|
Please use the "view as webpage" feature at the very top of this page. It makes reading easier.
August 1, 2023
Fishing Update
In June our groups on the 7-Day Royal Star and 5-Day Intrepid charters had the best night time BFT jigging we have ever experienced. It was the real deal where ever jig dropped for hours was inhaled by tuna 60 - 170lbs. NON STOP!!!! Every jig - every drop. The fish were being metered at 20 - 50 fathoms but some fish were zooming up and grabbing the jigs at 60ft. Watch your fingers! Yeah, it was crazy good.
But the weather was more like Spring than summer so we had to dress for cold winds and walk the rocking decks with care. I'm definitely ready for the balmy days of summer and long adventures down the rugged and pristine Baja Coast.
Intrepid Trip Report
OMG, life on an ultra limited load trip in early summer on the Intrepid is heavenly. Think of 15 anglers on the 117' luxury liner, an 8 man crew and 5-Star cuisine. Everybody who wants a single, private stateroom gets one. Imagine the tackle rack space, imagine the rail space; imagine the additional service with one crew member for every 2 anglers. Pretty cush; down right decadent. Definitely a giant splurge that most us think is ridiculous but there is enough of a market to have an ever ready standby list.
We were granted an upgraded meals budget and Chef's Kyle and Ray hit grand slam after grand slam with mind defying cuisine. Be sure to look at the photo link below just to see the food. But its a damn fishing trip so tell me about the fishing!
After a leisurely voyage down the beautiful Baja coast and a huge raffle to benefit Veterans Fishing Programs we arrived at our first fishing spot. Ravenous yellowtail greeted us with reckless abandon. Quality yellowtail on nearly every bait or jig toss and a decent number of quality school yellowfin tuna were regularly surprising us. We were quickly satisfied with our yellowtail numbers so Captain Sam pointed the big boat to a more southerly bank along the Ridge promising us with a morning wake up call of great tuna fishing. Promises made, promises kept. It was frenzy fishing for quality school sized tuna 15 - 30lbs until arms and backs were sore and quotas filled.
I grabbed a few fellow anglers to be deckhands, most everybody contributed money for a crew fishing contest and all hell broke loose. Deckhands showed us their stuff and entertained us and themselves with skill, mischief and hilarity. I'm surprised nobody went overboard, but a lot of fish and jigs were lost due to playful sabotage and merciless cheating.
Done with yellowtail and tuna Captain Sam pulled anchor and we headed to the Alijos Rocks with a 10am ETA. It took us a while to locate the wahoo but once we found them it was steady wahoo fishing with frequent jig strikes and mostly hook ups on bait. Of course the hideous Galapagos Brown Sharks were quick to appear and the tax rate was quite high. Congrats again to Team Todd and Pennie for another wahoo bait fishing clinic and helping to raise our wahoo count. You guys are awesome.
Overall, I score this trip a perfect 10 out of 10 in every category. Great weather, great fishing, great crew, great cuisine and great company. Looking forward to next year.
Pictures are worth a thousand words so please click on the Dropbox link below for the rest of the photos from our trip. And be sure to take a look at the food. Try not to drool!!!
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/uf82jxt24ohb37j20d65c/h?rlkey=h3q6ig5jm8jzv610yce8edls7&dl=0
Summer is Here
Summer is finally here. Long pants, fleece and storm jackets have given way to shorts, t-shirts and sandals.
Now our summer trips will include some nice leisurely travel days to exotic destinations for exotic species in warm waters and balmy breezes and long un-interrupted nightly sleeps. I'm ready to enjoy coastal yellowtail along the Ridge; visit The Rocks, maybe tackle giant yellowfin tuna at the Lower Banks, and still have an opportunity to end some trips targeting big BFT closer to home. With plenty of leisure time I'll even look forward to an "All Nighter" yellowtail bite during these summer trips because I know Ill get plenty of sleep the following days. I love our early season 3-day trips for BFT, but the 24/7 rigor of fishing day and night and battling big BFT puts serious wear and tear on your body, especially old bodies like mine and many of my old man fishing buddies. I'm really glad summer is finally here.
By the way, fishing right now looks really good. If you can hop on a cancelation, do it. Here are links to the Fish Reports for the boats we charter to see for yourself.
Fish Reports from Larry’s Boats:
http://www.royalstarsportfishing.com/reports.php
http://www.fishintrepid.com/fish.html
http://www.redrooster3.com/reports.htm
And good luck to you on all your fishing trips too.
