Oyster Pt Saturday March 21st.

Didn't get out of bed until 8am, met up with Bassmanben at OP around 9am.  We were unable to get live bait (catching or buying), so we decided to troll with some herring that was purchased at OP baitshop.

We trolled down to brisbane, and back.  For a few hours I fought with tangles and weeds until I got my act together and figured out I was putting out too much line. 

Ben got a strike and mangled bait outside the Sierra Pt. marina.  As we approached Oyster Pt. pier, I decided to stop and check my gear, and put on a fresh bait for the final hour of trolling.  As soon as I reached for my rod, my bait got hit - hook up!  I called Ben over to assist in netting the fish.  Finally a keeper, 24inches.  The fish was hooked on the stinger treble hook.  We stuck around the same area for a while, but it was getting tough, the wind was really up at this point so we headed in.

Monkeyface Kirk met us at the boat ramp and interviewed us for the survey.  He mentioned a good number of halibut were coming in. 

Ben has pics, I'm sure he will post em.

Score!  Can't wait to see the pics.  Way to go reporting on an exciting hookup.   

pics?  what pics?  Dont know what you're talking about.

Here's my version of the report.

I got out to oyster at 8am after dropping my wife off in the city like every Saturday.
I was pretty sure marv wasnt awake yet after his previous night of partying/boat rigging so i gave him a call.  seems like i woke him up with my phone call =).

i looked out onto the water and saw a pontoon and a prowler out there.  I recognized the pontoon as h00kie (fishsniffer member) since there are very few people i know who would venture a toon into the bay.

i tried to wave to them but they didn't see me. so i went to the bait shop, picked up some pileworms and tried to catch some live smelt/shiners/whatever for marv and me (marv was letting me borrow his scupper pro today).

Couldn't find any bait and none of the other pier dunkers were catching any either.  So I headed back to my car as I expected Marv to be there soon.  Sure enough, he shows up just as I'm getting to my car.  We load up and hit the water a little after 9AM.

As we were launching we saw h00kie land a nice size hali.  I paddled out to introduce myself and got a pic:

From his post on the sniffer, the fish is 26.5" and a little over 8lbs.

From there me and marv headed towards the brisbane tubes. as we got about 3/4 of the way there, we felt the wind kick up a bit so turned it around.  we got blown about a little bit but not as bad as it can be.

As we neared the pier, marv hooked up


and landed this bad boy:


24" 6lbs or so

All I got was one good scratched bait.  Back at the launch we met the DFG surveyor kirk who is a nice guy.  Also a DFG warden was there and we just hung out and shot the sh*t together for a little while.

Oh well, maybe I'll get a hali next time!

Some more pics on the water (marv on the prowl in his prowler!):

Thanks for the report. 2 nice halibut. How did you like the scupper pro? Fast boat, eh? What did you guys end up using for bait? They got some fish up at Paradise yesterday also. Reportedly up to 25 pounds.Next weekend.

Great report guys and congrats on the fish.

Thanks for the report. 2 nice halibut. How did you like the scupper pro? Fast boat, eh? What did you guys end up using for bait? They got some fish up at Paradise yesterday also. Reportedly up to 25 pounds.Next weekend.

We were trolling with frozen tray herring.

WTG Marvin. Congrats on the nice halibut bro. I see you're ready for the halibut
run this year. I can see the livebait well behind you. BTW, did you make that or
did you buy it? I too am in the process of making my own.

Jedmo

i thought the sp was a good boat.  I would need to get used to it.  when I first got in it was a little tippy, but through the day I got more used to it.  Unfortunately marv's SP is a dual hatch so it was difficult to get my fishing items (i didn't even try).  I like my trident for fishing better but wish it was as fast as the scupper pro.

WTG Marvin. Congrats on the nice halibut bro. I see you're ready for the halibut
run this year. I can see the livebait well behind you. BTW, did you make that or
did you buy it? I too am in the process of making my own.

Jedmo

I put together the bait tank, theres a guide in hook 1's blog.  They can also build it for you.  I used a combintion of parts from hook one and OEX.  For battery I am using this:  http://www.batteryspace.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=5001

Looks like you guys had a nice time. All the live bait must be in Monterey. Went out yesterday for dabs and caught mackerel, sardines, and squid, along with about a dozen rockies hitting my mini squid jigs. Thanks for that link on the batteries, I've been considering switching up my setup. Nice pics by the way.

Thanks Marv. If you don't mind me asking, how much did you end up spending on
it all together? I was also thinking of just getting the Hobie livewell because it
already came with the battery and charger.

Jedmo

Whoooooo! Strong work Marv.

Thanks for that link on the batteries, I've been considering switching up my setup. Nice pics by the way.

BTW, nimh batteries are considerably more expensive than the sealed lead acid type.  I purchased the NiMH because I already had a NiMH 4 to 8 cell charger.

Nice report gentlemen .  Hali season is just warming up and I am sure you guys will slay them soon.  Good luck out there!

Good job Marv et' al...