Sizzling
Temperatures And Hot Fishing At The Flats !
Hi there guys,
Tuesday 08/21
Went on a 3/4-day moo-moo out of Pierpoint Landing. Fished the Victory. Mike was the skipper, Cliff was on deck, and Bob ran the galley. Fished the Huntington Beach ‘Flats’ for Barracuda and Bass. Had 26 anglers on board a vessel certified for 92!! Again ….. it looks like the average angler-numbers on weekdays is somewhat leveling ….. with the bite bouncing back and forth from wide-open to Slow and back again for Barracuda/Bass fishing this Summer. This is good for we regulars ……. as we can depend on getting out …. and yet it’s not so crowded as to be a challenge to fish effectively.
Note: Countdown: September 22nd will be the second FREE FISHING DAY this year for everyone in California. It would be a great day to get a non-angler out on the water while saving a little cash!
Target Fish: Barracuda and Bass Short Report- Tuesday 08/21
26 anglers caught 88 Barracuda 85 Sand Bass, 15 Calico Bass, 10 or so Bonito, a few Sculpin and a Sole …… can’t forget the Sole!! . A number of fishys were caught and released including ….. a Shovel-nose Guitar Fish AGAIN!! , a short Halibut…….. and …. One 3lb, infant California Giant Black Sea Bass. The usual pesky Mackerel were in full-force and one guy took a sack-full home.
Grade of fish for the Barracuda varied from Barelycuda to the 7lbs or so our jackpot contenders were going a good 7lbs. The grade of the Sandies …. one half of them weighing between 2~3lbs …. just good size for eating. Bait was both pinheads and larger 2 ½~3 inch Anchovies with a few Sardines in the mix.
The AM Slow bite on the bass overall in the morning. The weather heated up quick!! It seemed like there was little of a much-needed current for the Bass. Numerous shorts but …… that’s action in my book and helped me dial in on where the fish were holding thus we moved around a bit. Where ???…. On the very, very bottom of the Ocean …. barely inches away the from sand w/some vegies or rock!! Dink fish and short biters ……… grrrrrrr often one and the same ……. were everywhere!
Happily …. the Barracuda bite was the hot ticket and kept us pretty busy and there were times when there were double and triple hookups. Yes …. Barracuda were absolutely right on the bottom too! Short-biters drove us crazy! Why ….. for plastics …. when you get short bit .. it ain’t pretty!!
The PM Although the Barracuda catching slowly diminished later in the day, it seems like the Calico and Sand Bass bite was developing nicely due to not only it being a different part of the day (warming and a nice little ripple on the water) with accompanying weather but also the fact that we had moved into areas with a now stronger current and Bass territory structure!!
(Please widen your view to fit monitor if word-wrap looks off) 08/21 Jackpot Last Call …………….Winner! 
Nice Cuda
Way to go on catching the jackpot fish Michelle! A Barracuda was the winner today. The near 8-lb fish was caught on bait I’m guessing on a dropper loop. Had a number of serious contenders! Although this was not a club trip, one of our club members have won jp 3 out of 4 weeks out on the boat …….. beating out the even the JP sharks! Ha ha ha
Long Report Going by Grissom! 
Loadin’ Bait Skipper’s Choice ..................In the Tank! 
Good Bait
We goit some nice 3-inch, exceptionally flippy Anchovies in good condition along with some greenies (although smaller), and not a few Sardines! Decent chum, hook-bait …….. and even the fly-liners were going to be in business!
Glorious Morning 
The Days Fishing Down, Out and Back …………………………………. Current! 
Grazing in the Pasture Moo-moos This Trip Tradition ……………………………...Southern Cal .......…………..Enterprise 
PBer’s This Trip Nice …………………………………Tin Boat are Cool …………..........Buddies? 
Round-Up 3 Rounds 1st Stop 
Round 1 Most fished the dropper-loop and 3~4oz torpedo and pinhead Anchovies. Same-O, Same-O every week. Water depth was shallow from 70~100 feet I’d guess deep in both soft, sandy or mud bottom and bottom areas. Truth is …. One spot I’d swear we were in around 50 feet when fishing specifically on a cuda stop.
Fished with the fleet more or less north and outside of the rigs. Some threw iron for the gar with success (blue and white or scrambled egg). Plastics did very well …. as the always do on the slime-sticks!! (see plastics section)
2nd Stop 
Round 2 Everybody just fished on!! By this time we had moved further down past the rigs picking up a few fish at each stop …… then moving on when the bite didn’t develop after a reasonable time or the dogs chased us away.
3rd Stop 
Round 3 Again ….. everybody pretty much fished the way they had all day!! By now … we had moved back up and were now on the inside of the rigs (pic is a file photo)and the bite had improved on the Bass big-time and a still caught a few Barracuda. Ended the day with lots of fish.
Conditions: Warm and sunny with an afternoon breeze finally! Water visibility at maybe 10~12 feet most places. Air temp stayed between 70º~75º during the fishing day .. felt hotter with the blazing sun. Please check out the graphics for additional weather and water conditions.
Gallery Beauties of the Day Fish & Anglers Nice Bass ……………....Barracuda ………….Garrrrrrrr …………………......Jim and Daughter 
Nice Pair ……………….More Cuda …………….Girl & Gar! 
Other Full Bags …………………...Plastics Fish 
Let Them Know
The photos above are just a sample of the fish and things of interest, at least to me, on this trip.
Note: If you see a friend in the pictures, let them know they can copy the photo off the report. Directions: Click the right button with the ‘cursor’ on the picture, then click on ‘save picture as’, next choose where they wish to copy the picture, and lastly click ‘save’. Later, they can edit and print the picture at their leisure with a simple photo-editing program.
