I see I haven't pecked out a blog in six whole months. It would be disingenuous to claim 'Writer's Block' when I'm neither a writer or a blocked writer...
Sloth doesn't quite describe my failure to communicate either...indifference would be closer to the crux of the biscuit, actually.
Those who know me personally will find this hard to believe, but I haven't had a single bee in my bonnet in a half an Earth orbit around our star...unless you count Politics...
I'm not a pundit, and my folks were of the Old Fashioned variety...Politics and Religion are best kept to yourself in Polite Company they taught...
In the three years I blogged here, I strove to keep the partisan politics out of CorduroyPlanet, successfully I might add!
So why now you ask?
It's the middle of April...I'll be down at the Post Office today buying the Registered Mail/Return Receipt treatment for the Income Tax documents going to the Feds and Sacramento.
There's been a pair of Opening days in the past week or two, and I noticed a bunch of ski resorts closing for the season in Sunday's online newspaper editions.
"One in, one out..." Richard Blaine (Humphrey Bogart) 'Casablanca' 1942
Major League Baseball returned for another season on the last day in March, while Spring Training, the Cactus League and the Florida version have rolled up their tents and faded into memory for another year.
Salmon Season off the Central California Coast opened April 6th to good success for most out trying for them.
That was before this regime of high northwesterly winds set upon us...the Reno NWS Office says there may be snow in the High Country in the next few days.
So ends my first whole season wherein I did not set foot on My Mountain, or climb into my BR350 Groomer and grind around the slopes having way too much fun to realistically refer to my time spent at the sticks of said groomer as Work.
Truth be told? I'd do it for nothing if I had the bank account to sustain me! As much as I've missed the life, I'm sure glad I wasn't grooming this season...it looked exactly like work save for a few weeks of storm fighting in November and December!
Lots of weak, under-performing warm storms delivered rain at the base and glop on top. Days and nights of above freezing temperatures for weeks at a time doomed the slopes to thin sooner than the resorts would prefer...
So four months of dodgy conditions, and little Hero Snow...I'm broke, but my Soul wasn't exposed to the nightly heartbreak that would have broken it.
These windy conditions are trying my Soul...there's plenty of tasty Dungeness crab and Chinook salmon just offshore, but the weather is all Gale Warnings all the time so it seems.
Chin up! This too shall pass...I'm so ready for a crab/salmon combo...our own Captain's Plate, caught fresh...
Soon...
Showing posts with label salmon. Show all posts
Showing posts with label salmon. Show all posts
Monday, April 15, 2013
Sunday, September 30, 2012
Maintain
All this fishing is taking a toll on my tackle.
I stopped by the SturgeUrge Compound Saturday afternoon on my way home from a morning of errands. I had to pick up the GPS Chartplotter antenna for modifications and my rod and reel so I could re-spool the topshot of monofiliment.
My little AVET SX reel has a couple hundred yards of 30lb Power Pro spectra line on it and I run 60 yards or so of Red Cast Cajun 17lb line on top of it.
I didn't chose the Red Cast by color, it was the only 17lb line in the sporting goods store the day I needed it. I've come to love the stuff. When you're trolling three lines off a street-legal boat (no wider than 8ft-6inches), tangles become a problem...especially if one guy is running a plug when everybody else is running spinners...make a turn and you're not fishing anymore, you're knitting!
With the Red Cajun line, it's much easier to un-plait the resultant macrame mess!
So I stripped off the old Cajun line and I'll tie up a new topshot in the morning. An Improved Albright knot and a couple applications of PlioBond glue to fair the knot and I'll be good to go by Wednesday when weather permitting, we'll splash the F/V SturgeUrge into The Sacramento River near Rio Vista again.
The economics are impossible to ignore...at current market rates for Wild King Salmon - $22.99/lb at the Walnut Creek Lunardi's Market, bringing home just 3lbs of salmon pays for the trip! That's gas for the boat and tow vehicle, bridge toll, lunch and launch fees...
Did I mention that these fish are mostly bright chrome ocean-fresh fish or males just starting to turn red...think pastel pinkish?
The fish are right there...though I'm beginning to see Dungeness Crab Season on the distant horizon...
Upon closer inspection, Ocean Salmon and Dungeness Crab seasons overlap for eight days...very interesting...if halibut are late hanging around...with any luck...it could be a Captain's Plate kinda day...or days...
I stopped by the SturgeUrge Compound Saturday afternoon on my way home from a morning of errands. I had to pick up the GPS Chartplotter antenna for modifications and my rod and reel so I could re-spool the topshot of monofiliment.
My little AVET SX reel has a couple hundred yards of 30lb Power Pro spectra line on it and I run 60 yards or so of Red Cast Cajun 17lb line on top of it.
I didn't chose the Red Cast by color, it was the only 17lb line in the sporting goods store the day I needed it. I've come to love the stuff. When you're trolling three lines off a street-legal boat (no wider than 8ft-6inches), tangles become a problem...especially if one guy is running a plug when everybody else is running spinners...make a turn and you're not fishing anymore, you're knitting!
With the Red Cajun line, it's much easier to un-plait the resultant macrame mess!
So I stripped off the old Cajun line and I'll tie up a new topshot in the morning. An Improved Albright knot and a couple applications of PlioBond glue to fair the knot and I'll be good to go by Wednesday when weather permitting, we'll splash the F/V SturgeUrge into The Sacramento River near Rio Vista again.
The economics are impossible to ignore...at current market rates for Wild King Salmon - $22.99/lb at the Walnut Creek Lunardi's Market, bringing home just 3lbs of salmon pays for the trip! That's gas for the boat and tow vehicle, bridge toll, lunch and launch fees...
Did I mention that these fish are mostly bright chrome ocean-fresh fish or males just starting to turn red...think pastel pinkish?
The fish are right there...though I'm beginning to see Dungeness Crab Season on the distant horizon...
Upon closer inspection, Ocean Salmon and Dungeness Crab seasons overlap for eight days...very interesting...if halibut are late hanging around...with any luck...it could be a Captain's Plate kinda day...or days...
Saturday, September 29, 2012
You Shoulda Been Here Yestraday!
That's the Number One Fishing Report Worldwide...
SturgeUrge and I hit the river again Friday with king salmon in mind. We had new tricks to try, and Urge's brother came along too. I told the whole sordid story on my Club's Website:
Rio Vista Salmon 9/28 Skunk
We returned for another day to Rio Vista after taking one fish Wednesday.
We changed things up a little...we launched from Rio Vista instead of Vieira's...we added a chartplotter and an electric trolling motor.
Mother Nature changed things up too...the wind was blowing early and we could see "sheep in the meadow" when we crossed the HWY 12 bridge.
There was one third the number of boats compared to Wednesday.
The wind made trolling tough, and it aggregated the weeds so keeping our junk clean was a chore.
Still we were troopers and trolled for six hours around the top of the tide for no hits, no runs, and just a couple of unforced errors.
Fish were being caught...just not by us.
The Rest of the Story:
We added my GPS Chartplotter and a new electric trolling motor to our arsenal. The chartplotter gave us Speed Over Ground in real time. We used this capability to calibrate the trolling motor so as to replicate the exact trolling speed that worked so well Wednesday.
Well...that was a little tough...the stiff winds made the bucket unnecessary. SturgeUrge was really working hard on the main Sacramento to troll a decent line with the winds quartering across the F/V SturgeUrge's bow.
There's a lot of moving parts when the wind blows. The math get s a little complex...wind speed and direction...tidal current...engine speed...windage.
We didn't get a bite, the ultimate clue that you're doin' it right.
Even with 1/3 the number of boats, these boaters wanted to run too tight to us...the ones that weren't busy tailgating us...
After three hours of beating, we opted to seek shelter and began fishing the Old Sacramento from the confluence to up past Vieira's. We had lunch, the fish still with the lockjaw...
We finally pulled the plug at 4:30. Back at the ramp the dock's gangplank was underwater and the wind was still whipping. SturgeUrge said the wading felt good.
We learned a bunch of things that will come in handy on other waters, and help us dial-in our Delta Salmon Attack.
The chartplotter has a beautiful sunlight viewable LCD screen that should be standard on all digital cameras.
I'm pretty sure the camera makers don't use this screen because it costs too much and uses too much power. It would eat through camera batteries in no time.
SturgeUrge and I hit the river again Friday with king salmon in mind. We had new tricks to try, and Urge's brother came along too. I told the whole sordid story on my Club's Website:
Rio Vista Salmon 9/28 Skunk
We returned for another day to Rio Vista after taking one fish Wednesday.
We changed things up a little...we launched from Rio Vista instead of Vieira's...we added a chartplotter and an electric trolling motor.
Mother Nature changed things up too...the wind was blowing early and we could see "sheep in the meadow" when we crossed the HWY 12 bridge.
There was one third the number of boats compared to Wednesday.
The wind made trolling tough, and it aggregated the weeds so keeping our junk clean was a chore.
Still we were troopers and trolled for six hours around the top of the tide for no hits, no runs, and just a couple of unforced errors.
