The Salmon Season has officially begun in the Monterey Bay of California in 2010.Here is a video of the first salmon of the year caught off of Santa Cruz, California.

We left the Santa Cruz, California harbor at about 8:30 in the morning and were back at the dock at 11:30am with just one fish, but it was a nice one, and the first in two years!
What was the most amazing part of the day was the number of boats who went out looking for salmon. There were literally hundreds of boats out on the water according to California Fish and Game officials. The boats started leaving Santa Cruz Harbor before 5am, and were nearly lined up heading out of the channel until around 7:30 when it finally slowed down.

Here is a picture of the salmon that we caught in about 300 feet of water at about 10:00am Saturday April 3, 2010 off Santa Cruz.

King Salmon from Santa Cruz

As a bit of a follow up on how Half Moon Bay did with Salmon the first weekend, they did horrible compared to Santa Cruz.  Although I wasn’t up there, the reports are that the fishing was way less than one fish per rod, and more like 1 fish per 10 rods.  Also, the weather for the opening weekend was much nastier than down south in Santa Cruz.   So, if you are considering going fishing April 10th or 11th, my advice would be to fish Santa Cruz before leaving from Half Moon Bay.  The Soquel Hole was very nice to us, and to many other fisherman, and it sounds like the Soquel Hole might have been the best place in Northern California to be fishing for opening weekend of the Salmon Season this year.  If there are any other reports from Northern California salmon fishing trips, I will try to post them ASAP to get a better feel for what happened.  I am yet to hear anything from way up North at this point about the salmon fishing.

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Been a long time coming, but the Salmon Season is arriving this weekend on April 3rd, 2010!

Going to be going out on a 17 foot Boston Whaler out of Santa Cruz, California early on Saturday morning in hopes of hooking up with a few of the red meat fish.  It has been a few years for so many people to have the chance to go and do this once again, hopefully the weather will cooperate.

The latest reports from local friends along the Monterey Bay and Half Moon Bay parts of California is that the salmon are out there, so you bet my crew will already have the bait and gas ready when it comes time to go to bed on Friday night.  Our current plan is to head down to water a few miles off Moss Beach and to do some mooching with dead anchovies.  Mooching is fishing with the engine turned off with bait on a hook, and some weight to get the bait down to the desired depth.  This method is my favorite for salmon in the ocean as it allows you to feel the bite and set the hook on your own.  Also, it allows you to catch some sleep if you like with the hope of getting woken up by the sound of a fish pulling line against the drag.  Some people like using sardines for bait, and yet a very select few will use dead squid for bait when hunting for salmon.  I personally have never used the squid, but a few fishing buddies swear by it.

As for the fishing regulations, right now the rules for most of California are 2 salmon per person per day, and the minimum size is 20 inches.  Coho need to be thrown back to get those growing in numbers once again.

My hope is to be able to bring you all kinds of reports of how the action is and how things go down on the fishing side of things, if you have any great news to report on your end, feel free to comment it below.

Good Luck Fishing,

Fishing Feeds

Here are fishing reports from many different lakes and streams in Montana:

Gallatin River:

Fishing reports from the Gallatin have been pretty consistent and the overriding theme has been that the fish are stacked up in the typical winter lies (deep runs, long slow tailouts, and buckets/pools). The ice jam is no longer an issue on the Gallatin hopefully temps will stay mild enough that it won’t be an issue. We’ve been hearing pretty solid reports coming from the Gallatin with that recent stint of warm weather we had plenty of fishing opportunities – these past few days it got a little colder and there was some slush but not enough to make it unfishable. Fishing wise, eggs, some small stoneflies, midges, san juan worms will be your standard fare. With temps dropping back off and winter showing up again plan on winter fishing conditions and time your trips during the mid day to take advantage of the best water conditions.

Fly pattern suggestions: Bugger Brown, Black, Olive: 6 Bellyache Minnow Tan & Olive: 2 Mega Prince: 4-6 Mega Hare’s Ear: 6-8 Mega Pheasant Tail: 8-10 Lightning Bug: 12-14 Copper Johnson Chartreuse, Black, Yellow: 16-18-20 Rootbeer Float Gray: 16-18 Ugly Bug: 6-8-10 The Turd: 6-8-10 Eggs Chartreuse, Peach, Orange, Clown: 10 San Juan Worms Pink, Orange, Brown, Tan, Red: 10 Cap’n Hook Midge: 16-18 Zebra Midge Black & Red: 18

Big Horn River:

Winter fishing is at it’s best right now. Midges and some baetis are coming off during the mid-day. Nymphing has been good all day with small sowbugs and midge patterns, sizes #20-#22 seem to be the ticket. I have been using a #20 gray sowbug and trailing a #20 brass zebra midge w/brown thread body. Around noon the midges start clustering and make the trout much easy to catch on the surface. Before noon the trout are keyed on the single midges and the bugs are extremely small. I have been using a #22 dun cluster and doing very well on 6x. Around 1:30 some baetis have been coming off and on the cloudy days the trout have really key in to them. The Mayfly hatch has been lasting for about an hour or so then back to midges. Don’t let the cloudy cool days scare you off, it can be some of the best fishing of the year. Try to plan on shorter floats, A-3 or 3-B. Give yourself some time to fish the slower deep water. The water is cold and the browns have really come on the feed.

Big Hole River:

Water flow: 589 cfs

Visibility: 32 inches

Water temperature at mid-day: 43 Degrees F

Water condition: Clear

Best time of day to fish: Fishing is closed- see below.

Best stretch: Dewey Canyon

Best access point: George Grant Fishing Access

Fly fishing hatches in order of importance:

Midges, size #24, are coming off in the afternoon in the slower pools if the wind stays down and the air temperatures stay above 40 degrees.

Kootenai River:

Water flow: Discharge from Libby Dam is currently 4,000cfs

Visibility: 50 inches

Water temperature at mid-day: 42 Degrees F

Water condition: Clear

Best time of day to fish: 10am-3pm

Best stretch: The entire river is in good shape. It’s winter fishing but water conditions are great.

Best access point: From the Libby Dam to the border of Idaho the entire Kootenai is fishing well. With dishcarge from Libby Dam at 4000cfs the entire river is wade-able. Good access and fishing can be had up near Libby Dam, through the Canoe Gulch area and downstream from Libby between the 25-27 mile marks on the south side of the river (highway 2) specifically in the China Rapids area.

Fly fishing hatches in order of importance:

It’s definitely winter! Gray and cool is always baetis weather. The bugs are small, size 20, and it’s a 6x game to that end. Streamers are becoming effective again and deep water nymphing is moving fish as well. With a warming trend it’s actually kind of pleasant on the water lately. Don’t expect big numbers of trout. If you’re looking for quality and not quantitiy just stick with the big stuff and get the streamers down.

Central New York Fishing
February 26 – March 5

With all of the snow we have received over the last few days most areas now have lots of slush on the ice along with all the snow, making walking and fishing extremely difficult. There is little new fishing activity to report because of this.
Ice thickness varies greatly even on the same waterbody so please exercise extreme caution and your own good judgment if you decide to venture out onto the ice. A few fish are not worth risking a life threatening situation.

The time period for anglers to legally use and possess certified baitfish has been extended from seven to 10 days after purchase.

Region 7

Lake Ontario

map of lake ontario

The lake report has ended for the season. There are still steelhead and brown trout in some of the tributaries and many of the bays are beginning to freeze over.

Oswego River

the beautiful Oswego River

The river flow is currently at 5,780 cubic feet per second (cfs) as of 02/26. Ice and slush have been a problem on the river. Steelhead and brown trout are hitting beads, stickbaits, worms, minnows, egg sacs and white bucktail jigs.

Salmon River

Salmon River Fishing

The river flow is currently running at 500 cfs but will be dropping to 285 cfs. Slush ice has still been a problem on the colder mornings, but after it clears at mid-day fishing has been fair. Anglers have been able to spread out and are catching some fish in the lower and upper river. Good baits are black stoneflies, egg sacs (white or blue), pink worms and trout beads.

Oneida Lake

map of Oneida Lake

The area received close to two feet of new snow which has contributed to slush forming on top of the ice making conditions miserable for walking and four wheelers. Ice thickness is still varying greatly around the lake, so use caution if venturing out. Fishing picked up some last week for yellow perch in the 20-35 foot depth range. Anglers fishing very small jigs tipped with moussies are catching a few bigger perch. Big Bay is still producing bluegills and pumpkinseeds.

Sandy Pond

There is good ice on the pond with 18 to 24 inches reported. Yellow perch fishing has picked back up for anglers using small minnows, jigs tipped with spikes or perch eyes. A lot of small perch are being caught with some nice ones mixed in. Some bluegills are also being caught on small jigs tipped with spikes. Northern pike fishing has been fair with fish hitting on large suckers or shiners. An occasional walleye is also being taken on minnows.

Cayuga Lake

There are anglers getting out on the north end from the State Park, with reports of 4 to 5 inches of ice out to the channel, there is also a fair amount of slush and snow on the ice now. A lot of perch are being caught but mostly small fish and good numbers of chain pickerel are also being caught. Pickerel, though bony, are good eating. The easiest way to deal with the bones is to filet the fish and then grind the filets in a food processor and make fish patties with them. Size limit for pickerel is 15″ and the daily limit is 5. A few trout and salmon are being caught at AES, but overall it’s been slow shore fishing.

Owasco Lake

There are anglers getting out on the north and south ends of the lake with 3 to 6 inches of ice being reported on the north end and around 6 inches on the south end. Slush and snow are making walking very difficult. Yellow perch fishing continues to be slow but northern pike are hitting on large minnows. A few bluegills are also being caught in 10-12 feet of water on the south end.

Skaneateles Lake

There are anglers getting out on the north end with 3 to 4 inches of ice being reported to about the Country Club, there are also anglers getting out on the south end. Fishing has been slow for yellow perch and trout.

Otisco Lake

There is 8 inches of ice on the north end. Bluegill fishing continues to be slow as does the tiger musky fishing.

Whitney Point Reservoir

There are 12-14 inches on the reservoir. Some nice fish were caught during the derby including a giant 10 lb. 2 oz. walleye. Over all fishing has been slow but a few walleye are still being caught north of the islands.

Susquehanna, Chenango, Tioughnioga and Unadilla Rivers

The rivers are still unfishable at this time.
Lake Ontario

The Lake fishing report has ended for the season.

Genesee River

There is no new fishing activity to report.

Sodus Bay

There is reported to be 6-12 inches of ice on parts of the bay with snow and slush making walking difficult. Yellow perch fishing is still slow but some fish are hitting glo-jigs tipped with spikes, perch eyes or small minnows. Fish are being caught from 5 to 35 feet of water, and anglers having the best luck are moving looking for fish. Northern pike are hitting well on large minnows.

Irondequoit Bay

There is reported to be 4 to 6 inches of ice on parts of the bay with snow and slush on top. Yellow perch fishing continues to be slow for the larger perch but many small ones are being taken on jigs tipped with spikes or minnows. Anglers fishing the deeper water are getting some bigger perch.

Seneca Lake

Yellow perch fishing continues to be good in 30 to 45 feet of water for anglers using rosy reds, oak leaf grubs, spikes and worms around the Painted Rock area. Yellow perch are also being taken off the pier on small jigs tipped with spikes or moussies. Anglers top-lining stickbaits are still having very good luck on Atlantic salmon. A few Atlantics are also being taken off the pier on minnows.

Canandaigua Lake

There are anglers fishing the north end of the lake with around 5 inches of ice being reported.

Keuka Lake

There are reports of 5 to 10 inches of ice around the Penn Yan area. Fishing has been fair for perch and bluegills in 10 to 15 feet of water.

Waneta and Lamoka Lakes

There is reported to be about 12 inches of ice on both lakes with 3 to 4 inches of slush on top. Anglers are catching yellow perch on Waneta, and crappie and chain pickerel on Lamoka. Small jigs tipped with wax-worms are working well for the crappie.

Central Arkansas

Lake Conway:

Bates Field and Stream (501-470-1846) said the water is stained and at normal level. Bream are slow. Crappie are fair on white Crappie Stingers and chartreuse jigs. Bass are slow. Catfisihing is good on worms and chicken liver.

Dan at Gold Creek Landing (501-607-0590) said crappie have been biting fairly well some days and slow on others. All other species are slow.
Little Red River:

Lindsey’s Resort (501-302-3139) said the water is still running swiftly. The generators are down for about 4 or 5 hours early in the morning. Drift-fishing is about the only way to go. In-line spinners and Power Worms are working well.

Zachary Hoyt at Just Fishing Guides had no report.
Greers Ferry:

As of Tuesday, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reports the lake’s elevation at 462.49 feet MSL (Normal conservation pool – 461 MSL).

Tommy Cauley of Fish Finder Guide Service said the lake level is falling and the temperature is in the high 30s to low 40s. White bass and hybrids are moving around. You have to be over the right school at the right time to get a bite. You can fish 4 hours and maybe pick up a couple out of suspended fish that are lethargic and then get over a school that is even the least bit active and start picking some up. Fish spoons and swim baits extremely slowly for the best luck. Black bass fishing is a slow grind as well; try Wiggle Warts, jerk baits, and slow-rolled spinnerbaits as the shad die off will continue for a while. Crappie are biting fairly well on jigs tipped with minnows and fished 20 feet deep over 60 feet of water. Walleye have been hit pretty hard with the snow and cold. With a few days of sun, they will begin to get active again when the temp gets back to 46 or so. Try jigs tipped with minnows.

Shiloh Marina (501-825-6237) said there are a lot of baitfish flipping at the surface. No anglers have visited the marina lately, so there is no report on the fishing from this location.
Harris Brake Lake:

Coffee Creek Landing (501-889-2745) said the water is cold and clear. Bass are fair on Rebel crankbaits in 4 to 8 feet of water. All other species are slow. A few crappie have been caught on red/white jigs fished around brush.

Greer’s Sporting Goods (501-889-2011) said crappie are biting very well on white Crappie Stinger jigs with orange heads. The water level is beginning to rise.
Lake Overcup:

Overcup Landing (501-354-9007) said the water is 18 inches high and muddy. The surface temperature is 39 degrees. Fishing is slow.
Brewer Lake:

Overcup Landing (501-354-9007) had no report.
Lake Maumelle:

Jolly Roger’s Marina had no report.

Hatchet Jack’s Sport Shop (501-758-4958) said fishing is slow for all species.
Lake Valencia:

Hatchet Jack’s Sport Shop (501-758-4958) said trout are biting fairly well on Power Bait.
Sunset Lake:

Turbyfill’s Outdoor Sports (501-315-3061) said the crappie are fair on 2-inch, lemon meringue grubs. Bass are biting fairly well on finesse worms in 18 feet of water. All other species are slow.
Saline River Access in Benton:

Turbyfill’s Outdoor Sports (501-315-3061) said the water is high and muddy. Fishing is slow for all species.
Arkansas River at Morrilton:

Charley’s Hidden Harbor in Oppelo said the water is flowing around 95,000 cfs. Few people are fishing because of the weather. Catfishing is fair in deep holes below the dams on whole shad. Sauger are fair on chartreuse jigs fished below locks 9 and 10 and around Cypress Creek. Stripers are fair below dams 9 and 10 on whole shad.
Arkansas River (Maumelle Pool):

Hatchet Jack’s Sport Shop (501-758-4958) said crappie are fair on pink minnows fished from yo-yos in the Little Maumelle River. All other species are slow.
Arkansas River (Little Rock Pool):

Vince Miller from Fish N’ Stuff (501-834-5733) said the water and weather are too cold for most anglers. A few sauger are beginning to bite around Terry Lock and Dam.

Hatchet Jack’s Sport Shop (501-758-4958) said crappie are fair on pink minnows fished under a slip-cork rig. Sauger are fair on chartreuse ¼-ounce jigs. All other species are slow.

McSwain Sports Center (501-945-2471) said the water is muddy. Crappie are fair on jigs. Bass are fair on crankbaits. Catfishing is fair on skipjack. Bream fishing is slow.
Clear Lake:

McSwain Sports Center (501-945-2471) said the water is muddy and cold. Bream are slow. Crappie are biting well on minnows and jigs in the deepest parts of the lake. Bass are fair on jigs. Catfishing is slow.
Peckerwood Lake:

Herman’s Landing (870-241-3731) had no report.
Lake Pickthorne:

Hatchet Jack’s Sport Shop (501-758-4958) had no report because of the weather.

North Arkansas
White River:

John Berry from Berry Brothers Guide Service said fairly steady levels of heavy generation have impacted the fishing. The catch-and-release section below Bull Shoals Dam is open. Remember that there are numerous spawning beds (redds) containing freshly laid and fertilized eggs. Please avoid dragging chains through these areas. The redds will appear as clean depressions in the gravel. Some shad are coming through the dam. Be on the lookout for gulls feeding on the shad below the dam. The most effective flies will be white shad patterns. Be sure and have both floating and sinking versions. The hot fly during the past week has been a white marabou jig. The shad have been trickling through a few at a time. Concentrate on the bank or any heavy structure where fish can escape the current.

Sportsman’s White River Resort (870-453-2424) said the water is still running high. Trout fishing is good on Power Bait, frozen shad and white jigs.

Zachary Hoyt at Just Fishing Guides said Bull Shoals is running around the clock with seven units. Drift-fishing nymphs for numbers of fish or streamer fishing for fewer but larger are the two most popular techniques. For high water nymph rigs, use split shot and large indicators and adjust your indicator to maintain the proper depth. Use San Juan worms, scuds, copper Johns and egg patterns. Streamer fishing with integrated shooting taper sinking lines with 3-4 foot 0x-2x leaders and large flies is producing large fish. Try dead-drifting shad patterns with a twitching action near the dam or pound the banks with sculpin patterns further downriver. Fly patterns for streamer fishing should include circus peanuts, zoo cougars, fathead minnows, Arkansas beadheads, Davy’s shads, white zonkers and woolly buggers.
White River (From Shipp’s Ferry to Red’s Landing):

Jim Brentlinger at Linger’s Guide Service and Fishing Lodge (870-499-5185) said fishing has been steady, but not fast-paced. The best fishing is before noon each day. For the artificial bait fisherman, the Rapala still reigns as the best producer. Black/Gold/White is the best color and the best size is No. 7 or 9. There is still plenty of water, as the Buffalo River is still 4 feet above its normal winter range. Combine that input with the six or seven generators coming from Bull Shoals dam. One-quarter ounce White River Zig Jigs will produce a few trout when worked slowly near the bottom.
Buffalo River:

Zachary Hoyt at Just Fishing Guides said the water is too high for fishing pretty much through the entire river.
Crooked Creek:

Zachary Hoyt at Just Fishing Guides said the water level is 13.71 feet, about 11/2 feet over the low-water bridge at Kelly’s Slab. The creek is too high for fishing.
Bull Shoals Lake:

As of Tuesday, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reports the lake’s elevation at 654.16 feet MSL (Normal conservation pool – 654 MSL).
Lake Norfork:

As of Tuesday, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reports the lake’s elevation at 552.11 feet MSL (Normal conservation pool: Sept.-April – 552 MSL, April-Sept. – 554 MSL).

101 Grocery and Bait said cold weather has kept some anglers off the water, but fishing has been good for those who have managed to get out. Live bait and jigging spoons are catching fish well. The surface water temp is in the mid-30s depending on the area of the lake you are in. (Last updated 2-3-2010)
Norfork Tailwater:

John Berry from Berry Brothers Guide Service said there have been several windows of no generation at night. On the high flows, brightly colored San Juan worms (red, cerise and hot fluorescent pink) and egg patterns (peach and orange) have been the go-to flies. Work the banks and submerged weed beds. Dry Run Creek has fished well. The hot fly has been sow bugs in size 14. Worm brown San Juan worms and egg patterns have also done well.

Zachary Hoyt at Just Fishing Guides had no report.

Northwest Arkansas
Beaver Lake:

As of Tuesday, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reports the lake’s elevation at 1,120.63 feet MSL (Normal conservation pool – 1,120 MSL).

