Ken Jones - Writer & Pierfisherman » Catalina

“Old Ben” and Avalon

kenjones — Sat, 27 Feb 2021 19:39:34 +0000

Dear Old Ben — Famous Seal At Catalina

Takes Fish Out Of Hand As Would A Pet Dog

Depends on Friendly Fishermen for Food and Waxes Fat on Albacore. Eats immense Quantities of Fish and Roams Seas as Patriarch of the Isolated Tribe

If you have visited Avalon on beautiful Catalina Island you have probably seen the statue to “Old Ben” that sits on the path from the ferry landing to the center of town. Here’s an old story that tells about “Old Ben.”

“Old Ben,” the famous old seal of Avalon, is still in his old haunts among the row boats and launches that dot the little harbor. He has been there for thirty-five years and in that time become as tame as the seals which are confined in parks and aquariums. He is as wise as the trained seals of Ringling’s circus, and were he to be captured and put with them, he would cost his keepers a tidy fortune, for he has the biggest appetite of any of his kind ever known.

“Old Ben” feasts on the big fish brought in by the hundreds of anglers that visit Catalina each summer. At each meal he will consume a half-dozen big albacore or skipjacks, aggregating 125 pounds in weight. When he is hungry he swims up near the boat landing, where his favorite befriender, Charles Tompkins, has his boat stand. After a glance at the fish rack, he sets to barking and diving about until he has attracted the attention of those on the pier. He will crawl clean up on the float after food, but even when extremely hungry he cannot be induced to remain there. As soon as he has seized his fish, he dives back into the bay, rising to the surface now and then to give his food a vicious toss as he tears out mouthfuls of flesh. At these times he is often followed by other smaller seals which are too timid to approach the landing. Gulls also pursue the old sea lion and seize the morsels, which are torn loose from the fish as it s being consumed.

This old pet of the bay has attained a great weight from the constant easy supply of food within his reach. He has never been on a scales, but estimates of his weight, made by causing him to cross planks up to a size that would no longer break, give it close to 1400 pounds. His sleek, gray-brown back is often seen dashing between the bathers, who scatter in wild commotion whenever he appears. He has an utter disregard for people and things, and roams about the bay whatever place suits his fancy.

Before Catalina was made a resort, “Old Ben” is supposed to have been the chief of the colony on Seal Rocks. Presumably he was vanquished by some younger rival, and now leads the life of an outcast. He seem to find this entirely agreeable, however, he has succeeded in coaxing several others of the colony into the bay with him. His face is scarred with the marks of many battles, and he has lost the sight of his right eye, but he rules his little band of in the bay as supremely as his successor on the rocks governs the colony. — Los Angeles Times, August 18, 1918

2007 PFIC/UPSAC Catalina Get Together

kenjones — Wed, 28 Mar 2018 06:22:32 +0000

The official 2007 Catalina Get Together Logo

This proposed logo finished second among PFIC voters

This proposed logo was considered just a tad bit too risqué

Another Catalina Report—by Ken Jones — More Than You Probably Wanted To Know About The Sixth Annual Catalina Get Together

KJ and Friend

Scene 1A: It is somewhere around 1 PM on April 20, 2007. An aging, out-of-shape angler stands at the railing of the Cabrillo Mole at Avalon on Catalina Island. The angler is soaked to the skin/bone—and cold. He has a hat, and a hood from his jacket covering his head, but drops of rainfall steadily from the puddle crowning the cap. The Thought-O-Meter LE200 records his thoughts —“Maybe Algore and his Goebell Warning is responsible for this rain? Or perhaps it’s Adam and Rebecca? After all, we never had rain until they gave up their title as hosts and moved to sunny Florida. But wait, I’m one of the ones hosting the event this year; maybe it’s partly my fault! God I hope we don’t have rain tomorrow when we have the tables and food and raffle items and kids and wives and the banner and whatever! No, come on, snap out of it, quit worrying about the rain and be ready for the fish. An opaleye is starting to inhale that shrimp; should I strike now or give it a couple of more milli-seconds? Strike—and fish on! Be cool little fish; come this way instead of heading down into that kelp. A really nice day on the opaleye, just wish I wasn’t so dad blasted cold.”

Scene 1B—Alternative version: It is somewhere around 1 PM on April 20, 2007. An angler wearing a semi-transparent, yellow rain poncho over stylized fishing apparel is singing (and dancing?) next to the railing of the Cabrillo Mole at Avalon on Catalina Island.

I’m fishing in the rain — Just fishing at the pier — What a glorious feelin’ — I’m happy again

I’m laughing at clouds — So dark up above — The sun’s in my heart — And I’m ready to fish

Let the stormy clouds chase — Everyone from the Mole — Come on with the rain — I’ve a smile on my face

I stroll down the rail — With my rod and my reel — Just fishin’, — Fishin’ in the rain

Why am I smiling — And why do I fish? —Why does Catalina — Seem sunny as spring?

Why do I get up — So early each morn’? — Happy and head up — With joy in my heart

Why is each task — A mere trifle to do? — Because I am living —A life full of you.

Fade to large fish (opaleye or male sheephead) on surface of the water

With apologies to Don Lockwood, lyricist for Singin’ In The Rain.

Yes, Catalina Get Together Number 6 has come and gone once again and, as most years, it reflected a personality all its own.

Quick thoughts: (1) The heavy rain Friday morning didn’t stop anyone from fishing but eventually took its toll. Most were ill prepared as far as “real” raincoats and eventually the coats and layered clothing were wet to the core. In time people were not only watching the water drop in rivulets from brow but were experiencing a cold to the bone feeling that was unexpected on Catalina. Too heavy to be popsicles (with the exception perhaps of JimboJack initially and Scott and Steve later) we looked more like frozen stout bars. However, the slightly more murky water provided some top-notch fishing and that fact, along with the refusal of anyone to cry uncle, led most to brave out the conditions. If Mola Joe can survive snow and ice, we can survive a little wind and rain. However, most were glad (even if they didn’t admit it) when the time came to return to the hotel and change clothing and equipment for the surf derby (which was rain and fish free).

(2) Several of the long-distance, partygoers drove all-nighters this year and, as a result, were really tired out upon arrival. Whereas most years there is a straight line to the motel followed by a straight line to the pier, this year people actually got some sleep and rested before starting their fishing adventure. People were asking where’s GDude, where’s Ben, where’s Minnow Magnet? Little did they know they were enjoying some peaceful bliss before renewing the quest.

(3) The group itself was smaller this year but also very cohesive and seemed to have a really friendly and helpful karma, a somewhat unusual trait for such a disparate group. And while the numbers of fish were down slightly (at least during the actual derby), the number of larger fish like opaleye, legal sheephead and bonito were up, reflections of improved bait—ghost shrimp, and improved technique. A logical extension provided by anglers who had given thought to past experiences.

(4) The only thing that didn’t seem to change was the events designation as the highlight of the year and a call for additional visits—where and when possible. Perhaps unsaid was a little envy by those who had traveled down from the Bay Area, the home of a vast bay that seems at times like an inland sea. Drives of 30-40-50 miles to fish are common. Why, given the short one-hour ferry ride from Long Beach, are there not more southern PFIC members present at Catalina? Even more, why would those who live close not travel over the Catalina Channel several times a year? Would more frequent visits make the experience less special?

KJ and opaleye

The Prelims — There are many things involved in setting up such an event. Luckily the three caballeros—KJ, Ben and Mahigheer —were able to take the past work of Adam and Rebecca, and the lessons they learned, to give us guidance this year. Early on I posted the general specifications—with only a few modifications from what Adam and Rebecca had originally done. Notification and permission to use the Mole was then gained from the Harbormaster. Once that was done we needed to figure out the Friday night “Surf Get Together” and the Saturday “Derby—Food—Raffle.”

We decided to do the Friday dinner at the Buffalo Nickel different this year—pre-pay for dinner, use their menu, etc. (Good thing because we didn’t catch a single fish at Pebble Beach.) Ben was assigned the task of talking to the restaurant manager and events went as planned even though we wound up walking over earlier than expected. Due to a road closure we were even able to get the restaurant to provide transportation to and from the restaurant. For Saturday’s event we needed UPSAC materials stored in San Diego—which Mahigheer drove down and retrieved. With materials on hand and some additional prizes I was able to scrounge up from different sources (including a Beachmaster Rod Holder), we felt we had a decent list of raffle prizes even before seeing GDude’s beautiful rod and reel.

Where’s the banner, where’s the raffle tickets, do we have bags for the fish fillets, do we have cards for the derby and pens to mark them? What about tables and chairs and certificates for the winners? Ben spent part of Wednesday making certificates in his classroom. Mahigheer and KJ spent part of Wednesday night going through the various materials and figuring out how to carry it to Catalina. Thursday—nothing to do other than the trip itself.

Thursday — A 6:30 journey to Mahigheer’s house resulted in a free breakfast, free storage space for my truck for the next four days, and a loaded van full of the various accouterments needed for the trip. I of course had my pier cart together with a duffel bag and one of Pablo’s rod bags. Mahigheer had his normal equipment plus a cooler filled with prizes for the raffle drawing and extra rods/reels.

Once on our way we headed to San Pedro and Paul’s Bait and Tackle. There we met up with Matt who graciously filled 30 of the large Styrofoam containers full of ghost shrimp—30 per cup. Normally selling for $8.00 a large cup (he also has two smaller sizes) this represented a retail value of $240. I had actually tried to talk Bill the owner into less shrimp but he said no, one cup per person per day and better to be as little over than a little short. This would be free bait for participants for Thursday and Friday. Another load of free live shrimp, 36 containers, was to be picked up by Eugene on Saturday (or a value of $288). All told, Bill and the bait shop donated $528 worth of bait to the Get Together. Everyone at the gathering (PFIC and UPSAC members alike) should appreciate the donation and I sincerely hope that local anglers who need bait remember this largess and give Bill their business.

