2018
November 25
Dean and I launched out of Pillar Point Harbor
around 8 am with our rockfish gear and 5 of
Dean's crab pots. The weather was great and
the plan was simple, however just after clearing
the outer harbor the main died and no amount
of coaxing, starter fluid or electrical inspections
would change her mind. We hailed Tea Sea
as I knew they were just heading out too and
they swung by to see if we needed anything.
Dean said, "Well, we could have called
it a day, but what fun is that?", so
he fired up the trusty 5 HP kicker as we bid
Captain Tom success on his own string pf pots.
The motor quitting was a major buzz kill
but Dean's right, tucking our tail between
our legs and turning back is not how we roll.
We headed south and deployed the 5 pots and
then started drifts near the green can.
Around noon with a dozen rockfish
and one keeper lingcod between
us we decided to check the pots. We had around
3 keeper crab and those all
came in the first pot. Dean rebaited and we
shifted a few to another location and went
for round two with the rockfish.
After hitting the area around buoy 3 adding
a few more rockfish and releasing around 5
short lings we ran back to the pots at 2 pm.
Dean joked that we'd need about 4 per pot
to get our limits and we didn't have much
hope but low and behold we pulled off limits
for two by the time we had the last one in!
With nice calm weather for most of the day
I got some good practice running pots down
without having a lot of horsepower to maneuver.
Nailed that part... no buoy missed or sucked
down the center channel on the hull. It was
fun and a bit challenging when it picked up
to about 15 knots. I did manage to break off
some spectra on the prop working out a line
issue. Oh well we pulled off a beautiful and
productive hail Mary even if it was on "impulse
power" LOL!
November 18
Tea Sea and crew decided to make it a crab
and rockfish combo today. We scored limits
on crab and then rounded
up some rockfish by San Gregorio
including a nice 12 pound lingcod
for Jackie!
November 16
I wasn't around this year for the crab opener
but I finally got out today with Captain Tom
on the Tea Sea for my first limit
of tasty Dungeness. As always
most of them went into a double batch of my
bisque but Jeff and I savored a couple for
dinner.
October 12
I got an offer to fish for salmon which was
great as "plan A" however after
only a few scratched baits and zero hook ups
we switched to "plan B" late in
the day. Just outside the entrance to San
Francisco Bay 3we rigged up to drop in for
a quick couple of rockfish.
I had brought along some HookUp Baits that
I had purchased earlier in the year after
watching people go nuts over them at the Fred
Hall show in Long Beach.
Having fished for a little over 5 decades
I've seen stuff come and go in the industry
and I was skeptical that these new baits would
be any different from other lures I've used.
Well the first one I tied on was hammered
as soon as it hit the bottom. I chalked this
up to having added some scent (another brand)
I had applied. The Bolina rockfish tore into
it repeatedly and I hooked a lingcod
as well. I retired the first jig to do a comparison.
This time I did not add scent. The assault
continued and I had a limit of quality Bolinas
in short order. I also released another lingcod.
The bottom line is these lures are amazing
and I can't wait to try them on other species.
Thanks HookUp
Baits for saving the day!
October 3-7
So back in March while at the Fred Hall Show
in Long Beach I had a chance to field Sergio
Fainsztein for suggestions on events to attend.
He filled me in on the 12th annual Casting
For Souls presented by Fishers
of Men West Coast, Van
Wormer Resorts and Soles
4 Souls. Seeing how I hadn't been to Baja
since 2013 I felt it was time to put the "Baja"
back in Baja Bev.
I'd had a really nice week in the stock market
so I strolled over to the Van Wormer booth
and made reservations for a 4 night stay with
2 days of fishing. Then I called Jeff and
said "You want to go with me or am I
bringing a girlfriend?" I'm pretty sure
I mentioned it would be his best shot at his
long-desired attempt at getting a wahoo. Yep!
He was in. I decided to go all out and buy
premium seats on Alaska Airlines too.
We flew in on a hot Wednesday and shuttled
to Palmas
De Cortez in the East Cape with two other
couples who were also attending the event.
After dropping our luggage, ice chest and
my rod tube off in our Garden Room we hit
the pool bar for some nice cold cocktails
and a little meet & greet before assembling
the rods and reels and checking in with the
fishing reservation office to order our lunches
for our first day of fishing.
