JapanRon
08-31-2007, 10:23 AM
Catalina Bassing and Quest for the 3B’s!
Hi there guys,
Wednesday 08/29
Went on a 3/4-day moo-moo out of Pierpoint Landing. Fished the Victory. Mike was the skipper, George was on deck, and Ron ran the galley. Fished the front-side of Santa Catalina Island around the Isthmus for Bass, Bonito, and Barracuda. Had a mere 21 anglers on board a vessel certified for 92!! Again ….. it looks like the average angler-numbers on weekdays is somewhat leveling. Might be a good time to consider coming out for some decent fishing without the crowds
Note: Countdown: September 22nd will be the second FREE FISHING DAY this year for everyone in California. That’s 23 days away. It would be a great day to get a non-angler out on the water while saving a little cash ………. Especially a group or big family trip!
Target Fish:Bass, Bonito, and Barracuda
Short Report-Wednesday 08/29
21 anglers caught 4 Barracuda, 22 Calico Bass, 11 Bonito, 1 Sheephead, 1 Opaleye, and a number of small not-easily-identified Rockfish!. The usual pesky Mackerel were not bothersome as their visits were sporadic and few. Grade of keeper-fish for the boat was generally good. Besides the usual bunch of dink bass … we had Calicos going to 3lbs and Bonito going to 4lbs. Pretty sure there were signs of Yellowtail way, way out at a distance from us. Dogs were thick … furballs were coming at us two and three at a time.
On bait, Anchovies were generally small. Not bona fide pinheads ….. with some 2 1/2~4 inchers in the mix. A buddy who was watching the bait come aboard said there weren’t any Sardines in the mix but I saw some larger pieces.
The AM Arrived at the island around 9:30am. Plenty of wind and white-caps developed about a half-hour after we left the harbor! Planned on hitting the Isthmus then points south if necessary. We moved ……. and moved ……. hitting a number of prospective spots as the bite either didn’t develop and or dogs cleared out the areas’ prospects…… or both! ha ha.
Sccccratchy catching on the legals overall in the morning. Mix of fish between Calicos and Bonito. No Barracuda landed or Yellowtail hooked!
The PM Again, scratchy overall in the afternoon too but the last stop … (which we returned to from an earlier visit) produced a good bit of our total. This is just another example of spots having fish (what skipper would drop the hook on a spot without fish??), that refuse to bite at the time, and the skipper feeling the bite will occur given time ……… returns later for success. (see aside)
(Please widen your view to fit monitor if word-wrap looks off)
08/29 Jackpot
Contender …………….....Winner!
http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h313/tsurikichi/FROM1229/FROM0422/0829condend.jpghttp://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h313/tsurikichi/FROM1229/FROM0422/0829winner.jpg
Bonito
Way to go on catching the jackpot fish John! A small but solid Bonito was the winner today. The 4~5-lb fish was caught on plastic …. right beside me … as usual. ha ha Had a number of serious contenders! Ron, the cook, actually caught the biggest fish … a Calico … which was quickly released. (see aside)
Long Report
Bait
Lively Bait
2~3-inch flippy Anchovies in good condition was what we got today! Great chum, and smaller hook-bait …….. still made for action catching the 3Bs! Even if we had gotten dines, conditions at Catalina were such that it would probably not do much good anyway.
The Days Fishing
Fishing CAT …………………………………………†¦â€¦.....Current!
http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h313/tsurikichi/FROM1229/FROM0422/0829catmap.jpghttp://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h313/tsurikichi/FROM1229/FROM0422/0829Current.jpg
Grazing in the Pasture
Moo-moos and Such This Trip
Look Familiar? ……………………........................So uthern Cal
http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h313/tsurikichi/FROM1229/FROM0422/0829thunderbird.jpghttp://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h313/tsurikichi/FROM1229/FROM0422/0829moosocal.jpg
Huh .................................................. ............Dive Boats
http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h313/tsurikichi/FROM1229/FROM0422/0829ship.jpghttp://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h313/tsurikichi/FROM1229/FROM0422/0829diveboats.jpg
PBer’s This Trip
Nice …………………….......................... ....Here Fishy …………….................... Big Enough?
