Tom Mattusch

A storm is forecast to hit shore sometime today. Huli Cat left the dock just after 7am. Very flat coming out of the harbor, extremely flat on the crabbing grounds. We hit ten pots we had moved 5 days ago and had a zero to four crabs max per pot. I was worried crabbing was slowing down. We ran to some other pots and saw good number and got what we needed for limits. Maybe those pots were slow becasue of density of pots inthe area, maybe someone else like my crab as much as I did and helped themselves. All's well that ends well. Had a New England couple on the boat today. The were extremely excited about the Dungeness crab as they get quite a bit of lobster. On the way in we found a nice whale that put on a show for us, which is unusual at this time of year. They grey whales are out 14 to 25 miles, as they migrate down towards Baja to give birth. By April, the greys are nearshore swimming north, teaching the young the skills they will need to survive in the wild.

Fish Species: Dungeness crab
Bait Used: Sardines, salmon carcasses, turkey necks & giblets
Tackle Used: crab pots & Hydraulics
Method Used: drifting
Water Depth: 180 ft
Water Temperature: 53.9 F
Wind Direction: S
Wind Speed: < 3 kts

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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.

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