Bailey’s Beaver Lake Guide Service (479-366-8664) said fishing has been slow, but there are fish to be caught. Patience and cold-weather fortitude are the keys. There is a shad kill going on at Beaver Lake. The bait is staying near the surface, looking for the warmest water. Watch for birds to determine the best areas. Stripers will start their push upriver for the spawn soon, probably near the end of February. Most fish are suspending 10-30 feet deep. Free-lining shad and fishing them under balloons are the best techniques to use. An umbrella rig also will produce. With the cold front look for the bait and the Stripers to move deeper again. Live bait will be the go to approach. Some fish can be caught on jigs or jigging spoons. You will have to get in their face with whatever you use. The following areas should hold fish, however try to find the clearest water possible. This will most likely be in the Rocky Branch area. You will find a link to the Beaver Lake level and Flow charts for Beaver Lake Here. On the White River from the Highway 12 bridge to Hickory Creek, concentrate efforts near the channel. The water temperature is about 39-40 degrees. In Hickory Creek, the water is dirty and fishing is extremely slow. In Prairie Creek, birds are feeding consistently in the area. Look for fish from the islands to the bridge. Around Copper Mine, points 8 and 9 and 10 are holding some fish. At Rocky Branch, there is a lot of birds and bait in this area. Look near the bluffs by the marina, in front of the marina along the gravel bank across the bay to the “big rock,” and near “Red Bluff” and the road bed extending from the gravel bank to the island. The shad are about 5-20 feet deep and the stripers are scattered from 8-35 feet deep. Several trophy fish have been taken here. Around the Van Hollow Area, Twin Coves and Point 6 are holding fish and bait. On the main lake, try fishing jigging spoons 20-60 feet deep around points 5, 6, 8, 9 and 10.

JT’s Crappie Guide Service (479-640-3980) said bass fishing has been a bit slow. Try a suspending jerk bait or a Wiggle Wart off main lake and secondary points with timber. Fish have been suspending deeper on dark days and shallower on sunny days. Good color choices have been white, clown, crawdad and chrome/silver. Crappie have been biting well on sunny days, but have been poor on cloudy days. Try upstream from Hickory Creek around brush or timber close to the river or any creek channel in 20 to 35 feet of water. A chartreuse Shinneee Hineee tipped with a minnow should do the trick. White bass are hanging out in channel bends and in mouths of coves. Try locating a school of shad or bass with sonar then lower a jigging spoon down to them.

Southtown Sporting Goods (479-443-7148) said the water is clear and at normal level. Bream are slow. Crappie are biting well on minnows and jigs in 4 to 8 feet of water. Bass are fair on jerkbaits and crankbaits fished around rocky areas. Catfishing is slow.
Beaver Tailwaters:

Zachary Hoyt at Just Fishing Guides said generation has been lowered, offering many wading opportunities. The fish are very healthy and eating well. Warmer days will bring about smaller midges, so a zebra midge or cadion midge in a size 16-20 will do the trick. Many scuds and sow bugs have been seen. These flies need to be fished bouncing along the bottom. Larger fish are taking streamers stripped or dead-drifted along river bottom changes. Woolly buggers, Clouser minnows and slump busters in olive or white (when the shad come through) will get the more selective fish. Generation can start at any time, so be aware of the horn. Possible rain events later on in the week might make this low water a short gift. Get out and enjoy.
Kings River:

Just Fishing Guides said the Kings water level is 3.99 feet. This is good floating and fishing level, but the water is cold. Walleye should be staging in Table Rock to come up the Kings and spawn.
Lake Fayetteville:

Lake Fayetteville Boat Dock (479-444-3476) said fishing is slow for all species.
Lake Sequoyah:

Lake Sequoyah Boat Dock (479-444-3475) said the water is muddy and dropping. Bream are fair on crickets. Crappie are biting excellently on minnows and yellow Roadrunner jigs. Bass are fair on crankbaits. Catfishing is slow.

Northeast Arkansas
Crown Lake:

Boxhound Marina ( 870-670-4496) said the water is high, cold and clear. Bream are fair on worms. Crappie are biting well on minnows and jigs. All other species are slow.
Lake Frierson:

Lake Frierson State Park said a few anglers have been out, but fishing has been very slow.
Spring River:

Mark Crawford at Spring River Fly Shop said the weather is finally starting to improve and we had some great fishing over the weekend using Grandma’s Brownie and Cotton Candy. The warm spell brought on some great caddis and mayfly hatches. For daily updates, check out www.springriverflyshop.com. The river looks fantastic. Flows are at 460cfs and clarity is great. Float trips have been the most productive on numbers and bigger fish, but with the many access points are available and walk-in trips can be a blast also.

Southeast Arkansas
Lake Chicot:

Lakeshore Motel and Marina (870-265-9901) had no report.
Lake Monticello:

Fishing guide Greg Gulledge (870-723-3928) of MonticelloBigBass.com said not many anglers are on the lake. Fishing is slow for bass.

Southwest Arkansas
Millwood Lake:

As of Tuesday, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reports the lake’s elevation at 261.54 feet MSL (Normal conservation pool – 259.2 MSL).

Millwood Lake Guide Service said recent cold fronts dropped the surface temperature 8 degrees in five days. The lake level dropped slightly, but is still 2.35 feet above normal pool. Main lake and Little River surface temperatures are 42 to 47 degrees. Discharge at the dam is 13,296 cubic feet/second. The water is muddy in the main lake and heavily stained in the river. Bass have slowed with the recent cold snap. Some male bass were seen roaming flats before the cold and some prespawn females were staging in nearby creek channels. After the cold fronts, the most effective technique has been working a red Rat-L-Trap or threadfin shad-colored crankbait slowly through deep spots in creek channels. Slow-rolled chartreuse/white spinnerbaits are working along flooded creek channel swings and stumps. The Carolina Rig bite died with the cold. As the water begins to warm again, look for the clearest water available, typically upriver oxbows, during the mid-day and fish suspending Rogues and Cordell Red Fins in shallow flats near deep creek channels. The best locations are near remaining dead lily pad stems, hydrilla and pondweed, where the vegetation is growing close to stumps. Southern Pro Flipping Tubes, Magnum gitzits and flipping tubes with rattles, will draw a slow strike or two in remaining flooded grass and stumps in the deeper sections of creek channels. The best colors we have observed working for tubes and gitzits were pumpkinseed/chartreuse tail, black/blue tail or black neon. White bass are scattered but should begin their annual spawning run soon. They will be concentrated up Little River in the next few weeks. Crappie are slow, and the muddy current in Little River has pushed them deeper into planted brush. Not many crappie anglers were out over the past week, due to winter weather conditions. Channel catfish continue to bite well and are loving the increase of current in Little River. Blues and Channel cats are biting well on cut shad, Catfish Charlie and chicken livers along the increased current in Little River between Jack’s Isle and Mud Lake or on yo-yo’s hung from cypress trees in the oxbows over 10-15 feet depths.
White Oak Lake:

Local angler John Tilley said the lake is muddy and the water level is up and down. Fishing is extremely tough for all species. The new ramp and Starnes Landing is in place and open to the public.
Lake Columbia:

Steve’s Outdoor Sports (870-234-2222) said bream are fair on worms and crickets. Crappie are biting well on minnows and jigs. Bass and catfish are slow.
Lake Erling:

Steve’s Outdoor Sports (870-234-2222) the water is at normal level. Catfishing is good on nightcrawlers. All other species are slow.
Lake Greeson:

As of Tuesday, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reports the lake’s elevation was 546.23 MSL (Flood pool – 548 MSL).

Lakeside Grocery and Bait (870-398-5304) said the water is dingy and the surface temperature is 48 to 50 degrees. Bream are slow. Crappie are fair on minnows and jigs in 15 to 20 feet of water. Bass are fair on crankbaits fished in 2 to 5 feet of water. Walleye are fair on jigs and crankbaits. Catfishing is slow.
Cossatot River:

Cossatot River State Park had no report.
DeGray Lake:

As of Tuesday, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reports the lake’s elevation was 406.83 feet MSL (Flood pool – 408 MSL).

Local angler George Graves said the surface temperature is in the mid- to upper 40s. The water is slightly muddy above Point 15 and clear in the lower end of the lake. A few good reports on bass have been coming in between Arlie Moore and Cox Creek. Most bass are being caught deep (20 to 30 feet) on main lake points. On warmer days, some bass have been caught as shallow as 8 to 10 feet. The best lures have been heavy jig-and-pig combos, heavy Texas-rigged worms and Carolina-rigged lizards and Brush Hogs. The best colors are green pumpkin and red shad. Crappie fishing is fair on deep fish shelters, between 25 and 30 feet deep. Live minnows have been the most productive bait, but a few fish have been caught on 1/16-ounce red/chartreuse marabou jigs with a crappie nibble on the hook. The best brush piles have been between Caddo Drive and Point 14. A few nice bream have been mixed in with the crappies and are biting fairly well on redworms and crickets.

West-Central Arkansas
Lake Nimrod:

As of Tuesday, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reports the lake’s elevation was 345.52 feet MSL.

Lake Nimrod Bait and More II (479-272-4025) had no report.

Greer’s Sporting Goods (501-889-2011) had no report.
Lake Dardanelle:

Regina Olson at Spadra Marina said crappie have been biting fairly well. Some limits have been reported from morning fishermen using minnows and orange/chartreuse jigs close to the bottom. Catfishing is excellent on shad, worms and stinkbait. Not many bass anglers are on the water, and the bass fishing has been slow.
Blue Mountain Lake:

As of Tuesday, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reports the lake’s elevation was 387.62 feet MSL.

Teresa at CD’s Quick Stop (479-947-2178) had no report.
Lake Ouachita:

As of Tuesday, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reports the lake’s elevation was 578.06 MSL (Flood pool – 578 MSL).

Larry Hurley from Poorman’s Guide Service said Lake Ouachita had a large shad kill, and fishing is a bit tough because fish are feeding on the dead shad. Bass fishing is slow. Jerk baits, Rat-L-Traps and jigs fished around the grass are your best bet, but it’s a grind. Stripers are fair on spoons and shad-colored crankbaits at the far west side of the lake.

Mountain Harbor Resort said the water is 40 to 44 degrees and clearing. Largemouth bass are fair on jigs fished in brush piles on points or humps in 18 to 25 feet of water. Lipless crankbaits are working well fished near drop-offs, ledges and moss. Walleye are fair on jigging spoons or fluorescent jigs tipped with minnows on main lake points or humps in the river channels in 20-30 feet of water. These fish are slowly making their way upstream to spawn. Stripers are fair on live shad and trotline minnows. Main lake points near creek channels or open water humps are the best areas. Jigging spoons are working for these fish in 20 to 30 feet of water. Bream are slow on worms or crickets in water 20 to 25 feet deep. Crappie are biting well near brush in water 12 to 20 feet deep. Minnows or crappie grubs are still working best. Tennessee shad and Arkansas shad are the best colors for artificial baits. Catfish are still slow and being caught on cut bait and live bait hung from on jug lines and trotlines.
Lake Hamilton:

Daryl Morris of Family Fishing Trips said a lot of water is passing through Lake Hamilton as Lake Ouachita is being lowered. The lake will be allowed to rise to normal pool on March 4. Fishing is slow right now, but should improve with some warmer weather.
Lake Catherine:

Shane Goodner, owner of Catch’em All Guide Service, (501-624-8757) said the Carpenter Dam tailwater is very fast and treacherous to navigate by boat or foot. Water temperature has fallen to 44 degrees. Rainbow trout are present in very good numbers, but are hard to catch from boat or bank as swift currents make fishing difficult. Bank anglers must find areas that are out of the main flow and concentrate on live bait presentations. Nightcrawlers and redworms fished just off the bottom with marshmallows offer trout a tasty meal as opposed to the thousands of injured threadfin shad that are scattered throughout the tailrace from generation. Fly fishermen using a variety of egg patterns have taken fish this week despite the conditions. Power Bait has accounted for several limits of quality fish in the heavy current. Until the flows slow, fishing for any species will be difficult. Walleye are spawning, but very little fishing is taking place. Crappie will move to the dam in March along with white bass. April brings freshwater drum and roaming stripers.
Lake Hinkle:

Bill’s Bait Shop (479-637-4719) said the water is clear and at normal levels. Fishing is slow for all species.
Lake Atkins:

Ken Vinson at Lucky Landing (479-641-7615) said fishing is still slow, but looking better each week. A few bass were caught late Saturday, with one 81/4-pound fish being caught. Crappie and catfish are still slow. The water temperature is 41 degrees and slowly climbing.

South Central Arkansas
Moro Bay:

Moro Bay State Park at the junction of the Ouachita River, Raymond Lake and Moro Bay said the Ouachita River is at 82.00 feet and dropping. No anglers are out with the bad weather.
Tri-County Lake:

Bass are hitting fairly well on slow-running, medium-diving crankbaits and black/blue jigs. The fish caught are small, but they are beginning to bite.

East Arkansas
Arkansas River at Pine Bluff:

The Tackle Box (870-534-1498) said the water is high and murky. Bream are biting well on wax worms. Crappie are biting well on pink/chartreuse jigs and wax worms. Bass are biting well on chartreuse/blue crankbaits. Catfishing is good on large nightcrawlers and stinkbait.
White River:

Triangle Sports (870-793-7122) said the water is cold and high. Fishing is terrible.
Maddox Bay:

Maddox Bay Landing (870-462-8317) said the water is clear and at normal level. Crappie are slow on minnows fished from yo-yos set in 1 to 2 feet of water. All other species are slow.
Island 40 Chute:

Daily’s Boat Dock (870-739-3478) said the water is high and rising. Fishing is bad for all species.
Horseshoe Lake:

Local angler Clyde Gregory said the water is cold and slightly high. Crappie are biting well on minnows and black/chartreuse jigs slowly trolled in deep water. All other species are slow.

The fishing has been relatively slow lately out of Lake Mead, Nevada
Everybody is waiting for the catfish action to heat up, but it has surely been slow for a few weeks now. There is also much anticipation for the trout to starting coming out of the woodwork especially after the planting has taken place, but as well, this is slow to come right now. It is just going to take some more time before this stuff starts heating up.
Some of the locals are using cut anchovies for bait, or shrimp to catch the bass that have been hiding out down low lately. Some crocodile lures are also turning some decent numbers. There was one bass landed last week by a young kid which weighed in just under 8 pounds!! That was rather impressive.

Q: I remember viewing some posts a while back so I thought it would be appropriate to ask if anyone knew of any shore spots here? I’ve lived in Vegas the past 6 mos. and have yet to check it out. Man I miss fishing SD, but if I can get on some bucketmouths I’ll be happy for a bit. I’m over the cement ponds here that stock 7-10 in. trout. MGM may be filing Ch.11 soon which means I’ll lose my job, but at least I can move back home and fish my familiar “ponds”. Until then, Lake Mead is my only option. Thanks for your help.

A: John they are still planting trout at Mead. www.ndow.org will tell you where and when and give you some current info on fishing for Bass, Catfish and Stripers. In the past I have had good sucess fishing from the shore near Echo Bay & Overton Marinas for Stripers and Catfish. Also Willow Beach from shore isn’t bad for Trout but you really need a boat to go for the big Stripers the area is known for.

I’d say that between the Sugoi Splash topwater popper and the soft plastic Senko, you should be all set for some fun Sep/Oct action in the shallows there at Mead. The two topwater patterns that have served me well there are both shad-related. Early mornings I like to “milk run” the cuts in the Big Gyps and Little Gyps area, throwing either the Splash or a buzzbait, and covering a lot of water. BUT, and here’s the payday, you need to have a follow-up bait ready at ALL times, because those early morning cruisers will often swipe at, and miss, the buzzbait or Splash. If you can get that Senko in to the area immediately (rigged weightless, Tex-posed) it’s almost a guaranteed hook-up.

Through the sun and heat of the day, I often retraced the morning’s steps in cuts that have flooded grass beds – it’s a quick-paced deal, the bass will cruise into those cuts (looking for shad) at various times through the day, and you should, too! But, if you don’t get some activity in 10-20 minutes, move to the next cut. You need to move until you’re at the right place, at the right time. Keep throwing that Splash, with the follow-up at the ready.

When the sun’s up and blazing, the bass will often park in the middle of the heaviest brush in the back of those cuts – like the ones in the T-Bar area, Monkey Box, etc. That’s a great time to rig up with really heavy tackle and pitch that big shad-patterned Senko OVER the brush, onto the bank (not to spook the fish) and then twitch it into the shallow, open water behind the brushline, or right into the midst of the
heaviest cover.

One last tip – if the midday shallow water bite just won’t produce for you, try C-rigging that #177 Senko on long-running points and submerged ridges at 25-40 feet deep – same hold true for Hula Grubs also. And, whatever you do, DO NOT dip 1/2″ of the tail of that #177 Senko in chartreuse dye – you’re likely to GET YOUR ARM BROKE!”

Here is a Report From BaySide Marine from Santa Cruz
Feb. 17
The swells have started to drop here and things are looking much better at the Harbor mouth. The few reports that we have had this month include Seabass, Squid, Halibut, and Perch. There was a nice Halibut caught near the Mile Reef in Capitola. The Seabass and Halibut are still hit and miss in Monterey but there were a few good days last week. The Perch fishing has been good near Manresa and the Cement Ship. The best bet is to use Motor Oil Grubs and Coon Striped Shrimp. There is a Perch tournament on March 20 and once again I will have all the live shrimp and worms you need. Stop by the shop to get the entry you must sign up by Feb. 21.
JAN. 19
The fishing for Seabass has been good for the anglers who were in Monterey before the storm. The Squid is still the bait of choice. The swells and winds have become huge so there has been no action today. The Humbolt Squid are still wide open in the edge of the Monterey Canyon in 800-1200 feet of water. Fishing for crab has been decent on the north coast in 240 feet of water The Surf perch have been biting well on Coon striped shrimp.

Jan. 2 2010 Happy New Year!
The Squid fishing, crabbing, and Sand dabs are keeping anglers busy during these nice calm winter days. There has been a few swells but the winds have been generally light after the rain. There are big Squid in the Soquel Canyon and near Davenport. There was a good bite on Squid near 36’46/121’51. The Squid are in 800-1200 feet of water and the big Glow Ahi Jigs are working best. The crab fishing is still doing well up the coast in 200 feet of water. I still have crab pots rigged from Mc Kay’s with 300 feet of leaded rope for only $205.

Dec. 19
The crab fishing is still doing well for the anglers fishing up the coast. There have been a few good reports of Humbolt Squid being caught in the Canyons in 800-1200 feet of water. The swells have been up and down with the storms that have passed through. We have the 2010 Sport fishing License in stock along with Gift Certificates for stocking stuffers. We also have a great deal on McKay Crab Pots and Ace Line Hauler. I hope to see you soon. Happy Holidays!
Nov. 18
The crab fishing is still going well for the anglers up the coast in 180-220 feet of water. There were some Humbolt Squid caught in 1200 feet of water 8 miles from Santa Cruz in the Soquel Canyon.
Nov. 14
The fishing was great today near Franklin Point and there were some good scores near 4 Mile Beach. The best bet on crab seems to be up the coast in 200 feet of water. There was no wind in the morning but there was a breeze in the afternoon. The winds are reported to be calmer Sunday so come finish off the Rock fishing season in calm weather. The sun has been out with a little morning fog.
Nov. 13
The fishing was good today for the anglers who went looking for crabs. I spoke to one boat who had 30 crabs for 6 pots in 200 feet of water up the coast. The Rock fishing was decent for the anglers who worked the local reefs. There was some wind today in the afternoon which did not help. The winds and swells are expected to decrease all day Saturday and Sunday making this a great time to go fishing before the Rock fishing closes.
Nov. 11
The wind was down all morning and the fishing for crab has been great. I heard of good reports on the Becky Ann with Capt. Jimmy. The winds are going to remain light for the weekend so come crabbing and finish off the Rock fishing season.
Nov. 10
The crab season is open and there have been some good scores near Natural bridges and straight out of the Santa Cruz Harbor. The Crab are ranging from keeper to 6 + inches. The Humbolt Squid are showing in the deep canyons near the Soquel Hole and Davenport. There were a few boats up near Franklin Point in calm seas today and the action was good. The winds are down for the next few days and Rock fishing closes Sunday so come fishing.
PV Report
I was down for a few days fishing with my girl Regina in P.V. for a few days. I went fishing with Danny ” LuLu” on his father in laws boat “Balta” the first day and caught a nice tuna in the upper 180′s. We caught a few more Dorado and came home with the sun on our backs. I had Ryan “Salty” who works on Maximo as my deck hand for 3 days. Ryan was able to sneak out and pull on some fish for the first time this year. I can not say enough about how much this kid has become a seasoned Salty angler / deck hand. We had a great day one and my freezer was filled. The second day we went to the bank with Danny Osuna and Regina made her first appearance on the boat. We caught Tuna from 60-90 pounds on bullet Tunas on the troll. Regina did a great job on her first Tuna and had a great time on the water and in P.V. The last day things went slow at the Bank but we did end up with some nice Dorado. All in all it was a great trip and great weather. Thanks again to all my good friends in P.V. and in La Cruz! Until Next Time!

