dabbing in Monterey

I went to San Carlos Beach in Monterey to do some dabbin on saturday 12/20.  Was hoping to see a few other NCKA types there but only I was dumb enough to go out that morning.  When I left the house, the weather station said 34 degrees

When I got to the beach, the divers were already out and about.  Launched and headed for the red can.  Flat water, little wind made for a nice paddle.  As the sun got higher, the temp was fine.  Using a sabiki with larger hooks tipped with squid, started fishing.  First few drops produced nada, so moved on to deeper water.  Found the dabs in 140 FOW but they were really small.  The wind started to pick up and soon was drifting fast.  That seemed to yield larger dabs.  I assume because they had to chase it?  Scored enough for dinner.  Yum.

also came across some HUGE schools of small, sardine sized mackerel.  Loaded up on them, will freeze for bait, though I did keep a few to experiment with in the kitchen.

The weekend before Christmas, and I am sweating in my fleece, dangling my feet in the water, catching macks 4 at a time.  Life is good

Eugene

Way to go on the dabs e2g. I am guessing you were out solo. How long did you
fish for?

Jedmo

Hey Jedmo

there was a vague hookup thread, so even though it never firmed up went out anyway.  Ya solo, but off cannery row, you really dont feel very solitary.  Was out about 3-4 hours or so.

Thanks for the report e2g. Dabs sound tasty right now.
There was good vis last wknd so I bet San Carlos was full of divers.

Way to persevere out there!  You'll find those macs tasty...my (Japanese) wife hollered at me the last time I went out (months ago)  after I told her I'd caught several large macs for bait but didn't keep them.  She made me swear to bring a bunch home next time.

Way to get out, Eug.   

awesome.  Does anyone know if it is possible to fish for petrale sole around here? 

How about sabiki fishing for sardines?  Those are really tasty grilled with some olive oil...


Pete

awesome.  Does anyone know if it is possible to fish for petrale sole around here? 

How about sabiki fishing for sardines?  Those are really tasty grilled with some olive oil...


Pete

in a past PB life I caught sole and flounder near moss landing.  Off the yak only a few here and there.  When the sardines are around, heck ya, sardines and dont forget pan fried anchovies.

I have grilled mackerel before, and it was OK.  I tried pan frying the smallest macks this time, and the smallest were like sardines.  If you dont like strong fish taste, avoid the dark stuff and the rest is pretty good.

You can also marinate those little suckers and have a nice Sashimi platter. I saw a post of a WSB caught in Santa Cruz with a live mack recently. Did you bait one up and drift that around? Also on the mack bait I have found it best to put them on a sheet pan with foil or plastic wrap in a single layer then freeze. Then bag them up. That way you do not end up with a big glop of bait. You can take out as many as you need for the next trip and keep the rest frozen.

Good on ya for braving the cold e2g. Dabs be good as well as the macks. Here's some Mack recipes that are favs of mine:

http://www.norcalkayakanglers.com/index.php/topic,5116.0.html
http://www.norcalkayakanglers.com/index.php/topic,5118.0.html

Z

Way to go my man!!! I didnt even want to get out of bed that morrn!!! Thanks for the report...Andy

You can also marinate those little suckers and have a nice Sashimi platter. I saw a post of a WSB caught in Santa Cruz with a live mack recently. Did you bait one up and drift that around? Also on the mack bait I have found it best to put them on a sheet pan with foil or plastic wrap in a single layer then freeze. Then bag them up. That way you do not end up with a big glop of bait. You can take out as many as you need for the next trip and keep the rest frozen.

thanks for the tips.  I didnt rig up a live mack because I failed to bring the right tackle.  Wont make that mistake again

Zee, will definitely try both recipes next time.  Thanx

If you want to eat them, good idea to bleed the macks immediately, gut them and put them in ice. Even get ice inside the cavity. Unless you like it STRONG Their just like little tuna.
I started to bleed and put my fish in a cooler on the yak( the chamber of death...) this year when Im on the ocean for more of a safety factor, but it sure keeps the catch fresh too. I keep frozen water bottles in the freezer for that purpose instead of ice.

like guitarzan said...bleed and ice those macks..itll make a huge the difference in the quality of the meat. smoked mack is one of my favouites...