2008 Calendar
Showing you the moon phases, sunrise and sunset times, free fishing days, world records, holidays, equinoxes and tidal corrections for San Diego, San Francisco and Santa Barbara, with the indispensable Tidelines^™, Bill Roecker's 2008 Sportfishing Calendar does everything but set the hook for you!

Crisp digital photos by Bill Roecker and other top fishing photographers will grab you with accurate detail and the colorful glory of the Pacific's hard-fighting gamefish.

Get great information, hot tips and a handy place to keep your own fishing notes! Click here to see the calendar

NEW !!!
300-Pound Tuna: Fishing Clarion Island's Buffer Zone
Fish with Bill Roecker for Giant Yellowfin Tuna on Qualifier 105 in the Buffer Zone outside the marine reserve boundaries of the Revillagigedos Islands. Dolphins swim with schools of big yellowfin, tuna so big they're a hard test for anglers and their gear. These big boys are hard to come by, and they bring celebration or heartbreak to those lucky enough to get a hookup.

See fast action here, tropical scenery, and the struggle between standup anglers and fish up to 300 pounds! 70:00

The Hot Zone: Fishing Aboard EXCEL off Southern Baja
Fall offshore fishing is the best of the year! Tuna, Dorado, Yellowtail, Wahoo and Snapper feed fast to fatten up for winter migration and cool water. EXCEL's anglers find big Yellowfin Tuna biting sardines at Alijos Rocks, hot fishing on The Ridge and below Magdalena Bay during the best year ever for high-jumping Dorado. Sweet weather and calm seas add to the pleasure of jig casting, kite fishing and flylining sardines, with plenty of released fish for a contest aboard the Big Rig, Bill Poole's 124-foot luxury sportfisher EXCEL.

Come aboard with Bill Roecker, Jan Howard of Braid Products and other expert long rangers, and flip your bait into THE HOT ZONE! 70:00

Click here for a sample clip on YouTube!

Fishing The Avalanche Aboard The Excel
A five-day trip can offer more than you bargained for! On the way down and back from Guadalupe Island, Excel finds hot fishing in open water. No one aboard could remember seeing such large yellowfin tuna biting close to San Diego in June. The 30 to 50-pound tuna are mixed with some huge bonito to 20 pounds and paddy yellowtail. Bluefin and albacore are there, too. That's just for starters! At the island huge homeguard yellowtail over 40 pounds are biting jigs and the dropper loop on the weather side. You won't believe your eyes, when you see a 1,000-foot rockfall crashing into the ocean near the Excel's stern! Join Bill Roecker and the Excel crew on an amazing adventure! 65:00

Click here for a sample clip on YouTube!

Click here to see a clip featuring mossback yellows on YouTube!

Fish or Cut Bait - The Remarkable Life and Sportfishing Legacy of Captain Bill Poole
Captain Bill Poole has been set afire; survived sinkings; built the world's largest, long-range sportfishers; been stalked by African lions so closely he could smell their bad breaths; owned three sportfishing landings, two marinas, two fuel docks and a sprawling Montana ranch; pioneered Mexico's big-game fishing grounds; punched his way out of skippers' rough-and-tumble watering holes; owned a boat building company; founded a chapter of Safari Club International; skippered anglers to world-record tuna; rubbed elbows with celebrities like Jacque Cousteau, Lon Chaney, Robert Mitchum, Billy Casper, Desi Arnaz and Roy Rogers; tracked Takijistan's mountain sheep at a lung-searing 15,000 feet; and financially, rose to the top as a multimillionaire.

Set of 6 DVDs
"Shogun Fall Run" 10-day trip to Alijos Rocks and The Ridge. "Benitos & Beyond" On the 124-foot Excel, with Bill Poole. "Sitka Adventure" 100-pound halibut with Jack Nilsen of Accurate reels. "Alijos Adventure" with Randy Toussaint on the Royal Star. "Fishing Rancho Leonero: Marlin & Tuna" with John Ireland and Jack Nilsen. "Albacore & Summer Tuna" a five-day trip on the Polaris Supreme; three Royal Star days with Tim Ekstrom and Randy Toussaint. "Clarion Adventure" on the Excel; 16 days, giant yellowfin at the Revilla Gigedos. "The Bite" Rollo Heyn's Royal Polaris anglers on a nine-day trip to the Toussaint Bank.