What is the best way to catch tuna in San Diego?

There is all kinds of options so you better get your rod and reel ready.  You can use lures, bait, mooch, troll, spinners, jigs, you can even spear fish for them if you are really quick.

• Bait- This is the method that the majority of the fish are taken with.  Many of the long long range fishing boats load up on this stuff, or catch more of it when they are out to sea.  Live bait is usually a big bonus, and time and time again produces the best numbers.  If you have a live bait well in your boat, definitely stock it up with some sardines or small mackrel, and the tuna will thank you for that.
• Lures- For the people who want to cover a large distance during the day of fishing, lures provide great value, although they will hit your gas tank when trolled at high speeds compared to sitting still and mooching.  But there is a time and a place for everything.  Lures allow you to troll around and cover more ground if you are not certain where the tuna schools are located.  Also, this will allow you to test out different colors throughout the day until you setttle on one lure that works well, or several that work well.  There is nothing more exciting than trolling lures behind a boat and connecting with 3 or 4 tuna at one time.  its VERY possible too, so be on guard
• Jigs and other Casting Lures- these work well when you located a school of tuna.  Tuna can be a bit picky on the jig that is thrown to them when they are jumping and nailing live bait, but they are very aggressive none the less.  There have been many people who have had the most success with jigs being cast into schools of tuna.  This can lead to less time spent re-baiting live bait which has the ability to either come off the line, or being stolen by a tuna fish.

IF YOU HAVE LIVE BAIT:

Once you make your way to a school of tuna, this is a critical time.  You want to make sure the fish don’t go too far without having given yourself the chance to catch at least a few of them.  So make it easy on yourself. Show up with some livebait.  This way, you can try to keep the fish near your boat by throwing over some sardines for example every few minutes.  Yeah of course you will be giving away some of your precious bait that has no hope of catching you a fish, but this will keep the fish near you.  And in the long run, this will allow you to catch more fish from either bait on hooks, jigs, or any other way you plan on catching the tuna.

All too often people show up to a school of tuna where the fish are jumping like crazy, but they scratch their heads when the fish take off, and are off and lost for good.  This has a great chance of being avoided if you just keep throwing over a few fish or bait in the water next to your boat at 3 or 5 minute intervals.

Stanislaus River Fishing.  All types of news below on fishing off highway 4 up in the Gold Country.

The most up to date is below:

My own experiences at the North Fork of the Stanislaus River just below Boards Crossing .  It was really hot, around 100 degrees in the day.

June 26-28 – Our group fished all three days, the 26-28th of June 2009. All in all for 3 of us, we had a total of 3 keeper trout, and several that were thrown back. We were fishing the part of the river just south of the Boards Crossing Bridge. As far as the water is concerned, it was flowing reasonably well. In past years, it has definitely been higher, but a nice level for fishing and walking around in the water. It is still super cold, but very refreshing on days and weekends like there was. We tried all types of things on the trout. Night crawlers on the spinning rod worked the best. Also, the largest of the keepers was a rainbow taken on a night crawler attached to a treble hook and with a floating bobber. One of my friends took one trout on the fly road with a nymph type of fly. We all tried the Woolly Bugger that came highly recommended, however we were not able to tackle any of the trout with the bugger. As far as spinners were concerned, we also tried several of those. Two times, fish were landed, but of the 6-8 inch variety, way too small to keep, and not much fight either. All in all, my suggestion would be to try some natural live bait if its available.We did not have the chance to try crickets, but we have had great success on the trout around here with them in the past. Night crawlers were the most consistent, and someday soon flies will begin to work well. Up to this point, we really did not see too much in the way of fish jumping out of the water in search of food, so not sure what to say there. There were some other signs of fish being caught, the campers next to us had a wooden string of 5 trout one afternoon. When I went up to the guy to ask what he was doing to catch them, all he would say was the word determination, he would give no other ideas than just that. I will add though, that it was surprising to see him keeping a couple of the fish on the string, two which looked to be barely six inches long, but heck, not my problem trying to eat such a small trout I guess…

Below is a clip from the Ebbetts Pass Site, It is their fishing report for right now.
Central Sierra/Hwy 4 Fishing Report July 12, 2009
Lake Alpine has been recently planted and fishermen are catching fish.
Bait casters should try Gulp Power Eggs, Gulp Power Bait, Floating Power Eggs, Gulp Nightcrawlers, inflated nightcrawlers, and salmon eggs on a 24″ to 30″ leader using a sliding sinker. Lure casters should try Kastmasters, Panther Martin spinners, and Rooster Tails. Trollers should try Apex, Needlefish, Glo Bugs, and Wedding Rings behind a small dodger tipped either with a nightcrawler or a Gulp Nightcrawler. Fly fishermen have been using woolly buggers, stone fly nymphs, ants, adams, stimulators and bead head nymphs.
Spicer Lake
has been slower since the weather has been getting warmer. Trollers have had success using Apex, Needlefish, Glo Bugs, Rapala’s, Wedding Rings and using just a flasher/nightcrawler combo. Bait fishermen have been using Gulp Power Eggs, Gulp Power Bait, Floating Power Eggs, Crickets, Nightcrawlers, and Gulp Nightcrawlers. Lure casters should try Panther Martin Spinners, Rooster Tails, Kastmasters, and Rapalas. Fly fishermen should try ants, adams, stimulators, and woolly buggers.
The North Fork of the Stanislaus
has been tough due to lack of plants lately. The No. Fork has been in excellent condition. Fishermen should try split-shotting nightcrawlers, crickets, salmon eggs, Gulp Power Eggs, and Floating Power Eggs. Lure fishermen should try Rapala’s, Panther Martin Spinners, Rooster Tail’s, and Kastmasters. Fly casters should try stimulators, parachute adams, ants, royal wulff, woolly buggers, and bead head nymphs.
Beaver Creek
was planted this past week and has producing some beautiful fish. Bait casters should try split-shotting nightcrawlers, crickets, salmon eggs, Gulp Nightcrawlers, Gulp Power Eggs, Power Eggs. Lure casters should try Panther Martin spinners, Rooster Tails, Kastmasters, and Rapala’s. Fly fishermen should try woolly buggers, small stimulators, royal coachman, ants, adams, and bead head nymphs.
White Pines
has still not been planted due to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services putting a hold on planting as of right now. No word as to when it will be planted. There are still some nice Bass and Bluegill that are very plentiful in White Pines.

Campgrounds at Sourgrass are now open. Camping is also available at Big Trees State Park and Golden Pines just beyond Big Trees on Highway 4. You can contact Big Trees State Park at 209-795-2334.

Fishing Opportunities On the Highway 4 Corridor… Central Sierra/Hwy 4 Fishing Report June 16, 2009

Please visit the More Fishing Link for important news on a recent court ruling!

Due to the stocking of White Pines Lake being held up by the Federal Fish & Wildlife Division, they are unable to stock the lake and therefore we must cancel the Father’s Day Derby. Sorry for any inconvenience.

Ebbetts Pass is now open

Lake Alpine is now on the Plant list and is to be planted this week. The Lodge at Lake Alpine is now open and can be contacted at 209-753-6358. The phone number for the campgrounds is 209-753-2671.

Bait casters should try Gulp Power Eggs, Gulp Power Bait, Floating Power Eggs, Gulp Nightcrawlers, inflated nightcrawlers, and salmon eggs on a 24″ to 30″ leader using a sliding sinker. Lure casters should try Kastmasters, Panther Martin spinners, and Rooster Tails. Trollers should try Apex, Needlefish, Glo Bugs, and Wedding Rings behind a small dodger tipped either with a nightcrawler or a Gulp Nightcrawler.

Just remember to troll really slow as the water is still really cold and the fish are still lethargic. Fly fishermen have been using woolly buggers, stone fly nymphs, ants, and bead head nymphs.

Spicer Lake has been excellent and the dock is now in the water. Trollers have had success using Apex, Needlefish, Glo Bugs, Rapala’s, Wedding Rings and using just a flasher/nightcrawler combo. Bait fishermen have been using Gulp Power Eggs, Gulp Power Bait, Floating Power Eggs, Crickets, Nightcrawlers, and Gulp Nightcrawlers. Lure casters should try Panther Martin Spinners, Rooster Tails, Kastmasters, and Rapalas. HOBART CREEK IS OFF LIMITS UNTIL JULY 1, 2009.

The North Fork of the Stanislaus was planted this past week. The No. Fork has been in excellent condition. Fishermen should try split-shotting nightcrawlers, crickets, salmon eggs, Gulp Power Eggs, and Floating Power Eggs. Lure fishermen should try Rapala’s, Panther Martin Spinners, Rooster Tail’s, and Kastmasters. Fly casters should try stimulators, parachute adams, ants, woolly buggers, and bead head nymphs.

Beaver Creek was also planted this past week and has producing some beautiful fish. Bait casters should try split-shotting nightcrawleers, crickets, salmon eggs, Gulp Nightcrawlers, Gulp Power Eggs, Power Eggs, Gulp Maggots. Lure casters should try Panther Martin spinners, Rooster Tails, Kastmasters, and Rapala’s. Fly fishermen should try woolly buggers, small stimulators, royal coachman, ants, and bead head nymphs.

White Pines has still not been planted even though the EIR report has been completed. No word as to when it will be planted. There are still some nice Bass and Bluegill that are very plentiful in White Pines.

Mosquito Lake has thawed but no word as to when it will be planted.

Campgrounds at Sourgrass are now open. Camping is also available at Big Trees State Park and Golden Pines just beyond Big Trees on Highway 4. You can contact Big Trees State Park at 209-795-2334. Golden Pines website is www.goldenpinesrvresort.com

For more information you can check our website or email us through the website www.ebbettspasssportinggoods.com for weekly updates or call Ebbetts Pass Sporting Goods at (209) 795-1686 and ask for Bill. We have lots of new items coming into the store weekly. Drop by and check it out. Thanks again for patronizing our store. We look forward to seeing you all again. Bill Reynolds – Ebbetts Pass Sporting Goods

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Back by popular demand after a one month break is this action packed page.  Enjoy, and women, thanks for the pictures, and we are waiting until you email in to info at fishingfeeds before we throw one up of guys fishing in bathing suits.

If you have some good pictures of you or your loved ones that you want to broadcast to the world, go ahead and send them in.

With the Sabine River feeding it nice Texas Water all the time, this is one of the best places to fish, especially for good old bass.  It is definitely true that this is a massive lake, and its also true that of the nearly 200,000 surface acres, there are parts that are in Louisiana, but much is within Texas which is why its in this section of the site.

There are several different times of year that you might fish Toledo Bend.  Fall, Winter, Spring, Summer etc… and the fishing can be quite different depending on when you go fishing.

In the springtime,

Expect to catch: Catfish, Crappie, White Bass, and Black Bass.

The bass are typical fish.  The males will sit around all day long and guard the eggs once the females have laid them in the egg bed.  This surely doesn’t mean you can’t catch them though.  Jigs and spinner baits work the best in these situations and for this time of year.  Heck, youngsters even have luck throwing down some fishing eggs with a bober from time to time.

A really good place is just off Farm To Market Road near county road 2650.  Fishing has been great around that section of the lake for over 10 years straight now.  As well, good fishing is consistently reported around Bill’s Landing.  There are good numbers of white bass for some reason in this area for much of the year after they get out of the river.   If you have the urge to go near Paper Company Road to fish for crappie, that is usually a sure bet,  or quite possibly you could get into some catfish in that area too.  When it comes to finding ways to lure the catfish, stinkbait and nice fresh worms are the best for the catfish for most people.

Just had a fishing report delivered from my pops who has been down in Cabo all of last week fishing and unfortunately it did not sound too good.  A few days they weren’t even able to get bait from the bait guys at the Palmila hotel.  That is never a good sign.  But there were several sierra caught, and on one of the days, they landed a nice pair of yellow fin tuna out near Gordo Banks.  The early part of last week was real windy and so come the early afternoon it was all blown over out there with a steady chop all the way back in from wherever they were.

As for the marlin bite, there was not much news on that. Some reports came in about stripped marlin being caught near the Golden Gate Bank around the point of Cabo itself, and others were talking about a few marlin hooked up near the 95 Spot.

All in all, it seems like some people got a few, others not so much.  Here is one picture that was taken last week down in Cabo that surely is a great one.  My dad claims this was taken from a friend of his who is a photographer down in Cabo…

Subject: Salmon Fishing west of HMB

Ahoy there one and all!

Spring is in the air (and howling a gale)!! We were blown off the ocean
on Saturday. The waves were just right to make for a miserable ride so we
turned back after giving it a try! On sunday we fared much better going
20 miles west of the harbor. We had a good size swell but not too much
wind close to shore. As we got further off shore it did increaset but
conditions were very fishable.

We were lucky and did not have much trouble with the sea lions (darn
dragons)! or many problems with alot of shakers. Most everything we
hooked ended up in the fish box and tagged by either Zack or Jeff!
Around 11:30 the wind started to freshen and things got a bit dicier. We
continued to catch fish and by 1 PM we had thirteen limits!!! No really
big fish – our biggest was around 16 lbs.
The ride home had me working hard at the wheel to hold our course as
things were not improving in the weather department!

I just hope that it will lay down by Tuesday for our regulars who are
coming out for there monthly Tuesday trip.

Ahoy there one and all!

This is the best day so far of the season!!! The ocean today was oily slick calm. We left the dock with 12 passengers who were enjoying the anticipation of an early start and heading out of the harbor with the dawn’s early light just starting to emerge over the costal mountains. A day full of promise and it sure did deliver!

We headed southwest from the harbor and one of my regular customers Terry came up to the wheelhouse and said that the new propeller was so smooth was this the same boat???? I had changed the old propeller on Wednsday from a three bladed prop. to a 4 bladed prop with a different configuration and pitch. The change is dramatic to say the least!!! Kind of like driving on snow tires and then switching to a set of regular tires.

After getting about 10- miles off shore and south of the fleet I found a spot of krill and birdlife that looked intriguing.
So upon stopping and getting the gear in the water for everyone we started to work the bait. BANG, FISH ON!! then two hanging! Holy smoke we were catching some nice 10 to 12 pound salmon! With the fleet staying up above us and my thoughts were to head south to get away from the other boats I continued to work down the line, hooking fish here and there – some doubles and triples. Which is the way of things when you are “krill fishing.” This is one of the most exciting times for salmon fishing with multiple hookups and fish acting crazy zipping from one side to the other, jumping, then turning to look at the other rods as all the passengers are watching the fish and hollering HEY YOU GOT ONE ON YOUR ROD TOO!!! Dancing and weaving the lines around each other trying to keep them from tangling. Most of the time we are able to keep them clear but then some fish are just not going to make it to the boat.

Ahoy there one and all!

June has been a tough month for salmon fishing. We have had lots of wind,
big seas, rain, earthquakes, Tsunami warnings and just about everything
else thrown in including a new head for the boat (Don’t ask — you don’t
want to know!). So we have been using the time to get some fresh paint
on the old girl. I’ve never known a lady who does not like some fresh
makeup!

I’ve also been spending some time at the Pacific Fisheries Council
Meetings in Foster City where the rock fishing season was basically
staying the same. We hope this is good news. The season opener is on July
1st. The ling cod go back to the old regulations of 2 fish at 24 inches.
Which, after their (the scientists) statistical glitch we are looking at
some great fishing opportunities for ling cod. Boy! oh boy, I sure can’t
wait for that first fresh dinner of some schoolie blues (my favorite!).

Now on to today’s salmon fishing. We have not been out in almost a week
and a half and the last trip out was with Ken and the “boys”. Today we
traveled down south and found some great fishing off of Pigeon Point in
the deep water!!! After having so much time off and no one really looking
we decided to head down that way to see what the fish gods might offer up
to us. When we stopped and put the gear in the water we almost
immediately had on a 14 lb salmon! Hooray!!! But, we had several people
who thought they would stop these brutes by tightening down on their
drags and the next thing I hear is FISH ON and then snap. I hate that
sound!!! I saw at least 6 to 10 fish popped off due to tight drags. It
sure is tough to lose nice big fish like that. We finally got our act
together and started to box the fish!! There were many Humpback whales
throughout the area and if you know me I like to fish around them as I
think they bring me luck. Which they pretty much did today!

We did fish a bit late today with such beautiful weather it was really
grand to enjoy the ocean and spend some much needed time on the briny
deep! We ended the day with 14 limits for all of the passengers and the
biggest was 19 lbs.

Gosh I think I remember what it is like to once again enjoy being on the
ocean and enjoying the vast expanse of its rich bounty (and with a head
that works)!!!!
Till next time!

April 25, 2006

Ahoy there one and all!

Monday was a true awakening of the season for us aboard the RIPTIDE!! We
had a private family charter on board and they were pretty much locked
into going on Monday, which actually was a very nice weather day. But, I
was so worried about taking them out and having to stay so close to the
beach as everyone knows is not really where the salmon are thought to be
(what an assumption!). Off we went in search of one of the true sportfish
that can be caught on a rod and reel. After hearing about one boat that
had run south the day before (Sunday) I decided to go exploring down that
way. Knowing that the fishing had been slow on the inside and everyone
thinking the same thing I did not have very high expectations. Around 11
AM I was still praying to just get one fish!

For those of you who know me, you know I like to chase whales. I was
figuring that if nothing else I can at least show them some magnificent
creatures! When we found them, they were feeding on anchovies. We were
watching them lung feed through these huge balls of bait. As soon as we
hit one of these first haystacks of bait I heard Deckhand Zack screaming
out “FISH ON SMITTY!!!”

After boating the first one and noticing the current was screaming down
to the south I turned and started to tack back up to the whales. We did
not quite make it as we had a double go off with two rods screaming off
line with a pair of 15 pound salmon!
Losing one and getting the other I thought I better stick with these
Whales! Man was I right!! We had a steady pick from then on with singles
and doubles landing some and losing some. I just feel frustrated when
that happens but what the heck, at least they got to play the fish and
feel the thrill of the salmon fighting! Still fighting the current and
working around all of these great “riptides” on the surface we had an
OUTSTANDING DAY!!!!!!!!!

Here are the latest ideas on how to get Marlin in the Boat :

Let’s start with a general overview of Marlin fishing.

I am not quite sure the total number of days that my father woke me up down in Cabo San Lucas (actually the Palmilla area is where we stayed which is closer to San Jose Del Cabo) but anyways, we would go down to where the locals were putting in their pangas, and we would get a ride out to our boat. Lets say maybe about 50-75 times over the past 15 years. Anyways, my first goal when we were getting ready to go fishing was to make sure we got to the water early enough to buy some live bait from the bait sellers down there. What would happen most of the time is we would make our way down to the water, and the bait guys would already be done for the day. As the years went on, we actually would start arriving to the water later and later to the point where we would sometimes not be getting into the water until 11:00am or later… So much of my fishing for marlin in Mexican waters has been done exclusively with lures.
But, and I will repeat this as long as I live, if you can get live bait, or even dead bait, GET IT, you will have much better luck in the long run, and the simple fact is that most of the time, when we were running several different lines/lure/bait combinations at the same time, the line that got the strike was usually one with live bait or dead bait on it.
So, the next question is what type of bait to use to catch marlin? Great question, and if you ask five different people, you may as well get five different answers. For me, the best luck I have had with striped and blue marlin has been with what the mexicans call “Caballito” which are basically small mackerel looking fish. They are usually in the 7-11 inch range, and keep relatively well in a nice circulating live bait well.
Also, a good bait to go with is live mackerel themselves.
Squid are alright to use, but they should be a last resort for drift fishing if you have other types of bait that you are using in the waters.
If you are out in search of really large blue or black marlin, small under 10lb tuna will also do the job, but of course that is when you are targeting some really big fish, and most of the time your bait will be dead since its hard to keep these guys alive for a long run.

So, how in the world do you bait the bait’s talked about above?
get your self some nice sized hooks, and try to think of the baits as needing to work themselves through the water as naturally as possible. So this means, that the mouth needs to be closed to produce less drag on the baitfish(this will allow the bait to be usable for a much longer time too.)

