Vanishing Squid and Monster Marlin

The enigmatic Humboldt squid appeared out of nowhere for Southern California anglers last week and then suddenly disappeared.

“They’re gone,” said Native Sun Capt. Gabe Ceballos out of Long Beach Sportfishing. Ceballos searched over a broad area in the coastal waters off Long Beach and San Pedro on a Tuesday night twilight trip and found little evidence of the giant mollusks that were so plentiful just a day before. Other sportboats reported similar results.

“Thousands, maybe millions here one day and then gone the next,” said Enterprise skipper Andy Siratt from Long Beach Marina Sportfishing.

While the Humboldt squid provided an economic boost to the local sportfishing economy in the short run, the fear is that it might have done more long-term damage to other fisheries. The jumbo squid have voracious, insatiable appetites and consume just about everything in their path.

They can grow to 6 feet and 100 pounds in a year. That means the Humboldts are in constant search for food, which is bad news for calico and sand bass, rockfish and other species that dare to cross the path of the ferocious mollusk. Hunting in packs 1,200 strong at times, they might have cleaned out many of our local fishing spots. Only time will tell as the Humboldts have pushed into the waters off Santa Barbara, presumably in search of more food. The Enterprise was out on Wednesday and reached limits of rockfish, so maybe the squid left some fish behind.

Funeral for Fellow Fisherman Psycho Dave

Dave Aird, 54, passed away Sept. 19. Dave worked at Long Beach Sportfishing for the past 15 years and will be sorely missed. He was affectionately known as Psycho Dave for the pranks and fun-loving jokes he played on everyone. There will be a memorial celeration of his life Thursday at 9:30 a.m. aboard the Native Sun out of Long Beach Sportfishing, followed by burial at sea. Please RSVP to 562-432-8993 or to charter.master@lbsf55.com.

Great Whites Battle for Hooked Tuna

Tuna fishing out of San Diego is still a viable option for anglers if they are willing to travel more than 150 miles south of Point Loma. Bluefin tuna in the 12-to-18-pound class have been hit and miss, but 5- to 10-pound yellowtail have been plentiful on floating kelp paddies, along with a few 15- to 25-pound dorado. Hurricane Hilary will staff off the Baja coast but could extend the offshore tuna season. Some anglers believe hurricanes flush warm water and more fish from south to north.

Capt. Gary Lacroix of the Highliner from Redondo Beach took a busman’s holiday last week and fished on a seven-day trip aboard the San Diego-based Shogun.

“The trip couldn’t have been any better," said Lacroix. On the way to Guadalupe Island, the group caught plenty of yellowtail and bluefin tuna. The backside of Guadalupe produced excellent fishing for 25- to 40-pound yellowtail while, on the front side, 60- to 100-pound yellowfin tuna provided good action. There was an epic battle on the yellowfin tuna grounds as up to nine great white sharks picked off most of the hooked tuna. Lacroix caught the largest tuna of the trip at 96 pounds.

Market Squid

The Santa Monica Bay continues to be home to lots of market squid and seems to have prolonged the surface fishing. The Redondo Special has been catching lots of short white seabass (less than 28 inches in length) and a few legal seabass to more than 25 pounds. Rockfishing remains good if the surface fish don’t come out to play.

Red Tide Brings Surf Fishing to a Halt

Surf fishing came to a screeching halt as a red tide has appeared from the Mexican border to the Santa Monica Bay. 

Monster Marlin

Richard Biehl of Traverse City, Mich., made an incredible catch in Cabo San Lucas last Sunday. Biehl was part of an "Old Man and the Sea"-like battle. After a 28-hour duel, Biehl and the crew of Go Deep landed a blue marlin on 60-pound test that weighed nearly 1,000 pounds. The marlin clocked in at 972 pounds at the docks, but the hook of the scale was not high enough for the fish to clear the ground. The crew then used a formula to calculate the true weight of the mighty marlin at 1,213 pounds. The previous largest marlin in Cabo San Lucas was caught in the 1980s and weighed 1,111 pounds.

"That was the hardest thing I ever did in my life by far," Biehl told Pisces Sportfishing general manager Tracy Ehrenberg.