Fishing Reports by Captain Tom Mattusch
About The Author: Captain
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.
[Half Moon Bay,CA] Limits of rockfish. 10 lingcod for 12 anglers. Limits of crab for passengers and crew.
[Half Moon Bay,CA] Limits of rockfish. Limits of Dungeness crab. Foggy and calm.
[Half Moon Bay,CA] limits of rockfish and Dungeness crab. Weather better than forecast early. Possibly on later.
[Half Moon Bay,CA] 16 fish for 16 anglers. Weather could nothave been better. Good count inspite of large starting size limit.
[Half Moon Bay,CA] Too rough to successfully fish crab dabs. Switched to crabbing, made 14 Veterans very happy with 75 Dungeness crab.
[Half Moon Bay,CA] Limits of Dungness Crab for the boat. Short run and good weather. 38 degrees this morning, warming up.
[Half Moon Bay,CA] Limits of Dungeness crab. Water conditions deteriorated for sand dab fishing. Calmer seas ahead.
[Half Moon Bay,CA] Southerly made for tough fishing conditions. Anglers caught sanddabs. Limits of Dungeness crab.
[Half Moon Bay,CA] Lots of chilipepper rockfish in 100 to 120 fathoms. Yellowtail rockfish in 45 fathoms. Excellent weather.
[Half Moon Bay,CA] 6 liimits of Dungeness crab. Pots were fishing well. Short trip.
[Half Moon Bay,CA] 13 lilmits of Dungeness crab. 140 sand dabs. Great weather, calm water, terrific day.
[Half Moon Bay,CA] All the Sand dabs anglers could handle. Limits of Dungeness crab.Excellent weather to be out on the ocean.
[Half Moon Bay,CA] Limits of crab. All the sanddabs a person wanted. Seas have come down
[Half Moon Bay,CA] 8 limits of Dungeness Crab. 2/3 limits on Rockfish & 1 ling cod. Cold and rolly today.
[Half Moon Bay,CA] Zero Humboldt Squid & 17 limits of Dungeness Crab. Flat calm ocean. Lots of sea life.
[Half Moon Bay,CA] 27 limits of Dungeness crab. 27 limits of rockfish, 8 lingcod, 4 cabezon. Ocean could not have been any better.
[Half Moon Bay,CA] 10 folks showed up to go for Dungeness Crab. Left late, came in early. A chilly breeze added to excitement.
[Half Moon Bay,CA] 8 limits of Dungeness crab & 7 limits of rockfish. Ocean was very calm and pleasant. Pots full and fish bit well.
[Half Moon Bay,CA] 13 limits of rockfish, 16 limits of dungeness crab. Weather was too rough for Humboldt squid. Got better as the day progressed.
[Half Moon Bay,CA] 15 limits of rockfish & Dungeness crab. 5 lingcod were an added bonus. Got in as the weather turned sloppy.
[Half Moon Bay,CA] 9 limits of Dungeness crab. Weather just starting to settle down. Water was still a little sloppy.
[Half Moon Bay,CA] 21 limits of Dungeness crab. The wather was very rough. With commercial crabbers on strike, we got some crab for the public.
[Half Moon Bay,CA] Fished for Chilipepper rockfish as part of the Stock Assessment. Took additional yellowtail rockfish, widows and blues for research. Crew got a couple Dungeness crabs.
[Half Moon Bay,CA] 10 limits of dungeness crab in 2 hours. Very flat calm water. Great day
[Half Moon Bay,CA] 29 limits of Dungeness crab. Alost lmtis of rockfish & several lingcod. Huge swell subsided from Saturday
[Half Moon Bay,CA] 7 limits of rockfish, 4 lingcod. Excellent weather. No white sea bass
[Half Moon Bay,CA] 24 limits of rockfish. No hitchhikers made it on board. Big southerly.
[Half Moon Bay,CA] 12 limits of rockfish and anglers and crew, we didn't even go as far as Martins Beach. Put 4 lings on the deck, lost several more.
[Half Moon Bay,CA] 24 limits of rockfish, 2 lingcod. SCI volunteers assisted on deck to help Vets enjoy fishing. Meal at the Princeton, CA American Legion (Post 474) after.
[Half Moon Bay,CA] 10 limits of rockfish, 4 lingcod, 1 cabezon. Nice flat weather to enjoy a day out. CRFS Sampler on board.
[Half Moon Bay,CA] 2 salmon for six anglers. Jellyfish made it difficult to fish. Calm seas made it a pleasure to be out.
[Half Moon Bay,CA] 23 limits of rockfish, lots of sand dabs and mackeral. Good fishing conditions, weather was laying down. Cooks and food bloggers on today.
[Half Moon Bay,CA] Limits and rockfish and all the mackeral you wanted. picked up two old crab pots. Not too bad weather, but not calm.
[Half Moon Bay,CA] 4 salmon, more shakers, silvers, mackerel. More wind and swell but a sunny day.
[Half Moon Bay,CA] 14 salmon to 23 pounds. Great bite, lots of action, shakers, silvers. Water started to get a little snotty.
[Half Moon Bay,CA] 29 salmon to 19 pounds. Some of the best slamon fishing I have seen in years. Flat calm water and a whale show to boot.
[Half Moon Bay,CA] 6 salmon to 26 pounds for 5 anglers. Great amount of feed, whales, bait, birds. Incredible weather to enjoy being out on the water.
[Half Moon Bay,CA] Started out for salmon at Deep REef, bite slowed. Caught two salmon, then opted for rockfish. Very nice weather.
[Half Moon Bay,CA] 10 salmon for 10 anglers. Rough in early morning, settled out during the day. Lots of action, shakers, silvers.
[Half Moon Bay,CA] After rockfishing all day, we heard salmon talk on the radio. After dropping off rockfish group, we gathered a gruop to try for salmon. 2 kings and numerous silvers.
[Half Moon Bay,CA] 30 limits of rockfish, 1 lingcod. Horrible weather forecast did not materialize. Early limits under tough conditons made for good fishing.
[Half Moon Bay,CA] Limits for passengers and crew. All nonretainable fish were successfuly released using descenders. Tremendous weather to be on the ocean.
[Half Moon Bay,CA] TV crew out to film sustainable release of canary rockfish. South wind usually inhibits the bite. All's well that ends well.
[Half Moon Bay,CA] Limits of rockfish and 6 lingcod. Slow to moderate fishing, but steady bite. Tremendous weather, what a day to beat inland heat.
[Half Moon Bay,CA] 29 poiund salmon, good rockfish. Trifecta of fishing. Weather settled down for a nice finish.
[Half Moon Bay,CA] Weather was a great day to go rockfishing or anything else today. Rockfish were finicky, but then the bite turned on. Lingcod on homemade bars.
[Half Moon Bay,CA] Rockfish opened early out of Half Moon Bay. Weather was not on the side of the anglers. Caught assorted rockfish, not limits.
[Half Moon Bay,CA] lots of shakers and silvers. Great weather and water conditions. Lots of Whales.
[Half Moon Bay,CA] 4 salmon for 7 anglers. Lots of action. Dungeness crabs as well.
[Half Moon Bay,CA] 3 salmon to 16 pounds for 10 anglers. Weatherman was not very accurate today. Rain, wind and sloppy conditions.