We missed most of the bad weather on our ten-day trip to the southern banks. The offshore wind was really strong so we went way outside and looked for kelps. We released a lot of small fish, and we got most of our wahoo off one kelp.
Richard Conrad of Murietta won first place for an 85.8-pounder. Terry Pushnick of Las Vegas was second, for an 81.5-pounder.

Click on Photo for a larger view!

Gorgeous weather but slow fishing. We brought home a few nice wahoo but the real fun came from the beautiful bounty of Yellowtail.
A wet Robert Danko of Temecula brought in the first place wahoo at 44.1 lbs and Henry Ross was close behind with a 43-lber.

Click on Photo for a larger view!

Graphite USA sponsored another great trip on the boat. The 1st day of fishing at Guadalupe was windy but we managed to land a 130-lber and some more fish from 50 to 100 lbs. Day 2 we had a little more action and we scratched at some nice Yellowtail and nice Tuna but the wind made fishing a little difficult. On the 3rd day we had beautiful weather and scratched a few nice Tuna including a great 140-lber caught by Jack Bair. We made a move that night and enjoyed a gorgeous flat, calm day to finish off the trip with wide open Yellowtail fishing.
Jack Bair of Huntington Beach won first place for a 140.7-pound yellowfin tuna. Dave Grimes took second with a 130.8-pounder. Also, pictured with Jack and first place fish is Capt. Mike Lackey and our Graphite USA ball of fire, Fidel Moreno

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Trip # 45 was a nine-day trip that went as far south as the southern banks. The wahoo definitely preferred the bombs. We had a lot of wind, and some green water that turned blue. The yellowtail up at Cedros were really biting. We had to drive away from 'em.

Dorado fishing was also very good. Scott Colpitts of Newark, CA showed off a nice brace. There was no jackpot, but Ken Raymond of LA and the Marina del Rey Anglers and Roger Williams of Laguna Beach displayed a pair of big 'skins (Williams' fish weighed 66 pounds and came on a green and silver bomb), and Fernando Casillas of Alhambra showed another big dorado.

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The Hook, Line & Sinker charter stayed busy at Guadalupe. The group was great and went home happy.
Last chance to get in on our really big trip--there are 2 choice spots left on the 10-day trip leaving Nov. 26. Call the office to book at (619) 224-6500.

Jeff Bugbee won first place for a 89.5-pound yellowfin tuna. Joe Peralto took second with a 82.5-pounder, and Kirk Drickman came in third with a 79.4-pound tuna.

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The San Diego Anglers ripped it up on their annual Limited Load 9-day trip. The boat was loaded with wahoo, dorado, yellowfin tuna, huge grouper, and some yellowtail thrown in for good measure. The gang had a great trip. We have some spots left on our next 9-day trip leaving Oct. 30. Get in on the same action the San Diego Anglers did!! Call the office to book at (619) 224-6500.

Harvey Tucker of Oceanside won first place for a 77.8-pound grouper. Ron Bader came down south from Camas, WA to take second with a 73.7-pound grouper, and Ian Tucker made a family affair by coming in third with a 68.9-pound yellowfin tuna.

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The Navarra annual charter was a busy as they could be with an excellent load of fish.
Brian Ford of Temecula took first place with a 75.115-lb Yellowfin. Chartermaster Jerry Navarra, San Diego, came in a very close second with a 75.05-lb Yellowfin, and Ed Smith of Rancho Santa Fe was third with a beautiful 40-lb Yellowtail.

Click on Photo for a larger view!

Click on Photo for a larger view!

---

October 10, 2004

Captain Mike and the boys go overboard for some sunken supplies. What a team!

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Click on Photo for a larger view!

Trip # 41 was a seven-day trip to Alijos Rocks. The anglers found a mixed catch there and on the way, with dorado, yellowfin, yellowtail and wahoo caught. The tuna ran up to 131 pounds. Richard Ambre of San Francisco got his 131.5 whopper on the boat's kite rig, with a squid on a 12/0 Mustad 7691 hook, 100-pound Soft Steel line on a Penn 50 SW reel and a rod that had its tip snapped off during the 45-minute fight. Ambre posed with the jackpot winners, as honorable mention, even though his fish was ineligible. So did Pat McMullen of Corvallis, OR, who got the trip's best wahoo, a 49-pounder, on a squid under the kite.

Paul Zylstra of Huntington Beach won first place, for a 126-pound tuna. Robert Locklin of Seal Beach was second, for an 82.7-pound tuna, and John Cantonwine of Los Gatos was third, for a 75.15-pound Alijos yellowfin tuna.

