I should have went out Saturday, but too busy.  Weather looked perfect but yesterday it wasn't so much.. Cold and Foggy.

Bay looked good but it was getting foggy the moment you left the inlet.



I spent a few hours bounce ball'in for butts.  What a boring way to fish, but at least the water was clean so I had a shot.  Covered a lot of ground and depths for nothing.  Very little bait around also, but my shoulder has been acting up again recently to start casting for it.  One thing for certain, I was cold!  I heard a lot of boats out there but couldn't see them until I was on top of them.

Decided to go to Plan B and look for "Gamefish".  It was tough navigating the area since visibility stunk and boats were just popping out of the thicker/denser areas of fog.



Wind started picking up from the south and I've already put 5 hours trying for butts and yellows, so opted for another red trip.  I didn't bring my deep drop gear since I swore, I was only going to stick to gamefish but desperate times were called for again to keep my mind at ease. 

It was a little bumpy on the way out and having to manually deploy the trolling motor was like tempting fate on going overboard.  lol, but I found "other Reds" in my Vermillion spot.



Just to be more honest, there were like 4 boats in my little hot spot so I had to poke around looking for new areas.

I did get my limit of reds, but they were mediums.  Smallest by far in this spot for the last 3 years.



Deepwater mini-halibut. (At least I'm trying to convince myself that LOL)



Plenty of bigger grade green blotched.



After an hour, I called it quits.  Too much to get to when I get home and fasting today for a medical procedure has me dreaming about food.

Of course, soon as you get back into the bay it's sunny, but was cold and foggy all day out front.



I released one Red, One Green, and a bunch of dabs.  Not a great day, but not bad.  All in all, I got the groceries for the freezer and to test in the new vacuum sealer.



Well, that is it.  I'm going to have to start thinking big here again soon.  These little rock cod aren't cutting it.  LOL

Thanks for reading!

My buddy Homa was ready to throw down some more kabobs and really wanted to catch a fish.  Last 3 trips and all we caught was turtles.

Guys showed up at the puddles and the grill was fired up.  Homa made the kabobs while we soaked for trout in the latest stocked lake.



Watched an osprey grab a trout in front of me so I know I was in the right place.



Well, you know my luck this fall.



Maybe a trout?



Nope....



We continued to catch cats on trout bait and ate our fill of amazing kabobs!



I literally couldn't eat another bite!





We kept the first 3 and I said "let's throw the rest back".



Then Homa got bit on the rod I gave him.  I said "Set the hook, I'm not helping you!"

I've never seen him smile so big!



He knew this one wasn't a turtle!  LOL



He was stoked!



We ended with 5 before they came around to kick us out.  I think they were more amazed watching me fillet the cats.  Homa said he's only seen someone cut fish in the asian markets and said he liked my way better.  lol

Well he finally got his fish!  Team building was a success!

While regular brushing, flossing, and dental check-ups are the foundation of oral health, your diet can also play a significant role in maintaining strong teeth and healthy gums. Did you know that eating fish can promote optimal oral health? Packed with essential nutrients, fish has been shown to support gum health and strengthen teeth.


https://www.thedentallist.com/news/eating-fish-for-your-teeth-and-gums/

Heard of all of the yellows biting, but my shoulder and neck are still in poor shape, and I have my MRI on Monday.  Last time I had a bad shoulder, I made it worse by doing dumb things.  I'd like to think I'm a little smarter now.... Then again...

Plan changed to look deep for Black Cod.  Also would love to see something new and weird.

Weather was breezy in the morning, but ended up perfect!



I decided to stop and get my limit of reds first.  Friggin two other boats stopped next to me and saw me catch them, so this spot will never be the same anymore.  One was only 16" and the other was 19" so quality reds. 



Moved out to 450'.  Clouds of Chillipepper's on the sonar.



Moved to 550'

Lots of Green blotched.



Moved to 650"

Green Blotched and Green Spotted.



Moved to 850'....

Little bites, but nothing

Moved to 950' ...

Saw marks, but not a nibble.

Dropped to 1050' ....

Nothing



Dropped at 1200' ....

Nothing

Went back in to get my limits after another 3# lead busted my 100# mono from the twirl of death.  Going to use steel leader for now on.

Tried dropping my home-made tuna sinkers to see if that would work.  Worked better than expected but loads of Mexicans and green spotted.



Went in to look for Yellows, but there was a sh!t ton of boats out there.  Decided to try something else and look for Halibut.  Nothing doing, so I called it quits.



