El Nino

fishguy · 05-14-2002, 07:52 AM

Is this an El Nino year? If so, what strange (exotic) species have people seen off of our fine coast? I personally got to witness a large ocean sunfish in the Gulf of Alaska outside of Seward. In regards to strange species what are the regulations regarding the catching and keeping of them? Any info would be appreciated.

Capt. Rich · 05-14-2002, 10:24 AM

Why would you want to do that? Mola-Mola eat jellyfish as a primary diet. I hate that stingy slimy stuff on my salmon gear. Takes all the fun out of fishing when you forget you got it on your hands and rub your eyes. So Mola-Mola are your friends, not prey.

Last year in the August halibut opener we had a 10' Mola-Mola taking a sauna in our exhaust wake. He stayed there for over a half hour.

From what I am told by old salts, Mola-Mola are mostly water. The meat is soft and mushy and tastes like what they eat.

Capt. Rich · 05-14-2002, 10:31 AM

P.S. It is supposed to be an El Nino year but nothing yet.

http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/Monterey/sstmaps/sst2.gif

Check this site for weekly updates. Also

http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/Monterey/sstmaps/sst1.gif

For California and Baja.

The Bay Area Tuna Club site and Allcoast Sportfishing sites are good to see if people are catching fish down south.

http://www.batsford.net/tuna/default.asp
http://www.sport-fish-info.com

Threemuch · 05-14-2002, 11:33 PM

Plus killing a mola mola is bad bad luck. Something about how they are food for sailors lost at sea, but off limits to anyone else. During the last El Nino, I was in San Jose, fishing the waters outside the SF Bay but we saw an Opah caught, a few dorado, and many many barracuda. Plus BFT and albacore of course.

Since then, white sea bass have taken permanent residence in Monterey bay as well. Good stuff.

KB

fishguy · 05-14-2002, 11:47 PM

Just to clarify, I did not or ever intend to fish for mola mola. I was just trying to let it be known that I had spotted one in Alaska of all places. However, it would be a different story if I had spotted a dorado or tuna.

Capt. Rich · 05-15-2002, 06:24 AM

Kurtis, as you probably know, the reason why the white sea bass have returned is because of the efforts of UNITED ANGLERS OF CALIFORNIA. They started a white sea bass project in Huntington Beach and raised millions of them. They thought that they would repopulate the Southern California area but they have repopulated their original range all the way into San Francisco Bay. Guys now catch white sea bass inside San Francisco Bay. In the Fall several anglers were spooled fishing for salmon at California City. They weren't salmon but huge white sea bass more that likely.

And hatcheries don't work???? Another example of California's success with those voodoo hatchery fish.