Phil Friedman Outdoors

Lobster Season Opens In Southern California (video)

Tasty lobster are up for grabs one minute after midnight Saturday night.

                                                                                       

Lobster season opens one minute after midnight this Saturday night. Ben Hong from Promar Nets offers some great advice for would be lobster anglers. "Lobster are nocturnal creatures so you'll want to drop your baited net down about an hour before sunset," said Hong. At sundown, lobsters come out of the rocks and crevices they live in and crawl around in search of food.

                 

According to Hong, the bait you choose is very important. "Bait your nets with a fresh, oily fish such as mackerel, a tuna carcass or mackerel. Leave the net in the water about ½ hour before pulling it so you can fill up with the tasty crustaceans.”  Pier fishermen can have up to two nets in the water at a time and are allowed up to 7 legal lobster a night.

 

All hoopers must have a California fishing license, and a lobster report card as well as a lobster gauge to make sure your lobsters are of legal length. Make sure you know the current California Department Of Fish And Game Regulations regarding the taking of California Spiny Lobster.

 

You will also see and hear more about the Humboldt Squid, huge halibut and lingcod at San Nicolas Island and where the best local bites are in this week’s Patch Video Fishing Update.

 

Humboldt Squid Invasion adds excitement to Southern California bite (video)

Bring your rain coats as these squid fight back with cold seawater and ink.

 

Humboldt Squid continued to invade the beaches of Northern Baja and Southern California providing anglers with a unique fishing opportunity. The giant mollusks have blanketed coastal regions from Ensenada, Mexico to the Channel Islands. These voracious squid meet unfamiliar objects with an aggressive response and at times are cannibalistic. They have three hearts and can grow to 6-feet and 100-lbs. in about a year’s time.

 

While they are welcome visitors for a time by fishermen, theirlong term damage is thought to be pervasive. They will feed on calico and sand bass, as well as rockfish and other target sportfish. “I have no doubt that they have hurt some of our fisheries,” said Don Ashley.

 

Most of the time, the jumbo squid are taken at night but as you will see in this weeks Patch Fishing Video Update, the squid are providing anglers with daytime action as well. The action is wet and wild on the ½ day boat City of Long Beach out of Long Beach Marina Sportfishing.

 

Late summer tuna bite still on but you'll have to go long

The San Diego offshore scene remained very productive for boats on 1.5 day trips and better. Yellowtail, bluefin and yellowfin tuna, dorado and more treated anglers to some great end of summer fishing. The one day scene was more hit and misses. While there were some great scores, there were also some very poor fishing trips.

 

Coastal Cleanup day was a huge success as people came from near and far to help clean up beaches, rocks and other areas along our coast. Many fishermen also came out to do their part in the cleanup. Larry Moore from Westminster picked up trash around the rocks near Pierpoint Landing. “It’s great to be of help and the whole landing is involved too.”

 

There is still lots of market squid in the Santa Monica Bay and that has the local bite on The Tradition out of Redondo Sportfishing had very good calico bass fishing along with excellent rockfish too.

 

Surf fishing remains good from San Clemente to the Santa Monica Bay. Barred perch, corbina, a few halibut, leopard sharks, spotfin croaker and other species continue to provide good action. The key is 6-lb test with sand crabs working well. 

 More fishing in the Patch Fishing Video Update  

Thousands participate in Coastal Clean-Up 2011

On Saturday, September 17,  thousands of Southern California residents participated in the Coastal Clean-Up Day at over sixty locations.  Not all of these people were at the beach.  Many will be cleaning up their favorite lake, stream or pond.  Armed with nothing more than their gloved hands and a grabbing tool, volunteers collected tons of trash.  This was the 22nd year the event has taken place.

Paul Working, of Catch-22, is manning a booth at Pierpoint Landing in Long Beach.  Working has participated in the Clean-Up for the past 7 years, and looks forward to the event every year. "We've collected over 7 tons of trash on average, each year.  So far today,  we've collected everything from cans and plastic bottle to a hypodermic needle."

The first Coastal Clean Up was organized in October 1984 by Oregonian Judie Neilson who organized 2,800 volunteers.  One year later, the concept had spread down to California where the California Coastal Commission ran the event in 1985 with 2,500 participants. 
Volunteers range in age from the very young to the more mature volunteers.  Heal the Bay took over the organization of the Clean Up Days in 1990.  

Larry Moore from Fish Talk Radio with Philip Friedman Outdoors said it was a good day. "It's just good to be out here helping," said Moore. "I'm just hoping we can do this kind of thing every weekend as opposed to every year."