Thursday morning after a quick and early
breakfast at Tito's we lugged our gear down
to the dock and boarded the vessel J&B
with captain Joel and his deckhand Diego.
Based on my research looking at the SST and
weather we opted to go south. Once I had unfurled
my wahoo lure bag which was crammed with bombs,
Rapalas, Marauders, etc.. they knew we had
one mission in mind; Jeff's first wahoo.
With "Muy caliente" water and very
clear blue I might add we had high hopes on
day one but aside from some dorado
we boxed we didn't see any signs of the target
species and the wind picked up enough to give
us a bit of a bouncy ride by late afternoon
on the run back in.
We decided to cheer ourselves up at the pool
where we heard that one wahoo was caught near
Cerralvo Island. For the rest of the hotel
guests yellowfin tuna seemed to be the biters
of the day.
Friday's weather was great and we got an
early start towards Cerralvo vowing to not
throw in the towel as much as I was hoping
secretly Jeff might. We fought a couple of
skipjacks who were not deterred
by the high speed trolling but the day went
on without any hits by the toothy "skinnys".
I actually napped, which is something I almost
never do.
Captain Joel turned us back towards the coastline
and started a pattern between Punta Perico
and Cueva de León as our final attempt
at catching Jeff's unicorn. I had been photographing
some nice homes on the shoreline and kicked
back once more to take a snooze.
I'm not sure what I heard first; the reel
singing or Diego shouting "Wahoo"
but I was up and making sure Jeff had control
of the rod. I quickly snapped a couple of
pics and then went to pop my sunglasses on
and grab the GoPro.
Well as if we didn't have enough action on
deck fate decided to racket it up a notch.
As I grabbed my sunglasses which were hanging
below my neck I suddenly felt a stinging sensation.
I swiped at my neck wondering how I could've
had (what I first assumed to be) a jellyfish
sting. I flicked my hand down at the seat
cushion and a honeybee appeared and staggered
around. Diego was quick-thinking and plucked
the stinger out of my neck and dabbed some
bleach on the bite.
GoPro now in hand I plunged it over the side
and filmed hoping a wahoo would materialize.
Sure enough I saw the unmistakable silver
cylindrical form make its way up through the
crystal clear water just a quarter mile off
the beach. Diego planted the gaff and Jeff
was no longer a wahoo virgin!
On Saturday we both spent time helping out
with the main cause of the event which was
the “shoe giveaway” where over
4,000 people coming to Los Barrilles received
shoes, socks, shirts, belts, sunglasses, and
more. With the orphanages visited nearby on
the days we were fishing, the grand tally
was over 5,000. There were 70 volunteers for
this event and they were some of the nicest
people you'll ever meet!
August 29
Captain Tom, my friend Dwight and I had the
privilege of taking Howard and his friend
George out for a day of fishing aboard Tea
Sea. Our plan had hoped to be for salmon,
especially since we noticed anchovies all
but completely clogging the outer harbor and
bay outside of Pillar Point. We had dirty
brown water though and after making a brief
try and seeing nobody else around we opted
for our second course of action. Rockfish
off San Gregorio!
The bite was decent even as a southerly was
in the making and we kept an assortment of
rockies including large blues,
deacons, coppers,
vermilions, olives,
widows and canaries
(As Dwight coined "We found the aviary
and filled the birdcage".) Howard got
a cabezon as well and we
kicked back a few short lingcod.
The humpback whales abounded today and we
had our fill of seeing them out feeding and
cavorting.
If you're wondering why it was a privilege
to take Howard out it's because of all he
does for the Captain
Rollo's Kids at Sea foundation.
August 23-26
The third annual "Sadie Hawkins"
trip on the Polaris
Supreme out of San Diego got an early
jump out of the landing and as we listened
to the song "Cake by the Ocean"
and I passed out mini cupcakes by Cupcakes
Squared. They were the perfect kick start
to our fun, frivolity and soon FISHING!
Our crew consisted of Captain Tommy Rothery,
Alec Robbie, Roman Lira, "LB" (William)
Stephens, Brice Barney, Anthony Mazzoli, Jake
Moss and Mike Kouris our wonderful chef.
