Local Moo-moo Bocaccio Limits 04/11 w/pics
Hey guys,
Limits Salmon Grouper Spell Fish Tacos!
Rode a ¾-day moo-moo yesterday ……. Wednesday. Great to be able to look at the counts on a full complement of our sportfishing species and have a pick of the many different boats and landings here in the L.A. basin and South Coast area further south.
Lots of deck-space and a spacious galley make this moo-moo a good, all-weather ride. With one engine, she’s no speed-boat but is certainly no slower than the majority of vessels fishing locally or nearby Santa Catalina Island. She comfortably carried …… a little bit over half of what she is licensed to carry.
Although the season is getting under way, a large percentage of anglers are still guys who have fished through the last few tough months and not always fantastic fish counts. Glad to meet someone on the boat now that has started their fishing for the season. Regulars, occasional-anglers, and newbies on the rails…… it’s all good. Customary fishing outfit check resulted in pretty good marks on anglers having adequate gear! You can be sure the deck makes this check too! ha ha ha Few under-gunned setups (outfit or terminal tackle) were seen at the rail which is also a good sign of fewer potential tangles.
Note: Countdown One of Interest!! Next countdown will be when the landings begin their Summer Schedule ……. which usually begins within the first two weeks of May. There have been cases where the start schedule was extended at bit to meet fishing conditions.
Target Fish Salmon Grouper and Assorted Species
Short Report- Wednesday 04/11
Around 50 anglers caught limits of Bocaccio (Salmon Grouper: 1 fish per person), double digit on the Whitefish, a handful of Rockfish, some Sand Bass and a knarly fishy that often has a mouth about as wide as their stubby little bodies are long.!! Oh ya …..Pretty cool seeing a Sunfish swimming around checking us out.
(Please widen your view to fit monitor if word-wrap looks off)
Wednesday 04/11 Jackpot
Contender ………………Weigh-off ……………...Winner!
Salmon Grouper Takes Top Honors
There were a number of contending Bocaccio or Salmon Grouper at weigh-in. The winner was caught in water maybe 180 feet plus but not anywhere near the 250 mark. On the deep side it was 200 feet max and later on 90 feet on the inside and the shallow end of the pool. For finbait, Sardines were the bait of choice for the big boys while some fished Mackerel ….. with undetermined success. Others soaked frozen Squid as well as Shrimp and Mackerel slabs. Congrats the winning angler! Have a good time on the Excel! I'm sure that trip will fill up quickly!
Long Report
Water-Ski Race
The Plan
Left the dock pretty much on schedule. Got the required speech on lifeboat location and emergency procedures. Whatever boat one rides … these instructions seem the same!!! And few listen to the details! You can tell a nervous-Nelly newbie if they come running over asking for details they didn’t catch! Lifeboats? Lifeboats? Anywho, most either rigged for the soak-a-fin-bait marathon or to fish frozen Squid or Shrimp (except me fishing plastics) once the day’s plans were given by the skipper. For the guys that could hear it, today was to be a day we would go for the Salmon Grouper first and then see what transpired thereafter.
Sure enough, as we had some very healthy, long-time, cured Sardines in the tank (cold water doesn’t hurt either), I figured the skipper planned on us starting fishing from the outside for Bocaccio in a little deeper water.
The Days Fishing
Fished Wide Area ………………………………... ;.......... ;....... Moderate Currents!
Out to Pasture
Saw a Number of Moo-moos
Moo-moo 1 ………………………….…Moo-moo 2
Saw a Number of PB Anglers
Nice Boat …………………….....& #46;.........& #46;....Another ……………………….... 6;........And Another
The Fishing …. Details …..Details
One of 4 Sisters
In and Out
First Round We initially headed straight out on the ‘Shoe’ with our live fin-bait …. nice healthy 5~6-inch Sardines. I wonder just how many moo-moos in the fleet have got this precious commodity? Check that ….. rhetorical question only! Had a good amount of frozen Squid supplied by the boat. As we obviously had the hardcore Sheephead aficionados on board, a good number of bags of Shrimp could be seen here and there. We went directly to what is sometimes termed outside waters near the four (Sisters) E’s oil platforms. As there was a fairly strong current, the slightly less than 200 feet of water seemed a little deeper. Still …. At least it wasn’t the ‘Searching for Captain Nemo’ and accidentally snagging the Natilus routine .... Whew!!
