Dan's Journal

Miami Boat Show

2012-02-19T07:21:00.000-08:00

Earlier this week I was at the Miami Boat Show. There was so much cool stuff there to see. In the upcoming weeks I'll be posting about many of the new things that I saw there. I got a chance at the show to visit with the guys at Skeeter Boats. I use a 24ZX Skeeter right now and I like the boat a lot, I was excited to see all the changes they have made for next years models, I can't wait to get mine. Well I just got back home, but it was was a fun and fast three days in Miami. I'll see you all on the water very soon!

Dan Hernandez Fish Batter Mix, so easy even a kid can do it.

2012-02-15T12:11:00.000-08:00

Here's a blog i found about a kid cooking with my fish batter mix. I hope you enjoy it.

http://socalsalty.wordpress.com/2011/02/12/dan-hernandez-baja-fish-batter-so-easy-a-kid-can-do-it/

Yellowtail make a showing in Ensenada.

2012-02-14T10:48:00.000-08:00

Here's a fishing report from Ensenada from a friend of mine.

The yellowtail went off today. The Reel Adventure out of Marina Coral scored 14 between 20-30 lbs., Azteca Too had 6 with a couple of other misc. scores on other boats. I should be back on the water with a brand new lower unit by the weekend. Most fish were deep on the yo yo iron.
Louie Prieto
http://www.its4reels.com/

Lobster Report for Feb 12, 2012 out of Long Beach

2012-02-13T18:56:00.000-08:00

Last night I had another lobster charter out on Long Beach. The whole month of February has been awesome, every charter we have landed ten or more legals, last night was no different. We left my dock around 4:30, with all our hoops baited and ready to drop. by 6:00 everything was set. we had a little wind at first, but as the night went on the weather just got better and better.

on our first round we had two legal lobsters, on the next round three, soon we had nine and it was still early. around 8PM it seemed like they stopped walking so we moved over to a different area, still inside of the harbor. Quickly we found more lobsters. We ended the night with 14 lobsters, several of them were really nice ones. the bait again was salmon heads and the bugs were in 25-35 feet of water. I'm all booked for this week, but I have dates open if you'd like to book a lobster trip with me for next week. You can call our office at 562-865-3764.

Spot lights for Lobster Fishing

2012-02-09T11:48:00.000-08:00

Over the past two years I have been doing a lot of blogging about lobster fishing, how to find lobsters, what bait to use and which hoop nets I like. Another important item that you'll need for lobster fishing is good spot lights. I have several that I use. some are rechargeable spot light and another I just started to use as a back up has been the Energizer® Hard Case® Professional® LED Spotlight and their smaller Energizer® Hard Case® Professional® 2 AA Swivel Head. What I do is use my rechargeable light until they run out and the I use these lights, the small swivel head I use mainly inside my boat to check and see if a lobster is legal to keep. You can never have enough lights when your out there at night and these two light have worked great for me this season. I just wanted to share this with you all.

Saving your lobsters

2012-02-07T05:52:00.000-08:00

People have been asking me how I save my lobsters. The best way that I have found is to use my GameSaver and vacuum pack them. What you need to do first is cut the sharp points off the bottom of the lobster's tail, then just place the lobster tail in a GameSaver bag and you're all set. GameSaver now has new heavier bags and bags that are divided so you can pack away three or four lobsters in one pre-made bag. I use my GameSaver for fish and for extra tackle and now I use it for lobsters too. Everyone should own one of these units.

Lobster report for 02/ 04 out of Long Beach- Family Trip

2012-02-06T15:20:00.000-08:00

This past Saturday I took my brother Paul and his family out hooping for lobsters out of Long Beach. We left my boat slip at 4:30 and had all the hooping in the water before 6PM. Since it was almost a full moon I didn't know what to expect. The trips earlier in the week had all been great, 18 one night, 14 another and 12 last week. My brother never wants to go fishing so when he asked, I said sure lets go. On the boat with me was his wife Brenda and their son Josh. None of them had ever been lobster fishing and had never been out on the water in the dark.

