FEBRUARY 2010

First a little recap from last season… The 2009 fishing season was a great year, the best year we’ve ever had. Thanks to each of you that fished with us in '09 and helping MEGA-BITE become the #1 fishing charter in all of Monterey Bay! THANK YOU VERY MUCH!

Our goal was simple; to take as many people fishing as possible and make them want to come back for more. After all, isn’t that what it’s all about? And, in doing so MEGA-BITE reached a couple milestones like, we ran 100 trips during the rockcod/lingcod season (double from previous year), for the first time we caught thresher sharks, caught more halibut and lingcod than previous years. All this while simultaneously reducing our costs and emissions by limiting our travel time / distance to a more concentrated local fishing area. Bottom line – your fishing time is maximized, you catch more fish, you’re more comfortable, I keep the costs and the rates down, and you come back again. I’m not a rocket scientist, I just drive the boat, but I think this is a good formula for success. Call it Value.

No matter how many times you’ve been fishing, no matter how big your biggest fish was, fishing with family and friends never gets old. Many of you have been fishing for years but there’s just something about the joy we feel when we see a nine year old, for his very first time, pulling in the biggest fish he’d ever seen. Even if it’s only a three pound vermillion. Or when we have an old man who’s limited to a walker suddenly spring into action, getting on the rod, and having a tug-of-war with a 22-pound halibut. Or a veteran who just returned from Iraq three weeks prior having a beer, pulling up numerous lingcod, and cracking a smile. People leave a lot behind when it’s just them, a stick and a fighting fish on the other end of their line. I look forward to more of these nothing-else-in-the-world-matters-right now moments in 2010. Priceless.

Now for this year’s season…

King Salmon- We’re getting close to kicking off the 2010 fishing season (tentative April 3rd opener). We’re pretty excited about the possibility of fishing salmon this year and we’ve been pretty busy re-tooling MEGA-BITE to run the commercial downrigger balls. For those of you who haven’t had the experience of fishing salmon on the MEGA-BITE, we run a combination of commercial trolling equipment and sport fishing gear to maximize your catching. You still use a fishing rod and reel but we clip your fishing line to a downrigger cable that’s dropped down to more than 350’ with the aid of a 50 pound lead ball. When a fish takes your bait, your line automatically detaches from the cable then it’s just you, your rod and a rather upset salmon which is doing everything it can to stay down deep. Unlike rockfish, salmon can go from very deep water to the surface without experiencing any swim bladder problems because salmon don’t have much, if any, of a swim bladder. So when the salmon hits the surface, it’s still on fire and isn’t giving up without a fight. Remember – it ain’t in the box till it’s in the box so stay with your fish and don’t ease up!

We can fish as deep as 600 feet down if need be. The typical sport downrigger uses an 8 to 12 pound ball and can pay out 300+ feet of cable but in reality the lighter ball and cable drag in the water means you never get your bait down to more than 150 feet. Salmon prefer depths from 280 to 450 feet. That’s where we go! And, we get salmon. Lot’s of salmon. Each person can keep two salmon. In 2007 our average salmon was 17-20 pounds. Because the salmon have been feeding on those giant sardines we’ve been seeing for the past couple years I expect to see our average salmon weighing 20-24 pounds. It’s gonna be fun and a trip you won’t forget for a very long time. www.dfg.ca.gov/marine/oceansalmon.asp for if/when the salmon season opens.

This is an email between Chuck Harris of NOAA and me. Chuck’s responsible for the Federal Salmon decision group:

> On 2/3/2010 9:15 AM, Chuck Harris wrote:
> Your understanding is correct, and you are welcome to share the
> information with anyone.
>
> On 2/3/2010 8:51 AM, Tom Dolan wrote:
>> Chuck,
>>
>> Thank you for the prompt and detailed reply. I understand there's a
>> date to open, April 3rd, but it's subject to the outcome of the March
>> 6-11 meeting. With your permission I would like to share this
>> information with my clients. And just for clarification, the outcome
>> of the March 6-11 meeting will make the decision to move forward with
>> the opener or to pull the plug for the April 3rd scheduled opener.
>> Please advise.
>>
>> Thanks again.
>>
>> Tom

Rockcod, Lingcod and Halibut - We usually use live anchovies for rockcod but because of the warmer water in 2009 the anchovies were scarce. However, we did have an abundance of sardines. Sardines are bigger bait than anchovies. Bigger fish eat bigger bait. We caught a lot of lingcod and halibut last season by using sardines. On some trips we hooked more than 15 lings! We also got into some big vermillion and black rockcod and there’s plenty more where they came from. Season opens May 1, 2010. Get ready for some MEGA FISH!

Albacore Tuna – Due to poor weather and water conditions, we didn’t fish albacore last season. This year we’re in a pseudo El Nino which should bring warmer water closer to shore. If we get good water within 30 miles of Santa Cruz… we’re going! And we have a second boat rigged and lined up for albacore fishing. Season – open year round but usually only reachable July-September.

Plan on fishing with us this season? Buy your trip now and lock in the 2009 rates. You can use the trip anytime during 2010, just like a Gift Certificate. Buy now, book later and save!

Sea you at the boat!

Captain Tom

tom@montereybaycharters.com

www.montereybaycharters.com
www.santacruzcharters.com

(888) 662-9800 my dime
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p.s. If you want off this newsletter just hit reply and tell me you want off the boat!