AS I SEE IT

Unbelievable failure. That’s about all I can say of the fishing off California that saw, in my lifetime, a resource go from arguably the best in the world to a devastated remnant of this once precious treasure. Sure, there are numerous bogeymen. Overfishing, Pollution, lack of management, population increase, vastly improved technology, etc.

But isn’t it ironic that a state with world class institutions has few clues of the disaster. Scripps Institute, Humboldt State, Stanford, U.C. Berkley, and further north Washington University and Oregon State.

The Tropical Tuna Association, Sportfishing Owners Group, Monterey Bay Fisherman’s Group, all fought to protect their industry but not the overall resource.

And the government groups set up by the people to manage and protect the sea life have done little more than collect license fees. The California Dept of Fish and Game and the Fish and Game Commission sat by as this great resource spiraled downward, Politics only worsened the problem.

Now we come to a point where the Federal Government has hijacked the States Rights as well and, without any credible scientific evidence, are in the process of closing down the bulk of the coast to meaningful fishing.

Even if the improbable happens, what we will end up with when the environmental extremists win is a giant aquarium off our coast, with access and accessibility limited to the elite. That means the Discovery Channel, National Geographic, and eco-study groups, and a few high-end pleasure boaters. What will be left is a vicarious pleasure you can watch on your television sets.

Yes, those of us with a little money and skills will still catch our share, because there is still a good number of fish out there in certain times and areas, but even as we release the majority it really doesn’t speak to the point.

The Proper Prospective

What’s the most important thing? Rod length, carbon or fiberglass, fluorocarbon line, Spectra line, knot tying, lure size or color, bait selection, shape of lure head, stealth. Wrong. The most important is to locate the fish and be fishing in that area. All the rest will follow after that.

You can knock yourself out on all the other details and strike out if you don’t fulfill the latter. Something about not recognizing the forest for the trees.

November, 2009

Think about this. In Newport Harbor it is estimated there are 7000 boats, excluding electric Duffys. If half are power boats and 90% have outriggers, that is 2700 boats with outriggers. If there were 400 Striped Marlin caught this year up here, that’s a lot of excess gear. Note-most people just have them installed when they buy their boat because that is the cool thing to do.

Area Closures-SoCal-January, 2010

For now the mass closures are on a bit of a hold as the Fish and Game Commission wrestles with them. Maybe a year or two. Some of the steam was let out of the process with the travesty of the false Global Warming science reporting recently. But beware, it is not dead, and activists of many stripes smell blood with encouragement from Washington.

A good friend of mine from days past (Don Benninghoven) was elevated by the Governor from the MLPA to the Fish and Game Commission and has a history of being a sportsman. So we may see some hope there.

Newport Beach-3 February, 2010

Strange that I should have just read this month in a national boating magazine about being randomly boarded by the Coast Guard. Well, last night they did just that. In the middle of a hot Jumbo Squid bite, in the pitch dark at 8:30 PM off Newport they pulled up and boarded us. Four men in a hard bottom inflatable, all armed hauled all their bags aboard. Two men on and two men floating nearby. They were polite but not chatty. The young enlisted men went down their manual checklists and went over the boat from stem to stern. Opening every space.

Even with Coast Guard Merchant Marine posted document they still wanted more. Just a hint: Check to see if you two fire extinguishers are mounted, flares and flare gun cartridges up to date, boat DMV document are current, bilge spaces convenient to open, sound producing device working, running lights good, drivers license available, anti-dumping plaque hung, life preservers convenient and labeled correctly, throw cushion or ring available and labeled.

Bottom line we lost about an hour of fishing time, their timing in the dark was inconvenient. Luckily it was a calm night instead of sloppy weather, and a need to replace some flares that were still current but only months from being expired. And then report that replacement by phone.

And the bite was gone when they left.

Squid Primer-9 February, 2010

You know what I think about those who pooh-pooh any type of fishing species. Most anything will give you a jolt at any time, The Jumbo Humboldt Squid are here and other things are not, so here goes an empirical primer on these primitive goliaths.

You can go on a party boat and leave the driving to them. Or you can take a private boat and search them out yourself. Either way the best bet is to follow the party boat to the general area of recent success. His big lights help a lot but are not mandatory. Get as close to his light area as is polite and watch your fish meter and his passengers. If you see gaffs being used or fire-hydrants of water off the side you are on the spot. Try to monitor the radio to listen to the proper depths to fish. Look on your fish meter for individual orange boomerang blips. Thicker small clouds may indicate smaller market squid.

As a rule of thumb start at 300-400 feet and work up until you get bit. As the early night progresses the Jumbos will probably move up and eventually bite just below the surface or down to 40 feet or so.

If you have some sort of above water light, even the cockpit lights, turn them on. Now use the heaviest reel you have, Penn Internationals, Shimanos, even big Newells with 50 lb or above. Drop down and put the reel in gear and gently move the jig up and down, just like fishing for bait with a Lucky Joe rig. When the rod loads up hang on and commence reeling. A 2-speed reel is not necessary because, as strong as they are, they don’t take a lot of drag out for any length at a time.

The larger 20 inch squid jigs work the best although any size of whitish jig will work. Conventional hooks give a lot of drop-offs when you get to the surface though. The best bet is a trashcan on the swim step to drop them into to reduce the cockpit mess. If you are using a regular hook jig you may want to use a gaff, trying to get the head end to save the meat.

After you have finished fishing, the squid will be dead and you can just make a slit under and along the mantle and separate it from the rest of the animal, to dispose at sea to feed something.

Preparation of the big square slab will be summarized in another article.

Warning: Keep your hands away from the tentacles or the adjacent beak of a live animal. They are voracious and grab on to anything. Later on you can cut and dice the tentacles to freeze up for bait for a later fishing trip. Works very good for most anything.

If you really want to get into the mode, read up on the Giant Squid stories from the deep oceans of the world. They are true, even if the Submarine Nautilus is in Julius Verne’s mind.