Set of 6 DVDs
"Panama Adventure" eight days fishing offshore on Royal Star. "Spring Yellowtail" aboard three San Diego day boats. "Shogun Guadalupe Yellowfin" five days remote island fishing. "Longfin & Yellowtail" a week with John Grabowski and Joe Pfister on Red Rooster III. "Fishing East Cape" at Rancho Leonero: marlin, inshore fishing. "Fishing On The Edge" with Bill Poole on the Excel. "Jumbo Albacore on Polaris Supreme" with Tom Rothery, for 30 to 50-pound albacore.

Bait & Iron: Summer Tuna aboard Q105
Summer means albacore for anglers fishing out of San Diego aboard long-range boats like Qualifier 105. Bill Roecker and his crew take a three-day excursion into tuna-laden waters south, where they find full-speed albie fishing, and a bonus of yellowfin tuna and yellowtail. See how to catch these tasty fighters on light and medium gear of 20 to 40 pounds, on live bait, surface iron and yoyoed jigs. Action on big longfin is just a cast away from the Q's low, wide platform. You can't beat good food, good company and comfortable surroundings when they come with great fishing on a smooth ocean and views of scenic Guadalupe Island. Hop on Board! 51:00

Click here for a sample clip on YouTube!

Big Tuna Doubleheader
50-50 TUNA
Chase schools of big yellowfin tuna on the Red Rooster III with skipper Andy Cates, Accurate's Jack Nilsen and Bill Roecker in the deep blue water off Southern Baja's Magdalena Bay. Bring the 100-pound gear for these babies; and something lighter for the jig-biting wahoo, dorado and other species. The birds mark the tuna, and marlin, too! See the fish come up to foam in the sardine chum behind the boat; learn how to hook, fight and bring 'em to gaff.

CLEOFAS ADVENTURE
"We made history," said Skipper Sims. Fish all the way to Puerto Vallarta with 15 relaxed anglers, fly home from Cabo San Lucas! This ten-day adventure finds tuna from 15-pound albies to 160-pound slugger yellowfin. Fish on porpoise, high spots, in open water; fish all day every day (and some nights) in a new place. Breaching whales, a playful feeling, great food, jumping tuna and tropical seas make this pioneering trip to Cleofas Bank an adventure no long range fisherman could forget. The next biter could be a 30 or a 300-pound tuna!

Revillagigedos Doubleheader
SOCORRO ADVENTURE
Big tuna bite hard and fast! The scenery is as exceptional as the fishing; rusty cliffs, and a huge green volcanic cone towering over blue water. Biting yellowfin are hooked very near the sharp, black rock shoreline. The fishing kite and balloons produce well; some toothy sharks are here, too.

CLARION ADVENTURE
A long range rookie decks a 300-pound tuna, plenty of giant yellowfin tuna and almost unheard-of limits of wahoo come to bomb-casting, chunking and live-baiting anglers aboard the world's biggest San Diego luxury sport fisher, Excel. You'll see bites begin, hear the trolling alarm go off, feel the thrill of hooking truly big fish. Humpback whales are jumping out of the water!

Royal Star Doubleheader
PANAMA ADVENTURE Tuna and half a dozen species of snapper on the Royal Star with Skipper Tim Ekstrom! Panama lets anglers hook yellowfin tuna over 200 or even 300 pounds when they come roaring up to the stern! Here's a super tropical fishing adventure with fine cuisine and relaxation at sea and at a fabulous rain forest resort. Snappers to over 60 pounds bite hard on jigs!

ALIJOS ADVENTURE
Skipper Randy Toussaint and his sterling crew aboard Royal Star, on a ten-day trip to Alijos last October. Several members of the LAFD were aboard, learning rod-on-the-rail techniques with tuna of 60 to 100 pounds. Also shown are hooking techniques for chunk baits and kite baits. Major league baseball players Jeff and Sean Burroughs, father and son, were also aboard, fishing like, well, major leaguers; catching lots of big tuna.