Fish were being caught...just not by us.
The Rest of the Story:
We added my GPS Chartplotter and a new electric trolling motor to our arsenal. The chartplotter gave us Speed Over Ground in real time. We used this capability to calibrate the trolling motor so as to replicate the exact trolling speed that worked so well Wednesday.
Well...that was a little tough...the stiff winds made the bucket unnecessary. SturgeUrge was really working hard on the main Sacramento to troll a decent line with the winds quartering across the F/V SturgeUrge's bow.
There's a lot of moving parts when the wind blows. The math get s a little complex...wind speed and direction...tidal current...engine speed...windage.
We didn't get a bite, the ultimate clue that you're doin' it right.
Even with 1/3 the number of boats, these boaters wanted to run too tight to us...the ones that weren't busy tailgating us...
After three hours of beating, we opted to seek shelter and began fishing the Old Sacramento from the confluence to up past Vieira's. We had lunch, the fish still with the lockjaw...
We finally pulled the plug at 4:30. Back at the ramp the dock's gangplank was underwater and the wind was still whipping. SturgeUrge said the wading felt good.
We learned a bunch of things that will come in handy on other waters, and help us dial-in our Delta Salmon Attack.
The chartplotter has a beautiful sunlight viewable LCD screen that should be standard on all digital cameras.
Friday, September 28, 2012
Gone Fishing Again
Take Two!
SturgeUrge and I are heading back to Wednesday's "scene of the crime" to angle for more chinook salmon.
I grilled some of Urge's fish Thursday for dinner, and it was delicious.
We worked on the F/V SturgeUrge Thursday...we hoped to rewire the bow-mounted electric trolling motor...silent running and all...
Well the bow-mounted troller was too far gone...more than wiring...rust never sleeps as they say...
No worries, SturgeUrge had a spare in stock. This one is a portable Evinrude unit. Some squirts of BR50 penetrating oil, install on the kicker mount and we're good to go. We added another rod holder, this one center mounted so we can troll three rods comfortably on these Delta trips. It's going to come in handy on dungeness crab fishing adventures too...it's a perfect place to stow the gaff that we use to catch the crab trap floats, and the gaffman can stow the gaff right there without handing off to the skipper while hauling the trap line.
I finished the wiring for my GPS chartplotter Thursday after the SturgeUrge outfitting session. We're going to need the unit to calibrate our trolling speed when we run on electric power. It will come in handy come crab season too, it remembers exactly where we deploy every crab pot, and if the fog comes in, the chartplotter will lead us right to each pot, and back to the boat ramp too.
SturgeUrge and I are heading back to Wednesday's "scene of the crime" to angle for more chinook salmon.
I grilled some of Urge's fish Thursday for dinner, and it was delicious.
We worked on the F/V SturgeUrge Thursday...we hoped to rewire the bow-mounted electric trolling motor...silent running and all...
Well the bow-mounted troller was too far gone...more than wiring...rust never sleeps as they say...
No worries, SturgeUrge had a spare in stock. This one is a portable Evinrude unit. Some squirts of BR50 penetrating oil, install on the kicker mount and we're good to go. We added another rod holder, this one center mounted so we can troll three rods comfortably on these Delta trips. It's going to come in handy on dungeness crab fishing adventures too...it's a perfect place to stow the gaff that we use to catch the crab trap floats, and the gaffman can stow the gaff right there without handing off to the skipper while hauling the trap line.
I finished the wiring for my GPS chartplotter Thursday after the SturgeUrge outfitting session. We're going to need the unit to calibrate our trolling speed when we run on electric power. It will come in handy come crab season too, it remembers exactly where we deploy every crab pot, and if the fog comes in, the chartplotter will lead us right to each pot, and back to the boat ramp too.
Thursday, September 27, 2012
Salmon Fishing Report
Here's the fishing report I posted to my Club's Website:
Wednesday Rio Vista Salmon
We finally ditched California City and went the other way for a change. It worked!
We launched the F/V SturgeUrge at Vieira's Resort at 10AM and trolled down to the Sacramento main stem. I counted 45 boats at 10:30, and that didn't count those out of sight above Hidden Harbor. We'd seen one salmon boated on the Old Sacramento from the levee road before getting to Vieira's.
We turned downstream above Hidden Harbor and were trolling down the channel when my rod with the double chartreuse Silvertron went off. A coupled of head shakes, a couple of runs from boatside and a nice buck is in the net.
Woops, upon further investigation it was a Coho and back it went. The three athletic jumps should have clued me in...I'd estimate it at 7-8lbs
Well, at least we knew we were at the right place, at the right time, pulling the right hardware at the right speed!
On the next lap, in the same spot (off Ryer Island midway between the Old Sac and Steamboat Slough) My Silvertron did it's magic again, but it didn't stay on more than 30 seconds...I may have horsed it a little in the heat of the moment...
We made another lap and this time it's SturgeUrge's rod that goes off and his fish is head shaking harder, running harder and finally Sturge swims it into the net. Sturge was pulling a #5 silver Mepps.
This time it's the right kind, and it was 17-18lbs! It's still almost three hours to the top of the tide!
That was it for us, but we did see nets flying until 2PM, all in that same sweet spot, though closer to the eastern shore than we were running. I wouldn't say it was a hot bite, but after three fruitless trips to California City, it seemed like more than a scratch bite. All in all, we saw a solid half dozen fish boated.
I'm sure many were taken before we arrived on our Banker's Hours...
We're going back Friday. SturgeUrge's 18 pounder had the hooking jaw, and wasn't bright chrome, but the fillets are beautiful...krill-fed red. Yummy!
He he...
Giants looked good tonight beating the AZ Diamondbacks 6-0 behind another great start from Matt Cain Cain pitched 7 innings, gave up 4 hit, zero runs, walked one and struck out 6. Matt's now 16-5
Wednesday Rio Vista Salmon
We finally ditched California City and went the other way for a change. It worked!
We launched the F/V SturgeUrge at Vieira's Resort at 10AM and trolled down to the Sacramento main stem. I counted 45 boats at 10:30, and that didn't count those out of sight above Hidden Harbor. We'd seen one salmon boated on the Old Sacramento from the levee road before getting to Vieira's.
We turned downstream above Hidden Harbor and were trolling down the channel when my rod with the double chartreuse Silvertron went off. A coupled of head shakes, a couple of runs from boatside and a nice buck is in the net.
Woops, upon further investigation it was a Coho and back it went. The three athletic jumps should have clued me in...I'd estimate it at 7-8lbs
Well, at least we knew we were at the right place, at the right time, pulling the right hardware at the right speed!
On the next lap, in the same spot (off Ryer Island midway between the Old Sac and Steamboat Slough) My Silvertron did it's magic again, but it didn't stay on more than 30 seconds...I may have horsed it a little in the heat of the moment...
We made another lap and this time it's SturgeUrge's rod that goes off and his fish is head shaking harder, running harder and finally Sturge swims it into the net. Sturge was pulling a #5 silver Mepps.
This time it's the right kind, and it was 17-18lbs! It's still almost three hours to the top of the tide!
That was it for us, but we did see nets flying until 2PM, all in that same sweet spot, though closer to the eastern shore than we were running. I wouldn't say it was a hot bite, but after three fruitless trips to California City, it seemed like more than a scratch bite. All in all, we saw a solid half dozen fish boated.
I'm sure many were taken before we arrived on our Banker's Hours...
We're going back Friday. SturgeUrge's 18 pounder had the hooking jaw, and wasn't bright chrome, but the fillets are beautiful...krill-fed red. Yummy!
He he...
Giants looked good tonight beating the AZ Diamondbacks 6-0 behind another great start from Matt Cain Cain pitched 7 innings, gave up 4 hit, zero runs, walked one and struck out 6. Matt's now 16-5
Sunday, September 9, 2012
Tired
One long, long day today...I woke up at 4AM, and couldn't get back to sleep. The alarm was set for 5AM, and I was in the guest bedroom at the SturgeUrge Compound.
We were getting up at 0-Dark 30 because we scrubbed Thursday's trip at the last minute due to forecast winds and possible thunder and lightning. Early bird catches the worm and all aside, we wanted to hit "The Golden Hour" to troll California City for migrating King Salmon.
Why not fish the afternoon tide you ask? Because the winds really start cranking on San Francisco Bay in the afternoon. The windiest stretch of water is the last half mile, in the Richmond Harbor Channel, where we are making way abeam of the winds. It's wide open, and protected by a seawall, but it's shallow, so the groundswell is awful. Most afternoons we see a passel of windsurfers and kite boarders in there. If we're gonna get wet on the Bay, it's usually just before we sight the launch ramp in Richmond's marina!
So we went early, and got off the water just as the Giants lost to the Dodgers...3:30ish... The forecast wasn't spot on. The wind speed was in the ballpark, but the direction was 180° off!
On the water, with baits in the water two hours before we usually start, was an excellent start! We couldn't believe how "civil" conditions were. We trolled up and down the Tiburon coastline until noon...without so much as a nibble. By the time we trolled down Raccoon Straights and around Stuart Point to drift Angel Island for halibut, Cal City has amassed a small armada of like-minded sportsmen. A couple of dozen boats at the peak...and that doesn't count the sailboat regatta that we navigated through on or way back to Cal City!
