Click on these links to jump down to our: Summary Fishing Report Archive Private Charters Weather We now own Half Moon Bay Sportfishing and Tackle! Schedule DAILY SCORES: Sat., Feb. 20 - 20 anglers, 27 squid hooked, 7 landed to 45 pounds Where'd all the old scores go? Click here to go to our Archive. WHOPPERS: (20 lbs. and over in bold) Sat., Feb. 20 - 45 pound Humboldt squid - Pioneer area Where'd all the old whoppers go? Click here to go to our Archive. DAILY FISHING/NEWS SUMMARY: Monday, March 15 - Here's the link to the recent PFMC's public notice regarding this year's salmon season: http://www.pcouncil.org/2010/03/7890/council-chooses-2010-salmon-options/. This notice lists the three options for the season that will be decided on during the PFMC's next meetings that take place in Portland April 10-15. If you click on the actual table of the options on the right side of that page, the paraphrased version of the options for our area are: The season opens April 3 and could continue through as late as November 14 with either a 20 or 24 inch minimum with an option to close the fishery during May and June, or the season could be closed completely, and whatever is decided for this year is supposed to apply to 2011. We know this can be confusing, but here's how it stands at this point: Irregardless of those options, the salmon season will open as is currently written in the fishery regulations: The season opens in our area on Saturday, April 3, the limit it two (2) salmon per person and there is a 20 inch minimum size limit, and it will remain open up until either notice of an emergency closure or receipt of the PFMC's final decision on which option they choose. After the closures the last two years, we honestly still do not understand the reasoning behind this ourselves, but that's not our job. We are not scientists, we don't make the rules. We are in business to take folks fishing. If we are told we are able to catch fish, that's what we do. Are there any salmon in the ocean to catch? Just like every season, we'll know more once we put our lines in the water. And, just like every season, one day does not a season make. Each day is a process to figure out either where the fish are at or where they aren't. Ready to join us in that process? We'll be fishing every day, weather and interest permitting, once the season opens on April 3. On the whale watching front, we are batting 1000, spotting a whale on our first trip of the season yesterday morning, albeit a pretty shy whale that kept just barely within viewing distance. Several minutes of checking out an extremely cute sea otter started the trip off on the right foot, though, watching it stereotypically kick and paddle while lying on it's back trying to break open it's mid-morning snack. Our whale watching trips will continue for the next two Saturdays and Sundays until it's time to put the lines in the water and get back to fishing. Thursday, March 11 - The 2010 Salmon Season Will Open on Saturday, April 3. The official word was announced today that the salmon season will open this year as scheduled on Saturday, April 3rd in both state and federal waters. The official notice from the government explaining the reasoning behind their decision has been promised to be posted by no later than next Tuesday, March 16, and I'll post the link once it's available. So we now know when the season opens, but we don't know how long it will last. The next round of PFMC meetings takes place April 10-15 and we expect to receive more info then. If it is decided at the meeting in April that an emergency closure is needed, I could be wrong but I believe there is a 10 day notice required, which means we are able to fish for salmon through at least the majority of April and possibly longer depending on the outcome of the next meetings. Sounds like we squeeked through on the rockcod front for this year, too, and will have the same season at the same depths that we had in 2009 (out to 180 feet, opening May 1 below Pigeon Point and June 13 above Pigeon Point). So dust off that salmon gear and let's go fishing! This weekend news: From our contacts with guys up and down the coast, it sounds like the Humboldt Squid have moved on, so we're scratching our squid trips this weekend and next and will switch over to whale watching on the weekends through March. Monday, March 8 - 2010 Fishing Season Update: The 2010 salmon season is scheduled to open April 3rd. Figured that would be cancelled like it has been the last two years, right? Well, maybe not. The powers that be are meeting at the PFMC in Sacramento right now and are hashing out the details for the 2010 season. Word has it that, since emergency action was not taken to close the season, the salmon season will open as scheduled on Saturday, April 3. How long will the season be open? Don't know. Could be one week, could be one month, could be several months based on all the discussions taking place. State waters only or federal waters, too? Don't know that, either. But the returns were reported less than half of last year, and the the season was closed, right? Yep...this doesn't make much sense to us, either, and it's far from written