Discover the deep-water offshore Toussaint Bank: see two long range rookies hook their first tuna, dorado & marlin. Be awed by the biggest, toughest wahoo (124.8 pounds) ever taken on a San Diego boat. See the epic battle, when things go sour and deckhand Bill Cavanaugh goes overboard to save the day! Learn tricks & techniques with Bill Roecker aboard the Excel! 49:00

Click here for a sample clip on YouTube!

Tuna fishing doesn't get much better for cool water types like longfin and shortfin. Good conditions and plenty of bait make it happen. Big albies charge the boat showing no fear, but the bluefin are wary. Once you learn the secret of where they lurk, you can catch 'em on jigs or bait. Chartermaster Glenn Kerr and Bill Roecker show you how it's done. Yellowtail stage major bites on kelp paddies! Join these friendly anglers with savvy skipper Andy Cates on Standup Fishing With Bill Roecker for some real fishing fun! 54:30

Brail the bait! Cow tuna stage a historic bite off Mag Bay. Bill Roecker is there, on the Independence with skipper Mark Pisano. Wow, a sun setter; a thundering herd of 200-pounders charges the boat, dragging anglers into the port corner! See how to catch a cow! Wild wahoo fishing at scenic Alijos Rocks; The Ridge is wide-open on schoolie tuna. Five-star meals from Chef Walter! A sharp crewman will even jump overboard to save a big one! Cowtown is the best Bill Roecker DVD yet. Come aboard, join Bill in this incredible adventure! 56:00

Click here to see Wahoo action on YouTube!

Click here to see big tuna action on YouTube!

East Cape has some of the world's best fishing within five miles of your resort doorway. Fish for jumping sailfish and marlin in the blue water close outside, or run along the shoreline to catch the incredibly tough roosterfish, delicious snapper or pompano, sierra, jacks and other light-tackle species that are so thick here. You won't go wrong here at Rancho Leonero, with its wonderful food and tropical relaxation! 49:45

Click here for a sample clip on YouTube!

Yellowfin tuna are big and common at Guadalupe Island, but famously finicky. A late summer trip on Bill Poole's Excel finds sweet weather and plenty of life in the island's lee, with husky tuna, mossback yellowtail and an incredible bite; yellowfin tuna rush the boat until anglers have to leave 'em bitin'! Bonus DVD Inside! 51:51

Take your wife fishing; hot rooster fishing, off "The Sticks," at La Ribera on Baja's East Cape! Next, cruise down to Los Frailes; fish for huge amberjack and sierra with Bill Roecker and Ranch Foreman Gary Barnes-Webb. You love the flat waters and scenic fishing off Rancho Leonero! 42:00

This newly remastered DVD was shot at Socorro Island on digital camcorders; Cabo Pearce was exceptionally productive. Big tuna bite hard and fast; scenery is as exceptional as the fishing; rusty cliffs, huge green volcanic cone over blue water. Tuna bite very near the sharp, black rock shore.45:00

Guadalupe Island: home to yellowfin tuna, great white sharks, scads of scad mackerel and mossback yellowtail. After visiting the San Benitos Islands, skipper Shawn Steward takes his Excel anglers there, to entice finicky tuna to bite sardines in clear blue water. Sunny weather makes for super island scenery. Hungry great white sharks get up close and personal! 56:00

Click here for a sample clip on YouTube!

Chase schools of big yellowfin tuna on the Red Rooster III with skipper Andy Cates, Accurate's Jack Nilsen and Bill Roecker in the deep blue water off Southern Baja's Magdalena Bay. Bring the 100-pound gear for these babies; and something lighter for the jig-biting wahoo, dorado and other species. The birds mark the tuna, and marlin, too! See the fish come up to foam in the sardine chum behind the boat; learn how to hook, fight and bring ‘em to gaff. 56:00

Click here for a sample clip on YouTube!

Polaris Supreme skipper Tom Rothery takes Bill Roecker and 20 anglers on a super four-day trip for albacore averaging nearly 40 pounds! Wide-open longfin bites, crashing bluefin, kelp paddy yellowtail and the most incredible meals you've ever seen combine with smart angling tips to make an ultimate video experience. The biggest albie? Just 51.5 pounds! 45:00

Click here for a sample clip on YouTube!

