Well, I’ve been reading and enjoying BD for a while now and learning new techniques and areas to fish from the forums and posts. Thanks to everyone who share useful information to help others enjoy this great hobby of fishing. I mostly fish and hoop net using a kayak from Redondo Beach to the Malibu area and sometimes join my friend Rick on his Bayliner out of Dana Point. Rick asked Dave Hanson to join us for a day of fishing before Christmas to show us how to better target Rockfish. We’ve had some luck but have not been very consistent. We left Dana early headed toward the Farnsworth Bank. From the moment we left the slip, Dave was teaching us some fine points of Rick’s electronics and talking about things that we’ll be doing later in the morning. We stopped at several places along Catalina learning not only good future fishing areas, but what to look for and how to find good spots. When we got to our fishing area there was almost no wind and the sun was still low in the horizon, what a great day for fishing. The first thing we learned was how to tie one of the simplest two hook bottom rigs ever and what to look for on the fish finder and of course how to properly set up a drift to target these Reds we were after. Then when we started fishing, Wow, one fish after the other and most were nice quality reds. We used whole fresh dead squid that Dave had brought for the day and we only had one or two drifts that didn’t end with fish on the boat. We moved around a little learning what to look for and how to drift as the wind started picking up. Dave suggested that we move to the island to catch some Sheephead to go along whit the rockfish. After another lesson on how to target and catch Sheephead, it was Sheephead catching time. We ended up keeping thirteen nice ones and letting at least that many go. What a fun fish to catch in close to the kelp on light tackle. I will always remember Dave’s words “Don’t Stop Reeling”. Finally, after all this fish catching, we explored Cat Harbor and learned how to use Moorings before Dave filleted and bagged our fish and we started our journey home. The ride back to Dana was a long one due to the strong head wind and heavy seas, but we made it back safe and sound with a bunch of fish for the holidays, a ton of new information on how to find and catch fish, and a new friend that is willing to share knowledge, locations, stories, jokes and experience with others.

Thank’s to Rick and Dave for a great trip. Happy Holidays to everyone on Bloody Decks.

Attached Thumbnails

OK here is the deal.I know some of you are tired of seeing me post.But I had to this time.Last nite Long Beach Harbor with my good friend Karl Moon.Karl wanted to know where we keep getting the big bugs he keeps seeing on here.So I took him to the spot .After a hour we had three legals and a few shorts Then OMG here is another Monster 11.3lbs.Caught in the Promar Ambush net.End the nite with 9 legals and one nice one for the Xmas table.Thank You everyone That has made this The Best year I have ever Had

Attached Images

First off I have never fished with anyone so willing to not only tell you where to go but put you right on the spot over and over. If you want reds he know where. Sandys, Calico, Halibut, he is willing to show you exactly where you need to be. We should all be the same, it would only make our fishery more productive and save alot of fuel. Fished out of Dana Point my home base for the last day of santa ana winds, the water was calm 60 degree, my boat ran like crap at idle ( sorry Dave ) but we got it done. Thanks again for a great day on the water and a life time of knowledge.