So, besides bait, in my mind the next most important thing about marlin fishing is keeping your eyes open at all times. Over 75% of the marlin we hooked into back in the days we saw well before they hit the line. The main reason is quite simple, marlin are big so they stand out quite a bit(especially when the water is very calm and glassy). This is not to say that marlin are always at the surface of the ocean, but when they are, they are easy to spot, since there is usually a nice fin sticking out of the water, and many times you will see two fins on one fish. This is because you are noticing their tail breaking the water and their dorsal fin at the same time.(when I was younger, I always thought it was two different fish). Now, marlin often live with others, so you may be at a luck time when you notice a whole bunch of things sticking up out of the water, we have seen six different marlin together once before. So keep your eyes open and look for the fish at all times, its going to help you spot them.

So now that you see a marlin on the surface
what do you do now?

Here is what I have found works when you see a marlin… if the fish is in back of your boat within your fishing lines, you are in good shape. As these fish are extremely fast swimmers, they can accelerate much faster than any boat can, don’t worry too much about going too fast. My father for example likes to slow the boat down once a fish is behind him. I DO NOT. If I am at the wheel when this is happening, I always speed up the boat in hopes of making the marlin think the bait is trying to get away. This usually has ended up with a strike. There have been times where we play this game with the marlin in back of the boat playing with the lures/bait for over two minutes. It feels like a very long time, but in reality it is not.

Once the fish strikes a lure/bait
now its time to set the hook well with a couple of good hard tugs. Sometimes, if you have the drag set nice and tight, it will do that on its own, and then the fish is usually off on a few minutes of incredible marlin jumps, and quite possibly it may be headed down soon afterwards.

Lures For Catching Marlin
Some of my favorite lures are the Zuker ones. We usually run one with dorado colors, the light aqua green, and also one which is more purplish in color. The purple one has been known to hook into a few wahoo from time to time as well, so be ready for that, that is the best tasting fish out there if you asked me.

Marlin are arguably the most iconic fish in sportfishing circles. Men have been known to shed a tear after an encounter with one and each fish caught is etched in an anglers memory forever.
There are four species of marlin that make up recreational catches; the blue marlin, black marlin, striped marlin and white marlin. All of the marlin species fight extremely hard and the two bigger species (blue and black marlin) can grow well over 1000 lbs!

Marlin Fishing Techniques

Marlin are an aggressive fish that respond well to teasers and plastic skirted lures trolled across the surface of the water. Most anglers consider the action of the lures on the surface far more important than color. Trolling speed is about 7-10 knots and allows the marlin boats to cover a large area.

Marlin anglers also troll natural baits such as striped tuna, bonito and Spanish mackerel. Sometimes natural baits are used in conjunction with a skirted lure to enhance the trolling action.

Marlin are also caught on live baits; either slow trolled, at drift or at anchor. Live baiting usually takes place once the marlin are located with teasers or at an area that marlin are known to frequent such as a FAD.

Marlin Tackle

Marlin are big fish and require quality rods and reels and a lever drag reel is almost essential. Most marlin anglers use a minimum of 24 kg line and 200 lbs monofilament or fluorocarbon leader. Remember that marlin will make light work of any flaw in your tackle, line or knots.

Some Fun Facts about Marlin:
Blue marlin are sexually dimorphic: adult males seldom exceed 150 kg (300 lb) whereas females may reach far larger sizes well in excess of 450 kg (1,000 lb).

The maximum size of blue (and black) marlin is often debated in both sport fishing and scientific circles. The largest sport fishing capture on record is a 1,805 lb Pacific blue marlin caught by a party of anglers in Oahu, Hawaii aboard the charter boat Coreene C skippered by Capt. Cornelius Choy (this fish often referred to as ‘Choy’s Monster’). This fish was found to have a yellowfin tuna of over 155 lbs in weight in its belly. In the Atlantic the heaviest sport fishing capture is Paulo Amorim’s 1,402 lb fish from Vitoria, Brazil.

Commercial fishermen have boated far larger specimens. The largest blue marlin brought into Tsukiji market in Tokyo supposedly weighed a massive 1,106 kg. A number of very large fish have been reported over the years, including a couple of photographs originating from Okinawa in southern Japan and Vanuatu. Commercial and sport fishermen from many other areas, both Pacific and Atlantic, have reported encounters with, and in some instances captures, of marlin thought to be in excess of 2,000 lbs, but obtaining verified weights and dimensions has proved very difficult.

A 1,000 lb (450 kg) fish, a “grander”, has historically been regarded by blue and black marlin anglers as the benchmark for a truly outstanding catch. For most marlin anglers, a 1,000 lb fish represents the fish of a lifetime. Sadly, because of ever-increasing commercial fishing effort across the world’s oceans, it seems unlikely that sport fishermen will ever break the “tonner” (2,000 lb) mark.

Diet
Blue marlin are eclectic feeders preying on a wide range of prey species and sizes. Scientific examination of blue marlin stomach contents has yielded organisms as small as miniature filefish. Common food items include tuna-like fishes, particularly skipjack tuna and frigate mackerel (also known as frigate tuna), squid, mackerel, and scad.

Of more interest to sport fishermen is the upper range of blue marlin prey size. A 72-inch white marlin has been recorded as being found in the stomach of a 448 lb blue marlin caught at Walker’s Cay in the Bahamas, and more recently, during the 2005 White Marlin Open a white marlin in the 70 lb class was found in the stomach of one of the money-winning blues. Shortbill spearfish of 30 to 40 lb have been recorded as feed items by Kona blue marlin fishermen. Yellowfin tuna of 100 lb or more have also been found in the stomachs of large blue marlin.

Fishing techniques
Blue marlin are fished for by thousands of crews from literally hundreds of ports worldwide. As may be expected, fishing styles and gear used in the pursuit of blue marlin is very diverse, depending on the size of blue marlin common to the area, the size of fish being targeted, local sea conditions, and often local tradition. However the main methods used for blue marlin can be broken down into fishing with artificial lures, rigged natural baits and live bait fishing.

Artificial lure fishing
Blue marlin are aggressive fish that respond well to the splash, bubble trail and action of a well presented artificial lure.(Just as a side note, caught way more on the live bait than on lures myself…)

Probably the most popular technique used by blue marlin crews worldwide, artificial lure fishing has spread from its Hawaiian origins throughout the world. The earliest marlin lures were carved from wood, cast in drink glasses or made from chrome bath towel pipes and skirted with rubber inner tubes or vinyl upholstery material cut into strips. Today, marlin lures are produced in a huge variety of shapes, sizes and colours, mass-produced by large manufacturers and individually crafted by small-scale custom makers.

A typical marlin lure is a small (7-8 inch), medium (10-12 inch) to large (14 inches or more) artificial with a shaped plastic or metal head to which a plastic skirt is attached. The design of the lure head, particularly its face, gives the lure its individual action when trolled through the water. Lure actions range from an active side-to-side swimming pattern to pushing water aggressively on the surface to, most commonly, tracking along in a straight line with a regular surface pop and bubble trail. Besides the shape, weight and size of the lure head, the length and thickness of skirting, the number and size of hooks and the length and size of the leader used in lure rigging all influence the action of the lure: how actively it will run and how it will respond to different sea conditions. Experienced anglers will fine tune their lures with often subtle variations to yield the desired action.

Lures are normally fished at speeds of between 7.5 to 9 knots; faster speeds in the 10 to 15 knot range are less frequently used, primarily by boats with slower cruising speeds travelling from spot to spot. These speeds allow quite substantial areas to be effectively worked in a day’s fishing. A pattern of four or more lures is trolled at varying distances behind the boat. Lures may be fished either straight from the rod tip (“flat lines”), or from outriggers.

Natural bait fishing
Rigged natural baits have been used by sport fishermen seeking blue marlin since the 1930s and are still popular in many top destinations. Throughout the eastern seaboard of the United States and in the Bahamas and Caribbean, rigged Spanish mackerel and horse ballyhoo are widely used for Atlantic blue marlin.

Rigged natural baits are sometimes combined with an artificial lure or skirt to make “skirted baits” or “bait/lure combinations”.

Live bait fishing
Live bait fishing for blue marlin normally uses small tuna species with skipjack generally considered the best choice. As trolling speed is limited by the fact that baits must be trolled slowly to remain alive, live-baiting is normally chosen where fishing areas are relatively small and easily covered. Much live-baiting in the blue marlin fishery of Kona, Hawaii, for instance, takes place near FAD (Fish Aggregation Device) buoys and in the vicinity of steep underwater ledges.

Below is a nice example of how to make a nice and easy live bait rig for marlin,dorado, tuna, wahoo etc…  Simply hook the baitfish right through the cartillage like stuff near the end of the nose.  This way the hook will hopefully stay there and the bait will be able to be pretty much un-affected while it swims around in the water.

Below is a clip from California Fish and Game. It is an overview of the crab world as they see it.

In California, the most abundant crab is the Dungeness crab, Cancer magister. Related to this crab are several other species that are caught by commercial and recreational fishermen in southern California and northern California. South of Monterey Bay, the Dungeness crab decreases rapidly in abundance. In southern California, where only an occasional Dungeness crab is caught, considerable quantities of several crabs collectively referred to as “rock crabs” are caught and sold. These are: the yellow crab, Cancer anthonyi, the rock crab, C. antennarius, and the red crab, C. productus. The latter two species also are common in northern California, but only a limited number are caught for sale because of the presence of the larger, meatier, and more abundant Dungeness crab. Sport fishermen do, however, take “rock crabs” for home consumption. In northern California there is one other related species, the slender crab, C. gracilis, small in size, with which the young of the Dungeness crab may be confused. It is with the gross descriptions of the related species mentioned above that this article is concerned, the aim being to aid identification by a few readily observed characteristics rather than by detailed scientific descriptions.
These crabs are all of the family Cancridae and the genus Cancer, meaning hard shell, and are characterized by a carapace that is broadly oval and sawtoothed on the front side. In all, nine species of this family and genus are found in California, but the other four species, Cancer jordani, C. oregonensis, C. amphioetus, and C. gibbosulus, are not described here as they are small and comparatively rare. In California, all the crabs of the above family and genus have black-tipped pincers, except the Dungeness crab and the slender crab which have white-tipped pincers.
Molting of Crabs
Molting is general among crustaceans. The hard shell of the crab prevents growth and so at intervals of about one year the entire hard shell of the crab is cast off or molted. Before the actual molt, a new protective covering is started, but this is uncalcified and therefore soft. During the period when the shell is cast off, the crab is known as a “soft” crab and it is during this interval of a few days that the crab undergoes a period of rapid growth before the new shell becomes calcified and fixes the size of the crab until the next molt. At molting time the old shell slits at the junction of the carapace and the abdomen, or tail flap, and the crab, now in the soft shell stage, backs out of the old shell through this slit. It is during the molting period that missing legs are rejuvenated. Following the first molt, after such a mishap, a replaced leg is considerably smaller than the original, but with succeeding molts it attains its normal size.

Distinction Between Male and Female Crabs
The abdomen, or tail flap, which is folded closely against the underside of the crab, is much broader in the female than in the male crab. This broad tail flap is necessary in the female to accommodate at spawning time the huge numbers of eggs that are attached and receive protection between this flap and the body until hatched. In the adult stage, the comb-like fringe of hair around the edges of the tail flap is quite long in the female but rather short and hardly noticeable in the male (for examples, compare Figures 2A and 2B or Figures 4 and 5) . The average size of female Cancer crabs is significantly less than that of the male crabs in the adult stage. The female Dungeness crab seldom attains a width much greater than 7 inches measured just anterior of the tenth anterolateral spine.
The legal measurement for crabs is defined as the shortest distance through the body from the edge of the shell to the edge of the shell directly from front of points (lateral spines).

Below is a very interesting past posting on Crabbing, somewhat of a first hand crabbing account
This is based out of the Pacifica California area..

Happy Crabbing In Pacifica Saturday, January 1st, 2005
Crabs are hideous sea creatures with cold, shifty eyes, twisted, scuttling legs, formidable crushing claws and warty armor. But the flesh of this barbarous beast is a sweetly delicate meat. Local crabbers are presently ambushing the tasty crustaceans that abound in regional waters Ñ Dungeness season began in November, and red crab and rock crab are legal year-round. William ÒBillyÓ Weeks is a Pacifica Pier regular.
Q. Hi Billy. When did you first start crabbing?
A. When I was a little boy, I used to go crabbing at the beach in Biloxi, Miss. There are different crabs on the Gulf Coast Ñ blue crabs Ñ and, back then, I used a crab net. Nowadays, I use a crab snare on the rod and reel. Crab snares are more fun for me because thereÕs more sport to it Ñ and then thereÕs the thrill of reeling the crabs in successfully.

Q. Do crabs ever get away when you bring Ôem up?
A. Oh, yes. Lots of times, crabs arenÕt really snared, so they let go of the bait and they drop themselves back into the water and get away. With nets, they also climb out of the basket on the way up. When that happens, when you lose them, itÕs just heartbreaking.
Q. What do you use as bait?
A. I use squid, with a secret little something that I canÕt tell you about Ñ my own special ingredient.
Q. You wonÕt tell me what it is?
A. Nope. CanÕt do that.
Q. I hear lots of crabbers use chicken, or salmon heads. Is bait like that effective?
A. Oh, sure. Chicken and salmon Ñ thatÕs fine. ItÕs all about the smell. Crabs go to where they smell the bait. ThatÕs why I give my bait a little something extra.
Q. Where do you go crabbing? And how often?
A. Mostly, I go to the Pacifica public pier Ñ quite often, about three to four times a week. Most weekends, and sometimes, during the week, I take off from work early; IÕm a carpenter. I head to the ocean, and I do some crabbing before dinner. I often go crabbing with my wife, Naoko, and my 9-year-old son, Justice. TheyÕre big crabbers, too.
Q. WhatÕs the biggest crab you ever caught?
A. Oh, about 8 inches. The legal limit is 5 3/4 inches.
Q. How many crabs have you caught in a day?
A. Ten. ThatÕs the limit.
Q. Do you eat them all?
A. I eat everything I catch. IÕve literally had 100 crabs in my freezer at one time.
Q. WhatÕs your favorite way to cook them?
A. I steam the crabs until they turn bright red. It takes about 15-20 minutes. Then I eat them with ponzu Ñ a Japanese sauce made of soy sauce and citrus. I also just eat crab bland, without anything on it. I like the taste. Its definitely one of my favorite foods.
Q. Do you ever eat crabs with melted butter?
A. No butter. Never. I donÕt do that.
Q. Any other recipes you use?
A. Sometimes I make crab cakes. And sometimes I make a seafood gumbo Ñ thatÕs a Louisiana dish. But usually I just steam them.
Q. Locally, there are several types of crab to catch. Do you think they all taste the same, or different?
A. I like them all, but I think the red and rock crabs are sweeter than Dungeness. ThatÕs just my opinion.
Q. Is fresh crab tastier than frozen?
A. NothingÕs better than fresh, but fresh frozen is a close second best.
Q. Who goes crabbing at the Pacifica Pier? What kinds of people?
A. All kinds. Filipino, Vietnamese, Hispanic. Every kind of person. ThereÕs a lot of camaraderie down there Ñ lots of regulars.
Q. Do you ever get bored when youÕre crabbing?
A. No. I just enjoy being on the ocean, away from the city.
Q. Would you like to be a crab?
A. No. IÕm crabby enough as it is.
Q. Have you ever been pinched by a crab?
A. Yeah. A red crab pinched my thumb Ñ theyÕve got the strongest pinch. Extremely painful. My thumb turned blue, and I lost all feeling in it for a week. That red crab almost took my thumb off. It definitely did some nerve damage.
Q. Do crabs have any predators, besides people?
A. Sea lions eat crabs. They often steal the crabs right out of the nets. And, with a rod and reel, seals can get the crab while youÕre reeling it in. Lots of fish also eat the smaller crabs. But I think this is one of the best places in the world to catch crab.
Q. Do you ever catch anything weird in your crab snare?
A. I caught a leopard shark once. And starfish occasionally crawl in.
Q. Do you think people who crab out of season should be fined? What about people who keep undersize crabs, or catch over the limit?
A. Those people should be punished. Absolutely. ThereÕs an environmental impact when people disregard the laws.
Q. Dungeness season just started. HowÕs it going? Are you catching a lot?
A. It seems to be slow. I only caught one crab yesterday. I think it is due to commercial fishermen catching their limit offshore. TheyÕre yanking the crabs out of the ocean, where they breed, before they can be washed closer to land. ThatÕs the opinion on the pier, anyway. But itÕs early in the season. We think it will start picking up in January.
Hank Pellissier Ñ a.k.a. Hank Hyena Ñ has been a columnist for Salon.com (ÓNaked WorldÓ), SFGate (ÓOdd BarkingsÓ), the S.F. Metropolitan (ÓFrisco UtopiaÓ) and the New Mission News (ÓCivic StenchÓ). HeÕs also executive director of the Hyena Comedy Institute and co-director of a preschool called The ChildrenÕs Lab. THIS STORY RAN ON SF GATE
LOAD-DATE: January 1, 2005 Copyright 2004 The Chronicle Publishing Co.

Below is a clip from a great website regarding crabbing in california, especially dedicated to Southern California Pier Crabbing. You should also go and check out the other details that are there, this is just some of it, but its is truly good information.

the site is: http://calicrabbing.com/category/crab-fishing-in-so-cal/#main

So far, I have visited about 8 different piers all over the Southern coast of California. At each of these piers I have been fishing and crabbing. I will be honest and say that i am not YET the most savvy fisherman there is one the pier most of the time but what I do is take a look around, see what EVERYONE is catching and pulling in. This way if I am just having a rough day it wont make my out look on the pier tainted.

The second best pier to crab and fish at in Southern California is the Oxnard Pier. The reason I am saying that this pier is number 2 is for several reasons. When I was there I caught a couple of crab and pulled in some smaller fish. Nothing to exciting for me. BUT, all around me I had people fishing for halibut. Now I have been to sever piers and i always hear that there is halibut but I have never seen any. At Oxnard, i was seeing some fairly large Halibut being pulled up. The largest one I saw was about 26 inches. That was a great part of this pier.

Another reason this is number 2 is because all the people on the pier were very friendly. They were welcoming to everyone on the pier. Often times you will feel like you are in someoneÕs space while fishing but, on this pier its like people wanted you to fish next to them. I liked this part.

Now, the NUMBER 1 pier in Southern California would have to be the Ventura pier. I still have many piers to go to but so far this one is the best. There are many many reasons for this. One is that the water is very clean. It is up north a little compared to the rest of the piers I have been to but I think it is worth the drive.

While I was fishing i caught sever very large dungeous crabs. These crabs are very good if you didnÕt know. Haha. Also I have caught many perch and mackeral. But the best thing I have caught at the Ventura pier was Lobster. I did not go in the prime lobster season but from what I hear from many people is that there are a lot of lobsters in this area.

In one night of fishing i caught over 20 fish and about 10 crabs. This place is a bunch of fun. If you have kids that you like to bring along, they have a little park right on the beach. But I have to say the best part of this pier is that very few people go to it. I feel that many people go to the Oxnard pier which is only 15 minutes away and no one goes to the Ventura pier. This is good because it means you have more room to fish. You donÕt have to worry about getting tangled up in someone elseÕs line.

So if you would like to know where the best pier in Southern California is, I would recommend heading over to the Ventura pier. It is a very fun time.
- Wed Dec 31 9:57:48 2008

Below is a clip from chowhound.chow.com, some local Bay Area Crab talk.  Some good past information about crab here too.