Click on Photo for a larger view!

Click on Photo for a larger view!

Rich Fagner's group teamed up with the Barking Spiders for fun fishing again this year on trip #40. While the fish were few the fun was overflowing!

Fishing got better for trip #38. Anglers enjoyed trying out the Graphite USA gear brought on board by our sponsors. They really enjoyed the generous Graphite USA giveaways! Thanks Fidel!

Mike O'Donnell of Palmdale, CA took 1st place with a 72-pound Yellowfin. Jack Bair of Huntington Beach, CA was 2nd with a 67.2-pounder, and Al Spangler of Long Beach, CA came in 3rd with a 58.1 Yellowfin.

Click on Photo for a larger view!

Click on Photo for a larger view!

Trip 36 cruised out for 3 days of tough fishing.

Mike Braswell of Lake Elsinore, CA came in first with a 46.3-pound albie. Roger Williams of San Diego was second with a 45.4-pounder and Dave Nguyen, also of San Diego was a very close third at 45.4 pounds.

Trip 36 came in with limits of albacore to over 46 pounds, and some bigeye. We hope this is the beginning of bigeye season, a fun fish to fight.

Robert Clark of LA won first place for a 46.2-pound albie. Cory Rogers of Henderson, NV was second, for a 46.1-pounder, and Mike Hubbs of Henderson was third, for a 46-pound albacore.

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It was fun, fun, fun for family and friends on the Lage charter. Bob Lage gathers his clan together every year and lets in a few good friends for this trip. This year the group wanted to go to San Martin, so we didn't spend the whole time on the albacore grounds but the albacore in the catch were more of the jumbo models anglers have grown used to this season.

Brian Kolb won first place for a 44.75-pounder. Matt Lage and his older brother Michael, both from Atlanta, won second and third spots, for albacore of 43.4 and 42.8 pounds

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It was a family affair for the Romaines--older brother Steve won a full case of tuna for releasing the most tuna (seven yellowfin) at the island, and younger brother Brian won first place in the jackpot

Brian Romine of Cucamonga won for a 71.2-pound tuna. Larry Coffeen of San Diego was second, for a 60.9-pounder. Larry donated the case of tuna for Steve Romine the release king. Mike Stimpson of San Diego was third, for a 60.8-pound Guadalupe Island yellowfin tuna.

Click on Photo for a larger view!

Click on Photo for a larger view!

Arizona Byways escaped the heat for their annual 1.75-day getaway. Fishing was still tough but gang was just happen to get out on the ocean.

This 1.5-day trip turned out to be a family affair--we had a bunch of father-son duos. The youngest son in the bunch, Dillion Ford, 15, of Phoenix, turned out to be the jackpot winner winner with a 39.8-pound albie. Fishing was tough but the weather was nice and everyone enjoyed their time onboard.

A nice trip for Albacore, a little than it has been but we fared well. The weather threatened to get choppy but turned out OK.

Jeff Morris of Tarzana had the best albie, a 44.2-pounder. Dominic Dinh of El Monte was second, for a 42-pounder, and Elliot Wasser was third, for a 40.8-pound albacore.

Click on Photo for a larger view!

A fabulous mix of Albies and Yellowfin Tuna, with Yellowtail on the side. Consistently good weather.

Pei Chang Liu of Fullerton won first place, for a 70.1-pound tuna. Keith Byrne of Temple City won second place for a 67.9-pound tuna, and Kirk Drickman of Westlake Village was third, for a 66.1-pound Guadalupe yellowfin tuna.

Click on Photo for a larger view!

We got limits of albacore, had great weather and incredible tuna fishing. The yellowfin look really good, and we are looking forward to a lot more.

Gary Funk of Oceanside won first place on this four-day trip, for a 64.2-pound yellowfin. Roy Powell of Scottsdale, AZ was second, for a 56.3-pounder, and Jan Ishii of Rancho Palos Verdes was third, for a 55.3-pound yellowfin tuna.

Click on Photo for a larger view!

Yesterday was one of those days when you don't even have to fish. It was just unbelievable, calm and really nice on the water. The albacore were normal; fat, hungry and we got limits. There were some baby yellowfin, too.

Barry Gambarana of Las Vegas, NV won first place for a 46.1-pound fat albie. Leighton Pagay of Long Beach was second, for a 44.9-pounder, and Nito Difieri of Winnetka got third place for a 44.6-pound longfin.

Click on Photo for a larger view!

