We took off this morning for Bodega Canyon, our six passengers and I expecting calm seas as forecast, but the wind and seas increased steadily as we got further offshore. Capt. Powers, on the New Sea Angler, was 8 miles ahead of us, reported 20 knots of NW wind and rough seas and I decided to turn around and run the 5 miles back in to run our string of crab traps before deciding whether or not to head out to the squid grounds.
We finished taking limits of nice dungeness crabs by 09:00 and Rick reported no relief from the rough weather and no squid for his efforts, so I decided to call it a day.
We were all disappointed, I really want to get out and rack up some good counts on the squid, and our passengers had arrived this morning from all over the eastbay and central valley with the same desire, but we all accepted our fate and went home with ice chests full of crabs as a consolation prize.
My thanks to Martin, Raul, Rich, Darel, Daniel and Kim for being great sports and great company. I hope you get a chance to try again.



These are the good ol' days
Vince

        

We took three passengers out crabbing Wednsday morning, Howard Rheinhard, his stepson Sam, and local regular, Jesse.
Sam asked a number of astute questions and so learned a bit about the radar and chartplotter as I navigated the harbor in dense morning fog. Once out near the traps we enjoyed sunshine and calm seas.
Howard & Sam pulled pulled the first pots while Jesse entertained me with an account of his steelheading on the Russian.
Sam ran the puller while Howard handled the lines and Jesse measured 6+ keepers per trap.
We'll be headed out to Bodega Canyon on Saturday and I'll reprort the results here.
We're available for squid/crab combos Fri thru Mon, and crab only during the week. Give us a call if you'd like like to come along at: (707) 875-FISH (3474).


 



These are the good ol' days
Vince

        

We ran two squid/crab combos over the weekend.
Friday we searched the NE an W edges of Cordell Banks, suspending our lumuinescent lures 10 to 100 feet off the bottom in 600 to 800 feet oif water on the steep slopes of Bodega Canyon to no avail.
After a long day with no bites we ran in to 30 fathoms, where we we pulled a few traps for limits of nice quality Dungeness crabs.
Saturday we headed out to find the swells crashing on the reef were too big and unprededictable, I could not see a safe passage over the bar and I turned around.
Our passengers all decided to try again the next day, and we found beautiful conditions Sunday morning, a big lazy swell that crashed dramatically on the reef but left a clear entrance/exit next to the bell buoy.
we dropped our lines on the inside edge of the Bodega Canyon and hooked one squid a few minutes later, but it got off just before color.
No more action after an hour or so and we ran out to the NW edge of the Banks, no action there except for some Pacific White-sided dolphins that swam by for a look.

 

After trying a few other spots we ended up back where we started for one last try and hooked five humboldt squid, landing only to of the 50 lb. beasts.

 







We ran in to pull limits off Dungies afterwards.

These arew the good ol' days
Vince

        

Sorry for posting so late.
Last Sunday, 1/31/10, Ed and I took Miss Anita out to try our luck with the Humbolt squid.
We invited our friend Chris Helfer and the three of us enjoyed the ride out to Cordell banks, stopping for ten minutes or so to follow a pod of whales and take a few photos.





The squidding was disappointing, though. We dropped in on some small marks in 700', on the NE corner of the banks and hooked into one right away, but after cranking up and boating the 30 pounder we could not get another bite. After several stops in 700 - 800' across the North end of  Cordell, we decided to run back in to our crab gear.







The crabs are biting very well and we took our limits of nice Dungenness, rebaiting the traps for next time.
We'll be running squid/crab combos this weekend, and I should have a better report then. The big calamari are still out there and I'm confident we'll get 'em next time.

These are the good ol' days
Vince

        

My crew for this morning's crabbing:
John Jacobs and Samantha Manee from Sunnyvale, Ca;
Tyler and Chuck Manee from Oreonta, NY



The bite has slowed down where we are (just south of the harbor in 190'), but these four eagerly took turns pulling and re-setting 12 traps for 21 tasty dungeness crab.







These are the good ol' days
Vince

        

We took two groups out crabbing today, in classic winter weather. As we left the harbor the air was cool and clear, an easterly breeze made a small chop on the surface and large, 12-15 ft swells broke on the reef. Confused seas near the entrance gave way to a smooth ride to the traps, just 2 miles out.
The Foley's are a pleasure to have aboard. They have crabbed with us many times and put their limits in the box in short order.
I didn't take theirpicture this trip, so I included one from '07:



Then we went back out for four more limits with John Pomez from Laguna Beach, William Long from Folsom, Mike Petroski fromCarmichael and Blake Lyman fromPortland, Oregon.



A couple more pics I wanted to post :
My son Aaron and Ed's son Edwin...



and our new deck furniture, beautifully crafted from aluminum by Ed's neighbor, Rick Brown.



These are the good ol' days
Vince

        

We took our first crab trip of the season today.
 


Jack Gleason from Yountville, Jerry Samla from Sacramento and Don Reynolds from Shalimar, Florida, along with Ed & me took limits of dungeness crabs from the traps we had set Saturday after running the boat home from Richmond on Friday.



The bite was a fair, 6 per trap average.









The Golden Gate behind us after we left KKMI.



These are the good ol' days
Vince

        

Ed and I are on our way down to Richmond to take Miss Anita for a test run. The repower took a great deal longer than expected, but Miss Anita performed beautifully today during sea trials . The expert staff at KKMI in Richmond have made a new boat of her.







Ed and I have been waiting a long time, and we're anxious to go fishing again.
We'll arrive back at the dock in Bodega Bay this Friday and head right back out to set crab gear. Our first pull is scheduled for the following Monday, the 21st. Only two passengers have signed up so far, but we hope to fill the boat and the traps by then.
Crabbing is reported to be good, limits of six per angler are anticipated.
The giant squid are thick offshore. Rick, on the New Sea Angler is consistently bringing boatloads of anglers back from Cordell Banks with all the calamari they can carry.
Fishing for these aggressive, prehistoric creatures is an amazing experience.
If you'd like to get out there for some great fishing or crabbing, or both, Give us a call at (707) 875-FISH.
We'll be scheduling trips Fridays through Mondays

        

Miss Anita's still at the boatyard (KKMI in Richmond) having new engines installed.
We hope to be back on the water by the end of the month, maybe in time for rockfish trip before the season ends.







These are the good ol' days
Vince

        

I'm writing on Tuesday about our albacore run last  Friday.

We had a great trip, 21 tuna to 25 lbs, but I had to shut down one engine on the way in.
We just delivered Miss Anita to the boatyard this morning, and won't be able to fish, until the engine is repaired.
We're hoping to be able to offer trips again by the middle of this month, I'll post here when we have a more definite date.

A few more pics from Friday:















These are the good ol' days
Vince