2023 Fishing Schedule
Here is my 2023 fishing charter schedule.. We have an amazing schedule and amazing groups of regular anglers. All of my charters for 2023 are SOLD OUT, but we ALWAYS seem to get cancelations through the year. So if you see a trip is full call the office anyway and get on the Standby list. I also want to see some of my buddies who have been AWOL for a year or so. So, be the first to jump on a cancelation and let's go fishing. Click here for the link to my 2023 Charter Schedule.
Cancellations and Opportunities
None to report at this time
But I have open spots on some of my 2024 charters so call the boats right away and snag one of these if it fits your schedule and desires. Look at my 2023 schedule because the 2024 is almost identical.
The Game Changer also just had a cancelation for their 2.5 or 3.5 day trip departing August 14. Call them for this rare opportunity to book the entire charter for your friends or family or see if you can grab a spot for yourself. Vicky's number is 619/554-8700. The best 6-Pack boat in San Diego. They are catching big BFT right now.
Wahooooooooo!!!!!
Wahoo season is here or almost here. This is the 4th installment of Wahoo fishing tips to prepare you for the late summer and Fall Wahoo season. Use the next 2 months to up your wahoo game. Each month this section will include tidbits, secrets, gear suggestions and helpful articles to improve your wahoo skills. This month includes an article I wrote several ears ago. It is still chocked with helpful hints but it does not have the technology improvements and new products like the Nomad DTX for trolling. Click on the red link and enjoy: Wahoo
Helpful Hints:
Wind, wind, wind
Tight drags
Crazy sharp hooks
Don't pump
The fish are close - no long soaks
Forward pressure on reel handle, always
No slack
Don't get discouraged. Really good wahoo anglers land 1 in 4 wahoo hitting their jigs and bombs, so don't get frustrated by back-to-back or multiple losses. Losing wahoo is part of the game. Don't melt down if you lose 4 in a row. You will land the next one. Keep at it and keep positive. And study up now to be sure your skills are sharp for the wahoo season. Try using bait, as a specific strategy or to rest when exhausted by throwing jigs and bombs. Wahoo love bait too.
Where do babies come from?
There are reports that very tiny bluefin tuna are being seen and caught along the Ridge in Baja California and the California Bight. Some captains are claiming releasing BFT as small as 3 - 4 lbs.
I have previously shared scientific papers stating Pacific BFT spawn only in the warmer waters in the Western Pacific regions of Japan and the South China Sea. Could the global oceans be changing to support spawning on our side of the ocean. This would be a dream come true. But maybe the optimism in all anglers just wishes this impossibly to be true.
Captain Sam Moore on the Intrepid sent me a photo of a baby BFT caught by one of the code group boats. It's hard to tell if it is 4lbs or 8lbs and if it would have been possible for such a small specimen to make the 40 day, 7,000 mile migration. Could it have been born locally, or even mid Pacific? Damn it, don't tease me.
I forwarded the photo to NOAA biologist Owyn Snodgrass, expert BFT science guy. You can see it among the photos in the left margin. If we can get Owyn a specimen of a 3 - 4lb BFT he can run analytics to determine birth place and solve the question, once again. Owyn just said he received a 7lb BFT from the RP, but we have seen these "known migrants' in the past.
Here is an interesting article on the subject. Let's hope they're all wrong. Haha.
Recent and historical data show no evidence of Pacific bluefin tuna reproduction in the southern California Current system | PLOS ONE
All of the following articles draw similar conclusions. The spawning grounds for the Pacific BFT are in the warmer waters of the western Pacific. Could all this science be wrong? If you love this fish these are all interesting reads.
This next article suggests a larger volume of Pacific BFT make the migratory move to the Eastern Pacific off of California and Baja than previously thought.
East not least for Pacific bluefin tuna | Science
The question of where these baby tuna are being spawned could be answered by testing for mercury and other heavy metals present in the South China Sea but not in our pristine waters. Six months ago (February, 2023) I included the following Mercury section in this newsletter. Reread it. If we tested these baby BFT and they had high mercury levels we'd have to conclude they started life off of Japan and China, but if they were clean it may suggest there is a mid or Eastern Pacific spawning grounds. Let us pray!
Mercury Levels in BFT
I always understood larger tuna had more mercury due to the bioaccumulation in larger fish with greater longevity ingesting more smaller fish containing mercury. This myth was recently shattered by new studies which show the mercury levels for different species of BFT based on where they were caught and how large (old) they are. Because of all of the hundreds of coal- fired power plants in China the smaller younger BFT caught in the Eastern Pacific (ie California and Baja) have a higher mercury toxicity than the older larger fish who have resided along our cleaner shores for a while. Older, larger BFT and the BFT raised in the Mexican pens are cleaner than the newly arriving babies.
