Tom Raftican from Sportfishing Conservancy and Bob Osborne from Surfside are true fishermen. This Thanksgiving, they were up at daybreak catching a variety of surf fish during their friendly competition for holiday bragging rights.
This year, Osborne battled a guitarfish for more than an hour on 6-pound test line before catching and releasing the creature. There is still a great debate going on about who won this year's competition. Osborne claimed victory with his feisty guitarfish and Raftican claimed foul, saying it was not a game fish.
In the end, the two caught and released barred perch, spotfin croaker, corbina and the infamous guitarfish. For a fisherman, this is a great way to start off Thanksgiving.
Warm Weather in the Forecast
Great weather should continue our fine rockfish bite. Boats from San Clemente to the Santa Monica Bay continue to reel in good numbers of bottom dwellers, including lingcod.
Lingcod season closes Dec. 1, so now is the time to get out and catch one.
Boats Catching Rockfish and Lingcod
The Toronado from Pierpoint landing in Long Beach heads out Saturday night for a lingcod special to San Nicolas Island.
The Native Sun out of Long Beach Sportfishing is one of the best kept secrets in town. She is a comfortable and beautiful ride. “We have been catching lingcod at times along with a mess of other rockfish," said Capt. Gabriel.
Boats from Marina del Rey and Redondo Beach have also caught excellent numbers of rockfish and lingcod, along with some excellent surface action.
The Highliner out of Redondo sailed this week for excellent calico and sand bass fishing. Live and fresh dead squid have been very effective recently as bait for bass fishing.
Gray Whales and Dolphins Spotted
More gray whales are moving through our local waters as they head for calving grounds in the Baja lagoons.
“We are seeing more and more gray whales all the time,” reported Danny Salas from Harbor Breeze Cruises in Long Beach.
In addition, huge pods of dolphin have been spotted off Marina del Rey, Redondo, Long Beach, Corona del Mar and San Clemente.
You can hardly go wrong with a whale-watching trip in this weekend's summerlike weather.