in stone, but the picture should be a little clearer by the end of this week. So, as it stands now, we are now taking reservations for salmon fishing beginning April 3rd. I'm sure there will be an official DFG or PFMC webpage posted within the next week or so with info explaining what's going on and I'll be sure to post a link to it as soon as I find out about it. On the rockcod front, no new news yet other than lots of terrible sounding possibilities, so we'll just keep our fingers crossed and wait to see what happens. We are still scheduled for Humboldt Squid trips this Saturday, March 13 and the next Saturday, March 20, weather, squid and interest permitting. If you're interested in going, be sure to call in a reservation. And last, but not least, we're scheduled for whale watching Sundays through the end of March as well as on Saturday, March 27. Saturday, February 20 - We watched the weather forecast carefully all week leading up to today's trip, and it was different with every update. The last update we received on Friday looked like the winds were going to cooperate, so the trip was a go. Overnight, however, the wind forecast was bumped up again, and we got every bit of the 15 to 17 knots of wind they said we were going to have by the time we left the dock on Saturday morning. It wasn't nice, but Capt. Bob headed offshore and made it to the tuna, I mean squid grounds just inside the Pioneer area which is somewhere around 20 miles offshore, and the first squid hit the deck just a little after 10 in the morning. The tough weather made it difficult to get the squid to the surface, though, and for every three squid hooked only one would find its way onboard, so out of the 25 to 30 squid hooked, 7 made it onboard. Jackpot fish, I mean squid, was a whopping 45 pounder. We are going to go ahead and schedule Humboldt squid trips every Saturday in March as long as the squid continue to hang around (as they are a migratory critter), except for March 6th as Capt. Bob will be at the first round of PFMC meetings for 2010 in Sacramento that weekend. On the fishing front, the returning salmon numbers were finally released and it sounds absolutely terrible. The hope was that there would be at least 120,000 returning salmon, which is the minimum number it would take in order to get a salmon season, up from around 80,000 last year and 60,000 the year before. Well, there were less than 40,000 salmon counted, the lowest number EVER counted, so the disaster continues. The feds meet up in March and April to decide the fate of the 2010 salmon season, but, based on those numbers, we expect the salmon season to be cancelled once again. The rockcod season will be discussed at those same meetings in March and April, and, as it stands now, we should have basically the same season as we had last year. Saturday, February 13 - Two full boatloads of folks joined us today to view the Mavericks surf contest up close and personal. It's amazing how we can safely sit just off to the edge of the break at Mavericks and watch the guys on their boards dropping in on bombers almost within casting distance away from the boat. Capt. Bob did what he could jockeying for position among the mass of boats trying to do the same thing in an attempt to get our gang in the prime spot to capture some of those amazing Mavericks photos. If you'd like to check out their view, a couple of guys on our boat shared their photo gallery...where you can even purchase your own copies of some of their amazing shots: Bruce's photos:http://norcalsurfphotos.smugmug.com/Surf-Photos-2010/Mavericks-2-13-10/11232770_fYYGM#787740210_RhFDB Shal's photos:http://jacobovitz.smugmug.com/Sports/Mavericks-2010/11230886_qEM8g#787583898_hp9Tg Monday, February 8 - The storm systems rolling through just wouldn't cooperate to allow us to make it out this past Saturday for a hunt for Humboldt Squid, so the trip ended up being scrubbed. We'll give it another go, weather and squid permitting, on Saturday, February 20. This coming holiday weekend we're slated to go whale watching. As we're right in the heart of the gray whale migration, hopefully the weather will cooperate this weekend and give us a chance to enjoy a bit of Mother Nature up close and personal. Monday, January 18 - As we promised so many of you at the boat show last week, it's time for us to get back up and running. Weather permitting, we've scheduled our first trips of 2010 for Humboldt Squid on Saturday, February 6, and Saturday, February 20. If there's enough interest and enough squid, we may add more trips to the schedule. The reports we're hearing is that there are Humboldts all the way up and down the coastline right now, from Bodega Bay in the north all the way down to Seaforth Landing in San Diego. We'll also start offering whale watching trips in February, too, with our first trips of the season slated for Presidents' Day weekend, February 13, 14 and 15...take your Valentine out whale watching on Sunday the 14th for Valentine's Day. Our rockfishing season this year kicks off on Saturday, May 1 below Pigeon Point. Royal Polaris long range trip news: Frank and Scotty with the RP told me at last weeks' show that