Here are two recent studies which track the global migrations of tuna:
Global Ocean Patterns of Mercury Pollution Revealed by Bluefin Tuna (scitechdaily.com)
https://www.usgs.gov/publications/mercury-pacific-bluefin-tuna-thunnus-orientalisbioaccumulation-and-trans-pacific-ocean
This second link discusses mercury (Hg) in smaller newly arriving Pacific BFT vs larger, older bft and even pen raised tuna. And yes, it seems the smaller PBFT have higher levels of Hg due to their polluted diet in the South China Sea for their first year of life. Thanks China for your hundreds of coal fired power plants.
Somebody Stole My Fish!!!!!
As a charter master I hear this statement several times every year and so far this season twice. It makes me cringe. More typically I hear, "the boat stole some of my fish!" or "the fish processors stole some of my fish!" Stop it. You know who you are. I've even taken the time to work through the math with a couple of you. The yield on processed fish is not 50%, most of the times it's not even 40%. Sometimes on some fish it's as little as 15%; eg, a small dorado or yellowtail.
So after a great trip to the Ridge you bring home limits of yellowtail and yellowfin tuna. Say that's 15 yellowtail averaging 15 pounds and 15 YFT averaging 15 pounds and 2 wahoo at about 25 lbs each. Oooops, did you note that you were 2 fish over limit!!!!! 500lbs of whole fish. The processors charge a fee on the whole fish they process for you. They also list the yields on their website that they suffer the delusion we all read and remember.
Five Star Yields
Yellowtail less than 15# 18-25% Yellowtail 15-45# 23-33% Yellowtail greater than 45# 25-35%
Tuna less than 15# 20-30%
Tuna 15-45# 25-35%
Tuna greater than 45# 30-40%
Wahoo less than 15# 20-30% Wahoo 15-45# 25-35%
Wahoo greater than 45# 30-40%
I've had some guys call me insisting somebody stole their fish or cheated them out of fish. They assumed a 40% yield. On 500 lbs of fish they expected at least 200 pounds.
They weighed their scant amount of fish on their home scale an it weighed in at only 125 lbs, which is right in line with the published and industry generated yields. Mystery solved. Use the correct yields for your fish.
So, information is power. Know the expected yields and act accordingly. Also note smaller fish in EVERY SPECIES generates a lower net yield, so gently release the small ones and keep the big ones. This will increase your net yield and lower your processing cost on a net take home basis, which is the only real way to look at it.
Another issue is that it is nearly impossible to keep count. Most boats now help you by keeping a tally for each fish to help assure you don't get into trouble and go over limit. It is nearly impossible for anglers to keep an accurate tally of the fish especially when the fishing is fast and furious. So you may think you caught 12 yt and 10 yft but it may have been a couple more or a couple less. I'm the worst when trying to keep an active tally of my fish. Deckhands don't steal fish. Either you slightly miscounted or they made a honest mistake in tagging one or two for the whole boat incorrectly. You may have been the lucky or unlucky guy. But, you had a blast and i suggest respectfully, the issue should not be that somebody caught 10, 12 or 15 yellowtail. It was a great trip and that's a lot of fish.
Enjoy all of your trips and all of the beautiful fish you have processed.
GEAR, GEAR, GEAR
Josh Gerson still has a ton of like new fishing gear he is selling on behalf of the LARRC Foundation or his own account. Call him at 310/845-6669 or email him at [email protected] and ask for his list.
Kid's Fishing Corner
My dear friend, Darrin Carter, took his daughter, Chelsea, on a 3-Day Royal Star BFT trip. She shared her story. I highly suggest you read Chelseas' trip report and share it with your kids and grand kids. We need to see more kids fishing. Let's all make this one of our missions. Maybe this should be a regular feature for this newsletter. Send your kids fishing story to me and maybe we'll share it for all to enjoy and motivate more dads and granddads to take their kids fishing. Click on the red link below for Chelsea's story:
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/rebe8vrmwj3hzwk0gbebj/Chelsea-Carters-Fish-Report.pdf?rlkey=j6hh69pjfr9ekzbc820ksk1o3&dl=0
Schools of Fish(es)
Did you know this? A gathering of generic fish is called a school or shoal. Everybody knows that. But a school of.........
barracudas is a battery.
sharks is a shiver
trout is a hover
Send me the names of other fish groupings and get special recognition here. A covy of cod is not one of them!
