East Coast meets West

TIDES and TIMES To GO : : Friday 3/23/2012 | 0.0 low at 4:21am and 4.8 high @ 10:27am
Tuesday 3/27/2012 | 0.6 low @ 6:54 and 3.1 high @ 1:10pm | SD Big Bay Temperature : : 61.2°
Moon Phase : :  New Moon | Retrieval Speed : :    crawl       |     slow    |     medium     |   fast

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It has been over six years since my parents have made the long trip from the east coast to the west. I have not pressured them much over the years to come out because not much has changed in my life worthy of a trip cross country. But since I have gotten into fishing more and bought a boat I have been talking to my dad about coming out to fish. After almost four years of fishing from my boat I felt confident enough to invite my dad out to fish.

Now you have to put into perspective that everything I know about fishing, conservation, ethics and general water knowledge stems from my dad. Just to have him out here on my boat is a huge honor. I pre-fished  the bay and kelp a week before he arrived as if it was a Bass Fishing Tournament I was about to enter. I planned the trip and days to fish around the New Moon and good tidal flow. We hit up all my secret spots and got into some great Bass Fishing. Friday was definitely the best day but Tuesday produced some of the biggest Spotted Bass I have seen in years. Super stoked my dad got to experience fishing in the Pacific for the first time off my boat.

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Experiments in the Lab

TIDE | San Diego : :  6.1 high at 9:38am and  -0.7 low @  4:09pm | SD Big Bay Temperature 58°
Moon Phase : :  Full
Retrieval Speed : :    crawl       |     slow    |     medium     |   fast

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I love experimenting with new types of fishing rigs. The idea of progression and constantly learning new techniques is what keeps fishing interesting. Every new artificial bait that you catch a fish on unlocks new mysteries into the psyche and behaviors that governs that particular species. 

I just mail ordered some new WARBLADES from Afran. They are basically a Slayer Swim Jig with a Willow Blade attached to the hook. You fish them similar to a Spinner Bait. Make a long cast, let it sink down and retrieve at a steady pace. When you feel a thump just reel into it to set the hook.  Today was the first day I got to try them out and the fish were all over them. I only got to fish for about half hour before the sun set and I went lobstering, but it was exciting to see the potential of these new WARBLADES.

{SEXYDINE LTD - WARBLADE: Size: 1/2 oz, Number 4 Willow Blade in with Flash Glitter}

3 Spotted Bass, 1 Calico Bass and 1 Sand Bass {all catch photo and release}
http://warbaits.com/armory-WARBLADE.html

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Swamis, Solitude and Sanctuary

TIDE | San Diego : :  5.0 high at 4:54am and  0.3 low @ 12:36pm | SD Big Bay Temperature 58°
Moon Phase : :  First Quarter
Retrieval Speed : :    crawl       |     slow    |     medium     |   fast

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I took Laurel up to Swamis Self Realization Center early this week to check out the Koi Fish at the outdoor meditation gardens. The place is beautiful a top a cliff over looking the ocean with huge black pines stretching their arms over three koi ponds that link together via waterfalls. All these people were meditating there because it is supposed to be a "serene" setting. She asked me if I meditated and I said no, but the closest thing to meditation in my life is going out fishing alone and getting lost in the ocean surrounded by kelp and all its creatures. Laurel said I don't think you need to meditate at a specific place to find solitude, its about finding your own solitude in life and living that out day to day.

6 Spotted Bass {all catch photo and release} 
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You Need to Get Up to Get Downtown

TIDE | San Diego : :  5.1 high at 11:13am and  0.0 low @ 5:52pm | SD Big Bay Temperature 58°
Moon Phase : :  Full Moon on the wane | Fuel : : 2.796 gallons @ $4.05 a gallon = $11.35
Retrieval Speed : :    crawl       |     slow    |     medium     |   fast

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YOU NEED TO GET UP TO GET DOWN. Woke up at 5am to get on the water early before the Harbor Police and Navy leave their slips. Some of the structure downtown is super good to fish with big bass holding strong along the pilings. I try to move around a lot so that the Pier Workers don't call the cops on me. I pulled out eight bass from downtown all nice size then I moved south towards Coronado and fished the ell grass flats.