Long-time commercial and sportboat skipper Gary Black ran this trip for us and he commented on the size and willingness of the albacore to bite this year, saying he'd never seen anything like it. Good trip for all!!!

Jim Cambern of Wilcox, AZ won first place on the three-day expedition for a 45.5-pound longfin. Tim Smith of Phoenix won second place for a 43.9-pound albacore, and Greg Riggen of Northridge took a 42.3-pound albie for third place.

Click on Photo for a larger view!

Excellent weather, all three days. Guadalupe was flat and calm. Yes, the white sharks are still there. We came home with loads of Albacore, some Bluefin, some Yellowfin, and Yellowtail.

Ed Lerille of Chino Hills won first place for a 47.4-pound albacore, Allen Welle came in second with a 42.1-pounder. Jim Ruch of Ojai took third with a 43.6-pound albacore.

Click on Photo for a larger view!

Another fun, fat albacore trip with nice weather to boot.

Winnie Houston of Buena Park won first place for a 44.4-pound albacore, Tom Jicah of Long Beach came in second with a 43.5-pounder. Bob Camp took third with a 42.8-pound albacore.

Click on Photo for a larger view!

Great trip for Joe's Freight with limits on nice albacore, 1 yellowtail, and 2 bluefin.

Walt "Wally" Cannon of Las Vegas won first place for a 43.9-pound albacore, Bryan Hester of Las Vegas came in second with a 42.5-pounder. Sean Fitzgerald took third with a 41.5-pound albacore.

Click on Photo for a larger view!

Fishing was good. We had a great afternoon on longfin the day before and also got some big yellowtail near a kelp.

Larry Myers of Ukiah won first place for a 44.6-pound albacore, Hiro Kawamura of Gardena and Bobby Martinez of LA tied for second with a brace of 42.2-pounders. Martin Nash of La Jolla, fishing on his first long range trip, took a 38-pound yellowtail and posed with the jackpot winners. He said his best previous fish was a 21-pounder

Click on Photo for a larger view!

They bit good for two days on this three-day Tiny's Fishing Club charter. We got limits of albacore.

Steve "Yoda" Howe of Canyon Lake won first place, for a 58.4-pound bluefin tuna. Kirk Drickman of Westlake Village was second, for a 45.3-pound albacore, and Roger "Tiny" Windeler of Canyon Lake was third, for a 44.5-pound longfin.

Click on Photo for a larger view!

We put together a good batch of fish, but it wasn't easy. We had to stay real close. We enjoyed beautiful weather throughout. Mike

Ralph Harris of Bakersfield won first place for a 42-pound albacore. Jennifer Hunt of Wildomar won second place, for a 41.5-pound albie, and Jay Haberbush of Colton was third, for a 41.2-pound longfin.

Click on Photo for a larger view!

The weather is gorgeous and we pulled in approximately 100 really nice Albacore. Out for more tomorrow.

Mike

Trip #20 was the Jan Ishii charter, what a bunch of really talented and fun anglers. The goodies they share aboard are much appreciated by all. You have to look to find and sometimes you don't find, unfortunately that sums up the fishing on this trip. The three-day trip was good for mixed species, as we covered the gambit on that.

Alan Walther took 1st place with a 44-lb. Albie; Paul Warren came in 2nd with a 43.1-lb Albacore; and Tommy Hutchinson was 3rd with a 41.7-lber.

Click on Photo for a larger view!

Trip #19 is the Ken Wells group, an incredible bunch of anglers who toughed out some scrathy fishing. We came home a decent catch but worked for it!

Trip #18 is the Far West charter--a fun group.The three-day trip was good for excellent quality albacore of 30 to 40 pounds and a bonus of 30-odd Yellowfin catch.
Another younger angeler, Doug Brink, nabbed first place with a 43.3-pound Albie. Rick Pericich of San Diego was second, for a 43-pounder, and Stan Ross of Oakland won third place, for a 41.7-pound Albie.

Click on Photo for a larger view!

Trip #17 is one of our special Arizona groups led by the incredible Jim Beauchamp and is always loads of fun and fish. Beaming in his pink Vagabond shirt (always Mike's favorite), Jim hit the dock today with a boatload of Albacore and many happy and tired angelers. Although fishing slowed down toward the end of the trip, the weather was so gorgeous no one seemed to mind.

Bob Rathbun from Amarillo, TX, took 1st place with his 45.4-lb Albacore.
Jimmy Beauchamp (his dad must be a great teacher) of Payson, AZ took 2nd with his 44.2-lb Albacore.
And, Ron Peck of Mesa, AZ came in a close 3rd with his 42.7-lb Albacore

Click on Photo for a larger view!