Next it was on to the Catalina Landing in Long Beach for the 10 AM boat and one-hour trip over to the island. Unfortunately, at the boarding, Mahigheer was given grief and told his four-wheel cart, heavily loaded with items, would not be allowed to be pushed onto the boat. Instead he would have to hand-carry the items onto the boat and then return for more items. Only problem: a catch 22 situation in which once he carried an item onto the boat he would not be allowed to leave the boat for another trip. What to do? Luckily Gordo Grande was taking the same boat. A couple of additional items were tied down on top of my cart, a couple of additional items were tied down to the top of Gordo’s cart, and Mahigheer has several items piled on top of his big cooler (thankfully one with wheels) while hand carrying his four wheel cart. Once on the boat we all sighed in relief. On the trip back the deckhands jumped right in to help carry everything off of the ship; no such help on the way over. But we made it and didn’t lose a single bag.

Immediately upon arrival we (KJ, Mahigheer and Gordo) headed toward the Hermosa Hotel but on the way we saw Harry (Graybeard) eating breakfast and told him to join us in fishing when he finished. We then checked in at the hotel, unpacked our fishing equipment, and headed down to the pier.

Green Pleasure Pier

While Gordo and Mahigheer grabbed a bite to eat, I headed out to the end of the Green Pleasure Pier where I found myself alone with all the fish. The fishing was fast and furious with a nice mixture of fish. A short time later Harry joined in the fun while Mahigheer and Gordo arrived a little later. Everyone was catching fish and once again the Catalina experience was taking place.

Surprisingly we didn’t see anyone else that day except for GDude and family at Antonio’s, the spot where we traditionally have our first night’s dinner. That scene was repeated and I, for one, was rewarded with a delicious calamari dinner. Should we go fishing after dinner? No, we were all too tired.

Friday — This day we’re scheduled to fish the Mole in the morning and do the surf fish derby at Pebble Beach late afternoon. Unfortunately when I make my bi-hourly pee run at 4 A.M. I notice an additional little pitter-patter, this time coming from the roof. A look out the door reveals rivulets of rain tracing their mercurial way down the vines of the bougainvillea on the deck. Great!

Instead of a 6:30 journey to the Green Pleasure Pier (normal routine) Mahigheer and I do breakfast. The Mole can wait until 8 when we join Gordo. Luckily even though the rain is steady so is the fishing—including numbers of good-sized opaleye who seem to like the ghost shrimp.

Eventually the cast of the Get Together begins to arrive—Ben and Brandy, Jimbojack, Scott and Ben, Redfish and Sylva, Ark and his wife, and of course Minnow Magnet, Robin and friends from the north, Dylan and Dave. By late morning the Mole is filling up and fishermen, rods, pier carts, bait and assorted fish are littering the deck. Early afternoon the sun arrives along with some bonito and GDude limits out in fairly quick fashion with his Buzz Bomb. Things are looking up and it even appears a dry surf derby is on tap. Most people head back to their cabins around two o’clock to change into dry clothes and drop off excess equipment. Then it’s back to the Mole and a hopeful pick up by the restaurant’s shuttle vans.

GDude and a bonito

Everything seems to go smooth at first, although somehow we lost Scooter and Steve, but then the surf derby is a bust. We had been told the whitefish were late this year and hadn’t made a showing but we hoped some would still show up. Nope, they wouldn’t cooperate and none of the other species would fill in for them (maybe it’s a union thing?). Anyway, after two hours, only a few nibbles, no fish, and increasing winds, we decided to walk over to the restaurant for dinner.

The Buffalo Nickel provided good food and with an encouragement from Mahigheer’s Raki (Lion’s Milk) everyone opened up and really seemed to have a good time. We talked the van driver into taking us back to our hotel where most went to bed. Ben and Jimbojack headed back to the Mole where Ben got a nice-sized rubberlip perch.

Saturday—Everyone was at the Mole bright and early but the sun was out and the fishing had slowed. It seems to always be the case that the fishing during the Saturday event is somewhat slow and as soon as the event is over the fish pick up the bite. It happened again. Of course about 9 A.M. the three caballeros are discussing final plans for the food.

What additional food is needed to supplement the items GDude is bringing? KFC has closed so we’ll do the chips and salsa routine to match his Mexican food along with soft drinks and a few sweets. People pitch in money while Ben and Brandy (since they’re younger and stronger) are stuck making the actual run to Von’s Express (and they come back with a big honking cart of stuff). We’re well on our way to once again having more than enough food. Then it’s time for the derby and raffle. Cards are passed out and people fish; some even catch fish.

Although several additional people fished and watched, only twenty-two people actually signed up for the event: GordoGrande, JimboJack, Gray Beard, Mahigheer, Eugene & Mina, Scooterfish, SteveO, Dompha Ben, Pop, Mom and bro. Johnny, Ark, Redfish and Sylva, Robin & Minnow Magnet, Dylan & Dave, Lee, Warren and Amanda.

The derby was catch and release using a point scale: and as seems usual, the fishing during the derby was slower than that before or after the event. Ten to two are not the best hours for fishing, especially when you have the crystal clear purity of water that you find at the Mole, and action seemed somewhat desultory. One difference this year was less small fish, reflecting the use of ghost shrimp by many contestants. Less small fish and thus less fish in the total count but more big fish than at most derbies. MinnowMagnet though was able to use small bait and hooks to snare enough jacksmelt to win the junior division. James (Gdude), who had a limit of bonito and would have won the derby, was strictly catch and keep so ineligible for the derby.

Then the announcement of the winners:

Adult Category: 1^st Place — SteveO; 2^nd Place — Scooterfish; 3^rd Place — Lee Smgley

Junior Category: 1^st Place — Minnow Magnet; 2^nd Place — Dylan; 3^rd Place — Warren Liu.

The raffle followed with Amanda picking out the tickets. Lastly it was time for a group shot of this year’s participants to finish off the festivities. Finally, back to more fishing. The events had gone as planned and everyone seemed to have a good time. Around 6 PM the group starts to break up and people head off to various haunts for dinner. Several of us go to Antonio’s one more time for an excellent dinner. Ben says he wants to do a little late night fishing at the Mole and I agree to meet him. But I could barely make the walk back up to the hotel and with sore back and legs am forced to forgo the search for my moray eel (for the first time at a derby I felt my age). Ben heads down with Mahigheer, Scott and Steve. But after fifteen or so minutes, and not much action, they head back.

Pier Rats — 2007

Sunday — Last day and I am up early and out to the Green Pleasure Pier at 6:30. I know there are some good fish there so I’m casting bigger baits and have the pier to myself. I don’t get a lot of fish but in two hours manage three keeper-size sheephead along with another large opaleye in a mix of a dozen and a half fish. Then it’s back to the cabin where I meet Mahigheer for breakfast prior to checking out. From there we haul all of various bags down to the Mole to fish until our 3:45 ferry departs to Long Beach. Good-by Catalina — for now!

Personal fishing: As always the fishing was superb but there was a slight drop-off in overall numbers for myself partly because I fished fewer hours and partly because I chose to fish with the “Pier Rats” at the Mole rather than at the too congested Green Pleasure Pier. Thursday, the first day, I did fish the pier and averaged more than 20 fish an hour but it was potpourri fishing, anything goes . However, with its various ropes, cables, boats and docks interfering with space only a few people can now fish the pier at a time. Thus most people drift over to the Mole where the fishing space is more open. The Mole is also home to some of bigger species such as bonito, barracuda and an occasional yellowtail. However, it’s my firm belief that you can catch as many, if not more, BIG opaleye and BIG Sheephead at the pier; it’s just harder to hook and land them. The time at the Mole did give me a chance to check out the rocky inshore section a little more and I managed a couple of new rockfish species that I had not caught previously at the Mole—a kelp rockfish and two brown rockfish. The time also gave me a chance to land a new pier species for myself, a Mexican scad, an uncommon species rarely caught in California (which makes up for the eel I wanted to catch)* The variety was good as were the number of big opaleye that were caught and the legal-size sheephead. Both figures were undoubtedly up because of the ghost shrimp.

The variety: Cabrillo Mole (16 species) — opaleye, halfmoon, garibaldi, blacksmith, rubberlip seaperch, sheephead, rock wrasse, senorita, California scorpionfish, giant kelpfish, treefish, kelp rockfish, brown rockfish, kelp bass, jacksmelt and one new species—Mexican scad (looks similar to a jack mackerel).Green Pleasure Pier (8 species) — opaleye, blacksmith, sheephead, rock wrasse, senorita, kelp bass, jacksmelt, island surfperch

Graybeard and a friend

Date: April 20, 2007 — From: gyozadude — Subject: Catalina; Prelude to PFGT 2007

The family and I arrived Thursday. Gordo, Graybeard, Mahigeer and the Skipper had arrived already and were fishing. I didn’t fish much and had dinner with the family, opting to get up earlier today to fish.

Well, we didn’t wake up that early, but Ken and Mahigeer were already on the Mole in the morning, and we bumped into Gordo on the way out. Ken and Hashem had picked up a whole bunch (hundreds of dollars worth) of Ghost Shrimp live bait from Paul’s Bait in San Pedro on Thursday. Most of it was in Gordo’s fridge and the bugs were still mostly moving except for a few of the ones that froze by accident on the top level of the fridge.

Mahigeer

The weather was wet -— raining cats and dogs during the morning, but finally stopping after lunch time. I saw Minnow Magnet and Rockin’ Robin’s pier cart early in the morning next to a breakfast restaurant in the heart of Avalon’s main strip, but couldn’t find them inside or out, but I was sure that was their equipment.

I was skeptical about ghost shrimp, but Wow! They work. Just ask my kids. My daughter’s new fishing rod with pink wraps and she got her first Opaleye. Big one too. My son had lots of lost fish too. All on ghost shrimp. and no need for hyper-thin leader. They crave these shrimp and hit hard. Ken cleaned out a lot of great opaleye at the Mole. And all the while the rain was coming down, sometimes, hard. Not a bonito in sight, and I was getting disappointed that all the rushed work to build a 10-ft spinning rod for underhand casts would be wasted.

Mahigeer helped out lots with his net, and we used it a lot. It was small, compact, and the new weights on the base really gave it great support. The rain stopped after lunch some time, and the calm surface beckoned me to cast again for more bonito.