I did my first pull just before sunset so we would have a enough daylight for them to see what we would be all night. Brenda used the gaff and pulled in the nets and my brother and I did most most of the pulling. Josh and Brenda did some of the pulling later. On our first round of pulling the net were all empty, I kind of expected that still the sun was still out. After letting them sit for 20 mins we pulled them again, this time we got two legals, next round we got three. it was pretty good for a while and then around 8:30 they stopped walking. I see this a lot on full moons, they just seem to always stop walking early. If this had been a normal charter I would of moved around and stayed at it for a few more hours, but my nephew was done and wanted to head in. We ended the night with 10 legals and two nice size crabs. We go in so early that I was already home by the time I normally just get in. The bait was salmon heads as usually and most of the bugs were in 25-30 feet of water. I think later this week it should be great again, this was the fifth trip in two weeks were we got 10 or more lobsters. I had a great time on the water with my brother and his family, we plan to do it again before the season ends next month.

Our list of 2012 Fishing / Filming Charters is now posted

2012-02-04T13:16:00.000-08:00

Our 2012 fishing / filming charter list is now up and posted on our website at http://www.sport-fishing.com/. We have everything from local 3/4 day to offshore tuna trips and a weekend trip to the East Cape, we might event add a five day island trip at the end of the year. We also added two new locations for this year too. If you have any questions about any of our trips, please call our office at 562-865-3764. Sign up today, trips are already starting to fill up.

Another Recod Night for Me on the Lobsters

2012-02-03T12:39:00.000-08:00

When I went out over the weekend and got 14 for three of us, I thought that was about as good as it can get, welll I was wrong, last night I got 19! The first one of the night was over 7 pounds and it just didn't let up. Most of the bugs were in 35 feet of water, a few I picked up at the end of LB wall in under 30 feet. The bait again was salmon heads. The weather was perfect and we didn't get any wind intil 10;30, by then it was over and we were heading in, Last night I fished three different areas and all of them had bugs. With a full moon almost here, i'm not sure how much longer this will last, but I know several of you have done great on full moons in the past. On a diiferent subject I have all my TV filming / fishing charter dates now posted on my website at http://www.sport-fishing.com/. Sign up soon if you'd like to join me and be on TV. This will be my 24th year on TV, thank you all for all your support over the years.

Here's some news for you about the MLPA

2012-02-03T11:50:00.001-08:00

Anglers’ Fight to Stop No-Fishing Zones in California Moves Forward

Court of Appeals Rules Against the Fish and Game Commission and Allows Appeal to be Heard

Sacramento, CA – February 3, 2012 – The Partnership for Sustainable Oceans (PSO) announced that the fight against regulations established through the Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) Initiative that are blocking access to much of California’s coastal waters for recreational anglers, boaters, divers and commercial fishermen alike is moving forward. On January 30, 2012, the California Court of Appeals ruled in favor of allowing an appeal filed by Coastside Fishing Club, one of the three petitioners in litigation before the San Diego Superior Court challenging MLPA regulations adopted by California’s Fish and Game Commission for the North Central Coast, to proceed without delay. Coastside filed its appeal on December 15, 2011 with California's 4th District Court of Appeal. In response, lawyers for the commission asked the Court to dismiss Coastside’s appeal on grounds that it was premature. The Court denied the commission's request without comment.

Coastside appealed Judge Ronald Prager’s denial of its request for a Writ of Mandate voiding MLPA regulations adopted by the commission for California's North Central Coast in 2009 based on legal defects in implementing California law. After a careful review, Coastside concluded that Judge Prager's October 2011 ruling is inconsistent with the mandates of the law as established by the legislature. The outcome of the appeal of Judge Prager's ruling on the North Central Coast regulations would likely influence the resolution of a similar challenge to the validity of the South Coast regulations brought in the same lawsuit by Coastside's co-plaintiffs, United Anglers of Southern California and Robert C. Fletcher.
"Now that the MLPA regulations have gone into effect in Southern California, I hope anglers fully recognize the significant threat these unwarranted closures pose to the future of saltwater fishing in California,” said John Gaebel, chairman of United Anglers of Southern California. “Fortunately the battle is not over yet, as the legal challenge continues to move forward in the Court of Appeals. Now, more than ever, we need folks to step up and contribute as much as they can to help us keep up the fight.”

To raise funds for the legal challenge, the PSO is urging anglers, boaters and anyone interested in a fair legal process to visit www.SaveCAFishing.org and contribute to the effort. Under the “Donate” section of the site, individuals can contribute $5 or more a month on a recurring basis, or make a one-time donation. All proceeds will directly support legal action to keep California’s healthy and abundance coastal waters open to sportfishing.
“Based on initial returns, the SaveCAFishing.org website has tremendous potential to raise the funds needed to protect sportfishing access in California,” said Bob Fletcher, former president of the Sportfishing Association of California and a plaintiff in the lawsuit. “In order to keep the legal challenge going over the coming months, we need anglers to step up and pledge their support. A simple $5 or more monthly contribution to the legal effort will go a long way towards ensuring that current and future generations can enjoy accessing California’s coastal waters.”

