The Joy of Deep-Dropping into the Monterey Canyon

Yesterday I ventured into the Monterey Canyon in search of King Salmon. I mooched around for a few hours but the chinook were not to be found. However, I did come across a patch of Petrale Sole.



It was a hot bite and after a short while I had eight of these beauties in the boat. Like clockwork the wind picked up around the noon hour, the drift became too fast to fish deep, and it was time to set sail and troll a salmon lure on the way in (just in case the chinkook changed their minds).



The downside to fishing out of Moss is that it's a long way, a very long way, for a kayak. The upside is that you can almost always count on a downwind ride back to port. Pros & cons, yin & yang, quid pro quo...

Go Marc go!  Sail that puppy!  What a lunker sole...bon appetit'

Very cool. What was on the lower hook?

On the bottom hook there was a bigger cousin to this one (see attached picture). Not sure what this species is called, would be happy to get an id if you have it.

On the bottom hook there was a bigger cousin to this one (see attached picture). Not sure what this species is called, would be happy to get an id if you have it.

I think it's a sablefish aka black cod Anoplopoma fimbria? https://caseagrant.ucsd.edu/seafood-profiles/sablefish-black-cod
 

Halibut sized for sure!

Nice sailing setup.

On the bottom hook there was a bigger cousin to this one (see attached picture). Not sure what this species is called, would be happy to get an id if you have it.

I think it's a sablefish aka black cod Anoplopoma fimbria? https://caseagrant.ucsd.edu/seafood-profiles/sablefish-black-cod

You've got to be kidding me! Sablefish is one of my favorite food fish. A friend of mine brings some back from Alaska on occasion (packaged and frozen) and I didn't recognize it in its full glory. Caught about 5 or 6 mixed in with the Petrale.

My style has always been that if I can't ID it then it will go back without exception. Are there any restrictions / limits around Sablefish? I've got to try this spot one more time...

Oh, also my thanks to Tez and Cast Agnola for helping out. Incredible knowledge in this forum.

Halibut sized for sure!

Nice sailing setup.

Hey, NowwhereMan, good to connect with you again! The sailing rig's foundation is cut from my old bed frame -- best bed frame I ever owned  Difficult to mount the mast foot by through-bolting on a Stealth since there's no access to the forward part of the boat.

Nice work Marc! Patrale was huge!! And black cod too, must've been in a deep hole
Congrats on dinner!

So cool! That is an impressive way to deal with a poor salmon bite.

I guess sablefish are groundfish, and thus subject to the same depth restrictions as rockfish?

You're living life out there, Marc - nice!   

On the bottom hook there was a bigger cousin to this one (see attached picture). Not sure what this species is called, would be happy to get an id if you have it.

I think it's a sablefish aka black cod Anoplopoma fimbria? https://caseagrant.ucsd.edu/seafood-profiles/sablefish-black-cod

You've got to be kidding me! Sablefish is one of my favorite food fish. A friend of mine brings some back from Alaska on occasion (packaged and frozen) and I didn't recognize it in its full glory. Caught about 5 or 6 mixed in with the Petrale.

My style has always been that if I can't ID it then it will go back without exception. Are there any restrictions / limits around Sablefish? I've got to try this spot one more time...

Oh, also my thanks to Tez and Cast Agnola for helping out. Incredible knowledge in this forum.

Sablefish is soo good...one of my favorite eating fishes around our waters. Its buttery like chilean sea bass and flakes off. Hope you run into a bigger one next time

The downside to fishing out of Moss is that it's a long way, a very long way, for a kayak. The upside is that you can almost always count on a downwind ride back to port. Pros & cons, yin & yang, quid pro quo...

Marc, thanks for sharing! I really miss the long trek thru the canyons. The soles now have quickly become one of my favorites. It's an adventure I always keep coming back for more. 

I guess sablefish are groundfish, and thus subject to the same depth restrictions as rockfish?

I tried to look up regs, and you might be right... I'm not sure if we can keep those deepwater ones with a sport license.  What I was reading said you need to be a commercial fisherman with sablefish permit, and even those are limited.  Anyone more knowledgable can chime in though.

The sole should be fine, as they don't have a season, depth restriction, size limit, or bag limit.

I guess sablefish are groundfish, and thus subject to the same depth restrictions as rockfish?

I tried to look up regs, and you might be right... I'm not sure if we can keep those deepwater ones with a sport license.  What I was reading said you need to be a commercial fisherman with sablefish permit, and even those are limited.  Anyone more knowledgable can chime in though.

The sole should be fine, as they don't have a season, depth restriction, size limit, or bag limit.

I think KPD is on the money. Because sablefish is a federal groundfish Section 28.49 comes into play and therefore take is prohibited seaward of the 50 fathom boundary. Thanks for your comments! Now I have a new problem but I also know a whole lot more.

On the petrale front, however, there are no issues as Tez correctly pointed out.