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we all need to take action NOW or it will all be gone!
November 17, 2011
photo by Al Q
photo by AL Q
Just got a Delta update from our good friend and striper fisherman, John Sherman!
here is a good article from Fly Fisherman! click to read: Water Hogs Play the Blame Game on Striped Bass in the Delta!
There was a public hearing held a week ago today in Rio Vista and 400 angry anglers from all facets of the angling community were unified in opposition of this plan including those who fish for native fish species like steelhead, sturgeon and salmon.
Striped Bass have coexisted with native fish and now endangered fish species for the past 130 + years, and historical data shows abundance of all fish species at the same time and a subsequent crash in the last 10 years as water exports have sky rocketed at record levels.
This regulation change not only will affect the Northern Ca’s striper fisheries the regulation change would impact the entire state including the Co River, and So Cal striper fisheries.
Basically here is what the proposed change is:
Move minimum size from 18” to 12”
Move daily bag from 2 fish to 6 fish.
Allow for “Hot Spot” which would allow 20 fish to be kept daily with 40 in possession.
The DFG commission is meeting in about a month to decide to I’ve been asked by many of you what can we do?
Special thanks to Dave Sellers and Mike McKenzie for drafting the letter enclosed and danblanton.com and Striperfest for helping keep us informed and raising money to help fight for the Delta and it’s fish.
The PDF is addressed to Mr. Jim Kellogg,
President California Fish and Game Commission!
Please sign and send to do your part. delta letter
Check out the new Buff Bug Slinger?
November 16, 2011
One of the OSF sponsors, Buff has just introduced a new series of Fly Fishing styles called Bug Slinger and they proved so popular in their pre-season ordering with dealers, they have brought them in early for the holidays. There are two flavors, one for sun and one for warmth. UV Buff(R) Bug Slinger(TM) & Reversible Polar Buff(R) Bug Slinger(TM) You can watch this little video about it here! Video Check em out!
a blast from a past season…
October 31, 2011
a nice group of summer corbina working the shallow surf zone as surfers and swimmers play, click for larger view. photo by Al Q
I really hope we see the number of corbina we were accustomed to seeing during the annual corbina rodeo that usually takes begins in April through August. This can happen from Santa Barbara to San Diego on a beach near you. The past few seasons have not been banner years in our Southbay in terms of numbers of fish seen, although many fish were caught. Depending on sand crabs and water quality these times do vary. The fish usually show in the skinny water from June through late July. Keeping our fingers crossed the cycle will be positive this spring! We will be announcing the new OSF5 and Double Haul Ball dates soon. Hope everyone out there is wetting a line and staying out of trouble.
-Al Q
For Art’s Sake!
September 20, 2011
An anonymous band of artists painted a giant pair of scissors and a dotted line on the face of 200-foot Matilija Dam near Ojai. For years, an alliance of environmentalists, fishermen, surfers and officials from every level of government has called for demolishing the obsolete structure, which was built in 1947. (Mel Melcon, Los Angeles Times / September 19, 2011)
Sculpin Helmet wins “Best of Show” at IFTD 2011
September 8, 2011
Congrats to Martin and the Flymen Fishing team for their new innovative designs. The Sculpin Helmet is an exciting, new style of Fish-Skull™ with a realistic, flat and broad profile that imitates common bottom-dwelling fish species such as sculpins, gobies and juvenile catfish. The Articulated Shank is an innovative, new fly tying material designed to simplify the tying of articulated flies.
the year of the yellow fin croakers…
August 24, 2011for some reason, the yellowfin croakers have been hanging around this summer and they are getting fat. we have had a pretty consistent bite the last two months in the south bay. the fish are really finicky and are holding in very nondescript rips and foam lines. the structure is hard to find but we noticed that these spots are holding some aggressive fish. they aren’t picky in the way of flies, anything resembling a small 2 to 4 inch anchovy will work. we have been using olive over white clousers which work great. I just started to use olive/white bendbacks with a small larvae weight under the bend to give the fly a slight side to side motion which turns them on. the longer you can cast the better, these fish alway seem to be just a few feet out of reach (grin) they have been biting on all tides, but we like the moving water up or down the best.
photo by Jim Solomon
photo by Al Q
Zack Solomon landing his first yellow fin croaker on the fly, the smile gives it away! photo by Al Q
weighted bendback, a good alternative to a clouser. photo and fly by Al Q
pink is the new gray.
July 28, 2011
corbina with a pink merkin face! photo by Al Q
Al Q with a corbina that fell for yet another pink merkin. photo by james dwyer.
photo by Al Q
Confessions of a corbina junkie!