Meanwhile, DOMPFA, Red, Scooterfish, Jimbojack, Ark and others showed up on the ferries as they took turns to dock. Minnow and his friend showed up just as the bonito started to bite. Scooterfish dropped by as well and we started casting bobber and golf ball rigs. I got a limit of these in a fairly short time and decided to go back to the cottage and clean the fish and rest up for tonight’s dinner. Not a bad day so far. And if the weather holds, it looks like tomorrow will be even better.

Date: April 21, 2007 — From: gyozadude — Subject: PFGT Catalina 2007

A great day and great weather for this 6th Annual PFGT. I met a lot of old fishing friends and some new ones as well. Fishing was pretty good through most of the day, and for my kids as other familiar pier rats, there were some “first evers.”

Watching the kids watch the water

Again, I limited out on bonito today — 2nd day in a row! They were a bit deeper today and not always on the surface. But they fell victim to a blue-pearl size 4W Buzz Bomb. I am impressed with the performance of the Cabela’s Fish Eagle II 10 ft. steelhead spinning blank and the Daiwa Exceler 3500 reel. They let me toss 1.75 oz. of metal underhand more than 60 yds. — more than far enough. I’m looking forward to ordering a few more FEII blanks while they’re still on sale. More stories from others to come, I certainly hope, and at this hour, some folks are night fishing and still making more stories.

Dompfabryan lands a kelp bass

Date: April 22, 2007 — From: gyozadude — Subject: Buffalo Nickel

The crew had headed out yesterday to fish the Pebbly Beach from 3pm until dinner, which was scheduled at 7:30 pm. I headed back to our room to rest up and clean my fish instead and start the freezing process.

Then my son got a hunkerin’ for more fishing, so around 6pm, we headed out and walked to the Mole and saw no one there. We kept walking toward the Buffalo Nickel and about halfway, there was a sign warning against Pedestrians walking further due to rock slides. I realized that this was going to be a problem and decided to call the restaurant to see if they had a shuttle/van that could pick us up out there. The line was busy for quite a while, but just as I made my 4th attempt to call, their new van drove by and I was able to flag the driver down and the two of us got a ride, which saved my already aching feet.

When I got off at the restaurant, I poked my head inside, even though it was only 6:30. But behold! The skipper, Dompfa and his better half, Ross, Rockn Robin, Minnow, Mahigeer (with Lion’s Milk Liqueur!) and others were already having dinner. The story was that they all fished for two hours and didn’t have a single bite, so they came in from the now colder breeze and had dinner early.

My wife and daughter were still on the old schedule of 7:30pm so I tried to call her on the mobile phone — but they had no service on that side of the island. But my son and I got into conversations so much that we just decided to start and place our orders and before we knew it, my wife and daughter showed up via Shuttle.

The service was pretty good at the Buffalo Nickel. I had the chicken/ribs combo with fries and even my son liked the ribs and had his fill. They also drove us back all the way to the Hermosa, and we paid to rent a couple of tables and chairs from them for the Mole for the PFGT event the next day, which they’d deliver, set-up, and then come back to pick up. Yes, they’re out of the way, but the food is reasonably priced, tastes good, and their service is great.

And yes, I gotta give kudos to Mahigeer for the “Lion’s Milk.” It’s a potent drink with strong licorice flavour that perks you up, even served just on the rocks. I think Mrs. Dompfa like the stuff as much as I did.

The junior division — Warren, ?, and Minnow Magnet

Date; April 22, 2007 — From: gordo grande — Subject: Catalina GT 2007

First and foremost… Adam and Rebecca…We missed you! The fact that we even had a Catalina GT without you guys is a tribute to how hard you worked through the years organizing all the previous events. You better be there next year! I’m writing this on Sunday evening, so I hope I get all the facts right. Please forgive me if I don’t.

Graybeard, Jimbojack and Gordo at the railing

I went out early this year, hoping to get as much fishing out of my system as I could before the big event. It’s a good thing, too, since the only luck that I had seemed to come on Thursday. I happened to run into Ken and Mahigeer on the 10:00 boat, and we found Graybeard already on the island when we got there.

Our first stop, after checking into the Hermosa, was the Green Pleasure Pier. I got immediately slammed on my very first cast with a double—a calico bass and an opaleye! The bite there was pretty consistent, thanks to the ample supply of ghost shrimp that had been generously donated to our group. After a while I wandered over to the Mole by myself, where I connected with another few calicos, an opal-eye, a rock wrasse, and an almost legal sheephead. Dinner that night was at Antonios, and then off to bed for an early rise and another trip to the Mole.

Friday morning was wet, wet, wet!!!!!! The rain started as a drizzle, but it built and ebbed as the morning wore on. At times we were standing there in a deluge, but it didn’t seem to slow us down much. The bonito hadn’t really showed yet, but we were getting a slow pick on most of the other typical Catalina species.

Jimbojack with a halfmoon

We were joined by G-dude and family, who had come in the evening before, and by Jimbojack who arrived on one of the morning boats. By about noon I was chilled to the bone, and was the first to throw in the towel. All I can say is that most of my clothes were still wet when we packed up to leave Sunday morning.

Friday afternoon we made our trip out to the Buffalo Nickel. The road had been closed due to rockslides, so the restaurant agreed to shuttle us out there. Last year we caught a ton of fish out there at Pebbly Beach, and had them cook it up for us. This year we changed the game plan. We were still going to fish, but we would just order regular dinners at the restaurant, e.g. prime-rib, chicken and ribs, etc.

Good thing, because we were out there for two hours and never got a solid hit! We would have starved if we had been relying on our catch. It was still pretty darn cold as well, so we packed it in early and headed in to eat.

Unfortunately, I think Scooterfish and Steve0 got left behind at the Molee due to some confusion over the transportation arrangements. Sorry about that guys. G-dude and family came at the scheduled time, but we quickly made room for them, and continued to enjoy some fine spirits and good conversation while they ate. Dinner was good, and we all survived the Raki that Mahigeer provided for us.

Put it back Scooterfish!

Saturday promised better weather, and the whole group slowly assembled. It was great to see Rockin Robin and Minnow Magnet, and their friends Dave and Dylan, Jimbojack, Scooterfish and SteveO (nice to meet you guys), Graybeard, Dompfa Ben, Brandy, Dompfa Pops and Dompfa Mom and other assorted Ackers, Redfish and Sylvana, Ark, Eugene and Mina, and of course the wonderful G-dude Clan, James, Dora, Warren and Amanda. Forgive me if I’ve forgotten anyone.

SteveO with a bonito

A pleasant surprise was the addition to our group of a gentleman from Long Beach by the name of Lee. He happened to start talking with my wife on boat trip out to the island Saturday morning, and she told him about our get-together which was already in progress. He stopped by as he got off the boat, and started chatting. I offered him the use of a spare rod, and that was all he needed. He stayed all afternoon, and ended up taking third place in the derby. He’s promised to stop by the website and post a few messages.

A special thanks to Paul’s Bait and Tackle in San Pedro, (I hope I got the name right), who generously donated several hundred dollars worth of ghost shrimp. We can’t thank you enough, and I can tell you that it worked wonders. They got bit on almost every cast, and really made the difference for us. I’m sure that Ken will correct me if I didn’t get the name right, but I couldn’t post this report without thanking you.

Finally, the best part for me was the fact that Mrs. Grande finally made it to her first Catalina GT, and she had a great time. She even managed to catch her first fish! She asked me to thank everyone for being so kind to her, and she promises to be at the next one as well.

Date: April 22, 2007 — From: Jimbojack — Subject: More Catalina

I left my house on a rainy Friday morning. I got a few miles down the freeway when I remembered that I forgot to grab the bait. I was having visions of my wife finding the plain, innocent looking Styrofoam boxes in the fridge and opening them up to discover the writhing masses of multi-legged lugworms inside, screaming, and throwing the contents all over the kitchen. So, I turned around and got the bait to continue on my way.

Because of the little delay, I arrived at the Catalina Express ticket counter just in time to see my 6:15 AM boat pulling out. Next ride wasn’t until 10:00 and I had the entire terminal to myself. A few minutes later, two guys with fishing gear show up. I had to inquire, and was finally fortunate enough to meet Scooterfish and SteveO. We talked a bit, and since we had three plus hours to kill went to check out the little finger pier near the terminal. Absolutely no bites, so we went back just in time to avoid the heavy rain.

It was pouring rain when we arrived at Avalon, but several of the guys were out at the Mole fishing anyway. I stowed my gear, put on my rain suit and joined in the craziness. Fish were plentiful as usual, and were very much liking the generous supply of ghost shrimp from Paul’s Bait & Tackle. After awhile, the rain stopped, and eventually, the sun broke through for a beautiful afternoon.

We met up at 3:00 for the shuttle over to Pebbly Beach. I was so looking forward to this since we had such heavy action there last year. What a disappointment! Not one fish was caught. I had a few weak nibbles. We left a little early and hung out at the Buffalo Nickel restaurant for a pretty good dinner and excellent company and conversation.

Dompfaben with a bonito

After dinner, Dompfa Ben and I fished th Mole for about an hour. It was pretty slow. Ben caught a pretty big rubberlip.

The derby on Saturday had some pretty good fishing for us, but it always has its slow times too. As usual, I always catch my best fishes before or after the tournament. I got a keeper sheephead, a huge halfmoon, rubberlip, blacksmith, and a few big opaleye. I avoided the usual plethora of smaller fish by sticking with bigger baits and bigger hooks.

Jimbojack and a small sheephead

The fishing on Catalina is nothing short of amazing. The whole PFIC group there every year are just good people that are good to hang out with. They welcome old friends and newcomers alike. I always leave wondering how soon I can come back to fish again. A huge heartfelt thanks to Ken, Dompfa Ben and Brandy for all their hard work. Thank you to Gdude and Dora for all the food and the absolutely beautiful spinning rod I won. Already looking forward to next year. Jim
PFGT cont’d

Date: April 23, 2007 — From: v6v6v6 — Subject: Catalina

Mina and I enjoyed our first PFGT which was also our first trip to Catalina. Just wanted to thank Hashem and Leslie for being sweet to Mina–she had a rough morning (throwing up twice on the boat, nipped by the pelican, admonished by Hashem–haha, just kidding). Also, a very special thanks to Dora and Amanda for taking Mina to the playground and treating her to ice cream! She mentioned Amanda several times to my wife when we got home.

