I only got bits and pieces and don't want to ruin his story, but I am pleased to know he survived the epic (land) journey as I did something sort of similar before and know how white knuckled it can be.

Looking forward to reading about the trip!

I met up with my fossil buddy from the museum to do a little crab hunting.  Looks like this plot of land may be off limits here in the future so we got in while the getting was good.

Ironically having him here we actually figured out what was happening and where they were coming from.  I had an idea, but having my buddy who works as a full-time paleontologist at the museum really confirmed that I had the same hypothesis.

Basically, we tracked the erosional movements of the crab fossils from the source to where the erosion brought them over the years and decades.

Pretty cool stuff and found some really great specimens.  I'll post them later also.

Water was warm and turgid...  I didn't put a lot of time in since there was a lot of floating stuff in the water and the wind started to kick up a little earlier than I was hoping (along with the jet ski/boat traffic).

The rocks were tough, so I moved to some beach.  I thought I snagged a lump of weeds until I felt it shake and realized I was on.  One 18" flatty slid up on shore and I was pretty stoked. 

I have a pic but have to post it later.  It was kicking up the good old MB mud on me and shimmied back into the bay before I could get some better pics.

Oh well, but better than a skunking and I wish I saw more flatties around the bay like that.

Damn, I started the post, but I forgot I have a Dr Appt for my shoulder MRI, so I will finish it later.

Fishing was really slow but there was no skunk for the Curmudgeon.





I'll finish the post later today.

I get down to the bay with hopes of capitalizing on the filling tide.

Water was warm, but pretty dirty with lots of floating grass because of the wind.

Jet skis were on the water early this morning.

90 minutes and only two bites.

11" spotty skunk buster but my shoulder was killing me so I called it quits.

Long week of work ahead of me again. Saving my PTO for fishing and going to find out in a week or two if I need surgery.

Thanks for reading.

Squatch and I planned to hit La Jolla for his birthday trip.  The yellows are big and plentiful right now so what better time than to get out there!  Unfortunately, he came down with a bug the day before and called in sick so it would be a solo trip for me.

First off, I knew there wasn't any real bait at the receivers since the inlet was packed with boats trying to get mackerel.  Basically, plugging up the inlet and it is really annoying.



I run straight to where the fleet has been on them not expecting many boats, but there was still about 20 there already.  I would have figured most would have been offshore, but they appeared to be all over.  I get away from the fleet and was setting up some Rapalas to troll when I looked on the finder and saw one INCREDIBLE sonar mark!  I had no idea what it was and wasn't prepared, but I grabbed the first heavy jig I could get my hand on and pinned it on my heavy bass gear since my jig stick had a surface iron, and this fish was 100 feet down.
The jig was 160-gram Colt Sniper which is HUGE for this rod I'm using, but it all worked and I slung it out and drip 160 feet.
As I was tearing it in, I get slammed, but it didn't stick, so I let it drop and started cranking in fast again and it just stopped... and then started going the opposite direction!  Fish on!

I could tell this was a bigger model even with the bass rod...  5 minutes... losing line.  10 minutes... take line, give line...  15 minutes... I thought I had him and he dumped all of the line I gained.... 20 minutes.... I know he's tiring but so am I, now all death spirals.... 25 minutes and I finally get him to gaff.  Whew....  He hits the deck and the jig literally just pops out like it was barely stuck in him.  Thank goodness I didn't give him any slack the entire fight.




Big girl!  I was guessing in the 28–30-pound range.  (turned out to be 31 on the scale).  This one was much healthier than the old decrepit one I caught a few weeks ago but she still was sort of long and thin.  She was full of eggs and sardine chunks also.  Not sure if it was slurping chum or what but the sardines looked like it was swimming an hour before.

First thing I did was to text Steve the picture...  hehe

By now, it was the bent rod invitational, and I was surrounded by boats.  I crept out of there to get some space and started trolling for more yellows, but I did get a first cast fish so maybe the curse?