http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h313/tsurikichi/FROM1229/FROM0422/0829PB2.jpghttp://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h313/tsurikichi/FROM1229/FROM0422/0829PB1.jpghttp://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h313/tsurikichi/FROM1229/FROM0422/0829yacht.jpg
Little Tin Boat
http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h313/tsurikichi/FROM1229/FROM0422/0829widbirdrock.jpg
Round-Up
3 Rounds
1st Round
Round 1 Went to the Isthmus first. Most fished the dropper-loop and 2~4oz torpedo and Anchovies. Same-O, Same-O every week where~ever it seems. Water depth was shallow from 60~70 feet deep in both sandy kelp and hard bottom areas. Fished quite a bit outside the kelp lines generally. Not much going on with a number of smaller fish being caught. Pulled the hook to find better water.
Further North
http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h313/tsurikichi/FROM1229/FROM0422/0829widnorth.jpg
Next we headed up a little north to give it a try with still the same results. Lots of small bass and a few Bonito over the rail. Just enough action to keep one on their toes. Sealions everywhere.
2nd Round
http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h313/tsurikichi/FROM1229/FROM0422/0829widsouth.jpg
Round 2 Everybody just fished on!! By this time we had moved south as we were going to go and tried the area around Frog Rock. Frog Rock didn’t look so much like I remembered it but my rail-buddy confirmed it’s identity. Again we dealt with the current, wind and swell to catch a fish here and there. After a good try and hard chuming, and the bite still didn’t develop after a reasonable time, we headed back north to around Bird Rock.
3rd Round
http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h313/tsurikichi/FROM1229/FROM0422/0829widbirdrock.jpg
Round 3 I’d say most of our fish were caught at Bird Rock. Good variety with Bass, Bonito, Sheephead, the one Barracuda, and an Opaleye or two bagged at this … our last spot. We didn’t move into even the outside edges of the kelp but again ….. stayed pretty much out of the area with heavy stringers.
Conditions: Warm and sunny with a breeze with a cooler afternoon breeze! Water visibility at maybe 15 feet most places. Air temp stayed between 70º~75º during the fishing day.
Gallery
Beauty of the Day
http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h313/tsurikichi/FROM1229/FROM0422/0829beauty.jpg
Fish & Anglers
Bonito …………................Mikes ……….............Good One ………...........Bonito ...................... Bonito & Bass
http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h313/tsurikichi/FROM1229/FROM0422/0829jimbone.jpghttp://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h313/tsurikichi/FROM1229/FROM0422/0829midebone.jpghttp://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h313/tsurikichi/FROM1229/FROM0422/0829nickbone.jpghttp://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h313/tsurikichi/FROM1229/FROM0422/0829brandon.jpghttp://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h313/tsurikichi/FROM1229/FROM0422/0829winner.jpg
Let Them Know
The photos above are just a sample of the fish and things of interest, at least to me, on this trip. Note: If you see a friend in the pictures, let them know they can copy the photo off the report. [b]Directions: Click the right button with the ‘cursor’ on the picture, then click on ‘save picture as’, next choose where they wish to copy the picture, and lastly click ‘save’. Later, they can edit and print the picture at their leisure with a simple photo-editing program.
Plastics Tweek #41
Nothing new this week.
Plastics
Threw ‘em All ……………………...Buddies Bunch!
http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h313/tsurikichi/FROM1229/FROM0422/0821plastics.jpghttp://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h313/tsurikichi/FROM1229/FROM0422/0829buddyplas.jpg
Good and Bad
As usual, I fished ….. plastic only. I did terrible –count-wise- but no skunk. My buddies caught Bonito, Barracuda, and Bass on a pearl-colored Kalin (been our standard for 3 years) left and right. Seeing that was the go-to bait ….. I immediately started fishing other models, color-combos, leadhead weights and leader-tests. Why fish what you know is the go-to bait when it’s more interesting to look for alernatives!
My buddy on the other corner had the same kind of day as myself except ….. with a little better catching. He tried all of the baits you see in the above pic. I too ran through a like number. I got hits on the red metal flake blams and a Kalin-like swimbait that was a beautiful burnt orange color. No pic …. It got bit off!!
We constantly fished in 70 and 80 feet of water where-ever we went there was hard-bottom with kelp, reef areas, or softer bottoms with scattered kelp forests. Seemed like most of the better fish were caught on the fall near the bottom. Quite a few dinks were up high in the water column … as usual. We never got close enough to a substantial kelp paddy to try dropping a bait onto a mat and wait for the explosion.
