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Daily Scores
Whoppers
Daily Fishing/News Summary
Fishing Report Archive
Why We Don't Use Live Bait for Rockfishing
Deep Water Rockfishing Trips
Private Charters
Weather
We now own Half Moon Bay Sportfishing and Tackle!
Schedule

DAILY SCORES:
No fishing, no scores...
So, here's the scores from December 2010:
Thu., Dec. 22 - 18 anglers, 178 rockcod + 2 cabs (limits), 9 lings to 14 lbs.
Wed., Dec. 21 - 9 anglers, 90 rockcod (limits), 6 lingcod to 7 lbs.
Tue., Dec. 20 - 24 anglers, 214 rockcod, 22 lingcod to 7 lbs.
Sat., Dec. 17 - 24 anglers, around 200 rockfish, 13 lingcod to 21 pounds!
Fri., Dec. 16 - 12 anglers, 120 rockcod (limits), 3 lingcod to 16 lbs.
Thu., Dec. 15 - 20 anglers, 131 rockcod, 14 lingcod to 7 lbs.
Wed., Dec. 14 - 9 anglers, 90 rockcod (limits), 5 lingcod to 7 lbs.
Sun., Dec. 11 - 20 anglers, 198 rockcod + 2 cabs (limits), 6 lings to 7 lbs.
Sat., Dec. 10 - 12 anglers, 114 rockcod + 6 cabs to 5 lbs. (limits), 7 lings to 9 lbs.
Thu., Dec. 8 - 9 anglers, 90 rockcod (limits), lings?
Wed., Dec. 7 - 17 anglers, 160 rockcod, 7 lingcod to 6 lbs.
Tue., Dec. 6 - 7 anglers, 70 rockcod (limits), 6 lingcod
Sun., Dec. 4 - 9 anglers, 90 rockcod (limits), 2 lingcod
Sat., Dec. 3 - 24 anglers, 231 rockcod, lings?

Where'd all the old scores go? Click here to go to our Archive.

WHOPPERS: (15 lbs. and over in bold)
Thu., Dec. 22 - Ed Goltz of San Mateo - 14 lb. lingcod - Pigeon Point
Sat., Dec. 17 - 21 lb. lingcod - Pescadero
Sat., Dec. 17 - Jack Ware - 16 lb. lingcod - Pescadero
Sat., Dec. 17 - 15 lb. lingcod - Pescadero
Fri., Dec. 16 - 16 lb. lingcod - Pescadero

Where'd all the old whoppers go? Click here to go to our Archive.

DAILY FISHING/NEWS SUMMARY:

January 2012 - The rockfishing season and salmon season along the Bay Area coastline are both closed, so no fishing trips until they reopen. We know the rockfishing season will open below Pigeon Point on May 1, but we won't know the fate of the 2012 salmon season until the Powers That Be complete their meetings that take place in March and April. Until then, it's a little bit of whale watching for the next couple of months primarily on the weekends, weather and interest permitting, we're on hold for the surf contest that is slated to take place at Mavericks hopefully one day and only one day before the end of March if the weather gods approve, and otherwise there's a whole lot of sanding, painting and the like going on that takes place each winter to keep the Queen in tip top shape. We've scheduled our first whale watching trips beginning on Saturday and Sunday, January 28 and 29. The early reports on the whale grounds has been the best we've heard in years with good numbers of whales being spotted much closer to shore than the last several seasons. Our shop is still open daily selling fishing and hunting licenses, bait, tackle and the other assorted goodies seven days a week, so stop by if you're in the area or feel free to give a call to check in or if we can answer any questions.

Thursday, December 22 - Last day of the season for us on the Queen of Hearts, and even though the wind decided to kick up its heels a tad, we were still able to bring in limits for all onboard including two cabezon and nine more lingcod. Don't have the exact score, but I know that brings it to over 100 lingcod caught this month alone! Not a bad way to end the season, if I must say so myself. We're now officially done fishing for this season and are off to enjoy the holidays with our friends and family. We'll start up whale watching trips in January, will be on hold for the Mavericks surf contest, and will be back fishing when the seasons open hopefully by April or May. Until then, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you and yours!

Tuesday, December 20 - Wow, the lings are definitely biting! 22 more lingcod landed today! Looks like we're going to go out with a bang this year. Lots and lots of room available tomorrow on Wednesday, but we are definitely going fishing, so if you'd like to join us, don't worry about calling or making a reservation...just come on down to our shop and check in by 6:15 a.m. We're definitely fishing on Thursday, too, but go ahead and give us a call on Wednesday if you'd like a spot on Thursday so we know you'll be joining us and can put you on the books.

Saturday, December 17 - Chalk up another 13 lingcod today to bring the four day total to 35 lings, with some whoppers coming in today: top three lings weighed in at 15, 16 and an impressive 21 pounds. It was an absolutely gorgeous day on the water, almost way too nice for this time of year. Some folks had a great day of catching, like Richard who ended up with a big ling, two cabezon, a few reds, a couple of chinas and some big blacks to round out his limit, and Jack, who has grown up and matured throughout the year and has become a heck of a fisherman and landed the 16 pounder today. Mother Nature continues to crank out the nice days on the water and the forecast looks absolutely fine for our last three trips scheduled for tomorrow on Tuesday as well as on Wednesday and Thursday. And Thursday is it...last rockfishing day on the Queen of Hearts until the season reopens next year on May 1, 2012.

Friday, December 16 - Not bad: 22 lingcod in the last three days! Crazy thing is the best score was yesterday on Thursday when, contrary to the foreast, the wind was absolutely howling after the front passed through. We ended up with 14 lingcod for 20 guys along with 131 rockcod on that trip, and we had limits of rockfish today and on Wednesday. Nothing fast and furious, and a mixture of fish with some nice ones and others just barely worth taking home, but with four days left to take fresh rockcod home, we'll take 'em. Still have room available for our last weekend trip of the season tomorrow on Saturday; if you wake up early and decide you'd like to go fishing, come on down and check in by 6:15. After that, we have three more days scheduled to run on this coming Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, and then we pack it in for the season. And time is running out: Looking for an easy holiday gift for that hard to buy for person? Buy them a Queen of Hearts gift card! Purchase online at: www.fishingboat.com/merchandise.html, give us a call to order by phone, or come by our shop which is open from at least 8am to 4pm daily. Our gift cards are good for our fishing trips and anything we sell at our shop, and there's no expiration date so they can be used at the recipient's convenience. Online and phone orders must be received by no later than December 20 so we have time to ship them out to you in time for Christmas.

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! - These trips are currently on hold as we are waiting to see if the permit will be resubmitted for approval in the future. The Queen of Hearts had received an "exempted fishery permit" that allowed 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.

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

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 2011 season, as well as the entire 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004 and 2003 seasons.