Tom Mattusch

Huli Cat went out to the 80 to 120 fathom area southwest 20 to 25 miles from the harbor. The plan was to work the area to find good marks we suspected were chilipepper rockfish. The plan worked. We caught a healthy number of Chilipeppers. Females are most desired (no surprise there). Other gravid species were retained as well. A few stripetail, a couple greenspot. Any unintended fish were descended back down. Deepest we fished was 680 ft. The spectra did great in that range, the 40# test was better than the spectra 65# for getting down. The mono was difficult to work with, however spectra tangles are horrible. At that depth, it was difficult to tell if you had a fish or not, due to the stretch of mono. With monofilament, once you were about half way up, you started to figure out when you actually had fish on versus when you had a lot of mono out with only the weight. Twice, we brought up fish the were almost bitten in half. Fortunately for the science aspect, the part of the body most valued for study was in tact. Huli Cat came in a little shallower and we caught yellowtail rockfish. Most of the males were released or descended when necessary. A huge golden eye was descended. A few blue rockfish were retained fo the genetic study to examine if there are two species of blue rockfish. Gravid species were retained. Teh dirft was funky, usually unpredictable. Many times no matter what, we drifted stern into the drift, making deep drops a challenge with multiple anglers. A bonus was the great dolphin show along with a couple minke whales.

Fish Species: Chilipepper & yellowtail rockfish
Bait Used: squid
Tackle Used: Shrimp flies
Method Used: Drifting
Water Depth: 250 - 680
Water Temperature: 53
Wind Direction: N-E-S et al
Wind Speed: < 6 knots
Science crew
Science crew

Fish and a half
Fish and a half


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Tom Mattusch

About The Author: Captain Tom Mattusch

Company: Huli Cat Sportfishing

Area Reporting: Central California, San Francisco Bay area

Bio: Tom Mattusch is currently the owner/operator of the Huli Cat, a 53 foot charter boat operating out of Pillar Point Harbor and has fished the West Coast since 1967. Tom holds positions on the Salmon Stamp Committee for California, the California Department of Fish and Game License Agent Advisory Committee and NOAA's California Sportfishing Action Team. He's an IGFA Certified Captain. In an effort to contribute to research, Tom works with NOAA's PFEL tagging chinook salmon. He also worked with NOAA's Santa Cruz field office gathering stomachs and beaks of Humboldt squid. He recently completed a study with the Point Reyes Bird Observatory collecting lingcod, salmon and halibut stomachs and is currently involved in a study with Scripps to gather albacore stomachs. Tom holds Board of Director positions with the Golden Gate Fishermens Association, Coastside Fishing Club and Fishery Enhancement and Research Foundation. He can be heard on four radio stations giving fish reports or discussing fishing politics. He has worked closely with the Recreational Fishing Alliance, PCFFA, the Half Moon Bay Fishermans Marketing Association, United Anglers of Southern California and United Anglers. Tom ran the first trip out of Half Moon Bay to take anglers to catch Humboldt squid and the first white shark viewing trip to the Farallon Islands. He is the first charter boat Captain out of Half Moon Bay to get certified to marry people and has married people on the Huli Cat. Tom ran the first albacore trip out of Half Moon Bay to demonstrate the albacore were again reachable by boat off the Central California coast in the mid 1990's. Tom held a seat on the California Marine Life Protection Act Initiative as a Central Coast Regional Stakeholder group Member.

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Click Here For Past Fishing Reports by Captain Tom Mattusch