Tom Mattusch

Compared to the last few days of squid fishing, today was a dream on many levels. It was far 'calmer' than the previous several trips, although, some on the boat may have found that hard to believe while out 19 mils on the sid grounds. Even if you were on the boat, you would have found the squid action hard to believe. Tom Cala, on Tea Sea, raced out ahead of me. I told him where I had been fishing and where I intended to go. When I was three miles from the spot, he radios, " I not only have squid, but they are very shallow". The only thing that stopped me from jamming the throttles to Warp Speed, was Capt Chuck Kemnitz was on the throttles. We stopped, hooked up on the drop, in about 550 feet, and hooked up on the way down. Tom Cala had stopped on a spot of birds, and it was WFO for him - as soon as I got there, it was WFO for Huli Cat. I stopped fishing myself to get a little video that includes Wendall Ching, throwing a hand line, hauling in squid. He was shouting, "Hawaiin Style, Bro!" 'Sharkey', Nico said he was getting them at 15 feet. We got them up to where it was unnecessary to go more than 50 feet. By 10:30am, the bonner wa full, the back fish box as full, squid on the deck, 5 anglers, and 4 crew. Everyone took turns gaffing. Squid on a hand line, man I had never seen that! We completed the day with 9 limits of Dungeness crab. About 18 squid got donated to the Squids fo Kids Program. Everyone's cooler was straining under the load of cleaned squid.

"And a fine day was had by all" We were back in the harbor by 2pm.

Fish Species: Humboldt squid & Dungeness Crab
Bait Used: none
Tackle Used: ahi Squid Jigs
Method Used: Drifitng
Water Depth: 550- 590 ft
Water Temperature: 55
Wind Direction: NE
Wind Speed: 9 - 12 knots

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Tom Mattusch

About The Author: Captain Tom Mattusch

Company: Huli Cat Sportfishing

Area Reporting: Central California, San Francisco Bay area

Bio: Tom Mattusch is currently the owner/operator of the Huli Cat, a 53 foot charter boat operating out of Pillar Point Harbor and has fished the West Coast since 1967. Tom holds positions on the Salmon Stamp Committee for California, the California Department of Fish and Game License Agent Advisory Committee and NOAA's California Sportfishing Action Team. He's an IGFA Certified Captain. In an effort to contribute to research, Tom works with NOAA's PFEL tagging chinook salmon. He also worked with NOAA's Santa Cruz field office gathering stomachs and beaks of Humboldt squid. He recently completed a study with the Point Reyes Bird Observatory collecting lingcod, salmon and halibut stomachs and is currently involved in a study with Scripps to gather albacore stomachs. Tom holds Board of Director positions with the Golden Gate Fishermens Association, Coastside Fishing Club and Fishery Enhancement and Research Foundation. He can be heard on four radio stations giving fish reports or discussing fishing politics. He has worked closely with the Recreational Fishing Alliance, PCFFA, the Half Moon Bay Fishermans Marketing Association, United Anglers of Southern California and United Anglers. Tom ran the first trip out of Half Moon Bay to take anglers to catch Humboldt squid and the first white shark viewing trip to the Farallon Islands. He is the first charter boat Captain out of Half Moon Bay to get certified to marry people and has married people on the Huli Cat. Tom ran the first albacore trip out of Half Moon Bay to demonstrate the albacore were again reachable by boat off the Central California coast in the mid 1990's. Tom held a seat on the California Marine Life Protection Act Initiative as a Central Coast Regional Stakeholder group Member.

650-726-2926
Click Here For Past Fishing Reports by Captain Tom Mattusch