My teaser fly combination with the 3" Bleeding Olive Herring swimbait has scored me another double header this week.  I also got a few bass just on the top fly. Downtown along the pilings the hybrid fly/grub that I just made was the hot ticket today. It has a ton of flash and good movement with a fat Kalin Curly tail; the bass were all over it.

4 Calico Bass | 10 Spotted Bass {all catch photo and release}

http://twoifbyseabass.blogspot.com/

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My Witness is the Empty Sky

TIDE | San Diego : :  6.6 high at 8:32am and -1.1 low @ 3:35pm | SD Big Bay Sea Temp. 59°
Moon Phase : :  Full Moon on the wane 

Retrieval Speed : :    crawl       |     slow    |     medium     |   fast

As the freezing moon slowly loosens its' grip on the night the suns warm glow illuminates everything in her path. Mundane objects like channel markers shed their dull existence just for a brief moment in time. This is the "magic hour" when night becomes day and slumbering fish become active. I caught six of the eight bass this morning from 6am to 7:30am. I had great conditions on the water today, perfect drifts and winds.

Over thanksgiving break my dad showed me how to make some epoxy teaser flies. We made them to match perfectly to my go to bass swimbaits. My first two fish I caught on the top teaser fly and my third fish was a double header. Its a different feeling that's hard to describe when you tie your own fly and catch fish on it.

The last few years I have tried to design my life to avoid the lull of domesticity and to escape the drudgery of everyday life by being on the water as much as humanly possible.

http://twoifbyseabass.blogspot.com/

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Operating Costs

Boat Owners: Will gas prices affect your fishing?
Rising gasoline prices will impact the amount of fishing participation this year. According to a poll of 2,481 sportsmen and women more than half of anglers indicated that rising gas prices will cause them to reduce their time on the water or reduce their travel distance this year. The rest either indicated that rising fuel prices would not hinder their fishing activity, or they weren’t sure of the impacts rising gas prices would have on their fishing this year.

A n g l e r s  |  S u r v e y

• 
Higher prices will cause me to fish less this year—35.5 percent 
• Higher prices will not affect my fishing activities—22.5 percent 
• I will probably fish the same amount this year, but not travel as far because of rising fuel costs—30 percent 
• I am not sure how gasoline prices will affect my fishing this year—12 percent
http://anglersurvey.com/    (data/statistics taken from anglersurvey.com)


"With gas prices so much at the pump, and with the way the fishing has been over the last few years I may start to feel that it's not worth it any more"  
~owner of Parker 2320 Sport Cabin with  a 225hp
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I n s h o r e   |  F i s h i n g : alternatives to rising fuel costs
I have been fishing inshore exclusively the last year or so targeting bay and kelp bass. I run my boat all day and only burn 2 gallons of gas. Since I have been fishing inshore more I get to spend more time on the water, usually twice a week, and it costs me less then $20. I would rather spend more time on the water then worrying about rising fuel costs and the offshore bite.

"With my bass boat I run out to the kelp beds and back and also fish inside the Big Bay without ever worrying about fuel costs"   
~owner of a Crestliner 16 foot bass boat with a 40hp four stroke

Surf | Hunter {Striped Bass}

TIDE | New Jersey : :  -0.3 low at 10:32pm and 5.2 high @ 4:03am | Sea Temperature 56°
Moon Phase : :  Last Quarter on the Wane |  Surf Fishing : : Drove/Walked the Beach
Retrieval Speed : :  crawl     |     slow    |     medium     |    fast    

Fall Striped Bass Fishing : : All the lights in town may blink yellow but the fishing is a go

I arrive on the East Coast amidst the onslaught of a Nor'easter storm. I checked in with my friend Kristian to see how the fishing has been. He texts me back, "Best Bass fishing in the last 4 years from the surf, there will be bass and beer".  Every where I go all I see is trucks with big Surf Poles and fisherman in Waders walking around. You can feel the energy in town and in the tackle shops.

