Author: Rich Holland

Charles Frederick Holder. George Farnsworth. Zane Grey. Paxson Offield. Round Haul Seiner. All names are forever tied to Catalina fishing. The story is Charles Holder came across Avalon locals using handlines to take advantage of yellowtail frothing on a school of bait pinned up against the shoreline. The slaughter was prolific. In 1898 Holder founded the Tuna Club of Avalon in order to promote ethical fishing methods and conservation. Today the Tuna Club stands tall in Avalon as a reminding monument to all the great achievements and tactics founded in this club. The rules developed for the Tuna Club are…

The Outer Limits: Outlier Channel Islands San Clemente, San Nicolas and Santa Barbara feature rugged and remote on the water adventure Clemente, San Nic, SBI are nicknames for the Channel Islands on the edge. San Clemente Islands is the setting for the most strategic military training complex in United States waters, San Nicolas a missile tracking/proving ground and Santa Barbara a rookery for pelicans and sea lions. All three provide good anchorages and access to great fishing for everything from rockfish to yellowtail and billfish – not to mention the outer banks of the Southern California Bight. All three islands…

Crown Jewels of the Channel Islands: Anacapa, Santa Cruz, Santa Rosa and San Miguel Strung like an offshore necklace across the Southern California Bight from Point Mugu to Point Conception and recognized for beauty and ecological diversity with the designation of Channel Islands National Park, the islands called Anacapa, Santa Cruz, Santa Rosa, and San Miguel offer an unmatched opportunity for boat-based adventures. Positioned at the north end of the Bight, the mainland facing (generally north-facing) sides of these Channel Island are much more exposed to the weather than islands to the south, thanks to the west to northwest winds…

Catalina Island. A backyard adventure paradise that lies just 20-miles off Southern California’s coastal shores. Remarkable as all the islands in the Channel Islands are, none has as rich and deep a history as Catalina Island. The traditions, techniques, and legends of modern sportfishing are intertwined within the island’s lore and the fantastic access to world-class saltwater angling around the island continues to produce epic catches. The island was first discovered by the Spanish in the 1500s. Starting in the late 1800s a series of wealthy owners focused efforts to create a tourist destination on two prime harbor areas on…

How to put the best braid and fluorocarbon together and connect with more fish in any situation with Smackdown and Threadlock

Having the right line on your reel is fundamental to fishing success. These days, braided line has a role in almost every style of fishing by anglers fishing every type of fish.

Anyone who has run across Capt. Kit McNear at the multitude of fishing tournaments and Baja excursions he’s run knows the man is a bundle of energy and man does he love snook.

Richard Hightower, who represented major fishing tackle brands such as Newell Reels and Fenwick in a career that spanned four decades of constant change in the industry, died from lung cancer this fall at his home in Southern California. “Dad went out on his own terms – it’s a story that seems to make everyone who knew him feel better,” said his son Dale Hightower, who took over H&H Marketing several years ago when Richard ‘retired’. “They had already set it up for hospice to come in and my mom (Holly) went out to get something to eat. Dad took…

Baja spring gives birth to great fishing creating the perfect gift for a river guide’s 60th birthday bash. For months the wind blew down the length of the Gulf of California. Nothing new, except that for the first time in years the gusts kept up well into the spring and through April, blocking the entrance of the warm water pelagics that make the Sea of Cortez a famous fishing destination. There are basically three seasons down here on the East Cape – the hot hurricane season, the windy winter season and those epic windows in between when the waters and conditions…

The annual trip to the ‘Vanishing Paradise’ where the Mississippi River meets the Gulf of Mexico tackles challenging conditions for everything from cobia to bull reds, tuna to tripletail. Big rains in the middle of America meant early fall muddy water flows down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico and challenging conditions for the Marsh Madness crew that arrived at the Lighthouse Lodge in Venice, Louisiana. How muddy the river was just outside of the Venice Marina was a mindblower. In 20 years of fishing where the main passes of the Mississippi drop off into the Gulf, never had…

Go long range fishing! You will see things you have never seen before and which very few other people ever will. You will be living on the ocean, at times eating fish caught that day or cured for a sushi feast. You will learn that yellowfin tuna and wahoo can both fly. You will discover that in an endless expanse of sea, pillars of volcanic rock can emerge; a cavalry charge of 200-pound bluefin tuna froth to the surface. Long range trips aren’t just a way to fish, they are a way of life. While the trips made by the…

The new Plano Z-Series Tackle System fits everything from Long Range to Local. The new Z-Series tackle organization system from Plano solves one big problem with zipperless construction and provides a complete solution to organizing lures, hooks, weights and rigging for anglers who thrive on facing the challenges of saltwater fishing. Anglers who know to pull hard and land giant tuna don’t hurt their back getting the job done. Hauling around tackle and gear, well that can be another story. While a giant, water-resistant box seems ideal for maximizing tackle availability during multi-day trips, storage space on boats for the…

When the Baja Capitan or his mate asks to see what lures you have for that day’s fishing, it’s like going through a full-dress inspection in the military – the best you can hope for is a grudging nod. The worst – a pitying slight sideways turn of the head back and forth in dismissal. Rapala Magnum X-Rap Baja Force – Rapala X-Rap Magnum Trolling Speed If it’s wahoo you’re after, then there is a way to guarantee a smile: break out your spread of Rapala X-Rap Magnum trolling lures. The old Saltwater CD Rapala used to be the go-to…

2018 Gold Cup Wahoo Jackpot When it’s hot, the wahoo snap and the action doesn’t get much hotter than the East Cape of Baja, where the Van Wormer Resort’s Second Annual Gold Cup Wahoo Tournament held Saturday, August 25 showed a strong growth spurt when 210 anglers on 56 teams weighed in 22 wahoo up to 41.1-pounds, with the largest fish going to the team of Victor Locklin of Corona and Luis Beltran of San Jose del Cabo on the Oso Negro. The number of teams was up 12 from the first Wahoo Gold Cup, boosting the cash jackpots ($200,…

We were slowly sliding south down “The 5” surrounded by six lanes of thousands of vehicles headed the same way when a couple calls came in that immediately dropped. A call back got a recording that said the satellite phone was unavailable at this time. We were on our way to fish an overnight trip on the Impulse, a 42 Bertram based out of Dana Landing in Mission Bay and run by Capt. Matt Barlow, who also happens to sell saltwater tackle for PENN. The boat is a great choice to fish with family and friends of all skill levels…