Attached Thumbnails

Had the pleasure of fishing with Capt. Dave Hansen http://www.yoursaltwaterguide.com 1(949)374-0786, and his friend Max on Tuesday 11/22 out of Dana Point. We made a quick 3.5 hour trip out looking for some Halibut, Sargo and Sand Bass We started the day by stopping in a Dana Wharf Sportfishing to pick up some frozen Squid but we were lucky and got a little Fresh Dead stuff instead. Had a short chat with a number of the Capt’s including Brian Wooley, Capt of the “Sum Fun” out of www.danawharfsportfishing.com 1(949)496-5794. After that it was off to the fuel dock for some go-go juice, where we ran into Dan (outland). Nice to meet you. There plan was to run up the line and hit the Dana pipe fishing for Bass and Rockfish. Our plan was to run south to the Bouy line at San Onofre to fish the Halibut and then move back up to Clemente Reef for the Sargo and Sand Bass. As we left the Harbor the seas were flat but the wind was beginning to blow out of the NW. Not bad but as it turned out it would get worse as the day went along. We arrived at the Buoy line at about 10am and set up on the spot. Right off the bat conditions just were not right as there was almost no current. What current there was was running up and out, against the wind. Add to that a few larger swells were breaking over the Sand Bar. The water was little off color, green and the wind wasn’t helping things either. It was causing us to swing on and off the spot. I got 1 good bite here but for the most part the action here was no action. We pulling the hook and ran up the line to the Clemente Reef. Excellent marks on the meter here with Sand Bass showing on the bottom and lots of junk showing mid water on the meter. Once again, like down at the Domes, the current was super weak. Lot’s of pecking bites on the Squid strips from Blacksmith, but not much more for the first 15 mins. I broke the ice with a small, no, make that a tiny Red Vermillon Rockfish. WTF were only sitting in 45 feet of water and I catch a Red??? After that the Sand Bass started biting, along with a few Calico Bass and Johnny Bass. It was fun fishing. Nothing wide open but steady. The hot ticket was to fish the 8 to 10lb test with a 1/2oz slider and a whole Squid  The weather however was getting worse and the wind was picking up. There was plenty of “popcorn” on the water now. We got a hail from Dan saying he just scored a nice 30lb class Halibut up off the pipe. NICE one Dan!! We fished another 1/2 hour or so but it was getting sloppy and there still wasn’t any current so we called it a day at 12:30pm Our final count was 11 Sand Bass, 2 Calico Bass, 3 Johnny Bass (released), 1 Sheephead, and 1 small Vermillon Rockfish. Not to shabby considering the conditions. THANK YOU DAVE for the invite. You and Max had me laughing the whole trip. I had a great time and I hope to get the chance to share the rail with you again soon

Attached Thumbnails

Attached Images

Went out again last night with Captain Dave Hansen and a couple of friends (Tim and Jeff).  Wanted to check a few new spots as well as fish mid-week.  Was a beautiful night that started out like a lot of them have in the last few weeks – a little slow.  I don’t know if the sea lions recognized the boat or what, but they were on our tail and all over the gear for the first set, but then they disappeared – kinda weird?? The first pull resulted in one short and one legal and a couple of very nice crabs.  Made another set, had a bite to eat, some great conversation with good company…..”let’s go pull some nets!!” On the eighth hoop, of the second pull, I could not believe my eyes; our friend Tim had just pulled a monster on board.  He said he thought that at first, the sea lions had the hoop (wrong!), but as the hoop got closer to the surface that maybe there was a good sized ray in the net (wrong!!).  The correct answer turned out to be Panulirus interruptus  a GIANT California Spiny Lobster, weighing in at 17.3 lbs.  I say again, SEVENTEEN POUNDS, FIVE OUNCES!! Now I am pretty new to this hooping thing, but I knew (even without all the saucer eyes, jaw dropping, hollering and screaming) that I was looking at something pretty special..  Sure would have been a good night to bring a camera! And you think that on a boat this size, I woulda had a scale?  Nope – I had neither. In a classic (and quite literal) David vs Goliath battle, Capt. Hansen and another man had to wrestle the monster out of the hoop.  I don’t mind telling you that this was pretty terrifying to watch.  That bug was none too happy about being out of the water and the guys did well to come away with all their fingers. The massive beast was eventually weighed on a fish market scale.  The photos you’ll see were taken on a variety of poor quality cell phone cameras, but there are some decent pics of the leviathan, in the driveway, with various objects to give you some idea of scale. The colossal crustacean had a carapace that was every bit as large as a NCAA football.  The tail (including fins) was well over a foot long.  The legs were over 1” in diameter.  This was a large male and its anyone’s guess at how old he was. Getting down to specifics (yeah right!), the dinosaur was caught at night and in the water.  I will tell you, however, that for his last meal the prisoner chose salmon scraps.  Seriously though, if you want to go out there, have a blast, and possibly have the opportunity to see a ‘Lobster of a Lifetime”, do yourself a favor and call Capt. Dave Hansen (949.374.0786). What was the fate of the Jurassic roach?  Well I won’t say for sure, but you need to imagine a very peaceful end; something on the order of a nice Jacuzzi (220 deg. F+), or perhaps a sauna, an herbal rubdown, a sumptuous butter bath, and finally – a dinner invitation. To all those that would have chosen a different fate for this animal, please feel free NOT to share your notions of conservation with me or the others who celebrate this Hall of Fame delicacy of the deep.  No lectures via post or PM, please.  To my way of thinking, this animal fulfilled his destiny and can be proud of his life’s work.  He avoided predators for decades on end, helping make millions of baby cucarachas del mar, and was ultimately (albeit somewhat reluctantly) taken by those law abiding sportsmen (conservationists, really), who finance the research, regulation and policing of the very fishery he kept so healthy. I want to thank the guys, Dave Hansen, Tim and Jeff for a great time and a night I will never forget.  Let’s do it again, real soon!! (what are you doing tomorrow?) Be Well. PL

