TRIP REPORTS AND CONDITIONS

Back last night from Los Barriles. Surprisingly good weather for this late in year. Two days of flat calm and one of moderate winds. Water temp 79 F. A few boats out but a lot are out of the water now. Wind boarders arriving tomorrow en masse. Billfish were tough to find. I caught 2 Striped Marlin to 180# pounds out of 5 strikes. 9 Dorado to 50#, several Yellowfin Tuna too. If you want small Tuna (10-25) there is all you want on Sardinas 4 miles off Punta Colorado and elsewhere. Air temps perfect in the 80s.

20 January, 2010

Rain, Rain, Rain. Brown water along the beaches. The little bit of Bass bite of last week evaporated as few boats got out in the winds. May turn the corner in about 6 weeks or so. Waters still at 58 F or so all over. Even a rare water spout yesterday off Orange County.

SoCal-27 January, 2010

Driving by the Newport Harbor Shipyard yesterday I noticed three of the landing’s boats were up for repair/maintenance, including the Freelance which was having an engine dropped back in. Must be slow out there, even for whale watching. Waters clearing but still light rain. Water temps remain a little elevated for this time of winter (58-59 F), so maybe there is some El Nino effect but not extreme. Possibly an early warm-up in the spring.

Newport Beach-2 February, 2010

We got our annual Jumbo Squid fix last night out off the Newport Pier. For those of you who want the easy way Davey’s Locker and Newport Landing are going out 7PM to Midnight. For private boatera just go out go out 214 from the jetties until about off the red buoy above the pier. Look for other bright boat lights or marks in about 600 feet of water. Fish the big squid jigs starting at about 250 feet and working up at 20 feet intervals. We got all we wanted from 200 feet all the way up to the surface bite. Our bite was 8 to 9 PM. 20 to 30 pounders.

Use heavy gear unless you are into punishment. To clean just slice along the mantle and remove that part. Several Jumbos will provide all you can eat for sometime. JDs Big Game Tackle on Balboa Island has perfect big jigs and more info.

Newport Beach-5 February, 2010

The Jumbo Squid bite, like the one below, is a perfect example of why an e-mail call list might be to your advantage. A bite like this can appear and disappear within a couple of days. Same thing for Dorado, Yellowfin, Yellowtail, Barracuda, and to a lesser extent Bass. If you are ready to move you can get some spectacular fishing. If you send me your e-mail address for me to keep on this list for short term call, that is all I will use it for. If you aren’t available, no problem. If you have several buddies to make up 3 you have the chance. (captaindon@fish-hawk.com)

For most of the species though, you can count on them by booking in advance in the prime months.

Southcoast-13 February, 2010

Frenzied Jumbo Squid bit off the Newport Pier looked like it was over this week but they found some last night. Long Beach no, Dana Point no, Oceanside and San Diego 9 mile bank had good numbers of the stuff.

Water remains at an El Nino type warmth of 58-60 F.

A little Sand Bass bite pops up here and there, not the Bonanza of later in the spring. Lower Baja looks a little slow, some rain, but few customers.

SoCal-21 February, 2010

Almost a duplicate of the last report, water maybe a little warmer but rain showers today. The reports from Southern Baja seem sort of bleak. They are filling their quotas on Sierras inshore. Only a handful of pelagics and if they see them they are reluctant to bite. Still Sailfish around with the Striped Marlin when the weather lets them get out there.

Rumors of April 1 to put the bait receiver out in Newport.

Newport-27 February, 2010

Typically this is the time that we hit our lows and try to analyze what the upcoming season will be like. It does bounce back in one way or another though. The March Fred Hall Show usually marks the start of the upturn. Factors we are watching are:

-The strong El Nino warm water event projected now to last at least through June 2010.

-Largely unproductive rules by the political bodies.

-Unchecked commercial take of forage bait fish in Southern California and Baja for fowl, fish pen, and pets food.

-Largely head-in-the-sand practices by sportboats in general.

-The reopening or gearing up of live bait facilities in harbors up and down the coast.

-Related to all the above the step up of fisherman and boats going offshore,exploring, and finding spots of fish.

SoCal-5 March,2010

No new actual fish news. But if you haven’t been to the Fred Hall Long Beach Show, it is almost as big as ever. Incredible buys on Penn and Okuma Reels at Big Five booth, deep discounts of Newell Reels at the Chark Bait booth, super cheap end tackle at the Asian booths, and show specials on Terrafin, 976-Tuna, and charter boats. You will kick yourself when you need something later in the spring when the fish start biting, and have to pay the higher prices.