We're starting to take this personal, this was our third Cal City Salmon try, and Plan B, drifting for halibut has been humbling this year as well. There is a bright side however...we actually saw a net fly! The Six-Pack Boat, Sundancer caught a salmon around 12:30 while we were having lunch while mooching for salmon back at Cal City...so, we know it can be done!
We learned one thing...early on the Bay...more places to play!
Good night, Formula One's Italian Grand Prix at Monza starts at 0430 Forza!
We were getting up at 0-Dark 30 because we scrubbed Thursday's trip at the last minute due to forecast winds and possible thunder and lightning. Early bird catches the worm and all aside, we wanted to hit "The Golden Hour" to troll California City for migrating King Salmon.
Why not fish the afternoon tide you ask? Because the winds really start cranking on San Francisco Bay in the afternoon. The windiest stretch of water is the last half mile, in the Richmond Harbor Channel, where we are making way abeam of the winds. It's wide open, and protected by a seawall, but it's shallow, so the groundswell is awful. Most afternoons we see a passel of windsurfers and kite boarders in there. If we're gonna get wet on the Bay, it's usually just before we sight the launch ramp in Richmond's marina!
So we went early, and got off the water just as the Giants lost to the Dodgers...3:30ish... The forecast wasn't spot on. The wind speed was in the ballpark, but the direction was 180° off!
On the water, with baits in the water two hours before we usually start, was an excellent start! We couldn't believe how "civil" conditions were. We trolled up and down the Tiburon coastline until noon...without so much as a nibble. By the time we trolled down Raccoon Straights and around Stuart Point to drift Angel Island for halibut, Cal City has amassed a small armada of like-minded sportsmen. A couple of dozen boats at the peak...and that doesn't count the sailboat regatta that we navigated through on or way back to Cal City!
We learned one thing...early on the Bay...more places to play!
Good night, Formula One's Italian Grand Prix at Monza starts at 0430 Forza!
Friday, August 24, 2012
Good Day
Well, SturgeUrge and I spent the afternoon on San Francisco Bay. The NWS missed the wind forecast a little, but not enough to matter in the Grand Scheme of Things.
We definitely punched in on Banker's Hours! Because of the salmon fishery we were targeting, our best shot at them wouldn't come until 3PM, two hours before High Tide. Traditionally you fish two hours before and two hours after the top of the tide and hope the fish come through. It's an interception fishery, and picking the right time to be in the right place isn't easy!
At least it's scenic! We didn't bother to depart the SturgeUrge Compound 'till 10AM! We missed the tail end of rush hour, and were drifting frozen anchovies for halibut by 11AM.
We're convinced now that the halibut have scarcely entered the San Francisco Bay system this year. Most of the creditable halibut catch reports have been from outside the Golden Gate. Some halibut are being taken from Tomales Bay, but that's a long trip when Dungeness Crab season is closed!
The halibut have been taken on the Marin Beaches, off San Francisco's Ocean Beach, off Santa Cruz and in Monterey Bay proper. In the Bay they've barely made it past Angel Island.
We threw in the halibut towel early, and mooched the Tiburon shoreline for salmon for an hour or two before deploying the downriggers and trolling for salmon in earnest.
Mooching was just a time-filler...a low kinetics pastime while we made lunch. I packed the usual lunch (after trying my failed solar BLT experiment on our last trip) Today's fare was honey ham and swiss on a Kaiser roll...dressed with red onion, and incredible heirloom tomato named Pineapple and sliced thick. Mayo, dijon and leaf lettuce.
Unfortunately, the sandwich was the highlight of the day.
We trolled until after 5:30PM and had the worst wind in the last mile back to the Richmond Marina boat ramp.
We had hoped to watch some America's Cup World Series racing, but the course was too far towards the Golden Gate for the F/V SturgeUrge.
I watched the replay of the racing after the Giants beat the Atlanta Braves. There was a huge spectator fleet watching the AC45s on the opposite side of Angel Island from where we were fishing. The announcers said the wind was 22 knots and the tidal current was another 2 knots. High overcast made for "flat light" too. All in all, a recipe for discomfort or worse in a 17ft outboard motorboat.
The America's Cup 45ft catamarans are blisteringly fast. The accelerate like a dragster (at least for a wind powered craft) These boats are light years away from the stately 12 Meter sloops that contested the Cup back in the 70s and 80s over the course of a couple of hours per match race.
Today's AC45s are like STAR WAS spacecraft compared to the 12 Meter boats. Scary fast, and racing on a tight course.
After this week's World Series wraps up, the teams will start putting their new 72ft catamarans through their paces on the Bay. They say the AC72s will make 46 knots!
That's 53 MPH in Old Money...talk about breath taking! Wow!
Heads Up! No salmon or halibut were harmed in the production of today's blog.
We definitely punched in on Banker's Hours! Because of the salmon fishery we were targeting, our best shot at them wouldn't come until 3PM, two hours before High Tide. Traditionally you fish two hours before and two hours after the top of the tide and hope the fish come through. It's an interception fishery, and picking the right time to be in the right place isn't easy!
At least it's scenic! We didn't bother to depart the SturgeUrge Compound 'till 10AM! We missed the tail end of rush hour, and were drifting frozen anchovies for halibut by 11AM.
We're convinced now that the halibut have scarcely entered the San Francisco Bay system this year. Most of the creditable halibut catch reports have been from outside the Golden Gate. Some halibut are being taken from Tomales Bay, but that's a long trip when Dungeness Crab season is closed!
The halibut have been taken on the Marin Beaches, off San Francisco's Ocean Beach, off Santa Cruz and in Monterey Bay proper. In the Bay they've barely made it past Angel Island.
We threw in the halibut towel early, and mooched the Tiburon shoreline for salmon for an hour or two before deploying the downriggers and trolling for salmon in earnest.
Mooching was just a time-filler...a low kinetics pastime while we made lunch. I packed the usual lunch (after trying my failed solar BLT experiment on our last trip) Today's fare was honey ham and swiss on a Kaiser roll...dressed with red onion, and incredible heirloom tomato named Pineapple and sliced thick. Mayo, dijon and leaf lettuce.
Unfortunately, the sandwich was the highlight of the day.
We trolled until after 5:30PM and had the worst wind in the last mile back to the Richmond Marina boat ramp.
We had hoped to watch some America's Cup World Series racing, but the course was too far towards the Golden Gate for the F/V SturgeUrge.
I watched the replay of the racing after the Giants beat the Atlanta Braves. There was a huge spectator fleet watching the AC45s on the opposite side of Angel Island from where we were fishing. The announcers said the wind was 22 knots and the tidal current was another 2 knots. High overcast made for "flat light" too. All in all, a recipe for discomfort or worse in a 17ft outboard motorboat.
The America's Cup 45ft catamarans are blisteringly fast. The accelerate like a dragster (at least for a wind powered craft) These boats are light years away from the stately 12 Meter sloops that contested the Cup back in the 70s and 80s over the course of a couple of hours per match race.
Today's AC45s are like STAR WAS spacecraft compared to the 12 Meter boats. Scary fast, and racing on a tight course.
After this week's World Series wraps up, the teams will start putting their new 72ft catamarans through their paces on the Bay. They say the AC72s will make 46 knots!
That's 53 MPH in Old Money...talk about breath taking! Wow!
Heads Up! No salmon or halibut were harmed in the production of today's blog.
Thursday, August 23, 2012
It's In the Air
When I crested the hill above Blue Canyon Monday, I could see the pall of smoke from the Chips Fire hanging to the North.
While not really watching "Mornings on 2" KTVU2's 7-9AM news, I caught a teaser citing this fire season as "the worst fire season since 2006" This evening I went to KTVU's site and found the story.
There's still a third of Fire Season ahead of us. Lightning strikes continue to bedevil fire crews up and down California, as well as the rest of the West. "While the number of fires is down from the 10-year average of 54,209 as of Aug. 22, the acreage was well above the average of 5.4 million acres, said Don Smurthwaite, a NIFC spokesman. "NIFC is the National Interagency Fire Center.
"Let's be careful out there" only goes so far...tonight I was enjoying the San Francisco Giants game on TV. They were playing the arch rival Los Angeles Dodgers in LA. You could see huge thunderheads growing east of the San Gabriels...just the kind that start lightning fires...
All this dry winter/bad fire season stuff reminded me to check on the ENSO discussion. Last month the Climate Prediction Center was saying an El Niño-style winter was likely...this month they say it's even money either way. I thought the El Niño call was a little premature because the Sea Surface Temperature Anomalies were way west...Mid-Pacific, not off coastal South/Central America. We'll see, most of the other temp cycles are still on their cold sides.
Oh yeah...the Giants swept the Dodgers...at their house! True, the Dodgers did it to us at our house last month...but we're Number One (for now)! We lead the NL West by 2 1/2 games.