Dungeness Crab Season
My wife and I LOVE Dungeness Crab, but here in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, only frozen crab is readily available (at Wal-Mart of all places!). We’re going to San Francisco in mid-March. Will fresh Dungeness still be available in local seafood shops and restaurants? We’re thinking of having lunch at Swan’s and can already taste that fresh crab! Thanks!
14 Replies so Far
1. No, but there will be live crabs brought in from further north, like Washington.
Robert Lauriston Jan 23, 2007 10:09AM 1. re: Robert Lauriston When specifically does the local season end?
Ozumo Jan 23, 2007 07:20PM 1. re: Ozumo I always understood crab season to end in SF/NorCal in May. Who knows now given warmer waters.
2. Although the season lasts for eight months, many crabbers stop fishing after the second or third week, because most of the legal crabs have been taken. During the first week of the season crabbers may take as much as 25-pounds of legal crab in each pot. By the third or fourth week there is often no more than 3 or 4 pounds of legal crab per pot. By the first of next month there will be likely be very few crabbers working the pots. Don’t count on high-quality fresh legal crabs from San Francisco much after the end of this month.
3. Don’t know if this is true but my mother always told us that fresh dungeness crabs were only available during months ending in -er which is basically from September to December. There’s always fresh crab available in the Bay Area but not necessarily dungeness. So was this an old wive’s tale or is my mom right – again?!
1. Sorry, Mom’s got it wrong — the California Dungeness season doesn’t even start until mid-November. As explained above, although officially the season lasts until June, for all practical purposes, by the end of January the Dungeness you find in SF is from farther north (the season opens later and later the farther north on the Pacific Coast they’re harvested). Dungeness is still the predominent crab available, it’s just not local (nor necessarily fresh).
4. There is a HUGE flavor difference between the crabs I ate in November/December and the ones I ate at crab feeds in the past few weeks. The crabs taken in the beginning of the season were so sweet and succulent. The crabs I ate recently at crab feeds — probably frozen crab, definitely not fresh — were stringy and tasteless. It’s too bad — most crab feeds are late in the season, but the best tasting crabs come in November/December.
5. Yeah, I’m hearing a lot about crab feeds planned for March and beyond. Why do they plan it so late in the season? I guess maybe they’re trying to avoid all the winter holidays. But still, doesn’t make sense.
1. re: singleguychef Crab feeds are fund raisers. After the first of the year, the demand for dungeness crab drops off, thus the supply (for crab feeds) increases and the prices are not as influenced by supply and demand as early in the season. The crabs at crab feeds is often frozen, frozen crabs are less expensive, easier to handle than fresh live and fresh cooked. What started off as a way to raise funds using a “surplus commodity” has morphed into a commercial enterprise, and the surplus commodity is now a coveted valuable resource.
1. re: Alan408 wow, thanks for the background Alan. Very educational!
2. re: Alan408 There’s no surplus of Dungeness crab.
6. FWIW, this Sunday, we bought $3.50/lb crab off the boat at Half Moon Bay (Pillar Point Harbor), slightly cheaper because they were headed back out to pull their pots (300 ft., 17 miles southwest of the harbor). We got a mix of jumbos (> 2 lbs) and regulars, a better mix than the first boat we looked at. The crab snobs at home likened our purchases to ‘December crabs’. Call the harbormaster for who’s selling what. If you’re eating there, the fish store at the harbor steams ‘em fresh.
7. Ditto above about Pillar Piont. The crabs we got were great. Most oriental markets sell live crabs but buyer beware. Live does not equal fresh. When shellfish are starved for long periods of time they start breaking down their own muscle for energy. Live and kickin is what you want. ps I love eating crab at Swan’s Oyster Depot
8. greetings, a couple of weeks ago the vendor who comes the the local (Oakland) farmer’s market had two size ranges for $4 or 4.50/lb and the 1.5# ones I got were still sweet-tasting.

Here are some tips on Getting Started Crabbing

Strictly a recreational activity, trapping crabs can be lots of fun and very productive. Since a boat is not required to trap crabs, it is becoming a popular method of crabbing. One method is to crab from a public bridge; you’ll know when you find one because other crabbers will be there. Crabbing from a public pier or dock, say at a marina, is another great way to utilize a trap. Wading out into shallow water and tying off your traps to sticks or poles is yet another way. And of course, a boat makes an excellent crabbing platform!

The great thing about the various kinds of crab traps is that they work well with little effort and expense. You can purchase crab traps at tackle shops and some hardware stores for 8 to 12 dollars, depending on the size and type. Most traps have one feature in common; when they are in the water on the bottom, they collapse so that the sides are open to allow the crabs to enter and leave.

Crab net rings and the different shaped collapsible traps all operate in this way. When the crabber pulls on the cord, the sides are pulled up and if the crabs are eating the bait, they will be trapped inside.

Ring Net traps are the simplest and least expensive trap available. It consists of two rings each of a different diameter connected by netting. When baited and lowered to the bottom, the trap lies flat on the bottom. The crab will then approach and start to feed on the bait. When the trap is pulled up the top ring is lifted first this trapping the crab in the netting. The benefits of this trap are its simple design, ease of use, ease of storage (it folds completely flat), and its low cost. The drawbacks are that it only works in relatively calm water with flat sandy or muddy bottoms and that it must be lowered very slowly straight down.

Pyramid and Box traps work similarly in that they are made of metal and have sides that swing down or open when resting on the bottom. They are more expensive and complicated than the ring net but can be used in stronger currents and bottoms covered with small rocks and marine growth. They can be “thrown” or “swung” into position. The pyramid trap can be easily stored since it folds completely flat but is very cumbersome to use and fouls frequently. The box trap is bulkier an does not collapse, but works consistently and remarkably well. The box trap is the crab trap of choice among recreational crabbers.

Chicken necks and backs are a good bait for crab traps. Necks and backs are inexpensive and easy to find in the meat department of most grocery stores. You may use fish parts for bait, but the bone in the chicken allows for secure attachment to the trap, and it holds up longer against the ripping and tearing as the crab feeds. Tie the bait to middle of the bottom part of the trap with wire or heavy cord. Lower the trap in the water with enough cord or rope so that it sits on the bottom. Then tie the other end of the cord to the pier.

If you are crabbing from some place on shore, it is best if the tide is rising. Wait five to ten minutes, then check each trap from one end of the line to the other. Check each line carefully by pulling it up with a sharp pull to close the trap and pull the trap quickly to the surface with even tension so that the side panels do not open to release the crab. Pull the trap upward; hand over hand, you will see if the crab is in the trap as you near the surface. Once the trap is up keep the sides closed so your catch does not escape.

After you have trapped your crab, you need the proper container to keep it alive. The best container is a wooden bushel basket obtainable at any fruit or vegetable store. Always protect the crabs from the hot sun, cover them with wet burlap or a wet towel and occasionally dip the container in the water or pour water directly over the crabs to keep them wet and cool. A pail or bucket is not advisable because air cannot flow through this type of container and the crabs will die due to lack of oxygen. If you have no other option, then be sure to replenish or change the water often.

Crabs are transferred to the container by moving it over your basket and letting one side panel open. The crab should drop into the container with a little shaking. Sometimes the crab will hold onto the trap with his claws, be patient he will let go in a few moments. Sometimes crabs get loose so you should learn how to handle live crabs with tongs, gloves, or better yet with your bare hands. Always use caution and care and you will keep yourself from being “bitten”.

If you catch a “buster” or “soft-shell” do not place it into the same receptacle with the hard-shell crabs as they will either eat or kill this crab. If you intend to keep these “soft-shell crabs” separate and place them in another container.

Ideas on Hand Line Crabbing
Crabbing is good outdoor fun for anyone. Use a dip net with the basket made of nylon mesh, rather than a cloth mesh net. Crabs fight, bite, twist and turn when they are caught. The nylon doesn’t allow your crabs to get tangled up so easily. Learning to use the dip net to catch a crab takes some patience and practice, but practice will improve your skill.

The simplest method of catching crabs is a hand line and dip net and is strictly a recreational activity. Handline crabbing is simple, inexpensive and provides all-day-fun. All you need is a dip net, a length of string long enough to reach the bottom, and some type of bait. The bait along with a small weight is simply tied to a line and lowered to the bottom. This is a very inexpensive, low-tech, way to catch crabs and is a great way to get the whole family together. Make sure your dip net’s pole is no longer than six feet or it may become difficult to handle.

If you are crabbing from some place on shore, it is best if the tide is rising. Tie several lines to the pier or boat and give the crabs a chance to find one of the lines with the bait

Check each line carefully by picking it up with your thumb and forefinger; this gives you a more delicate feel. You will know if the crab is feeding because the pulling and clawing action will be transmitted up the line to your fingers. Ease the crab slowly upward; hand over hand, inch by inch. The suspense at this point is a test of your patience. Usually, the crab is so busy eating that he is unaware he is being pulled from the bottom.

Keep the line tight. When you can see the crab near the surface, get your net ready with one hand and hold the line with the other, or you can work as a team, with a friend using the net. Maneuver the crab as close as possible, then quickly scoop down, alongside, then under the crab, and up with a wrist-turning motion. Some crabbers prefer to ease the net into the water, somewhat away from the crab, then move in and under it.

If you intend to keep your crabs for longer than a day, then consider constructing a crab box. This is usually a wooden structure made of slats to allow the circulation of water. The crab box is tied to the pier and supported in the water with floats. Feed the crabs leftover bait until you have enough fattened up for a feast!

What You Need to Get Started

The basic items you should pick up are the following:

- 100 feet of rope

- a small circular trap, some shops call them hoop traps, but they are really easy to use, you will be catching crab with them your first time out

- a couple of old rags you can use while at the crabbing sites

- some bait for the trap (chicken drumsticks are an old favorite for many reasons. some fish heads, fish guts, anything that is fresh or somewhat old meat related will usually work well. You are going to need to tie this bait to the inside of your trap, so get something that will help with doing just that. Some people will even go and buy a small metal container which can contain the bait, and also be strapped onto the side of the hoop net. The decision is up to you.

Catching crabs at the seaside requires a little patience but very little investment and If you are taking children crab fishing you must obviously watch them very carefully.
The best places to catch crabs are off the end of a pier and there is no better place to catch crabs than Cromer pier in Norfolk. That said just about any seaside place where you can get your line in the water will do.
To go crab fishing you will need a crab line (as always all the kit you need is linked to at the bottom of the page) and some bait. I recommend bacon. Crabs love uncooked bacon!!! DonÕt forget a bucket with some seawater in it for the crabs you catch, but please be kind and put them back reasonably quickly.
There are usually people around who are happy to offer a bit of advice and it is not too hard.

So where is a good place to go looking for crab???
A LICENSE IS NOT REQUIRED IF FISHING A PUBLIC PIER IN CALIFORNIA!!
So I think a publick pier is a great place for something like this. Please stay up to date on the latest crab regulations, as there are always size and bag limites. This means that the crab must be “so” big before it can be taken.

Here is an old article from the United Kingdom on crabbing:
It is from a gentleman named Keith Elliott who knows a good deal about crabs:

TIME TO stop kidding myself. If I’m really middle-aged, I shall live to be more than 100. Though I haven’t got as far as listening to Terry Wogan yet, the evidence is piling up. As if it’s not bad enough being unable to touch my toes without bending my knees and watching my nose hair outpace the stuff on my head, this week provided further proof of my incipient old age. I bought a bucket of crabs.

It all started when my daughters demanded a day out this weekend. “How about the seaside?” I suggested. Wise to my ways, they replied: “You’re taking us fishing, aren’t you?” Suspicious little wretches. But they’re right. This is a great time to catch flounders on Southend Pier.

Flounders are terrific fish for youngsters because they are greedy. They’re good to eat, too, and I’ve seen them served as plaice (in The Guardian canteen, incidentally). Catching 20 or 30 is fairly easy if you have the right bait – and at this time of year, that means crabs. Not those nasty hard-backed things that rear up like a doberman when you lift their rocky home; bait crabs are those that are just about to moult, or whatever the crabby equivalent is.

At this stage, it is called a peeler (peel off its hard back, and there’s a soft, perfectly formed new crab underneath), though fish gobble them up almost as much just after they have cast their shells. Almost everything with fins goes crabbing when the crustaceans move inshore to cast their shells. It’s pointless taking any other bait for flounders, plaice, bass, smooth-hounds and eels. But the crabs are not entirely defenceless, for their own kind protect them.

It’s amazing to imagine crabs having kind hearts, but that’s precisely what happens. At this time of year, it’s common to find a hard crab with a peeler or softie underneath. Some protect their helpless compatriots so well that they join carapaces. The top crab fights off predators, and will run away clutching its comrade beneath its body.

Traditionally, crab searchers look under rocks and seaweed. But at Southend, most crabs bury themselves in soft mud. The merest discolouration where they have dug themselves in gives a clue to their hiding places. To collect 50 crabs is far from easy, especially when others are looking too.

You can walk three miles to find enough for a day’s fishing. It’s not a matter of splashing through rock pools, either. Southend crabbing means wading through soft mud that has the consistency of treacle and is about as easy to trudge through.

Having gathered the bait, it’s on to the world’s longest pier and time to set up. Using crab is a gory process. It means killing the critter, then peeling off its shell, claws and legs. Don’t ask me why, but kids seem to love that bit. They get quickly bored with the fishing, but they love pulling crabs’ legs off. It’s not my daughters’ bloodthirstiness, either. I used to take parties from a local children’s home fishing on the pier. They were very polite, but constantly asked: “Please, sir, can we pull some more legs off crabs?”

I’ve always collected my own bait. It’s a pride thing, really, a bit like not clinging to the railing when you ride a roller-coaster. But now I have to wear glasses for driving, and I don’t spot those tell-tale clues of concealed crabs like I used to. All that bending down takes its toll. It knackers your back and leaves thighs aching from hauling your feet through that mud. It’s messy, too: that mud seems to get everywhere. And taking youngsters along is a disaster. They tread all over the places where crabs might be hiding, so you can’t spot the hiding places.

All right, I’m making excuses. I have to confess that today, I rang up a bait collector and ordered 30 crabs for the weekend. (“Something for the weekend, sir?”) That’s not enough to supply a day’s fishing for four people, but it will supplement those that I – I hope – gather. But I know that I’m on a slippery slope now. Will there come a time when I need help in pulling the legs off as well?

Here is a commercial crab fishing bit of information and some tips on crabbing:

There are many ways to a crab and you can catch a crab around here with about any kind of bait, but we donÕt want to just catch any crab crawling around down there, we want to catch big legal male crab and leave the rest on the bottom.
The commercial crab season opens December first and is open till mid August. Most commercial crabbers quit before the season is over because they have other fisheries or the volume of legal male crab is less than what it takes to make a profit. This season we left our 300 traps out for for six months and managed to make them pay. In the beginning of the season there were lots of crab so they have to compete to get their share of the grub and they are just fighting each other to get in the traps and on the boat. As the season progresses they get harder to catch as there are fewer crab and more food available for them to eat and so this is when you need to dig into your bag of tricks.
Squid is the mother of all baits. I do not know of a fish or a crab that doesnÕt eat squid, it is like candy to them. All commercial crabbers use it, they put it in chew bags or plastic bait jars with small holes. A chew bag is just a nylon mesh bag that holds the bait. If you are looking for a quick catch or if you are using crab rings use the squid in chew bags. When you use chew bags the crab will stay there longer because they are able to eat. It will also make more crab move in because they can see and hear their buddies chowing down. The big male crab will move in and chase away small crab that are eating something they want. The bait jars are good when using traps because it will last longer, always chop up the squid when in bait jars. When a crab gets in to find out that he can only smell the bait, it is too late.
Clams are another great bait, they have a nice sweet smell that those huge dungies canÕt resist. I always use razor clams and squid in separate jars it is a great long lasting combo. Save up all of your clam trimmings and the shells too they also contain good scent.
Fish carcases work great too, especially when they are fresh. The average weekend warrior may find it tough to find these prime baits so they settle for chicken, turkey, hotdogs or roadkill. Try calling around to local fish buyers, seafood stores, tackle shops or charter boat offices.
If you are fishing off the docks using open ring traps you might see the seals diving down and stealing your bait. This is why a lot of people use chicken or turkey backs for bait because the seals donÕt much like those .. but neither do the crab. If you are getting seals taking your bait you can use the chew bags or bait jars with squid or fish to bring the crab in and use the chicken or roadkill to keep em in the pots. The scent from those squid, clams, or fish in the jars will attract the crab and once they are in the trap, the turkey will keep em occupied till you can pull em.
Other things to consider before planning a crabbing adventure is the moon phase. Crab are always more active during the full moon. Tides are also important when crabbing in the bay. Crab come in and out of the bay with the tides. High tide is usually the best time to crab in the bay because there is more salt water, so lay your traps before then and let the crab come in with the tide.
We hope these tips help you get the most of your time on the water and please share your own É. go get em!!
Harvester and crewÉ.

The Great Crab Bait Debate

What is the best bait to be using on the crabs and what are the reasons for it?

So many people are using chicken these days to catch their crab it is amazing. Not only is it relatively cheap, it is durable and can last a long time in salt water.

My cousin Joe from Alabama thinks chicken are the only way to go, he says, “They also will eat chicken and probably anything else that you can find.”
Here are some tips on crabbing.

Secrets of Crabbing
Crabs tend to feed on the incoming tide. For best results place your traps on sandy slopes in 20~80′of water. Crabs will eat such baits as mackerel, tuna, and squid.
“Always allow at least an additional 25% of rope to the depth of water that you are fishing. Drop a pot in 90 feet of water with only 100 feet of rope and your buoy will be diving under the surface and make retrieving it next to impossible in a fast current. Always use leaded line to keep it below the surface. This keeps the extra line from floating on the surface.
Where to fish your pots is not as simple tossing them over and retrieving a limit. You want your gear on sandy or muddy bottom, not near reefs or rocks. Toss your gear in close to a rocky shoreline and you’re going to catch rock crabs, not Dungeness (whom tend to stay away from a pot with resident rock crabs). Don’t fish your gear in less than 70 feet of water if you are fishing in unprotected waters overnight. Gear fished in less than 60 feet in most cases will “tack” or sink when the swell is up, much like your feet in the surf. Pots fished in the deeper waters tend to drift less and fish better when the weather is tough. In fact crabs feed best during big weather as it churns up the bottom and exposes their natural food sources. Pull your pots no more than twice a day as takes time for the crabs to find their way in.”

Crabbing in Pacifica California:

Crabs are hideous sea creatures with cold, shifty eyes, twisted, scuttling legs, formidable crushing claws and warty armor. But the flesh of this barbarous beast is a sweetly delicate meat. Local crabbers are presently ambushing the tasty crustaceans that abound in regional waters — Dungeness season began in November, and red crab and rock crab are legal year-round. William “Billy” Weeks is a Pacifica Pier regular.

Q. Hi Billy. When did you first start crabbing?

A. When I was a little boy, I used to go crabbing at the beach in Biloxi, Miss. There are different crabs on the Gulf Coast — blue crabs — and, back then, I used a crab net. Nowadays, I use a crab snare on the rod and reel. Crab snares are more fun for me because there’s more sport to it — and then there’s the thrill of reeling the crabs in successfully.

Q. Do crabs ever get away when you bring ‘em up?

A. Oh, yes. Lots of times, crabs aren’t really snared, so they let go of the bait and they drop themselves back into the water and get away. With nets, they also climb out of the basket on the way up. When that happens, when you lose them, it’s just heartbreaking.

Q. What do you use as bait?

A. I use squid, with a secret little something that I can’t tell you about — my own special ingredient.

Q. You won’t tell me what it is?

A. Nope. Can’t do that.

Q. I hear lots of crabbers use chicken, or salmon heads. Is bait like that effective?

A. Oh, sure. Chicken and salmon — that’s fine. It’s all about the smell. Crabs go to where they smell the bait. That’s why I give my bait a little something extra.

Q. Where do you go crabbing? And how often?

A. Mostly, I go to the Pacifica public pier — quite often, about three to four times a week. Most weekends, and sometimes, during the week, I take off from work early; I’m a carpenter. I head to the ocean, and I do some crabbing before dinner. I often go crabbing with my wife, Naoko, and my 9-year-old son, Justice. They’re big crabbers, too.

Q. What’s the biggest crab you ever caught?

A. Oh, about 8 inches. The legal limit is 5 3/4 inches.

Q. How many crabs have you caught in a day?

A. Ten. That’s the limit.

Q. Do you eat them all?

A. I eat everything I catch. I’ve literally had 100 crabs in my freezer at one time.

Q. What’s your favorite way to cook them?

A. I steam the crabs until they turn bright red. It takes about 15-20 minutes. Then I eat them with ponzu — a Japanese sauce made of soy sauce and citrus. I also just eat crab bland, without anything on it. I like the taste. Its definitely one of my favorite foods.

Q. Do you ever eat crabs with melted butter?

A. No butter. Never. I don’t do that.

Q. Any other recipes you use?

A. Sometimes I make crab cakes. And sometimes I make a seafood gumbo — that’s a Louisiana dish. But usually I just steam them.