Trip #16 was chartered by our good friend and long-time passenger, Dick Rhinehart. His trips are always well organized and loads of fun. The classic Team 5 was well behaved and fished well, as did the whole boat. We loaded up on nice, fat Albacore, 5 Bluefin, and some good Yellows.

One of our younger anglers, Tony Burroughs from Lake Elsinore, CA, took 1st place with his 44.9-lb Albacore.
James Moureaux of Costa Mesa, CA took 2nd with his 43.8-lb Albacore.
And, Jerry Crowther of Dove Canyon, CA came in a close 3rd with his 43.2-lb Albacore

Click on Photo for a larger view!

We're off to a great start with a favorite group. We've had good fishing and good weather. Caught a bunch of albacore, some Yellowtail, and 5 Bluefin.

Just back at the dock with another incredible catch of huge Albacore and a few nice Yellowtail for color.

What can I say? Another awesome trip, the people, the weather, the fishing! Just doesn't get much better. Hopefully the Bluefin get on the bite soon.

Click on Photo for a larger view! 1st Place: Bll Starkey, Boise, ID--47.7-lb. Albacore
2nd Place: Steve Mesner, Seal Beach, CA--45.3-lb. Albacore
3rd Place: tie--43.3-lb Albacore
Frank "Guano Boy" Rowe, Buena Park, CA
Bruce Spear, Lake Elsinore, CA

We have selected spots available trips #16 & 17. Please call Dawn at the office (619) 224-6500.

Off to a nice start with a nice batch of 30- to 40-lb Albacore again. Weather is good.

July is going to be a good month, I can feel it.

We still have some spots open on upcoming trips so please call the office for the latest openings update.

Weather started out poor but improved later. Didn't catch much until around 6 p.m. and the good bite of 30- to 40-lb Albacore bit right into the dark.

Gorgeous weather and unbelievable fishing. There’s a lot of scattered bluefin, showing signs of biting, and we got limits of albacore.

Doug Board of Lakeside won first place, for a 59.7-pound bluefin he bagged with a sardine on a 2/0 Mustad hook. He fished with 30-pound Soft Steel line, an Avet reel and a Calstar 670 rod.

Click on picture for larger view

Gorgeous weather but the fishing was scratchy. Turned out good with when some paddies came thru with some Albacore up to the 24-lb range. Great bunch of people who fished well together. Capt. Gordon Lackey and crew send their thanks.

8 incredible days of beautiful weather and good fishing. Overall a very, very nice trip. The Albacore and Yellowtail limits came in as nice-grade fish in the 25-40 lb size.

The jackpot winners were:
Jim Audette of Downey had the best fish, a 58-pound bluefin he nabbed with a sardine. Eddie Higahara of LA was second for a 41.8-pound albacore, and Nate Masi of Norwalk was third, for a 40.8-pound albacore.

Jim Audette, Downey      58-lb Bluefin
Eddie Hagihara, LA      41.8-lb Albacore
Nate Masi, Norwalk      40.8-lb Albacore

Excellent fishing for quality Yellowtail. Off to find some trophies!

Tried our hand on Bluefin--saw plenty of fish but no biters. We did pick up one in the 50-lb class.

Great weather for good fishing. On our way further down now!!

Good Albacore fishing yesterday with lots of 30-lbers. Decided to stay around here for the morning and came up with more Albacore and 1 small Bluefin. Moving on down now.

Headed out yesterday with a veteran group of anglers into beautiful weather.

Reports from the 1- to 2-day boats are very, very good.

We still have some spots open on a rare 2-day trip on the boat.
Trip 11b leaves Sunday, June 20, 7 p.m. and comes back Tuesday, June 22 in the p.m.--call Dawn at the office (619) 224-6500 or 1-800-4VAGABOND to jump on this trip!

Started a little slower but, we finished with a couple of good stops. For the trip we filled limits on albies and 29 yellowtail. The Albies are here and it's time to get out and get some.

Trips 10, 11B, 12, 13 and 15 all have at least 1 spot open. Fish are biting, let's go get 'em!
Call Dawn at (619) 224-6500 or 1-800-4VAGABOND

We started our two day trip in the right place. Today we caught limits of Albacore 14-33 lbs. The area was spread out with guys reporting from 50 miles away, finding the same fishing.

Beautiful weather, excellent fishing and a great group, a recipe for an awesome trip!!