Good night...SturgeUrge and I are gonna be on San Francisco Bay Thursday...Salmon and halibut are the quarry...America's Cup Racing is the distraction!
While not really watching "Mornings on 2" KTVU2's 7-9AM news, I caught a teaser citing this fire season as "the worst fire season since 2006" This evening I went to KTVU's site and found the story.
There's still a third of Fire Season ahead of us. Lightning strikes continue to bedevil fire crews up and down California, as well as the rest of the West. "While the number of fires is down from the 10-year average of 54,209 as of Aug. 22, the acreage was well above the average of 5.4 million acres, said Don Smurthwaite, a NIFC spokesman. "NIFC is the National Interagency Fire Center.
"Let's be careful out there" only goes so far...tonight I was enjoying the San Francisco Giants game on TV. They were playing the arch rival Los Angeles Dodgers in LA. You could see huge thunderheads growing east of the San Gabriels...just the kind that start lightning fires...
All this dry winter/bad fire season stuff reminded me to check on the ENSO discussion. Last month the Climate Prediction Center was saying an El Niño-style winter was likely...this month they say it's even money either way. I thought the El Niño call was a little premature because the Sea Surface Temperature Anomalies were way west...Mid-Pacific, not off coastal South/Central America. We'll see, most of the other temp cycles are still on their cold sides.
Oh yeah...the Giants swept the Dodgers...at their house! True, the Dodgers did it to us at our house last month...but we're Number One (for now)! We lead the NL West by 2 1/2 games.
Good night...SturgeUrge and I are gonna be on San Francisco Bay Thursday...Salmon and halibut are the quarry...America's Cup Racing is the distraction!
Thursday, July 12, 2012
No Rest For the Wicked
Not really a topical title, but it's all I've got this morning with a "Tired" nod to it. After a long hot day on San Francisco Bay, I couldn't forestall sleep long enough to pen my daily screed before sleep took me in it's heavenly embrace.
Halibut fishing stunk Wednesday...we had one raked bait with the telltale halibut teethmarks...
Spending the day boating on San Francisco Bay was awesome! We launched the F/V SturgeUrge from Richmond into calm winds and warm temperatures. Surprisingly, the only fog to be seen was south along the Golden Gate Bridge/Bay Bridge/Berkeley Pier corridor.
The forecast was for increasing winds as the Big Valley was forecast to endure the "hottest day of the year" Aside from the record tout, this is the standard forecast from May to October for San Francisco Bay, and it's a good halibut forecast in that the afternoon winds facilitate the last drift of the day, back to Richmond from the central Bay.
This week features the "best halibut tides of the year" as long as we're speaking in superlatives...a long incoming tide in the morning, in line with the prevailing winds, and a barely there afternoon tide swing. Halibut are ambush hunters, so-called "sight feeders", so small tide swings favor halibut by not stirring up the silt and lowering underwater visibility.
All of the halibut "conventional wisdom" goes out the window when the wind don't blow, and that was our problem Wednesday...we even trolled in an attempt to put our baits in front of a willing flatty or two...no such luck...and SturgeUrge is just "against trolling" in his DNA.
This has been a tough halibut season to figure out. There's been precious little in the way of halibut catch reports posted to my online fishing club. The scarce reports did begin on time, mid-March but these were all "skunk reports", that is all the details, but zero halibut taken. This too is par for the course for the early season.
Halibut season usually "turns on" mid-May, but the halibut reports didn't come. I attributed this dearth to the hot salmon bite since the salmon opener in mid-April. Since then, the salmon fishing has been limit-style fishing daily, with the size of the fish going up weekly. Conclusion? Halibut fishing is enjoying "lowered effort" in Fish and Game parlance...translated into plain English, nobody's halibut fishing because salmon fishing is as good as it's been in a decade!
The F/V SturgeUrge is a high-sided, deep-vee aluminum skiff of 17ft...at the bottom rung of Golden Gate Seaworthiness, discretion being the better part of honor, we've been unable to get out after the king salmon bonanza. SturgeUrge's boat is Pacific Ocean ready, but not through the Golden Gate. Bodega Bay, Santa Cruz, Half Moon Bay or Monterey launches all suit the boat, but these are long tows and the weather has been an issue for Bodega Bay.
We've been trying to get a Bodega Bay/Tomales Bay salmon/halibut/dungeness crab trip in since early June. It's been frustrating, the place didn't get the nickname "Blowdega" for nothing. Stiff NW winds and big swell have defined Bodega's waters for six weeks plus. Compounding our frustration, the only two day period when the winds laid down was the NASCAR weekend at Sears Point Raceway, which put a world-class traffic jam exactly in the middle of the Bodega tow that would catch us coming and going, adding an hour each way to our travel time.
SturgeUrge and I had plenty of time to muse about the halibut situation while said halibut weren't lighting up the festivities...we rehashed all the data, the fishing effort redirected to offshore pursuits, and how for three years running the tables were turned so halibut were hunted mercilessly when salmon seasons were closed to all angling. We averaged one halibut a trip one of those seasons ourselves!
There's one data point that sticks out for me...there have been reports of halibut catches outside of the Bay, usually a post salmon limit catch, by anglers trying to extend their day a little after "early limits". I wondered if this year's weak winter and snowpack have sent too little sweet water out of the Golden Gate to call in the halibut. I may have something there...or it could be that so far we've yet to have a perfect drift...where winds and tides combine to make a perfectly lifelike presentation to the wary halibut.
As SturgeUrge and I sped east across the Bay to set up for the last long drift over Southampton Shoal, we caught a glimpse of a harbor porpoise, only the second or third time we've seen the resurging little marine mammal. The harbor porpoise's return to the Bay is further proof that the Bay cleanup is paying dividends.
Halibut fishing stunk Wednesday...we had one raked bait with the telltale halibut teethmarks...
Spending the day boating on San Francisco Bay was awesome! We launched the F/V SturgeUrge from Richmond into calm winds and warm temperatures. Surprisingly, the only fog to be seen was south along the Golden Gate Bridge/Bay Bridge/Berkeley Pier corridor.
The forecast was for increasing winds as the Big Valley was forecast to endure the "hottest day of the year" Aside from the record tout, this is the standard forecast from May to October for San Francisco Bay, and it's a good halibut forecast in that the afternoon winds facilitate the last drift of the day, back to Richmond from the central Bay.
This week features the "best halibut tides of the year" as long as we're speaking in superlatives...a long incoming tide in the morning, in line with the prevailing winds, and a barely there afternoon tide swing. Halibut are ambush hunters, so-called "sight feeders", so small tide swings favor halibut by not stirring up the silt and lowering underwater visibility.
All of the halibut "conventional wisdom" goes out the window when the wind don't blow, and that was our problem Wednesday...we even trolled in an attempt to put our baits in front of a willing flatty or two...no such luck...and SturgeUrge is just "against trolling" in his DNA.
This has been a tough halibut season to figure out. There's been precious little in the way of halibut catch reports posted to my online fishing club. The scarce reports did begin on time, mid-March but these were all "skunk reports", that is all the details, but zero halibut taken. This too is par for the course for the early season.
Halibut season usually "turns on" mid-May, but the halibut reports didn't come. I attributed this dearth to the hot salmon bite since the salmon opener in mid-April. Since then, the salmon fishing has been limit-style fishing daily, with the size of the fish going up weekly. Conclusion? Halibut fishing is enjoying "lowered effort" in Fish and Game parlance...translated into plain English, nobody's halibut fishing because salmon fishing is as good as it's been in a decade!
The F/V SturgeUrge is a high-sided, deep-vee aluminum skiff of 17ft...at the bottom rung of Golden Gate Seaworthiness, discretion being the better part of honor, we've been unable to get out after the king salmon bonanza. SturgeUrge's boat is Pacific Ocean ready, but not through the Golden Gate. Bodega Bay, Santa Cruz, Half Moon Bay or Monterey launches all suit the boat, but these are long tows and the weather has been an issue for Bodega Bay.
We've been trying to get a Bodega Bay/Tomales Bay salmon/halibut/dungeness crab trip in since early June. It's been frustrating, the place didn't get the nickname "Blowdega" for nothing. Stiff NW winds and big swell have defined Bodega's waters for six weeks plus. Compounding our frustration, the only two day period when the winds laid down was the NASCAR weekend at Sears Point Raceway, which put a world-class traffic jam exactly in the middle of the Bodega tow that would catch us coming and going, adding an hour each way to our travel time.
SturgeUrge and I had plenty of time to muse about the halibut situation while said halibut weren't lighting up the festivities...we rehashed all the data, the fishing effort redirected to offshore pursuits, and how for three years running the tables were turned so halibut were hunted mercilessly when salmon seasons were closed to all angling. We averaged one halibut a trip one of those seasons ourselves!
There's one data point that sticks out for me...there have been reports of halibut catches outside of the Bay, usually a post salmon limit catch, by anglers trying to extend their day a little after "early limits". I wondered if this year's weak winter and snowpack have sent too little sweet water out of the Golden Gate to call in the halibut. I may have something there...or it could be that so far we've yet to have a perfect drift...where winds and tides combine to make a perfectly lifelike presentation to the wary halibut.