Well, I have to admit it, I went to the dark side this season and converted to pink. It sounds nutty but a few weeks back I hooked four corbina in one outing, all on pink merkins. I got another one a week later. My good friend, fellow corbina hunter and surfin merkin man, Paul Cronin from Oxnard has convinced me that pink is indeed the new grey. I am now a believer, say yeah! The last four or five seasons we have been tossing grey surfin merkins with great success. We have talked about how they are easy to cast, land softly, track like a burrowing sand crab and have accounted for more corbina than I can count. After experimenting with colors that are more visual for us to see, Paul concluded that chartreuse scared the hell out of them but pink had no affect on their ability to see and eat the fly. The pink profile allowed Paul the ability to see and position the fly easier. It really makes sense, when sight fishing these fish in clear skinny water the angler can easily see the fly as clear as day from a long distance away. Imagine a big wad of Bazooka chewing gum crawling across the sand bottom and a corbina chasing it down and trying to kill it. Could it get any more visual, I don’t think so? Give pink a try, you won’t be disappointed…PS: the color of the EP fiber pink we are using is Salmon Pink and don’t be afraid to tie them big and ugly.
-Al Q
OSF4 Mission Beach in the books with pics!
May 24, 2011
Mission Beach group shot prior to the start of the OSF#4. photo by Kristina Kaufman
The One Surf Fly #4, Mission Beach San Diego is officially in the books, ladies and gentlemen. Thanks to John Hendrickson/San Diego Fly Shop and Peter Piconi from SoCal Flyfishing for being our host fly shops. As always the OSF is a collaborative effort and can’t happen without amazing people:
- Great sponsors: Abel, Buffs, Orvis, FishSkulls and Nightwatch Coffee.
- OSF crew: Mish & Conway (our gracious hosts), my wife Janet, Bill & Lori, Jeff & Michelle and Mike Ward.
- Spotter organizer: Jon Nakano
- The South Bay Fly Fishing club and the Salty Fly Fishers club for making the trek from Los Angeles
- All our good friends who volunteered!
For the first time, we recognized the person who traveled the furthest to participate. Gregg Stump came from Indiana and received some nice parting gifts for being the furthest angler away after catching his first saltwater fish on the fly. Photo courtesy of Steve Piper.
Thanks to all who participated and made Mission Beach OSF4 a surf party. I also want to give special kudos for my right hand man, Shane Chung, who is always in the trenches and who showed his never dying dedication to the cause by leaving San Diego late Friday night to go home to Orange County to collect additional raffle prizes, one being a Galvan reel! Shane you are unbelievable! The raffle was off the hook, no pun intended, it seemed to go on for an hour.
We ended up raising $2010 dollars for San Diego Coastkeepers which was originally started by fisherman back east in the Hudson Valley to help protect our fisheries and continues to make a difference by cleaning our beaches and protecting our resources. Here’s the official stats: There were a total of 131 fish landed, recorded and released.
- 128 Barred Surf Perch
- First fish caught: (Jorge Salas) @ 6:41am Fly: (John Sherwood) Beck’s Chartreuse w/orange Sili-Legs
- Largest Barred Surf Perch 13.75 inches (John Whitaker) Fly:(Geno Centofani) olive/white clouser,w/orange sili-legs
- Most fish caught: 18 (John Whitaker) Fly:(Geno Centofani) olive/white clouser,w/orange sili-legs
- 1 Halibut (Nick Vargas) 13.5 inches
- 1 Walleye Perch (Jorge Salas)
- 1 Spotted Bay Bass (James Gorgione) 13.5 inches
- 1 woman’s shoe (Rocky from Bakersfield) foul hooked!
Rocky's foul hooked shoe! photo courtesy of John Loo
Thanks again for all who attended, we hope to see you all again somewhere next spring on a Southern California beach. Below are some great pics of the day!
-Al Q
starting the morning off with a blast of NightWatch coffee. photo by Kristina Kaufman
the line up! photo courtesy of Kristina Kaufman
Shane working the check in! photo courtesy of Kristina Kaufman
Michelle Bowman sporting her NightWatch beanie. photo by Kristina Kaufman
Our good friend and Abel sponsor, Jeff Patterson with OSF swag goodies. photo courtesy of Kristina Kaufman
Peter Piconi, Andy Koczon, Al Q and Ed Zieralski. photo courtesy of Kristina Kaufman
The big winners, Jorge Salas & John Whitaker. photo courtesy of Kristina Kaufman
winning scorecards. photo by Al Q
The SouthBay Fly fishing club from Westchester, LA. photo courtesy of Kristina Kaufman
Michelle and Max Bowman sporting their OSF colors! photo courtesy of Kristina Kaufman
Artist John Williams presents his beautiful watercolor painting to Nick Vargas who won it at the raffle. photo courtesy of Kristina Kaufman
Bill Matthews congratulates Rocky after winning the OSF engraved Abel Super 6N reel. photo courtesy of Bill Matthews
Bill stands in awe as a fly is drawn. photo courtesy of Kristina Kaufman
Al Q and the mighty Quinn. photo courtesy of Kristina Kaufman
Lori working the swag tent. photo courtesy of Kristina Kaufman
Peter Piconi presents Megan Baehrens from SD Coastkeeper with a healthy check. photo courtesy of Kristina Kaufman
a picture is worth a thousand words. photo courtesy of Kristina Kaufman
Drinking some NightWatch coffee with SD's finest. photo courtesy of Bill Matthews
all OSF participants received parting beach swag bags. photo by Kristina Kaufman
Rich Kanner connects! photo courtesy of Kristina Kaufman
Maps are good! photo courtesy of Michelle Bowman
