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.
Chilipepper Research trip
2012-01-29 20:55:29
Half Moon Bay, California - Saltwater Fishing Report
South of the HMB Weather buoy
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
Fish and a half
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