I saw fish on my side finder and quickly cast out the little iron and caught some bonito.  I then thought I had weeds on my Rapala, but when I reeled it in, there was also a bonito.  The grass started getting thick, so I made a move to new waters to get away from the cluster.  I work it hard for a few hours for nada and run on some distant spots of fish that all disappeared when I got there.



It was time to head back with the wind kicking up and now the cluster of boats at LJ was about 75+.  The terns were diving all over though and it looked super fishy!  Only issue was it was surrounded by boats that wouldn't even let a kayak into the circle, so I trolled the outer fringes.  BAM, on again!  This one also felt like a monster, but after 5 minutes of the fight (or him stripping line) he pulled the hook.  It almost felt like it was grabbed by something, but I didn't see any sea lion surface with it so I'm not sure what happened.  I texted Squatch to let him know he just lost his birthday Yellow...  Bummer...  lol

Anyways, I trolled for 10 more minutes and the wind and clock forced me off.  I was good though and it was great being out there and seeing some life.  Strike while the iron is hot!

Thanks for reading and until next time. 

It's been 2 years since I caught a local mahi and it's been that long since I made my macadamia nut encrusted mahi-stuffed avocadoes!

Well, I tried a little variation, and it didn't disappoint!

My buddy from Brooklyn called me out of nowhere about a month ago and said he was coming to SoCal with his girlfriend and her kids. Both of them are freshly divorced, and she somehow convinced him to head west. You need to understand, this man is Archie Bunker in every possible way. He's spent years swearing he'd never set foot in California because it was "full of fruits, nuts, and Libs." I figured the only way I'd ever see him again was if I flew back east. So yeah... I'm still shocked they actually came out.

They were only here for six days and planned to cram every tourist attraction into that tiny window. I couldn't believe their schedule when were they planning to sleep? They wanted to do the usual sightseeing when they came down to SD to hang with me for half a day, but I pitched a whale-and-dolphin run on my boat instead. If I was taking the day off work, I'd rather be on the water than stuck in traffic pointing at landmarks. They agreed, and the plan was simple: cruise the coast, find whatever marine mammals we could, then finish at the Barefoot Bar for drinks and lunch.

They're all Italian, which means two things: they love food, and they're always late. So I brought a couple rods, my bay bass setup and a big troller in case I stumbled into pelagics or yellows.

I got there a few hours early to squeeze in some bay bass fishing. I launched the boat, parked the trailer, and spotted a banana peel in the back of my truck. Who the f@ck put that there? I tossed it into a plastic bag, got distracted by a phone call, and—without thinking—brought the bag onto the boat. Great. The curse was officially onboard.



I fished for bass for about an hour and only got two short bites. It looked so good back there, but with time to spare I ran to the bridge hoping for a halibut. No dice.

So I decided to open up the Curmudgeon in the high‑speed zone. Hit 43.8 mph... any more trim and I'd be dolphin‑hopping. Then I saw fish jumping and boiling in the distance. All mullet. And all I had was a swimmy. No chance.

I didn't bring tackle, so I did the classic "Sasquatch" move and searched the boat for random hooks. Found a few rusty big ones and a tiny pack of trout hooks. No bait. Nothing usable. Then I remembered the damn banana. I'd heard rumors about mullet eating banana skin, so I grabbed the gill scissors and figured... why not?

I didn't even have a split shot. Just a small bronze hook tied to 10‑pound. I cut a tiny piece of banana, pinned it on, and cast. It hit the water and—ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ—gone. What the hell? Tried again. Nothing. Third cast—hooked a monster. Got it to the boat, tried flipping it into the livewell to keep the deck clean for my buddy's girlfriend and daughter, and snap... the hook broke.

I tied another and went 3 for 12 on mullet. If they didn't hit within a minute, I'd reel in and recast.

The first two I actually landed were the usual 14‑inch models.



Most just came unbuttoned, but two absolute units broke the hook on their initial runs. Drag was tight, but they were dumping line like crazy.

One even spooled me, so I chased it with the boat to get line back. Scooped its head with the bait net and dropped it into the livewell.

A two‑footer. Absolute tank.



I checked my phone and.... my buddy and his crew were already waiting at the ramp! Time to boogie.

