Cabrillo Mole 5/24/22

[fish-ninja]

This will be a short report without photos. I managed to lose my phone at the mole. Very stressful and lost all photos I took.... Anyways...

I joined Mahigeer for a day of fishing at the Mole. Tides were high at 6am and 7pm and low at noon. Thought it could be good morning and evening bites of pelagics. I wanted to test a new casting setup so I did not bring bait tackle this time. It was Mackerel day. Morning bites on Mackerel were good on jigs. Size kept improving and I landed the fattest mac that I have ever seen on shore. It was not long probably a foot and half but it was chunky. It fought like a bonito so I was surprised to see what came up...

We had another late afternoon runs of Mackerel. In depth, I found spanish macs as well in mornings and evenings. Bonitos were sporadic Mahigeer had one. I had one. Another angler had two. That was all for that day. Mahigeer had a nice Calico shy of keeper. I saw some short sheepheads and a moray eel landed.

All in all, it was a nice day out. Just wished I did not lose my cell phone. It changed the tone of my day...

 

[MisterT]

A holy mackerel?

Sounds like good fishing!

 

[fish-ninja]

A holy mackerel?
Sounds like good fishing!

It was. Wish I have the photos. Mahigeer took some so stay tuned for his report later. He will be there till tomorrow.

 

[Ken Jones]

These are the pics sent to me yesterday. Not sure if they are yours or Hashems.

Pacific Mackerel



Mackerel, bonito and ocean whitefish



Hashem and a kelp (calico) bass



Unknown item​

 

[fish-ninja]

Thank you Ken for sharing these photos! About the unknown item, I did my research and found that they are pyrosomes aka sea pickles. Interesting creatures. There were tons of them around the mole that day.

https://www.latimes.com/california/...s-of-sea-pickles-take-over-monterey-bay-beach

 

[EgoNonBaptizo]

Oh god not the pyrosomes again, looks like we're in for another year of whack water conditions.

 

[TheFrood]

Oh god not the pyrosomes again, looks like we're in for another year of whack water conditions.

EDIT: Just looked them up. Too bad they aren't edible.

 

[EgoNonBaptizo]

Are they edible?

They are not, most of their weight is water, making them poor food sources for baitfish and whales. At the same time pyrosomes grow and reproduce incredibly quickly, and when the water is warm or there is weak upwelling, they can quickly outcompete other plankton by either eating them or starving them out. Normally they are limited by cold water temperatures, but with the 2015 "Blob" and other drastic oceanographic changes, they have been able to expand all the way up into Alaska.

 

[fish-ninja]

Oh god not the pyrosomes again, looks like we're in for another year of whack water conditions.

Yep. We are!

 

[evanluck]

So their presence is an indication of warm water?

They are not, most of their weight is water, making them poor food sources for baitfish and whales. At the same time pyrosomes grow and reproduce incredibly quickly, and when the water is warm or there is weak upwelling, they can quickly outcompete other plankton by either eating them or starving them out. Normally they are limited by cold water temperatures, but with the 2015 "Blob" and other drastic oceanographic changes, they have been able to expand all the way up into Alaska.

 

[Mahigeer]

Photos are from the lost cell phone. Ninja sent the pyrosomes picture to Skipper for ID, along with the other ones.

I can't open the Times article. It wants me to subscribe.

They have spines similar to "spiny" lobster. So, I thought it is shedding, but did not made sense either.

Please be patient with me about report. Got a lot on my "plate" these days. Will post when I can.

 

[Makairaa]

So their presence is an indication of warm water?

Not necessarily. They are just still here from previous warm years. This years water temps are actually the closest to historical averages that we have had in almost a decade.

 

[EgoNonBaptizo]

Not necessarily. They are just still here from previous warm years. This years water temps are actually the closest to historical averages that we have had in almost a decade.

Was it this year or the year before that we had La Niña?

 

[Ken Jones]

I haven't looked at the water temperatures but based upon the recent growth of the kelp at the Mole it would seem we are seeing some cooler water.

 

[Makairaa]

Was it this year or the year before that we had La Niña?

This year