The PCS Blogosphere
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Salmon Season Now Looks Good
The PFMC met in Sacramento this week and established the salmon season options for this year. The PFMC April meeting will decide the final season structure from these options. However, because the PFMC did not take emergency action at this meeting it looks as if the April salmon season will happen no matter what. This is because the scheduling of the PFMC meetings is off by a bit with the salmon season dates so they approve the April fishery a year ahead of time and then confirm the rest of the season starting May 1 in April of the same year.
So the options look good and are as follows:
The PFMC met in Sacramento this week and established the salmon season options for this year. The PFMC April meeting will decide the final season structure from these options. However, because the PFMC did not take emergency action at this meeting it looks as if the April salmon season will happen no matter what. This is because the scheduling of the PFMC meetings is off by a bit with the salmon season dates so they approve the April fishery a year ahead of time and then confirm the rest of the season starting May 1 in April of the same year.
So the options look good and are as follows:
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The 2010 Fred Hall Show in Long Beach, California
The annual Fred Hall tackle show will be held again this week in Long Beach, CA, and it's one of the largest in the nation. Without a doubt, it is the most popular show on the west coast. I'll be flying down from northern California, just for the day, to attend. I've got my camera, two camera batteries, a note pad and a whole bunch of questions all ready. In particular, I will be asking about quality and service issues with fishing reels. These are issues that I deal with every day, and they have been mounting.
The annual Fred Hall tackle show will be held again this week in Long Beach, CA, and it's one of the largest in the nation. Without a doubt, it is the most popular show on the west coast. I'll be flying down from northern California, just for the day, to attend. I've got my camera, two camera batteries, a note pad and a whole bunch of questions all ready. In particular, I will be asking about quality and service issues with fishing reels. These are issues that I deal with every day, and they have been mounting.
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Salmon season in jeopardy! Call to arms!
PFMC Meeting on March 8
Salmon season this year? We are going to have to fight for it! There are plenty of fish for a recreational season, so don't believe what you read in the newspapers. We have a right to a season and the science says that a season is in accord with the conservation objectives. But there are many who don't want us to fish and we have to let them know that the facts and the science support having a sport season. That means getting out and attending the PFMC meeting and letting them know that we are here and that we will fight to get it.
PFMC Meeting on March 8
Salmon season this year? We are going to have to fight for it! There are plenty of fish for a recreational season, so don't believe what you read in the newspapers. We have a right to a season and the science says that a season is in accord with the conservation objectives. But there are many who don't want us to fish and we have to let them know that the facts and the science support having a sport season. That means getting out and attending the PFMC meeting and letting them know that we are here and that we will fight to get it.
Read More...
Electric Reels
Electric reels have been around forever, and are mostly used for deep drop/bottom fish.
The past ten years has seen "Temochi-Concept" electric reels that are designed to be much smaller, and held (Temochi) rather than mounted on rods set in rod holders.
These reels are used for super high speed jigging in Japan for buri and hiramasa (Japanese yellowtail) amberjack, wahoo, and their smaller cousins, the sawara (like a Sierra, or Cero Mackerel).
The first time I saw these type of reels in use was about ten years ago, in the Sea of Japan. We were fishing for sawara and yellowtail, and one guy with a small electric reel was getting bit way more than anyone on the boat. I watched him do his thing-he put the reel on about 1\2 max speed, and as the 150 gram jig screamed up from the bottom, he would use either a regular "fast pitch" jerking action, or an irregular action. The water was very clear, and I could see how fast the jig was moving--I estimated about three times faster than what I could do with my 6:1 gear ratio reels.
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Electric reels have been around forever, and are mostly used for deep drop/bottom fish.
The past ten years has seen "Temochi-Concept" electric reels that are designed to be much smaller, and held (Temochi) rather than mounted on rods set in rod holders.
These reels are used for super high speed jigging in Japan for buri and hiramasa (Japanese yellowtail) amberjack, wahoo, and their smaller cousins, the sawara (like a Sierra, or Cero Mackerel).
The first time I saw these type of reels in use was about ten years ago, in the Sea of Japan. We were fishing for sawara and yellowtail, and one guy with a small electric reel was getting bit way more than anyone on the boat. I watched him do his thing-he put the reel on about 1\2 max speed, and as the 150 gram jig screamed up from the bottom, he would use either a regular "fast pitch" jerking action, or an irregular action. The water was very clear, and I could see how fast the jig was moving--I estimated about three times faster than what I could do with my 6:1 gear ratio reels.
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Salmon Under Attack. Where is CDF&G? Answer: MIA
There is a major push to grab the Sacramento River water by the Central Valley farmers and the SoCal folks. They are perfectly willing to kill off every salmon and to ride roughshod over every protection provided by the Endangered Species Act. According to Dan Bacher of the Fish Sniffer: "Governor Schwarzenegger and the San Joaquin Valley Representatives have launched a series of administrative, legal and legislative attacks against the biological opinions protecting Delta smelt and Central Valley salmon. The same forces are advocating the construction of a peripheral canal and more dams to facilitate water exports to the west side of the San Joaquin Valley and southern California."