We fished both drifting and anchoring on hard-bottom. Just about everybody used a dropper rig w/2-hook ganion but many didn’t seem to get it that one needed 8oz of weight minimum!! Seeing the situation for what it was from the get-go, I decided that I would just chill, not worry about trying to fish my plastics. Instead, I did have a good time advising fellow anglers on rigging (only because I was asked), helping my buddies untangle lines, give some encouragement, and enjoy some spirited conversation. Gave me a chance to take pictures of the many anglers that were doing what they were supposed to and work at catching fish!
Met Paul who was working the deck and very much enjoyed BSing with a guy that obviously loves fishing. Every time I turned around he was running around helping someone with this and another with that. Here’s another deck that’s brings a good supply of expertise and patience on board.
We moved a number of times for a uniformly slow bite and nothing really turned on early in the day! Things looked promising if only because a number of fellow moo-moos came to the area so ………… somebody must have ‘called-in’ somebody. In a couple of hours of hard fishing, we decided to make a major move and moved with a running time of around 20 minutes.
Second Round Moved into water that may have been a bit shallower and had some structure as hang-ups were a bit more common. The rigging and bait used were about the same as the first round. I did start to fish my heavier leadheads/sliding-egg sinker rig to get my plastics down but with little effect. Little by little bags were getting a little heavier and, with Paul’s occasional hosing of the deck and bags, had some color to them. We managed an increasing number of fish and the weather and water conditions were as stable as one could ask.
We again fished an unbelievable variety of bottoms that the Horseshoe Kelp is known to offer. In this round, we were targeting Reds, Whitefish, Sheephead, and a Bass or two as well as the Bocaccio. Meeting manys expectations, we finally got enough Bocaccio to reach a limit and moved off and away to yet even shallower water and a possible meeting with Mr. Sculpin, Mr. Ling or the other usual shallow-water, structure suspects. Pulled the hook around 1 or 1:30pm.
Last Round Fished for the shallow-water species with diminishing returns for our effort and time remaining. Moved a couple of times with little difference in the bite. Everyone still fished hard and I continued my efforts to get anything to bite the plastic. With weather and water conditions worsening……. strangely coinciding with the drop in fishing being hooked, it was about time to head for the barn. Nope ….. we fished for what seemed like hours longer (maybe 45-minutes or so) before the skipper finally said to reel it in and get ones fish out for the jackpot!
Conditions: Slightly overcast in the very early morning but burned off before noon. When the sun came out it was warm and bright enough that many pulled out the suntan lotion. Fished in areas with water temps that ranged in the 57º~60º range.
Air temp may have been in the low-50ºs earlier but despite the overcast the air temperature started to slowly rise for a peak at around 1pm. Two layers of clothes made it confortable. Swells and wind-waves height varied as did the intervals early while getting higher and stacking tighter later toward time to head for the barn. As you can judge from the many pictures, besides the current, the water stayed laid down pretty good most of the day.
Gallery
Beauties of the Trip
Bocaccio …………………………………………&# 46;.........&# 46;.........&# 46;..Another!
The Fish– Keepers
Lots Of Fish
Roger’s Fish ………….Nice Fish …………Twins
Jim’s ……………....... .Barberpole …………On Parade
Another ………………… Floating ………………………….... .Buddies
Nice Catch…………Nice Starry ……...Good One
Deckhand-Paul ………………….....Mr Mambo …………………….....& #46;.... Nice Dines
Know This Buoy? ………………………...Sandy
Let Them Know
The photos above are just a sample of the fish and things of interest, at least to me, on this week’s trip.Note: If you see a friend in the pictures, let them know they can copy the photo off the report, save, edit, and print it at their leisure.
Plastics
Kitchen Sink ……………………Skunk
Hard Night's Day
Short and Sweet ….. I skunked myself real good! No Sweat! I’m the guy that goes out in the dead of Winter, where it’s a dead-on, sure-thing we’ll be fishing in 200-foot plus, 56 degree water …….. and fishes plastics. That’s plastics only and hours later with a Squid strip added.
Armed with this acceptance of the conditions, it was a little later in the day when I actually put a linein the water. I used my usual SW Bass gear Used 15lb-test, low-stretch mainline and a 4-foot length of 20lb-test Seaguar fluorocarbon for good abrasion resistance and almost zero stretch.