Q. Locally, there are several types of crab to catch. Do you think they all taste the same, or different?

A. I like them all, but I think the red and rock crabs are sweeter than Dungeness. That’s just my opinion.

Q. Is fresh crab tastier than frozen?

A. Nothing’s better than fresh, but fresh frozen is a close second best.

Q. Who goes crabbing at the Pacifica Pier? What kinds of people?

A. All kinds. Filipino, Vietnamese, Hispanic. Every kind of person. There’s a lot of camaraderie down there — lots of regulars.

Q. Do you ever get bored when you’re crabbing?

A. No. I just enjoy being on the ocean, away from the city.

Q. Would you like to be a crab?

A. No. I’m crabby enough as it is.

Q. Have you ever been pinched by a crab?

A. Yeah. A red crab pinched my thumb — they’ve got the strongest pinch. Extremely painful. My thumb turned blue, and I lost all feeling in it for a week. That red crab almost took my thumb off. It definitely did some nerve damage.

Q. Do crabs have any predators, besides people?

A. Sea lions eat crabs. They often steal the crabs right out of the nets. And, with a rod and reel, seals can get the crab while you’re reeling it in. Lots of fish also eat the smaller crabs. But I think this is one of the best places in the world to catch crab.

Q. Do you ever catch anything weird in your crab snare?

A. I caught a leopard shark once. And starfish occasionally crawl in.

Q. Do you think people who crab out of season should be fined? What about people who keep undersize crabs, or catch over the limit?

A. Those people should be punished. Absolutely. There’s an environmental impact when people disregard the laws.

Q. Dungeness season just started. How’s it going? Are you catching a lot?

A. It seems to be slow. I only caught one crab yesterday. I think it is due to commercial fishermen catching their limit offshore. They’re yanking the crabs out of the ocean, where they breed, before they can be washed closer to land. That’s the opinion on the pier, anyway. But it’s early in the season. We think it will start picking up in January

Get Started Stone Crab Fishing.

Recreational Stone Crabbing Information:
-No Females With Eggs
-2 3/4 Inch Claw
-Open Season
-October 15-May 15
-Bag Limit
-1 Gallon Of Claws Per Person or 2 Gallons Per Vessel, Whichever Is        Less

Stone Crab Harvesting Gear:

It is unlawful to use any device on the taking of stone crabs that can puncture, crush, or injure the crab body, such as spears, grains, grabs, hooks, or similar devices
Maximum of five (5) blue crabs traps per person as described in the summary of stone crab trapping rules below

Stone Crab Trapping Rules

-Five trap maximum
-Buoy must have a legible “R” at least two inches high, permanently affixed to it. Buoys are not  required if trap is fished from a dock.
-Trap shall have harvesters name and address permanently affixed to it in legible letters.
-Traps must be pulled manually (not by a trap puller). Any vessel that is rigged with a trap puller will be considered a commercial vessel and the appropriate licenses will be required.
-Traps must be pulled only during daylight hours.
-Traps must not be placed in navigational channels of the intracoastal waterways, or in navigational channels maintained and marked by any county, municipal, state or federal governmental agency.
-A Florida recreational fishing license is required to harvest stone crabs under the recreational fishing regulations.
-Stone crab trap specifications are the same for recreational and commercial harvesters. Trap specifications may be found in Rule 68B-45.004, Florida Administrative Code.

Information Provided By The Florida Fish And Wildlife Conservation Commission

Excellent Albacore Information from Bob who was running the highly respected boat Fishing Machine. He is one of the Bay Area’s most highly respected fisherman, so feel free to follow of the details he presents. This all comes from the coast sidefishing club.com website:

Trolling Jigs For Albacore – Throw the old tuna book away

By Bob Franko

I subscribed for years to the regurgitated nonsense that gets passed on from generation to generation about ways to catch tuna. You know what I’m talking about. How many times have you heard color is important, or this is the one everyone is catching them on, or you must use dark colors in the morning, light colors in the afternoon. I have seen every high tech gimmick known to man sold to the young albacore angler, with a smile and a promise of greatness.

I recently was walking by a so-called albacore trolling guru at a well-known boat show. I listened for several minutes as he repeated the same old tired formula that most of the outdoor experts seem to want young anglers to buy into. I can only come to a couple of conclusions: they either work for a tackle company that wants you to buy every color in the free world, or it’s just to much trouble to spend the time necessary on the water to think out of the box.

What most young albacore anglers fail to understand is these fish, contrary to what some might have you believe, didn’t graduate from Harvard.

The Tao of Fishing for Albacore

Efficiency

I believe efficiency will put more fish in the box than anything else you can do. Let me explain. I chase tuna on a daily basis, and have for many years. On most trips there is a window of opportunity. During this window they will eat the bottom of the boat. It may last 30 minutes, 1 hour, or it may go all day, but during this time you must be efficient. Anything less than a full court press at this time is just burning daylight.
There is nothing less efficient than a guy in the middle of the window standing in the back of the boat jerking his rod up and down trying to see where his lure is. Then to his amazement it goes off and he thinks life is good, but the reality of the situation is that that stop has produced only one fish. That is not efficiency when the rest of the spread never got in play. Would it not have made for a more exciting moment if all the gear got out, and now your son, father, brother all had fish hanging, screaming in both panic and pleasure as they battled this great fighting fish? There is only one thing better than a reel screaming after a jig strike, that is many reels screaming at the same time.

Rods and Positions

What has been (hopefully) affectionately nick named the Franko method by the largest fishing organisation in Northern California (Coastside Fishing Club, www.coastsidefishingclub.com), starts with marking you’re lines, and dedicating a rod to a permanent position. I use a piece of fluorescent trout leader tied with a uni knot to my main line, some guys use rubber bands, but the goal is to provide an exact distance mark so the team can free spool the gear out in a hurry, stopping at the mark and having that lure exactly placed in the spread. This system takes the guesswork out, and the end result is during that window instead of catching singles, you will maximize that window because multiples will be the rule. It always amazes me when, after the fish come up, and they have bit for a couple of hours, the talk on the radio among the sport boats goes something like this. “Hey Bill that was incredible. I think they must have gone down. How many did you guys get?” “I got 9″. “I don’t know Harry, I must have something like that in the box. Bob how did your crew do.” “We got 17.” The message here was Bob and crew were not better fisherman, but they were more efficient.

Lures and Placement
One of the most important things you can do is not provide tuna a choice when it comes to the lures in the spread. I believe this one factors denies more anglers the opportunity for an epic day than anything else. There is a reason to run all the same lures in your spread. What is important is how they swim, and where they swim. I want the same lure, and the same weight. I like a 2-½ ounce clone, they always swim right, even in rough water, compared to lighter jigs. And I fish the same color all day.

Let me explain it like this. Fish are no different than any other predator on the planet. If you watch a lion hunt, he is looking for the weak buffalo, he will always go after the one that is limping. Its nature’s way to weed out the weak. Albacore are the same way, they are looking for their weak buffalo, the odd ball, the one that is swimming a little different. I suggest, don’t give them a weak buffalo. When they come up don’t give them a choice, they’ll all gravitate to the weak one, the odd ball, and you’ll catch a lot of singles. Instead keep the lures all the same and let them eat them all!

There is nothing more exciting than seven positions going off, with only four guys on boat. There are descriptive words for this kind of event, but I better not use them. Let me illustrate my point even further. In my neck of the woods, cedar plugs get a lot of attention. They are very popular these days and in most cases are run in the middle way back. If you ask the angler why he runs it there he will tell you “I’m also fishing for a bluefin”. If you question him further he will tell you he has never caught a bluefin, but was told that is the way to get it done. There is validity to catching bluefin in that fashion (I personally would troll a kite), but let me suggest something else that will happen. That cedar plug becomes a weak buffalo so the angler thinks it’s the best lure that was ever made. It got bit more than anything else he had out, but in reality he brought the school up in the back of the spread, resulting in a lot more singles than he should have had, and missed the opportunity for a five banger.

If you must run a weak buffalo, at least run it in front of the spread. I position two meat lines with big jet heads 60ft behind the boat. I want that school of fish that are holding at 20 fathoms to look up and see all that movement from the bigger lures, and head in that direction. If I can get them there, everything else comes through. When positioning your gear you need to find your boat’s sweet spot. As I said every boat is different so experiment a little. I would start with my distances, and work from there.

For the record I run 60ft on the meatlines, 85ft on the two side back positions, and the center back position, the outriggers lures are at 115ft from my transom. I suggest that every boat is different when you talk about noise, wake, vibration, I believe because of these factors outboards are the least productive then comes outdrives, and the best-case scenario is a single screw diesel with a four bladed prop.

I would suggest on the couple of days they don’t want to bite like wild dogs, bring the spread closer to the transom. These fish have eyes as big as silver dollars, so let the prop wash help hide the line for you. And when working an area that has fish, never troll in a straight line for any length of time. Fish love to bite in a turn.

One other thing in regards to placement. My rod tips on my side rods are just above the water line, and my center position is on a flat line clip just below the gunnel. This is so lures not only swim better, but they are not influenced by the wind. Nothing is more inefficient than a tangle.

Remember there will be slow days in everyone future, I don’t care who you are. On those slow days a weak buffalo is the last thing you need, you need to get that multi hookup when they do show up.

Outriggers
There are several things to say about outriggers. I realize a lot of guys have those gunnel mount outriggers that only give you two positions up and when out are still up high. The problem with this is they are really affected by the wind. On days with anything above 15 knots of breeze, the wind puts big bellies in the line. This leads to tangles, and everything that goes with that. You can’t catch fish if you’re in the back of the boat trying to untangle a big mess for 30 minutes. I would recommend outriggers that mount to the wheelhouse, then place a stop in the maximum down position. The goal is to get them as low as you can without dipping them in the swell, and run them in the back positions in the spread. The wind will have less affect, and your lures won’t be coming out of the water.
Color
It’s almost laughable at times when you hear the fleet talking about color. It seems like every time someone sticks a fish, he will suggest on the radio that his friends go to that color. It’s as if people believe that tuna wakes up in the morning saying I think I will eat one with red spots rather than green today. Let me drop a bomb here, I know it is heresy to some of you, but the truth is that color doesn’t matter! I’m more concerned about how they swim and where they swim, than whether they have yellow in the skirt, or red. If you get nothing else out of this article remember this, location, and presentation will work for you regardless of what your target species is. The only thing I will say about color is this: if you must have different colors in the water make sure they’re all the same lure, this way, at a minimum, they will all swim the same. I take it a step further and run all the same color. I run a seven-strand 2-½ oz clone Mexican Flag or Pro Dolphin.

Hooks and Line and Other Tips

There are a lot of ways to skin this cat. I personally top shot spectra with 50lb mono. This way I only have to replace the top shot if the wheels come of the cart. Over the last couple years I have been using P line and have been more than satisfied. I do believe any quality line will get the job done. If you have done enough long range, it does not take many trips to realize tuna get line shy. There are times when with live bait you must drop down to 15lb test to get bit. It’s that old eye’s as big as silver dollar thing, and there is nothing wrong with an albacore vision. Its important to always put yourself in a position to succeed. You don’t know when you leave the slip that morning if it is a day that they will eat the bottom of the boat, in other words bite anything even rope, or whether its going to require something lighter. I always straight tie 50lb test right to the swivel that holds the hook. Both are hidden in the skirt. I know some of you want to run heavy leader, and a swivel up the lin. All that gets you is another knot to fail, and any tuna that might be a little line shy that day to swim right past it. This method will increase your harvest throughout the year, but its incumbent upon you to check for line fray above the hook. This is simple, just tell that now efficient crew of yours about every other stop to slide the clone up the line and feel above the swivel. If you feel something just retie, it only takes a second. On big days you may have to retie 3 or 4 times. Your hook is a choice you have to make. I like both single and double, barbed or barbless. I can tell you this: tuna impale themselves for the most part, and if you go barbless you will not lose many fish, and it makes it a lot easier to get that hook out. One little trick I started about 10 years ago was to take a small plastic tie wrap, tie it around the shank of the double hooks. Before I started doing that at least once a year I would stick a fish on one side of the hook and the swivel would slide down the other side. The end result would be the hook would be pulled apart and the fish never made it to the kill box.

Meatlines

I talked about meatlines earlier, and they play a valuable rule in my program. I can’t tell you how many times they have found fish for me.

We all look for the obvious indicators, meter marks, temp change, thermocline, rips, birds, plankton, jumpers etc. Lots of times running to a bite, you will come across these kind of indicators. You really don’t want to pull back on the throttles because the guys 10 miles ahead of you are screaming at you on the radio to keep coming.

I will slow down for a couple minutes and just throw out the meatlines. I don’t want to waste a bunch of time lowering outriggers etc. Wham! On the hook. I now don’t have the traffic to put the school down. I’m now in my own honey hole.

I’m not going to get into horns on the meat lines, but I will say that my meat lines are wired to a 12 volt horn. Maybe the closest thing this tuna junky will ever get to injecting pure adrenalin in his arm is when that horn goes off.

In situations when you know your in tuna water, and you’re going to get to where you want to start that day early, slow down and throw the meat lines out, but don’t be surprised if that horn starts going off, you may not be able to see further than a few feet with the deck lights on, but you can sure as heck pull fish over the transom. The bonus is you’re more than likely located for the day. This only seems to happen just prior to daybreak, when it first starts to go from black to gray.

In the past I would not know unless I happened to be staring at the snubber that there was a sort strike. Because I have sound effects I can tell you it happens maybe 15% of the time. If you get to the meatline after a short strike quickly jerk on it for a few seconds and keep your eye on the lure. In about 20% of the cases you will see the water blow up around your lure, and hold on because that tuna going to try and take it from you.

Make sure you have tubs on the back of your boat for your meatlines. They always come in first and go out first. The last thing you need is the tuna cord and mono all over the deck for crewmembers to trip on, tangle, and damage.

It’s also important to use a big barbless hook. Picture fish hooked up in several positions, its important to get those meatlines in first, and the fish off quickly. It’s also important that you don’t throw the hook in the tub unless you like tangles. Hang the hook on the side of the tub. This way when its time to get going you can drop it off the back and it all comes out on its own permitting you to put out another position (efficiency).

One last thing about meatlines. Don’t weight them because you saw a party boat do it, or you heard some commercial fishes that way. The reason party boats do it is so they can get a 5 or 6 man trolling team out the back and still run meatlines. The commercial is putting as much gear as he can in the water for obvious reasons. They will harvest more fish and bring more fish up if they’re darting in and out of the water on the top.

Rods and Reels

There are so many quality products on the market today. I’m hesitant to make any recommendation. Let me say this: my choice is Calstar for my rods, and I’m a big fan of Shimano for my reels. I have used Shimano TLD 25’s for years with great success, but I’m getting kind of long in the tooth, so I’m now using my TLD 30’s (two speeds).

The Battle

The boat is moving at 7 to 8 knots. You are adjusting your speed depending on up hill or down hill, and sea conditions throughout the day. The program is working and you’re on fire, every time you move the boat everything goes off.

You have been under way for about 3 minutes now. You’re trying to look for jumpers in all directions at the same time. Jumpers or no jumpers you know it’s going to happen. All of a sudden there they are, the birds have tipped you off again. You can see the birds with their wings held up high above the water so as not to slow them down as they chase the bait the tuna has pushed to the top. You’re focused on the spot, there’s a jumper, then another one. You are now on top of the location, the birds and jumpers have, at the last second, disappeared, you’re on auto pilot and still looking forward in search of birds and fish in case the exception to the rule happens, and you don’t get bit. In your heart you know 8 out of 10 times you will be successful, so the anticipation starts to build in your stomach as you wait for someone in the back to scream the magic words, “On the hook!”, or the sound of the horn as the albacore hits a meat line sending a lightning bolt right through you.

Those few second from the time you got on them to the lures reaching the fish seem like 30 minutes, then, all of a sudden it’s the lightning bolt! Then you hear someone scream “On the hook!”. You turn around just in time to see one of the outriggers yanked suddenly backward, you’re sure it’s going to bend the aluminum pole, then it releases and jolts backwards making that line twang sound you have become so accustomed to as it rattles the wheelhouse. Now the left side position rod bends in half, you turn around and reach for the throttle and pull it down to the slowest position. You abandon the wheelhouse with the boat doing about 3 ½ knots with the autopilot still engaged. Your crew is on the move, but they need your help to clear gear that’s not hooked up. You’re on the outrigger that has no fish, you’re reeling as fast as you can. The lure is skimming across the water about 30ft behind the transom, a tuna blows up on it. The outrigger starts to bend then returns to its original position, he missed the hook. The crewmember hand lining the meatline that didn’t get bit yells out “He took it ten feet behind the boat.”

I now have my outrigger clone dangling out of the way just under the water below the end of the outrigger. I’m thinking of two stops ago when a tuna came up and swallowed it like a catfish on a bamboo pole. On that stop the tip of the outrigger bent half way to the water before the release let it go, that devilfish ran under the boat and took off out the other side almost tying everything in something that resembled a bow tie

Your crew is working like a Swiss watch. They know not to touch a rod with a fish on until its time. The boat is still moving forward and all positions with fish hanging are tangle free and parallel, not like yesterday when one of your regulars brought someone new to the program, and in his excitement on the first stop grabbed a side rod, and ran to the back of the boat crossing three lines.

The fish on the meat lines are now in the kill box, and those lines are in the tub, with hooks hanging off the top of the tub. I go back to the wheelhouse to take the engine out of gear and disconnect autopilot. Each crewmember takes a rod with a fish. My job is done, and I grab a spare rod rigged with a swim bait, hoping to pick up just one more while the boat is sliding to a stop. The crew staggers the fish coming in so all are not doing circles at the same time around the boat. I put the swim bait rod away in time to grab the gaff. The first guy that lands his fish, sticks it so it will bleed and throws it in the kill box, and is immediately over at the outrigger that went off bringing the release clip down ready to accept the rod when it’s available.

The last fish comes over the rail, blood is everywhere, we ignore it. We will hose the deck down between stops. I move quickly to the wheel house throw it in gear, push the rpm up to 1200, I know it will level off at 7 to 8 knots. I lock the autopilot, and move toward that outrigger that was hanging in the water. I start free spooling to the mark, my crew has already thrown the meat lines out, and are free spooling positions to their marks.

I glance at the other outrigger waiting to accept a pole. I wonder if I will have time to load it before that damn horn goes off, after all the window is open.

A Final Thought

Before I leave you. I want to make a point here in regards to harvest verses responsibility. I wrote this article to try and give the young angler something to think about, to open his mind to another approach. The purpose is to make him a better tuna angler. With success comes responsibility just because we can, does not mean we must. So remember only take what you and use. The days where people thought the ocean was an endless resource are gone.

Good Fishing

Bob Franko

Here is some information from the University of California regarding the Albacore Fishery:

SUMMARY
In the north Pacific Ocean, albacore are an international resource harvested by Japanese, Hawaiian, and North American fisheries; for this study, we assumed there is one population in the area.

Albacore rank among California’s most important species, in terms of recreation and monetary value. Our sport and commercial fisheries depend on a seasonal migration that fluctuates in size and is influenced by changing ocean temperatures. We examined historical records of both fisheries and used sea temperatures in developing hypotheses to explain past events and thus help predict the future.

The Commercial Fishery
For a critical rŽsumŽ, the records were divided into four periods, depending upon annual magnitude of the landings.
Period I (1916Ð1925):
During these 10 years, fishing was limited almost exclusively to the California Channel Islands area; and the catch, which was dominated by fish weighing 20 pounds or more, averaged 17.4 million pounds. It was a period of cool sea temperatures, although twice interrupted by unusually warm years (1918 and 1923). During these, albacore ran offshore beyond reach of the small, one-day fishing boats.

Period II (1926Ð1941):

Abnormal ocean heating in 1926 “pushed” the migrating albacore north of Point Conception, where they found satisfactory conditions each year despite intermittent cooling. Southern California fishing grounds failed, averaging only 2.4 million pounds. Captains gradually increased the duration of their trips, and fishing finally spread into central and northern CaliforniaÑmore than a decade after the migration had shifted there.

Period III (1942Ð1947):

This is the “transition period.” Its more important characteristics include relatively cool sea temperatures; a gradual return of the albacore run to the south; a marked improvement in the fisherman’s capability to locate and harvest the schools, resulting in the fishery spreading into waters off central Baja California; an increased catch averaging 17.2 million pounds annually; and an end to the dominance of large fish (> 20 pounds) in the landings.

Period IV (1948Ð1961):

Year 1948 ushered a 9-year, cold-water era into California’s marine environment. Incoming albacore schools entered the fishing grounds off central Baja California and, depending upon sea temperatures, swung upcoast either inshore or off.