As SturgeUrge and I sped east across the Bay to set up for the last long drift over Southampton Shoal, we caught a glimpse of a harbor porpoise, only the second or third time we've seen the resurging little marine mammal. The harbor porpoise's return to the Bay is further proof that the Bay cleanup is paying dividends.
Sunday, June 17, 2012
Father's Day Blast Again
While watching Matt Cain's perfect game with the San Francisco Giants the other night, I wished my Dad was still here to watch it too...he would have eaten it up! I miss him, especially when it comes to our team, the San Francisco Giants.
Last year, my Father's Day Blast said it all:
Father's Day Blast
I'm not a father, I'm still a son, though my Dad's been gone for a few years now.
It's mid morning on Father's Day and I'm just now writing today's blog. On the docket for today are some To-Do List items that totally are Dad-Centric.
I'm still working on Dad's Roses. Fighting Rose Black Spot Fungus, and installing automated irrigation. Dad didn't really grow his green thumb until I was out of the house and making my own way. I always get a chuckle at how soon after I moved out Dad began to eliminate the lawns around the Ancestral Digs. Back when my precious "free time" was spent mowing those lawns, and I wasn't smart enough to suggest that the lawns be downsized. Who knew teenagers didn't know everything?
After lunch I have to call back to the Port of Sonoma Bait Shop for some intel on the new boat ramp we want to launch the FV SturgeUrge from Monday. The San Pablo Bay sturgeon are on the chew, and we'd like to get in on that action. Then I'll put all the pieces together on the extra fuel tank for the FV SturgeUrge. After lunch, I'll watch game three of the Bay Bridge Series with my SF Giants vs the Oakland A's
All these thing I owe to Dad...my love of fishing and baseball, my handyman talents, green thumbs...all of it. Though our paths through these passions were totally divergent, at the times when I'm lucky enough to indulge these passions, I know it's with my Dad's blessings and nurturing that I'm out there pursuing happiness via these things he gave me.
You know, SturgeUrge and I are a little slow on the uptake this season San Francisco Bay Fishing-wise. When we do get on the Bay to chase the tasty California Halibut, the waters we ply in search of our tasty quarry are the very same waters that my Dad spent many afternoons deck-handing on a commercial salmon fishing boat.
Back in the late 30's Dad would ditch high school after lunch and crew for a salmon long liner on San Francisco and San Pablo Bays. His job was to cut up big sardines for bait, hook the chunks, and feed the baited hooks over the side as the skipper slowly motored north from the Tiburon Peninsula up into San Pablo Bay off China Camp. When the whole mile or so of long line was set, the two of them would eat lunch and then motor back to the beginning of the line and retrieve it with any salmon who fell for their ruse. I guess they made two sets before they called it a day.
Seventy years later Dad's son is out fishing on the same waters, though I've yet to hook a salmon in those waters! Commercial salmon fishing is outlawed inside the Bay now, and has been my whole life. Halibut are still fished commercially by a few die hard trollers on the Bay.
Sport fishing is still alive and well on the Bay thankfully, and every time I'm out there I marvel on how successful our cleanup of the Bay has been. When I was a kid, fishing off the Berkeley Pier with my Dad and SisterSweetly, the Bay was an open sewer...literally...we never kept a fish for the table...today it's called "Catch and Release", back in the day it was "Good Hygiene"
Today after 40+ years of environmentally sound stewardship, San Francisco Bay is a lot more like a Wildlife Reserve than a cesspool. I'm always amazed by the sweet smell and the abundance of life. In the past few years, Harbor Porpoises have been returning to the bay waters in numbers large enough to study.
In his way my Dad helped clean up the Bay. Dad was a civil engineer. His company designed many of the sewage treatment plants around San Francisco Bay that cleaned up the sewage that used to flow untreated into the Bay.
Thanks Dad! Happy Father's Day!
Last year, my Father's Day Blast said it all:
Father's Day Blast
I'm not a father, I'm still a son, though my Dad's been gone for a few years now.
It's mid morning on Father's Day and I'm just now writing today's blog. On the docket for today are some To-Do List items that totally are Dad-Centric.
I'm still working on Dad's Roses. Fighting Rose Black Spot Fungus, and installing automated irrigation. Dad didn't really grow his green thumb until I was out of the house and making my own way. I always get a chuckle at how soon after I moved out Dad began to eliminate the lawns around the Ancestral Digs. Back when my precious "free time" was spent mowing those lawns, and I wasn't smart enough to suggest that the lawns be downsized. Who knew teenagers didn't know everything?
After lunch I have to call back to the Port of Sonoma Bait Shop for some intel on the new boat ramp we want to launch the FV SturgeUrge from Monday. The San Pablo Bay sturgeon are on the chew, and we'd like to get in on that action. Then I'll put all the pieces together on the extra fuel tank for the FV SturgeUrge. After lunch, I'll watch game three of the Bay Bridge Series with my SF Giants vs the Oakland A's
All these thing I owe to Dad...my love of fishing and baseball, my handyman talents, green thumbs...all of it. Though our paths through these passions were totally divergent, at the times when I'm lucky enough to indulge these passions, I know it's with my Dad's blessings and nurturing that I'm out there pursuing happiness via these things he gave me.
You know, SturgeUrge and I are a little slow on the uptake this season San Francisco Bay Fishing-wise. When we do get on the Bay to chase the tasty California Halibut, the waters we ply in search of our tasty quarry are the very same waters that my Dad spent many afternoons deck-handing on a commercial salmon fishing boat.
Back in the late 30's Dad would ditch high school after lunch and crew for a salmon long liner on San Francisco and San Pablo Bays. His job was to cut up big sardines for bait, hook the chunks, and feed the baited hooks over the side as the skipper slowly motored north from the Tiburon Peninsula up into San Pablo Bay off China Camp. When the whole mile or so of long line was set, the two of them would eat lunch and then motor back to the beginning of the line and retrieve it with any salmon who fell for their ruse. I guess they made two sets before they called it a day.
Seventy years later Dad's son is out fishing on the same waters, though I've yet to hook a salmon in those waters! Commercial salmon fishing is outlawed inside the Bay now, and has been my whole life. Halibut are still fished commercially by a few die hard trollers on the Bay.
Sport fishing is still alive and well on the Bay thankfully, and every time I'm out there I marvel on how successful our cleanup of the Bay has been. When I was a kid, fishing off the Berkeley Pier with my Dad and SisterSweetly, the Bay was an open sewer...literally...we never kept a fish for the table...today it's called "Catch and Release", back in the day it was "Good Hygiene"
Today after 40+ years of environmentally sound stewardship, San Francisco Bay is a lot more like a Wildlife Reserve than a cesspool. I'm always amazed by the sweet smell and the abundance of life. In the past few years, Harbor Porpoises have been returning to the bay waters in numbers large enough to study.
In his way my Dad helped clean up the Bay. Dad was a civil engineer. His company designed many of the sewage treatment plants around San Francisco Bay that cleaned up the sewage that used to flow untreated into the Bay.
Thanks Dad! Happy Father's Day!
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Knocked Out!
That's what this cold did this weekend. It knocked me out...Late Saturday night I played fast and loose with bedtime to watch the rain-delayed Malaysian Grand Prix (and was rewarded with a bang-up race). I went to sleep at 4AM...and slept right through IndyCar's opener from St Petersberg, FL, and the NASCAR race from SoCal.
Darn thing is, now I'm sleeping from 2AM to 2PM in round numbers...the weather isn't helping either...a new March Miracle is tryin' to get born. Sunday (or was it Monday?) it rained more than 8 inches up in Marin county. I think we got 2-3 inches in the Inland Valley from that wave, and another inch or two today. Rain Wednesday, and more for the weekend.
It's been tough being sick and trying not to infect the rest of the family. Sister K started a new job Monday, and I wanted to cook dinner so she wouldn't have to, but I didn't dare to until Tuesday. I did a baked chicken dish with rice. I announced that dinner was ready, but everyone has to serve themselves, 'cause I don't want to give you my cold...oh, and there's salad in the refrigerator...
SturgeUrge phoned and we caught up. Salmon season opens April 7th, and we haven't been crab fishing since before Thanksgiving. This week's rains should flush the crab out of the bays, and back into our evil clutches!
We're trying to get a trip to Richmond in to tour the USS Iowa, but dodging these rainstorms makes it tough to visit the battleship because it's only open Saturdays and Sundays. They're painting the Iowa now, and servicing the hull and decks before she moves south to Los Angeles Harbor.
Darn thing is, now I'm sleeping from 2AM to 2PM in round numbers...the weather isn't helping either...a new March Miracle is tryin' to get born. Sunday (or was it Monday?) it rained more than 8 inches up in Marin county. I think we got 2-3 inches in the Inland Valley from that wave, and another inch or two today. Rain Wednesday, and more for the weekend.