Attached Images

Tried to take advantage of the weather last Saturday to see if the bugs were on the crawl in Long Beach.  Got the wife, three of my kids and a couple of their friends (all six newbies) together on short notice and they were up for the adventure.  Also called Captain Dave Hansen (dave@yoursaltwaterguide.com) and he was good to go. Got everybody down to the boat and we were away by 4:30p.  Weather was poor, raining, pretty bumpy even in LB Harbor due to a good size lump out of the South. There were eight on board, but between the deck, bridge and galley work to be done, there were plenty of things for everyone to do.  We made our first sets at around 5:30p, got in out of the rain and had a nice chicken dinner, followed (between sets) by pumpkin pie and lava cakes from the oven. Dave (as usual) kept the conversation lively and had the kids enthralled with his stories and local knowledge.

It wasn’t wide-open fishing by any means, but we had a blast.We fished for more than 5 hours – everyone did a little pulling, a little stacking and a little culling.As is often the case, in addition to the lobster and crabs, there was some interesting by-catch that kept things very interesting for the kids.

For bait we used mackerel (previously caught) as well as salmon, tuna and wahoo scraps from my local fish purveyor.I can’t tell you what the lobster and crabs preferred more, but I can tell you that the sea lions liked it all.There were a couple of those federally protected fur felons that we could not shake all night.Move after move, set after set, they were always with us.8 out of 10 of my harness buoys had teeth marks in them – a couple were chewed up pretty good.

The weather mellowed out around 9:30p and it actually got pretty nice out there.In all, we ended up with a few leagal lobsters and at least a dozen nice crabs.One of my kids (first pic) declared it “the best night of fishing of his life!” (he’s 15), which was pretty cool because it let me know that he is beginning to understand that it is not about the harvest, but rather the experience. The kids all did a super job and while it was tempting to keep at it all night, there were various work and church obligations early the next morning so we called it shortly after 11p.  We were back at the dock around midnight and after some clean up of the gear and a bunch of pics we were headed home around 1a.  A late night to be sure, but as with almost all fishing trips, the time seemed to fly by. In Summary: Took the wife Took the kids Took the kid’s friends Took newbies Got Captain Dave Hansen Got a few legals Kept fishing despite the weather Kept fishing despite the slow pick kept fishing despite the sea lions = Had a GREAT time!! Now those things might not be everyone’s idea of a good night fishing, but I encourage you to try any or all of them – I know that I will (again). And do yourself a favor – whether your new to it, or you want to teach somebody new, you need new spots, or you just want to have a ball – call Dave Hansen…. he’s got lobster on the brain (see last pic). Be well. PL