the price for our upcoming 7 day long range trip has been reduced $100 down to $1995. There are still about a dozen spots available for that trip, so if you've been on the fence, time to jump on over and take advantage of a great price on a great trip. The price reduction applies to everyone, so if you're already on the books, your price has been reduced, too. Wednesday January 13 - Happy Belated New Year! Capt. Bob and I have been extremely busy this past month, with the last event on the agenda for now taking place this week: the International Sportsmens Expo at the San Mateo Event Center. The show opens tomorrow, Thursday, January 14 and runs through this Sunday January 17. The show is open on Thursday and Friday from 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., from 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. on Saturday, and on Sunday it's open from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Our spot is in the same place as it was last year, Booth 724C, back towards the indoor live fish aquarium. We have a new batch of Queen of Hearts t-shirts, tank tops, sweatshirts and embroidered hats for sale at the show...with show-only special pricing! We also have several other fantastically priced items for sale at the show, well worth the price of admission. Hope you'll have a chance to come by and say hi. Where'd all the old daily summaries go? Click here to go to our Archive. WHY DON'T WE USE LIVE BAIT FOR ROCKFISHING: - I often get people calling and asking about what bait we use on our trips. So, here's the spiel and my soapbox moment for the day: .....We do not use live bait for rockfishing. Why you ask? Do you catch any fish? Well, we have now owned the Queen of Hearts for 19 years and have probably taken more people rockfishing over those years than any other boat in Northern California and probably more than most of the boats in the entire state. Over those years, we usually catch a combined total of more rockfish, lingcod and cabezon than any boat north of Morro Bay, and again more than most of the boats in the entire state. All of this is done WITHOUT using any live bait. The San Mateo coast is graced with great rockfishing, where limits of fish are caught daily more often than not. .....Bob and I have always operated with the mindset of doing what we can to keep the recreational fishery thriving in our area for future generations. Bob has been actively involved in the fishery management process for just about as long as we've owned the Queen of Hearts, the last half a dozen years or so serving on a federal committee that hashes out the management of groundfish along the entire Pacific Ocean coastline. It has been an unbelievable unending war to try to keep our right to be able to fish, with battles won and battles lost. By serving on that committee, Bob knows first-hand what is involved in the decision-making process. I do my best to try to explain what I see and hear to those I speak with on the phone, and those who come through our shop and read this website. .....In our opinion, using live bait in our area for rockfishing will do more harm than good. And here's why: Rockfish tend to lunge at and "slurp" in live bait which more often than not lands the hook deep into the fish's gullet. Most people who have used live bait while rockfishing know this is true and will admit to it. The problem comes when/if that fish ends up being released. In order to get an angler's hook back, the guts of the fish are literally ripped out of the fish, and just about 100% of those fish die due to their injuries. However, rockfish typically bite differently when using artificial lures and those tipped with a strip of squid or a chunk of defrosted anchovy. The majority of the fish end up being hooked in the corner of the jaw or top of their mouth, allowing for release of fish without killing it...even though I'm sure they're going ouch, ouch, ouch as they swim back to where they came from. For those few fish that do get hooked too deep to live using lures, we do our best to educate folks to keep any fish that are not going to live. Fish thrown back that are considered dead count against our harvest totals just as much as fish that are taken home. .....I could go on and on, but I'll stop. The bottom line is the more fish we save from being killed needlessly, the more we'll have for the future. And the more folks that understand that, the better chance future generations will be able to take their kids fishing, just like we've been able to. There is a time and place for using live bait (i.e., albacore, yellowtail, halibut), but as our longstanding record shows we don't need it to catch rockfish and now I hope it makes sense why. Oftentimes it's really tough to do what is right, but in the end it's worth it. DEEP WATER ROCKFISHING TRIPS! - The Queen of Hearts received an "exempted fishery permit" that allows us to take customers rockfishing under strick guidelines set forth in the permit in areas along the coast outside 900 feet deep. Check out the report and info I put together on our Chilipepper webpage at www.fishingboat.com/chilipeppers.html. The trips are limited to no more than 16 