It's been tough being sick and trying not to infect the rest of the family. Sister K started a new job Monday, and I wanted to cook dinner so she wouldn't have to, but I didn't dare to until Tuesday. I did a baked chicken dish with rice. I announced that dinner was ready, but everyone has to serve themselves, 'cause I don't want to give you my cold...oh, and there's salad in the refrigerator...
SturgeUrge phoned and we caught up. Salmon season opens April 7th, and we haven't been crab fishing since before Thanksgiving. This week's rains should flush the crab out of the bays, and back into our evil clutches!
 |
| Looking south from Richmond berth. Click for larger view. |
Friday, February 17, 2012
Comfort Food
I finally touched bases with SturgeUrge tonight. We (I should say he) barbequed dinner tonight.
Recently SturgeUrge was the lucky recipient of an antique Komodo Kamado BBQ. This Japanese BBQ was the model for the more widely known "Big Green Egg" BBQ. Urge thinks this one is 50-60 years old.
It does a great job making juicy treats of everyday meat and poultry. (SturgeUrge hasn't cooked any seafood in it yet)
Urge cooked excellent pork loin chops, and some chicken breasts that I had in stock. They needed to be cooked because they've been hanging in the reefer since last Friday! I used half of the tray Monday in stir-fry, and the family has been chowing on leftovers all week!
While SturgeUrge handled the flesh cooking, I made the vegetable course. I made Garlic-ey Baby Bok Choi with Shitake Mushrooms.
On my way across the Big Valley Monday, I stopped in Vacaville at my favorite Asian market, Country Square Market. It's the last of (I think) three stores. Last summer the store two towns away from the Ancestral Digs closed their doors when their landlord doubled the rent with 30 days notice...I stocked up at close-out prices, but their produce and seafood offerings are sorely missed. None of the remaining Asian markets in the Inland Valley have baby bok choi as "baby" as Country Square...try three timed taller! These little babies are just an inch and a half tall...two inches tops! I end up cutting barely half of a tray in half before cooking!
Dinner was a hit! The Kamodo pork chops were perfect, and my bok choi was awesome too!
The main course was planning our next dungeness crab trip. The tide calendar says not this week...next week SturgeUrge is spending his week at Tahoe. We're hoping to get a day of ice fishing in, but there better be a cold snap first.
I reconnoitered Boca Reservoir before I came off the hill, and the ice is too rotten and thin to fish through. The forecast isn't promising either.
I will be grabbing some more baby bok choi on my way back up the hill...ice fishing my have to wait...Ocean Salmon is still two months away...
Another crab trip is definitely in order!
Recently SturgeUrge was the lucky recipient of an antique Komodo Kamado BBQ. This Japanese BBQ was the model for the more widely known "Big Green Egg" BBQ. Urge thinks this one is 50-60 years old.
It does a great job making juicy treats of everyday meat and poultry. (SturgeUrge hasn't cooked any seafood in it yet)
Urge cooked excellent pork loin chops, and some chicken breasts that I had in stock. They needed to be cooked because they've been hanging in the reefer since last Friday! I used half of the tray Monday in stir-fry, and the family has been chowing on leftovers all week!
While SturgeUrge handled the flesh cooking, I made the vegetable course. I made Garlic-ey Baby Bok Choi with Shitake Mushrooms.
On my way across the Big Valley Monday, I stopped in Vacaville at my favorite Asian market, Country Square Market. It's the last of (I think) three stores. Last summer the store two towns away from the Ancestral Digs closed their doors when their landlord doubled the rent with 30 days notice...I stocked up at close-out prices, but their produce and seafood offerings are sorely missed. None of the remaining Asian markets in the Inland Valley have baby bok choi as "baby" as Country Square...try three timed taller! These little babies are just an inch and a half tall...two inches tops! I end up cutting barely half of a tray in half before cooking!
Dinner was a hit! The Kamodo pork chops were perfect, and my bok choi was awesome too!
The main course was planning our next dungeness crab trip. The tide calendar says not this week...next week SturgeUrge is spending his week at Tahoe. We're hoping to get a day of ice fishing in, but there better be a cold snap first.
I reconnoitered Boca Reservoir before I came off the hill, and the ice is too rotten and thin to fish through. The forecast isn't promising either.
I will be grabbing some more baby bok choi on my way back up the hill...ice fishing my have to wait...Ocean Salmon is still two months away...
Another crab trip is definitely in order!
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Chillin' Again
A friend of mine is an award winning home winemaker. He spent Wednesday evening harvesting his Tempranillo and making wine. He answered my question from a month or so ago: "Yes, the crush is late this year" I checked the forecast...
We're warming this week after a couple of cool days...not a lot of heat to ripen the grapes, though afternoon highs will start to rise now.
While I was dodging thundershowers in Truckee last weekend, it was baking the vineyards in the Napa Valley. I've been down here for four days now, and while catching both noon and primetime newscasts, there hasn't been a single story on this year's crush...
Meanwhile out on the Pacific, things are also a little behind. Members of my online fishing club have just started to chase albacore tuna...most of which are 50-60 miles offshore. This fishery usually begins in mid to late July.
Nearshore waters are a little cooler than usual, consequently the Chinook Salmon are taking their sweet time to move into coastal waters before they push into sweet water for their bash and crash to spawn in their ancestral nursery streams.
Like the salmon swimming upstream, I'm making my annual trip to the Reno Air Races where I expect to see the first Autumnal Light in the High Desert sky...and the "World's Fastest Motorsport"!
NOAA's Climate Prediction Center issued their 90-Day Outlook Discussion today. La Niña is back friends and neighbors. I don't find this surprising given that we've just logged our eighth month in a row of below average temperatures here in Central California!
Pity the Southwest and Southeast. La Niña means their drought and above normal temps will continue.
Looking for the "Silver Lining", Northern Tier states will enjoy good Snowmaking Weather...perhaps a little earlier than usual.
We're warming this week after a couple of cool days...not a lot of heat to ripen the grapes, though afternoon highs will start to rise now.
 |
| Forecast matrix for September 15, 2011 |
Meanwhile out on the Pacific, things are also a little behind. Members of my online fishing club have just started to chase albacore tuna...most of which are 50-60 miles offshore. This fishery usually begins in mid to late July.
Nearshore waters are a little cooler than usual, consequently the Chinook Salmon are taking their sweet time to move into coastal waters before they push into sweet water for their bash and crash to spawn in their ancestral nursery streams.
Like the salmon swimming upstream, I'm making my annual trip to the Reno Air Races where I expect to see the first Autumnal Light in the High Desert sky...and the "World's Fastest Motorsport"!
NOAA's Climate Prediction Center issued their 90-Day Outlook Discussion today. La Niña is back friends and neighbors. I don't find this surprising given that we've just logged our eighth month in a row of below average temperatures here in Central California!
Pity the Southwest and Southeast. La Niña means their drought and above normal temps will continue.
Looking for the "Silver Lining", Northern Tier states will enjoy good Snowmaking Weather...perhaps a little earlier than usual.
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Father's Day Blast
I'm not a father, I'm still a son, though my Dad's been gone for a few years now.
It's mid morning on Father's Day and I'm just now writing today's blog. On the docket for today are some To-Do List items that totally are Dad-Centric.
I'm still working on Dad's Roses. Fighting Rose Black Spot Fungus, and installing automated irrigation. Dad didn't really grow his green thumb until I was out of the house and making my own way. I always get a chuckle at how soon after I moved out Dad began to eliminate the lawns around the Ancestral Digs. Back when my precious "free time" was spent mowing those lawns, and I wasn't smart enough to suggest that the lawns be downsized. Who knew teenagers didn't know everything?
After lunch I have to call back to the Port of Sonoma Bait Shop for some intel on the new boat ramp we want to launch the FV SturgeUrge from Monday. The San Pablo Bay sturgeon are on the chew, and we'd like to get in on that action. Then I'll put all the pieces together on the extra fuel tank for the FV SturgeUrge. After lunch, I'll watch game three of the Bay Bridge Series with my SF Giants vs the Oakland A's
All these thing I owe to Dad...my love of fishing and baseball, my handyman talents, green thumbs...all of it. Though our paths through these passions were totally divergent, at the times when I'm lucky enough to indulge these passions, I know it's with my Dad's blessings and nurturing that I'm out there pursuing happiness via these things he gave me.
You know, SturgeUrge and I are a little slow on the uptake this season San Francisco Bay Fishing-wise. When we do get on the Bay to chase the tasty California Halibut, the waters we ply in search of our tasty quarry are the very same waters that my Dad spent many afternoons deck-handing on a commercial salmon fishing boat.
Back in the late 30's Dad would ditch high school after lunch and crew for a salmon long liner on San Francisco and San Pablo Bays. His job was to cut up big sardines for bait, hook the chunks, and feed the baited hooks over the side as the skipper slowly motored north from the Tiburon Peninsula up into San Pablo Bay off China Camp. When the whole mile or so of long line was set, the two of them would eat lunch and then motor back to the beginning of the line and retrieve it with any salmon who fell for their ruse. I guess they made two sets before they called it a day.