Moon & Sun
Lunar ………………………………………..... .....Tides!
http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h313/tsurikichi/FROM1229/FROM0422/0828-29Moon.jpghttp://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h313/tsurikichi/FROM1229/FROM0422/0829Tide.jpg
UV Alert!
http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h313/tsurikichi/FROM1229/FROM0422/0829PNGUVj.jpg
Wednesday’s Conditions
Fishing Grounds: Conditions were windy and water choppy with lots of current.
]Wild Creatures[/color]: Saw many Sealions …… 2~3 at a time. Seagulls were around especially when it was time to clean fish. Didn’t see any eagles this trip.
From The Deck
George
http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h313/tsurikichi/FROM1229/FROM0422/0711deck1-1.jpg
Having just seen a ‘veteran’ patron, who should know better, dip their gunny sack into the open top of the bait tank to get it wet …… deckie George just sighed. Knowing that is a no-no, I had to ask the specifics as to how that screwed up the water or bait in the tanks. Turns out I was right about the loose fibers in the sacks being the problem.
Seems that the fine fibers that come off a bag ….. especially the as-yet-unused bag … suspend in the water and cause two things to happen to the bait.
1) The poor critters think there is something in the water to eat and they go into a feeding cycle with their mouths open which eventually croaks them.
2) The fine filaments get into the baits gills and causes fatal injury.
Request from George: If you want to wet your sack, you have lots of opportunities as the deckhand is almost always washing down the deck before departure, after bait up, etc. anyway. Translation: Cut it out !!
For me …. I noticed that most bait tanks have a section where the water from the bait trays naturally drains off into , then down and out into the ocean. If one wetted their sack in that section only, no harm should occur to the finbait in either the tank or in the trays.
Know what this is??
http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h313/tsurikichi/FROM1229/FROM0422/0829mystery.jpg
Asides
An Aside:
DFG Topics NEW
http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h313/tsurikichi/FROM1229/FROM0422/DFGTophalf.jpgTsurikichi©2007
Supplement
A 2007 freshwater/marine sportfishing regulation supplement has been issued!! Although there doesn’t seem to be a lot in the booklet relating to Southern California proper, if you’re fishing up north …. a goodly amount of information is provided.
Another Aside: Moo-moos
Mooooooo!
http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h313/tsurikichi/FROM1229/FROM0422/NewBotTable.jpg
Long Beach Landing
http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h313/tsurikichi/FROM1229/FROM0422/BoatLod0828j.jpg
Moo-moo Load Averages
Guys are often asking me what days are lighter during the week. I’m in the process of making a chart to reference the weekly load % averages for our sportfishing landings’ ½-day (am/pm), ¾-day, and twilight boat runs. Charts will not have the name of the landing shown but simply indicate which of the 3 areas main geographical areas locally were chosen for the survey. (SMB/L.B.-S.P./South Coast)
I’ll first choose one landing from each area for the first 3 weeks then rotate the areas ….eventually having done all the landings. I figure this will be a good representation of the Summer season.
Yet Another Aside:
Bigger Fish- We all know them. They are usually the quiet, unassuming types. I’m talking about the Big-Fish Calico Bass anglers. Saw it again this trip. Ron seems to be a charter member in this hallowed group. Trip after trip … year after year … the following routine transpires. Ron makes a one-time appearance on deck, takes his plastics stick and makes a few …. I mean … literally just a few casts. He catches the biggest Calico or Sandbass of the trip, returns the fish to the water, and returns down into the depths of his lair ….er …. the galley! Now you see ‘em now you don’t!! Awesome!
Next to Last Aside:
Mentioned the business about rainchecks for a variety of reasons on fishing trips a couple of posts ago. Mike saw fit to give the patrons a half-fare pass on this trip. Can’t help but think that was pretty generous. Regardless of count ….. consider this ….. water temperature at the ‘Shoe’ was 59º (from 75º two weeks ago) and ……… he could have sat it out with other local boats, we had a lite load, he stayed more than an hour later than usual, and we had our chance to and did catch fish. That’s what I was talking about when I mentioned generosity.