For information regarding this or other clean-up events, please contact the California Coastal Commission at 1-800  5744 

 

 

 

Killer whales stalk helpless sea lion in front of whale watchers off Palos Verdes

The Christopher out of Harbor Breeze Cruises in Long Beach continued as the luckiest whale watching boat on the coast as on Friday, they came across a pod of killer whales just a few miles off Point Fermin. On Tuesday, the Christopher had a NBC News crew on board when a blue whale surfaced just feet away from the boat and let out a low pitched groan. The above the surface vocalization may have been the first ever witnessed.

 

On Friday, seven transient orcas stalked a sea lion who sough refuge against the catamaran’s pontoons in front of a group of amazed whale watchers. With a channel 7 News helicopter hovering above, the killer whales spy-hopped and seemed to be teaching their young to hunt.

Alisa Schulman-Janiger, an American Cetacean Society biologist and researcher said the orcas exhibited behavior that implied the adults were teaching the calves how to hunt. Schulman-Janiger arrived on another vessel after learning the killer whales were so close to the Palos Verdes Coast. She said that this family unit includes a matriarch, her four offspring and two calves (grandkids) that are less than a year old.

The group of lucky whale watchers on the Christopher also saw blue whales on this trip but the excitement was palpable on deck as the orcas stalked their prey just feet from them. It appears that only killer whales could trump the excitement generated by the largest creatures to have ever inhabited the face of the earth.

 

The Christopher stayed as late as possible but as daylight started to fade, the vessel turned her bow towards Rainbow Harbor and headed for home. The helpless sea lion tried to stay with the vessel but could not. There was a commotion and splashes in the boats wake but ultimately, no one knew for sure what had happened to the small sea lion.

 

 

Blue whale watching extraordinary now in Southern California (video)

 
Whale watchers out of Dana Wharf Whale Watches get and incredible view of a blue whales fluke. Photo- Dana Wharf Whale Watching

There were no flukes, no breaching whales, no blows, yet Captain Chris Batts on the Two Harbors out of Harbor Breeze Cruises in Long Beach knew he was close. Hundreds of sea birds were picking at the ocean's surface below on Sunday where huge orange swirls of krill had accumulated. Batts instinctively pulled back on the throttles and brought the whale watching vessel to a stop.

Then two massive blue whales surfaced and blew off the stern. The whale watching catamaran Christopher was there also as more blue whales started to come to the surface, showing their massive flukes before making another deep dive. Batts now counted a dozen leviathans around the two boats -- only five miles from Long Beach Harbor.

It’s ironic that the largest creature to ever inhabit the face of the earth feeds on tiny shrimp-like creatures called krill. A single adult can eat up to 8,000 pounds of krill a day. “That’s why they are here,” said Batts. “There is plenty of feed here to keep them fat, happy and not going too far.”

The evening whale-watch trippers on the Dana Pride only took a few minutes to find their first blue whale on Saturday. Before long, that single whale turned into five.

“On Friday we actually found a whale outside the harbor heading south, said Donna Kalez from Dana Wharf Whale Watching.

“Amazing stuff.”

The Dana Pride followed and continued south to meet more whales, totaling four blue whales, Kalez said.

(Photo from Dana Warf Whale Watching)

Blue whales remain an enigma.

It is believed that blue whales give birth to their young in the Costa Rica Dome. Females are pregnant for about a year before giving birth to a calf that weighs between 5,000 and 6,000 pounds. A nursing blue whale mother produces around 50 gallons of milk per day, resulting in their calves gaining about 10 pounds per hour.

In 1931, 29,649 blue whales were killed by whale hunters.

By 1966, blues were so scarce that the International Whaling Commission declared them protected throughout the world.

Today there are between 8,000 and 9,000 blue whales in the oceans, and they are considered an endangered species.

A few more incredible blue whale facts by Neatorama.com::

Blue whales can grow up to 100 feet in length; that’s longer than an NBA basketball court.

Blue whales can weigh up to 200 tons; that’s about eight DC-9 airplanes.

A blue whale heart weighs close to 2,000 pounds and its heartbeat can be detected from two miles away.

Human beings can easily crawl through blue whales major arteries.

The spray from a blue whales’ blowhole is as tall as a three story building.

(Photo from Dana Warf Whale Watching)

More blue whales were also being sighted off Corona del Mar, Newport Beach and in the Santa Monica Bay, where the Voyager has been encountering multiple blue whales on most days. There were also Sunday sightings off La Jolla, Baja, San Clemente and Oceanside.

