saved on your phone, you will be charged for the
minutes to listen to it.
To prevent this, call the following number from your cell phone: 888-382-1222
It is the National DO NOT CALL list. It will only take a minute of your
time. It blocks your number for five (5) years.
You must call from the cell phone number you want to have blocked. You cannot call from a different phone number.
HELP OTHERS BY PASSING THIS ON TO ALL YOUR FRIENDS.

Tuna Stimulus Plan

Rumors are that the cost of going on a tuna fishing trip is getting up there. So after negotiating with Captain Chris of the Indian we are offering to include Mexican permits and 2 meals included in the cost of the trip on July 29. We also have a few spots open on the Gail Force out of LA Harbor Sportfishing, San Pedro on July 22 fishing local for barracuda and sandbass and also on the Freelance out of Davy’s Locker, Newport Beach on August 3. So come out and join Dan for a great day of fishing, be on TV and win some raffle prizes.

Pacific Dawn Fishing Report

Finished our trip on the Pacific Dawn with limits of red rockfish some lingcods and a lone white seabass. We started our fishing at Santa Rosa Isl. fishing for halibut and white seabass. The lone jackpot winning 15lb. seabass was caught by one of our regular charter angler Richard W. After a few hours of drift fishing we made the move to San Miguel Isl. to fish for nice reds, chuckles and lingcods. Everyone ended with limits. One comment about Captain Pat Cavanaugh, He grew up fishing this area and knows all the hot spots and from his experience of running long range boats he has made the Pacific Dawn a great boat to fish and the cook Whitney made some fantastic meals and snacks. As of this blog the boat is now in San Diego to start the tuna fishing. To charter the Pacific Dawn contact http://www.pacificdawn.com/ You won't be disappointed.

June 3 Gail Force Fish Report

After boarding the Gail Force we headed for Catalina Isl. on calm waters and with hopes of great fishing. The first area we fished was around Arrow Point for some calico bass and bonitos. Later in the morning we moved to the weat end of the isl. to West Cove for more bass then soon we started to see the yellowtail boiling on bait but even after changing our position in the cove the yellows just didn't want our baits. So we moved back to the front of the isl. and fished Indian Rock to Eagle Reef for more calicos and bonitos. With some good burgers and friends we had a great time. For a great boat and crew to charter for your friends or company call the Gail Force and Captain Ryan at 310-844-3814

High Sierra Report

Just returned fishing the High Sierra this holiday weekend. At Bridgeport Reservor the trout fishing was great. We had limits of trout by 9am fishing at Rainbow Point. We were anchored in 18ft. of water and the hot bait was the mouse, a pink Power Worm with a nugget of Rainbow Candy Gulp. Most of the fish were planters but a few were holdovers to 2.5 lb. Next we fished Crowley. Most reports say fishing is tough but by moving to different spots around the lake and trying different baits fishing can be good. We started the morning by trolling leadcore at 2 colors and got trout on my favorite Excaliber. Later in the morning we tried different spots in Magee Bay and finaly found a spot where the trout wanted to bite. The hot bait here was the inflated nightcrawler. My nephew Ryan was the hot fisherman with a couple of 4lb trout.

Checkout Dan's blog and see how he did fishing the Lower Owens.

Westerly Fishing Report

Just finished our first charter of 09 on the Westerly. We went to Catalina Isl. on an overnight trip looking for white seabass. After making some live squid at Ben Weston we set up at Sentinel Rock. Conditions looked good but well into the morning we had some calicos a halibut and a few misc. perch so after the prime tide was over we headed west to see what we could catch. The rest of the day we caught calicos, sheepheads and whitefish. It was great to be at Catalina Isl. on a nice day with great anglers and Captain John and his crew. We have another trip on the Westerly in August for some local fishing so check our charter schedule and join us or on any of our other trips.

Sportfishing with Dan Hernandez

Well our Charters will start in a few weeks. The first charter on the Westerly is sold out but on the next charter on the Mirage we still have plenty of room. I don't want to cancel the trip so to get you to go we are offering a 20% discount off the regular $160.00 price. We always have a great trips on the Mirage with a chance of catching nice halibuts maybe a few whitesea bass and always nice rockfish. So help us get this trip going and signup now. For the discount use the coupon code WFT52009 on the second page as you checkout.
CLICK HERE TO JOIN OUR CHARTER

Remember Jeff Twaddle

Sad news of the passing of our good friend
Jeff Twaddle. If you have fished with us on
the boats Gail Force or Westerly you will remember Jeff as the deckhand always trying to make you laugh and teaching you how to catch more fish. Here's a picture of Jeff holding a lingcod for a boy on one of our Dan Hernandez Youth Foundation's kids trip. We will miss you Jeff.