Mina

The fishing was all too brief (ended up with two short calicos and two bonito in four hours) but it was nice to be fishing amongst friends. My only regret is that I didn’t spend more time greeting everyone. Gyozadude, jimbojack, greybeard, and ark, it was nice to meet you. Also good to see Ross, Ben and his wife, and Ken again. Congrats to all the winners and hope to see you next year (or sooner)! Boarding the boat… nasty runoff from the LA River after the

2006 PFIC/UPSAC Catalina Get Together (1)

kenjones — Tue, 27 Mar 2018 22:58:39 +0000

Stuck in Catalina With the Bonito Blues Again — Written for and dedicated to Mahigeer (Hashem Nahid) when he was seeking out his first bonito at Catalina in 2006. Although the rest of the UPSAC/PFIC gang were pulling in the boneheads, poor old Hashem just couldn‘t seem to hook one. However, that has now been happily rectified.

DompfaBen and a bonito

Oh, the Dompha, he draws circles
Up and down the mole.
I’d ask him what the matter was
But I know that he don’t talk.
And the anglers treat me kindly
And furnish me with line,
But deep inside my heart
I know I can’t escape.
Oh, Mama, can this really be the end,
To be stuck in Catalina
With the bonito blues again.

KJ and a bonito

Well, Ken, he’s in the alley
With his pointed shoes and his bells,
Speaking to some French girl,
Who says she knows me well.
And I would send a message
To find out if she’s talked,
But the tackle store’s been stolen
And the tackle box is locked.
Oh, Mama, can this really be the end,
To be stuck in Catalina
With the bonito blues again.

GordoGrande and a treefish

Gordo tried to tell me
To stay away from that Catalina mole
He said that all those older fishermen
Just drink up your blood like wine.
An’ I said, “Oh, I didn’t know that,
But then again, there’s only one I’ve met
An’ he just smoked my eyelids
An’ punched my cigarette.”
Oh, Mama, can this really be the end,
To be stuck in Catalina
With the bonito blues again.

Kelp at the Mole

Grandpa died last week
And now he’s buried in the kelp,
But everybody still talks about
How badly they were shocked.
But me, I expected it to happen,
I knew he’d lost control
When he built a fire on the mole
And shot it full of holes.
Oh, Mama, can this really be the end,
To be stuck in Catalina
With the bonito blues again.

GDude and a bonito

Now the GDude came down here
Showing ev’ryone his rod,
Handing out free tickets
To the gathering on the mole.
An’ me, I nearly got busted
An’ wouldn’t it be my luck
To get caught without a license
And be discovered beneath a trunk.
Oh, Mama, can this really be the end,
To be stuck in Catalina
With the bonito blues again.

Baitfish and a bonito

Now Baitfish looked so baffled
When I asked him why he dressed
With twenty pounds of feathers
Stapled to his chest.
But he cursed me when I proved it to him,
Then I whispered, “Not even you can hide.
You see, you’re just like me,
I hope you’re satisfied.”
Oh, Mama, can this really be the end,
To be stuck in Catalina
With the bonito blues again.

Mahigeer waitin’ for a bonito

Now Mahigeer gave me two cures,
Then he said, “Jump right in.”
The one was Persian medicine,
The other was just plain Raki gin.
An’ like a fool I mixed them
An’ it strangled up my mind,
An’ now people just get uglier
An’ I have no sense of time.
Oh, Mama, can this really be the end,
To be stuck in Catalina
With the bonito blues again.

Rita and a bonito

When Rita says come see her
In her honky-tonk lagoon,
Where I can watch her waltz for free
‘Neath her Avalonian moon.
An’ I say, “Aw come on now,
You must know about my debutante.”
An’ she says, “Your debutante just knows what you need
But I know what you want.”
Oh, Mama, can this really be the end,
To be stuck in Catalina
With the bonito blues again.

Metropole

Now the bricks lay on Metropole
Where the neon madmen climb.
They all fall there so perfectly,
It all seems so well timed.
An’ here I sit so patiently
Waiting to find out what price
You have to pay to get new balls and feathers
After losing them more than twice.
Oh, Mama, can this really be the end,
To be stuck in Catalina
With the bonito blues again.

Bonito

(With apologies to Bob Dylan and “Stuck Inside of Mobile With The Memphis Blues Again)

Posted by Mahigeer (Hashem Nahid) — I would like to start with thanking the Mr. and Mrs. Baitfish for their hard work. I would also like to thank all of the better halves, i.e. Mrs. Jones and my wife and others, who allowed us to go. I have been given the great news that this get-together is to be my yearly birthday present. (Though mine is in March).
Since I got the great news, I have already started shopping. (Golf balls, Bonita feathers, Megabait, and anything that!@#$%^& Bonita my hit.)
Now that you have tasted the Turkish national drink called RAKI, (pronounced like lucky), I will have plenty to go around next time. Also the kadayief will be plentiful. I am also thinking of bringing Persian and Turkish food to the potluck if I get a room with frig. And the logistic works out.
It was great meeting everyone, from Chris and Joey, to John and all of the nice people who made it possible to make this event such a fun time. I had such a good time that I talked my head off, and maybe bothered some people, for that I apologize. Since this was my first time (too bad I did not know about PFIC, before), I had too much of tackle that really was not useful and not enough of useful stuff. So I will be making a detail list of everything I needed and will share it if anybody who wants it.
I will also be working on setups to reduce loss of tackle to the kelp. Thank you all for allowing me to share this great time with you and thanks to the shutter bugs who made it possible to record forever this momentous Occasion.

Fish caught: Garibaldi on peas; White fish on squid; Sheephead on squid; Calico bass on anchovies; Smelt on Sabiki; Bonita Lost one due to line break, one due to mishandling of drag, several to perhaps not very sharp single hook. There is a Bonita somewhere with a hook in his mouth and a cast-a-bubble in tow.

Hope to see you sooner, if not, see you next year. Hashem — CHEERS English — BE-SALAMATI Farsi — (to your health) SHARAFINIZE Turkish (to your honor) — LAKHAIM Hebrew — KOMPI Japanese — PROST German

Posted by orkspace — t was a pleasure to meet and fish with you Hashem. Thank you for your generosity and patience. We hope to fish with you again.

Orkspace (Dan) fighting a bonito

Posted by baitfish —Hey Hashem, I’m really glad you could make it to the PFGT, I will never forget your Bonito rant or your friendly conversation. You definitely fit right into the whole Catalina crew and I hope we can hook up before next years event, maybe do some fly fishing.

Posted by baitchucker — He gave me the chance to steal his BONITA!!! He came over to our side of the Mole, complaining about how he hadn’t caught a bonito, looking left and right… yakkity, yakkity, yak… “Oh, I haven’t caught a bonito,” blah, blah, blah…. AND not paying attention to his feather during his retrieve. While out in the deep blue yonder, I saw several flashes just behind his offerings. This happened with several of his casts. Twice, I was able to make out the fish smacking his feather without subsequent hook set. Twice, I alerted him that he had a bony on! Enough was enough… I couldn’t take it any longer. Mahigeer made yet another, long, cast. I waited to see the flash. I let the chase happen until his feather got near the weed line. I shot my spoon just past his feather…. did a lil’ dance and BINGO! Baitchucker 1… Mahigeer 0… Sorry mang, just couldn’t handle it any longer! (hehehe)

Posted by mahigeer — Baitchucker; I remember meeting you, but cannot recall the face. Can you tell me where you are in the group picture? As to the incident you are describing, I remember talking too much and the hit and miss of bonies, but don’t recall anybody telling me where they were. I did see some flashes, but they disappeared too quickly. Maybe it’s the old man syndrome. Will get stronger contacts next time.

Posted by baitchucker — Mahigeer! We were on the other side of the gated-off portion of the Mole, next to the sheriff’s truck. Dompfa, Baitfish, Orkspace and I were all in the same area. It was later in the day, close to when we took the group picture. Our Ferry came to dock @ 4:00, so we didn’t get to talk much. I remember a flap on your baitcaster would come up every so often. Anyway, it was good meeting you. You’re a funny guy; I hope to hook up with you when we come back to SoCal this summer. As for the bonies…. I predict you’ll get’em before summer officially hits.

Posted by socaljerry — You sure made the trip for Jacob and me a whole lot of fun! We sure enjoyed your friendly open demeanor, and you kept us laughing the whole time we were there! Thank you!

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Although there were many stories that emerged from the 2006 Catalina Get Together, one was the fishing highlighted by a large number of bonito — for most. However, many other species were also present and everyone was able to enjoy the derby, the food, the prizes and the good companionship.

Arrival from Long Beach

A cruise ship was sitting just offshore from the Mole when we arrived.

A plethora of “Pier Rats”

Kyle and Minnow Magnet arriving

Green Pleasure Pier

GordoGrande and his mini-pole (with a mini-bass)

A young Kyle Pease with a sheephead

Cabrillo Mole

Ark and a sheephead

Baitfish (Adam) with another bonito

Ark and a variety of fish

Boys will be boys — Adam and Kyle

Kyle and a bonito

The Mole and xpostman

Warren Liu with a sheephead

Additional pictures — 5th Annual PFIC/UPSAC Catalina Get Together — 2006 (2)

2005 PFIC/UPSAC Catalina Get Together

kenjones — Tue, 27 Mar 2018 05:49:10 +0000

Date: April 25, 2005 —To: PFIC Message Board — From: Ken Jones — Subject: Catalina 2005 — Another Catalina Weekend

Day 1 — Thursday, April 21, 2005 — As for myself, I took off at 3 a.m. on Thursday morning and headed south on I-5. I knew I was cutting it short since I had a reservation on the 10 a.m. boat but thought I could make it. Wrong! Great time until about ten miles from downtown Los Angeles when the traffic stopped. No way around it and when I pulled up at the Queen Mary Landing the boat was just heading out.

