Here is this weeks KHTS fishing report and a report on my charter trip on “Stardust” – complete with pictures:
Freshwater Report:
1) Castaic Lake….The bass bite has been very good this past week; the early morning hours are producing the best results; try Fish Arm and Pete’s Point. For trout action, try Hawk’s Nest. Catfish are being slayed at Suicide Point. Panfish continue to bite in the big lake and the Lagoon.
2) Pyramid Lake….There’s still plenty of black bass biting in the shallows, along with a few largemouth and smallmouth bass. Try the deeper water by the Dam and also Spanish Point for trout. Still some small stripers to be had trolling the deep water over schools of bait. Catfish continue to bite in the Coves.
3) Lake Piru….There’s plenty of crappie to be had in the area of Reasoner Cove. In the shallow water there has been a very good bass bite with many limits reported. Also, bluegill and redear are biting pretty good.
4) Lake Cachuma….Post spawn largemouth bass are biting all over the lake. Decent trout fishing at Harveys or the Mohawk areas, mostly in the afternoon. If you want catfish, try the shallow Coves. Crappie continue to bite at Johnsons Bay and the Narrows.
Saltwater Report:
Landings from Long Beach to Marina Del Rey:
Limits and near limits of assorted rockfish from all the landings. A few more bass are starting to show with the warmer temps. On Sunday and Monday, the “Option” a 50 foot charter boat from Long Beach, caught quite a few nice white seabass for the lucky passengers on board! This boat/skipper has some “open party” trips coming up; contact Pierpoint Landing for details.
Oxnard/Ventura Landings:
The “Cobra” on Saturday nabbed a 42 pound “barndoor” halibut for one happy angler! In addition, limits of rockfish, six lingcod and a few sculpin were caught on the trip. The Cobra runs out of CISCO Sportfishing in Oxnard. The “Sea Jay” with 12 anglers was able to bring in two legal halibut , and 4 lingcod along with 72 rockfish. The 3/4 day and overnight boats are nabbing easy limits of rockfish with lots of big red snappers and quite a few lingcod.
………….well, until next week, this is Halibut Hal reporting for your Hometown Station, KHTS-1220AM.
Halibut Hal’s Charter On The “Stardust” – Compete With Pictures!
On Friday, May 4th, at 4:30AM I arrived with my fishing buddy, Ron, in Santa Barbara. The 65 foot “Stardust” left the dock at 5AM with us along with 26 other anxious fishermen.
Luke, our skipper, decided to head up the coast because there was sloppy conditions at Santa Rosa Island. After about a 3.5 hour boat ride along the coast and spotting one whale on the way, we began our drifts at St. Augustine. We fished in 150 to 180 feet of water over rocky areas. I immediately caught a five pound red snapper on my first drop! I was using a 2 hook dropper loop setup with a 12 ounce torpedo sinker on the bottom. I put a “gulp” bait on each hook and added a strip of squid for good measure! After catching three more reds, and a sanddab, I decided to try for even bigger fish….. like lingcod. Ron had brought an artificial squid on a wire leader with a treble hook protruding from its tentacles….I asked him if I could use it. Since I drove, he said “sure”; I put some fish scent on the squid, along with some squid strips and then attached it to my small dropper loop about 18 inches above my torpedo sinker and sent her down to the bottom. The deckhand saw what I was going to be using and didn’t think it would work. However, he is a believer now! I caught six big red snappers plus one short lingcod on that squid!
I believe I was the only angler that caught a full limit of ten red snappers on the trip; and that sanddab that I had caught eariler in the day was removed from my hook by the deckhand and placed in the bait tank in the stern.
Well, the jackpot was caught on my sanddab! A guy put that sanddab on for bait and brought up the jackpot winning cabezon of about eight pounds. It beat out the only legal lingcod on the boat.
The total catch for 28 anglers: 173 red snapper, 106 assorted rockfish, 3 ocean whitefish, 3 sculpin, 1 lingcod and 1 cabezon. Full limits for everyone on board…….
On the trip back to the landing, I ordered a “fish plate” from the galley and I got to tell you, it doesn’t get any fresher or better than that. It was several fillets of just caught rockfish grilled with onions, black pepper and other spicy seasonings along with freshly made tarter sauce with diced tomatoes and lettuce. Delicious and very filling! I very much enjoyed the trip and the effort made by the skipper and crew and galley cook. Also, a very nice, mellow bunch of fisherman made it a memorable experience. I recommend this boat very highly. Here’s a couple pictures of me and my snappers. Well, until my next fishing experience, this is Halibut Hal on dry land reporting for KHTS-1220AM, your Hometown Station.
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