On the afternoon trip out of Harbor Breeze Cruises Batts returned to the same area where he had seen so many whales earlier in the day. He wasn’t disappointed. First he came upon a mother and calf. Then he found two fin whales know as the “greyhounds of the sea” as they are able to reach speeds of up to 23 mph.

At least a dozen of the gentle giants were surrounding the Two Harbors and Christopher. “This is the best whale watching of the year,” said Batts. ‘You owe it to yourself and your kids to come out and see this.” 

 

Tuna bite bouncing back in Southern California and Baja (video)

Tremendous boat pressure had an adverse effect on the Southern California tuna bite as it appears that everything that can float was out for Labor Day Weekend. The fishing slowed for many boats on Saturdayand Sunday which is not unusual given the pressure the area experienced. There appears to be a significant amount of bluefin tuna still in the area so look for better fishing after the big weekend.

That rebound actually started on Monday as several boats were over 100 bluefin early in the day. It appears that things were back to great fishing on Labor Day Weekend.  Many of the tuna are in the 12-15 pound class and the majority were still being taken near the tuna pens.

 Private boater Robert Fisher from Orange was at Catalina Island recently where he saw lots of yellowtail that he couldn’t get to bite. Fisher got tired of the teasing and decided to jump over and free-dive. That resulted in a 27-pound fat yellowtail for him.

 There is a lot more in this week's Patch Video fishing review including more on great white sharks and a tiny sailfish you could hold in you hand.  

Fishing the Baja tuna pens pays off for anglers

August 9, 2012 8:17am

This is an update to an article that PFO did for you last season as the bluefin tuna are back on the tuna pens this morning. Big schools of the fine eating fish continue to head up the coast and lots of them are settling on the pens again this year.

"We saw big schools of bluefin tuna and they were all headed up towards san Diego," said Independence skipper Paul Strasser. "Things are looking great."

Already this morning, several boats have 5 fish limits of bluefin tuna. Tonight at 8pm, PFO Radio will have all the latest including private boater expert Dave Hansen with where the fish are and how you can catch them.

We'll keep you informed all day today and then have two hours of power packed PFO RADIO for you, 8-10pm tonight. 

Just go to PFO Radio and click the follow button under my photo. We will send you a link so you can click and enjoy the show. 

 
Screams of hook-up and fresh one emanated from the Grande as another flurry of bluefin tuna came under the boat. Anglers fishing about 55 miles southwest of San Diego were catching 12-15 lb. tuna with an occasional 40-lb. specimen tossed in for spice.

 
The Grande was one of several boats crowded around a floating tuna pen waiting for another chance at one of these hard fighting, fine eating gamefish.

The pens were being towed full of its valuable cargo of tuna at about two knots back and forth about 30 miles off the Baja coast.

 “I’ve never heard of such a thing,” said veteran Captain Don Ashley. “I’ve heard of tuna on kelp paddies, whales, in pods of dolphin and porpoise but never on the tuna pens.”

Tuna pens are underwater pens that are about 150-feet wide and 50 feet deep. Wild bluefin t una are fattened up on fresh sardines and then shipped off to Japan where they can fetch big dollars.

The bluefin caught in the Eastern Pacific live in cooler water and have a wonderful reputation in Japan for their sweet taste. Fresh slabs of toro make for delicious sushi. It’s ironic that the Pacific bluefin migrate from Japan to the waters of Baja and California only to be nabbed, fattened-up, and then put on a non-stop flight back to Japan.

The pens dot the rich waters of Northern Baja California around the Coronado Islands and Ensenada where tuna are cared for and groomed for the lucrative Japanese Market.

The Oceanside 95 was also fishing near one of the pens recently when a zodiac raft came zooming by.  The crew members on board are responsible for guarding the pens against sharks, sea lions and poachers. “They raised a couple of ice cold Mexican beers and waved hello,” said David Mendrin from Whittier who was a passenger on board. “They were totally cool with us fishing near the pens.”

The Grande was catching more fish as was the Oceanside 95 and several private boaters who were all huddled around the pens.

Bluefin tuna are know as discriminating feeders so 15-lb. test with a 20-lb fluorocarbon leader really helped to induce a bite from the delectable tuna.

Scott Buchert from Corona del Mar was on board the Grande and nabbed a nice bluefin tuna that took the jackpot. "I cast my bait toward the pen and wham; I was on," said Buchert.

Boats get close to the pens and start chumming live sardines to try and lure the tuna to the surface.  “Sometimes the bite happens right away and other times it takes a while,” said Mendrin.  There is a sense of anticipation created when you hear one boat hooking-up. “We could see the Toronado getting bit and guys screaming, then the Grande and then it was our turn,” said Mendrin. “It was exciting to see the fish move from boat to boat until we got our shot.”