Plastics Tweek #41
Gotta try out the next one before I put lay it out on readers.
Plastics My Plastics …………………...My Cuda ………………... My Bass! 
Buddies Plastics! 
Good Practice
Pretty much knowing the routine the last few weeks on the ‘Flats’, my buddy and I were pretty much dialed in on what would fool our finny friends …. plastic-wise!! I’d say consistency is the key word in the catching department as when the bite was slow or way ……. slow on bait … we just pretty much kept on getting hits, short-bit, and catching. I know the skippers like to FEEL it’s best that their anglers are using the go-to bait ….. for them …….. that’s live bait. (
See aside)
Weather Stats Lunar ………………………………………Wind Direction and Speed! 
Tides……………………………………………………………Water Temps! 
UV Alert! 
Tuesday’s Conditions Fishing Grounds: Conditions were pretty hot …… except I didn’t even get to enjoy the morning cool before it got really hot! Stats don’t say everything.
Wild Creatures: Saw many Sealions …… 2~3 at a time. Saw a few Cormorants, Pelicans, and Terns. Seagulls were around especially when it was time to clean fish.
Asides An Aside: DFG Topics 
Tsurikichi©2007
DFG Marine Electronic Newsletter
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Another Aside: Moo-moos Mooooooo! 
San Pedro Landing 
Moo-moo Load Averages
Guys are often asking me what days are lighter during the week. I’m in the process of making a chart to reference the weekly load % averages for our sportfishing landings’ ½-day (am/pm), ¾-day, and twilight boat runs.
Charts will not have the name of the landing shown but simply indicate which of the 3 areas main geographical areas locally were chosen for the survey. (SMB/L.B.-S.P./South Coast)
I’ll first choose one landing from each area for the first 3 weeks then rotate the areas ….eventually having done all the landings. I figure this will be a good representation of the Summer season.
Next Aside:
Plastics and the Moo-Moos- I am an out-of-the-closet, confessed plastics-aaddict, who has no intention of going to any rehab program and will resist all manner of ‘on-board interventions’ contrived by my buddies or the meanest skipper in the fleet!
I have been on enough boats ….. long enough ….. to understand that most ultra old-school and a huge majority of local moo-moo skippers favor patrons use the bait provided on the local ½ and ¾-day boats. Period! That bait is by in large finbait … specifically Anchovies and Sardines. On a day-to-day basis this is surely the way it is ……. if only because of the wide divergence in experience of the patrons that the skippers wish and make great efforts to satisfy ….. and have return!
I remember being scorned when using my bass flippin’ and jiggin’ gear on local moo-moos 19~20 years ago and later tossing the old ‘Finger-jigs’ and such. For skippers who told me they didn’t like the tinker-toys on his boat ……when hooked up, I’d yell out ‘On the Finger-jig’ or ‘Another Plastics Fish’ just to PO them off!! Things being what they are …. times change and now plastics have their place right along with iron …… but still.
Having said that ….. I still somehow get the feeling that a majority of skippers often resist acceptance of the effectiveness of plastics. My reasons for thinking this are:
1) The skippers believe in and have taken the effort, expense, and maybe even used a favor to get primo ‘hook’ bait. I understand and appreciate this effort.
2) The skippers want to instill ‘in the general populace’ of patrons that what they are offering on the boat is the best to be had for the fishing. Only reasonable.
3) Rental gear and starter terminal tackle packs are generally set up for use with bait-fishing in mind. Although …. At least spinning gear is now widely available and makes it possible to fish iron and plastics …. for beginners. Unfortunate …… It would be nice, and ought to be a priority, to turn more of our beloved ‘Rent-rodders’ into tackle buyin’, moo-moo ridin’ anglers!!
4) Skippers make a lot of effort to set their boats on ‘spots’ in a way that straight-down bait-fishing will be optimal. This gets interesting when a boat goes off their ‘spot’ but the plastics guys are still getting bit and the bite has turned to near zero for others!!!!
5) As most (but boats are changing steadly) don’t have plastics/leadheads for sale on their boats, I believe they would prefer not to have patrons feel they didn’t have access to the go-to bait. Especially when the persons are new to fishing and the plastics guys are consistently getting bit!
Of note …… more and more anglers have made a few plastics/leadheads part of their tackle-box contents and break them out when they see a pattern developing.
Of greater note …… more and more skippers are accepting plastics as a legit, in the proper circumstances, fishing tool and methodology.
Last Aside:
Beware of small …. er …. tiny swivels. I had an unfortunate occurrence where a very thin wire swivel cut through a line that it was rated far above. I had a 30lb-rated very, very small, and accordingly thin-wired swivel cut through the double wraps (double cinch knot) of my tough Izorline, XXX 15lb-test line. This line is extra tough too.
The problem may have been one of two things:
1) The ratio of the diameter of the wire of the loop of the swivel was too small in relation to the diameter of the line.
2) I didn’t cut out a frayed spot on the main line before tying on my plastic set-up (plastic, leadhad, split ring, fluorocarbon leader, and swivel). Sometimes I cheat a little and pull an extra length of mainline thru the area to be knotted and then ….. if not done right the weakened section of the knot ends up ‘inside the knot or the double wraps!!
Lost a yellow on this one!!
The Boat The Victory 
Stern Numbers ...................................Colors! 
The Crew
Skipper- Mike …………………………Deck- Cliff …………… Galley- Bob
End of A Great Day
Had a fun and productive day at the ‘Flats’ and caught more than my share of fish ………. on plastic. A good number of regulars, familiar faces, and new friends made up a GREAT GROUP!!! Tuesday regulars are cool guys too! Weird ….. 3~4 Rons on the boat!
tsurikichi 
Linear Mode