The kelp paddies were holding! Dorado
and yellowtail were hitting
the deck by that afternoon and a few small
yellowfin tuna were caught as well. Ann's
husband Tony bagged the first dorado of the
trip however he put his wife's tag on the
fish so she got the nice dorado patch I had
from Spider
Stitches.
Mike served up his famous prime rib for
our first dinner and I started to hand out
raffle prizes including some items generously
donated by Bob
Sands Fishing Tackle and brought down
by Alecia.
The weather got a tad nautical that night
and through part of the next day. We had a
pretty seasoned and stalwart group so it didn't
slow us down much. My battle epic battle of
the trip occurred on this day as I pared down
to a lighter 30# rig; Seeker custom CJBF and
a Shimano Torium 16. I cast out a black anchovy
4 oz. iron and got bit on the drop. I fought
the 60 pound plus, 99% probable bluefin, for
about 45 minutes before the split ring holding
the treble hook poofed. (I'm being very conservative
on the estimate as the crew helped me shift
over the anchor a couple of times...) My knot
held (a double San Diego jam). My topshot
splice held (uni to uni). The rod/reel combo
was epic and I was winning. That was one lucky
fish! Not going to miss number one in jackpot
due to that again. (I plan on sending the
jig to the manufacturer to give/get some feedback.)
On Saturday the Red Rooster III was out on
the grounds near San Clemente with us as well
as a few nice sized sportfishing yachts. There's
only one reason you'll see boats like these
up off a California island and that's due
to big bluefin lurking. I'm talking cows!
We had kite rotations with one big tuna taking
a close look swirling the water below a flying
fish bait but overall it was a slow pick for
everyone out there.
With nice weather on our last day I decided
to have a competition among our three married
couples. The crew filled up a large garbage
can with water and tossed in a large mackerel
and a small school of sardines. We then lined
up our competitors and discussed the rules.
Each team picked one angler and one assistant
and they'd have 2 minutes. Here's where it
gets interesting though... They weren't fishing
for the fish. They were "Fishing for
Floaters"! Yep! Plastic poop.
Like last year, all the jackpot winners were
yellowtail. We did have at least one small
bluefin landed as well as
a couple of white seabass,
some sheephead, whitefish
and assorted rockfish to
round out the catch.
Stephen O'Rourke won the top raffle prize;
a custom made (for him) Seeker Rod.
August 18
The nice thing about doing research and volunteering
this past week aboard the Huli
Cat is that it offered us the perfect
reconnaissance to scout where we'd fish today
with the Bay
Area Sportfishers Club who charted the
vessel again this year.
With beautiful and reasonably calm seas our
group of 20 decided to fish the deeper water
off Pigeon Point. While it was not sunny and
hot it was not cold either. We had some fog
but visibility was good and besides a day
of great fishing we were treated to longs
bouts of entertaining sea lions and humpback
whales feeding in the vicinity and sometimes
coming within very close range to check us
out!
Captains Tom and Michael Cabanas took us
to a spot that produced very large and hard
fighting olive, yellowtail,
copper, greenspotted,
rosethorn, and vermilion
rockfish. Sprinkled in to that main
mix were some widow, blue,
bocaccio, and canary
rockfish. Michael and deckhand Dylan
attended to our group's needs throughout the
morning, retying busted off gear and working
out tangled lines in addition to gaffing or
netting fish.
As we were approaching rockfish limits we
made a call to move to a shallower area and
try to find some lingcod
which had proved elusive all day. I rigged
up a 7"
creature in the Matin' Squid color (the
tail is glow, and glow is your friend!) and
snipped off my shrimpfly above it. Just for
the heck of it it added a small octopus. As
we waited for Tom to set us on the drift and
give us the ok to "drop them in",
I showed Michael how the lure swam seductively
just below the surface.
The strike that followed once I started to
bounce the bottom was viscous to say the least!
I got in about 3 or 4 cranks before the fish
turned and attempted to rock me. Thankfully
we had a slow drift and I was able to back
off the pressure for a second or two allowing
the fish to move and then proceeded to work
it loose from its hidey hole. It tried to
run on me once more just before we had a glimpse
of it but I continued to grind and Mike sank
the gaff into a nice 15 pounder.
Out of professional courtesy I had chosen
not to get in the jackpot today so a very
nice vermilion took the money while I was
happy to claim bragging rights.
Dylan and Mike filleted fish on the way in
and I had 3 one-gallon bags of huge rockfish
and lingcod fillets to bring home!