Last Aside:
The Last Stop- The last stop always seems to generate comments by veterans and newbies alike. Good or bad catching …. yea or nea. Two of the all time classics, mostly from the uninitiated, is …. ‘We’re back here …. Why didn’t we just stay here in the first place?! or ‘Why didn’t we just stay at the last (such and such) spot, the (fill in their preferred species of fish) were still there, biting, etc.?!’
If the angler is serious and not making a joke ….. the answer is pretty clear-cut in my not-so-humble opinion. Here’s some comments overheard on occasion …… whatever the catching.
1) The skipper wanted to go exploring other potential spots for future trips. NOT
2) The skipper wanted to save the spot and ONLY use it if other spots didn’t pan out. NOT
3) If limits were caught on the first stop, the skipper would have nothing to do. NOT
4) If limits were caught earlier the skipper would have to go search for other species and work harder. NOT
5) The skipper wanted the last stop to be close to the barn. NOT
and one of the all-time favorites …..
6) The skipper wanted to goof-off and just mark time till with a few stops till it was time to produce enough fish for a showing and go home. NOT
The Real Deal:
There is an overwhelming possibility that the water temperature variations (and breaks), current direction, current speed or lack thereof, wind speed and direction in relation to current, type of fishy marks and or type of bait shown on the meter make for an ever-changing and often difficult to decipher (with 100% accuracy) ‘bite’ read!
Conclusion:
No skipper has a crystal ball to foresee conditions that may change within a short span of time …. like 10 minutes!! Skippers return to previous stops as the potential of the spot was recognized and conditions more conducive to the ‘bite’ … ‘turning on’ have developed ‘with time’.
The Boat
The Victory
http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h313/tsurikichi/FROM1229/FROM0422/0802Victory.jpg
Layout
Stern Numbers .............................................. Boat Colors!
http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h313/tsurikichi/1122stern2.jpghttp://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h313/tsurikichi/1122boatcolor2.jpg
The Crew
Mike file photo …....................... Deck- George ……….... Galley- Ron
http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h313/tsurikichi/FROM1229/FROM0422/0821Mikebait.jpghttp://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h313/tsurikichi/FROM1229/FROM0422/0711deck1-1.jpghttp://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h313/tsurikichi/FROM1229/FROM0422/0703ronbass.jpg
End of A Great Day
Had a fun and productive day at Catalina and caught more than my share of fish ………. on plastic ……. in a color ……. I found worked! A lite load, good number of regulars, club members, and a new friend or two made up a GREAT GROUP and …………. Mike showed his generosity in giving the boat rainchecks to the tune of half-fare!
JapanRon
Hi there guys,
Wednesday 08/29
Went on a 3/4-day moo-moo out of Pierpoint Landing. Fished the Victory. Mike was the skipper, George was on deck, and Ron ran the galley. Fished the front-side of Santa Catalina Island around the Isthmus for Bass, Bonito, and Barracuda. Had a mere 21 anglers on board a vessel certified for 92!! Again ….. it looks like the average angler-numbers on weekdays is somewhat leveling. Might be a good time to consider coming out for some decent fishing without the crowds
Note: Countdown: September 22nd will be the second FREE FISHING DAY this year for everyone in California. That’s 23 days away. It would be a great day to get a non-angler out on the water while saving a little cash ………. Especially a group or big family trip!
Target Fish:Bass, Bonito, and Barracuda
Short Report-Wednesday 08/29
21 anglers caught 4 Barracuda, 22 Calico Bass, 11 Bonito, 1 Sheephead, 1 Opaleye, and a number of small not-easily-identified Rockfish!. The usual pesky Mackerel were not bothersome as their visits were sporadic and few. Grade of keeper-fish for the boat was generally good. Besides the usual bunch of dink bass … we had Calicos going to 3lbs and Bonito going to 4lbs. Pretty sure there were signs of Yellowtail way, way out at a distance from us. Dogs were thick … furballs were coming at us two and three at a time.
On bait, Anchovies were generally small. Not bona fide pinheads ….. with some 2 1/2~4 inchers in the mix. A buddy who was watching the bait come aboard said there weren’t any Sardines in the mix but I saw some larger pieces.
