Catana 431 and Fishing Report

There was a recent article on the Catana 431 in the Boat U,S. magazine. There was a few interesting points that were made. The 1st thing they mentioned is that the number and size of multihull’s on display increase with each passing boat show season and that the popularity is growing. Although this is not news to me it is good to hear it. Something of concern that was mentioned was that the wire sizes and systems may not be suited to U.S. hookups. This will be a concern whenever purchasing a boat manufactured outside of the US. They also mentioned that the Catana was considerably more expensive then similarly sized multihull’s which again is not surprising to me but I thought it should be mentioned.

I was recently informed of a local radio program on KFBK 1530AM that covers hunting, fishing and camping in Northern California. The best part about it, is that it is recorded so you can listen to it anytime you want. It lasts 3 hours and there are no commercials for the most part. I have found it to be informative so far and look forward to listening to it every Monday while working or Saturday if I plan to fish on Sunday. I am listening to last Saturdays show and they have talked about Stripers, Bass, Chad, Sturgeon and Salmon fishing. They have discussed the influx of seals, and mountain lions and recommended some equipment. They even give out advice on where to fish and how to fish it. If you fish in from the Bay area up to the Sacramento area this should be a good program for you.

I am going Striper fishing again this Friday while the fishing is still good. I have several spots that should hold fish so we should be able to find a school. Once we find them I want to try to catch one or more on a fly. My dad tied up a couple fly’s that rattle that I think would work well. I plan to do some free diving as well in Monterey on Saturday, so I hope to have some good pics and video for the blog soon. I am going to talk to the local dive shop to find out about regulations on Spear fishing. .It might be too early yet, but the Halibut move into the shallows soon so if all goes well we will have some halibut in the freezer soon. Speaking of Sport fishing regulations here is a great way to find the regulations for the California coastline. http://www.dfg.ca.gov/marine/fishing_map.asp

I am starting to wonder if I should maintain more then one blog so that I can keep things on topic. Although my ultimate goal is still to buy a Catamaran, readers might find my site more useful if it stayed on target. I could have another blog that covers my angling adventures. Any thoughts?

Sailing Trip Planned and Fishing in the Ca Delta

I have been invited to help crew on a day trip on a 40 foot Cheoy Lee yawl. Yeah, I know, it is not a catamaran, but based on the complexity of the sail plan the experience will be rewarding. The captain also has 18 years of experience as a sailing instructor. All he asks is that I am enthusiastic, and can help crew and bring food for potluck lunch. Sounds like a plan. I am eagerly awaiting his sailing schedule in hopes that I will be able to join him.

I did some fishing this weekend on my SeaRay 180 Dual Console with my dad. It didn't start out well though. It was the 1st time in the water for my boat since last year. The batteries appeared to have a good charge the night before, but when I cranked her over she sounded week and failed to start even after using battery cables to connect both batteries. Although the motor would barely turn over my dad suspected a fuel problem. He has a Mercury 150 Optimax on his boat. Mine is a 130 Optimax, so he has experience. He also recalls that I have been plagued in the past with fuel delivery problems. There is a Squeeze bulb that SeaRay mounted horizontally so that if needed the fuel can be pumped to the engine. In some trips in the past I was forced to squeeze the bulb to prevent the engine from stalling. It was usually no big deal. My dad was advised by a mercury engine mechanic, that the bulb should be mounted vertically so the ball inside can do it's work. SeaRay should have known better. I had two batteries. One for the engine and one for the trolling motor. I ended up swapping batteries for a couple reasons. One is that it made it easier to remove the screws that held the Fuel line bulb horizontally, and the other is because I still suspected there were battery issues. Once the batteries were switched and the fuel line was prepositioned so that when squeezing the bulb, it could do it's job, the motor started up 1st time without issues and ran perfectly all day. Additionally both batteries worked perfectly all day, so it must have been a fuel issue.

I have learned some lessons. I need better tools on the boat. I should start the boat up at home after it has been sitting for so long to make sure all is well.

We were on our way after an hour delay. We fished the south delta for Stripers and did about as good as can be expected. It is a little early for peak Striper season, but I just had to get out. It was a little windy, but we survived. It was good practice for our upcoming trip to La Paz. We will be fly fishing, so I need all the practice I can get. I was looking like a rookie at 1^st, but by the end of the day I was much improved. Trouble is I have a weak back and fly fishing took a lot out of me. I hope I can survive 5 days in a row of fly fishing for big game in la paz. I will manage I am sure. :)

My dad got lucky and picked up an 8lb striper on a fly early during our trip. It was his biggest striper on a fly. I had one fish try to hit a topwater bomber. He made a few passes, but missed everytime. The water temp was only 56, so it is a bit cold still. I suspect I will have had better luck in the coming months as things warm up. I did pick up a 3 or 4lb bass trolling with a Yo-Zuri shallow diving rebel with a small grub trailer. We both caught several smaller Stripers and released all but the 8lber. We cooked the striper up tempura style with French fries and coleslaw. Mmmmmmm. Good stuff. Nothing beats fresh caught fish especially when you are the one that caught it.