The trip with them was great. We found tons of dolphin and sea lions, and they were fired up. Total success. But honestly? The cherry on top was battling those monster mullet. I still can't believe how powerful they are. Next time I'll bring peas or something else—anything but a banana. That was a total accident, and I'm not risking that curse again.

Until next tide.

I just picked up a new electric reel for those 300-500 foot critters.  Smaller electric reel holds 322 yards of 20# braid which is perfect for what I do and for those little jigs.

With my shoulder falling to sh!t again, I feel like I given myself a little more time!  Perfect for the little bait trolling and deep water rockfishing.  I just tried it and it's one cool little unit!



Only time will tell!

With only a half day available before we had to be back at the dock by noon, we decided to make a quick run from Mission Beach and fish the local offshore ridges in search of pelagics. The original plan was simple: skip the bait receiver, troll for yellowfin tuna, and keep our eyes peeled for kelp paddies that might be holding dorado.

The bait situation made the decision easy. The receivers were loaded with anchovies, and with our limited time on the water, we didn't want to spend precious fishing time making bait. Instead, we pointed the bow west and got the trolling gear ready.

Conditions offshore looked downright fishy. The water was a beautiful blue-to-purple color with a surface temperature of 76.1 degrees. If you've spent any time chasing tuna and dorado off San Diego, you know that warm, clean water gets the heart rate up. We were also keeping a lookout for marlin, figuring that temperatures like that might have a few swords wandering through the neighborhood.

Unfortunately, the ocean didn't get the memo.

For most of the morning there was very little life to be found. We covered plenty of water, scanned the horizon constantly, checked paddies when we found them, and watched a dozen or so other boats doing exactly the same thing. Everyone seemed to be searching, but nobody appeared to be stopping for long.

Eventually, we spotted our first real sign of life: a small flock of terns diving frantically on the surface. We pushed the throttles forward and ran toward the birds, hoping they were marking a school of tuna. Of course, by the time we got there, the birds had scattered and whatever was pushing bait had disappeared.

Rather than overthink it, we dumped the trolling gear back into the spread and got back to work.

It turned out to be the right call.

The rods hadn't been in the water long before one got buried and started screaming. After a short but spirited fight, a bright dorado came into view. What appeared at first to be a decent fish turned out to be a really nice-sized hen once we got her close to the boat.

Then came the entertaining part.

Shaun stepped up with the gaff and proceeded to miss... and miss... and miss again. By the fifth swing we were beginning to wonder if the fish was going to earn a pardon and swim away. Finally, he connected solidly and swung the big hen over the rail to a chorus of laughter and relief.

Fish in the box.

We trolled for a few more miles after that, hoping the single dorado was part of a larger body of fish moving through the area, but nothing else materialized. With the clock ticking and obligations back on land waiting, we pointed the boat toward home and headed to the barn.

At the launch ramp we chatted with a couple of Fish and Game personnel who confirmed what we'd been seeing all morning: the local bite had been pretty slow. The interesting news, however, was coming from farther south. Reports were filtering in from the Upper Hidden Bank off Mexico of massive schools of yellowfin tuna moving up the line, along with a handful of wahoo already showing up in catches.

That was all the encouragement we needed.

Even though our trip only produced a single dorado, the conditions offshore and the reports from down south have us optimistic. Warm water, blue-water conditions, yellowfin moving north, and even a few wahoo already in the mix are all signs that this El Niño year could be something special.

One fish isn't much to brag about, but it's a whole lot better than a skunk, and that colorful dorado made the run worthwhile. Now we just need those yellowfin to keep pushing north.

Tight lines.

Just got back from a fantastic 4-day stay in one of the floating cabins at Santee Lakes, and it was exactly the kind of relaxing getaway I needed.

The routine quickly became my favorite part of the trip. I'd be out on the water first thing each morning with a fishing rod in hand, enjoying the calm lake before most people were even awake. The fishing wasn't exactly on fire, but it was steady enough to keep things interesting. Over the four days I managed to land 8 catfish and a few of the famous "pond chickens". Not exactly trophy fishing, but they kept the rods bending and made for a fun time.