The Queen Mary next to the landing for the ferry

Downtown Long Beach across the bay

Missed it by ten minutes and for my efforts got to hang around the landing until 12:30. (Knowing what I now know, I could have gone and gotten some fresh bait but at that point I was just tired from the drive and had a leisurely lunch.)

Arriving at Avalon

Upon arrival at Catalina I checked into the palatial edifice know as The Hermosa Hotel, unpacked the gear, and headed down to one of my favorite piers. By 2:30 I was rigged up and catching fish but soon noticed a paucity of the fish I was seeking. Yes, there were fish there—as evidenced by the quick nibbles and resultant fish. But the numbers of not-a-bass that I was seeking were down. Part of the problem was that I did not have as good of bait as last year (variety) but I truly believed at an early point that the fishing variety itself would be down, at least at the Green Pleasure Pier, and my results over the next four days would unfortunately prove that true.

What was of fairly immediate interest was the appearance of a large black (giant) sea bass that swam into the waters by the pier several times that afternoon. It was only a few feet down in the water and its massive shape was impressive to say the least. We estimated the weight at 100+pounds but it may have weighed twice that much. People disembarking from the glass bottom boat said they had seen it on their cruise; we were able to see it from our perch at the end of the pier. A second creature, 4-5 foot-long, also made an appearance but it was a little deeper in the water and we could not provide a positive identification. It had the triangular shape of an angel shark and if so would have been up around 40-50 pounds in weight. Neither fish was hooked which is probably a good thing.

I was joined by Pierhead himself later that afternoon and was provided with the clear and coherent loquacity that is his mark. We swapped stories and caught fish until dinnertime at which point we retired to an excellent dinner at the Galleon Restaurant.

Results Green Pleasure Pier — 2:30-6:30 p.m. — 32 Kelp Bass, 16 Senorita, 5 Rock Wrasse and 1 Halfmoon

After dinner I decided to give the pier one more chance hoping for a big sculpin (scorpionfish) or a shark on the bottom (several horn sharks have been landed over the years). Alas, results were nill with the exception of a few bass which can always be found hanging under the pier. (Nightime action is always different here since the senorita and rock wrasse bury themselves and take a snooze at night—along with the sheephead.)

Results Green Pleasure Pier — 9:00-10:00 p.m. — 5 Kelp Bass

Day 2 — Friday, April 22, 2005 — I slept a little later than planned this morning but still managed to arrive at the pier by 7:30. The bait was ready but I wasn’t. I needed a cup of Joe so I followed the smell of bacon emanating from the adjacent stand. Caffeine—oh yea! The bacon was awfully tempting but so was the fishin’ so the lines were soon in the water and the fish came over to say hello. Shortly thereafter I was joined Pierhead and not too long later Gdude showed up.

As the boats began to arrive from the mainland, we were joined by several additional and esteemed pier rats including Jimbojack, Joromaca, Graybeard, GordoGrande and eventually Kyle and Rita. By then we had figured out which fish were where and what bait was working for each so it was all pretty easy. Unfortunately neither our giant bass nor our mystery fish made an appearance but we were so busy catching fish it didn’t matter.

Collage by GDude (James Liu)

GDude had discovered the attraction of large opaleye (the famous Ray Cannon’s favorite fish) and a school that ranged at times up to fifty fish or so made their tantalizingly presence known. They would head over to a bait, give it a quick look and be on their merry way. Shrimp, peas, bloodworms, squid: nothing worked. Then jimbojack volunteered some moss he had gathered that morning and the opaleye began to pay real attention. At least they made a few hits but were still wary. Finally Gdude switched to two-pound monofilament and he began to get bites. Unfortunately the lines, cables, structures and pilings that make up the end area provided perfect opportunity for the big button-backs to break off. I was finally able to hand line one of Gdude’s nice-sized fish up to the pier but the rest got away. They wouldn’t hit when he switched to four-pound test but were hard to keep out of the pilings with the two pound test. BUT, James had some nice and exciting fights.

Fishing with Graybeard (Harry Goddall)

While Gdude was experimenting on the opaleye the rest of us continued to catch the easier to catch species. It was good to have the opportunity to show Gordo a couple of tricks for catching the bass and it brings to mind an old Latin saying—a bove majori discit arare minor (the older ox teaches the younger how to plow). However remember, in this case there isn’t too much difference is age. Finally people began to look at their watches and head off to wash up for the 8 p.m. dinner. Since I was approaching a 100-fish day I tried just a few more casts. Finally hit the mark and retired shortly thereafter.

Results Green Pleasure Pier — 7:30 a.m. – 6 p.m. — 77 Kelp Bass, 9 Senorita, 7 Rock Wrasse, 4 Blacksmith, 2 Halfmoon, 2 Jack Mackerel and 1 Jacksmelt

Amidst a large and very enthusiastic gathering of pier rats at Antonio’s we had a great dinner. The UPSAC Board then retired to the Hermosa’s lobby for a meeting (and I want to thank Boyd, James, Adam, Rita, Ross and Ben who were willing to meet until past 11 p.m. that night after a hard day of travel and fishing). Spouses were ignored and the very tired group discussed matters of earth-shattering importance even though everyone planned to be up early the next morning fishing. Thank you guys (and a certain lady) for your hard work.

Jimbojack

Baitfish (Adam Cassidy), Roosterqueen (Rebecca Cassidy) and Anadromous

DompfaBen (Ben Acker), Brandy Acker and Jimbojack

Dora and Amanda Liu and Gordo Grande (Ross Kestin)

Day 3 — Saturday, April 23, 2005 — After dinner and the late-night meeting it was good to get a little extra sleep. Finally headed down to the mole where several people were already catching fish. Unfortunately the action remained slow for me for much of the derby hours just as the previous year. A little variety did show up but most of the fish were not too big with the exception of a couple of the sheephead and garibaldi.

Cabrillo Mole—8:15 a.m.–2:15 p.m.—south side — 7 Kelp Bass, 5 Sheephead, 4 Garibaldi, 2 Treefish and 1 Senorita

We had a decent crowd at the Mole and some decent but not great action.

The railing was lined with “Pier Rats”

DompfaBen and a bonito

Chaum with a hook up!

Baitfish with a sheephead

Jimbojack with an opaleye

A young Kyle Pease with a young sheephead

Rich Reano pulls in a bonito

A colorful giant kelpfish

DompfaBen with another bonito

Sheephead

Collage’s by GDude

About one o’clock James and Dora showed up with some delicious food!

The awards were at 2:30 and once again there were many, many prizes — and happy faces.

Gordo Grande is the “king” of ticket salesmen

Adam calling out ticket numbers

Picking the tickets

PFIC Webmaster Rich Reano

DompfaBen

Last but not least was a group photo

Everyone again seemed to have a great time. Good companionship, good food, and good fishing.

After the festivities and picture taking it was time for a little more fishing and just as the previous year I changed sides of the pier and began to pull in the fish. The current was different, the water was now a darker color (with the sun being blocked in part by the mole itself), and the fish were far less wary. A school of halfmoon made it interesting along with the beautiful little blacksmith. Finally though I hit one of those toad opaleyes that had been making fun of us all day long. This one got hooked on a combo piece of shrimp w/one pea. After a scare as it headed into the kelp I finally got it where we could hand line it up. A nice fish that might have won the derby but the derby was long over. No problemo, it was just nice to get the fish — which was released.

Cabrillo Mole — 3:30-7:30 p.m. — north side — 26 Halfmoon, 16 Blacksmith, 2 Kelp Bass, 1 Jacksmelt, 1 Kelp Perch and 1 Opaleye—15 1/2” length, 12 1/2”girth

I finally headed back to the motel but decided to make a short stop at the Green Pleasure Pier along with Boyd. Still seeking out some sculpin, whitefish or sharks but alas just more of the bass. At least the company was good but we both were tired and decided to call it an early night.

Green Pleasure Pier — 7:50-8:50 p.m. — 9 Kelp Bass

Day 4 — Sunday, April 24, 2005 — Up at the crack of dawn for one last shot at the fish but bait was now limited and it showed with a relatively sparse catch of bass and one senorita. I kept thinking if I had just brought some ghost shrimp the sheephead would have made a better appearance but hindsight is, as they say, always 20-20.

Green Pleasure Pier — 6:15-7:45 a.m. — 6 Kelp Bass and 1 Senorita

Kudos — The main people to thank for this annual gathering are Adam and Rebecca, the conductors of this little opera. Adam first proposed this trip four years ago and they have overseen the planning and execution ever since. It’s an amazing job considering the logistics involved. Obtaining the food and prizes and transporting them to Catalina is, in itself, a big endeavor. Combined with the willingness to spend time judging instead of fishing (a big matter in my book), require a deep commitment. I hope both understand how deeply our thanks run for their actions. A BIG THANK YOU is not nearly enough of a thanks.

A special thanks also has to go out to Mr. Gdude and his wife Dora who have annually provided the exquisite pot stickers for the lunch. It takes preparation, as well as hauling quite a bit of food and cooking utensils to Catalina to provide this treat. Thanks—again!

Many more people provided food, cash for the drawings, and help when needed. Unfortunately I do not have all the names but a BIG thanks goes out to all of you. Overall, there were close to forty people present and a final thanks go out to each of you. Some of you traveled several hundred miles to attend but your presence makes the event special. Gemütlichkeit is a German word that represents a certain cozy and relaxed atmosphere and that was what we had Saturday. Forty people in a synergistic, friendly gathering that seemed almost clan-like in feeling. Of course even those who were new to the gathering were seen as old friends since all have posted on the PFIC board. So, there were really no strangers even if some of the faces were new. Amazing! But I shouldn’t have been surprised since it’s now an annual occurrence!

I do want to make my annual apology for fishing too much and personally socializing too little. When I’m fishing I’m concentrating on the fish so sometimes I fail in my role as one of the hosts. Sorry!