Seventy years later Dad's son is out fishing on the same waters, though I've yet to hook a salmon in those waters! Commercial salmon fishing is outlawed inside the Bay now, and has been my whole life. Halibut are still fished commercially by a few die hard trollers on the Bay.
Sport fishing is still alive and well on the Bay thankfully, and every time I'm out there I marvel on how successful our cleanup of the Bay has been. When I was a kid, fishing off the Berkeley Pier with my Dad and SisterSweetly, the Bay was an open sewer...literally...we never kept a fish for the table...today it's called "Catch and Release", back in the day it was "Good Hygiene"
Today after 40+ years of environmentally sound stewardship, San Francisco Bay is a lot more like a Wildlife Reserve than a cesspool. I'm always amazed by the sweet smell and the abundance of life. In the past few years, Harbor Porpoises have been returning to the bay waters in numbers large enough to study.
In his way my Dad helped clean up the Bay. Dad was a civil engineer. His company designed many of the sewage treatment plants around San Francisco Bay that cleaned up the sewage that used to flow untreated into the Bay.
Thanks Dad! Happy Father's Day!
It's mid morning on Father's Day and I'm just now writing today's blog. On the docket for today are some To-Do List items that totally are Dad-Centric.
I'm still working on Dad's Roses. Fighting Rose Black Spot Fungus, and installing automated irrigation. Dad didn't really grow his green thumb until I was out of the house and making my own way. I always get a chuckle at how soon after I moved out Dad began to eliminate the lawns around the Ancestral Digs. Back when my precious "free time" was spent mowing those lawns, and I wasn't smart enough to suggest that the lawns be downsized. Who knew teenagers didn't know everything?
After lunch I have to call back to the Port of Sonoma Bait Shop for some intel on the new boat ramp we want to launch the FV SturgeUrge from Monday. The San Pablo Bay sturgeon are on the chew, and we'd like to get in on that action. Then I'll put all the pieces together on the extra fuel tank for the FV SturgeUrge. After lunch, I'll watch game three of the Bay Bridge Series with my SF Giants vs the Oakland A's
All these thing I owe to Dad...my love of fishing and baseball, my handyman talents, green thumbs...all of it. Though our paths through these passions were totally divergent, at the times when I'm lucky enough to indulge these passions, I know it's with my Dad's blessings and nurturing that I'm out there pursuing happiness via these things he gave me.
You know, SturgeUrge and I are a little slow on the uptake this season San Francisco Bay Fishing-wise. When we do get on the Bay to chase the tasty California Halibut, the waters we ply in search of our tasty quarry are the very same waters that my Dad spent many afternoons deck-handing on a commercial salmon fishing boat.
Back in the late 30's Dad would ditch high school after lunch and crew for a salmon long liner on San Francisco and San Pablo Bays. His job was to cut up big sardines for bait, hook the chunks, and feed the baited hooks over the side as the skipper slowly motored north from the Tiburon Peninsula up into San Pablo Bay off China Camp. When the whole mile or so of long line was set, the two of them would eat lunch and then motor back to the beginning of the line and retrieve it with any salmon who fell for their ruse. I guess they made two sets before they called it a day.
Seventy years later Dad's son is out fishing on the same waters, though I've yet to hook a salmon in those waters! Commercial salmon fishing is outlawed inside the Bay now, and has been my whole life. Halibut are still fished commercially by a few die hard trollers on the Bay.
Sport fishing is still alive and well on the Bay thankfully, and every time I'm out there I marvel on how successful our cleanup of the Bay has been. When I was a kid, fishing off the Berkeley Pier with my Dad and SisterSweetly, the Bay was an open sewer...literally...we never kept a fish for the table...today it's called "Catch and Release", back in the day it was "Good Hygiene"
Today after 40+ years of environmentally sound stewardship, San Francisco Bay is a lot more like a Wildlife Reserve than a cesspool. I'm always amazed by the sweet smell and the abundance of life. In the past few years, Harbor Porpoises have been returning to the bay waters in numbers large enough to study.
In his way my Dad helped clean up the Bay. Dad was a civil engineer. His company designed many of the sewage treatment plants around San Francisco Bay that cleaned up the sewage that used to flow untreated into the Bay.
Thanks Dad! Happy Father's Day!
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
And So It Begins Again
OK, I've got a four day weekend this week. Then three shifts and that's it for the 2010/2011 season.
I've decided to play with fire, in that I'm not trying to stay up this weekend...instead I'm thinking I'll get a jump on resetting my BodyClock...and pay the price on my first shift back.
I have a grab bag of thoughts on the past few days and nights.
The wind Monday was ferocious...it was snowing up top. I ran into long-time Donner Summit Legend Norm Saylor at the grocery store and said: "A great day to get off the Summit, eh Norm?" Norm shot back: "This has been a tough one, I don't care if it doesn't snow again until December!"
I was stirring yesterday, and ran into Mrs Landlord on the front deck. She told a story of the previous evening when she came outside to get an armful of firewood. She opened her front door, and there, five feet away was a smallish bear sitting on the deck railing looking for the suet cage! Mrs Landlord couldn't say who was the most startled...little bear bolted across the deck and off into the night. Now the suet comes in at sundown!
It's been a couple of weeks since I heard a cheeseburger bird call...
Closing my 15 year old primary email account and migrating to a new address, notifying all my contacts, and updating myriad website profiles is exhausting...and I'm only about 40% done with the ordeal so far...
Sierra Stream Trout Season opens this weekend...it's gonna be a blow-out...temps are forecast to rise as the weekend nears...the melt is already in full swing, and the high in Truckee was only in the mid 40's Tuesday afternoon.
Man, am I ever looking forward to doing some Ocean Salmon Fishing!
NASA's Space Shuttle blasts into space Friday afternoon..it's the last one...gonna be bittersweet for sure...
I've decided to play with fire, in that I'm not trying to stay up this weekend...instead I'm thinking I'll get a jump on resetting my BodyClock...and pay the price on my first shift back.
I have a grab bag of thoughts on the past few days and nights.
The wind Monday was ferocious...it was snowing up top. I ran into long-time Donner Summit Legend Norm Saylor at the grocery store and said: "A great day to get off the Summit, eh Norm?" Norm shot back: "This has been a tough one, I don't care if it doesn't snow again until December!"
I was stirring yesterday, and ran into Mrs Landlord on the front deck. She told a story of the previous evening when she came outside to get an armful of firewood. She opened her front door, and there, five feet away was a smallish bear sitting on the deck railing looking for the suet cage! Mrs Landlord couldn't say who was the most startled...little bear bolted across the deck and off into the night. Now the suet comes in at sundown!
It's been a couple of weeks since I heard a cheeseburger bird call...
Closing my 15 year old primary email account and migrating to a new address, notifying all my contacts, and updating myriad website profiles is exhausting...and I'm only about 40% done with the ordeal so far...
Sierra Stream Trout Season opens this weekend...it's gonna be a blow-out...temps are forecast to rise as the weekend nears...the melt is already in full swing, and the high in Truckee was only in the mid 40's Tuesday afternoon.
Man, am I ever looking forward to doing some Ocean Salmon Fishing!
NASA's Space Shuttle blasts into space Friday afternoon..it's the last one...gonna be bittersweet for sure...
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Brewing
Oh man, I'm still awake...things are bubbling through my brain, so much that I can't get to sleep...
Baseball season is almost here...30 hours left in March...America's Cup Regatta News every day...Salmon Season opens Saturday...10 days of parties and events to lead into the AMGEN Tour of California Pro Bicycle Race in May...Stage 2 comes past the DaveCave and right into my wheelhouse!
I've been getting emails from BajaBabe, she's doing a Big Spring Road Trip that'll put her in Truckee for a few days centered on the Bike Race...cool!
This distributor R&R is like pulling teeth! At every step along the way, I encounter another diabolical hassle courtesy of GM's finest engineering...Grrrr...
More woodpeckers at Mrs Landlord's feeder again today...White Headed Woodpecker, and what I've been calling a "Big Flicker" may in fact be a Gila Woodpecker, and what I first believed to be an Acorn Woodpecker may actually be a Ladder-Backed Woodpecker or a Nuttall's Woodpecker...I'll keep after it until I make a positive ID.
The first time around, I fell asleep during both Open Wheel Races Sunday after work...the IndyCar Race on the streets of St Petersberg, Florida, and the Australian GP.
The F1 rules have changed big time again this season...new tires (Pirelli), new aero rules, KERS is back, the front wings are fixed, and the rear wing is driver adjustable during the race now!
Thanks to the miracle of DVRs, I caught up with the races, and especially the evolving tech that keeps F1 at the forefront of motor racing technology...as a German Engineer's Kid, I'm helpless to resist this stuff...this year the teams are routing the exhaust to the front of the cars to increase the volume of air under the cars to increase downforce and cornering speed.
KERS the Kinetic Energy Recovery System wasn't pivotal Sunday...we'll see how it tips the balance when the F1 Circus visits some of the tighter tracks this summer in Europe...Melbourne's street circuit is fairly fast...the Pole Winning lap averaged more than 142 MPH. I can't wait to see what KERS will do at Monaco on Memorial Day Weekend!