anglers, depart at 6:30 a.m., return around 4:00 to 5:00 p.m., and, due to the limited number of anglers, the cost is $100 per person. The plan is to target chilipepper rockfish, but we'll make it a "chili and squid" combo if we find more Humboldt squid like we did on our first trip. These trips are currently on hold as we are waiting for the permit to be reissued this year. The deep water rockfishing trips are more or less be just like any other rockfishing trip, with a few major exceptions: We have to fish where the ocean is at least 900 feet or deeper. There is still a 10 fish rockcod limit, and all customers take home their fish. Any and all rockfish landed must be kept until boat limits have been reached. The hope is to be able to target rockfish such as chilipepper rockfish that are suspended in the water column, hopefully far from the actual ocean bottom. This is not a research trip; it's an experiment to see if we can fish a different area without catching any of the "off limits" fish...canary, goldeneye or cowcod. As long as the boats conducting these trips don't catch those off limits fish, this experiment will continue as long as there is interest for an initial period of one year. An official paid government observer will be required onboard all trips to keep tabs on the catch. The key to the success of this permit will be avoiding the canary and yelloweye rockfish that are labeled overfished and have forced us into the current restrictions we've been dealt. These trips could prove to be vitally important to give us more fishing opportunities in the future. If you'd like to be placed on an email list I've started to receive updates about deep water rockfishing trips as well as alerts when trips are scheduled, please let me know by sending me an email to sherry@fishingboat.com and asking to be added to our Deep Water Rockcod Trips email list. Worried about seasickness? Check out: http://seagrant.uaf.edu/bookstore/pubs/SG-ED-47.pdf Monday, December 1, 2008: The rockfishing season off our coastline is now officially closed until next year (by boat that is...rockfishing is still allowed year-round for divers and from shore for those fishing the surf, off the jetty or piers). So thus ends the 18th season we've operated the Queen of Hearts out of Half Moon Bay. Even with this short season and some rotten conditions at times, our customers landed the most rockcod, lingcod and cabezon combined of any boat in California north of Morro Bay (as tabulated by www.sportfishingreport.com). We are proud to be the longest running vessel operating out of the harbor, and it wouldn't be possible without all of you who have joined us and supported us over the years through good and bad, thick and thin. You are why we are in this business, and we hope you can look back on your trips with us with fond memories like we do. There are times we wonder why we do this stuff called fishing, given all the obsticles we face with ever-increasing regulations, closures, weeks of meetings that turn into months by year-end, enduring the stabs and jabs of being at the top of the heap, and dealing with some downright rotten weather and not much better catching at times. But then we see the sparkle in a kids' face the first time they land their own fish, or feel the excitement every time we see that first whale blow off in the distance, or at times just as simple a thing as just spending time on the water together, and it all comes back to us: on the water is where we're at our best, where we belong. We'll be off until after the beginning of the year taking care of our annual maintenance that keeps the Queen looking and running in tip top shape, and we might actually take a few well-deserved days off here and there. Sometime after the beginning of the year we'll be putting together some trips to see if the Humboldt squid are offshore, give it another go at the deep water rockcod, and venture out in search of the migrating whales that grace us with their presence during the winter months. Next year's rockfishing season isn't written in stone yet, but at this point it's slated to open below Pigeon Point on May 1 and above Pigeon Point the second Saturday in June. And the Queen of Hearts will be here waiting for your return, ready to give you another chance of making memories. Now, for the holiday gifts sales pitch: make your Christmas shopping a breeze...order a Queen of Hearts gift card online by going to our Merchandise webpage at www.fishingboat.com/merchandise.html. Or come by our shop to pick up a new reel or rod or some great fishy stocking stuffer goodies. So, with that said, and until we can get back out there, thank you for another year. Stay safe and enjoy your holidays. Where'd all the old fishing summaries go? Click here to go to our Archive. Heard of "Dog Eat Dog World," but...: I've been meaning to post this video for a while...you've heard of a "dog eat dog world"...well, how about a "ling eat ling world"?....check out the video our daughter Marie took on a trip earlier this year by clicking the picture below or going to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hz2A8uSPxKY. It could be a bit on the gross side for some to view, so fair warning, but it is pretty amazing. Where'd all the old fishing summaries go? Click here to go to our Archive. FISHING REPORT ARCHIVE: What happened to the older scores, whoppers and reports?? Well, just too much information to keep on one page! So we've created an "Archive" page. Click here to go to our Fishing Report Archive page. See the blow by blow, day by day rundown on the happenings on the Queen of Hearts since the beginning of the 2008 season, as well as the entire 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004 and 2003 seasons.   