Quite a few fish were caught but as I said the results were down from previous years, at least in regard to the Green Pleasure Pier.

It is hoped that additional PFIC posts will be found once the “old” message board is accessible.

“Stuck in Catalina With The Bonito Blues Again”

kenjones — Mon, 01 Jan 2018 19:08:12 +0000

Are the bonito in Catalina blue? No, that’s not it.

Written for and dedicated to Hashem aka Mahigeer when he was seeking out his first bonito at Catalina in 2006. Although the rest of the UPSAC/PFIC gang was pulling in the bonies, Hashem just couldn‘t seem to hook one.

Hashem aka Mahigeer

Dompfaben and a bonito

KJ and a bonito

Rita, Gordo and Kyle with bonito

Kelp at the Mole

GDude and a bonito

Baitfish and a bonito

Mahigeer and his Persian “Raki”

Rita, a bonito, a yellow submarine, and Hillary a fish-grabbin’ pelican!

The Metropole at night

(With apologies to Bob Dylan and “Stuck Inside of Mobile With The Memphis Blues Again)

The group at the 2006 PFIC-UPSAC Catalina Get Together

Catalina—Bonito—Catalina—Bonito—Catalina—Bonito—Catalina—Bonito

With a little help and advice from his friends, Hashem learned the “Tao of Bonito“

Catalina—Bonito—Catalina—Bonito—Catalina—Bonito—Catalina—Bonito

The Cast of “The Bonito Blues Again”

Ben Acker aka “DompfaBen” (Dominating Positive Fishing Attidude Ben)

Ben’s a real fisherman as seen in this wedding picture with his bride Brandy (and assorted fishing lures)

Ken Jones aka “The Pier Fisherman” with a halfmoon and a bonito

Ross Kestin aka “Gordo Grande”

James Liu aka “GDude”

James (GDude) and Adam (Baitfish)

The Liu Family

Adam Cassidy aka “Baitfish”

Hashem Nahid aka “Mahigeer” kissing a whitefish and with a bonito

Rita Magdamo aka “Rita” with a sheephead, triggerfish, and a kelp bass

Catalina—Bonito—Catalina—Bonito—Catalina—Bonito—Catalina—Bonito

As for the original song — given that many younger anglers may never of heard of Dylan, or the original song, here’s a few versions of “Stuck Inside Of Mobile With The Memphis Blues Again”

1. Dylan on an early acoustic version of “Stuck Inside Of Mobile With The Memphis Blues Again” (with slightly different wording). Not as good as the final version in my opinion.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5WS-TTNaLyg

2. A good Grateful Dead version of “Stuck Inside Of Mobile With The Memphis Blues Again”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bwsjQbf0czc

3. A third version of the song by Old Crow Medicine Show.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Kpq5UMlpQE

Blacksmith

kenjones — Sat, 23 Dec 2017 19:45:41 +0000

Damselfishes—Family Pomacentridae

Species: Chromis punctipinnis (Cooper, 1863); from the Greek word chromis (a type of Mediterranean fish) and the Latin words punctipinnis (for spot and fin).

Alternate Names: Blue perch, kelp perch, rock bass and black perch. In Mexico called castañeta herrera.

Identification: Perch-shaped but not so deep—compressed and somewhat elongate. Their dorsal fin is long and undivided. Their coloring is dark blue or black on the back, grayish blue on sides, yellow tones in fins; they have black spots on the posterior half of the body.

Size: Length to 12 inches; most caught from piers are 6-10 inches.

Range: Punta San Pablo, central Baja California, to Monterey Bay. Common in southern California but uncommon north of Point Conception.

Habitat: Shallow-water, rocky-shore areas and in kelp beds; young and adults aggregate according to size. Surface to 150 feet deep although may travel down to 300 feet. Reportedly migrate to rocky holes shortly before sunset where they hunker down for the night. Those unable to find a hole or crevice cluster after dark in dense schools near the rocks.

Piers: Generally found only at southern California piers, and then only those located close to extensive kelp or reefs, although I have seen a few blacksmith landed at Wharf #2 in Monterey. Best bets: Oceanside Harbor Pier, Green Pleasure Pier and Cabrillo Mole (Avalon), Redondo Harbor Sportfishing Pier, Paradise Cove Pier, and sometimes, in late summer, Gaviota Pier.

Elaine Liu at the Cabrillo Mole in Avalon

Shoreline: A common catch by anglers fishing rocky-shore areas in southern California.

Boats: An inshore species rarely taken from boats.

Bait and Tackle: Size 6 to 8 hooks fished on the bottom to mid-depth. Best bait are live bloodworms and lug worms, live small crabs, fresh mussels, and small pieces of shrimp.

Food Value: Too small to have much meat.

Comments: A close relative of their damselfish cousins, garibaldi, and like their cousins they are noted as having a “pugnacious” nature. It is reported that young blacksmith seek out cleaning fish, usually juvenile pileperch or senorita, and place themselves in positions where the cleaning fish are almost forced to remove external parasites from them. During these actions, the blacksmith may be head up, head down, on their side or even upside down. If the cleaner tries to leave, blacksmiths follow and prevent escape. Talk about bad manners! At the same time, they are also cleaners themselves having been observed removing parasites from Ocean Sunfish (Mola mola).

Minnow Magnet

kenjones — Mon, 26 Dec 2016 21:44:23 +0000

Minnow Magnet (Justin Morris) and his dad Rockin Robin (Robin Morris) joined the PFIC family in 2004 and soon after Justin became a regular at PFIC events both in the Bay Area and at Catalina. He also set up his own pier fishing derby at the Paradise Beach Pier. As he grew he branched out—surf fishing, rock fishing, boat fishing, freshwater fishing (including some carp fishing) and boat fishing. However, unlike most of our youngsters who continued to fish, but also moved on to other fields as they got older, Justin has remained with fishing working on both Sportfishing boats and now owning his own commercial fishing boat. Fishing got into his blood — and stayed there.

Minnow Magnet and myself at the 2004 Mud Marlin Derby at the Berkeley Pier

Minnow Magnet and a blackperch from the Berkeley Pier in 2004

Minnow decided to start his own mud marlin derby in 2004 at the Paradise Beach Pier in Tiburon

Minnow Magnet and a small bat ray (mud marlin) he caught at his derby

Some pics from his 2004 derby

Justin at the 2005 derby at the Paradise Beach Pier

Minnow Magnet and a brown smoothhound shark

Justin and his dad Robin, each with a bat ray from the Paradise Beach Pier in 2005

Minnow Magnet and a walleye surfperch from the Berkeley Pier in 2006

Minnow Magnet and Kyle Pease arriving at the Cabrillo Mole in Avalon for the 2006 Catalina Get Together — Notice each has his own pier cart

Minnow and his dad Robin looking at some of the raffle prizes at the 2006 Get Together

Justin with a certificate and prizes at the 2006 Catalina Get Together

Minnow Magnet and his 2006 Paradise Pier Mud Marlin Derby

Justin and a small rockfish from the Pillar Point Harbor Pier in 2006

Minnow and a bat ray from the Berkeley Pier in 2007

Justin and a thornback ray from the Berkeley Pier in 2007

Justin and a pileperch from the Berkeley Pier in 2007

Minnow fighting a fish at the Catalina Get Together in 2007

A collage from the 2007 Catalina Get Together with Justin holding a garabaldi

Three amigos at the 2007 Catalina Get Together

Participants (including Justin in the front) at the 2007 Get Together

Justin and his picture for his 2007 derby

Minnow Magnet at the 2009 Mud Marlin Derby at the Berkeley Pier

Minnow Magnet and his trophy at the 2010 Berkeley Perch Derby

A few years later! Justin serving as a deckhand (left) on the “Golden Eye” out of the Berkeley Marina in 2014

One in a series of PFIC Young Angler articles

How To Catch Bonito at Catalina — GDude & Scooterfish

kenjones — Sat, 10 Dec 2016 05:08:39 +0000

From Pier Fishing In California (pierfishng.com)

GDude (James Liu) and a bonito he caught at the Cabrillo Mole at Catalina — 2008

Date: April 8, 2008
To: PFIC Message Board
From: gyozadude
Subject: Bonito fishing at the Cabrillo Mole, Avalon, Catalina Island

If you’re coming to Catalina and want to catch bonito, here are some tips:

Gear to bring: Get an 8 – 10 ft spinning rod with a mod-fast action, and 12 – 20 lb test line. Try to avoid a full surf rod as the butt section may be too long for good under-hand casting. I like to use braid as it seems to have less memory and casts farther.

Bring some metal spoons, in the 1 – 3 oz range. Kroc spoons in chrome with a splash of colour work. Also an in-line golf-ball with two small screw-in framing loops works if tied to a 5 ft leader and streamer or Hoochie or glow grub. The golf ball is just a bit denser than water so it sinks slowly, and will create a splash if you retrieve it quickly. But my favourite lure has to be a size 4 Buzzbomb. A popular lure up in B.C. for salmon, the Buzzbomb flutters when jerked and released and catches all sorts of fish. The Buzzbomb is about 1.75 oz and casts far, plus sinks fairly quickly. Due to its pulsing hydrodynamics, however, the lure puts out a huge alert under water. So unlike the golf ball rig that generates the most flash just at the surface, the Buzzbomb draws out fish from deeper waters.

You’ll see myself, Mahigeer, and Scooterfish using Buzzbombs this year. Chrome or holographic finishes are ideal.

Location: Best location I think for bonito is the Cabrillo Mole. You can often spot them at a distance off shore attacking schools of baitfish. The water dances wildly on the surface. But even when there is no surface activity, there are schooling bonito that may be sub-surface, around 6 – 10 ft deep.

GDude and a bonito — 2006

How far you need to cast varies. Sometimes they’re in close. More often, they’re out beyond 30 – 50 yds. As the Mole only allows for underhand casting, we get best results using an 8 – 10 ft spinning rod held vertically downward. 10 ft seems ideal for me. The extra length allows me to clear the structure and swing inboard and under the Mole in a pendulum motion, then quickly pull back on the butt section, which lifts the tip and shoots the lure out quite a ways.