“I am guessing it’s like a kelp paddy where fish come to hide out or seek bait,” said Ashley. “Either that or they are coming to say hello to there brethren.” Whatever the reason, the tuna pens have been an easy way to locate bluefin for sportfishermen fishing of the coast of Northern Baja.

“Just when you think you have seen it all, something new comes along,” said Ashley who has been in sportfishing for over 5 decades. For now, the tuna destined for Japan are showing Southern California anglers where they can find their very own fresh toro under the tuna pens.

Shark attack kills Aussie bodyboarder at the Farm

  
A shark attack took the life of a man in his early 20s in Western Australia on Sunday as he was bodyboarding on a popular surf spot know as "The Farm" off Bunker Bay near the town of Dunsborough.

The shark bit both legs of the man in a savage attack as he bodyboarded with about 30 other surfers in whar was the first attack in more than 20-years.

Helicopters were searching for the shark and the man's limbs were not recovered. The beach has subsequently been closed.

How to avoid a shark attack

Listen to Phil Friedman Outdoors Radio, Thursdays at 8pm or archived shows 24/7

 

Today's shark attack leaving a 38-year old man dead at Surf Beach near the Vandenberg Air Force Base has many wondering just how many sharks are cruising our beaches and what if anything can be done to avaid a shark attack. 

Somewhere today, on the California coast, a great white shark is eyeing a swimmer or a surfer as a potential meal. Noted shark expert Patric Douglass says that this scenario plays out every single day in Southern California. “There is a great white off Newport or Huntington Beach right now that has made several passes on a group of surfers and passed on the opportunity,” said Douglass. While there are a number of shark species found locally, typically only the great white shark attacks are lethal.

  On August 27, Jeff Yehling was surfing off San Onofre State Beach and reported the following to Pacific Coast Shark News. “I was on my surfboard when I observed two sharks just cruising around right in and around the surf line. I first noticed them slowly moving just below the surface, and then noticed a fin slowly moving above the surface.” Yehling spoke with other surfers who saw the pair of sharks and they were convinced they were great whites.  

 Douglas points out that sharks are really very good at identifying a prey object. “Sharks have millions of years of evolution and they have developed an extraordinary suite of predatory devices,” said Douglass. “They rarely make a mistake.” According to Douglas, what has happened in the past 10 years is that people have done a remarkable job of looking like sea lions. “10 years ago, most surfers used long boards. Now most surfers use short boards and dress in black wet suits making them look just like a sea lion, a favorite snack of theses deadly apex predators. With the short boards, arms and legs dangle and mimic flippers.”

  In April of 2008, Dr. David Martin was fatally attacked by a great white shark while training with his triathlon group around 7 am. The attack was swift and brutal. The shark lifted Martin out of the water, both legs in its jaws while its serrated teeth made deep fatal gashes. Douglass says while the attack was horrific and tragic, it was avoidable. “Dawn and dusk are when sharks are most active and most likely to make a mistake. You have to give the sharks their mornings and evenings as mid-day attacks are extremely rare,” he said. 

 Douglas also points out that a group of sea lions were clustered near the shoreline, a good indicator that a predator was nearby in the water. When Martin and his fellow swimmers went into the water, they represented a new group of  pinnipeds. Then Martin fell behind, isolating himself from the group. “That shark has no choice other than to attack,” said Douglass. “If the group would have only waited a few more hours, I believe this attack could have been avoided.”  

 There is only one sure way to avoid a shark attack and that’s by staying out of the water. For those who choose to enter the great white’s world, here are some more ways to avoid a shark attack.

 *Do not go in the water at dawn or dusk as everything is in the shark’s favor. Shark attacks around mid-day are very rare.

*Avoid large groups of seals or sea lions or if you see these creatures on the beach or near the shoreline, beware.

*If you are bleeding, including menstruating, stay out of the water.

*Stay clear of fishing boats.

*The murkier the water, the easier it is for a shark to sense you without you seeing the shark.  Shark attacks are more likely to occur than when the water is clear.

*Leave the water quickly and calmly if a shark is sighted.  Avoid excessive splashing or arm and leg movement.

*Stay in a group as most sharks attack individuals.

 The reality is that shark attacks are extremely rare but by exercising sound judgment, you can reduce those chances even further. “I have seen first-hand what a 16-foot white shark can do to a 100-lb. bluefin tuna and it isn’t pretty,” said Douglas. “It’s all about respecting the beast.”

 Photos- Juanmi Alemany Photography

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