Santa Cruz Bonito Rumor Confirmed

Over the last week I have heard several rumors that the pelagic bonito is being caught in Santa Cruz.  Normally found south of Pt. Conception, the bonito is truly an exotic in Monterey Bay.  My dad is visiting from Ohio and wanted to get out on the water.  This seemed like a good opportunity to put these rumors to the test.  Normally I prefer to kayak and my dad is always eager to participate.  This time, however, I felt that trolling from a power boat would maximize our chances of encountering these So Cal visitors.
 
We arrived promptly at the S.C. wharf at 6:30 am and were soon making our way towards 100 ft. of water.  The whistle buoy came fast; I almost felt like I was cheating.  Trolling a variety of small shiny lures, we made our way towards bait balls which were visible by observing the diving birds, as there was no fish finder in our rented skiff.  The first hookup came promptly on an epoxy jig trolled behind a spinner harness.  It was what we came for: a bonito of 17 inches.  The day played itself out in similar fashion, boating four bonito total; the biggest was over 18 inches.  By 11:00 the helpful birds had all but vanished, and the bite was over.  My dad and I were both very excited to have accomplished our mission.

Nice job of planning and executing. And off of a rental. Job well done !!!

Alex

Thanks for the report , pics and a good time with pops !!!

nice! I was wondering if they were still in, about how many did you get?

.

Hell yeah!

Nice catch! I'm heading out of Santa Cruz rentals on Friday does anyone know if they will hit a rockfish squid rig or is that too big? I will have a fish finder and would like to catch a couple to see how they taste.

That is amazin........ I would have ate all of them sashimi immediately 

Congrats,

Matt

Nice haul!  And you got to do it with your dad...just awesome!  Thanks for the report.

Dope! I've been wanting to try since I heard too!!!

Awesome! Nice job.

Very nice catches!  Thanks for the report and picture m_m.

Great catch! The rumors are right!

Mdoka Matt goes after a rumor & hits the target in Santa Cruz...........Why am I not surprised?

I haven't caught one of those in years, interesting to see them up here.

Nice catches guys!

Nice Job! Nothing like putting family members on the fish your targeting. I'm from  San Diego and we got those things all summer  trolling live bait for yellow tail and while making bait on sabiki rigs.. I would of pinned some live bait  and fly line it for larger models or maybe even  a chance at some tail!. Way to go

One of the best crab baits.