August 16
Today was yet another day spent volunteer
angling aboard the Huli
Cat with the CCFRP
crew. We caught, recorded and tagged close
to 350 fish (see the trip below for species)
and had some very nice catches including a
lingcod just shy of 39"
and a couple of big cabezon.
The weather was gorgeous and I'm looking
forward to fishing on the Huli Cat on Saturday
with the Bay
Area Sportfishers Club!
August 14
Today I participated in a CCFRP
research trip on the Huli
Cat out of Half Moon Bay, CA. We sampled
the Año Nuevo MPA and with the perfect
weather and water conditions the fish were
aggressively on the bite!
Stationed up on the bow I caught 6 lingcod
and numerous species of rockfish including,
blues, deacons,
gophers, vermilions,
coppers, Bolinas,
canaries, blacks
and a China. One of the black
rockfish had a tag from a previous year and
they collected the tag and released the fish.
It will be interesting to know the history
on that guy!
July 25-30
Jeff and I are fortunate to be able to go
to some of the world's top fishing spots and
I like to try new places however sometimes
you come across a place that's just so special
that you just keep going back. Queen
Charlotte Safaris off the coast of British
Columbia is hands down my favorite cold water
species destination. Why? Well let me break
it down to my top five reasons.
First. I have friends and family that occasionally
join me and not all of them can fish "big
water" without getting seasick or getting
knocked about in rough seas. In 7 trips (I/we
go in July or August) I have never had a day
of fishing lost or even severely compromised
due to weather. If you look at a map of Haida
Gwaii (formerly Queen Charlotte Islands) you
will see the reason for this is the superb
protection that the islands offer between
Graham and Moresby Islands. The predominant
northwest wind is deflected by the sheltering,
heavily forested mountain peaks throughout
the Skidegate Channel leading to the Cartwright
Sound. If you do not want to gamble on bad
weather this is the place to go!
Second. I have been to the Galapagos Islands
to dive and have fished off the Farallon Islands.
What does this have to do with Haida Gwaii?
They are similar zones in the Pacific Ocean
that have the perfect environment to create
an ideal and rich habitat for fish. With the
right structure, upwellings and forage fish
the Cartwright Sound is set for feeding the
longest run of migratory salmon anywhere.
(I have had trips where I've caught 4 species
of salmon!) Most of the fish come through
in waves to feed and then move on to Alaska
or the lower 48. There are also halibut, lingcod
and numerous rockfish that can be caught here
as well.
Third. lodge owner Valerie Hoperich and her
staff have the EVERYTHING completely dialed
in. She provides outstanding service, impeccable
hospitality and the extra nuances I would
expect from a 4 or 5 star resort; scheduling,
flights, accommodations, well-designed fishing
boats, cuisine, etc.. Pack some clothes and
just let her handle the rest.
Fourth. Unlike other places I have gone in
the Pacific Northwest there is very little
fishing pressure (both sport and commercial)
around Haida Gwaii. Combine that with the
generous fish possession limits and I find
it hard to even consider booking a trip anywhere
else, especially Alaska.
Five. Although the predominant reason I go
to Haida Gwaii is to fish there are plenty
of other options to tour, and every time I
visit I discover a quaint town, explore a
new beach or hit a hiking trail. There are
lots of things to do and see and I highly
recommend staying an extra day or two to see
one of the most pristine and serene places
on the map! On this particular trip Jeff and
I toured Naikoon-Agate Beach via Masset with
some stops to eat and shop along the way.
This year we had the pleasure of pairing
up with Wayne Ridley as our guide and teaming
up with us to fish, and also hailing from
NorCal, were Emily Hamilton and Rebecca Woodruff.
While it was the warmest and driest trip
I've ever encountered in British Columbia
we did get some overcast and fog along with
some wind. As I mentioned above in my second
paragraph, the only hindrance this caused
us was not being able to go beyond the usual
salmon grounds in the inlet and bay entrance
to visit Marble Island and some of the surrounding
pinnacles.
Emily and I really enjoyed getting "hands
on" experience setting the down riggers
and Rebecca is skilled with running a boat.
We all took some turns at the wheel and Jeff
got the GoPro coverage on some of the action.