PRIVATE CHARTERS: We are proud that we have built a very strong private charter business for the Queen of Hearts since we started almost 20 years ago. We have a top-notch boat and crew, we run a clean ship in more ways than one and take care of our customers, and it shows with the repeat business we are very grateful to have. Most groups now know that they have to call early in the year for the best dates, several months in advance. Saturdays book very fast. So, if you have a group thinking about a charter on the Queen of Hearts, don't wait to long to reserve a date! Not too early to start thinking about grabbing a date for 2010, especially Saturdays! WEATHER: When we talk about weather on the ocean, that's what we're talking about: the ocean, the wind and waves, not the sky. We're not referring to the sun or rain, or to how hot or cold it may be. The ocean in our area is usually always on the cold side. Always dress warm, regardless whether it's January or August: jeans, t-shirt, sweatshirt and jacket with tennis shoes or rubber boots. I always emphasize: you can't judge what's going on in the ocean by what's happening on land. And you can't always count on the weatherman. It's not what the sky does that matters; it's the ocean itself. We do our best to let our customers know if there's a weather problem. For those interested, one of the websites I check out for the marine forecast is at: http://weather.noaa.gov/pub/data/raw/ fz/fzus56.kmtr.cwf.mtr.txt Our area is covered by the "Point Reyes To Pigeon Point to 10 NM" section of the report. Just keep in mind this is a "forecast" and it covers a large area; it doesn't necessarily come true but it can be used as a guide. WE NOW OWN OUR OWN BAIT AND TACKLE STORE! HALF MOON BAY SPORTFISHING AND TACKLE: As of August 1, 2005, the Queen of Hearts proudly works out of our own shop, Half Moon Bay Sportfishing and Tackle! We're located in the shop that was formerly Captain John's, just to the left of the Ketch Joanne restaurant in the row of shops in the main parking lot at the harbor across from the pier and harbormaster's office. Everyone asks if we bought Captain John's boats. No, we didn't. One boat and one shop is enough for us! But we are now booking for one other boat, the Riptide, in addition to the Queen of Hearts out of our shop. These boats represent two of the most experienced and longest running vessels in the harbor. We did take over Captain John's phone numbers, so if you have those numbers in your phone book, just change the name to Half Moon Bay Sportfishing, the home of the Queen of Hearts! The great part about us owning our own shop is that we can finally provide the products and services we have always wanted to give to our customers. We are constantly adding items to the stock at the shop. We now have a large selection of Izorline in stock, the fishing line that we use on all of our fishing rods, both for the boat and our personal rods: First String Monofiliment, Platinum and the new XXX. We have deck boots, an increasing assortment of plastics, diamond bars, as well as rods and reels including Avet, Diawa, Penn, Shimano, Shakespeare and Calstar. WE ALSO TAKE SPECIAL REQUESTS! Slowly but surely, we now offer all the basics that meet our customers' needs. So, call or e-mail us for reservations. On the day of the trip, come directly to our shop, Half Moon Bay Sportfishing and Tackle to check in (look for the BIG yellow sign in the front window that reads "TICKET OFFICE") and pay for your trip (cash, ATM, Visa and Mastercard accepted). The crew simply asks, as always, that you wait at the top of the dock until they have the boat ready for boarding. If you need fishing licenses, tackle and rent rods, no problem...they're all available at the shop. Just one more way the Queen of Hearts continues to strive to provide the best service possible to our passengers. So don't forget, to go with the Queen of Hearts, contact the Queen of Hearts and Half Moon Bay Sportfishing! SCHEDULE: Weather and interest permitting, we plan on running Humboldt Squid trips beginning on Saturday, February 6. We will also start running weekend whale watching trips to view the gray whale migration along our coastline. Our rockfishing season kicks off on May 1 below Pigeon Point, and we can fish above Pigeon as of June 15th (same rockfishing season as last year). The possibility of a salmon season is still up in the air; we should have an idea what we're looking at by the end of the fed's first fishery management meeting in March. Click here to check out our daily schedule through the end of next month.