What really had me scratching my head were the carp. They were everywhere. Every morning and evening I'd see them jumping, rolling, and splashing all around the cabin. It looked like the lake was full of them. Unfortunately, none of them seemed remotely interested in anything I was offering. I spent a fair amount of time trying different approaches, hoping to connect with one of those big carp, but they completely ignored me. Plenty of activity, zero bites.

Once the late morning heat started rolling in, I'd head back to the cabin. One of the best things about the floating cabins is having that air conditioning waiting for you after spending a few hours in the sun. I'd kick back in the cool cabin, turn on the TV, and relax while keeping the window shades open to enjoy the lake views. There was something incredibly peaceful about watching the water, seeing paddle boats drift by, and just slowing down for a while.

Food was another highlight of the trip. I think I had the grill going at least twice every day. Burgers, bacon, chicken, steaks... pretty much any excuse to fire up the BBQ was good enough for me. Nothing beats cooking outside while overlooking the lake and then sitting back with a cold drink afterward.

Speaking of drinks, the ciders absolutely hit the spot during the hottest parts of the day. When temperatures started climbing, it was nice to sit in the shade, enjoy a cold cider, and appreciate that I had nowhere to be and nothing that needed to get done (Which is rare air since I started the new job)

In the afternoons and evenings, I'd take hikes around the lakes with the wife. There's always something to see, whether it's waterfowl, turtles, anglers, or families enjoying the park, although I was really looking for that wild turkey who decided to call the "Puddles" home! The wife really enjoyed the walks though.  To her they were a great way to stretch the legs between my fishing sessions and the BBQ meals.

Evenings were probably my favorite time. As the sun started dropping and temperatures became comfortable again, I'd head back out to fish. The lakes get a different feel at sunset, and sitting on the water while watching the sky change colors was worth the trip all by itself. Even when the fish weren't cooperating, it was hard to complain.  The sheer number of mosquitoes and bats had me a little unnerved though. The bats would swoop right by my face where I felt the wind of their wings and couldn't believe how many were flying around!

Overall, the fishing may not have been spectacular, but the trip absolutely was. Eight catfish, a handful of pond chickens, plenty of failed attempts at stubborn carp, lots of BBQ, cold ciders, scenic hikes, and several days spent relaxing in an air-conditioned floating cabin with beautiful lake views. That's a pretty good recipe for a vacation if you ask me.

Between the floating cabins and an offshore trip today, I have some posts I need to make but there's hardly enough time these days.  Tomorrow morning I have my MRI, so we'll see how that goes but I hope to get a post up in the next few days at the latest.

Stay tuned!

The 2026 Football Pick'em League is back online and let me know if any of you degenerate gamblers want to join in for the measly cost of $30 for the entire season!

I know Jeremy and Kogacrap are going to be signed up.  It's super easy and fun to play.  Just let me know.

My plan was to get out on the water Saturday to unwind from my usual hell week. The girls wanted do a family movie day which messed up my plans since I wanted to get to Kevin's Party later that day and now something had to give...  I decided to just fish Sunday instead.

We saw The Odessey in IMAXX and I really liked it!  It was a different rendition of what I remember reading, but the acting was really well done and I thought it was a good call to see it in the movie theatre!

We got back and I headed to Kevin's to meet up with some buddy's I haven't seen in a bit.  Long story short and we were doing shots off shot glasses that were epoxied to a snow ski... 

Thankfully home wasn't far away!  lol

Next morning and it was a struggle to motivate, but I did.

I was launching when Jeremy's future boat was being dropped in.



The water was crazy warm heading out the inlet.



I found the fleet of 100 boats all piled up in the same area.  I tried fishing it, but was over that quickly.  I also couldn't find the fresh squid I brought with me (I swore I packed it) so now I had to just wing it with lures.



I went inside to stay away from everyone else!



I didn't see much in the way of bait but there was plenty of dolphin around.



