9-30-07 Elk Rockfish and Abs

 Joe Bluefin17 called and wanted to get last licks on the Rockfish and a limit of Abalone. So I picked him up Sun. morning early and headed north. Since I missed out on the Elk tourney I was glad to get back there.
 The wind was blowing a little but the swell was small when we got to the Elk parking lot.We hit the water at 7:30-8:00 and paddled out to dive first. The visibility looked good on the way to our dive spot. We geared up and dove, but the vis. had dropped to 4-5 ft. We got our abs in a short time nothing big 8.5-9" range. I couldn't see far enough so the spearguns went unused. As we left I paddled on the opposite side of the cove for a look and it was 10-12ft vis. Oh well.
 We stowed our dive gear and rigged our rods for some rockfish action. Paddled over by Cuffy's and dropped in around 80ft. The drift was slow..... I hooked a nice Copper,Joe hooked Verm. then I caught a decent Ling 33"+,Joe caught a Copper and another Verm. then a big Quillback. I finished off by tossing small swimbaits at the kelp and letting them swim on the swing for some Blacks.
 Somewhere in that time a pod of Risso's dolphins with calves popped up and made quite a show. The calves were breaching, the adults were tail slapping and they were making a lot of air noises. They turned right for us and started to get close. We got a little concerned because of all the commotion they were making  , but they veered off to the South.It looked like the adults were teaching the young to hunt.
 Overall the fishing was slow, the water is cooling. I'm glad we still got some. I forgot my camera so Joe will have to chime in with his on the water shots. It was a nice way to close the season on my B-day.

Sounds like AB FRITTERS with the THAI STYLE PEANUT SAUCE???????  PS Happy B-day Shim.

Sounds like AB FRITTERS with the THAI STYLE PEANUT SAUCE???????  PS Happy B-day Shim.

         
        That is a contender for Mendo potluck. Thanks Andy!

Happy B-Day fishshim. Sounds like the perfect way to spend your B-Day

FF

Here's the picks for Shimmy's 29th b-day Elk rockfish and abalone dive combo trip.  What an absolutely calm day.  Great to be on the water with you Mark!!!  We even made it back up the hill!  Kind of slow fishing, but ended the season with some quality fish. I caught the biggest quillback I've ever seen, 17 inches!!.  Ab diving was fun too except for the harbor seal swimming underneath me in 13 feet of water that was a little murky.

Phatty quillbacks and a nice ling ta boot. Sounds like a fun day on the water.

FF

Damn...wish I could have come. Happy b-day!

Looks sweet.  Happy birthday Shim.  Wish I could have been there too.

...man those quillbacks have some serious spines on 'em   

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MARK 

...man those quillbacks have some serious spines on 'em  

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MARK 

hence their name silly.

Way to put an end to it fellas!...i can't wait til ELK 08'!! them pics are gettin me home sick
Thanks for the memories!

Nice Pics, rockfish fresh off the hook are soooo photogenic....not so much once the rigor sets in and the fins lay down.

Great report and photos, guys.  Happy B-day, Shim.  29 eh?!   

Great report and photos, guys.  Happy B-day, Shim.  29 eh?!   

Hey the Ladies do it. I think that was Joe's joke, I'm 52 and made it up the hill at Elk with that load.

Nice pics, thats the way to spend a b-day!

Yeah, my joke, but maybe the joke is on me, Shimmy beat me up the hill.