We almost were run over by the biggest idiot on the water. We were trolling at 2.5 mph near the left side of the slue near the levy. To the right of us there was 150 yards of wide open space between us and the other side of the channel. I saw him in the distance moving fast towards us. I made sure he knew where I was going by turning closer towards the embankment signaling my intended path. Seconds later a fish grabbed on to my dads line on the left side of the boat. My dad had a fish on and picked up his rod and began to attempt to reel in. As we were both distracted by the fish hitting his line, we had no time to react as the idiot went flying by on our left side between us and the rocks. He was flying full speed on a 21 foot runabout with a full load of small kids and family members. I believe some of the spray from his boat hit us. He was that close. By the time I saw him all I could do is stand up with my arms outstretched as if to say what the F@ck are you doing? The driver was looking right at me as he passed by. I estimate he was moving 45 mph. He had to turn to his left as he passed to avoid hitting the rocks. As he did that he crossed behind us and sliced my dads line with the fish attached and in an instant the line from his real was gone as well as his $7.00 lure and fish that was attached to it.

I can only imagine how fearful the family must be and what they must be thinking. I know I wanted to rip his head off. My dad and I both yelled out and I expressed my opinion with my two middle fingers. I wanted to chase him down but my line was still in the water. At his speed it would have taken me a while to catch him. My 18 foot sea ray will go 48phm (Speed confirmed by GPS earlier that day) wide open which is pretty fast on the water. My dad and I are pretty easy going and a have calm personalities but we were both angry.

This was not the 1^st idiot I have seen on the delta. There are many. You have to watch out. Many have died, mostly alcohol related. This was definitely my closest call with death on the water. Part of me wished he would have hit the rocks; however I wouldn’t wish that on his poor family. I thought if I were paying attention I would throw something at him as he went by. I thought if I could catch him I could call in his Cf #’s. I also thought about jumping into his boat and taking him out along with his keys. I do hope that the line he now has wrapped around his prop will somehow do some damage, or at the very lease be an indication to him that he F’d up when he pulls the boat out of the water. To bad it wasn’t braided line instead of monofilament.

Fly Fishing in La Paz Mexico

My father is funding a trip to La Paz in May for 5 days of big game fly fishing. This trip is a dream come true for him. He is retired and wants to do this while he can. He is in great health and has many years of fishing left in him, but for him his fishing clock is ticking. He has the money, so he might as well spend it while he can. The trip is a total of 7 days and only cost 1,350.00 US each plus airfare. 5 days of fishing, lodging and most meals are covered. Not bad especially since he is picking up most of the tab. I guess this is an early birthday gift. I will enjoy the trip as much as he will. I need a vacation.

Although I am experienced in Fly fishing, this will be my first attempt to catch big game on a fly. I will be obtaining some lessons next weds evening on fly casting. I plan to practice in part so that I can get my arm in shape. I can imagine casting for 5 days straight could be taxing on the shoulder. I need to learn how to cast far with large fly rods and reels. This should be fun.

My goal on this trip is to add several new species to the list of fish I have caught. We can potentially catch any one of the following. Tuna, Dorado, Yellowfin, Marlin, Sailfish, Pargo, Sierra, Skipjack, Jack Crevalle and Rooster fish like the one shown here.

We will be fishing on small panga boats like the one pictured below. Only two fisherman per boat. I hope the one we are on have shade, however I am not betting on it. Might be time to do some shopping for sunscreen, a large sombrero and a long sleeve shirt.

I wish I were sailing to La Paz. This is an example of something I plan to do on a Catamaran. I enjoy fishing and diving, so what better way to get there then on a Cat? If it were up to me we would combine fishing with some days of diving or spear fishing. I recall a fishing trip to Cabo San Lucas where we backed up as close to some rocks near shore at least as close as was safe. The fishing guide knew were the fish were. With one cast he hooked up. He would cast live bait near the rocks and let it fall next to the rock face and hooked up with the biggest Dog Snapper I have ever seen (25-30lbs as I recall). Mine got off and he proceeded to hook into a second fish which my buddy managed to get in. I look forward to going back someday to fish or spear fish for them if allowed. I still need to research fishing licenses and regulations for the area.