Baseball season is almost here...30 hours left in March...America's Cup Regatta News every day...Salmon Season opens Saturday...10 days of parties and events to lead into the AMGEN Tour of California Pro Bicycle Race in May...Stage 2 comes past the DaveCave and right into my wheelhouse!
I've been getting emails from BajaBabe, she's doing a Big Spring Road Trip that'll put her in Truckee for a few days centered on the Bike Race...cool!
This distributor R&R is like pulling teeth! At every step along the way, I encounter another diabolical hassle courtesy of GM's finest engineering...Grrrr...
More woodpeckers at Mrs Landlord's feeder again today...White Headed Woodpecker, and what I've been calling a "Big Flicker" may in fact be a Gila Woodpecker, and what I first believed to be an Acorn Woodpecker may actually be a Ladder-Backed Woodpecker or a Nuttall's Woodpecker...I'll keep after it until I make a positive ID.
The first time around, I fell asleep during both Open Wheel Races Sunday after work...the IndyCar Race on the streets of St Petersberg, Florida, and the Australian GP.
The F1 rules have changed big time again this season...new tires (Pirelli), new aero rules, KERS is back, the front wings are fixed, and the rear wing is driver adjustable during the race now!
Thanks to the miracle of DVRs, I caught up with the races, and especially the evolving tech that keeps F1 at the forefront of motor racing technology...as a German Engineer's Kid, I'm helpless to resist this stuff...this year the teams are routing the exhaust to the front of the cars to increase the volume of air under the cars to increase downforce and cornering speed.
KERS the Kinetic Energy Recovery System wasn't pivotal Sunday...we'll see how it tips the balance when the F1 Circus visits some of the tighter tracks this summer in Europe...Melbourne's street circuit is fairly fast...the Pole Winning lap averaged more than 142 MPH. I can't wait to see what KERS will do at Monaco on Memorial Day Weekend!
Thursday, June 17, 2010
One More Train Wreck
This time it's me!
I guess our Magical Misery Tour took more out of me than I thought. I was happy as a clam to take the accidental nap at 9PM...and happy to wake up, knock out the dishes and hit the hay at 11:30
This morning I woke to the 0600 alarm, turned it off, stretched and smiled, and then actually woke up at 0830. Now at 0900, I'm still feeling weary. Perhaps it's the reading material I digested before bed last night.
Last night I read several pundits' opinions on President Obama's Oval Office Speech on the BP Gulf Oil Spill. Pundits from both sides of the aisle ripped the President for the slothful Federal response to the disaster. There's plenty of blame for everyone involved.
Why are we drilling a mile deep in sensitive Gulf waters? Because since the 1969 Santa Barbara Blowout and Spill, the Federal Government has put more and more land and shallow water oil deposits Off Limits. I guess the thinking is: This will save sensitive eyes from seeing oil production (like keeping slaughter houses out of sight, out of mind) and as an added bonus, these regulations will drive the price of oil and transportation fuels high enough to give Alternative Energy a Leg Up.
Our last eight Presidents have all speechified about American Energy Independence and moving to Alternative Energy. Congress has authorized Billions in subsidies and research. President Obama didn't miss his opportunity Tuesday night to use the Gulf Oil Disaster to segue into his thoughts on Energy Independence, Alternatives to petroleum, Climate Change, and Green Jobs. He said we're running out of places to drill.
Not to put too fine a point on it but...the truth is we're running out of places to drill for oil that the Federal Government allows oil drilling. Worldwide, there isn't anywhere that a hole drilled for oil isn't first regulated and taxed by a Government Entity...it's been this way for most a Century!
Do you know that the USA is the World's Third Largest Oil Producer after Saudi Arabia #1, and Russia #2? This fact seems to be a "dirty little secret" given the relentless meme that we're running out of oil worldwide. There's more proven reserves worldwide than at any time in history! You never hear that on the Evening News! The drumbeat says: we're running out of oil, and we will replace it with Wind, Solar, and BioFuels.
No wonder I'm weary! What about Nuclear Energy? France makes most of their electricity with their Nuclear Powerplants. They reprocess their spent nuclear fuel which is against Federal Regulations here in America. In 1977, President Carter banned the Commercial Reprocessing of Spent Nuclear Fuel in America. In 1981, President Reagan lifted the ban, but Congress failed to appropriate the funds to start the industrial reprocessing industry.
Reprocessing is a synonym of Recycling. This year we celebrated the 40th Anniversary of Earth Day...I made it a point to watch the News Coverage on TV...lots of recycling stories...no reprocessing stories...
What of Solar Power? There's a battle brewing to stop a huge Commercial Solar Power Station in the Mojave Desert. Environmentalists don't favor the Transmission Lines needed to bring the Green Megawatts to population centers.
Wind Power? No, it kills migrating birds.
A large scale Windpower Project off Cape Cod is suffering another fate...NIMBY, Not In My Back Yard!
How about HydroPower? Save the fish. (I'm on board with this one...I like fish, and I dislike Waterskiing/HydroPower Reservoirs more than I like Wild Rivers and Wild Salmon!)
Natural Gas? See Petroleum Regs...
No wonder I'm weary...
Thursday, April 8, 2010
The Other Opening Day
That would be the Salmon Season off California's Coast. Saturday April 3rd was the Opener...the first after California endured a closed season in 2008,and a barely open, truncated season in 2009.
Judging from internet reports, it was a rough one. Most who ventured out turned around and sought shelter inshore. Some salmon were caught out of Santa Cruz, Monterey, and Half Moon Bay. The further North the bigger the swell. Outside the Golden Gate, seas were 15-20ft at 15 seconds...that's a roller coaster! Mal de Mer guaranteed! No thanks!
SturgeUrge and I plan on fishing next Monday...provided the fleet find the fish first! We'll be watching the buoy reports too...we're too soft for big swells!
Looking ahead to the Long Range Models, we might be in for some weather Monday. The Monterey/San Francisco Marine AFD doesn't mention Swells, but it does allow that wind will be ramping up along with the chances of precipitation...wind is the engine that drives swell formation...stay tuned.
About Last Night
My Monday was kinda rough...even though I slept through the Giants game, I didn't log enough winks, so I did some suffering. The snow was good, and we had a good crowd Monday. We started behind the 8-Ball due to a huge to-do list for the upcoming weekend that's chock-full of racing events all over the Mountain...new start bumps, Pro Jumps and more ate up Swing Shift's time.
I did the slash and burn edit of the Work Orders, the fleet held together, and we made the proverbial Silk Purse in the end.
Looking at the sensor data, temps were up 10F over yesterday, so the Hero's outta town now. We've got double the talent on swing tonight, but the Springlike Conditions will eat most of the advantage gained by front loading our effort.
There's Hope
While updating, I viewed two 6 o'clock Weather Reports...both show colder temps and showers beginning Sat/Sun..."Chalk it up to El Niño" quipped Sacramento's WeatherWag, "El Niño often pushes cooler winter weather deeper into Spring" I'm down with that, even if it keeps us off the water next week. Under two weeks to the end of ski season, mostly we've avoided too much hard grooming. Hero Snow might make an encore appearance for the Home Stretch...
Keep your fingers crossed.
Judging from internet reports, it was a rough one. Most who ventured out turned around and sought shelter inshore. Some salmon were caught out of Santa Cruz, Monterey, and Half Moon Bay. The further North the bigger the swell. Outside the Golden Gate, seas were 15-20ft at 15 seconds...that's a roller coaster! Mal de Mer guaranteed! No thanks!
SturgeUrge and I plan on fishing next Monday...provided the fleet find the fish first! We'll be watching the buoy reports too...we're too soft for big swells!
Looking ahead to the Long Range Models, we might be in for some weather Monday. The Monterey/San Francisco Marine AFD doesn't mention Swells, but it does allow that wind will be ramping up along with the chances of precipitation...wind is the engine that drives swell formation...stay tuned.
About Last Night
My Monday was kinda rough...even though I slept through the Giants game, I didn't log enough winks, so I did some suffering. The snow was good, and we had a good crowd Monday. We started behind the 8-Ball due to a huge to-do list for the upcoming weekend that's chock-full of racing events all over the Mountain...new start bumps, Pro Jumps and more ate up Swing Shift's time.
I did the slash and burn edit of the Work Orders, the fleet held together, and we made the proverbial Silk Purse in the end.
Looking at the sensor data, temps were up 10F over yesterday, so the Hero's outta town now. We've got double the talent on swing tonight, but the Springlike Conditions will eat most of the advantage gained by front loading our effort.
There's Hope
While updating, I viewed two 6 o'clock Weather Reports...both show colder temps and showers beginning Sat/Sun..."Chalk it up to El Niño" quipped Sacramento's WeatherWag, "El Niño often pushes cooler winter weather deeper into Spring" I'm down with that, even if it keeps us off the water next week. Under two weeks to the end of ski season, mostly we've avoided too much hard grooming. Hero Snow might make an encore appearance for the Home Stretch...
Keep your fingers crossed.
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