Tingleys Now Available
Several of you have asked why I'm promoting Tingley Brand boots. Tingley has asked me the same exact question. Here is the answer. I have very long term relationships with our sportfishing captains and deckhands. They are like family. I was so sick and tired of hearing them complain that their Xtratuf boots, which have been now made in China for the last several years, were lasting only a couple months, and sometimes started leaking in a couple of weeks. These guys deserve better. We all do. I felt I needed to personally do something.
Calls to Xtratuf were unanswered. Xtratuf had 90+% of the market share and knew their core customers had no real alternatives to buy better quality boots. Plus they were selling twice as many pairs as they were lasting half the time. I had previously spoken to Xtratuf executives about their quality control issues in China and they assured me they knew about the problems and were 100% committed to assure quality production. Well, they didn't.
Several captains and deckhands reported excellent results with Tingley Boots, but they were not widely available on the west coast. Tingley was extremely hesitant about developing a west coast business. It's hard to fight the giant.
But hats off to Tingley. They visited San Diego and met with several captains and deckhands and heard first hand the dissatisfaction with Xtratufs and the desire to have a better boot. Tingley rapidly engaged Katie Schmidt in the Intrepid office to act as their San Diego outlet for industry professionals and sports anglers.
With only word of mouth advertising the Tingleys are flying off the shelf. It is critical to get a boot that fits well and try it on in advance. You can buy Tingley's online, but Katie has boots you can try on and buy on the spot. And she has all the most common sizes.
So trust me - my motivation was pure. Get Xtratuf to build a better boot or encourage a better boot company to open up shop on the westcoast. Xtratuf didn't listen. Tingley did.
I receive zero compensation of any kind from Tingley. I even bought my first Tingleys online and paid full price. They did gift me a 2nd pair. One day I plan to have a conversation about them sponsoring my trips (as Xtratuf used to do) to benefit Veterans Fishing Programs, but until then my satisfaction that our beloved captains and deckhands have access to a decent boot has been satisfied.
Thanks Tingley and Katie for the great boots and your service. Anybody interested in Tingley Pylon fishing boots can call-text Katie at 619/218-6130 or email her at [email protected].
BTW, re-look at the photos from our Intrepid trip and see how many deckhands are wearing the new Tingley boots.
AFTCO & The Shedd Family
I have 20 very generous sponsors but AFTCO and the Shedd Family walk the talk of Marine Conservation above all others. CCA is honoring The Shedd Family for their contributions to the industry and for their work in preserving ocean habitats and access for our fishes and our anglers. CCA granted me permission to include this tribute to 3 generations of the Shedd family and AFTCO. Please click on this story link, read what one family can do, and be inspired to contribute to your your environment. Then go to the AFTCO website and go on a wild shopping spree. Support your sponsors who support you. Click here "BILL SHEDD ARTICLE" now, please:
Or Here: BILL SHEDD ARTICLE
Speaking of conservation matters, read on....
Conservation Matters
The following items are gathered and contributed by angler and conservationist Theresa Labriola, Pacific Program Director
Wild Oceans.
Two-thirds of 64 California Current stocks vulnerable to climate change, NOAA finds - Recent research from NOAA found 67 percent of 64 federally managed species in the California Current large marine ecosystem, extending from the U.S.-Canadian border to the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula in Mexico, to be at least moderately vulnerable to climate change, with 23 percent considered highly or very highly vulnerable.
