The Logbook, page 2
Deep-drop swordfish in Southern California: the canyons, the rig and the drift
In 2019 local anglers started dropping squid a thousand feet down in daylight, and the swordfish catch went from a handful to more than a hundred. Here is how the rig works.
Spotted bay bass on light tackle: plastics, tides and structure in the bays
A light rod, a small grub and a moving tide. The gear, baits and structure that catch spotted bay bass inside the bays, plus why almost every one goes back.
Skipjack tuna in Southern California: what a skipjack school tells you
Belly stripes, warm water and kelp paddies. How to tell a skipjack from bonito and school yellowfin, when they show up, and why a skipjack boil is worth slowing down for.
Sculpin: rigging, handling the spines, treating a sting, and when they bite
The rig is simple and the fish is not picky. The spines are the hard part. A plain guide to catching, holding and unhooking sculpin, and what to do if one gets you.
Sanddab fishing in Southern California: where to drop and how to rig
Small, easy and some of the best eating in the ocean. The deep mud, the canyon piers, the small-hook rig and the trick of letting the other hooks load up.
Making bait: catching Pacific mackerel on a sabiki and keeping it alive
Half of a serious trip is getting bait. Greenback or Spanish, sabiki hook sizes, how to fill the tank without a bird's nest, and how to keep the bait kicking.
Barracuda in Southern California: when they arrive, where they hold, why some years boom
Barracuda ride warm water up from Baja each spring and can fill a slow morning by summer. When they show, where they hold, why the numbers swing, and how to beat the teeth.
Opah in Southern California: the warm-blooded moonfish of the deep
Round, silver and scarlet, and warm all the way through. Why the opah is unlike any other fish off this coast, and why the few caught here are almost always a surprise.
Ocean whitefish: the island reef fish nobody targets and everybody takes home
A tilefish from south of the border that rides the warm years into the Bight. Where it holds on the island reefs, how to fish for it, and why its colours fade so fast.
Mako sharks in Southern California: when they show, where they hold, and why they jump
Many makos off Southern California are young sharks raised in the Bight. When they come back each summer, what draws them to a slick, and what to do when one jumps.
Lingcod in winter: what the spawn does to Southern California's lings
Lingcod head for the spawning rock as the water cools, and the males stay behind to guard the eggs. Here is what that means for a late-season trip in the Bight.
Giant sea bass: how the kelp forest's biggest fish came back
Commercial landings peaked in 1932 and the sport catch in 1963. What the 1981 ban did, what has come back since, and what to do when one eats your squid.