Shelter Cove - 3/19

Nice info on your setup, Asa.  I've never seen a cut-bait approach, and I'm very impressed seeing as how you caught the final two salmon and a fat red.  The angled cut to make it spin is nice, and you've gotta love $2/rig!!   

At 20 pulls out I was thinking I had about 30' of line out at less than a 45 degree angle, so I was maybe 12-14' down.  It was around 50-60' deep.

Regarding the two cirlce hooks - yes, you must have them to mooch, and no, you don't need them if you're trolling.  So if it's say, July 2005 at Shelter Cove, and you troll along at say 70 pulls way out past the whistle on a day when the powerboats are yelling, "you're fishing too shallow - they're deep!", and you stop among a tight fleet of a dozen or more boats and a waverunner and let your trolling rod at 70 pulls sit in your lap while you hookup a chovie on the other rod that has the bigger DeepSix, and then reach back for the first rod to reel it in and realize you have a 21.5# salmon on...  (true story  ), does it mean you illegally mooched it with two barbless rather than two barbless circle hooks?  I don't think so - it was the slow end of my troll!     Anyway, I've never been much for mooching, and if I do I'll paddle slowly...

Another interesting fact about salmon fishing in by the Bell buoy is how many rockfish you catch.  The guy Asa and I saw on a waverunner seemed to be trolling too fast.  I talked to him on shore and he was shocked we had fish.  I told him he may have been trolling too fast and he said it was due to catching so many rockfish.  I told him we did too, and that I think that's what you have to do right there.  It makes it really fun whether you catch salmon or not, but it can be frustrating if they're nailing your bait and fraying your leaders too much.  When rockfish season opens I probably won't catch so many while trolling for salmon!   

Ya, it is a very tricky reg.
It all comes down to intent, I guess. If you are intending to troll (and have to stop to untangle lines or talk on the VHF) but slow down or stop...and hook a salmon...you are technically supposed to let the fish go unless you were using circle hooks. But I doubt a warden would actually cite you if your intent was to troll.
This is sooo confusing!

I actually prefer mooching over trolling (and NO...not just because my arms got tired last time!). It is the preferred method for boats in Monterey Bay, unless the fish are scattered and difficult to find. But hardly anyone mooches in The Cove...weird.

Next time up there, I plan to try some mooching too. Maybe jig up some fresh bait with sabikis and mooch with that.

Awesome report and info guys!
Thank you,
PK

Unfortunately, it appears that intent has nothing to do with both citations issued, and verdicts rendered. Which I find completely stupid, but hey, I don't make my living off of fining/prosecuting/defending/judging Fish and Game code violations. Bait+no propulsion+Salmon in the boat=Circle hooks. And in the above scenario, you'd have to pull the first line out of the water in order to start fishing with the second line anyway, so why not do it before dealing with the second rig? 

Now, say you had baited J hooks in the water. You were not propelling yourself because you were rigging up a second rod (but it's not in the water). You do not have a Salmon in the boat. You are approached by DFG wardens. What are you fishing for?

Regards,
Scott

I actually prefer mooching over trolling...

I do to, you get to feel the fish biting at your bait and have to be patient in order to get the hook up at the right moment, lots of fun!

See my foot hanging over the edge of the yak?...  I'm trolling using the propulsion of my flipper!     I didn't know of the circle hook/mooching rule back in July '05, but I wouldn't have changed my M.O. - it goes against good fishing sense to pull one hook out when you're preparing another if the first hook can still effectively fish while you're prepping the second.  And I was being propelled by my own power, so it was not mooching (don't make me explain the propulsion factor of passing gas through a scupper hole!   ).

Not that I'd ever advocate 'breaking the law' or 'finding loopholes' but I suggest utilizing this statement, "I am fishing for halibut."
Like Chris once reminded me...you can fish for halibut all year and use whatever method you want.
So, say it with me, "I am fishing for halibut."
(-;
PK

Like Chris once reminded me...you can fish for halibut all year and use whatever method you want.
So, say it with me, "I am fishing for halibut."

....or for stripers 

Very good class. Gold stars for all of you.

"I am fishing for halibut."

That's was my statement to Abking after I caught my two salmon and didn't want to just sit and watch him fish.
California Halibut are in season year round. 

  However!!!
If you have a salmon in the boat your gear must be legal for salmon.
Basically you have to use the most restrictive rules for whatever fish you are fishing for or have on board.

I got stopped last year by DFG while fishing for halibut (really) in April.  I was trying to fish the sandy areas near rocks in about 40 fow because some divers told me that the back edge of the kelp is "the halibut hotspot".   I didn't catch any butts and was c&r rockies like mad when the DFG boated pulled up with an authoratative call of "Fish and Game"!

I told those guys what I was doing.  I even said "I know this probably seems like an odd spot for Halis but some divers told me about it".  They visually checked my boat for fish . .saw none (of course) and let me continue fishing as I was.  I was quite a ways from any launch and they asked me how the heck I got out here . .I told them I paddled from Pacific Grove and that started a conversation. 

They told me that 90% or more of the time it is just about the fish you have on the boat (because poachers like to poach . .not c&r off season fish).  In rare cases, like when somebody is being a jerk, they might get a ticket for targeting.  They said a lot of people are jerks to them when they get stopped. 

That's what they said, anyway.  It makes sense to me and I haven't heard or read anything yet that makes me doubt it.  All that being said I am 100% against breaking the rules . . I just added this because I think there is a misconception that DFG uses CSI crimelab techniques to determine "intent".  I don't think they do . .it's just black and white.  If anything I think they are too leniant.  I saw a guy at one of my regular shore spots hiding a shorty cab.  He told me last time the DFG caught him with a short cab they made him release it (no ticket).

I couldn't see the guys I met writing you a ticket for taking a small rest while trolling.  They are looking for people doing bad stuff on purpose . .and yes . .I do think that many (not all) ppl on-line who claim to be harrassed by DFG are actually people doing bad things on purpose . . or possibly giving the agents a hard time when being pulled over. 

I say read the regs, follow them in spirit as well as letter, be a nice guy and you might be ok if you make an honest mistake.