https://www.seafoodsource.com/news/premium/environment-sustainability/two-thirds-of-64-california-current-stocks-vulnerable-to-climate-change-noaa-finds?link_id=14&can_id=361976ba11249d20fd074887a2b72ad8&source=email-mfcn-weekly-update-may-26-2023&email_referrer=email_1941113&email_subject=mfcn-weekly-update-june-2-2023
With ‘slim chance’ to change Magnuson-Stevens Act, Peltola favors ‘workaround’ - Alaska’s subsistence fishing advocates want to change the nation’s primary fishing law to crack down on the accidental catch of salmon by the Bering Sea trawl fleet. Changing the law is looking increasingly unlikely, but there might be another way. Congresswoman Mary Peltola focused on revising the Magnuson-Stevens Act since the start of her campaign. But she said it’s not in the cards now. Rather than change the law, the new strategy is to change a set of guidelines for the law that’s already on the books. Magnuson-Stevens is a complex law. It includes 10 national standards, akin to fundamental management commandments. They say things like fish allocations must be “fair and equitable,” and bycatch must be minimized “to the extent practicable.” The guidelines refine those standards. The National Marine Fisheries Service announced it’s begun revising three of the guidelines, dealing with fairness, community dependence on fish and minimizing bycatch. Peltola sees an opportunity. She calls it a “workaround.” “If the only change we can make in the 118th (current) Congress is to take another look at these national standards, we’ve got to do it. And we’ve got to do it now,” Peltola said. https://alaskapublic.org/2023/05/23/with-slim-chance-to-change-magnuson-stevens-act-peltola-favors-workaround/?link_id=13&can_id=361976ba11249d20fd074887a2b72ad8&source=email-mfcn-weekly-update-may-19-2023&email_referrer=email_1932626&email_subject=mfcn-weekly-update-may-26-2023
Cleaning up ocean ‘garbage patches’ could destroy delicate ecosystems - Removing trash from the ocean may not be as harmless as it seems. That’s the conclusion of new research, which finds that marine dumps known as “garbage patches” are home to countless delicate creatures that could perish when people scoop debris from the sea. A research crew recently collected samples of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. The samples revealed high concentrations of three species that hover at the ocean’s surface. The presence of these creatures implies a complex ecosystem in which they serve as food for predators like sea turtles and seabirds. https://www.science.org/content/article/cleaning-ocean-garbage-patches-could-destroy-delicate-ecosystems?link_id=20&can_id=361976ba11249d20fd074887a2b72ad8&source=email-mfcn-weekly-update-may-19-2023&email_referrer=email_1932626&email_subject=mfcn-weekly-update-may-26-2023
The ocean is hotter than ever: what happens next? - The global ocean hit a new record temperature of 21.1 ºC in early April, 0.1 ºC higher than the last record in March 2016. Although striking, the figure is in line with the ocean warming anticipated from climate change. What is remarkable is its occurrence ahead of — rather than during — the El Niño climate event that is expected to bring warmer, wetter weather to the eastern Pacific region later this year. That means warmer-than-average ocean temperatures are likely to persist or even intensify, bringing with them more-extreme weather and marine heatwaves, which spell problems for marine life from corals to whales. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-01573-1?link_id=27&can_id=361976ba11249d20fd074887a2b72ad8&source=email-mfcn-weekly-update-may-12-2023&email_referrer=email_1924083&email_subject=mfcn-weekly-update-may-19-2023
Note to My Sponsors
Last year we just achieved our major $500,000 milestone of fund raising for our kids and veterans fishing programs we support. Thank you one and all for your generosity and support. Together we have made a huge difference for kids fishing and fishing programs for disabled veterans. Supply chain problems, cost increases, increases in demand have made supporting my sponsorship programs even more challenging. I recognize the burden and am honored and amazed how all of you have seen the value in continuing and prioritizing your support. You are awesome.
Thanks to your support we have collected and distributed 100% of the $500,000 in raffle and grant money we have collected for kids and veterans fishing programs. Let's keep going.
Note to Potential Sponsors
If you are reading this newsletter and are a potential sponsor or know of a potential sponsor please act today. Give me a call or email and let's get you set up. I'll promote your products and you will be helping support Veterans Fishing Trips.
Note to My Fellow Anglers
The best way to thank our sponsors is to BUY THEIR PRODUCTS, and fortunately for us they have some of the best products on the market. Make sure you are all ready for this coming fishing season. Rods, reels, hooks, line, fresh fluorocarbon, fishing apparel, jigs, etc. Go shopping and fill in your empty spaces.
So you can buy $10,000 of fishing gear or do this.......
https://youtube.com/shorts/z48llN3RYCY?feature=share
I suggest go shopping.
Thanks to our generous sponsors
AA Worms/Optimum Baits
AFTCO
Avet Reels
Body Glove & Redondo Dive N' Surf
Big Hammer/ Sunrize Swimbaits
BJ's Restaurants
Booyaa
Daiwa Accessories
Fishermans Landing Tackle Shop
Fishermans Processing
Five Star Processing
Izorline
J-Braid
JRI Custom Lures
Knot-2-Kinky Nickel Titanium Wire
Nomad Lures
Phenix Rods & Braid
Rude Dog Wahoo Bombs
Seaguar Fluorocarbon and Braid
Steve Abel Quality Gear
The Wine House
Western Outdoor News
PS... Please forward this email to your fishing buddies and suggest they click on the following red link to sign up for Larry's Newsletter There is an easy UNSUBSCRIBE button at the end of this email if you want to stop receiving it.
Enjoy the tabs below to photos from past trips and to links to articles and other important stuff.
Please click HERE or on my Facebook icon below and let's connect as fishing friends.
Best Regards and Happy Fishing,
Larry
| 
