30 June 22 - July 6 , 2018 VOL . 37 • ISS . 14
SALTWATER REPORTS :
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 25
HALF MOON BAY cont . anglers with plenty of quality bottom fish . It has been windy throughout the week , but the wind will help us out for salmon with the upwelling . There is quite a bit of krill out there , and the rockfish at the Deep Reef are spitting up krill . There are good conditions with brown water , particularly two miles above Pigeon Point , and we have optimism for the salmon opener .”
Captain Tom Mattusch of the Huli Cat said , “ As far as salmon is concerned , there are areas where the water is brown and filled with anchovies and krill , and we are already filled for the June 17 opener with plenty of room for salmon after this date .” The Huli Cat was able to make it out on Saturday , and second captain Michael Cabanas ran the boat south to Martin ’ s Beach in breezy conditions for rockfish on shrimp flies with Jay Kuhre of San Mateo posting a 20-pound ling on a sardine on a live bait rig .
Redtail surfperch are coming off of the beaches along with an occasional striped bass , and live sand crabs or Lucky Craft or Yozuri stick baits have been the best offerings .
- Dave Hurley
MONTEREY BAY
Big Sur Vermilions and Coppers Hit the Deck
MOSS LANDING – High winds have kept the boats off the water on a number of days in recent weeks , but fishing for rockfish and lingcod is outstanding when the boats are able to get out along the Monterey County coast .
“ Vermillion and copper rockfish were on the chomp on our latest trip to the Big Sur coast ,” said Carol Jones of Kahuna Sportfishing . “ The 21 anglers aboard the Kahuna landed 90 copper rockfish up to 5 pounds , 100 vermilion rockfish up to 7 pounds , 20 assorted rockfish and 12 lingcod up to 10 pounds . They also
This angler took a birthday trip aboard Berkeley ’ s Goldeneye 2000 on June 5 and was rewarded with this massive 45 pound halibut .
Photo courtesy of GOLDENEYE 2000 SPORTFISHING , Berkeley .
released 30 lingcod . It was a banner day .”
The fishermen everything from shrimp flies , to jigs , to bars , all tipped with squid strips . “ There is a lot of squid inside Monterey Bay ,” noted Jones .
On the day before , the 25 anglers on the Kahuna also bagged lots of vermilion and copper rockfish on a trip to Point Sur . They landed 100 vermilion rockfish , 80 copper rockfish , 25 lingcod and 25 assorted rockfish , according to Jones .
Chris ’ Fishing Trips reported tough fishing on the weekend of June 9-10 , due to windy weather . For example , the 13 anglers aboard the Checkmate brought in 30 rockfish and one lingcod on June 10 . The 18 anglers aboard the Caroline landed 2 lingcod and half-limits of rockfish .
The fishing was better the day before , with 1 lingcod and limits of rockfish for 21 anglers on the Checkmate and limits of rockcod for 20 anglers aboard the Caroline .
“ The 4-hour trips are picking up slightly as we head towards summer , with mixed bags of fish and size ,” according to Stagnaro ’ s Fishing Trips in Santa Cruz . “ Mixed bags of fish and size . Our 7-hour deep water cod trips have been producing some good quality fish , including great size coppers and canaries , Lings have been hot and cold ; our best day was two weeks ago with 42 caught on a 7-hour trip .”
The salmon bite has improved for trollers on Monterey Bay .
“ The salmon continue to keep anglers happy near Mulligan Hill ,” said Todd Fraser at Bayside Marine , also in Santa Cruz , on June 10 . “ The fish are sticking with the anchovy balls near the mid depth range in 180-220 feet of water . The Purple Haze Kajikis , Watermelon Apexes , and Krippled Anchovies are working the best . There were some boats who had limits by 10:00 today .”
“ The halibut are still biting near the Wharf and in Capitola , but it was a little slower due to the south swell that came in today . The rockfish action was good near South Rock and Natural Bridges in 90 feet of water ,” he added .
- Dan Bacher
PENINSULA SHORELINE
Stripers and Anglers Hit the Beaches
SAN FRANCISCO - Striped bass are the top target for anglers fishing the Peninsula Beaches both in and outside of the Golden Gate Bridge .
Bucktail jigs and big Kastmasters are the top recommendation for anglers chasing striped bass this week , according to Stefanie Scott at Gus ’ Discount Bait and Tackle in San Francisco .
“ Baker , Ocean and Pacifica are all good beaches to try right now . The fishing is so good that the tides don ’ t matter that much , but I ’ d still go during the last hour of the income , slack , and the firsr hour of the outgoing ,” she tipped .
“ If you ’ re looking for perch , you won ’ t have a hard time finding them . Try shrimp or blood worms , or catch your own sandcrabs from the sand . The nice thing is that stripers are eating the sandcrabs too ,” she related .
Interest in crabbing was slow as the season nears its end on June 30 .
– Roland Aspiras
SALTWATER
Pro bass angler Ish Monroe put down his bass gear and rounded up these big S . F . Bay halibut during a live bait adventure aboard the California Dawn on June 4 .
Photo courtesy of CALIFORNIA DAWN
SPORTFISHING , Berkeley .
Predator Sport Fishing
Small Groups • Great Rates
The Bay ’ s Best Crew !
Excellent Sturgeon , Bass and Shark Fishing !
707-342-8481 • www . crocsport . com
In this week ’ s PENN Tip Anthony Raco shares some notes on marlin fishing .
Keep It Simple :
After a decade of Marlin fishing , if there is one thing I have learnt , it ’ s to keep it simple . Too many novices getught up in the hype of having all the rods , all the lures and all the gear they can afford-without understanding how to use any of it all . Sure , I too am guilty of having more fishing gear then an Eskimo has ice cubes , but more often than not , we will only take a handful of that gear . If you fine-tune your techniques and concentrate on just the gear you have , you will find that you will catch more fish as a result !
Quality Over Quantity : The first important rule is always to buy the best gear you can afford . There is no point having 5 “ OK ” game fishing outfits when you can have 2 or 3 top of the line outfits like the Penn International range . You only fight one fish at a time ( 2 if you ’ re really lucky !!), so you might as well make sure to give yourself the best chance of landing that fish with quality equipment that won ’ t let you down . This goes right through the inventory of things you need , line , swivels , leaders , lures , crimps and hooks .
Preparation : Spend some time understanding you gear . Learn the drag curve of your reel ’ s drag system . Understand how much drag pressure increases on your reel as the spool empties from a rampaging Marlin on the horizon . Use the 2 speed gearing and learn how it works- practice clicking it in and out under load . Set your gimbal belt and harness up AT HOME and practice keeping a constant load on it whilst fighting . Simply tying line to your tow bar is good enough . Spend the time rigging your lures and sharpening hooks to ensure everything is perfect . Don ’ t bore yourself rigging hundreds of lures , pick 4 or 5 of your favorites and make them flawless .
On The Water : Now once your neat little kit is all ready to go , it ’ s time to hit the water . When you get to the area you want to fish , there is no need to throw out 6 or 7 lures . I believe a novice crew should have only 3 or 4 out with a quality teaser . I assure you that the fish is coming up because of the boat in the first instance , so having one lure less won ’ t distract them from you once you find them . This ensures that there is less in the water to clear if you get a strike and enables you to start chasing your fish a heck of a lot quicker . Just ensure to keep one lure close to the boat , one in the clear water and one out the back . As you build confidence , start filling in the gaps .
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BAJA TIP OF THE WEEK