The PCS Blogosphere
Still Bringin' 'em In
Between bouts with weather, we're bringing aboard the WaveWalker plenty of big feisty groundfish: vermilion, chucklehead, blues, johnny bass, cholocate bass, sugar bass, barber poles, starries, greenspotted, greenstriped, bocaccio and others. While the islands have been hosting a better bite and a better size of fish, we've also been scoring well along the mainland on half and three-quarter-day trips.
Between bouts with weather, we're bringing aboard the WaveWalker plenty of big feisty groundfish: vermilion, chucklehead, blues, johnny bass, cholocate bass, sugar bass, barber poles, starries, greenspotted, greenstriped, bocaccio and others. While the islands have been hosting a better bite and a better size of fish, we've also been scoring well along the mainland on half and three-quarter-day trips.
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Turtle Tale
I’ve a whale of a tale to tell you lads and lasses--well, make that a turtle tale (a rare thing hereabouts). I had a charter group quietly fishing, with the engines off, straight out from Coal Oil Point in nearly 200 feet of water when we espied a strange and wondrous sight: a large sea turtle swimming on the surface of the water, right towards us.
I’ve a whale of a tale to tell you lads and lasses--well, make that a turtle tale (a rare thing hereabouts). I had a charter group quietly fishing, with the engines off, straight out from Coal Oil Point in nearly 200 feet of water when we espied a strange and wondrous sight: a large sea turtle swimming on the surface of the water, right towards us.
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Summer is back!
Well, the fish think so, with 65 degree water off of Santa Barbara, Carpinteria and Ventura. Sand bass are massing over reefs in 80 to 140 feet of water and rising hungrily to feed on hapless meandering baitballs. The result is every rod aboard bent over double for about ten minutes. Then we cool our heels until the action begins again. Over the course of a few hours, limit-style fishing is possible.
Well, the fish think so, with 65 degree water off of Santa Barbara, Carpinteria and Ventura. Sand bass are massing over reefs in 80 to 140 feet of water and rising hungrily to feed on hapless meandering baitballs. The result is every rod aboard bent over double for about ten minutes. Then we cool our heels until the action begins again. Over the course of a few hours, limit-style fishing is possible.
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Blow... Calm... Blow... Calm... That's the story of the weather lately on the Santa Barbara Channel. But the calm periods have been stellar, allowing for long runs to Santa Rosa and San Miguel islands, or up to Point Conception for lingcod that require two hands to hold plus some very impressive reds and chucklehead.
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October is Halibut Month
October is proving to be halibut month. Good catches of the tasty flat fish are coming from inshore areas, generally in 40 to 60 foot depths. Great baitballs of anchovies and sardines plus hordes of small to medium mackerel are moving along the coast in this general depth range, attracting schools of halibut. When the water is clear, I've seen halibut loping along the bottom or swimming at mid-column right behind the baitballs, snatching stragglers as opportunities for easy meals present themselves.
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Strange Year
Fishing options range from epic reds and lings to wide-open calico bites around island boiler rocks to yellowtail behind the islands to tuna well offshore.
Fishing options range from epic reds and lings to wide-open calico bites around island boiler rocks to yellowtail behind the islands to tuna well offshore.
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You can't go wrong fishing the Santa Barbara Channel this week. The weather is mild and the fishing is wild. At Anacapa and Santa Cruz islands, the three B's (bass, bonito and barracuda) are hammering lures and baits. White seabass and yellowtail strike our baits when the mood strikes them. Halibut haunt the coves along the north shores of Santa Cruz and Santa Rosa islands. Huge rockfish and lingcod the size of your leg are available at San Miguel Island.
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Thresher shark action is widespread along the mainland; however Rock Island near La Conchita remains the most revered local hotspot, where jumpers are seen and hooked regularly.
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Stabilizing water temps, increased presence of forage food, spawning activity and the excitement of summer… all ingredients to a giant fish stew around the Channel Isles and Santa Barbara Channel.
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Successful white seabass anglers are adapting to seasonal changes. There is no doubt that the Channel Islands (especially Santa Cruz and Santa Rosa islands) are choked with big white seabass, but normal techniques aren’t accounting for many of the elusive grey ghosts.
Between sporadic squid spawns, schools of WSB are feeding on baitballs throughout the island kelp beds. Divers are spotting plenty of 40+ pounders. Anchoring up and baiting them isn’t working very often, as fish counts suggest. The successful trick is to
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Between sporadic squid spawns, schools of WSB are feeding on baitballs throughout the island kelp beds. Divers are spotting plenty of 40+ pounders. Anchoring up and baiting them isn’t working very often, as fish counts suggest. The successful trick is to
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