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] Good water conditions, good fishing. Keepers and shakers keep the morning and afternoon alert. Krill in top 40'. Everyone had lots of shaker action. 6 fish to 18 pounds for 10 rods in the water. Things are picking up. Every boat down there I heard had fish.
[Half Moon Bay,CA] 16 limits of Dungeness crab. Crabs are clutching, slowing down the catch rate. Windy, foggy & cool.
[Half Moon Bay,CA] 16 limits of crab. Lovely water, despite the weather forecast. We could have gone for sanddabs anyway.
[Half Moon Bay,CA] Loaded up on Chilipepper & Yellowtail rockfish on a Scientific Collection Trip. Tremendous weather out 24 miles. Grat sealife as well.
[Half Moon Bay,CA] First ten pos were slow, another area did better. 9 limits of crab. Very calm, flat and enjoyable day.
[Half Moon Bay,CA] 8 anglers went out for crab limits. 5 pots were all we needed. Slight lump on the ocean.
[Half Moon Bay,CA] Excellent conditions even for beginners. 27 limits of crab. Excellent day after recent storms.
[Half Moon Bay,CA] Scientific Collection trip with recreational anglers for chilipepper rockfish. Yellowtail and bocaccio were also sampled.
[Half Moon Bay,CA] The rockfish were no on the bite. Crabbing was excellent. Weatherman was off on forecast
[Half Moon Bay,CA] 26 limits of Dungeness crab. Weather was story book, folks enjoyed the day. They will be bck.
[Half Moon Bay,CA] Not enough folks showed for a crab combo, so it was a crab trip. The crab cooperates, limits out of one pot. Weather was nice as well.
[Half Moon Bay,CA] Great weather to fish in, the rockfish weren't to cooperative. Limits of crab, what a year for Dungeness. Weather helped a lot.
[Half Moon Bay,CA] What was supposed to have been and rockfish crab combo was salavaged by crab. Limits of crab. Mechanical gremlins.
[Half Moon Bay,CA] 17 limits of Dungeness crab. Too rough for a rockfish combo. Very tough conditions.
[Half Moon Bay,CA] Rockfish slowed down below Pigeon Point. 22 limits of Dungeness crab. Great weather.
[Half Moon Bay,CA] Limits of rockfish, lots of opportunity of lingcod. 4 lingocd to 20 poundss landed, lots of vermillion rockfish. Southerly breeze to start, finished with a NW tradition light breeze.
[Half Moon Bay,CA] Terrific weather to be fishing the Farallon Islands. Fish marking everywhere, great whale show. Bite was not tremendous.
[Half Moon Bay,CA] 34 pound White Sea Bass for 4 anglers, some rockcod as well. Weather was fair, a little more swell than I thought. When the anglers got anxious, we switched to rockfish.
[Half Moon Bay,CA] Nice rockfish and lingcod , as usual at the fArallon Islnds. Near limits for 18 anglers. The weather was the bell ringer with the whale show.
[Half Moon Bay,CA] 11 Salmon for 8 anglers. Lost more than we got and a few silvers mixed in. Very sloppy weather, not for the faint of heart.
[Half Moon Bay,CA] Great weather and visibility. Whales, dolphins, birds made for great nature shows. Quality fish cuaght, just not enough of them.
[Half Moon Bay,CA] 3 salmon to 14 pounds. Limits of Dungeness crab. The weather moderated today and was a bit nicer.
[Half Moon Bay,CA] Limits of crab. Mooched in good biat for salmon to no avail. Utterly tremendous day to be on the ocean.
[Half Moon Bay,CA] 6 limits of Dungeness crab, 3 salmon. Nearly flat calm day. Crab pots did well, slamon bit and cooperated.
[Half Moon Bay,CA] 2 lings, 1/2 limits of rockfish. Cold water. Ocean conditions were favorable.
[Half Moon Bay,CA] Last two trips, limits of Dungeness crab. Salmon still slow. Lots of wind.
