With Capt. John King
The Bug Bug
I have gotten The "Bug" Bug
this year. Lobster fishing is just
plain fun to do, but thai has been
true since hoop-nets came to be.
So it is a bit of a mystery to me
why I am so smitten to target the*
crawlers this
season. 9
It could be
the anticipa-
tion. Fishing
for lobster can
be ' ex iing.
As the net is,~::~ : :~L~/
pulled from ~,!~i~!~:i~ ...... g~.
the dark water :,i --'
and the biolu-
minescence John King
Columnist
lights it up as
it is moving to
the boat, you can almost see the
bugs before the net is out of the
water. And you just never •know.
Last night was a perfect exam-
ple. We tried a new
the
made our go-to location-unfish-
able. Within a couple of hours
we had 101 bugs hit the deck for
measuring. Of those, 12 were
legal. Not bad.
But that is fishing, and for me
the sport has always hadan allure,
so maybe my Bug bug this year is
driven by other factors.
It could be Gusto, our new for
2017 30-foot SportCraft. This is
the perfect boat for running lob-
ster hoop-net charters. In years
Pictured above is a h00p-net set up on Gusto. ')
Gusto has a very roomy cock- ibility problems for the operator.
passed we hooped on our 24-foot
center console. It was a great pit which has a much better layout : Gusto is different. At 30 feet
platform for two, but quickly got for people and gear. Gusto can she is pretty big for tight quarters,
crowded with more than that on a easily accommodate six passen- however she has a single, direct-
hoop net charter, gers for-a regular fishing trip, drive engine, so there is less run-
, but fdFhoop netting we~suggest~a~ f ning gear ~tla¢_ waterdaan many_
~' [ limit of four anglers, boats her si~e and she has a very
.... )~Z,3_ I Locals know that fishing a shallow draft.
I flIl lldl/il lgLlll/I)( ll/ small skiff is ideal for a one per- Single engine direct-drive
_ . ~ ..... ~l~So~~ti5"/?~ll skiff boats can be tricky to steer.
Poundeain ]~z~oy~rnesrWinote ! :~"~ .~ ~ ~;.;~-.~,~ ~. " ~ .. : : ,P~-"~:.:;~! ~ ~_" . . :: .
/L ~t~_mm~cnbagh:toget~tlghtto-" /Unhke an outboard engine, the
Group Publisher
~'even Remer" :~i 7:~h~iJcr~-~cks.iih~"]~r e!ing~.~directi°nal forces are limited to
publisher@localnewspaper.org ~.'~to,~ a~:sliatI~:d~a~ves~.fore and aft by the d]rect-drwe
| sels, meaning they can slide over set up.
Editor ....
| some very skinny water without However, Gusto has a bow
Jesus Ruiz
editor@thecatalinalslandey.com
Associate Editor
CharlesKelly ?
editor2@sunnews.org ~, -
, Offlc~Manager ::- /
Kristy Throndson
office@thecataiinalslander.com
Legals
Regina Martinez
legals@localnewspaper.org
Multimedia Director
Franco Te
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tii~alhg the boat or motor.
Larger vessels : are generally
less maneuverable, have deeper
draft hulls arid can present vis-
-
thruster, which is a small electric
motor built in to the bow and just
below the waterline.
A bow thruster provides port
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ill
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Reserved.
and starboard (side to side) direc-
tional forces. I used to laugh at
boats with thrusters since they
seemed to be "cheating?' Now, I
love my thruster.
Picture this. You are on a
dark ocean heading for a small,
lighted pick-up stick in a slight
breeze with a small chop out of
the northwest and a cross current.
You need to approach this stick
close enough to allow your angler
a chance at grabbing the stick
without running over the float
line attaching the stick to the net.
This can be a tricky maneuver
as the operator spins the wheel
and applies power to use momen-
tum to make the single rudder
turn the boat. A bow thruster
adds a very functional directional
tool to the mix allowing the boat
to more easily come into align-
ment with the stick.
Thrusters are joystick con-
trolled, so the operator now has
three tools but only two hands to
make the maneuver. It takes a bit
of getting used to, but after a few
trips I feel very comfortable with
the whole process.
Gusto has a few other features
that make her a good hoop-net
charter boat.
She has a forward open-helm
hard top enclosure with all glass
windows. Seeing at night can
be difficult, particularly through
plastic isinglass that is never fully
clear and is always deformed to a
degree. Add a couple of sunbaked
years into the mix and it can
be downright dangerous to peer
through such a set up.
Glass windows still reflect
light back at the operator, but
they are uniform and easy to keep
clear. The trick is to minimize
interior light sources, a constant
battle with customers and their
iPhones and flash cameras.
Gusto also has a secret weap-
on. She is set up for using a
powered line puller. I know what
you are saying, "That's cheating!
Too easy!" I used to agree. But
the bugs are moving and changing
their preferred locale. Sometimes
that means going deep.
Most of our nets are shallow,
anywhere from 15 to 55 feet deep.
We do not need and donot use
the line-hauler for these. But,
when we cannot find bugs in the
shallows, Gusto has the tools to
fish them deep. A definite ben-
efit when out-of-shape customers
are pulling 10 nets two times per
night.
Maybe it is the weather. We
have been having gorgeous, warm
nights on the water so far this
season.
Maybe it is the customers.
Anybody nutty enough to want
to go out on a boat at night to
catch bugs has to be an interest-
ing person.
Maybe it is all of it. The bugs
are crawling, the weather has been
great, the customers have been
fun and Gusto is dialed in for
hoop-netting. Who could ask for
more?
Capt. John runs Afishinados
Charters and Catallac Tours -
john@afishinados.com - 888-
613-7770.
RIDER ALERT
"-" - -" = Off SEASON SCHEDULE
. -S
The Garibaldi set-vice hour~ Will be reduced effective October
16fla~20 i-7 to~ coin~e with the offS~ason service.
New hours Of Service: -.
Moi~lay~thruFriday -£ 7:20am to 6pro- . : ' t:~i~:-: i-
Saturday- 8:lOam to: ;pm " L -'~"
Suilday-- 8-!9am to 5pm .,;. .~
Di~aI-A:Ride and Access sej'viceshours: ~ "
Monday thru Sunday - 7am to 6pro
We hope this schedule will adequately cover your transportation
needs, We appreciate your continued support of our services.
Thank you for riding with Avalon Transit.
4 1 Friday, Oct. 20, 2017 THE CATALINA ISLANDER