There is a heavy buzz slowly surrounding me now with anticipation of catching a Striped Bass. Like an addict that just scored you can't wait to feel that first hit from the surf.

The sand eels are in heavy in the surf and the Striped bass are gorging themselves with them as they migrate down the coast. We pick up a few Ava 17 lures, put on our waders and load up Kristian truck. With all the tourist gone and half the town up North the fishermen take over the beaches. You can drive your truck onto the beach in search of fish. We put the truck in 4 wheel drive and see some birds working and head over to a nice cut in the sand bar.

Kristian lights a cigarette and casts out into the rough surf.  As soon as he puts the reel in gear he is on. First cast he gets a double header. One on the teaser and the other on a AVA 17. I look right and my dad's 10 foot pole is bent in half, he is on also. Next thing you know 6 guys infiltrate our fishing hole and we are elbow to elbow. The fish are feeding recklessly for about a half hour and we pick up a bunch of fish. The weather turns worse and gets real "snotty". Heavy surf, winds and sideways rain in your face make it tough to cast. I'm cold, my waders have a hole in them and have been leaking 56° water for the last 3 hours but I don't care, we all got fish. I'm definitely not in California anymore, but loving it.
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Striped Bass: Kristian: 3 |  Bob 2 | Scott 1 (all catch photo and release)
Foraging ON : : Sand Eels in the surf, using AVA 17 and 27 lures
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During the Thanksgiving weekend Striped Bass Tournament Colin Dempsey's winning fish had a stomach full of sand eels. You can see from his photo on the left how the bass have been just gorging themselves with these eels as they migrate south for the winter.

Sand Eels are a schooling fish, small, slender and are typically found shoaling over the seabed or buried in the sand below the surf. The species range from about 4–12in.  

The Ava 17 with Green/Chartreuse tube with a Epoxy Sand Eel Teaser fly were deadly all week.  

Osprey | Hunter

TIDE | San Diego : : 5.6 high @ 10:39am and a 0.3 low at 6:22pm | Sea Temperature 61°
Moon Phase : :  Last Quarter |  Fuel : : 1.762 gallons @ $3.97 a gallon = $7.01

osprey |ˈäsprā; -prē|   aka fish hawk
noun ( pl. -preys)

Osprey's are fishing birds and can be seen hovering above the water searching for prey. They search for fish while flying 30-100 feet above the water. Once they have spotted their prey, they hover, then fold their wings, descend quickly into the water feet first. Strong, curved talons and specialized spines on the bottoms of their feet help them hold onto the slippery fish. If they catch the fish, they quickly take off, and will re-arrange the fish in its talons so the fish faces head first, thus presenting a more streamlined profile facing forward into the wind. Then they fly to a perch to devour it. Sometimes the talons lock into place when a heavy fish is grabbed and can only be released when the fish is pushed against a hard surface.

Ospreys can’t swim and have been known to drown, especially if they get their talons stuck in too large a fish and can’t take off

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+ I am magnetized towards Salt Water and all it has to offer. Surf, Solitude, Sustenance… I truly feel lucky to have more time these last few years to be surrounded by all its glory. Its hard to describe in words watching a Osprey descending out of the sky at full speed and pluck a 20 inch fish off the top of the water 5 feet away from you.

The fish was so big the Osprey had to temporally land on a nearby piling. I followed them in my boat and was able to snap off a few photos while it devoured its meal. Out of all the bass I caught today none of them were as big as the one the Osprey grabbed.
.................................................................................................................................................................................................5 Spotted Bass, 1 Calico Bass,  2 Sand Bass {kept 1 sand bass for dinner, 18inch 2.5lbs)

Stomach Contents : : large 2inch stone crab

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{ H y b r i d   |  M o m e n t s }  I made a half fly half plastic curly tail grub. I set it up on a high low rig with a 3inch swim bait on the bottom and the fly as a teaser on top. The fly floated above the swim bait as a reeled it across the eel grass flats. I felt the first initial bite and then half way in I got a second hit from the follower bass.
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