[Half Moon Bay,CA] What a combo - Chilipepper rockfish, Humboldt squid, rockfish, Dungeness crab! All treated us very well. After all the storms off the coast, a great day to be out on the water.
[Half Moon Bay,CA] 80 squid for 7 anglers. Crab limits of Dungeness. Great day to be out on the water.
[Half Moon Bay,CA] 10 limits of Dungeness crab. No swell, very little wind. Back early.
[Half Moon Bay,CA] 145 squid for 5 anglers and 4 crew. 9 limits of Dungeness crab. The weather is starting to moderate and was pleasant.
[Half Moon Bay,CA] 125 Humboldt squid for 6 anglers and 4 crew. 10 limits of crab. Wind was tough on the outside, nice on the inside.
[Half Moon Bay,CA] 20 squid for 1 angler and three crew. Limits of Dungeness crab. Conditions started well and deteriorated a little.
[Half Moon Bay,CA] 115 Humboldt squid, 84 Dungeness crab. Weatherman didn't nail this one. One sloppy ride in.
[Half Moon Bay,CA] 161 squid for 15 anglers, 17 limits of Dungeness crab. Rough windy conditions. Worked hard and rewarded hard.
[Half Moon Bay,CA] Lots of Chili pepper rockfish. Had to fight off Humboldt squid. Great weather and conditions for fishing deep.
[Half Moon Bay,CA] 8 limits of crab. Back in the harbor for 11am. Weather man was wrong on this one, it was a great day to be on the water.
[Half Moon Bay,CA] 20 limits of Dungeness crab. Too much swell and too much wind for the rockfish to bite. Swell and windchop made for a tough day.
[Half Moon Bay,CA] 15 squid for 4 anglers. Biggest went 40 pounds, smallest 22 pounds. Weather was not exactly squid friendly.
[Half Moon Bay,CA] 25 lingcod for 23 anglers, big bocaccio, coppers, vermillions and near rockfish limits. The weatherman erred, but the result was in our favor. A great last day of the local rockfish season.
[Half Moon Bay,CA] 25 squid for 7 anglers. Water was excellent condition for fishing deep. What a Humpback whale show.
[Half Moon Bay,CA] 13 limits of rockfish. Good Farallon Island quiality fish. Weatherman was wrong, thank goodness.
[Half Moon Bay,CA] 13 limits of rockfish & 5 lingcod. Live bait did best for the lingcod. Big roll from offshore wind.
[Half Moon Bay,CA] 7 albacore. Excellent weather, lots of bait marking. Too much bait in the water to cause them to come up.
[Half Moon Bay,CA] 24 limits of rockfish, 12 lingcod to 15.5 lbs, 8 Cabezon to 9 pounds. A little roll indicated wind on the outside. Rockfish novice wins the pool with a nice lingcod.
[Half Moon Bay,CA] 13 limits that included 6 lingcod to 14 pounds and 13 cabezon to 9 pounds. Day started foggy, the somewhat cleared. Flat calm, easy to fish drift.
[Half Moon Bay,CA] 1 squid landed, 6 got away. Fast drift inspite of no wind to speak of. Great science
[Half Moon Bay,CA] 11 good sized lingcod, 11 good cabezon and great quality rockfish. Lots of anglers, but the weather cooperated for them. Fished shallow, a juvenile grey whale swam up to the boat.
[Half Moon Bay,CA] 12 limits for 13 anglers, 6 lings, 6 cabezon. Not much wind, but the windoffshore made it a bit uncomfortable witha swell and roll. Shallow water did better.
[Half Moon Bay,CA] Limits for a family wanting a day out together. Weather calmed down, wind subsided. The drift was manageable, even for beginners.
[Half Moon Bay,CA] 12 limits of rockfish. Windy and rolly, tough fishing conditions. 55 degrees to start, nice alternative to heat!