In between bites we laughed, joked (ask me
about my butt bruise, acquired the day before
I left home, nicknamed China sometime.) We
never lacked for food or drink or a good story!
We saw black bears and fed eagles as we fished
alongside stunning scenery.
By the end of day three we were working as
a well-oiled machine and having a blast as
a new wave of nice Chinook salmon
rolled in. Emily also had the largest Coho
(silver) salmon of our trip at 15
pounds and a lingcod as well.
Many thanks to Chef John who kept offering
me things to eat that were not on the nightly
menu. Those pork ribs, red pepper soup and
custom grilled cheese sandwich were over-the-top!
You truly feel like you're part of the family
when you fish at Queen Charlotte Safaris.
I'll be back in 2019 or 2020... maybe even
both years if I play my cards right.
July 17
It's been a great week as far as weather
and having the fish cooperate so it didn't
take too much arm twisting for Dean to get
me to go again today.
While I still has to be at his home by 4:30
am, this time we only had to trailer to Half
Moon Bay.
We ran uphill to Pedro Point and boxed our
limit of salmon (no brutes
but at least we didn't have shaker city).
On the return trip down we managed a baker's
dozen in rockfish and Dean
got 2 decent lingcod while
I released a small one. I also released a
graceful decorator crab and a starfish...
I just needed a sea slug for the IGFA trash
slam LOL!
July 15
Dwight, Fred and I were Tom's crew today
aboard Tea Sea and we had warm weather and
a flat ocean as we turned south from Pillar
Point Harbor. As we started looking for signs
of life and actively flying salmon nets we
got a tip to roll further down to a section
of San Mateo coastline near Tunitas Creek
where we saw the Huli Cat and several
friends in private vessels catching salmon.
Although we had to deal with some jellyfish
they didn't seem to bother the fish and we
started to land a couple. All of a sudden
we had a feeding frenzy with fish hitting
the deck in short order. A double hook up,
then a triple. My Seeker BCS 270-7 was saddled
with a new Accurate Valiant 400; the blue
and silver reel looking very cool with the
perfect rod for today's action. The biggest
fish of the day (although they weren't big
ones) hit my anchovy-laced chartreuse rotary
salmon killer behind a pink lady with a green
Mack's salmon snubber.
A little after noon we got the final fish
for limits all around and headed back to enjoy
the rest of a beautiful Sunday.
July 13
Dean and I took advantage of a nice day to
go salmon fishing. We launched
his Airslot from San Francisco and headed
north of the golden gate.
The bite wasn't red hot but we put two in
the kill bag and tried for a halibut on the
way back in.
June 27-29
Due to the fact that I was supposed to fish
2 trips almost back-to-back I didn't attend
the Tuna Wars IV Captain's Reception but you
bet your butt I wasn't about to miss fishing
with Team Hard Merchandise on the Tomahawk!
We boarded the vessel Wednesday evening and
made our way out to sea from Seaforth Landing
in San Diego. We had a full moon and a full
cast of characters, many of whom were returning
from previous years, however this was finally
my turn to join the fun and frivolity with
a great group of anglers.
Along with celebrity Captain Dave Marciano
and his wife Nancy of "Wicked
Tuna" fame we also had Howard from
Captain
Rollo's Kids at Sea (this organization
is the whole reason for the event), and Sergio
Fainsztein of Angler
Chronicles who brought along his cameraman,
award winning outdoor videographer and expert
aerial cinematographer, John Senften. Add
a fantastic group of men and women who love
to fish and listen to rock and roll while
doing it and you have our team!
Captain Jeff Spafford likes to fish hard
core and fully expected us to do so and we
did not let him down! The bluefin
tuna were out and about and by Thursday
evening we had coaxed up 5 or so and had 1
yellowfin aboard too.
On Friday we poked around at a spot which
we hoped held bigger quarry. While loading
up on some feisty yellowtail
at a kelp paddy stop I observed one guy starting
to empty a good portion of his reel and thought
he might have a big yellowtail... Thankfully
the crew acted quickly to get everyone else
out of the water and give chase to what would
become our biggest bluefin of the trip! The
fight was one of the most epic battles I've
ever witnessed and I've seen some stuff! I'll
leave you with this hint... Start watching
Angler Chronicles!