Useful tips: Be careful during underhand casting so as not to smash rods against the concrete Mole understructure. This can chip ceramic guides. I recommend a Berkley or Abu made rod or custom rod that uses either the new flex ring memory metal titanium guides or Berkley SS304 type guides which have no ceramic ring inside but just a hardened TiCh or TiNitride coated metal ring.

The kelp grows thick in front of the Mole and bonito will tangle up in it. Try to keep lines tight and fish from diving into the kelp if possible. Braid can help in these cases if you hook up because the thin, tough line can cut somewhat through the foilage. Best tactic is to be quick and keep the fish’s head up and out of the water.

If the bonito seem to disappear and stop hitting, often, they’re still there. Just cast further, and let the lure sink to about 10 ft and work your lure. Bonito are attracted to the surface often because of baitfish. But otherwise, in bright sunlight, they will stay deeper.

Vary the speed of the retrieve and depth to find where the fish are and then work that section for 10 minutes or until the hits stop and then move on. If the bonito are out there, they won’t waste time chasing food, and they are picky. If there are no hits, change positions and cast some more.

When a bonito hits, often, you won’t hook up. Crank up the slack quickly, and continue to retrieve. Bonito will give chase and often smack a lure multiple times until hooked.

If you plan to have kids work rods and fight bonito, you may want to go with 8 lb line and a tether to the rod just in case the kids let go and fish wants to pull the rod into the water.

Scooterfish (Scott) and a bonito — 2009

Date: April 24, 2008
To: PFIC Message Board
From: Scooterfish
Subject: Catalina bonito rigging

Some folks at Catalina were interested in details about the bonito rig I was using at Catalina, so here they are, starting with the terminal end…

Lure — 1/4oz jig head dressed with a 4 inch Saltwater Assassin “Sea Shad” in the “Space Guppy” pattern (Chartreuse with salt + pepper flaked clear). Not the most durable plastic by a long shot (1 per landed fish), but very effective with great action. I like using a ¼ oz head because it keeps the lure ~6” underwater even when retrieving “bonito fast”. Tail action of the Sea Shad is frantic, even at lower speeds and on the fall.

Leader — 5+ feet of 20lb P-line CFX fluorocarbon leader. I’ve used this stuff for quite a few years in the 15-30lb test and have never had it fail me. Works well with my Uni knots.

Splasher — 3” Magnum (1-1/8oz) Flexcoat “Launcher” casting float. There are larger sizes of this float, but this size casts best for me with this rod. The larger sizes seem awkward and have too much wind resistance, and the lighter sizes are too light to get distance… *Distance casting was less important this year as the bonito were cruising primarily just outside the kelp, and inside the harbor. On Sunday I caught a few smaller sized bonito on long casts, but the rest of the week they were close in. Thursday afternoon they were cruising the Green Pleasure Pier and the harbor and technically could have been caught with a handline!

Mainline — ~270yds 20lb PowerPro. Old reliable! Casts far, sensitive, strong. Brought a spare spool with 30lb PP, but never needed it. FWIW I had zero break-offs this year from kelp, fish, or bad casts!

Rod — 11’ G-Loomis SUR1324s (Fast Action ½-3oz lure, 15-30lbline). Same rod as last year, and same rod I use primarily for Jack Crevalle and Redfish here in Louisiana. Light, strong and fast. Allows me to easily load up under the pier for a pretty effective underhand cast.

Reel — Shimano Sustain 4000fe. The drag on this reel got a pretty good workout this year, and did not disappoint. Spool lip is definitely smoother than the Stradic, although I did not notice any big difference in casting distance.

Scooterfish and a Catalina bonito — 2008

Date: May 1, 2010
To: PFIC Message Board
From: Scooterfish
Subject: Bonito fishing, rig and technique notes from Catalina 2010

This is a summary of my bonito fishing notes from Catalina this year. Hopefully this adds some more useful information to the PFIC archives for future visitors to the island, and those who are obsessed with targeting these awesome fish!

There were two environmental factors that I believe directly affected fishing at the Catalina event this year for bonito. It was generally more overcast, usually for the first half of the day, and windier with a light chop on the water (with the exception of Friday). Wednesday the weather was very windy, with a huge swell, which stirred up the water quite a bit and seemed to put off the bite for pelagics for about a day and a half. We were also faced with a situation where the anchovy that are usually present around the island (and usually available at the bait shops frozen) were reportedly no where to be found. Anchovy happen to be the primary food source for Sarda Chiliensis (Pacific Bonito), closely followed by squid…

Our usual routine at Catalina in years past has consisted of spotting “boils” (fish working on the surface), and repetitive casting to cover as much water as possible when the fish are not showing. Most of us utilized “splasher rigs”. A splasher rig is a topwater rig that utilizes a weighted float (cast-a-bubble, Launcher floats or drilled golf balls) with a leader of 4-8 feet (preferable good fluorocarbon). At the business end of the rig there are a variety of options that will work (and you should keep a good selection of these in your tackle box!). Lures for a splasher rig can be a simple as a couple of rubber bands tied to a bare hook, fancy flies and feathers, and even small plastics. I’m sure a squid strip would do well on this rig also, although I’ve never tried it.

The most popular (and effective in my opinion) color for bonito lures is chartreuse, while white, olive green and other colors can be effective at times also. All of these colors will benefit greatly when combined with a good bit of silver flash or chrome.

About a month or so prior to the event Hashem had visited Catalina and posted about the technique that was most effective at the time. This rig is very similar to the splasher rig, but the float is replaced with a 1-3oz torpedo sinker. I stocked up on 1-3 oz torpedo sinkers and found a Bass Pro Shop version that includes an integrated inline swivel on both ends marketed as a trolling sinker. These proved to be indispensable at Catalina this year. This rig casts farther than a splasher, can cover the entire water column, and is much easier to work in the water. It also is more flexible as far as lure options. I was able to use this rig with flies, plastics with jigheads, and even a 3 1/2” X-rap with the middle hook removed (caught a good bonito on that one!).

When casting a rig with a longer leader, braided line and a weight in between, I find it necessary to slightly modify my casting style and leader. If you attempt to cast this rig overhand, it will foul almost every time because the weight will shoot straight out, the leader will straighten behind it (parallel to the braid mainline) and then spin around the mainline causing a tangle. This is a worse problem if you use thinner diameter leader material (like 10-15lb). I had my best results using P-Line CFX 25lb flourocarbon which is a bit thicker and stiffer than the 15lb version I usually use. This makes it far more resistant to wrapping around the mainline, and easier to free up if it fouls.

I modified my casting style to a semi-sidearm (maybe 45 degrees from vertical), with a sweeping follow through down and to the left (I am a right hand caster). When casting this way, the weight flies forward first leaving the rod with a straight trajectory about 2 feet to your right. The leader and fly will follow in line with the weight. The follow through part of the cast holds the mainline off to the left for a second so that it is not parallel to the leader during the initial flight of the cast when speeds are high and fouling/wrapping is more likely. I hope I explained this well enough, it is much easier to actually demonstrate… This casting technique worked really well when casting nearly weightless flies. If you use plastics with a light leadhead, or heavier flies with lead eyes, the follow through part of the cast becomes less important.

On each and every cast, as the rig is about to hit the water, I touch my finger to the mainline to slow down the weight, and the fly or lure will shoot forward ahead of the weight as it splashes down. I follow this with two quick and firm jerks of the rod to straighten out the leader. This is where the swivel equipped weights really shined. A couple of jerks on the rod almost always cleared the line for a good retrieve. On rare occasions, the leader would wrap a few times and stay that way throughout the retrieve. Most times you can pull the rig out of the water, jig it lightly a couple of times and it would resolve itself, ready for the next cast. This is a very easy rig to cast when you use a 1oz torpedo with a 1/4oz leadhead and 4” plastic. This has opened up my fishing options for just about everywhere I fish! A 1/4oz leadhead with plastic on this rig can be cast long, long distances and will cover much more water than the leadhead alone. The Rapala X-rap behind a 2oz. torpedo can easily be thrown 90+ yards (this could make a killer striper rig for some spots).

You can fish this rig surface, shallow, deep, fast, slow, dead drop, etc…. We had quite a few hits on the dead drop. Just cast out, straighten the line, and wait. Or stop for 5-10 seconds mid-retrieve. A very, very versatile rig that is as simple as can be!

The most effective lures this year were flashy chartreuse flies in #2 and #1 sizes. Clouser Minnows, Deceivers and Bunny flies all worked well. The interesting thing was that the more bloody, mangled and sparse the fly would get, the better it seemed to work. I knew that small sparse baits were effective, and many of the flies I brought had been trimmed down in advance to simulate a smaller, thinner profile bait. The flies seemed to hold up very well, with 10+ fish on one fly before it started to become ineffective. Most of the damage to my flies actually was not from the fish, but from grasping the shank of the hook with pliers for hook removal. For some reason the Jack Mackeral shredded flies far worse than the bonito, even though the bonito have visibly bigger teeth. I was also able to catch using the torpedo rig with a standard 1/4oz leadhead and the Space Guppy 4” SWA plastics that I have had success with in years past. I tried the Rapala for a while, and landed one bonie on it, but that was more of an experiment to see if the rig was still castable with a hard jerkbait, and it is!
I did try throwing tins/ metal jigs this year for a brief time, but with no fish to show, so I concentrated on what worked. G-dude did manage a few on his smaller BuzzBomb I think…

Already looking forward and planning already for next years hot pursuit of the speedy striped silver wonders!

Posted by RYRYK

Wow … I just got my PhD in bonito fishing. Great details. Can u see this rig working on the end of some jettys out here in socal for barracuda macs n bonies?

Posted by pinfish

Thanks for the description. So the boils are way far out huh?

Posted by scooterfish

RYRVK: I think the torpedo/lure combo could work for many fishing situations. I would use it at a jetty, but be careful not to go to heavy or too slow, as structure is not going to be your friend with a rig like this. I would work it in the upper half of the water column.