Warm seas in 1957 ended the cool era and again displaced the albacore run northward, eliminating the productive Baja California fishing grounds that had developed below Guadalupe Island. Increased warming in 1958 caused a drastic decline in the entire Baja California fishery, and abnormal heating in 1959 resulted in complete failure. Meanwhile, fishing to the north improved greatly as fishermen stayed with the schools. The sea cooled in 1960 and 1961, and landings north of the state declined while fishing off Baja California, between the Mexican border and Guadalupe Island, increased markedly.
The commercial fishery matured during this period; the location of the run had no important effect on the size of the catch, and landings averaged nearly 37 million poundsÑmore than double any preceding period. Many 13-pound albacore failed to migrate into the fishing grounds in 1961. Fortunately, unprecedented numbers of larger fish moved in and averted a drastic decline in production.

The Sportfishery
Deep-sea angling from partyboats began during the early 1900′s in the southern California Channel Islands area, and because of increasing popularity it soon entered the realm of big business. The number of partyboats operating statewide reached a peak of 612 in 1954, and some 200 of these took paying passengers out deep-sea angling for albacore.

Partyboats fishing albacore increased to a high of 304 in 1950 and averaged well over 200 during the post-war years 1947Ð1957. From 1958 through 1961, the number varied from only 3 boats in 1959 to 149 in 1961. The total anglers attained a record of more than 132,000 in 1952, and a low of 20 in 1959. At the same time, their albacore catch ranged from over 187,000 to only 39. Catch Analysis

Both sport and commercial fishery statistics have been presented, along with estimates of the magnitude of the annual migration and some insight into albacore behavior. When our data are pooled with similar information in an international exchange, we will be able to determine the ocean-wide harvest and to estimate the relative size of the north Pacific population.
Sales receipts and fishermen’s logs were utilized in discussing historical trends in the commercial fishery. A catch-per-day fishing index showed that although the migration size was fairly consistent for 12 years, it was relatively small in 1951 and 1954 and large in 1959 and 1960. The result, overall, was a slight upward trend, implying no decrease in size of the runs. The index also was used to examine relationships between albacore catches and the environment. We found that individuals in a migration distributed themselves by size within preferred temperatures and as a result, each run (as a unit) became temperature-oriented according to its size composition. Fishing success in various temperature categories depended upon both the size composition of the run and its magnitude.
A plot of the abundance index with 58¡ and 66¡ F sea-surface isotherms showed that the location of certain temperatures, and the rate at which they progress northward along the coast each season, affects the albacore migration. In addition, the records show that most schools traveled upcoast as the warm water advanced; fewer inhabited seas cooler than 58¡ F or warmer than 66¡ F, although they seemed more tolerant of the warmer extremes; and, during warm seasons, larger numbers of albacore entered the northern grounds, traveled farther upcoast, and appeared at greater distances offshore than during cool ones.
Catch records from California’s partyboat fleet were summed by 20-minute squares and used in discussing historical sportfishing trends for the period 1936 through 1961. They revealed that the number of anglers, total albacore caught, and catch-per-angler-day peaked in 1952. Since then, the anglers have varied from 89,000 in 1956 to only 20 in
1959. The catch-per-effort figures also show large seasonal changes, ranging from 0.6 fish-per-angler-day in 1953 to a high of 3.3 in 1960. The annual catch, which was below average most of the time, varied from 39 albacore in 1959 to nearly 185,000 in 1961. Such fluctuations are to be expected in a seasonal fishery depedent upon a species that may or may not migrate within range of the anglers.
Partyboat records supported conclusions reached from analyzing the commercial fishery and also demonstrated that successful angling depended upon good inshore runs. These took place when warm sea temperatures advanced very slowly along the Baja California coast, permitting the schools to approach reasonably close to shore. Such events occurred about half the time during the period 1950Ð1961.

CONDITION OF THE RESOURCE
The condition of the albacore resource cannot be estimated satisfactorily until equivalent catch data from throughout its geographical range have been assembled and analyzed. Our studies revealed, however, that the segment migrating through California fishing grounds, which provided most of the Northeastern Pacific harvest (Figure 176), has held its own successfully each season against the combined efforts of more than 1,000 sport and commercial fishing vessels. On the average, during the 12 years 1950Ð1961, the commercial fleet exerted a fishing pressure of nearly 35,000 days (96 boat-years), resulting in a seasonal harvest of 2.5 million albacore. At the same time, the partyboat fleet contributed an average pressure of more than 58,000 angler-days, resulting in a seasonal catch exceeding 73,000 albacore.
Throughout this period, the trend in number of albacore in the run has been slightly upward. If the size of the California migration is any indicator of total numbers in the population, the resource would appear to be in good condition. It is important to note that in 1961, 13-pounders (age II), for years the backbone of a multimillion dollar industry, failed to enter the fishing grounds in their usual numbers. This could happen again and we may not be as fortunate, for next time exceptional quantities of larger fish may not be present to make up for a missing year-class, and the fishery would decline drastically without forewarning

A Miami Inshore/Offshore Report :

Miami Fishing Report Updated July 22, 2009

Time for a Summer Doldrums fishing report! Yes things are getting hot here in South Florida and maybe a little earlier than normal. Water temperatures are reaching the low 90Õs and in areas where water depths are less than four feet that can be a bit uncomfortable for the fish. Unfortunately much of North Biscayne Bay is four feet or less and Flamingo very similar except that Flamingo does have deeper water in channels and in open water where fish can go to beat the heat. Off shore with deeper water fishing has been more consistent but a fish that normally is very prevalent in July has been nowhere to be found. That fish is the dolphin or Mahi Mahi. At this point you are probably thinking why bother fishing? The answer to that question is simple. We are fishermen and fishermen fish! It doesnÕt matter where your fishing adventure takes you if your mind is in the right place every angler has the chance to get something positive out of each fishing adventure.

In North Biscayne Bay early mornings has produced the best fishing with small tarpon feeding over some of the grass flats in the bay, snook looking to ambush a live bait fished along a shoreline, sea trout, snappers and barracudas feeding over the grass flats. At first light water temperatures maybe as low as 82 degrees but by 10 AM closer to 90. The fish know this so they spend those short few hours stocking up on easy prey before settling down in deeper water or under some shade till things cool off. Late afternoons have been disappointing but there have been some big tarpon that recently attacked some of our large threadfin herring but did not eat the bait on a recent late afternoon early evening charter. On that charter my clients were able to release a few small barracudas, jacks, trout, snappers and small tarpon. The highlight was that 80 pound tarpon killing our bait but not eating it. We did see some snook and other tarpon at lights during the night but the small jacks ate the baits before the snook did. On this trip three generations of one family spent four hours having fun on the boat.

Ocean fishing has been decent with kingfish and lots of bonitos hitting live baits. Dolphins were targeted on these trips but never found. Some bottom fishing produced some keeper sized mutton snappers that made their way into the fish box plus a few amberjacks, sharks, bluerunners and trigger fish that were released. On one charter we had a 100 pound hammerhead shark circle the boat for ten minutes but refused our offerings. Calm conditions made those offshore ventures possible in my 22Õ Pathfinder Bay boat powered by my quite and fuel efficient Yamaha F 225 outboard engine. During all of these trips offshore we had numerous cut offs by kingfish and had other baits crushed and killed to add to the excitement. On almost every trip we saw fee jumping sailfish, sharks and sea turtles.

Flamingo has been a disappointment to me mainly because I like to fish the Park during the summer. Yes it is hot and this year there have been mosquitoes at the boat ramp and some horseflies to deal with but if you wear the right clothing and have some insect repellent on hand the bugs are not a problem. Normally the fishing for snook, redfish, tripletail, sharks, cobia and others is very good during the summer months. This year maybe because of lots of west winds and stormy conditions things have not been the same. I have not had a lot of charters in the Park this summer but I was there yesterday with some repeat clients from up north and had mediocre results. We mostly targeted the waters of Florida Bay and avoided the shorelines where snook and redfish have been active. My clients wanted action and some fish to take home. The weather was nice with a light breeze from the east and plenty of small ballyhoo and pinfish were netted in our bait spot. Off to the first spot where the anglers caught a few keeper trout, ladyfish a shark and a few catfish before the tide ran out and off to the next spot. We were casting Cajun Thunders with either a ballyhoo or pinfish attached to the 1/0 Mustad hook. Next up I thought we might get a bit more serious and try our luck at some small tarpon, snook and redfish but besides seeing an American crocodile, a few rosette spoonbills all we caught was a few catfish and a couple of missed strikes. Off to the next spot where we found a free floating tripletail and caught and released him on a Hook Up lure tipped with a Gulp shrimp. From this spot we hit some more flats and landed a three pound trout a half dozen snappers, some large ladyfish and more catfish before a storm and a passenger that felt ill sent us back to the boat ramp. We did see a large pod of bottlenose dolphins playing a manatee and a few turtles plus countless numbers of birds before the day ended. I am scheduled to fish Flamingo a handful of times during the next seven days and hopefully with more normal weather conditions I will see the fishing get back to the way I expect it.

Here is some info on an inshore flats fishing report:

Report Updated April 7, 2008

The fishing has been good thru March, the one constant we have had is the wind which normally dies @ the 2 week of April. On the days the winds are down and and we can fish around the beaches and Government Cut there have been Tarpon, Permit, Snook and numerous other species. April is the month we switch to Crabs and the Tarpon bite is usually consistent every night. If you have ever read my reports you know I am a big proponent of the Gulp products and during the day they catch fish that Shrimp don’t, so use them if you can.

The Tarpon will be everywhere at Flamingo as soon as the wind dies, April and May are when we start to notice them in the Gulf in more than one area. There are still some Tarpon in the Back country but the wind has effected this in a big way. The Snook fishing has been and will be very good no that the water temperatures are back where they like it. The Redfishing is always good but during the next few months it will produce some schools on top of the flats which is what we all love to do and see. The Tripletails will start to show up in the Gulf as well and these are a bonus while Tarpon fishing. Every day and year that goes by I learn new info which in turn I offer to my clients. One of those thing I hope to capitalize on is the Permit I have found for the last 2 years while Tarpon fishing.

I am part of a corporate group trip today, I have James and his wife Linda onboard and we are starting out in Government Cut. The wind is up around 18 knots, we gave the Cut a shot for while but it was a little to much for Linda. James had caught a couple small Snappers and we decided to move to calmer waters. The bay worked out they caught 20 Trout and a few Barracudas.

Today we are doing the other half of the corporate group and I have Troy, Bruce and Larry. The winds are even stronger this morning taking Government Cut out of the picture. I decided with the other captains in the group to run north to the next inlet which was holding a lot of bait and some big Jack Crevalle. I spotted some birds diving on the way up and checked it out, on the first 20 cast the trio of anglers hooked up on Jacks. They kept me busy running from rod to rod unhooking there fish for about 30 minutes, it’s cardio fishing at it’s best! The Jack bite continues for an hour with a couple big Trout mixed in. I can still here Larry laughing at how incredible it was. we moved to the inlet where Troy had a monster Jack rip the eyelet out of his Rapala X Rap. Troy caught several nice Spanish Mackerel and Bruce had a big Jack hit his plug and come loose. We finished the day Trout fishing catching a handful.

Eric called me and said he wanted to take his 2 young boys Eric and Pete fishing and to concentrate on teaching them and letting them catch all the fish. I said no problem this is a big part of my business! I hate saying this in every report but it was really windy again which in turn muddied up the high water. The tide starts moving 2 hours earlier to the west so that’s the direction we headed. I was looking for schools of Trout, Jacks and Ladyfish for these guys to get the feel of catching fish. We worked on casting and then getting a feel for a Gulp jig on the bottom, it don’t normally take long for the kids to get it. The fish responded and the Jacks,Trout, Ladyfish and Snappers started coming in the boat as well as the wind gust that continued to get stronger. We ended the day Shark fishing but even the Shark didn’t like the wind today. The kids came up and thanked me for a great day without there dad telling them, to this really made my day!

Fort Lauderdale Fishing Report Updated November 20, 2008

Mid-November Fishing Report – Fort Lauderdale Fishing aboard Lady Pamela II

Captain Paul Palucci and I of the LP II headed out of Shallow Harbor in search of Daytime Swordfish looking to eat. On the way out, we crushed the mahi – mahi. The dolphin were ranging anywhere from 10 – 12 lbs. When we hit fertile grounds, we made our first drop and within 15 minutes the rod bent over. We had him on, he took a run, then pulled the hook! After our third drop of the day, the sun started to set. We rearranged for the nighttime bite and on the first drop we fought a 48 incher. Shortly after, we had a double header on. Nice size fish, a 48″ and a 48.5″ . Things were pretty much going as planned, we were getting bites and we weren’t leaving! Paul and I put everything back out and another one ate. After a 30 minute battle, he pulled the hook. Before we knew it, it was 2 AM and to the dock it was.

The next morning we didn’t get to sleep in, we had a full day of fishing ahead of us, literally. Fishing started off slow, not even a kingfish around. We ran to a wreck, made a drop and got a bite! An amberjack ate instantly.

November is taking off! With this 60 degree weather passing through Fort Lauderdale, the sailfish bite is on fire – the best I’ve ever seen. The bite has been consistent, anywhere from 4 – 8 sailfish per trip, leaving anglers extremely happy. On the 11th & 12th of November, I fished the Sailfish Cup out of Miami Beach. We caught a total of 20 fish in two days, coming in second place by 12 minutes. The Sailfish Cup had an impressive two days of fishing with a whopping 388 fish caught surpassing 2007 where the overall fish caught which was 208! That goes to show you fishing has been great.

The Blackfin tuna are offshore ranging anywhere from 10 – 15 lbs and the mahi – mahi weighing in around 20 lbs. Oddly enough, the mahi – mahi bite has been better this month than it was in August when it’s generally prime time to catch those delicious dolphin. Hopefully they stick around a little longer.

Here is some really interesting information regarding Night Fishing:
Summertime arrives with temperatures that are hot and nighttime fishing becomes an inviting proposition. However, fishing your hometown lake at night requires much more preparation than daytime fishing does. That body of water so familiar and friendly during the day becomes foreign and sometimes hostile as darkness descends. With just a little more preparation it can be enjoyed however and the results can be absolutely super. Being pro-active instead of reactive will ensure a safe and enjoyable venture in the darkness of night.

Fishing day or night requires that your boat be properly equipped as per U.S. Coast Guard required equipment.

Personal floatation devices (properly fitted) for each person on board are at the top of the list and should be worn by everyone when fishing at night. Finding someone that has fallen overboard in the daytime is generally easy, but in the dark can be quite difficult. A throwable flotation device is also required equipment and should be in a convenient location.

Off-Shore Life Jacket Best for open, rough or remote water, or where rescue may be slow coming. Provides the best floatation. Turns most unconscious wearers face-up in the water. Inflatable Type I PFD’s have two air chambers and inflate automatically when submerged. Near-Shore Buoyant Vest

Good for calm, inland waters or where rescue is likely to happen quickly. Turns some unconscious wearers face-up in water. Inflatable Type II PFD’s inflate automatically when submerged and are suitable for many rough water uses. Floatation Aid

Usually the most comfortable PFD for continuous wear. Good for calm, inland waters or where rescue is likely to happen quickly. Inflatable Type III PFD’s will keep unconscious wearers face-up in water after inflation. Throwable Device

Good for calm, inland water with heavy boat traffic where help is always nearby. Device can be thrown to the wearer and some can be used as a floatation cushion. Special Use Device

Made for specific conditions and activities and to be used only for the designated use. Some devices only approved when worn. Refer to PDF label on device for limitations on use. Types include boardsailing vests, work vests and hybrid PFD’s.

Bow and stern lights are required and essential equipment on your boat, and they must be lit when visibility is reduced. Striking unseen objects at night is the most often reported nighttime accident and unlit boats lead as those unseen objects. The temptation to venture forth without proper lighting is not only illegal, but also extremely foolish.

A proper and fully functional warning device (horn) becomes a vital piece of equipment in the darkness. It can be used to warn approaching craft as to your presence and also can be used to draw attention in the event of problems arising. Although not required unless off shore, visual distress signals (flares) should be on board.

An approved type fire extinguisher that is currently dated should be onboard and in a convenient and ready location. During a fire is no time to find out that the extinguisher will not function because it is out of date.

A paddle is required, not optional equipment, and again should be in a convenient and accessible location.

Recommended equipment that should be on board would include an anchoring device with adequate line in both size and length for your boat. Deployment of the anchor should occur at the first sign of trouble to keep your boat in its present safe location. Too often then anchor is the last thing thought of and boats end up drifting into dangerous situations. Some sort of bailing device should be on board. Pumps are useless when the battery goes dead. Flashlight and batteries (that have been checked) and spare batteries should be onboard when fishing at night. The one flaw in flashlights is that they seem to fail just when we need them. Check the operation before launching! A radio with weather band capability is not only recommended for day operation but is an essential piece of equipment at night. Those clouds that look harmless that you see floating over can be hiding a serious storm. The whole world could know about it but if you have no means of hearing the warnings you can be caught by natures worst. First aid kit, basic tools, manuals etc. are all recommended.

Navigation tools, which are helpful in the daylight, become absolutely essential for safety at night. Obviously your best choice for nighttime operation would be a GPS. However, a compass would be a considerable assistant in the dark. Not only is everything different out there at night, but also things such as fog can move in with no apparent warning and without a means of determining direction you are dead in the water. With both pieces of equipment that are mentioned above, being completely familiar with their functions is of extreme importance. A GPS is a basically simple piece of equipment but it does take some practice to use it correctly and efficiently. ItÕs a little late to start reading the manual and trying to figure out how the GPS works when trouble raises up to mar your trip. A compass is a very basic piece of equipment, but again to follow a path and navigate with it does take some practice. For example, did you know that when you make an initial turn to the left that your compass would swing right? For someone that has not used the compass this can be very confusing, especially when stress adds to your navigational problem. In addition, a compass only shows direction of travel, not the direction to your destination, so when fishing at night you should already have made the trips during daylight hours so you know the direction you need to go from your fishing spots back to the dock. Not many lakes have sufficient markers to combine with a chart so pre-locating and sticking to those pre-locations for fishing at night is essential for nighttime fishing.

File a fishing plan with someone so that in event something occurs you can be found. Of course sticking to that plan is absolutely a must if it is to have any value. Ideally, when fishing at night, make your plan so that you stay relatively close to the shoreline. However, with practice and experience you can venture further and further out without mishap.

With just a little preparation you can venture out in the dark and have a safe and enjoyable fishing experience. Without this preparation that adventure can turn into your biggest and darkest nightmare. The results can be a simple scare, or quickly turn into total tragedy. It is not uncommon to hear stories of absolute fantastic times fishing at night. Be prepared and have one of those fantastic times.

September Fishing Reports:

Miami Fishing Report from September 2009:

BEST BET

Henry Caimotto from the Snook Nook Bait and Tackle in Jensen Beach reported plenty of bait along the beaches, Spanish mackerel in the inlets, kingfish in 50 feet of water, lots of blackfin tuna around Push Button Hill in 150 to 350 feet of water and sailfish and schoolie dolphins along the edge.

MIAMI-DADE/BROWARD

Captain Mo Estevez of New Dawn Charters out of Miami fished with local Alex Solares on the Oceanside of Biscayne Bay and had nonstop action on mutton snappers up to 12 pounds that were caught on live pilchards fished on the bottom. . . . Ricky Nolasco of the Florida Marlins and his girlfriend, Amber Metsumoto, from Los Angeles, fished aboard the Get Em with captain Alan Sherman in North Biscayne Bay and offshore of Haulover Inlet. Nolasco caught a fish for the first time, a legal-sized mutton snapper, and then followed that with an Arctic bonito. Metsumoto caught kingfish, sea trout, mangrove snappers, bluerunners and barracudas. . . . Fishing aboard the L&S with captain Jimmy David, Tom Andris from Michigan and Adrew Azadi from Miami caught wahoo, 25 dolphins, kingfish, grouper, tripletail, barracudas, bonito and snappers while fishing offshore of Government Cut in 100 to 1,000 feet of water. . . . Captain David Ide from the Lady Pamela II out of Fort Lauderdale reported finding gaffer-sized dolphins up to 20 pounds while working a bluewater edge in 200 feet of water outside of Port Everglades.