In between fish bites Edmar kept the galley
churning out great food, and Mikey and Trevor
(TJ) rigged most of my lines and lures. (I
had my reading glasses packed in my other
bag for what was supposed to be my next trip
on the Intrepid which was cancelled.)
The Tomahawk (formerly the Eclipse) is a
well run boat with a passion for fishing.
(I'm part Cherokee and my Indian name would've
been Wrestles with Fish LOL!) Do yourself
a favor and check them out!
June 19
I managed to get up at 3:30 am and get to
Dean's by 4:02 where we trailered his Airslot
towards Half Moon Bay. Along the way we picked
up Dean's high school fishing buddy Lee.
The ramp was packed but orderly and we saw
Mike Jones and a few other out around the
launch ramp in the pre dawn. We ran down the
beach and dropped 6 crab pots to soak while
we fished.
We then headed out towards Deep Reef area,
stopping briefly to try an area with birds
and whales but it had jellyfish and we didn't
get bit. So we forayed further out and set
up.
Dean had been off the water since my last
trip with him and he was pumped to say the
least to get on these big salmon
he'd been hearing about. I kept saying "We're
going to need a bigger kill bag".
There was a steady pick of fish being fought
and landed around us. Dean and Lee were running
apexs off the port down rigger and off the
back with a cannonball rigged rod. I had a
chartreuse FBR on the starboard down rigger
with an anchovy. We only had one tray of primo
bait so we wanted to make it last.
I noticed some humpback whales on the outside
slapping their huge pectoral fins on the water
and enjoyed a few more breaching whales in
the distance.
Then my rod went off! I danced with a big
brute of a salmon who was intent on getting
away. It porpoised through the surface several
times and dogged down. Lee kept saying "Just
slide him into the net..." and finally
about 15 minutes later I had it lined up and
in the net! A 28 pounder! I was stoked to
say the least. And like my big fish yesterday
it was a male hatchery fish.
Over the next hour or so we added 5 more
for limits between 14 and 28 pounds! A lot
of those were 18-22. The fish were up high
in the water column again today. We never
set the rods below 40'.
Lee and Dean had a double which made for
some frantic fishing and netting but we got
both fish in.
Big salmon littered the deck; on the floor,
in the bleeding bucket; in the cleaning tray...
LOL!
After the main quarry had been cleaned and
iced, we ran to a few rockfish spots. I managed
a few while the guys knocked out our limits.
No big lingcod were around but Lee and Dean
kicked back several baby lings.
We headed in the collect the contents of
the crab pots ending the day with 22 Dungeness
to top off the kill.
June 18
Capt. Tom, Mark, Jim, Joe and I departed
Half Moon Bay aboard Tea Sea, Tom's nice 32'
Albemarle around 7:45 am for some salmon
fishing. We headed due West in gorgeous water
out to Deep Reef. After finding out the down
riggers wouldn't work the guys tossed on dog
whistles and weights. I rigged up a pink lady.
Thankfully the fish were on top. Fish were
hitting between 28' - 40' deep and most were
high teens and mid 20's. We started off running
half fruit (WMApex) and half anchovies. Switched
it up to all chovy after first two fish.
Joe was the hot stick but the boys had a
few LDR's. I got a big fatty (Sacto looking
fish) and played it off the port side of the
boat. Just as it was going into the net and
I couldn't see it I had the hook whiz by my
head and rod went slack. Not to worry! The
last little pressure I hit it with put it
straight into the net. The 24 pound fish was
loaded with anchovies and he put up a great
fight!
We updated Dean who was planning to come
out the next day and said we were packing
it in with 9 but ate my words a few minutes
later when we got the devil to bite while
cleaning the last fish in the box. LIMITS
for FIVE!
Our fish ranged from 15-24 pounds and I had
the only hatchery fish which was a male.
Sure I could've stayed home and made $5,000
trading VSTM this morning but sometimes you
just have to take a day off work and go play!
Going out again tomorrow!
April 13
Dean left me a phone message to call ASAP
and I thought maybe we'd be trying for halibut
in San Francisco Bay - The last thing on my
mind was salmon fishing. Well much to my surprise
it was a shout out to go after king
salmon out of Moss Landing.
I rolled over to Dean's at 5:15 am and we
towed his recently re powered boat down to
launch. While paying the ramp fee we discovered
a cell phone someone had left. I didn't want
to risk leaving it there so we brought it
along and I left a contact note in it's place.
