The PCS Blogosphere
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Lucky and Fortunate
A fortunate man has many good friends to spend time on the water with. A lucky man also has good friends with nice boats! Such was the case recently when invited for a long boy's weekend with Larry Marble on his sweet Sportcraft Dawn Patrol II with Jeff Cozzolino. The armada also included Dave Peter's Teaser crew, with Herbert Presley and his son Dustin, visiting from Texas. Dustin loves to fish. He's good at it too, wanting badly to capture his first tuna. That just wasn't in the cards but the weather forecast was great.
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A fortunate man has many good friends to spend time on the water with. A lucky man also has good friends with nice boats! Such was the case recently when invited for a long boy's weekend with Larry Marble on his sweet Sportcraft Dawn Patrol II with Jeff Cozzolino. The armada also included Dave Peter's Teaser crew, with Herbert Presley and his son Dustin, visiting from Texas. Dustin loves to fish. He's good at it too, wanting badly to capture his first tuna. That just wasn't in the cards but the weather forecast was great.
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Swaging
Now that the offshore season is upon us, folks are getting prepared for the chase. The quiver of assorted lures is spread out all over the place as leaders, hooks, and chaff gear is replaced. Heaps of knots are tied in the process. You know the drill.
I did it this way for many years before learning how to swag connections (many call it crimping too). Initially it can be intimidating trying to sort through the myriad of sleeve sizes, tools and such. Truth be told, with just a few inexpensive parts and simple techniques, anyone can quickly and easily create professional quality rigging.
Here's all you need to rig 40lb – 150lb monofilament or fluorocarbon:
• A pair of hand swagers
• 3 sizes of aluminum sleeves in .8mm (40-60lb), 1.2mm (80-100lb) and 1.5mm (125-150lb)
• Surgical tubing with a 1/16" inner diameter, 1/8" outer diameter, and 1/32" walls
• A lighter
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Now that the offshore season is upon us, folks are getting prepared for the chase. The quiver of assorted lures is spread out all over the place as leaders, hooks, and chaff gear is replaced. Heaps of knots are tied in the process. You know the drill.
I did it this way for many years before learning how to swag connections (many call it crimping too). Initially it can be intimidating trying to sort through the myriad of sleeve sizes, tools and such. Truth be told, with just a few inexpensive parts and simple techniques, anyone can quickly and easily create professional quality rigging.
Here's all you need to rig 40lb – 150lb monofilament or fluorocarbon:
• A pair of hand swagers
• 3 sizes of aluminum sleeves in .8mm (40-60lb), 1.2mm (80-100lb) and 1.5mm (125-150lb)
• Surgical tubing with a 1/16" inner diameter, 1/8" outer diameter, and 1/32" walls
• A lighter
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Halibut fishing here off the Southern California coast has been slow for most lately. A few nice fish have been reported. I've pounded sand bounce balling in depths from 30 to 110 feet from Carlsbad to Laguna for no joy. Other experienced and successful flattie fishermen have met the same fate. Perhaps it's a pre-spawn lockjaw funk. Maybe the fish moved. Only they really know.
These are some of the fish we've caught in April in the last two years:
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These are some of the fish we've caught in April in the last two years:
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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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Enjoying a Day on the Water with Friends Is Priceless
Halibut fishing has been a decent pick lately for us on eight- to twelve-pound fish, although I have not been out much. Last year we really got into them good in December and January with many 30-lb-class fish. Every year seems to be different. There’s no substitute for time on the water to find a bite pattern. Bounce-balling is great for this given the amount of sand you can cover since it’s essentially slow trolling the bottom.
Halibut fishing has been a decent pick lately for us on eight- to twelve-pound fish, although I have not been out much. Last year we really got into them good in December and January with many 30-lb-class fish. Every year seems to be different. There’s no substitute for time on the water to find a bite pattern. Bounce-balling is great for this given the amount of sand you can cover since it’s essentially slow trolling the bottom.
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MLPA, Flattie Fishing
I’m sitting here in shock this morning trying to digest what just happened, after the MLPA "Blue Ribbon" task force completed their "landmark" railroading job on us "consumptives." Not that it's unexpected.
I’m sitting here in shock this morning trying to digest what just happened, after the MLPA "Blue Ribbon" task force completed their "landmark" railroading job on us "consumptives." Not that it's unexpected.
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Oct 21 MLPA meetings
I had the distinct pleasure of attending the recent Oct 21 MLPA meetings in Long Beach. There was a great turn out of similarly concerned folks wearing black shirts in support of Proposition 2. This was our last opportunity to voice concerns before the Blue Ribbon panel chose which proposal would be recommended to the DFG. Hopefully extreme closures proposed by Proposition 3 (and their deep pockets) whose supporters wore blue shirts, could be prevented.
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I had the distinct pleasure of attending the recent Oct 21 MLPA meetings in Long Beach. There was a great turn out of similarly concerned folks wearing black shirts in support of Proposition 2. This was our last opportunity to voice concerns before the Blue Ribbon panel chose which proposal would be recommended to the DFG. Hopefully extreme closures proposed by Proposition 3 (and their deep pockets) whose supporters wore blue shirts, could be prevented.
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Maybe someday I’ll get one like this
Fall is in the air here in Southern California. Cool, crisp evenings are a welcomed change of pace. Summer crowds have thinned. And the big halibut have started to chew, like they most always do this time of year. I love fall flattie fishing.
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Fall is in the air here in Southern California. Cool, crisp evenings are a welcomed change of pace. Summer crowds have thinned. And the big halibut have started to chew, like they most always do this time of year. I love fall flattie fishing.
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Folks, a bunch of special interest groups and politicians are about to determine your fishing future (MLPA). I'm sure you have heard about it. Somehow reasonable, proven management tools like slot limits, seasons, and reduced bag limits were ignored in lieu of total closures for thousands of acres of prime coastal habitat. Once closed, they will be off limits forever. Who knows what half-baked schemes deep pockets will buy next. It just stinks. But it's real.
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Got an invite to fish the Dana Angling Club tuna tournament this weekend on Dave Peter's sweet 30-foot Rampage, Teaser, with Herbert and Larry Marble. How could a man pass that up after two weeks off the water neck deep in honey-do's? The game plan was to hit the morning yellowtail bite in Pyramid then head out in search of tuna, then do it again on Sunday.
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