The AM Arrived at the island around 9:30am. Plenty of wind and white-caps developed about a half-hour after we left the harbor! Planned on hitting the Isthmus then points south if necessary. We moved ……. and moved ……. hitting a number of prospective spots as the bite either didn’t develop and or dogs cleared out the areas’ prospects…… or both! ha ha.
Sccccratchy catching on the legals overall in the morning. Mix of fish between Calicos and Bonito. No Barracuda landed or Yellowtail hooked!
The PM Again, scratchy overall in the afternoon too but the last stop … (which we returned to from an earlier visit) produced a good bit of our total. This is just another example of spots having fish (what skipper would drop the hook on a spot without fish??), that refuse to bite at the time, and the skipper feeling the bite will occur given time ……… returns later for success. (see aside)
(Please widen your view to fit monitor if word-wrap looks off)
08/29 Jackpot
Contender …………….....Winner!
http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h313/tsurikichi/FROM1229/FROM0422/0829condend.jpghttp://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h313/tsurikichi/FROM1229/FROM0422/0829winner.jpg
Bonito
Way to go on catching the jackpot fish John! A small but solid Bonito was the winner today. The 4~5-lb fish was caught on plastic …. right beside me … as usual. ha ha Had a number of serious contenders! Ron, the cook, actually caught the biggest fish … a Calico … which was quickly released. (see aside)
Long Report
Bait
Lively Bait
2~3-inch flippy Anchovies in good condition was what we got today! Great chum, and smaller hook-bait …….. still made for action catching the 3Bs! Even if we had gotten dines, conditions at Catalina were such that it would probably not do much good anyway.
The Days Fishing
Fishing CAT …………………………………………†¦â€¦.....Current!
http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h313/tsurikichi/FROM1229/FROM0422/0829catmap.jpghttp://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h313/tsurikichi/FROM1229/FROM0422/0829Current.jpg
Grazing in the Pasture
Moo-moos and Such This Trip
Look Familiar? ……………………........................So uthern Cal
http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h313/tsurikichi/FROM1229/FROM0422/0829thunderbird.jpghttp://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h313/tsurikichi/FROM1229/FROM0422/0829moosocal.jpg
Huh .................................................. ............Dive Boats
http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h313/tsurikichi/FROM1229/FROM0422/0829ship.jpghttp://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h313/tsurikichi/FROM1229/FROM0422/0829diveboats.jpg
PBer’s This Trip
Nice …………………….......................... ....Here Fishy …………….................... Big Enough?
http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h313/tsurikichi/FROM1229/FROM0422/0829PB2.jpghttp://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h313/tsurikichi/FROM1229/FROM0422/0829PB1.jpghttp://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h313/tsurikichi/FROM1229/FROM0422/0829yacht.jpg
Little Tin Boat
http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h313/tsurikichi/FROM1229/FROM0422/0829widbirdrock.jpg
Round-Up
3 Rounds
1st Round
Round 1 Went to the Isthmus first. Most fished the dropper-loop and 2~4oz torpedo and Anchovies. Same-O, Same-O every week where~ever it seems. Water depth was shallow from 60~70 feet deep in both sandy kelp and hard bottom areas. Fished quite a bit outside the kelp lines generally. Not much going on with a number of smaller fish being caught. Pulled the hook to find better water.
Further North
http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h313/tsurikichi/FROM1229/FROM0422/0829widnorth.jpg
Next we headed up a little north to give it a try with still the same results. Lots of small bass and a few Bonito over the rail. Just enough action to keep one on their toes. Sealions everywhere.
2nd Round
http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h313/tsurikichi/FROM1229/FROM0422/0829widsouth.jpg
Round 2 Everybody just fished on!! By this time we had moved south as we were going to go and tried the area around Frog Rock. Frog Rock didn’t look so much like I remembered it but my rail-buddy confirmed it’s identity. Again we dealt with the current, wind and swell to catch a fish here and there. After a good try and hard chuming, and the bite still didn’t develop after a reasonable time, we headed back north to around Bird Rock.
3rd Round
http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h313/tsurikichi/FROM1229/FROM0422/0829widbirdrock.jpg
Round 3 I’d say most of our fish were caught at Bird Rock. Good variety with Bass, Bonito, Sheephead, the one Barracuda, and an Opaleye or two bagged at this … our last spot. We didn’t move into even the outside edges of the kelp but again ….. stayed pretty much out of the area with heavy stringers.