The ocean was somewhat jackass but we were
able to deploy the down riggers and started
fishing around 175'-200'. A few boats were
reporting fish but it was not a wide open
bite. Dean had the first fish hit his rod,
which was rigged with an anchovy, at around
10 am. He played it towards the boat while
I steered into position and had the net waiting.
At the last minute the fish took a wrap on
the down rigger clip and I thought we'd lose
it but I swung the net and we managed to get
the 16 pound fish in the boat. One down, three
to go!
Since our weather had greatly improved and
reports of fish at shallower depths had been
reported we adjusted the troll depth to 150'-
175'. Humpback whales were breezing through
and we had 3 stripped baits before fish number
two rang in on Dean's rod.
The jellyfish were thick today and we had
to reset lines often and just before noon
I opted to drop down a green Lhur Jensen Krocodile.
A little while later I was rewarded with a
25" salmon (approx. 6.5 to 7 pounds).
Around 1 pm the wind kicked back on and we
turned in the direction of the landing. Dean
boxed the last one about 15 minutes later
after a minute or two of trying to decide
if it was a line fouled with jellyfish or
an actual fish. When we cleaned the salmon
they were all plugged with anchovies.
Back at the ramp, DFG said we were the 4th
boat to have limits and most had 1 or 2 fish
counts per boat. As Dean went to get the trailer
the "lost" cell phone rang and we
were able to reunite it with a guy who'd been
fishing on another boat. KARMA rewarded us
today!
January 24
After my first visit to Lake Mead a couple
of years ago I swore I wouldn't return without
a fishing rod. So when my sister, Marilyn,
and my bro-in-law in training, Bob, gave me
a nudge to come visit I went the extra mile
and booked a guide. Captain Mark Edison runs
private charters through his web site Adventure
in Angling and I had a chance to make
some inquiries with him via email to get a
feel for how he rolls. He was very forthcoming
on sharing information and answering my questions.
Marilyn and I booked an afternoon trip and
we met up at the Boulder Harbor launch ramp
as Mark was bringing his morning group in.
The sun was shining and the lake was calm
as we set out in the 2017
Pathfinder 2600 HPS. Mark had this vessel
specially built and as someone who has fished
off her fair share of boats, I was impressed!
We headed off to make live bait and Mark let
me maneuver while he threw the cast net. Marilyn
helped with the assist on getting the bait
out of the net and into the bucket. Mark has
several "wells" so he can hold baits
of several sizes to prolong their fresh state.
From there we went hunting and on our first
drop both Marilyn and I had striped
bass hit within seconds of each other!
I have been stoking my sister's renewed interest
in fishing and Mark was attentive to teaching
us the tactics in working the lake. A day
on the water with local knowledge is worth
it and I soaked up as much as I could for
future reference. The bite was not red hot
but the lake hadn't turned and it was unseasonably
warm still. We wound up keeping 3 stripers
and released the others. Mark really impressed
me with his experience and friendly attitude.
It's no wonder that he's one of the most popular
guides on the Lake.
Of course we got to talk about a lot of fishing
stories on the salt pond too. I'd also love
an opportunity to fish with Mark sometime
on saltwater. Who knows? Maybe we'll cross
paths down in Baja someday.
January 11
Well who am I to turn down fishing for rockfish
in January... At Ano Nuevo to boot! Wouldn't
you know, the students participating in the
studies at CCFRP
needed their trusty volunteer anglers to come
out to fish today. Dean got into the program
and he made the cut to go too so I picked
him up on the way to Pillar Point Harbor to
board the Huli
Cat.
The weather was awesome and the fish were
biting. I was up on the bow while Dean fished
the stern. He was truly amazing today as he
caught 4 yelloweyes. He got
a pair of tickets to the Monterey Bay Aquarium
for that cool trick too.
Link
to my 2017 Fishing Diary
Link
to my 2016 Fishing Diary
Link
to my 2015 Fishing Diary
Link
to my 2014 Fishing Diary
Link
to my 2013 Fishing Diary
Link
to my 2012 Fishing Diary
Link
to my 2011 Fishing Diary
Link
to my 2010 Fishing Diary
Link
to my 2009 Fishing Diary
Link
to my 2008 Fishing Diary
Link
to my 2007 Fishing Diary