We got in this afternoon from our Memorial Day Special. The trip start with a few Albacore on Saturday morning, but the wind came up and down the fish went.

Sunday brought excellent weather, we started off slow and finally got on fish about 3pm.For the afternoon we had 47 Albies in the 14 - 23 lbs class.

Monday we tried the Islands for the morning picking up just a couple of nice Yellows. Thank you to all who were aboard for making it such great a weekend.

Jackpot winners: Nick Turano 23.8 Albie, Matt Napolitano 22.8 Albie, Robert Fortson 22.3 Yellowtail

Nice ride last nite, home on time. What a beautiful catch of quality Yellowtail most between 30 & 40 lbs.

Jackpot Winners Bill Homet 115.8 lb. YFT Jan Ishii 54 lb. YFT		Bill Homet

Adding two 1.5 day trips!!!
9A, Sun Jun 6, 9PM - Tue. Jun 8 AM
9B,Wed. Jun 9, 7PM - Fri. Jun 11 AM,
$350.00, Including food, permit, stateroom berthing and fuel surcharge.

Fair traveling weather, going up the beach. Nice halibut, but not much else.

Poor weather, no fish.

Still having lots of fun catching 30 lbs. plus Yellows, almost any way you try. Making move hoping for TUNA !!!!

Limit type fishing for quality Yellowtail. No sign of Tuna. Hope for better luck tomorrow.

Great weather, slow fishing during the day. Caught 9 Tuna, including one 90-pounder and a handful of Yellowtail. Nightfall brought on 25 Yellowtail.

Travelling weather is gorgeous. We made a quick stop on the way down and caught 6 Albacore in the 30-lb class.

Home by 1 p.m. Our jackpots are three yellow beauties:

    
Ken Fernandez 40.8
Gene Lage 38.9
Larry Fukahara 38.2

This trip was a great getaway with a nice group--catch of quality yellowtail, many fish in the 30s. We also managed to make the weather OK. Our thanks to everybody that helped make the trip so enjoyable.

Still spots available on:

trip # 6, leaving Saturday, May 15th for 8 days
trip # 7, leaving Friday, May 28th for 3.25 days
trip # 8, leaving Friday, June 4th for 2 days
trip # 9, leaving Tuesday, June 8th for 2.75 days
trip #10, leaving Saturday, June 12th for 8 day

Please call the office for details.

Good fishing,
Mike

Nice day with lots of Reds, three Halibuts and good weather. Very relaxing day.

Started off slower than yesterday. We picked all day and the first half of the day was poor but in the afternoon the fishing really improved, by the end of the day we ended up with the best day yet. Tonight we'll be moving on.

Nice day of fishing for 20-40 lb. yellows. Weather is OK and everyone is having fun. Staying the night and try our luck again tomorrow.

We're travelling down in some slightly rough weather but we're anxious to get on some good spots.

Here's a reminder that we still have plenty of room on the 8-Day Trip to Alijos leaving on Saturday, May 15th at 11 A.M. and returning Sunday, May 23rd. The boats have been bringing in Bluefin, Yellowfin, Albacore, and Yellowtail so this should prove to be an awesome trip! Call the office to book today.

So nice to finally head out for fishing again especially with a great group. The weather is fine.

It was so nice to see so many of you at the show!!!

We went right to the dry dock on Tuesday and started annual maintenance. All is going well and expect to be ready to go by mid April and for sure we'll be ready for Day at the Docks open house Sunday, April 25. Trips are filling fast right now, but a few summer spots still are open. Also, with Albacore and Blue Fin all ready being caught, the early trips will be running. So don't miss out on some excellent fishing with lots of room at the rail. Trips #5 thru #12 are lite.

Once again, the 1st trip of the New Year is a success. We enjoyed a wonderful 9 days of good weather and good people, who, with perseverance ended up with a beautiful catch of Yellowfin Tuna, several of which were over 100 lbs., and many in the 50- to 100-lb class. Congrats to all those anglers on their personal bests.

What way to start my 15th year as Captain of the Vagabond! I look forward to another wonderful season.

For those of you interested in those delicious Reds and Lings, and maybe a few Yellowtail, we are booking trip #3 leaving Friday, Jan. 23rd and 8 p.m. and returning Monday, Jan. 26th, a.m. at $450 per spot. Hurry, there are only a few spots available.

Click on photos for a larger view

JACKPOT WINNERS
1st Place - David Cohen 114 lb. Yellowfin
2nd Place - Chris Anderson 109.8 lb. Yellowfin
3rd Place - Tony Winick 101.8 lb. Yellowfin