Pinfish: This year I only heard of or saw two visible boils the whole week (as in visible surface strikes on baitfish school). In years past visible boils have ranged from just outside the kelpline, to way out of range of even the most accomplished casters. That being said, most fish were caught from 40-80 yards from the Mole. From what I have researched about Pacific bonito and their East Coast cousin, when food is available they tend to have consistent cruising spots that they pass by on a regular basis. By numbers, the best technique for a non-mobile bonito fisherman is to find a known cruising spot and cover that water as completely as possible with repetitive cast and retrieve. I hooked fish this year at well over 100yds, and also just outside the kelp at 25yds. No consistency this year, water was often chopped up by wind, so boils would have been hard to see anyway. If we had seen boils, I likely would have switched back to the splasher rig.

Some Catalina bonito — from the Cabrillo Mole

Joey (Grammar Police) and a bonito from the Mole in 2006

Redfish (Robert) and a Catalina bonito — 2010

Rita and a bonito at the Cabrillo Mole — 2012

Mahigeer (Hashem) and a bonito at the Mole —2012

Horn Shark

kenjones — Wed, 26 Oct 2016 23:18:49 +0000

Order Heterodontiformes — Bullhead Sharks—Family Heterodontidae

Horn shark from the Cabrillo Mole in Avalon in 2015

Species: Heterodontus francisci (Girard, 1855); from the Greek hetero (different) and odont (tooth) and the Latin francisci (referring to San Francisco). (They have a small pointed tooth at the front of their jaw and a blunt tooth at the rear.)

Alternate Names: Bullhead Shark, Port Jackson shark, horned shark, hornback shark. Called tiburón cabeza de toro, tiburón cornudo or tiburón puerco in Mexico.

Identification: Horn sharks are spotted sharks with a somewhat pig-like snout. They have a strong spine at the front of each dorsal fin (which accounts for their name) and an anal fin. Their coloring is tan to dark brown or grayish with black spots above, pale yellowish below.

Horn shark from the Cabrillo Mole on Catalina Island in 2015

Size: Reported to 48 inches, but the largest verified was just over 38 inches long and 22 pounds. Most hornies caught from piers are under 30 inches in length.

Range: Found from the Gulf of California to San Francisco.

Habitat: Prefers rocky areas although also found near sandy areas that contain kelp. They are nocturnal, bottom-feeding foragers who prefer to spend their daylight hours resting on the bottom or in caves and crevices. At night they head out in their search for food—primarily squids, urchins, crustaceans, anemones and mollusks—but rarely are they found more than six feet from the bottom.

A horn shark taken at the Long Beach Finger Piers in 2011 by MrWoodstream

Piers: Most are caught at southern California piers but a few are caught as far north as the pier at Cayucos. Generally found near piers that are close to reefs or kelp. Best bets: Ocean Beach Pier, San Clemente Pier, Hermosa Beach Pier, Green Pleasure Pier (Avalon), Cabrillo Mole (Avalon), Santa Monica Pier, Paradise Cove Pier, Gaviota Pier and Goleta Pier.

Shoreline: Occasionally caught by anglers fishing rocky areas near kelp.

Another Catalina horn shark, this one caught by Kyle Pease in 2015

Boats: Sometimes taken by boaters and kayakers fishing the southern California kelp beds.

Bait and Tackle: Crabs, shrimp, squid and small fish are prime baits but hornies appear to take almost any natural bait. Most horn sharks taken by pier anglers are fairly small fish so light-to-medium tackle equipped with size 2 to 2/0 hooks will suffice.

Food Value: Reported to be quite tasty, similar to most other sharks.

A horn shark taken at the Morro Bay North T-Pier in 2004

Comments: An interesting little shark. Small horn sharks are frequently sold in aquarium shops where they command top prices. They are generally harmless but anglers should be careful of the dorsal spines and be aware that agitated fish may try to bite careless handlers.

Horn sharks are in the Class Chondrichthyes and Subclass Elasmobranchii (as are all sharks and rays) but in the Superorder Galea, which only includes some of the sharks found at California piers. Many of the sharks found at piers are in the Superorder Squalea, which includes sharks as well as guitarfish and rays. Thus some of the sharks are more closely related to rays than to other sharks.

A horn shark taken at the Belmont Veterans Pier in Long Beach in 2009

A small horn shark taken from the Goleta Pier in 2008

Horn shark caught at the Redondo Beach Pier in 2003

Finescale Triggerfish

kenjones — Wed, 19 Oct 2016 06:30:27 +0000

Order Tetraodontiformes

Triggerfishes—Family Balistidae

Finescale triggerfish taken at the Cabrillo Mole at Avalon on Catalina Island by KJ in 2010

Species: Balistes polylepis (Steindachner, 1876); Balistes comes from the Latin word ballista (a device that shoots arrows—referring to the trigger-like spine) and the Greek word polylepis (many scales)

Alternate Name: Triggerfish. In Mexico called cochi, puerco coche, cochito or pez puerco.

Identification: The body is very compressed; they have a small mouth containing strong, protruding teeth (8 in each jaw); 3 strong, sharp spines are located in the first dorsal fin with 26-28 rays in the second dorsal; small gill slits are located in front of the pectoral fin. The skin is thick with large, rectilinear, plate-like scales. The coloring is brownish with blue speckles on head.

Finescale triggerfish taken at the Cabrillo Mole by Rita Magdamo in 2014

Size: To 32 inches and perhaps as much as 16 pounds.

Range: San Antonio, Chile, to Metlakatla, (southeastern) Alaska) but considered rare north of Baja California.

Habitat: Generally found on the bottom, nearshore near rocky reefs, but they can range down to 1,680 feet deep. Some have arrived north during the El Niño years and it’s speculated that there are at least three established groups near Redondo Beach, Santa Monica and Catalina. They feed on a variety of bethnic-invertebrates such as snails, sponges, sea urchins, shrimp, and crabs as well as the occasional fish and are most active during the day.

Finescale triggerfish taken from the rocks on Catalina Island by Jeff “Salty” in 2010

Piers: Reported from the Redondo Beach Pier, Redondo Sportfishing Pier, Santa Monica Pier, and Cabrillo Mole in Avalon.

Shoreline: Several have been caught from the shoreline at Catalina and the jetty at Redondo Beach.

Boats: A fairly rare species for California boaters.

Finescale triggerfish taken at the Redondo Sportfishing Pier in 2012

Bait and Tackle: Will take most bait including squid, market shrimp, and ghost shrimp.

Food Value: Excellent, all-white fillets that can be cooked many ways. The only problem is that the skin is like leather so you need a good, sharp fillet knife.

Finescale triggerfish taken from the Redondo Beach Pier in 2007

Comments: Considered a fairly rare species in California although just enough fish are caught to keep it interesting. I’ve caught four—one in Maui, Hawaii, one while fishing out of La Paz, Mexico, one while fishing out of the Rancho Buena Vista resort in Mexico, and one from the Cabrillo Mole in Avalon.

A triggerfish taken from the Cabrillo Mole (Picture by Hashem Nahid)

Rita Magdamo and son Kyle at the Cabrillo Mole with her finescale triggerfish in 2014

KJ and his finescale triggerfish at the Cabrillo Mole in 2010

A finescale triggerfish caught at the Cabrillo Mole by PFIC member EgoNonBaptizo (aka as Sky) in 2017 (Photo by Hashem Nahid)

____________________________________________________________

KJ and a different variety of triggerfish at Isla Espíritu Santo, La Paz, Baja California Sur, Mexico

A triggerfish caught on a boat out of the Ranch Buena Vista Resort in Baja California Sur, Mexico

_____________________________________________________________________

The Hawaiian State Fish

If you visit Hawaii you might look for its most famous fish, a triggerfish, the humuhumunukunukuapua’a, which is pronounced “who-moo-who-moo-noo-koo-noo-koo-ah-pooah-ah. If you can’t pronounce that, just call it humuhumu for short.

_____________________________

From Fishing Hawaii Style, Volume 2, by Jim Rizzuto, 1987

Common name: Two species are commonly known by this name: the pig-nosed triggerfish and the aculeate triggerfish.

Scientific name: Rhinecanthus rectangulus (pig-nosed variety) and R. aculeatus (aculeate variety).

Other names: Reef triggerfish and lagoon triggerfish; tasulkimongara (J) and marasamemongara (J), hage.

Physical characteristics: Grows to a pound or two. Body deep and compressed. Head pointed, snout-like, ending in a small mouth with strong jaws. Eyes are small and set high on the head about one-third of the way back along the body. Pectoral fins are small. A single prominent spine sticks up from midback directly behind the eyes. When erected, it is locked in place by a much smaller spine behind it and may not be lowered until the second spine has been depressed. The pig-nosed humuhumu is the Hawai’i State Fish. It has a dark band running from the eyes diagonally along the sides to the anal fin. The aculeate humuhumu has three or four rows of dark spines on the caudal peduncle. The skin of both fish is tough and leathery.

Humuhumu caught in Hawaii by sdfisherman (Don) in 2005

Habits: Feeds on shrimp, crustaceans and seaweed. Common in reef areas ranging from the shallows to depths of five or more fathoms. Generally solitary. Hides in openings in the coral when threatened.

The teeth of a triggerfish. Posted to PFIC by mufuti in 2005

Picture — Courtesy of Discover Hawaii Tours

The fish is featured in the following famous song —My Little Grass Shack in Kealakekua Hawaiʻi By Bill Cogswell, Tommy Harrison & Johnny Noble

I want to go back to little grass shack
In Kealakekua, Hawaiʻi
I want to be with all the kanes and wahines
That I used to know long ago

I can hear the old guitars playing
On the beach at Hōnaunau
I can hear the old Hawaiians saying
Komo mai no kāua i ka hale welakahao

It won’t be long till my ship will be sailing
Back to Kona
A grand old place
That’s always fair to see, you’re telling me

I’m just a little Hawaiian
A homesick island boy
I want to go back to my fish and poi

I want to go back to my little grass shack
In Kealakekua, Hawai`i
Where the humuhumunukunukuâpua`a
Go swimming by

You can listen to Don Ho — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MWlvYpJ5pRo