Fish Sniffer On Demand Digital Edition Issue 3902 Jan 3-17 | Page 32

30 HALF MOON BAY SALTWATER REPORTS: Combination Trips Holding Solid Despite Commercial Crab Opener CONTINUED FROM PG 29 BODEGA BAY cont. Mike Aughney of the six-pack, Reel Magic, said, “Limits of both have been the rule since the season opened in early November, and despite the number of pots out there, we are still able to pull up limits of crab along with rockfish limits and a few quality lings. After the rockfish season ends, we will be running a few crab-only trips as I expect the large commercial operations will be getting what the can within a few weeks before departing.” Both the Doran Regional Park and Westside Landing launch ramps are open as Doran reopened on November 16th. The launch ramp is available to campers and day- use visitors. Final improvement to the launch parking area, fish cleaning station, kayak launch, and landscaping are on progress. - Dave Hurley EL GRANADA - After a delay of a month due to whale entanglement concerns, the commercial vessels were able to drop their gear over the past weekend with the first of round the clock pulls starting at midnight on December 15th. Despite the thousands of commercial pots unleashed into the local waters, limits of Dungeness crab and rockfish remain the story for party and private boats. Rockfish season ends on December 31st until April 2020. Captain Tom Mattusch of the Huli Cat said, “We went on a rockfish/crab combination trip on Wednesday off of Martin’s Beach and San Gregorio, and we loaded up with 19 limits of Dungeness crab along with 3/4th limits of rockfish including a few lingcod to 11 pounds. One of the pots was stuffed with 34 commercial- grade crab. Saturday’s trip with the VOL.39 • ISS. 2 Peninsula Anglers Fishing Club produced 3/4th limits of rockfish in 120 feet of water off of San Gregorio along with limits of Dungeness crab. We are still averaging around 25 to 30 crab per pot.” While other boats will be focusing on whale watching or nature trips after the rockfish closure, Mattusch will add crab/sand dab combinations to his repertoire in addition to whale watching. Out of Half Moon Bay Sport Fishing, Captain Dennis Baxter of the New Captain Pete continues to run crab-only or crab/rockfish combination trips through December 31st. He said, “We have been pretty spoiled with easy pulls of over 25 crab per pot even in areas that traditionally don’t hold many crab, and I think we will have to pull twice as many pots to fill out limits once the commercial fleet unleashes their pots. We should continue to score limits throughout the rockfish season, but we will have to pull more pots.” The Queen of Hearts out of Half Moon Bay Sport Fishing has been running the combination trips for the first time this year using Danielson pots and an electric puller, and they have consistently been filled with anglers walking off of the boat with limits of both species. - Dave Hurley BAJA ROUNDUP Big Storms Hamper Fishing Efforts “It’s hard to do a fishing report when a good part of the week was filled with storms,” exclaimed Jonathan Roldan of Tailhunter International in La Paz. “It’s been a late season deluge where it rained for 2-3 days at times torrentially, there was lots of unseasonable flooding which put a damper on a lot of snowbird vacationers who usually don’t see this kind of storms when they visit to get away from storms up north.” “After the storm, winds came up on the backside making for rough seas and waters were filled with Dorado are still on the bite for late fall anglers visiting muddy runoff the East Cape. and were really Photo courtesy of VAN WORMER RESORTS, East Cape, turned-over Baja. to be very conducive to fishing. However, before the storm hit, there was a small window of opportunity for some anglers to get out even with cloudy ominous skies. Surprisingly some decent dorado were on the chew ranging from 10-20 pounders mostly indicative of lingering warm waters in the area,” said Roldan. “Inshore, still decent action on bonito, smaller pargo, snapper and cabrilla as well as jack This massive 302-pound yellowfin crevalle. Live bait is tuna hit the deck of the Red Rooster sometimes problematic III on November 22. if winds and waves are Photo courtesy of RED ROOSTER III Big beautiful tuna have been cooperating whipping the shallow SPORTFISHING, San Diego. areas where the live bait is with anglers fishing Mexican waters caught,” Roldan concluded. aboard the Red Rooster III this fall. TIPPING & FISHING COSTS IN BAJA These anglers hit Suisun Bay with Captain Hayden Mullins on December 6 and had full limits of sturgeon by 9:30 in the morning. Photo courtesy of DRAGON SPORTFISHING, Pittsburg. Predator Sport Fishing Small Groups • Great Rates Excellent Sturgeon, Bass and Shark Fishing! The Bay’s Best Crew! 3408 707-342-8481 • www.crocsport.com GET ON BOARD! Photo courtesy of RED ROOSTER III SPORTFISHING, San Diego. How much to tip in Baja? Tipping guidelines for Mexico are nearly the same as tipping guidelines used in the United States or Canada, with some exceptions. Most service employees earn very little or no base salary and the tips they earn comprise the vast majority of their overall income. If arriving in Mexico without Mexican currency, pesos can easily be obtained at automatic teller machines or casas de cambio which are plentiful. If arriving in Mexico with a small amount of local currency, most international airports from which travelers depart have currency exchanges available for that purpose. Tipping guidelines for a fishing charter are often debated because of the high cost of fishing (usually $500 U.S. or more for a charter). Avid fisherman believe that you should tip the captain/crew a minimum of 15-20% of the charter, regardless of the size of the charter or number of crew on the boat or if you catch fish or not. For example, if you chartered a boat that cost $500 U.S., then the anglers on board would tip a combined total of $100 U.S. (1800 pesos). Others believe that the boat captain should earn $50 U.S. (900 pesos), and the crew $25 U.S. (450 pesos) each. For a charter boat with one captain and two crew, that means that the anglers on board should tip a combined total of $100 U.S (1800 pesos). Both methods result in a similar tip for smaller charters. However, the difference comes in when you charter a larger boat. If, for instance, you charter a larger boat for $1,100 U.S. with one captain and two crew members, and you tip 20% of the cost of the charter, the tip would be $220 U.S. (4000 pesos). However, if you use the second method, the tip would only be $100 U.S. (1800 pesos). The theory is that the captain and two-member crew work no harder on a larger boat than they do on a smaller boat, so the tip shouldn’t be tied to the cost of the charter but rather to the service provided. Rockfish & Crab Combos Available Now BOOK EARLY! HALF MOON BAY SALTWATER Jan 3-17, 2020 www.hulicat.com 650-726-2926 GP 1971F Fishfinder/GPS Plotter Powerful technology in the Ultimate Combo unit. 9” Chart Plotter with built in TrueEcho CHIRP Fishfinder. Featuring Multi-Touch Interface, internal GPS antenna, CMAP compatibility, Anti Finger Print and Anti-Reflective glass with excellent readability and brightness. Call for Details and Special Pricing! MARITIME ELECTRONICS 2855 Soquel Ave. Santa Cruz, CA (800)582-1333 3807