Fish with the pros! Legendary skipper John Grabowski, Seeker Rods prexy Joe Pfister, Carl & Rose Burns of Soft Steel fishing lines and other anglers savor a superb summer tour of the albacore grounds. 30 to 40-pounders are thick as flies! Cedros Island is loaded with strong yellowtail biting in sunshine; slamming sardines, chomping iron jigs! 45:00

Skipper Norm Kagawa teaches new and experienced anglers on a 5-day trip to Guadalupe Island, where grand scenery and exotic sea life are found with cruising, husky yellowfin tuna. Bill Roecker shows his boyhood fishing buddy Jerry Texley how to catch 'em. See Humboldt squid, mossback yellowtail, two kinds of flying fish! Newly remastered DVD. 50:00

When the yellowtail bite ignites off San Diego, the action picks up! See fish "puddling" on small bait, shearwaters marking the schools. Tackle expert Doug Kern shows the right equipment to catch yellowtail on bait or jigs. Skipper Buzz Brizendine of the Prowler uses sonar to put his anglers on the fish. Skipper Shawn Trowbridge of the Legend shows the best ways to hook a sardine. Skipper David Ikeda takes Mission Belle anglers into a red-hot bait bite! 41:00

Tuna and snapper on the Royal Star! Panama gives anglers a chance to hook yellowfin tuna over 200 or even 300 pounds when they come roaring up to the stern! Here's a super tropical fishing adventure with fine cuisine and relaxation at sea and at a fabulous rain forest resort. Snappers to over 60 pounds bite hard on jigs! 40:00

Freshly remastered, this 40-minute long range classic rocks! A long range rookie decks a 300-pound tuna, plenty of giant yellowfin tuna and almost unheard-of limits of wahoo come to bomb-casting, chunking and live-baiting anglers aboard the world's biggest San Diego luxury sport fisher, Excel. You'll see bites begin, hear the trolling alarm go off, feel the thrill of hooking truly big fish! 40:00

Marlin, tuna and many other species are just minutes away from your bungalow door at Rancho Leonero. The big ones come in close, where deep blue water meets the sandy white beaches. Jack Nilsen of Accurate Fishing Products and Rancho Leonero owner John Ireland team with Bill Roecker to show you the super fishing for striped marlin and yellowfin tuna; hot small game fishing near Los Frailes. Relax in comfort by the pool and enjoy the tropical sea breeze and the beauty of East Cape. 53:30

A seven-day fishing adventure with Bill Poole aboard Excel. Fun fishing for hard-biting yellowtail and albacore; with stories and tips from Poole and his skipper Shawn Steward. A little taste of everything one might encounter on a week-long early summer trip is here; albatross following the boat, finnicky biters and schools that stay to chew the paint off the hull. You'll enjoy the camaraderie, joking, super food, spacious decks and accommodations of the "big rig," the 124-foot Excel. 58:00

"Shogun Fall Run" features plenty of kite fishing with jumbo squid, tech talk and demos by skipper Smith and crewmen Kevin Osborne and Mike King. Sardine fishing is the main game, though, and when 100-pounders start taking 'dines on 50-pound line, stuff happens! 58:00

Fish with eagles for king and silver salmon...
Learn Alaska tackle, hook and gaffing techniques in Sitka's rich waters; fish long range style for 100-pound halibut with Accurate's Jack Nilsen; try ultra light gear for pink salmon at the mouth of Starrigavan Creek with Bill Roecker. Fish in comfort aboard Mac Huffman's cruisers, relax above forest and sea before the huge fireplace, enjoy fine chef's fare in Frontier Lodge. 46:30

"We made history," said Skipper Sims. Fish all the way to Puerto Vallarta with 15 relaxed anglers, fly home from Cabo San Lucas! This ten-day adventure finds tuna from 15-pound albies to 160-pound slugger yellowfin. Fish on porpoise, high spots, in open water; fish all day every day (and some nights) in a new place. Breaching whales, a playful mood, great food, jumping tuna and tropical seas make this pioneering trip to Cleofas Bank a trip no long range fisherman could forget. The next biter could be a 30 or a 300-pound tuna! 56:00