Lots and lots of Lobsters!

2012-01-31T13:32:00.000-08:00

The other night I had another private charter lobster trip, it was on the weekend so I wasn't expecting much, I thought I'd see boats everywhere, but I was wrong. We lanched out of Long beach around 4 PM, with a bait cages filled and strapped into my nets we were ready to go hooping. For this trip we didn't fish any of the islands, just small high spots inside of the harbor and along the breakwater. On our first pass we had three legals, on the next pass two more and so on until we got to 10 legal lobsters. After that it just stopped, like someone had closed the door on them, so we moved over along the wall in the long beach area for five more bugs. The bait was all salmon heads and the weather was perfect, I fished in a T- shirt all night long. the deepest I fished this night was around 35 feet.

Izor Reef Report 01-29-12

2012-01-30T19:36:00.000-08:00

Yesterday after church I took one of my cameraman out fishing just for fun, no tv cameras, just two guys fishing for the fun of it, we left the dock around 11:30 AM, later that I like to leave, after a quick stop for sardine at Nachos it was off to Izor Reef. The fishing wasn't wide open, but it was good. the current was going the wrong way, but if you were able to get a bait right on the reef, you got bit. I took most of my fish on 1/2oz and 1oz B 52 bucktails with a dead squid pinned on fishing with 20 pound test line, I landed eight nice size sandies here and my buddy got one and several perch.

From here we moved to wall and fished there for a few hours, I only got a few sand bass there, fishing was slow on the wall, but the weather was great and i was glad to just be on the water. We releqased all the fish and it was nice to be fishing in Jan in a T-shirt and shorts, no ice fishing for me today.

No Ice Fishing for me this weekend

2012-01-26T18:57:00.000-08:00

I wasn’t going to write a blog today because I just wasn’t in the mood and I couldn't think about anything to write about and then I got an e mail. It was all about tricks to use for ice fishing. I’m sure if all you have is ice fishing then it’s something fun to do, but for me, I only want ice to put over my catch. I guess today’s blog isn’t about how to catch a fish or about one of my fishing charters, no today I just want to say how blessed I feel that I live here in Southern Cal. The weather today was 82! and it’s January. No ice fishing for me this weekend, I’ll be out on the ocean, yes I know, it won’t be 82 over the weekend, but it will be in the high 70’s. Yes LA is a great place to live and fish!

Killer Whales are still around

2012-01-24T17:31:00.000-08:00

This story was written by my friend, Pete Thomas, http://www.petethomasoutdoors.com/

As the southbound parade of gray whales continues off Southern California, killer whales keep stealing the limelight. About 40 "offshore" killer whales were seen Thursday off Orange County and, later in the day, beyond the Long Beach area.

This comes after several sightings earlier this month of a pod of 10 "transient" killer whales. Offshore killer whales, unlike transients, do not prey on sea lions and other marine mammals. They eat sharks and fish.

Offshore killer whales, or orcas, are most commonly seen in the Queen Charlotte Islands area off British Columbia, but they tend to disappear for long periods. They are rarely seen off California, and more rarely spotted off Southern California.
Killer whale researcher Alisa Schulman-Janiger recalled sightings of much larger pods of offshore orcas on Feb. 11, 1995, and on Feb. 14, 2005.
There are believed to be between 300-400 offshore killer whales along the West Coast.

The accompanying video, with footage captured Thursday, is courtesy of Capt. Dave's Dolphin and Whale Safari. Note the upside-down orca at the beginning of the clip, and amazing underwater footage captured from within a small viewing pod that enables passengers to see how marine mammals act beneath the surface.

We'll be back in the East Cape August 9th-13th

2012-01-23T13:58:00.000-08:00

I'm glad to announce we will be back in the East Cape at Hotel Buena Vista August 9th-13th. This is a very special trip for us. Last year 42 of my viewers joined me for this awesome trip and I hope we have even more of you join us this year. Please feel free to call our office at 562-865-3764 if you have any questions. I'll see you in the East Cape this August!