Got back to the ramp to see a bunch of big carcasses on it.  I thought they would be yellows, but after closer inspection saw they were tuna!  Probably saved for lobster fishing the night before.



On the way home, I got off at my exit and saw a fire started in Mission Gorge.  Made the call, but they were already aware.



In any case, my arm is dead.  It killed me knowing they were catching yellows, but the amount of boats out there would have been no fun for me. I'm just old and don't like crowds at any level.  Fishing, stores, you name it.

Well thanks for reading and until next tide.

This year I decided to smoke the turkeys for Thanksgiving.  Wasn't sure how well they would turn out since I've only smoked Meat and fish in this particular smoker.

I brined the turkeys for 24 hours.  Pulled and prepped them at 6am.



Thermometers in place and a dose of heavy applewood.



Took 7-8 hours before it was done.



I pulled it the moment it hit 165 degrees.  Perfect.



Well, almost all of it was eaten.  It came out really good but was a pain to tend to the fire box.  My old pit is not a turn it on and forget it type of smoker.

Anyone do any cooking?

I thought they said last year it was gone forever...

Liars...  I got two.  lol

This was Verne's boat.  Please let me or Theresa know if you are interested.  All contact details are in the Craigslist listing.



https://losangeles.craigslist.org/sfv/boa/d/northridge-best-boat-deal-out-there-8k/7805599817.html

Arm is still screwed.  Specialist Doctor says it's my neck.  Physical Therapy doctor saif it's my shoulder.  I'm tired of hurting, but damn it, I'm not missing out on using the boat since I finally have everything working as it should be!

Plan was to only bring the electric rig, a descending rod/reel/rig, a small line counter rig and a bay stick if it got too rough out there.  It was raining on me the entire way down but seemed to clear up down at the bay.  Ahhh to have working steering again is a blast and my shoulder is thankful about it.



I was running about 18-20 mph the entire way out.  A little bumpy, but not bad at all.  I passed a few choice kelp paddies loaded with birds.  I check with the side sonar, but no one home.  At least the water was clean out here as it looked like chocolate milk coming out the inlet!



I got to my Red Numbers and made a drop.  Screen was lit up and I was expecting wide open fishing!  I decided against the electric reel until I went into really deep water (Over 500') but was at a comfy 360' and the reel had the handle on the other side, so I was good.

Little bites and little bites.  I was using an 8oz bucktail and a whole squid bait threaded on so it wouldn't fall off so easily.
I got slammed and it was big and pulling hard. About 30 feet off the bottom and it got off.  Ugh.  I tried a few more drops for nothing.  Fish were there but not biting so I moved from spot to spot trying to find some willing to bite.

I drop the jig down to the magic 360' number and the rod literally got pulled out of my hand!  This thing bit hard and kept dogging me the entire way up!  Totally a Lingcod!  I pulled the cork off the gaff as it got closer to the surface (one of the benefits of using a line counter reel). 
To my surprise, I saw the brown but with a HUGE mouth!  I haven't caught more than 5 Boccaccio over the last decade and this thing was bigger than them combined! Totally my PB 9.1# Salmon Grouper!



After that I couldn't get any interest, so decided to head to deeper water and try my luck there.  I hit 600' and caught the usual Green Striped, Green Blotched, Green Spotted, and Mexicans.

Things started to clear up.



A few patches of heavy rain thankfully blew right by me.



Then I went to 900'.... Nothing



Then I went to 1200'..... one little nibble but nothing.

Then I hit 1400' ... Nothing.

After 2 hours of nothing, I went back in to see if the bite turned on at the Red Spot.  Well, wasn't exactly what I was thinking about.



Decided to switch to tuna belly instead of squid to just try to switch anything up.  Instantaneously, I realized I should have tried the belly earlier!  Back-to-back big reds!  The type everyone hopes for!



All of these fish fought hard and it took a bit to get them to the surface, thus they had time to decompress.  Only thing I could think of as they were mean when they got to the surface!

I then was ready to pack it in but had to drop again.  This time I was sure I had a Lingcod!  Until I got it to the surface... WTF!  AGAIN!  It wasn't as long, but had a HUGE belly!



I decided to send this one back down on the descending device, but soon as it hit the water, It shot straight down.  What turned out slow really picked up big time!

I was back at the dock by 12:30 and what a 1/2 day trip!