Conditions: Warm and sunny with a breeze with a cooler afternoon breeze! Water visibility at maybe 15 feet most places. Air temp stayed between 70º~75º during the fishing day.
Gallery
Beauty of the Day
http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h313/tsurikichi/FROM1229/FROM0422/0829beauty.jpg
Fish & Anglers
Bonito …………................Mikes ……….............Good One ………...........Bonito ...................... Bonito & Bass
http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h313/tsurikichi/FROM1229/FROM0422/0829jimbone.jpghttp://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h313/tsurikichi/FROM1229/FROM0422/0829midebone.jpghttp://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h313/tsurikichi/FROM1229/FROM0422/0829nickbone.jpghttp://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h313/tsurikichi/FROM1229/FROM0422/0829brandon.jpghttp://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h313/tsurikichi/FROM1229/FROM0422/0829winner.jpg
Let Them Know
The photos above are just a sample of the fish and things of interest, at least to me, on this trip. Note: If you see a friend in the pictures, let them know they can copy the photo off the report. [b]Directions: Click the right button with the ‘cursor’ on the picture, then click on ‘save picture as’, next choose where they wish to copy the picture, and lastly click ‘save’. Later, they can edit and print the picture at their leisure with a simple photo-editing program.
Plastics Tweek #41
Nothing new this week.
Plastics
Threw ‘em All ……………………...Buddies Bunch!
http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h313/tsurikichi/FROM1229/FROM0422/0821plastics.jpghttp://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h313/tsurikichi/FROM1229/FROM0422/0829buddyplas.jpg
Good and Bad
As usual, I fished ….. plastic only. I did terrible –count-wise- but no skunk. My buddies caught Bonito, Barracuda, and Bass on a pearl-colored Kalin (been our standard for 3 years) left and right. Seeing that was the go-to bait ….. I immediately started fishing other models, color-combos, leadhead weights and leader-tests. Why fish what you know is the go-to bait when it’s more interesting to look for alernatives!
My buddy on the other corner had the same kind of day as myself except ….. with a little better catching. He tried all of the baits you see in the above pic. I too ran through a like number. I got hits on the red metal flake blams and a Kalin-like swimbait that was a beautiful burnt orange color. No pic …. It got bit off!!
We constantly fished in 70 and 80 feet of water where-ever we went there was hard-bottom with kelp, reef areas, or softer bottoms with scattered kelp forests. Seemed like most of the better fish were caught on the fall near the bottom. Quite a few dinks were up high in the water column … as usual. We never got close enough to a substantial kelp paddy to try dropping a bait onto a mat and wait for the explosion.
Moon & Sun
Lunar ………………………………………..... .....Tides!
http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h313/tsurikichi/FROM1229/FROM0422/0828-29Moon.jpghttp://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h313/tsurikichi/FROM1229/FROM0422/0829Tide.jpg
UV Alert!
http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h313/tsurikichi/FROM1229/FROM0422/0829PNGUVj.jpg
Wednesday’s Conditions
Fishing Grounds: Conditions were windy and water choppy with lots of current.
]Wild Creatures[/color]: Saw many Sealions …… 2~3 at a time. Seagulls were around especially when it was time to clean fish. Didn’t see any eagles this trip.
From The Deck
George
http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h313/tsurikichi/FROM1229/FROM0422/0711deck1-1.jpg
Having just seen a ‘veteran’ patron, who should know better, dip their gunny sack into the open top of the bait tank to get it wet …… deckie George just sighed. Knowing that is a no-no, I had to ask the specifics as to how that screwed up the water or bait in the tanks. Turns out I was right about the loose fibers in the sacks being the problem.
Seems that the fine fibers that come off a bag ….. especially the as-yet-unused bag … suspend in the water and cause two things to happen to the bait.
1) The poor critters think there is something in the water to eat and they go into a feeding cycle with their mouths open which eventually croaks them.
2) The fine filaments get into the baits gills and causes fatal injury.
Request from George: If you want to wet your sack, you have lots of opportunities as the deckhand is almost always washing down the deck before departure, after bait up, etc. anyway. Translation: Cut it out !!
For me …. I noticed that most bait tanks have a section where the water from the bait trays naturally drains off into , then down and out into the ocean. If one wetted their sack in that section only, no harm should occur to the finbait in either the tank or in the trays.