KEYS

Captain Izzy Donatiello of Reelstyle Fishing Charters out of Islamorada reported consistent action from blackfin tuna offshore, with scattered dolphin catches, kingfish and sailfish on the edge and yellowtail snappers on the reef. . . . Captain Bill Hauck from the Sea King Party boat in Marathon reported a steady bite from yellowtail and mutton snappers, plus a good amount of kingfish.

TREASURE COAST

Captain Charlie Conner of Fish Tales Charters out of Port St. Lucie reported baitfish schools in the Inlet River and along the beaches. Conner reported that anglers are catching lots of snook at night on the jetties, docks and bridges, and tarpon are mixed in with the snook. Spanish mackerel are in the turning basin, along with a few bluefish. FLORIDA BAY

Captain Jim Hale of Florida Sportsfishing Fishing Charters reported lots of juvenile tarpon in Florida Bay, and these fish have been hitting live shrimp, Gulp soft plastics and Rapala Skitter Walks. Snook are on the flats and in the potholes, and big schools of redfish continue to work the flats and channel edges.

SOUTHWEST COAST

Captain Jim Hobales of Caught Lookin Fishing Charters fished the Upper Ten Thousand Islands while preparing for the Romp in the Swamp Fishing Tournament out of Goodland. He reported finding lots of baitfish along the shorelines, snook under the docks, gag, red and goliath groupers along the shorelines and dropoffs, sea trout and jacks and redfish on the flats and bars. . . . Captain Carlos Escarra of Gone Fishin’ Charters out of Marco Island and captain Shane Miller of Naples finished first in the Romp in the Swamp, with a total catch of 14.04 pounds of redfish and snook.

FRESHWATER

Captain Michael Shellen of Okeechobee Bass Fishing Charters reported steady action from largemouth bass during early hours on top water baits, and then soft plastics later in the day. The artificial lure Skinn Dipper, flukes and plastic worms were used to catch lots of bass this week. Large bluegills are spawning in shallow waters. . . . Fishing with captain Alan Zaremba in the C-100 canal, Debri Hartlin and Robert and Teresa Kolinek of Chicago caught 20 peacock bass on floating Rapalas.

– CAPTAIN ALAN SHERMAN

Miami Fishing Report Updated July 27, 2009

The rod bending action for kingfish and bonito in the 110 – 150 foot range has and continues to be off the scale. Many times during a trip we are getting hit as the baits are being deployed and this happens numerous times during each trip. If you want to have plenty of action then fishing for these two species is your best bet. Throw in a few barracuda, an occasional cobia or sailfish and if you drop a bait to the bottom on a wreck you’ll find decent mutton snapper fishing. You’ll be very hard pressed to find any better action for variety and quantity during the daytime. Get out early as the thunderstorms have been rolling through in the late morning to early afternoon and they have been very strong.

Dolphin fishing offshore continues to disappoint most everyone who has gone out looking for these colorful and tasty fish. There have been a few caught, however, nothing like it normally is and most anglers come back in with empty fish boxes and no fish tales to tell.

For the small children and young anglers who are going out for the first time, there is plenty of none stop action on the shallow patch areas and artificial reefs. The variety includes grunts, triggerfish, bluerunners, yellowtail snapper, lane snapper, mangrove snapper, and more. The action is fast and furious and will keep your young anglers busy for hours.

Steven Grover and his sons Joshua (8 years old) and Ethan (4 years old) along with his friend Johnathan Robertson and his son Peyton (7 years old) wanted to try for dolphin. Our search took us as far as 21 miles offshore. We found very little to say that there should be dolphin. We live baited the most likely looking areas and blind trolled jigs for about ten minutes. The result was no fish. While running back in we found a weedline with some debris in it and still no fish. To save the day, we fished the 120 -130 foot range and had the boys and their Dad’s busy with action on bonito. Double hook ups were common and each young angler got his turn pulling on these hard fighting fish.

Fred Gates and his son Michael along with Prosper Azerraf and his grandson Benjamin Siboni started the day off with fast and furious action catching pilchards and herring. We then anchored up on the shallow patches and artificial reefs. Both boys had none stop action and it wasn’t long before Fred and Prosper had to get in on the action also. With about an hour left in the trip, I suggested that we take a quick run out to deeper water and see if we could catch a larger fish. Off we went and out went the live pilchards and herring. It didn’t take long before we got our first kingfish cutoff. Then the bonito attacked us. While Fred and Michael fought one fish, the second rod got hit and it was Prosper and Benjamin’s turn. Both fish were landed and it capped off a great morning of fishing.

Mike and Richard Goulet were honoring and remembering their Dad and his love for fishing. Once again the action for kingfish and bonito was hot and heavy. We loaded up on pilchards and herring and both anglers enjoyed that portion of the trip. We ran south and fished between the Anchorage and the Twins to find plenty of action. Mike and Richard took turns and if one of them missed a fish or the hook pulled during the fight, there was plenty of good natured ribbing going on. They remembered how much their Dad loved fishing and wished that he could have been with them on this trip. When we returned to TNT Marine Center, the final count was 5 bonito and 5 kingfish in the 8 – 10 pound range along with some sore arms.

John and Annette Annoni wanted their son Landon (11 years old) to have plenty of action. Quantity was much more important than quality. They ended up getting both. We caught plenty of live bait with Sabiki rigs to begin with. We then anchored on a shallow artificial reef area. As soon as I put out the chum block, the quantity appeared. Grunts, triggerfish, bluerunners, mangrove snapper, and then yellowtail snapper. It soon became a competition between Mom and Son to see who could catch the largest fish. It was very close, however, Landon had a slight edge. John got in on the action also when we started using the Kaplan jig to catch bluerunners and yellowtail snapper. Once again, I suggested we run out to catch a larger fish. On the second drift, we found the bonito and Landon and his Dad had their hands full as the fish swam circles around the boat. In the meantime, Annette hooked up and here fish was making a run for Key West. As the fish started to slow down, the rod straightened up as the hook pulled. Back to Landon and the excitement rose a notch when he saw his fish. I leadered the fish and we took a few quick pictures before releasing the bonito.

Rob and Hunter Fitzpatrick and Dick Carroll fished a 3/4 day before the thunderstorms started to roll in. With a livewell full of bait, we headed out to find plenty of good north current. As I was deploying the second bait, the first bait got hit and the action started. The first three fish were a bonito, kingfish, and 21 pound cobia. That’s the way the action went for the remainder of the trip. Everyone took turns or if they were standing next to a rod when it went off, they’d grab it. The action was at all levels with the flatlines shining during the first portion of the trip and the break away lead and bottom rod coming on strong during the last portion of the trip. Final count was 6 kingfish in the 10 – 12 pound range, 7 bonito, and a 21 pound cobia. William Swantner’s half day trip was filled with more action than he ever imagined. His comment after catching bait was that he really enjoyed that portion of the trip. He had no idea what was about to happen when we started in 125 feet north of 71st Street. With only two baits out on flatlines, both rods hooked up. After a long battle, we broke our wire leader on both fish. While putting out the next bait, it got hit and we were hooked up again. Again, we broke the leader. Finally, we solved the wire leader problem and we started landing fish. All the while, I was marking fishing at a mid-depth on the recorder. The action was so fast and furious on the flatlines, that I couldn’t get a break way bait down. With flatline rods needing leaders retied, I put the break away rod down. No sooner did I have it at the right depth, then it took off and the action continued. The storms started to build up early on this day and William said he didn’t want to get caught in the ran. He was more than totally satisfied with the action and the fish and was ready to head in. We just about made it back to TNT Marine Center before it started to rain and luckily it only lasted for a brief period of time. The kingfish, bonito, and barracuda action on this trip was fabulous.

Once again we’re caught up with the reports. If you want action with your fishing and plenty of it, then take advantage of the action on the reef. There is no telling how much longer we’ll be enjoying it. The kings and bonito have put lots of smiles on the faces of many anglers and the great thing about our fishing is that you never know what is going to bite your bait next. It’s a beautiful thing.

Give me a call 305 965-9454 or send me an email nkostyo@bellsouth.net to get your trip scheduled so that you can get in on this action too.

July 10
Since my last report, we’ve done our fair share of fishing along with Knot Nancy going into Whitewater for new electronics and many new upgrades. In general, we are now into our summer fishing mode. The unusual thing about this summer so far is the numbers of days that we’ve had south, southwest, and west wind. It’s produced calm seas and driven the blue water edge out to anywhere from 600 to 1000 feet. This has resulted in many days of no current in the depths that we all like to fish. It has also given us a very poor dolphin season thus far. The bright spot has been that the kingfish action has been very good and bonito (little tunny) have shown up in massive numbers. Throw in some good mutton snapper and AJ fishing and it’s been quite easy to find plenty of rod bending action.

Let’s get caught up with the various reports on the fishing action aboard Knot Nancy.

Robert Dollar, Steve Pericht, and David Hirsch got in their tarpon trip after the first one had to be rescheduled due to heavy late afternoon and early evening thunderstorms. The wait was well worth it as the tarpon bite was very good that evening and when it was time to start heading back to TNT Marine Center, the final count was 4 for 4 on some healthy tarpon that tested each angler’s skills.

Knot Nancy then spent 7 days at Whitewater getting outfitted with new electronics, transducers, and some upgrades.

Rob and Laura Hughes fished a 3/4 day trip and saw plenty of action with a variety of species. The deep rod produced red grouper. The flatlines and downrigger added cero mackerel, several kingfish, and plenty of bonito. There was action on every drift from the beginning to the end of the trip.

Brad Coren, Brad Kiassman, and Charline Morris also fished a 3/4 day trip. We spent the vast majority of the trip looking for the elusive dolphin. The lines we found were needle and eel grass. Not the best for finding dolphin but better than a clean ocean. We managed two strikes from small fish that both threw the hook as they jumped. Then we found and followed a frigate bird for several miles as the bird was also looking for fish. After leaving that bird, we found another one that was diving and we could see a dolphin jumping as we approached it. Slow trolling our baits in the area finally paid off and we caught 1 decent dolphin to break the ice and it was big enough for at least two good meals. It seemed that the further we went out, the less we saw. The little we did see was just a clump of grass here and there. We worked our way back in with no further action. We had just enough time to make a drift and catch a bonito before the end of the trip.

Todd and Scott Milne along with Tom McSweeney spent some good quality time together as well as seeing action with bonito on their trip.

Knot Nancy then went back to Whitewater to finish up with all the various upgrades.

My next trip was with Shannon and Dan Geister who had just returned from their honeymoon cruise. When Shannon called to book the trip, she said they wanted to fight some hard pulling fish. Species didn’t matter, they just wanted action. After catching bait, we had action with the first bait I put out and got a clean cut line back. Then it was a bonito, followed by a kingfish, and then more cutoffs before the action died off. Two moves and about a hour and half later, I moved out to some deeper water and the action got real crazy. They both hooked up and were chasing their fish around and around the boat. I threw out another bait and it got hit immediately. As soon as one of them got their fish close, they handed me the rod and took the one with another fish on it. That’s how it went for the next 45 minutes. They were both on the verge of saying enough when we got a break in the action. They had long enough to rest till I reset our drift and the action began again. Each drift after that saw action with either bonito or kingfish. They both got their wish for plenty of action with hard pulling fish.

John and Kree Perkins along with Charlene Wilkinson got into plenty of kingfish action with every fish cutting off the hook. When I put out wire leaders, we saw no action on that rod. Stick with the mono leaders and we got cut off. We finally got the hook to stay in a fish without getting cut off and it was work our way up the food chain starting with a houndfish and progressing to a remora. The break away lead rod finally started doing its job with barracuda and bonito. The flatlines saw some action with the bonito. Most people have no desire to eat bonito and consider them a nuisance while they are fishing for other species. Everyone in this group decided they want to try the bonito and form their own opinion on how good or bad it might be. I fillet two of the fish and took the loins off the skin. The report I got was that they prepared it both Greek and Blackened style. The consensus from all three anglers was that they liked it and would definitely eat it again. That’s good news as there are plenty of them out there to give a hard fight and a good meal also.

There you have it, once again we’re caught up to the current time with the reports on the action off the Miami Beach area. There are plenty of fish out there to test any anglers skills. If you want action, it’s there to be had. When the wind turns back to the east and southeast, I would expect the dolphin action to pick up. In the mean time, take what Mother Nature offers and get out and enjoy the weather and the action.

Cabo San Lucas Fishing:

3 Different Current Cabo Fishing Reports Directly Below.

I have been fishing down in cabo for about 20 years, and let me tell you, there is nothing better than getting down there in the middle of the summer when its hotter than hell, and being out on a panga with a nice amigo, sipping some Mexican beer, and catching some tuna or dorado with live sardines.  You simply can’t beat it.

y fiancé and I booked a charter to fish with RenegadeMike for 8/9/2009. We were aware that the temperatures in Cabo during the month of August make it a bit difficult to land the same quality of fish during the winter months; however this was the only time we were able to take vacation.

We headed for the marina bright and early (6am) on 8/9 eagerly excited to begin our daylong charter. We were greeted by RenegadeMike in the marina parking lot who immediately made us feel very comfortable. I should mention that he was proudly sporting his BloodyDecks T-shirt. He recommended Senor Sweets (in front of the dock) which had a killer breakfast burrito for $5 USD. As we were eating breakfast, we sat with the locals and discussed our charter itinerary. Everyone, including the other local charters had nothing but great things to say about RenegadeMike. They had said we will “definitely come back with fish” if we were going out with Mike!” I thought to myself, how the heck did this guy build up his reputation after only 2 years in Cabo!!! What a great way to start off the morning, wouldn’t you say?

We boarded RenegadeMike’s 31ft. Bertram and were very impressed with the vessel, the friendliness of the crew, and the quality of tackle he had aboard. All of his trolling gear consisted of Calstar or Seeker trolling rods with Penn International 2-speed reels and a couple of Shimano TLD-2 Speed reels. We made our bait stop to pick up some fresh Caballito and headed out to sea. Mike immediately called me up to sit with him to inform me of the “game plan” for the day. He had said that most boats were staying local within a few miles of shore as the Dorado and Marlin bite had been somewhat consistent in the smaller weight class. Mike had said on his last couple trips he had heard reports of larger tuna (100+ lbs.) had been seen about 30-40 miles offshore. He informed us that these large tuna would be our target for the day. I was thoroughly impressed that he was willing to take us 30-40 miles offshore while other boats were staying closer to shore to conserve fuel and fish the smaller weight class of fish.

We made several stops while Mike was utilizing his electronics as well as visual indicators (porpoise schools) and caught several tuna in the 20-40# class. He made sure that we brought these fish in as quickly as possible therefore we could jump on the next school of fish. Damn, does this guy fish hard or what? I imagine some captains would be happy putting their anglers on a couple of fish then calling it a day. After a couple of these small producing stops, Mike made a split decision to move (10 miles) elsewhere he anticipated the tuna would travel. Boy, did that decision pay off….we ended up getting a several tuna which produced a 60# and 80# Yellowfin Tuna. Mike was even able to get in on the action since we were all hooked up and landed a 120# Yellow Fin Tuna. It was really great to see a long range pro in action! We trolled this same area and had another jig strike which produced a 25# Yellow Fin Tuna that my fiancé was able to tackle. During this jig strike, we tossed out some live bait and managed to land a 150# Yellow Fin Tuna. I was very impressed how Mike’s captain maneuvered the boat during the 45 min. fight to back-down on the fish to assure I was able to bring to the boat. We ended up getting back to the marina about an hour later than a normal 8 hour charter since we were so far offshore. We just couldn’t leave with the hot bite on these good sized Yellow Fin Tuna. Mike’s main concern was getting us on fish, and he accomplished this mission. In total, we caught 8 Yellow Fin Tuna ranging from 20# to 150#.

November 30 – December 6th

WEATHER:  I think that the season’s change is upon us.  This week the low was down to 61 degrees, cold enough for me to be wearing a long-sleeved shirt and a sweater on top of it when we went to the marina in the mornings.  Our daytime highs were up to 89 degrees a couple of days but for the most part remained in the low 80’s.  We had mostly cloudy skies for most of the days this week but there was no rain with the clouds, at least in our area.  We had a couple of days of blustery weather at the end of the week but by Saturday things had really calmed down.

WATER: Surface conditions on both sides of the Cape were very nice most of the week with the exception of the Pacific side on Monday and Tuesday as the wind blew fairly strong in the afternoons on both of those days, and on the Cortez side on Friday as the wind switched direction and came from the southeast.  The swells were not bad anywhere but there was some fair sized surface chop accompanying those winds.  On the surface the water on the Sea of Cortez averaged 80 degrees well offshore and a cooler 78 degrees within 10 miles of the shoreline.  On the Pacific side the water to the north of the San Jaime stayed cool at an average of 76 degrees, while the water on the San Jaime and to the south of there was a warmer 78 degrees.

BAIT:  There was a full moon this week that made it a bit more difficult for the bait boats to catch the Caballito.  There seemed to be plenty of Mackerel around though and all the larger baits were at the normal $3 per bait.  I heard that there were Sardinas at the Palmilla area but can only assume that they were the normal $25 per scoop since I did not buy any myself.

FISHING:

BILLFISH: The high note for the week on the billfish front was the capture (and non-release) of a Blue Marlin that weighed over 850 pounds.  The fish was caught on the Pacific side within a mile of the beach just to the inside of the Golden Gate Bank.  This area had been providing some action the week before on fish to 400 pounds or so.  The amount of bait in the form of young Dorado kept these large fish in the area much longer than normal.  When weighed, this Marlin had two Dorado in the 12-pound class in its stomach.  Other than this one large fish there were few other Blues or Blacks reported this week.  There were plenty of Striped Marlin; however getting them to eat was a problem.  Many boats were seeing groups of a dozen or more feeding on bait balls off of the area known as Los Arcos and were able to get an occasional fish to bite.  A good catch for the week was two or three Striped Marlin released for the day, but most boats were lucky to get one.

YELLOWFIN TUNA:  Once again the Yellowfin action remained slow as the few fish that were found on a regular basis seemed to have been fished so hard that it was difficult to get anything going.  The Gorda Banks bite slowed quite a bit and there were occasional schools of fish moving through directly south of the Cape, mostly in the 20-pound class and associated with Dolphin that provided action once in a while.

DORADO: The water continues to cool down and the bite continues to drop off, not that it has gotten bad, mind you, but not the numbers were had been spoiled with a month ago.  Boats were averaging 4-8 fish per trip with an occasional limit load.  Most of the fish remained in the warmer water on the Pacific side and around the structure of the 95 spot on the Cortez side.  The fish were averaging 12 pounds with a few large fish in the pick, but no big numbers of them.  Live bait seemed to do the trick on them this week, slow trolled in areas where Frigate Birds were seen to be working.

WAHOO: Once again we had a good week for Wahoo.  While never a common fish in our area, the past couple of months have really been good.  The fish have not been large, with an average weight of 20 pounds once again, but there have been many more than normal come in on the boats.  Perhaps one in 10 boats came in flying Wahoo flags this week, about double the norm for this time of year.  Working areas just off the beach around the rocky points in water ranging from 50 to 250 feet in depth with dark colored lures that work below the surface, or with live bait dropped deep and slow trolled on wire leader has provided most of the action.

INSHORE:  Inshore has been a decent mix of Sierra, small Roosterfish and Dorado.  Most of the activity has been taking place on the Pacific side of the Cape and you did not have to go very far to get into the action.

NOTES:  More whales continue to arrive in our area, providing a break from watching lures behind the boat most days.  I am off to the beach with the dog in a few minutes; she needs a few more boogie-board lessons and some exercise (as well as a bath).  This weeks report was written to the Alligator Records 20th Anniversary Collection of blues, released in 1991.  Until next week, tight lines!

August 31- Sept. 6, 2009

WEATHER: Those of you who have been watching our area this past week are already aware that we managed to dodge a bullet once again. Hurricane Jimena was expected to pass almost on top of us, perhaps just a little to the west on Tuesday as a Category 4 Hurricane with winds at 155 mph and higher gusts. With nature and lady luck on our side she shifted just a bit to the west and all we got were three to four days of clouds, about an inch of rain and winds that may have gusted at times as high as 70 mph. It knocked down palm fronds and kicked up some big seas, but it also brought in some cooler weather as well. At the end of the week our nighttime lows were in the low 80’s and our daytime highs had finally gotten back up to the high 90’s, but the humidity at the end of the week was a bit lower than it had been so it did not feel quite as hot as that.