That was it.  My shoulder tapped out and it took a little longer to get the boat cleaned up than I expected.  In any case, I was one fine morning!  Neighbors are going to be eating good with the other 8 fish, but I'm keeping the reds for some beer batter!

Just throwing this out there since I've been updating articles and news, but never get any feedback from the website.

The Shelter Island Boat Launch will be closed on Thursday as city crews work to remove a vessel that sank at the end of the ramp. The closure will last from approximately 6 a.m. to 5 p.m. as the Port of San Diego and the Harbor Police Department undertake the removal operation. Boaters already at sea will be able to land, but launching from Shelter Island will not be permitted during this time.

On November 13, a 35-foot boat was abandoned at the end of the ramp for unknown reasons. Harbor police issued a notice of violation and an order for the vessel's removal. When there was no response, a tow service was called. However, on November 15, as the tow service was en route, the boat began taking on water and eventually sank despite efforts to keep it afloat.
Attempts to contact the vessel's owner have been unsuccessful.

Over the weekend, king tides pushed the boat under a section of the docks, complicating its removal. For the safety of workers and the public, the port must close the facility to safely and efficiently remove the vessel and manage any potential fuel leaks during the process, according to a statement from the agency. The port appreciates the boating community's patience as they work to restore use of the boat launch.

The port aims to complete the removal and reopen the launch facility in time for the weekend.

I pulled my bell pepper plants in order to get the garden ready for the winter crop.  I pulled like 40 bell peppers off of the plants, but half were little guys that were the size of jalapenos.  I looked in the cabinet and saw a can of crab meat that needed to be used, so I decided to make Jalapeno poppers with baby bells!



I made the filling and put a small amount of cream cheese in each one. 



Set the oven to 500 degrees and gave it a 15-minute toast!

This might have been one of my favorite surprises trying to concoct something.  WOW!



I can't believe I ate them all, but they were so good!

My shoulder has been preventing me from fishing, but I needed some fresh air.  Met my buddy Roger down at the bay for a little fishing and he wanted to show off his drone for a possible Prehistoric Soul commercial.

Got down to a super high tide, and the water was gin clear!



Arm started hurting 7 casts in and I felt the bump!  The hookset almost pulled my arm out of the socket, but I got him and a nice one to boot!



I made 4 more casts and called it.  I need to stick to trout I guess on the 2#.  lol

Roger's drone was crazy cool.  He had that thing fly a mile away and it kind of freaked me out in all the wind, but amazed what that little drone can capture and do.



Anyway, it was great catching up and went back to try and get some things done around the house.  Glad I got something!  lol

I'm going to make a Prehistoric Soul "Record Board for the website.  This includes all species caught and posted here on the website/forum.  It could be in pounds and ounces, or length.  If you happen to know or remember certain ones, please post it here.  The list will be audited throughout the process since that's a lot of remembering to do.  This can be from Boat, Yak, Board, Rocks, Bay and surf.  Anything goes as long as it was posted here.

Thanks for your help!

I was supposed to go to a BBQ to watch the game, but life got in the way.  I figured I'd just watch it at home and unwind from a stressful Friday instead.  I was especially surprised my daughter came out to watch it with me.  She hates violence of any sort, but when she heard two girls were boxing, I don't think it registered with her. 

Besides the buffering... and terrible pixel quality... the girl fight blew me away!  My daughter couldn't believe how two girls could fight like that and then shake hands afterwards, although didn't like the losing coach bitch, moan and complain the entire time.  I don't know... I've seen intentional head butts before and maybe she did, but it seemed like she was just leading with her head more than she should of, but nothing appeared egregious (at least to me).

Now on the Tyson fight.  The most enjoyable part was Tyson's bare ass in the locker room.  My daughter asked if he's too old and forgot to put his trunks on. 

Otherwise, it was a snoozer.  I really was hoping to see a glimpse of old Iron Mike, but Father time is undefeated.

I know it's a few days old, but my new computer has been limiting my access to certain sites.  I've since corrected the problem (My internet security) and here's the story along with a picture courtesy of Donfish who had a buddy on the boat that caught it.



Angler Lands Potential World Record Yellowfin Tuna Aboard Excel

Ontario, CA – The sportfishing community is abuzz with excitement following an incredible catch aboard the long-range sportfishing vessel Excel. On a 10-day trip out of San Diego, California, angler Earl Gill IV potentially made history by reeling in a colossal 448-pound yellowfin tuna, a catch that could set a new IGFA world record.