Know what this is??
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Asides
An Aside:
DFG Topics NEW
http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h313/tsurikichi/FROM1229/FROM0422/DFGTophalf.jpgTsurikichi©2007
Supplement
A 2007 freshwater/marine sportfishing regulation supplement has been issued!! Although there doesn’t seem to be a lot in the booklet relating to Southern California proper, if you’re fishing up north …. a goodly amount of information is provided.
Another Aside: Moo-moos
Mooooooo!
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Long Beach Landing
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Moo-moo Load Averages
Guys are often asking me what days are lighter during the week. I’m in the process of making a chart to reference the weekly load % averages for our sportfishing landings’ ½-day (am/pm), ¾-day, and twilight boat runs. Charts will not have the name of the landing shown but simply indicate which of the 3 areas main geographical areas locally were chosen for the survey. (SMB/L.B.-S.P./South Coast)
I’ll first choose one landing from each area for the first 3 weeks then rotate the areas ….eventually having done all the landings. I figure this will be a good representation of the Summer season.
Yet Another Aside:
Bigger Fish- We all know them. They are usually the quiet, unassuming types. I’m talking about the Big-Fish Calico Bass anglers. Saw it again this trip. Ron seems to be a charter member in this hallowed group. Trip after trip … year after year … the following routine transpires. Ron makes a one-time appearance on deck, takes his plastics stick and makes a few …. I mean … literally just a few casts. He catches the biggest Calico or Sandbass of the trip, returns the fish to the water, and returns down into the depths of his lair ….er …. the galley! Now you see ‘em now you don’t!! Awesome!
Next to Last Aside:
Mentioned the business about rainchecks for a variety of reasons on fishing trips a couple of posts ago. Mike saw fit to give the patrons a half-fare pass on this trip. Can’t help but think that was pretty generous. Regardless of count ….. consider this ….. water temperature at the ‘Shoe’ was 59º (from 75º two weeks ago) and ……… he could have sat it out with other local boats, we had a lite load, he stayed more than an hour later than usual, and we had our chance to and did catch fish. That’s what I was talking about when I mentioned generosity.
Last Aside:
The Last Stop- The last stop always seems to generate comments by veterans and newbies alike. Good or bad catching …. yea or nea. Two of the all time classics, mostly from the uninitiated, is …. ‘We’re back here …. Why didn’t we just stay here in the first place?! or ‘Why didn’t we just stay at the last (such and such) spot, the (fill in their preferred species of fish) were still there, biting, etc.?!’
If the angler is serious and not making a joke ….. the answer is pretty clear-cut in my not-so-humble opinion. Here’s some comments overheard on occasion …… whatever the catching.
1) The skipper wanted to go exploring other potential spots for future trips. NOT
2) The skipper wanted to save the spot and ONLY use it if other spots didn’t pan out. NOT
3) If limits were caught on the first stop, the skipper would have nothing to do. NOT
4) If limits were caught earlier the skipper would have to go search for other species and work harder. NOT
5) The skipper wanted the last stop to be close to the barn. NOT
and one of the all-time favorites …..
6) The skipper wanted to goof-off and just mark time till with a few stops till it was time to produce enough fish for a showing and go home. NOT
The Real Deal:
There is an overwhelming possibility that the water temperature variations (and breaks), current direction, current speed or lack thereof, wind speed and direction in relation to current, type of fishy marks and or type of bait shown on the meter make for an ever-changing and often difficult to decipher (with 100% accuracy) ‘bite’ read!
Conclusion:
No skipper has a crystal ball to foresee conditions that may change within a short span of time …. like 10 minutes!! Skippers return to previous stops as the potential of the spot was recognized and conditions more conducive to the ‘bite’ … ‘turning on’ have developed ‘with time’.
The Boat
The Victory
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Layout
Stern Numbers .............................................. Boat Colors!
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The Crew
Mike file photo …....................... Deck- George ……….... Galley- Ron
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End of A Great Day
Had a fun and productive day at Catalina and caught more than my share of fish ………. on plastic ……. in a color ……. I found worked! A lite load, good number of regulars, club members, and a new friend or two made up a GREAT GROUP and …………. Mike showed his generosity in giving the boat rainchecks to the tune of half-fare!
JapanRon