And with the passing full last week, and a significant blow that stirred things up, came the expected change on the outside offshore grounds that sadly was not for the better. Fortunately Capt. Brian Sims made a key decision that positioned his anglers to take full advantage of the limited opportunity on bluefin tuna realized by only a handful of boats. Otherwise the big albacore, and droves of quality yellowfin offshore stuck their noses in the mud and have yet to reappear. They will though. The up and down pattern of offshore tunas, especially this season, is one we are all well familiar with and to be surprised by such rapid profound changes only conveys inexperience in this arena. So for now we wait keeping an eye on the westerly zone while moving the search to a new region.

After baiting up with a beautiful load of near perfect sardines we are back underway on our annual Mike Ross five day voyage with a veteran group to Royal Star ready to begin fishing tomorrow and beyond. The sloppy offshore weather has again abated with calm conditions returning and a favorable forecast for the next three days. Though the westerly offshore zone went cold there are still a variety of favorable options at hand. Tomorrow will find us in search mode seeking new grounds to expand the list of options for our group and upcoming voyages. Conditions are ripe and potential is high as good weather and a significant warming trend is continuing to change the offshore grounds for what we hope will be the better. Look for reports to continue as we are feeling good about the overall setting. As always on Royal Star we have a great group of anglers to share time at sea with and can't wait to throw some good fishing into the equation.

For today's photo I grabbed a shot of a Guadalupe moment anglers can only dream about from a few trips back. This "secret" spot is one that we occasionally try and is usually good for at least one or two of these monster yellowtail. For all you Guadalupe enthusiasts out there take a stab at where this is. Enjoy and congratulations Darrin on a fantastic catch.

Tim

Photo Here...