This jaw-dropping catch, which may surpass the current record by a few pounds, was made possible thanks to Okuma's Makaira 20 Size 2-speed Lever Drag Reel – a reel engineered for record-breaking battles. Earl hooked the massive yellowfin using chunk bait on 100-pound test line, and relied on a shoulder harness to withstand the intense, hours-long battle to bring the giant tuna aboard.

As the Excel sails back to San Diego, the anticipation is palpable. The yellowfin tuna will be weighed on an IGFA-certified scale on Saturday morning to confirm its world-record potential. The current IGFA record for the largest yellowfin tuna caught using all-tackle gear is 427 pounds, held by Guy Yocom.

"Here on the Excel, our mission is to put our anglers on the biggest fish in the ocean, but every now and then, we're astonished by the sheer size of a catch," said Justin Fleck, Owner and Captain of the Excel. "We're thrilled for Earl to reel in the fish of a lifetime and can't wait to see if it sets a new IGFA record."

The giant yellowfin was caught using Okuma's flagship Makaira Black model, featuring a silver-etched yellowfin tuna on its matte black frame. The Makaira continues to uphold its legendary reputation for toughness and raw power, built for epic showdowns like this. Should the weight be confirmed, the Makaira reel will forever be associated with this historic catch.

"Okuma Fishing Tackle is proud to have played a role in this legendary catch," said Michelle Gandola, Director of Marketing for Okuma. "Since 1986, Okuma Fishing USA has been dedicated to creating precision-engineered fishing gear that empowers anglers to live out unforgettable moments on the water. The Makaira series embodies our commitment to quality, combining the finest materials with thoughtful design to help anglers tackle the fiercest game fish."

The fishing community eagerly awaits the verification of this potential new world record, which would not only highlight Earl Gill IV's incredible angling skills but also reinforce the reputation of Okuma's Makaira reels in handling the most formidable catches in sportfishing history. Stay tuned for what could be a monumental moment in the world of fishing.

-Latimeria

Well, they did have really good Detroit style pizza but were pretty expensive.  I think it was about $7 a slice.

In any case, Santee Lakes in increasing the rent by 78%, so Pete says "I'm out".

It will be tough to imagine what could possibly afford it there after this.

Went down after work for 2.5 hours hoping to get struck by lightning.  The Lake was just stocked with Jess's Ranch Trout, but I wanted to stay away from the crowds and catch my lightning!

It was a peaceful 2 hours with no one around.  I ended up getting a good bite and it looked like a trout at least!  As the line loaded up, I gave it a little hook set and felt the shaking of a head that didn't feel like a catfish!  Within 2 seconds... gone....

I recast and then a cormorant flew right into my line.  Soon as I rechecked, I saw a big trout flop right next to me realizing it was a bass guy casting his big trout swimbaits.  Guy apologized and was nice enough, but I figured the last 25 minutes I was going to hit the stocked lake.

Lots of people around fishing, but not many fish on stringers.

First cast and I didn't look overhead and caught a tree.

I put that rod in the truck and grabbed my second rod and "avoided" the tree.

Nada... Nothing...  Time to go.

I did paint/draw a new stone, but Imgur once again is "error": "Imgur is temporarily over capacity. Please try again later."



I'll put the picture up later, but another good "Sunset Picture".  LOL

I went inexpensive and planned on installing a new helm that I bought a few months ago and is desperately needed.  Since I busted my shoulder, that won't work so I brought the boat into the shop. 

Well, the helm won't fit unless I pay to have a new mount custom made... so I had to buy one that would fit.  Thankfully, I bought the other helm so long ago, that I can't return it.  Oh joys!

Thing is these 6 sinkers weigh 20 pounds!  Holy smokes that was a lot of lead.

I lost my 3# sinker the last time I was out deep dropping and needed to pour some deep drop sinkers.  I want to do some exploring with the electric reel before the season closes.  That and maybe try dropping a conventional reel if I could find the big blackgill.



In any case, the little mold is a 32 oz sinker...

The big one is a 6 pounder!



I swore my pot held 10 pounds, but it's only a 5# pot at best.  Took some time to pour and needed my torch to keep things warm.

They aren't pretty, but dont have to be.  I still need to clean them up, but that's a lot of sinker!

I used to airbrush jean jackets back in the 80's for really good money.  I saw what the going rate is these days and decided to paint a test one.

It still has a bit to go, but I'll be adding studs, pins, chains... the whole 9 yards.

Let's see who knows the band and album (still have to paint that on when the picture is done.