I was ready to call it since I didn't even get as much as a sniff all morning.  Then it sounded like a dolphin breach next to the boat but when I looked, I didn't see any others so I grabbed the new jig stick and cast out the good old Tady 45 (with a mackerel skin wrap).  5 cranks in and PLOOOOOOOSH!!!!!! I almost thought I snagged a dolphin and could tell this thing was a giant.

I lost track of time, but it was probably around 15-20 minutes under some tight drag.  I saw it and was like WTF?!?!

I got the gaff sunk and was exhausted.  My shoulder was shot and I was having a hard time holding it up but what a slug!  It looked like an oarfish!!!  It had a weird scoliosis going on with a deformed back end but was over 50" forklength from what I could gather from my boat tape that was too small.



I knew it was my PB, but guessing it was closer to 50# than 40#.  I took a few pics but my shoulder was having real troubles.  The head on this thing had a bigger head than me!

I left it packed in ice overnight since it was too late to clean and I really wanted to firm up the meat.  I also figured that I could get some really accurate measurements.

After a quick measurement, I had 51.2" fork length and the scale tells the tale.  I had super high hopes it would be 50#, but pretty close. 48.34#


https://imgur.com/azH7QN4

It was a female filled with eggs but a mostly empty belly.  Filleting it was difficult because of something wrong with the spine as seen here.





In any case, my PB and what a fish!  The meat was a little on the tough side and what a weird backbone! 

Anyway, One bite and One fish.  I'm glad I never found the squid or I wouldn't have caught this beauty!

Thanks for reading and until the next trip!

One explosion on the surface iron...

One crazy battle...

One fun weekend...

Got out with the usual suspects hoping to get into some offshore action.  Water Chloro charts and sea temps are off the charts and something has to be hiding out there! Unfortunately, they didn't have their Mex Licenses, so we were stuck in US waters.

Left at o'dark thirty and started looking for paddies at first light.  Water was purple it was so clear.

First paddy we see is a JUMBO!  We didn't have bait, so we were stuck with artificials or chunk bait.  No one home... wait... 4-5 foot bull Mahi is rolling around the paddy!  It immediately takes off soon as they cast right on it and not to be seen again.

We found some more MONSTER paddies with birds sitting on them and all!  Tons of bait underneath, but no gamefish.  The fish finder had barely a pixel on it when not around the paddies.

We saw some huge Mola out there, but no sharks and no gamefish to speak of.  (Well another 4' bull dodo, but no live bait to pitch to it)

We found some weird weather buoys and quite a few boats, but nada.  Radio chatter was all the same news, except down by the 371 and 390 where the fish were apparently biting.

The water was so blue, it almost zeroed out the blue Gatorade!

We finally found diving terns in the gyros and ran over to hopefully get onto some yellowfin!  Unfortunately it was a huge school of bait sized bonito!  Damn, if we only had these guys when we came across those monster bull dorado!  We caught a bunch but I didn't bring the right rods for these little guys to have fun.

Oh well, we traveled 14 miles past the 182, down to the corner and every spot in-between for just bonito.  I guess we weren't skunked, but it just seems that the fish are close.  These paddies had all of the right characteristics for some stunner fish to be holding, but it was a bummer they weren't there yet.

Oh well, next time.  Floating Cabins coming soon along with some friends from NYC who still think they are living in the Archie Bunker days and scared of Cali... you know, they might get a little fruit and nutty as they would say.  lol

Anyways, thanks for reading and I'll post the pictures when I get home from work.

Well damn.  Another G out of my pocket for a PRP shot and I have to get another MRI to make sure my tendon didn't completely tear.  Partial tear and I have multiple surgical options... Full tear and there's only 1.

Good thing is this second PRP shot really seems to work (at least with pain).  I was in pretty bad pain for the last month and within two days of receiving the shot feel a hell of a lot better.  I'm sold on the pain relief portion, at least for the injury I'm dealing with. 

Well, here's to hoping my shoulder holds out and the exotics come to SoCal to play!

I'm pretty sure I picked about 350 tomatoes off 3 plants just in the last month or so.

