• Just For the Halibut  (Online)
Some people go to Alaska and catch a 100 plus pound halibut on their first trip out. Some people go to Alaska and don’t know a rod from a reel and catch a 100 pound plus halibut. Some people who think they know how to fish and have over 40 days on the water in Alaska have NEVER caught a 100 pound plus halibut. That last person would be me. Or used to be me. My previous best was about 90 pounds which is a nice fish. And I have caught more 40 to 60- pound halibut than I can count. Still that elusive 100 -pound fish had alluded me.
My last visit with Big Blue Charters this past June produced my first 100 plus pound halibut. It was 67 inches long and the guide book says it should be 145 pounds. I was told that it was anywhere between 130 and 160. I am going with 145. That works for me.

• Girl Power on the Thunderbird, By Rose O’Briene)  (Online)
Fishing is my passion, and being a woman makes it even more special. When I first started, I was nervous about being on a boat full of men, but not anymore. I have grown use to it. The men quickly learn that I am a serious fisher lady. The ones who know me don’t doubt me, but it is fun to show them I actually know how to fish.
Rick Redmon and Mike Oreb planned an overnight fishing trip on the Thunderbird with some of the KC Anglers and Team 57 fishing clubs. We all met at the landing and waited for our trip to begin. As usual, some of the guys couldn’t wait to fish, so they fished at the landing while we waited. They caught some small bass. Our chariot arrived and our adventure began.

When, Where and How to Fish a Crankbait and Jerkbait With Bill Lowen’  (Online)

When the bite is on, knowing when to use each type of lure can increase your success throughout the year. Jerkbaits, flat-sided and square bill crankbaits all have their time and place and each can outperform the others at times. Bassmaster Elite Series pro Bill Lowen has a method for choosing each and it depends on water clarity, time of year and what cover he is fishing.

Water Clarity
The first factor to consider is the water clarity according to Lowen. With jerkbaits being a highly visual technique, clear water is his preferred choice. “Jerkbaits work great in clear water and a bait like a crankbait will do better when the water is dirty. That’s not to say each wouldn’t work in both situations, but I prefer crankbaits when the water is off-color,” he says.

• Party Boat Yellowtail (Online)
Your reel is screaming as your line is peeling off it at a rapid pace. The fish takes a turn to the left and you must follow it. At that point, the real challenge occurs. There are nine other anglers to your left with their lines straight out. What do you do?? Well first off welcome to catching yellowtail on a party boat. Second, you head that way going over or under the other angler’s lines and rods as you chase your fish. This action has many names like the Chinese fire drill, Texas Two Step Shuffle or it sometimes is called something that I can’t print on these pages.

• Yucatan Adventure: A Tale of Two Peninsulas (Part One)  (Online)
I have never quite been able to get over the Collegiate Spring Break – Mexico thing. I ran the circuit in Cabo throughout my undergraduate and post-graduate years. I always fished, some years fortunate to have enough money to charter a panga, others very grateful to be on a yacht. Fast forward many years. .

Bottom Fishing is a Solid Plan ‘B’  (Online)
When targeting a certain fish, whether it be bluefin tuna, yellowfin tuna, dorado, white sea bass or yellowtail, “Plan A” does not always go as planned. Therefore, it’s important to always have a “Plan B”. Sometimes Mother Nature simply does not cooperate, holding you back from making the long run to your desired fishing grounds. Other times, it’s the fish that are finicky and they just don’t want to eat. In either case, a great way to salvage your day, or even enhance it in many cases, is through bottom fishing. Depending on where you are fishing along the California coast, the season usually opens as early March 1st and goes through the end of the year.

• Rods, Rigs and Baits for Catching Halibut in the Surf ! (Online)

Grunion runs are blasting the beach and there’s no time like the present to get down there and hunt for halibut. Spring brings both the spawning time and massive balls of grunion together to drive flatties crazy.

• AMERICAN ANGLER 8-DAY FALL FISHING TRIP! (Online)
What is the ultimate fishing trip? I just might be an 8-day “variety” trip in the September-October time frame, onboard a San Diego long range boat- just like the one that A group of PENN Fishing University anglers took last October aboard the 90-foot American Angler out of Fisherman’s landing, captained by longtime veteran skipper Sam Patella.

• Bluefin Tuna Fishing on the O95  (Online)
I got back from a 1.5 day aboard the O95 on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving and the trip was nothing short of epic. My two friends, Coleman and Andy, joined me for this trip. Let me start out with saying that Capt. Rick and the crew of the O95 are top notch and will do their absolute best to put you on fish and stay till late to get bit.

• Crappie Craze  (Online)
When fishing the lakes and reservoirs throughout California, from north to south, its safe to say that the most commonly targeted fish is the largemouth bass. This is true, even when many of these bodies of water hold record sized catfish that are seldom targeted, monster carp that are widely considered trash fish, and massive trout that are stocked throughout the state. As you make your way northward, the bass fishing begins to diversify and you begin to see stripers and smallies, followed by the spotted bass, the last of which just recently saw it’s world record broken yet again at Bullard’s Bar. Salmon and steelhead flood the rivers, accompanied by pre-historic looking sturgeon in the delta, the options are phenomenal and sometimes overwhelming, in the vast amount of choices. With all the above, the fish that is often forgotten is the black and white crappie.

• DROP in on BASS ! (Online)

The Southern California lakes are waking up and bass creel numbers are rising for all the local waters. Water temperatures are rising and male largemouth are roaming the banks by the hundreds looking for that perfect place to make a nest for themselves and that giant female mate. It is a time of year when the bass are scattered from the shallowest shoreline to the deepest point on the lake.
What is the ultimate fishing trip? I just might be an 8-day “variety” tri

• Quality bluefin tuna for the Pacific Star (Online)
For the record book off shore fishing for the 2015 season was spectacular in San Diego. Not only did giant bluefin tuna show up here in inner waters to provide big game anglers with a chance to catch a fish of a life time, but there was quality fishing.

• AMERICAN ANGLER TAKES PENN FISHING UNIVERSITY ANGLERS TO WAHOO SCHOOL (Online)
The 24 anglers aboard Captain Sam Patella’s “American Angler” out of Point Loma Sportfishing in San Diego knew that a strong El Nino was placing the fish in some less than usual locations.

• Will There Be HOT Fishing at the COLD Trout Opener? (Online)
The Eastern Sierra trout season starts the last Saturday in April (this year it’s April 30) and ends November 15 in Mono County and parts of Inyo County. A lot of people who fish the opener call Opening Day Fishmas.

• Remembering My Dad Bud Einstoss (Online)
Fishing is in my blood. My whole life I grew up eating sport caught fish, with fish mounts on the walls and fishing magazines on the coffee table. Fish Taco Chronicles was my Dads’ favorite magazine.