Fish Sniffer On Demand Digital Edition Issue 3801 Dec 22-Jan 4 | Page 26

26 Dec 21, 2018 - Jan 4, 2019 SALTWATER VOL.38 • ISS. 1 Sniffer Staff Scores During Happy Hooker Crab Combo R ecently while driving back from a day of bass fishing on Lake Berryessa, my fishing buddy Ian Rigler suggested that it was time to make a trip to the ocean. “What could be better than a day of rock fishing?” he asked. My answer, a day of rockfish fishing and crabbing, of course. Crab combos are some of the most popular trips of the year. Prime dates can book up months in advance of opening day. With the sport crab season open, I placed a call to the good folks at Happy Hooker Sportfishing and they were able to find an available date that worked with my busy schedule. When Ian and I boarded the boat at the Berkeley Marina, we were greeted by Vince Borges, the Director of Sales and Marketing for Phenix Rods. This trip was one in a number of Phenix sponsored outings aboard the Happy Hooker and all the anglers were treated to some cool Phenix gear and the chance to win an Axis rod for landing the jackpot fish of the day. “Phenix Rods have a great presence in our industry,” said Captain Chris Smith. “They are a superior product. I have used a number of different rods in the past and I have never had this type of support from any other rod manufacturing company. If you have any problems or issues, things are addressed right away. Product support is worth its weight in gold. The rods are proven, they catch fish. When you are fishing bottom fish, the cool thing is having a graphite rod. A lot of people wouldn’t have graphite rods but everything is at your fingertips when you are using braided line and an Abyss or Axis rod. The best fisherman in the industry are using these rods, why would you use anything else?” Let’s Go Fishing: Act 1 I am a weather watcher and a trip to the Farallon Islands is always dependent on the weather and ocean conditions. For the week leading up to our trip, the conditions looked ideal, light winds and a small swell. Then a few days prior, the forecast changed to include a strong offshore wind early in the morning and continuing into midday. Sometimes forecasts are correct and other times they are not. This time the forecast was spot on. The ride to the Islands was not bad but by the time Captain Chris posi- tioned the boat for our first drift of the day, the east wind was howling and the waves were building, making for bumpy conditions. Captain Chris suggested the group start out fishing with shrimp flies as the rockfish had been on a rapid limit style bite over the last few trips. His instruction proved to be on the mark and it did not take long for the fish to come over the rail. Many of the anglers elected to tip their shrimp flies with pieces of cut squid and this tried and true method proved to be very productive. Hoping to benefit from the old adage that “bigger baits produce bigger fish”, I added a 6” scented grub to my white shrimp flies. The addition of the grubs gave the shrimp flies a bigger profile and were far less messy than handling cut squid. A lot of the time, I will replace the shrimp fly altogether with a grub threaded onto a bare hook. Just as I had hoped, I was quickly into some nice quality rockfish. Next to me on the rail, Ian was wearing out the rockfish at a torrid pace as he fought numerous double hookups. With a limited amount of time to fish I decided to make a change. I switched over to a trap rigged herring in an attempt to add a lingcod to my bag. Fish Sniffer field editor Mark Fong nailed a limit of rockfish Within a minute or so after while fishing aboard the Happy Hooker. He tempted this big making my first drop, I felt that vermilion while using a shrimp fly tipped with a Gulp! grub. Photo by CAPTAIN JONATHAN SMITH, Happy Hooker familiar weight of a lingcod Sportfishing. on the other end of my line. I let the fish load up my rod before hooking up. I fought the fish to the boat and deck hand Greg skillfully put the gaff to it and swung it aboard. After a few more takes that did not pan out, I was able to fill out my limit with a second lingcod. Just in time too, as soon as I landed the fish, Captain Chris told us to wind’em up for the final time of the day as it was now on to pull crab pots. FISH SNIFFER COUNTRY by Mark Fong Crabbing has been great for Bay Area anglers jumping on combo crab and rockfish adventures. Here we see Captain Jonathan Smith preparing to empty a typical pot. Photo by MARK FONG, Fish Sniffer Staff. Jonathon assembled a team of helpers to assist him on the deck. From his position in the wheel house, Captain Chris coordinated the effort. Once he had the boat in position, a team member used a gaff to secured the marker buoy. The line was then passed along to Captain Jonathon who attached it to a mechanical puller. Once the pot had been retrieved and was in position at the side of the boat, Captain Jonathon and deckhand Greg swung the pot aboard and emptied it of its prized bounty. Each crab was carefully measured to ensure it was of legal size. Those crab that did not conform to regulations were released. Before the pot was redeployed, it was rebaited with a fresh container of bait. The crabs were carefully tallied and the process continued until the limit was Celebrating 60 years of “The Unsinkable Legend”!! 2019 Models HAVE ARRIVED! 2019 Boston Whaler 170 Montauk The classic Whaler center console with forward fishbox with drain, 25 gallon built-in fuel tank, stainless steel side and bow rails, transom storage, 4 rod holders, center console with instruments and windshield, reversible pilot seat with backrest and storage, 90 hp Mercury 4 stroke outboard, galvanized trailer with swing tongue and more. Call for Pricing and Availability! Pulling Pots: Act 2 Ian Rigler took home 10 tasty crabs including these chunky crustaceans when he hit the Golden Gate crab grounds aboard the Happy Hooker this November. Photo by MARK FONG, Fish Sniffer Staff. Before we arrived at the first string of crab pots, Captain reached. On this day, the pots were brimming with big crab and it did not take long to limit out. Now all that was left was to enjoy the picturesque boat ride back to the coast, through the Golden Gate and to the marina. It was truly a great day on the water. The boat returned to Berkeley with big sacks of rockfish, nearly a fish a rod on lingcod and 10 big Dungeness crab for all. For Joe Trujillo of Lathrop, it was an even better day, he was the lucky winner of the big fish jackpot. He received a beautiful Phenix Axis rod for his 20lb lingcod. The Happy Hooker will continue to run crab combo trips until the end of December. It’s the perfect way to get your crab just in time for the Holidays. To book a trip, please call 510-223-5388. (800) 726–2848 3725 (510) 533–9290 1926 – 2018 Your Bay Area Dealer For 92 Years 333 Kennedy Street Oakland, CA 94606 www.outboardmotorshop.com All Prices INCLUDE freight & prep, plus tax & license only.