Passing of Dick Helgren

Sad news to us that our good friend Dick Helgren has passed away. Dick was owner and Captain of Helgren's Sportfishing. Our deepest sympathy to the Helgren Family.

Ranger85 Fishing Report

Here's the fish report from our 11/15 Ranger85 trip. It was great to see familiar faces of our friends from the north county ans a lot of new friends. Captain Frank took us to start at San Miguel Isl. in some beautiful weather. Fishing in 200ft of water we were soon bring in nice reds and other rockfish. We stayed in the same area most of the day working towards our limits. There were a few lings but only a couple were legal. Anyway we had a great time in beautiful weather and great food by cook Paul. The crew did a great job unhooking the fish and getting them into the bags and getting us nice fish filleted to take home. Frank Ursitti runs a great boat and knows where to find the fish so you should join him on his open party trips out on Channel Isl. Sportfishing or when we have future charters on the Ranger85.

Mirage Trip Canceled

Mirage trip is canceled due to lack of interest. We still have room on our Ranger 85 trip on Nov. 15 so join us if you can.

Dolphin 2 Pics

Dolphin 2 Reminder

Just a reminder of the Dolphin 2 trip. Mission Bay Sportfishing, 1551 W. Mission Bay Drive http://missionbaysportfishing.com/Directions.htm The boat will leave Sunday evening 9/7 at 9pm. You should be at the boat before 8pm. Fishing is good. You should have from 20lb. to 40lb. test gear and some hooks from #2 to #3/0. For more tackle checkout http://www.sport-fishing.com/tackle.asp#1 Don't know what waters we will be fishing but just in case bring your Cal. fishing license. If we go to Mexican waters the permits will cost $15.00 and with the high cost of fuel there might be a fuel surcharge ($20 to $30) Please bring cash to cover these extra charges.

New Charter Dates to finish off the year

We are ending the year with a few new charters. The Mirage is on the books and we are working on dates for the Ranger 85 in November and also the Pacific Dawn so keep on checking the "Trip Schedule" and join us for some great times and some fishing.

Dana Pride Report

Had a great time on the Dana Pride. Captain Tom and his crew worked hard trying to get us some fish but with the cold water fishing was tough. We fished to the south on the kelp beds. Lots of small calicos, 1 out of 5 was a legal along with some nice sandbass. Checkout the Dana Pride a beautiful boat with lots of room to fish and a fantastic galley serving the biggest and best breakfast plate you will ever see on a sport boat and mixed drinks to boot.

Dana Pride Trip Update

This is a reminder that you have signed up to fish with Dan on the Dana Pride on Wed. Aug. 20.
34675 Golden Lantern, Dana Point, California 92629 http://www.danawharfsportfishing.com/contact.html
The boat is scheduled to leave at 6am so you should be at the landing by no later then 5:15am. As for the fishing the fishing has been up and down so the fishing destination will be determined on the morning of the trip. Bring some gear for near shore fishing 12lb. to 20lb test gear and a rod for offshore fishing 25lb or 30lb test gear. A note about parking: you need to get a parking token for the fishing parking area from the landing office. Also please let me know if you need to rent a rod and reel or need to get a fishing license, the landing needs a heads-up about how many items need to be ready.

Local Dorado and Tuna

Join Dan on the Dana Pride on Aug. 20 for a rare chance at catching an exotic fish. Its that time of year that the kelp paddies come into our local waters and bring the tuna, dorado and yellowtail with them. Don't miss out on this type of offshore fishing that can be done on 3/4 and allday boats from our L.A. and Orange county based boats. Signup early http://www.dansshoppingcart.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=dansshoppingcart&Product_Code=FT_Charter_15&Attributes=Yes&Quantity=1

Indian Report

With some tough fishing in the previous weeks we headed to an area where the yellowtail fishing had been good on the kelp paddies. Right away we started to catch small yellows and a few dorado. The paddies seemed to have been hit hard from the days before. Working west and north we checked many kelps for a few more fish. Finally on the last two paddies we found yellowtails and dorados to 25lbs. that wanted to bite. We ended the trip with 50 yellows and 9 dorados thanks to the hard work from Captain Chris and his crew.