The producing colors have been red, and orange for our Vermilion Rockfish (Reds) and California Scorpion Fish (Sculpin). It was …..the closer to the fishes color the better! Now I’m totally clueless. That’s with the exception of a chartreuse tube lure that has consistently produced on a number of species.
Switched weights and leadhead styles to match the plastic. I fished right on the bottom 70% of the time after the fall, 10% the bottom 15 feet, and around 10~20% on top. Some of the Bass were actually way up in the top 10 or 20 feet of the water column and I was going after them and the stray Barracuda that a sharp eye could spot from time to time. Got a follow from a single small cuda.
Again, the bite was ultra-light as it has been during the last few weeks with Squid strips being slightly nibbled but no jerks, grabs and such. Hook-ups occurring on about the third foot of a slow lift. Taking or should I say sacrificing the amount of time in what I think was the productive zone of the water column, I lightened up on my leadhead weight from a range of 4 ounces down to 3/8th of an ounce and swimbait sizes ranging from 6 inches to 2 ½ inches in length. You’d think the lighter baits would increase sensitivity!!
I never broke out my braid outfit today.
Tweeking Plastics #27
Haven’t had time to experiment with the idea so ….. maybe in the next few weeks. Working on a Sand Dab replica in plastic from a homemade mold. To add a little hint from the master design, I’m using a specialized product that will help you take care of (make easy to throw away) some troublesome-to-get-rid-of something that is used and or produced in the kitchen.
Wednesday Out There
Lunar ………………………………….. Wind Direction and Speed!
Tide ……………………………...&# 46;.........&# 46;.........&# 46;.........&# 46;.........&# 46;........Water Temps!
Swell Direction…………………………..W ave Height!
Wednesday’s Conditions
Fishing Grounds: The air-temperature at boarding was in the low-60’s, got all the way to the high-70’s later in the day until the wind picked up later to knock down the perception of temperature to the 50’s once again. Water temp was mostly between 58º and 61º degrees if even for a 2-hour period. Water clarity was around 4 to 5 feet at most. Current speed stayed down around the normal ½-mph as a constant from the first drop but increased slightly as the afternoon weather began to take effect. At the end … the current and the wind were against each other ……. similar to Tuesday ……..which caused the boat to swing pretty good. Through the day, swells were 2½ to 3½ -feet at from 12 to 18 second intervals. Clash with the uphill current caused a larger wind-waves atop the swells which brought them to around 8~10-feet at 12 to 16 seconds.
Wild Creatures: Saw a Sealion but it didn’t stay around long. Our old buddy the Cormorant was back looking for floaters along with the Seagulls and one lonely California Brown Pelicans.
Asides
Aside: It was cool to again see a Sunfish in our local waters within a week as they are not that common. Japanese love these fish as they are recognized as being intelligent while somewhat comical. They are nick-named Mr. Mambo and are often characterized as wearing glasses and being studious. Favorites of school children …… along with the Sea Otters (Rakko-chan) Chan is term of endearment.
Another Aside: It’s nice to see the anglers’ average number growing on the local boats. More anglers = more boats and more runs. But ….. If you Cherish your space when fishing a moo-moo, you’d be advised to take advantage of present week-day loads and limber up your tackle before the season kicks into high-gear. Remember last year? …….that line on the spool that you added a 50-foot topshot of older line so as to fish in that emergency! Check your stuff!!
Yet Another Aside: Suntan lotion or do they call it Sunblock now ?…. No matter …. Don’t put it on any part of you or your gear that’s going to transfer the stuff to that wary fishy, thus giving them a chance to take a sniff and head for the hills! One guy I know claims that half the stuff on the market that is marketed as ‘fish attractant’ is, in reality, little more than a human-odor mask.
Last Aside: Day at the Docks Countdown !! Just [font color=�red�]9 days to go. When: Sunday, April 22nd, 2007, Hours: 9 AM to 5 PM, Where: San Diego Sportfishing Landings, Point Loma, San Diego. http://www.sportfishing.org I’m going to be down hanging with my buddies and hope to see some of you there.
Wall Breakers
Trips End
Interesting to meet lots of new anglers on the boats. Don’t be shy to identify yourself as a reader at the first of a trip and I’ll catch you with a good fish to put in these reports. I was off this boat by 4:00pm and home with some daylight left. Took some extra travel-time but still got home before running into too much traffic.
JapanRon
