Fish Sniffer On Demand Digital Edition Issue 3802 Jan 4-18 | Page 33

SALTWATER REPORTS: CONTINUED FROM PG 25 HALF MOON BAY cont. crab counts per pot are getting thinner, Captain Tom Mattusch continued to bring in crab limits for his customers. He said, “Sunday was the best day in the past three or four as the wind, wind chop, and swell has come down. We only put in 26 rockfish two days before with 131 on Saturday, but the bite was much better on Sunday. The crab are thinning out, but we have been able to come back with limits every day since the opener.” “I will be running rockfish/crab combination trips until December 31st and after this, I hope to put together some sanddab/petrale sole, and crab trips,” he said. The six-pack Ankeny Street has been running rockfish/ling cod trips and despite the tougher bite in the big swell, they were able to put in half-limits of rockfish and 8 lings to 9 pounds on a pre-Christmas Day trip. Further north in Pacifica, the big waves from the surf resulted in the closure of the Pacifica Pier for several days prior to Christmas. - Dave Hurley MONTEREY BAY Anglers Battle Rockfish, Lingcod Before Closure MOSS LANDING – When the boats have been able to make it down to Point Sur before the end of the rockfish season on December 31, fishing for rockfish has been very good. “On our last few trips, the bottomfish, including vermilions, coppers and lingcod, were the bulk of our counts,’ said Carol Jones at Kahuna Sportfishing. “The school fish weren’t biting as well with the large swell over the last week.” January 4-18, 2019 SALTWATER VOL.38 • ISS. 2 The 19 anglers aboard the Kahuna on December 21 landed 21 lingcod, 35 copper rockfish 1 ocean whitefish, 20 assorted ockfish and 115 vermilion rockfish. On December 22, the 21 anglers on the boat landed 15 lingcod, 35 copper rockfish, 80 assorted rockfish and 75 vermilion rockfish. Lester Young of San Jose landed the jackpot ling, a 15 pounder, while fishing with a 10 oz. bar. “The fish were biting on the iron,” noted Jones. Jones said the boat will be available for sanddab trips in January 2019 and then will going into the boatyard for the annual maintenance in February. Charter boats berthed at Fisherman’s Wharf in Monterey found solid rockfish/ crab action in the tail stretch of the rockfish season. The Check Mate checked in with 3 lingcod, limits of rockfish (220), and 77 Dungeness crab for 22 anglers on Saturday, December 22, while the Caroline returned with 2 lingcod, 160 rockfish and 48 Dungeness crab for 20 anglers. With the end of rockfish season, the boats will be switching over to sanddab and Dungeness crab combo fishing adventures. “The swell dropped today and the fishing improved for rockfish and lingcod. The lingcod hit squid up the coast,” reported Todd Fraser of Bayside Marine in Santa Cruz on December 22. Now that the boat-based rockfish season is over, Santa Cruz saltwater anglers will be focusing on surfperch fishing on the beaches and sanddab, crab and halibut fishing from boats. Remember to buy your 2019 fishing license. - Dan Bacher 31 KC took a paddle off the Sonoma Coast this fall and caught several fish including this big bad lingcod. Photo courtesy of THE KAYAK CITY FISHING TEAM, Kayak City. These young anglers had a great time rounding up limits of Golden Gate crabs aboard the Happy Hooker this December. Photo courtesy of HAPPY HOOKER SPORTFISHING, Berkeley. HEAVY DUTY SPLIT RING WELDED RING 3X MUSTAD HOOK East Cape anglers have been boating some impressive dorado recently. If you want to get away from the winter chill, a trip to the East Cape is a great option. Photo courtesy of VAN WORMER RESORTS, East Cape, Baja. REAL FISH IMAGE PRINT FOR MORE INFO VISIT: or call: WWW.AHIUSA.COM 1-866-264-1562 WIRED THROUGH RIGGING follow us CHIP & PEEL RESISTANT UV COATED