Something warm for you to watch on a rainy day

2012-01-21T17:12:00.000-08:00

Here's a video clip we filmed down in Baja, Mexico of me landing a marlin down in the East Cape. It's just something for you to enjoy on this rainy day. I have a group trip to this resort in Aug this year, you can see all the details of this trip on my website home page at http://www.sport-fishing.com/
http://youtu.be/drMRRj_IRdM

How to cook up a lobster Baja style!

2012-01-20T17:44:00.000-08:00

Here's a cooking segment we filmed in Mexico showing the Baja style way to cook up a lobster.
http://youtu.be/XhhsmFdSvWs

The Indian limits out on huge rock fish again!

2012-01-17T17:23:00.000-08:00

Here's a fishing report from our friend Chris Randel owner of the Indian.

Hey gang just got back in this monday morning from a 2-1/2 day trip that fished San Martin the first day and Collonett on the second day in flat calm weather.We arrived at San Martin around 10.30 am and took a look at the 6 for Yellows and I did meter some on the Est edge but no takers so we rolled South to my secret Lingcod spot by the Breakers and found slack conditons but had steady action on big Lingcod along with Whitefish,Reds and some Sheep head for our limits (240). That night we rolled up to Collonet and found good conditions at day break with a .5 knot South drift and the Reds were biting pretty good most of the day except for a few attacks by the Humbolts on the West edge of the bank. Everyone had a great time filling up on Chef Ians chow while fishing in awsome weather and our fish count was limits (480) for 24 anglers.1 Yellowtail, 83 Lingcod,147 Reds,30 Salmon Grouper,203 Whitefish,8 Sheephead along with a few assorted cod.We saw the Mexican gun boat both days and we had visas but they just drove by and left us alone. The Indian has 16 reservations for tomorrow nights trip to the finger bank and if anyone would like to spend Wednesday on the water give Chris a call at (619) 523-8862 or just book on-line at indiansportfishing.com

Over 200 of our past episodes are now on our You Tube Channel

2012-01-16T17:09:00.000-08:00

You can now watch over 200 of our past episodes on our You Tube Channel. Most are rentals, but we always have a bunch of programs that you can watch for free, plus on our channel you can see hundreds of other short video fishing clips and all of my video blogs too. You can find a link to our You Tube Channel on our website at www.sport-fishing.com.

Fish slow in cold water

2012-01-15T05:31:00.000-08:00

Several of you have been asking me how-to catch fish in cold water like we have right now in Jan. I understand that some of you don't get it how I'm catching fish on my charters in Jan with the water so cold. It's very simple, you need to just fish slower. In cold water the fish just aren't going to chase anything, you need to drop you bait close to them and if you can hit them on the head with your bucktail or live bait you'll do even better. It doesn't matter if you go fish the wall or some of the reefs or wrecks along the coast, in cold water fish slow and you'll catch plenty of fish. Get out there and have some fun.

Yesterday private charter fishing report 01/13/12

2012-01-14T13:55:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I had a local half day private fishing charter trip. It was a lot of fun. We started out around 8:30AM and after a quick stop for a scoop of live anchoives it was off to Izor Reef. The weather was perfect, aound 80 degress and flat calm water. I metered around and checked out a few spots before dropping the anchor, the fish bit right away. It wasn't wide open by any means, but the fishing was good, we landed sand bass, calico and perch, most were taken on dead squid and three of the bass ate live anchoives. Around noon we left here and headed over the breakwater, fishing there was a bit slower, but the fish were there and we picked away at them. We did land out biggest calico bass and cabazon at the wall. All in all it was a great trip and the everyone had a great time.

Why I like to use Bucktails

2012-01-12T18:23:00.000-08:00

Here's a video blog of me talking about why I like to use bucktails and why you should too. I hope you enjoy it.

http://youtu.be/KBRuZcm510Q

Watch us on You Tube

2012-01-12T06:08:00.000-08:00

You can now watch over 200 of our programs on our You Tube Channel. check it out today!

http://www.youtube.com/user/dansportfishing

2012 Update Video Blolg

2012-01-11T12:41:00.000-08:00

Here's a short video clip talking about some of new laws in effect starting this year about fishing in Mexican waters and about our upcoming fishing / filming trips.

Sinkers????

2012-01-09T17:11:00.000-08:00

Here's a blog I did over a year ago talking about sinkers, I've had several e mails the past two weeks asking about sinkers and which styles I use, so here's a short video clip to help you pick the right sinkers to use when you're fishing.

http://youtu.be/dupm2f5Q6ls