Back to the old Guadalupe. That’s exactly how I would describe it. A great destination to enjoy fishing for a few big ones in spectacular surroundings but no place to fatten up the larder; at least not for now. Again not that there aren’t plenty of tuna around there to make it happen, there most certainly are, but their fickle nature combined with the well known Guadalupe Island hazards makes them very difficult to land. It’s a worthy challenge but frustrating is an understatement when describing the current situation out there.

We will continue to probe the island over the next few weeks keeping a close eye on the potential. A little break for now is definitely in order. Those offshore bluefin are calling. Between the epic size average and zero obstacles to success once a fish is on the line the attraction of angling offshore is screaming to our fishing sense,

Back to the present, though we did not have much in the way of numbers we still label today’s island venture a success. By far this was the first day of the 2017 season that we felt like we were effectively fishing amongst fish that were far more interested in what we had to offer. Perhaps this is the beginning of a new pattern favoring our style of fishing? We shall see. Overall everyone had a great time enjoying the full Guadalupe experience. That we chose to visit the island after making a worthy catch of yellowtail on the inside went a long way toward keeping everyone focused on the pure pursuit of trophies. In such circumstances there are typically fewer “haves” than “have nots”. The past couple of days at the island were no exception. But seeing that place, those fish, and those predators in all their glory was well worth the effort.

On to our final day of offshore angling tomorrow targeting school size yellowfin and whatever else we may find along the coast on our way up to Ensenada. A little yankin’ and crankin’ will go a long way in the closing round following the last couple of days. Photos today feature Royal Star veteran’s Jim Vlahakis and Ed Nowacki with a couple of 120 pound class Guadalupe yellowfin that rightly produced big smiles!