26 July 20- Aug 3, 2018 VOL. 37 • ISS. 16

Saltwater reports: continued from page 25

HALF MOON Bay cont. The 25 anglers on the latest trip by the Kahuna to Point Sur returned with 21 lingcod up to 18 pounds, 20 canary rockfish, 35 copper rockfish, 55 vermilion rockfish and 140 rockfish.

Chris’ Fishing Trips in Monterey confirmed the solid fishing for rockfish and lingcod on the Monterey Coast. On July 8, the 21 anglers aboard the Checkmate landed 15 lingcod and limits of rockfish while 19 passengers on the Caroline bagged one lingcod and limits of rockfish.

“ The fishing is still great in Santa Cruz,” reported Todd Fraser of

Bayside Marine.“ There were good scores of halibut, lingcod, and rock fish reported in front of the harbor and on the west side of Santa Cruz. The winds stayed down in front of the harbor, but it was blowing up the coast.”

“ There was a confirmed catch of albacore a few days ago at the Pioneer Sea Mount,” noted Fraser.“ The anglers caught them while trolling and then the wind came up. The water looks great about 35-40 miles out. The winds may come down this week and we hope to see some anglers out

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Ken Stagnaro of Stagnaro’ s Fishing Trips in Santa Cruz said the 20 anglers on the latest half-day trip on the Velocity caught limits of blue, yellowtail and other rockfish while enjoying nice weather.

- Dan Bacher

Peninsula Shoreline

Surf Fishermen Lay Into Stripers, Halibut

SAN FRANCISCO- Striped bass and halibut continue to be the top target for city anglers, while others hop on local charter boats to take advantage of smoking hot salmon fishing. Area beaches continue to provide anglers with scrappy striped bass and tasty halibut, though fishing for both can be spotty, according to Stephanie Scott, at Gus’ Discount Bait and Tackle in San Francisco.

“ Baker Beach and Ocean Beach are both good places to try, but it’ s either they’ re catching a whole lot, or whole lot of not,” Scott joked.

“ I think it’ s been better on the full moon and at night. Guys are using the Daiwa SP Minnow, big Kastmaster or a white bucktail jig.” she tipped.

For halibut, Scott recommended fishing with swimbaits at Crissy Field,“ Incoming tide is the best time to get out there,” she tipped.

“ Other than that, they’ re catching a lot of salmon out there. The guys are leaving and coming back early with limits,” she related.

Big smiles and chrome bright kings … That’ s been the situation outside the Golden Gate as anglers continue to nail limits of kings. This beautiful fish was caught on June 24.

Photo courtesy of NEW EASY RIDER SPORTFISHING, Berkeley.

- Roland Aspiras

Excellent Sturgeon, Bass and Shark Fishing!

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This angler was all smiles after landing this pair of quality California halibut during an S. F. Bay live bait potluck adventure on July 4.

Photo courtesy of CALIFORNIA DAWN SPORTFISHING, Berkeley.

This is also true in fishing. Whether or not fish have gotten smarter. Fshermen have gotten smarter( especially through information channels such as YouTube) or a combination of the two, catching a fish is now a seemingly more challenging endeavor; one in which information may hold the key to success.

For the inquisitive angler, the questions that arise after a fish is caught include:“ How far did you cast?”,“ How deep was that fish?”,“ How far back were you trolling?”, and“ How much line

did you let out?” In this age of monochromatic line, the answer usually is, if honest,“ I don’ t know.” For truly, most of the time, it is only a bad guess.

That is why, in the last couple of years, I have made an effort to use metered braided lines. I don’ t think I have to go through all the advantages of using the new super braided lines vs. the nylon monofilament lines, but the super braided lines are thinner, softer, stronger per diameter, have much less stretch, and are more sensitive than the monos. Make no mistake, I still use monos, but more of my

fishing has been shifting to the metered braids.

Every company that produces a metered braid has their own standard for the length before there is a color change. The color change is what is key to how easy it is to tell how much line is out there.

For instance, Berkley’ s ProSpec metered braid has a color change every twenty feet. PowerPro’ s Depth Hunter has a color change every 25 feet with a marker every five feet. Daiwa’ s Saltiga Boat braid and their more economical J8 marked braid both have a change of color every 10 meters with markings at the five and one meter marks for a very accurate line.

Because these marked braided lines are very similar in quality and feel to their monochromatic cousins, they fish just as well, under a greater variety of circumstances, unlike marked monos which are relegated to trolling purposes.

Knowing how much line you have out can dramatically increase your fishing“ luck”. Being able to repeat a successful technique with a successful location can give you a winning edge.

Next time: Examples of using metered lines to your advantage!