Fisherman 3 Report

Had a great time on the Fisherman 3 from H&M Landing in San Diego on July 22. We fished in Mexican waters between the beach and the Coronado Isl. fishing for sandbass. We got 5 around when Captain JD decided to head for the island to look for calicos and yellowtails. Fishing the kelp near South Isl. we ran into a flurry of yellowtail one was landed and many were lost to tangles and the seals. JD worked the area but the seals were too hard to shake. Believe it or not even a small bluefin tuna was hooked but a seal got the best part on this tuna. We finished the day fishing for log barracudas. Thanks to the great crew and the cook Kim for a great time and great food.

Icon Fishing Report

Tough fishing for the sandbass. A low pressure front was going through and the fish didn't want to bite. We did get some bass but most were under legal size. The surprise of the trip was the jackpot winning halibut caught by 12 year old Sivary who just celebrated his birthday a few days before. Shawn Morgan did his best to find us fish but still it was a good to be out on the water.

Eldorado Report

Fished Catalina Island on June 10. Fished in the V's for the seabass but none were found however a few nice yellowtails were caught. Continued west and fished for calicos.

Topgun 80 Pics

Late Westerly fish report

Back on June 14 we had our trip on the Westerly with one of our favorite captains Jon Ackley.With a tank full of sardines and anchovies we headed to Catalina Isl. where we loaded the second bait tank with live squids. We started our day on the east end of Catalina at the runway where we immediately got into a hot calico bite. After a couple of hours of landing calicos we headed to the front side to see if we could find some yellowtails and bonitos. Fishing along the kelps we found more calicos and some bonitos but no yellows. Even though we didn't get any yellows everyone had a great time. Armen kept everyone well fed as he was always going around the boat taking orders for food and drinks. The Westerly is a great boat for charters so give Jon a call if you're interested. 714-315-5240.

Tuna Biting

The reports on the albacore and bluefin fishing are getting better every day. More fish being seen then are being caught so its a matter of time when the big bite begins. If you want to be a part of this fishing we have 2 spots on our 3 day Topgun 80 trip leaving on Fri. 6/27 and returning on Mon. 6/30 http://www.dansshoppingcart.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=dansshoppingcart&Product_Code=FT_Charter_11&Attributes=Yes&Quantity=1

Jackpopt Controversy

Just read a post about the jackpot on our last trip on the Westerly. The complaint was that 20% of the jackpot money was kept by the crew and that the jackpot winner was not informed prior to getting into the pot. First: Now whether this happened or not I don't know but fishing with Jon and his crew for many years and on many boats I have always been told about the 20% for the crew. Second: I'm disappointed that this complaint wasn't brought to us first at a time when we could address the issue. Dan always says and I quote "Tell me any problems you have with the boat, crew, bunks or whatever while on the trip because when the trip is over there is little I can do." Now back to the jackpot issue. All boats have different policy's on the jackpot not only on the money but on the type of fish and the handling of said fish so look for posted rules and ask the deckhands about their rules on the jackpot. Finally tip the crew, if the service is good tip well if bad tip little this is how you show your opinion of their service.

Eldorado

This is a reminder of the upcoming trip on the Eldorado. The boat will leave at 9pm Monday night so be there by 8pm. Long Beach Sportfishing 555 Pico Ave. Long Beach CA. 90802 The fishing has been good at Catalina Isl. for calico bass, yellowtail and white seabass. For tackle check our recommended tackle section http://www.sport-fishing.com/tackle.asp#3 also since some of the seabass have been big I suggest you have 30lb. to 40lb. test gear also have a squid catcher rig just in case we need to snag a few squids.

Due to some last minute cancellations we have 1 openings
http://www.dansshoppingcart.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=dansshoppingcart&Product_Code=FT_Charter_09&Attributes=Yes&Quantity=1

Report of our Emeryville Trip

Sat. we fished the New Salmon Queen with Captain Shim. The weather was cold and windy but in the bay it was still fish able. Drifting many spots we caught nice halibuts and a few stripers. On Sun. we fished on the New Huck Finn with Captain Jay. We were scheduled to fish the rockfish offshore but with the wind and rough seas we decided to stay in the bay once again and again we had good fishing for the halibuts and stripe bass. We had a great time and enjoyed the bay fishing.

Ranger 85 Trip Canceled

Due to gail force winds and seas to 13ft. it was decided to cancel the trip. Better to fish in good weather with good fishing to make a good show. The trip will be reschedueled for sometime in Nov.