Tom Mattusch

Huli Cat did a little reconnaisance trip for squid. A crew trip, we searched new areas where we had never caught them before. And we didn't catch them there this time either. Ran 28 miles SE off Ano Nuevo Island. Hit some spots 400, 600, 700, 900 feet. On the flats, drop offs, we were trying and hoping for shallow, instead of deep. After no luck and time running out as daylight burned, we ran 24 miles NW. First one on board at 37 06 & 122 47 in 634 feet of water. Ended the day with 25. The Humpback whales put on quite a show for us, some coming within 30 feet of the Huli Cat. We had Northern right whale dolphins riding the bow wake for awhile. The squid did not come up in a school, they stayed onthe bottom. You had to have your jig on the bottom to catch them. That made for some tired anglers when we hit 1,215 feet of depth.

Fish Species: Humboldt Squid
Bait Used: None
Tackle Used: Ahi SJ - 1000 squid jigs
Method Used: Drifting
Water Depth: 400 - 1300 ft
Water Temperature: 55 F
Wind Direction: S
Wind Speed: < 5 kts
Look how flat the water was!
Look how flat the water was!


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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