There is a major push to grab the Sacramento River water by the Central Valley farmers and the SoCal folks. They are perfectly willing to kill off every salmon and to ride roughshod over every protection provided by the Endangered Species Act. According to Dan Bacher of the Fish Sniffer: "Governor Schwarzenegger and the San Joaquin Valley Representatives have launched a series of administrative, legal and legislative attacks against the biological opinions protecting Delta smelt and Central Valley salmon. The same forces are advocating the construction of a peripheral canal and more dams to facilitate water exports to the west side of the San Joaquin Valley and southern California."
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When the Weather Breaks
Flattie fishing has been decent when the weather breaks. My friend Herbert took some folks visiting from Illinois out recently. They bounce-balled for a bit out of Dana Point in rough conditions for one good biter. She was full of it, taking them deep into the kelp twice. The spectra mainline got her out after many tense moments. When all was said and done, a fine 27-lb flattie hit the deck.
Flattie fishing has been decent when the weather breaks. My friend Herbert took some folks visiting from Illinois out recently. They bounce-balled for a bit out of Dana Point in rough conditions for one good biter. She was full of it, taking them deep into the kelp twice. The spectra mainline got her out after many tense moments. When all was said and done, a fine 27-lb flattie hit the deck.
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What's That Sound?
Question:
I gave my Shimano Charter Special a complete clean, regrease and rebuild (it was actually pretty clean inside, with no wear) and noticed that the drive/pinion gear noise is quite noticeable when winding the handle, not in a bad way - it doesn't sound like there's anything wrong - is this usual for these reels? Do I maybe need to put more grease on the gears to quieten it a bit? I was even more noticeable when I had it attached to a hollow glass Ugly Stik rod... Cheers, Mike. (Australia)
Question:
I gave my Shimano Charter Special a complete clean, regrease and rebuild (it was actually pretty clean inside, with no wear) and noticed that the drive/pinion gear noise is quite noticeable when winding the handle, not in a bad way - it doesn't sound like there's anything wrong - is this usual for these reels? Do I maybe need to put more grease on the gears to quieten it a bit? I was even more noticeable when I had it attached to a hollow glass Ugly Stik rod... Cheers, Mike. (Australia)
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The Giant Squid Bite Is On
Tuesday night, I took Dan from the office and my buddy Kip out to catch giant squid. We all have done it before, but it's worth doing when they come in.
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Tuesday night, I took Dan from the office and my buddy Kip out to catch giant squid. We all have done it before, but it's worth doing when they come in.
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Shrimp off San Francisco
Started hearing isolated stories about shrimp off the Central Coast, mostly about the coon striped shrimp (smaller shrimp as contrasted with the larger spot prawns which can be found in deeper water). So I invested in two shrimp pots from Willapa Bay and gave it a try. I run a few crab pots so I just zip tied the two pots to two separate crab pots and put them back down, fishing right where the Dungeness crabs are caught, not expecting much. Imagine my surprise the next day when the first pot I pulled had more than 200 shrimp! And the fact that the shrimp pot was full seemed to pull more crabs into my crab pot as well, so a double win. Anyway the second pot had only about 20, but I was enthused that there might be something to trying this.
Started hearing isolated stories about shrimp off the Central Coast, mostly about the coon striped shrimp (smaller shrimp as contrasted with the larger spot prawns which can be found in deeper water). So I invested in two shrimp pots from Willapa Bay and gave it a try. I run a few crab pots so I just zip tied the two pots to two separate crab pots and put them back down, fishing right where the Dungeness crabs are caught, not expecting much. Imagine my surprise the next day when the first pot I pulled had more than 200 shrimp! And the fact that the shrimp pot was full seemed to pull more crabs into my crab pot as well, so a double win. Anyway the second pot had only about 20, but I was enthused that there might be something to trying this.
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Winter Hamachi (Japanese Yellowtail) Jigging
The weather has been really bad each time I have scheduled a trip recently. The weather for this trip called for 15 knots of wind, and 8- to 10-foot seas, but the captain of the Ambitious Korine
said the trip was a go, so I, my 13-year old son, and a friend made the three-hour drive to Maezuru, on the Sea of Japan.
It was my first trip on this open-party boat, and the captain invited me up to the wheelhouse, and showed me his electronics
and talked about the fishing we would be doing.
The weather has been really bad each time I have scheduled a trip recently. The weather for this trip called for 15 knots of wind, and 8- to 10-foot seas, but the captain of the Ambitious Korine
said the trip was a go, so I, my 13-year old son, and a friend made the three-hour drive to Maezuru, on the Sea of Japan.
It was my first trip on this open-party boat, and the captain invited me up to the wheelhouse, and showed me his electronics
and talked about the fishing we would be doing.
Read More...
