VOL . 36 • ISS . 26
“ Looking toward the back of the
Happy Hooker from the bow it was plain to see that Gabe was hooked up with something big . His rod was doubled over and the deckhand was standing next to him with the gaff at the ready .
In such a situation , with lines and other anglers all around and the boat pitching and rolling a bit , a lot of anglers would get rattled . They might start pumping the rod , thumb the spool or try tightening the drag mid-fight in an attempt to get the big fish into the boat before it can escape . Any one of these things can be the kiss of death when fighting a big fish from a charter boat , but this wasn ’ t Gabe ’ s first rodeo …
Gabe kept his composure , ground away on the reel handle and good things happened . Presently a huge lingcod came to the surface , the gaff flashed down and the next thing I saw was an absolute monster ling with a head that looked as big as a basketball being dragged across the surface and over the rail .
As anybody that reads the Fish Sniffer knows , I ’ m a big lingcod junky and as such it takes an impressive ling to catch my attention . Gabe ’ s fish was so massive that I ’ d grabbed my camera and was headed to the back of the boat before you could say , “ Photo Op ”!
When I came out of the cabin and saw the lingcod up close , it didn ’ t suffer from “ deck shrinkage ” one bit . Gabe had hit the lingcod lotto and successfully pulled a 30 plus pound California ling out of the depths near the Farallon Islands . Lings of this size are exceedingly rare . To illustrate this point , I ’ ve spent thousands of hours over the past 30 plus years targeting Golden State lingcod . I ’ ve nailed a lot of fish over 20 , but only one that topped 30 … Congratulations Gabe ! But the monster fish show wasn ’ t over just yet .
A while later I noticed that a lady angler named Cori was hooked up a couple spots up the rail from where Gabe had landed his big fish . Cori was using a fairly light rod and it was super bent . As a result I had no
SALTWATER
idea how big the fish she was trading punches with might be , but the fact that she was having a tough time gaining any line with the reel was an indication that she too might be into a fish of epic proportions .
Glancing around , I noted that both deckhands were busy . Awesome , I love gaffing fish !
I grabbed a gaff and chatted with Cori as she cranked away . When I saw the mouth of a huge lingcod materialize about 15 feet down in the water I actually got nervous . It was clearly a trophy size fish and the last thing I wanted to do was screw up and knock it off the hook !
I went through a short mental checklist as the fish seemed to get bigger and bigger . When the ling was just below the surface , Cori led him toward me , causing the fish to lay out perfectly and I drove the gaff home right behind the head . When I lifted the fish aboard , I knew it weighed over 25 pounds . Later on , the balance beam proved it was just a little smaller than the lunker Gabe landed .
The big fish I just described being landed only represent the tip of the proverbial iceberg in terms of the sights and sounds I took in while hosting a pair of crab and rockfish combo trips aboard the Happy Hooker with Captains Chris and Jonathan Smith on November 16 and 17 .
I didn ’ t fish on either trip , opting to spend my time shooting video and laughing with the Fish Sniffer readers that turned out to spend some quality time on the water .
In all more than 60 anglers joined me over the two days of fishing . Lingcod were plentiful . We got 25
Dec . 8 - 22 , 2017
30 + Pound Lingcod , Colorful Rockfish And Full Limits Of Commercial Grade Crabs : Just Another Day In The Office Aboard The Happy Hooker !
WHAT ’ S HOT SALT by Cal Kellogg
Farallon Island lingcod and rockfish were plentiful aboard the Happy Hooker on November 17 . This skillful angler used an Ahi Assault Diamond Jig to tempt this dandy ling .
Photo by CAL KELLOGG , Fish Sniffer Staff .
27
Harrison Liu , deck hand Ryan Ash and a couple other anglers show off a few of the crabs that they rounded up on November 17 while fishing aboard Berkeley ’ s Happy Hooker during Cal Kellogg ’ s last School Of Fishing Event for 2017 .
Photo courtesy of JONATHAN SMITH , Happy Hooker Sportfishing .
lings to 30 plus pounds on day one and 32 lings to about 17 pounds on day two . And of course , there were rockfish . I saw lots of olives and blues , plus a colorful parade of hardheads including vermilions , coppers and one big spiny widow that looked to weight upwards of 5 pounds .
What was the most effective presentation over the two days ? Well you could pretty much pick your poison . I witnessed big numbers of quality rockfish and a few lings landed on the old reliable shrimp fly and squid strip combo . Jiggers tossing both Ahi Assault and P-Line Diamond Bars rounded up solid numbers of lingcod and some impressive rocks including that big widow I just mentioned .
Of course , the best offering for lingcod overall was a trap rig teamed with a frozen mackerel and a hefty sinker . Trap rigs aren ’ t as sexy as diamond bars , but you can round up big numbers of lings on that nasty frozen bait ! Both Cori ’ s and Gabe ’ s big fish came on mackerel , although I personally gaffed a pair of fish in the 15 pound class that
oastal Conservation Association of California and Bill Varney announced this week that the 2018 CCA CAL Sport- Fishing Tide Calendar is now available at tackle stores , landings and all Turner ’ s Outdoorsman stores .
This year ’ s calendar has more than just great pictures , important dates and tide charts — it has prizes too !
CCA of CA will be holding a monthly drawing with prizes from sponsors including AFTCO , Accurate , Sumo Tackle , HookUp Baits , Costa , Promar , Dana couldn ’ t lay off 14 ounce Ahi jigs .
And then there were the crabs , those disgusting , aggressive , scavengers that taste O-So-Wonderful ! We rounded up full limits of huge commercial grade crabs both days . In fact , I ’ ve eaten little else for the past two days . Crab and French bread , crab and eggs and crab sandwiches have all been on the menu at “ Compound Kellogg ”!
I could go on for thousands of words about the fishing , fun and laughs we experienced , but I can ’ t because Gena wants me to grill up another of my trademark crab sandwiches . Suffice to say that the crew of the Happy Hooker is one of the best in the business , the late fall bottomfish action is fantastic and when you toss in a limit of 10 Dungeness crabs you just can ’ t go wrong .
If you would like to jump aboard the Happy Hooker and top off the freezer for the cold winter months ahead , give Chris and Jonathan a call at ( 510 ) 322-0493 or ( 510 ) 223-5388 .
2018 Sportfishing Tide Calendar Now Available !
C
Wharf Sportfishing , The Fred Hall Shows and more .
Each calendar is marked with a special entry number . Winners will be announced the third Saturday of each month on “ Let ’ s Talk Hook Up ”, radio 1090am .
Stop by your local tackle dealer and pick up a copy for a chance to win . Sales of the calendar help support the many important projects of CCA of California . Dealer inquiries welcome at fishthesurf @ mail . com