Freedom Sportfishing August 29th 2026

I got a wild hair to jump on a last-minute trip, so I started searching H&M Landing and found all my preferred trips and boats booked. I checked 22nd Street Landing for the Pursuit, but it was booked up as well. Luckily, a new overnight trip had just been added for the Freedom! I’ve never been out on an overnight trip from 22nd Street Landing in San Pedro, so I jumped on the chance to fish a new boat. I headed down to the landing Friday night for the 9 PM departure, and my good fishing buddy Dakota jumped on the trip as well.

We motored out to the west end of San Clemente Island, where we anchored up around 3 AM. I rolled out of my bunk, started soaking strip squid along with some other anglers, and landed a few Calico bass in the dark.

As the grey light started, Captain Chris had us switch to fly-lining baits. First drop, I was hit and reeled in a nice-sized Bonita! A few smaller grade Yellowtail were being picked up too. I switched to a surface iron when I noticed we had kelp paddies all around us with boils popping up randomly here and there. I got bumped once, but nothing stuck.

We ended up making a move a few times, heading south down the island and picking away at each stop. I tried everything I had in the tackle box with mixed luck, though I saw other anglers hooking up on Colt Snipers, strip squid, plastics, and fly-lined baits. Dakota managed two Yellowtail on the fly line and one on a surface iron. I ended up with one more Yellowtail on a long soak, after catching numerous Calico.

Not a bad day on the water at all! A huge thank you to Captain Chris and Deckhand Stumpy for going out of their way to give the anglers a great experience.

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Trip Details:

Boat: The Freedom

Landing: 22nd Street Landing, San Pedro

Location: San Clemente Island

Target Species: Yellowtail, Bonita, Calico Bass

Techniques: Fly-lining, Surface Iron, Strip Squid