We moved the boat back from Ft. Bragg after a very windy last two weeks of September. We finished the year with exactly 200 albacore over 5 trips out of Ft. Bragg; the fishing was great, but the weather was not. We’ve started off the Bodega tuna season very strong, and we’re crossing our fingers it only improves.

Bodega Bay- 10/2/26

Capt Josh- Sorta Salty

We got word the bonito were around, something super rare for Bodega, so Josh brought the feathers and the light troller rods out. He first gathered all of his rockfish and lingcod, then chased down some birds in the fog and found a hot spot of bonito off Ten Mile Beach. It sounded like they bit standard feathers and jigs on the stop, just like albacore. I was just getting back to the dock from towing the bigeye down and had time to try some fresh bonito sashimi-style, and I was really impressed, as I’ve never really caught or eaten them before. Is it better than albacore to eat fresh? Cody said yes, and I said it’s close. But being able to get them on the way back from rock cod fishing makes them pretty convenient and turns a regular old fun day into an epic day; any day with tuna involved is an improvement, and these things pack a punch for their size, which was pretty good at around a 12 lb average.

Bodega Bay- 10/3/26

Capt Ryan- Bigeye

Capt Josh- Sorta Salty

I headed west for the first planned Bodega Blue fin trip of the year. From some commercial cod boats I heard word about jumpers and tuna activity, so we headed there and saw jumpers a few miles before we stopped. We trolled a few circles around them with madmacs for nothing, they were scattered and small so we pushed west until we found good signs of life and some fired up bird activity. We hooked one fish on madmacs, about a 30lber and I decided I wanted to give my old trusty spreader bars a try and put them out there, we immediately got bit on them. And proceeded to catch a fish an hour on the bars until we had our 10 fish limits by 3:30pm. This was my first time ever catching bluefin under 100lbs in Norcal, expect a few lost singles mixed with albacore. It was pretty fun, steady action and the fish were in the 30 to 70lb class so they definitely put up a decent fight, especially when you’re trying to drag in a spreader bar with them. Overall an epic day and finally a window to escape the madmac madness for bluefin. Also a personal best for number bluefin landed in one day for us, and likely the entire port of Bodega Bay. Capt Josh ran an inshore trip and had a tougher time finding those bonito, but the family did well on rockfish and lingcod.

Bodega Bay- 10/4/26

Capt Ryan- Bigeye

Capt Josh- Sorta Salty

We headed out to the same area, the grade was a little smaller with about a 45 lb average and a handful of fish in the 50 to 65lb class but the albacore style action made it just as fun. The bite started slower in the morning but we trusted our gut and did not switch over to madmacs and stayed in the area, then they turned on and we put in 5 fish between 930am and 11am with singles and a double hookup, then at 1pm we put in another 5 with another double and 3 singles and made our way back to the dock before the wind kicked up. Overall its pretty epic to have this steady of action on bluefin locally and a really nice compromise between steady action and quality. We are off the water for a while as the wind comes back. Capt Josh did the same program as the previous few days, and found a really good lingcod bite, with some nice quality lings to 30lbs and a lonely bonito on the way home willing to eat.