Best deep sea fishing - Monterey

[senkonate]

Hey guys-

I am going to be in Monterey California in late August, early September. They have three kinds of deep sea fishing:

- Salmon
- Deep sea Cod
- Albacore

I've never been deep sea fishing before, and want to go with the most exciting kind of fish for the first time. Any recommendations on which type you like the best?

Thanks,

Nate
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[bassrods]

If you are going with a guide I would ask them all fish fight different..
And if you are going to keep some you mite want to try them all and make up your own mined...

.
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[MACMAN]

watch the catch reports and go after what they are catching at that time. the landings all have posted catch reports so watch or call daily. if you have a choice it would be albacore for me.
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[utwalleye]

If the Alacore are in, go after them, you will be thrilled with the first run they make, somthimes it goes for over 100 yards. albacore are evry fast swimmers, hang on. later chuck
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[Fishrmn]

The salmon season is in question this year. I just looked at the Bayside website before logging on to this one. They are probably going to keep it closed for the month of April. It was scheduled to open to recreational anglers on April 1st. The salmon seems to slow way down by the end of July, and the Albacore are usually coming on strong about then. The cod season is scheduled to open on the first of July. There is no season or limit on the Albacore. They are a pelagic species, and they are not managed.

Fishrmn

[Troll]

Albacore, Albacore, Albacore. Late August, Early Sept they should be there. They will range in the 12 to 30 lb range and the limit is 10.
I think it was 165 for the trip the year before last. Board at 10 pm, sleep the way out, fish 6 till about 2 and 6 hour run in. I ended up with 6 fish which when filleted and 1 28 lb which was steaked filled a 58 qt cooler. There experts at packing to fly or ship.
Check out USA Fishing on the internet for daily reports.
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[Fishrmn]

d) There is no limit on the following species: albacore, anchovy, bluefi n tuna, grunion, jacksmelt, topsmelt, Pacifi c butterfi sh (pompano), queenfi sh, sanddabs, skipjack, jack mackerel, Pacifi c mackerel, Pacifi c staghorn sculpin, round herring, Pacifi c herring, and Pacifi c sardine. There is no limit on the following species of federal groundfi sh: petrale sole, Pacifi c sanddab, and starry fl ounder. (e) Boat limit. When two or more persons that are licensed or otherwise authorized to sport fi sh in ocean waters off California or in the San Francisco Bay District, defi ned in Section 27.00, are angling for fi nfi sh aboard a vessel in these waters, fi shing by all authorized persons aboard may continue until boat limits of those fi nfi sh identifi ed under sub-sections (a) through © above are taken and possessed aboard the vessel as authorized under this section or Section 195, Title 14, CCR. (1) The authorization for boat limits aboard a vessel does not apply to fi shing trips originating in California where fi sh are taken in other jurisdictions.

Troll,
You may have fished with a charter that limited you to keep 10 albacore, but the California Regulations allow you to keep as many as you care to take. The paragraph above was copied from the 2006 CDF fishing proclamation. It also allows the practice of party fishing. You may continue to catch fish until all of the limits of all passengers are filled.

Fishrmn

[road]

Of the 3 species you listed, I personally like eating the Cod the best. Not the most fun catching as you are just hauling them up from the depths.

Second choice would be the albacore. Not only are they good to eat (sushi grade) they are a blast to catch. Will you be using your gear or rented gear on the boat? If using your own make sure of at least 25# new line, stout pole, and a good Penn reel. Well reel choice is yours but my old penns have never let me down and they have a great drag system on them. Long hard 1st runs and some seconds with bigger fish.

I personally wouldn't go chasing Salmon. Too many already do and the boats are crowded the take is not what it use to be. Hech give the Salmon a break and chase the more prolific fish off the coast.

Whatever you decide good luck and we here at BFT expect fish fey when you return!
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[MACMAN]

why would specific boats or landings place a limit on you when there is no limit on that specie? i fished with h&m, islandia and fishermans landing quite a few times and every time we were told that the limit was 5 + 5 if your on a full day that you get on a boat that leaves at 10:00pm, and 5 fish if your on a 3/4 day boat that leaves at 6:00 am. i'm thinking this must be a mexican law on the limits because i think we were in mexican waters the entire time we fished.
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[Kraizee_Skot]

[font "Comic Sans MS"][#ff4040]Go for the albacore! They are very tasty[cool][/#ff4040][/font]
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[BearLakeMack]

[font "Comic Sans MS"][black][size 3]If they are still in, I'd fish albies, hands down. Hardest fighting fish you've listed and the action can be extremely fast. There is a little technique though fly lining anchovies and sardines. Also if you don't have your own gear, ask the landing what they have for rental rod set ups. A lot of the rental gear sucks and can't cast worth a crap. It's not unheard of to get in to schoolies where the average size is well over 30 lbs a piece with some toads approching 60 lb. You'll know you've been to battle with large albacore on a 30 lb rig. Yep, no doubt. Go for the albies![/size][/black][/font]
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[theangler]

[left]Hello Guys,[/left]
I agree the albacore are a blast! And when thier on its some serious forearm burning fun!






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[a-b]

Here is a web site to keep an eye on when your trip is closer
[url "http://www.usafishing.com"]www.usafishing.com[/url] they post regular fishing reports from the charter skippers and private fishermen that fish the area.

a-b
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[Fishrmn]

[reply]why would specific boats or landings place a limit on you when there is no limit on that specie? i fished with h&m, islandia and fishermans landing quite a few times and every time we were told that the limit was 5 + 5 if your on a full day that you get on a boat that leaves at 10:00pm, and 5 fish if your on a 3/4 day boat that leaves at 6:00 am. i'm thinking this must be a mexican law on the limits because i think we were in mexican waters the entire time we fished.[/reply]

One reason might be space. They may not have a big enough hold to handle dozens of 30 lb albies. Most of the boats out of Santa Cruz won't let you bring a cooler on their albacore trips because of space, and fuel considerations. It may have to do with the location. If you embark from a California harbor, but fish in Mexican waters, then you are governed by Mexican regulations.

If you really want albacore, you might try farther south. Last year the albacore fishing out of Santa Cruz and Monterey was a little bit disappointing. They sometimes come in to the Monterey Bay, but often it's a long ride out and a long ride back (70 miles each way) for nothing.

http://www.baysidemarinesc.com/

http://www.scurfslanding.com/report.html
Scroll down to the August 10th report or August 12th. Read about how few trips were successful, and how many fish were caught each trip. I'd reccomend heading south if you really want albacore.

Fishrmn