Attached Thumbnails

Been looking forward to my first ever lobster trip for a loooong time. Being a virgin at the sport I thought it best to avoid the opening weekend madness that I have been witnessing for years. I have the rig, I bought the gear, I read “The Book”, but I knew I still didn’t have a clue on what I was really supposed to be doing out there, so I did what I recommend any of you in the same position should do….. I called Capt. Dave Hansen www.yoursaltwaterguide.com to get me dialed in. The weather on Wed. sucked. The water on Wed. sucked. The hooping on Wed. was nothing short of spectacular. Also aboard were my brother and a buddy(who have also never done this before) and Dave brought a deckhand (Max). We left the dock at 5p and had all 10 hoops baited and set by 5:45p. We were the first ones on the spot, but were joined shortly thereafter by another 4 boats. That was about as tight as you would would want this spot to be, maybe too tight as we would find out later. After the set, we drifted a while, chatted a bit, watched as everyone else dropped their gear on top of everyone else’s, and hoped that the rain and current would set the bugs on the move. At around 7p we moved in to begin my (our) first ever pull. Before I go on, I have to tell you that my expectations for the day weren’t high, I was mostly interested in learning the sport. I was just happy to be on the water, with an experienced guide, and with the relatively slow reports that I had been reading on this board, I would have been happy pulling and pitching shorts and hoped that maybe we could find one or two keepers. Dave drove the boat (and taught me few things there as well). Max got us organized and working well together on deck. We did the pulling and the lobster did the cooperating. While I won’t bore you with the blow by blow of each net pulled, I can tell you that my expectattions for the night were so far surped that I still cant believe it. We pulled our last hoop at 9:15p and the final count was 17 (SEVENTEEN!!) legals and 5 good crabs. In the mix was one that went 5-6 lbs, two at 4 lbs, 2 at 3 pounds, and the rest at 1 1/2 – 2 lbs. Threw back about seven or eight shorts and a handful of spider turds. Absolutely unbelievable!! (at least to me and the other two newbies) There were a were a couple of low spots on the night – the water conditions had my buddy feeling a little wonky, but he pulled through like a champ. There was a 46′ Bertram that kept charging through the gear. I lost one hoop. Talked to another guy out there who lost one too and had the lines cut on two others. I know I’m new, but we have got to respect each others space and the gear! I cannot thank Dave Hansen (and Max) enough for such a remarkable introduction to the sport. If you are new to this (like me) or haven’t been getting the results or experience you want out of hooping, I cannot strongly enough recommend that you call Dave Hansen for istance. Thanks again, Dave! PL

Attached Thumbnails

Once again Captain Dave Hansen http://www.yoursaltwaterguide.com exceeds expectations.  Took 5 of my best clients over to Catalina and scored 8 white seabass and more giant bass and sheeps head than we could count.  No one takes care of you and your clients better! THANK YOU DAVE

Attached Thumbnails

I was really looking forward to the run home. My son was coming for his first time every taking a boat home from Cabo. Checking the weather, we had a good window to bring the boat home. After a quick stop at the pelican rock Sean was doing back flips off the top of pelican rock for the tourists. It was now off to San Diego. We trolled all the way till dark with great expectation to know avail. For the afternoon of trolling we had one sierra to show for our efforts. The next morning we arrived at Margarita Island. There was some great yellowtail fishing on the yo-yo iron. Sean caught as many yellow tail as he wanted until his arms fell off. After leaving the island, the water was cold and dirty all the way to Turtle Bay. As we went across the ridge, the water was 65 to 68 degrees, green and millions of red crabs. The next night we arrived in Turtle Bay, fueled up at Annabelle’s, and spent the night on Annabelle mooring can. We woke up at 5:30 in the morning and ran to Cedros Island where we stopped and fished calicos for about an hour. Then it was off to Ensenada. We arrived the next day about 3:00. Let me tell you guys, from the west end of Cedros on a straight line to Ensenada, the water never got above 63 degrees and most of the time it was below 60. We arrived in Ensenada about 2:30 in the afternoon, got to the customs dock at 7 o’clock, and tied the boat to the dock about 8:30. Another successful delivery.

Attached Thumbnails