This batch of salsa went straight into the pressure cooker (and thus a different recipe)

I think I figured out the baitwell issue but could not find the loose wire on the electrical system for the trolling motor.  I decided to give it an ocean run anyway and see if I could find any of the LJ yellowtail.  The YT in LJ have just been off the charts this year and I unfortunately have not been able to participate.

I got an early start, but not at O'dark thirty.  There was an early stiff south wind which gave me pause before running up to LJ thinking about having to come back with that in my face, but the marine weather channel had me convinced it wouldn't be too terrible.

Apparently, they weren't selling bait to the public at the receivers and the mouth of the inlet was packed with people trying to catch mackerel.  I had to squeeze through and decided to look for bait on my own.  I didn't see sh!t... No bait, no mackerel, no signs of life. 
I get to LJ and cound 64 boats and 52 kayaks.  I stayed on the outside circle and would dare entering that arena.  I casted my small iron looking for something to use as bait and started to get bites.  I was a little taken back as they were all BIG Lizard fish!  I mean 10"-12.5" models!!!  I stuck them in the livewell as a back up.

I started slinging the surface iron and picked up a few bonito (Little 2-3 pound models).  Too big for bait and not big enough to really have too much fun fighting them in.  I switched it up and started dropping a deep iron with a small squid strip.  I did bring two squid with me so I had to make it go a long way.

At this point the bites came with a little more frequency.  I picked up a dozen assorted bass and even dropped a lizard fish down on an iron with an assist hook and immediately caught a few more nicer grade Sand Bass. 

I picked up some nice sculpin and a vermillion and saved one little strip of bait just in case.  One thing I noticed was all of this white thick soupy and fibrous material floating in the water.  It was everywhere for miles and I didn't want it getting clogged in the motor or bait pump, but it was hard to get around.  It didn't smell at all, but when I scooped some into a bucket, it was thick like a chowder and weirded me out.  I have some ideas what it could be, but haven't had any confirmation yet.

My next drop and I use my last piece of squid.  It wasn't long and I'm on with a bruiser!  It was on the bottom and I was thinking lingcod but saw this really nice male Sheepshead (20-22") hit the surface.  I decided to grab my lip gripper on him and as I reached over the gunnel noticed my lure to the right and the fish just sitting next to my boat without the lure in its mouth.  WTF!  I tried to get a quick lip grab on it, but it was gone.  I didn't grab him by hand since I could see all of these amphipods crawling all over its body and thus went for the lip gripper since I was going to release him anyway.  Oh well, still a really nice goat.

The bite never got hot, but I saw some HUGE cuda caught by guys trolling by.  Probably 40" models yet I strangely couldn't get a cuda to hit any surface irons. 
The NSF pulled up and started brailing wiggles with eyes and now 75 boats surrounded his boat.  If there were any fish left in LJ, they were around the NSF for sure.  I heard some big hooting and hollering so I know some yellows were caught.  I was ready to leave, but only managed a few more little bonito.

I decided to troll on the outside of the fleet for a little bit and had an absolute screamer!  Unfortunately, it only stayed on for about 5 seconds before unbuttoning.  I grab the big bass stick and cast a colt sniper to the area when I got bit and I hook up right away!  Definitely a YT!  I kept it out of view to the fleet for the most part and finally got him to gaff.  Not my usual YT I've caught over the last few years, but a scrappy 10-12 pound model which was perfect for the rod and reel I was using.  (Jeremy, I broke in the new bass stick properly!)

Well, the wind started to kick up and I decided to head to the barn.  I kept a few for dinner and released the rest.  (I'll put pictures up when I get home from work)

I really need to find the issue with my trolling motor, but otherwise was really happy being back out on the pond!

Thanks for reading and until next tide!

Pics...

My wife realized we need to be a little tight on the purse strings this year, so we decided to stay local.  I was thinking about maybe some camping up in the mountains, but my wife like Glamping over camping.
Before I knew it, she had a floating cabin booked for 3 nights at the puddles.  Even though it is really close, I'm looking forward to some chilling, boozing, fishing and grilling out on the deck in a few weeks.

Maybe time to Carp fish!