Video features skipper Randy Toussaint and his sterling crew aboard Royal Star, on a ten-day trip to Alijos last October. Several members of the LAFD were aboard, learning rod-on-the-rail techniques with tuna of 60 to 100 pounds. Also shown are hooking techniques for chunk baits and kite baits. Major league baseball players, Jeff and Sean Burroughs, father and son, were also aboard fishing like, well, major leaguers, catching lots of the big tuna. 56:00

Baja fish school up in fall. Red Rooster III skipper Jeff DeBuys knows exotic spots, for wide-open action on yellowfin tuna, dorado and Chester Rocks trophy yellowtail. Skip jigs are hot at Thetis Bank and "The Spud," big schools of tuna and dorado boil; biting anything that hits the water! Yellowtail bites at Abreojos and Cedros Island. A stick of wood holds 1,000 dorado! Expert anglers throw iron with the long rod, show how to lob baits to the biters. 60:00

San Diego's expert skippers give their personal tips, and you'll see they work. The pace is fast, the fishing's good. Lots of tuna-crashing, rod-tweaking action, and how to fish anchovies, sardines, plastics, trolled feathers and iron. "Albacore" is 60 minutes, in three parts: "On The Slide: Early Season," "The Main Body," and "Indian Summer". 60:00

Excel owner Bill Poole, dean of the long rangers, shows his anglers how to hook and land 'em, with savvy, style and grace. Bluefin, yellowfin, albacore and bigeye tuna create fantastic bites along an "edge" of warm water, a day's cruise south of San Diego. See metered fish and puddlers strike in the wake, see a gray bite, a sunsetter, tuna under dolphin and a foamer! Skipper Pat Cavanaugh tells tuna tactics with daily reports on camera. Action so close, you can see saury and sardines showering at the foamer's surface, trying to escape. 53:00

Incredibly fast, exciting fishing is as close as a cast from the beach at East Cape! Here's an encounter with a 500-pound blue marlin for Rancho Leonero foreman Gary Barnes-Webb. See jumping striped marlin and dorado aerobatics! Host Bill Roecker takes kayak expert Dennis Spike on an inshore panga fishing excursion neither will ever forget, with eager pargo, roosterfish, sierra, pompano, jack crevalle, goldspotted sand bass, triggerfish, cabrilla and whopper yellowtail busting bait in the shallows! Blue waters and tropical scenery make a paradise for fishing pals or family vacations. Detailed information is interviewed straight from resort owner John Ireland. 60:00

A rare event, when everything's biting! See the frenzied tuna jump, boil and slash meatballs of sardines. The skipper will show 'em on the sonar, just before they foam up off the stern. See all three jackpot-winning tuna landed. Bud Einstoss gets the first grand slam in more than 10 years! Sharp, bright, and colorful, this is shot and edited in digital video. 50:00

It started at dawn; yellowfin of 30 to 90 pounds that just wouldn't quit biting, jumping next to the boat and beating the dorado to the chum and baits. Dorado, yellowtail, bass and rockfish add variety and more excitement. "Best tuna bite I've ever seen!" said Rollo. Dedicated to the late Captain Rollo Heyn. 47:25

One of the nation's most famous flying sites for unpowered aircraft, Torrey Pines history goes back to Charles Lindbergh, said to have flown a glider here. Soaring is good all year, but especially in spring, when pilots from the last 30 years return to the four-mile cliffs to enjoy some of the smoothest lift in the country. Exciting action and comical events make for the fun friends and families enjoy best. 55:00

Fresh One!
Biggest, best book on saltwater fishing has 264 pages crammed with photos, drawings, maps and Bill Roecker's complete information. Easy to read, special sections on southern California and Baja game fish: when, where and how to catch them; record fish. Tuna, yellowtail, white seabass, halibut, sheephead, sand bass, calicos, marlin and all the rest are covered; including how to take the jackpot and effective ways to deal with seasickness. Plentiful color photos, entertaining information. Tells you from the beginning how to use tackle like casting and spinning outfits. Just about everything you need to know; this is "The Book" on standup style salt water fishing!