A Whale Of A Tail ... in LAH, Sat 3-9-19

Solo Session At LAH, 06:00 hrs until 11:00 hrs

The bites were few and far in-between. (10 fish in 5 hours).
The up side is that I did land a legal Sandy and I had my 2nd encounter with a swimming whale in LAH.


My Session Summary: I was focusing on my fishing in the massive kelp bed and all-of-a-sudden I heard this HUGE AIR BLOW from behind me, I was surprised and I panicked a bit because I knew that it had to be either a Dolphin or a very large bull seal. Seals just freak me out! ... so I quickly turned around to look behind me; over my shoulder, and it was TOO CLOSE and it was HUGE! what ever it was! At first glance I thought that it was the biggest bull Harbor Seal that I've ever seen; so I yelled "ARrrrrggg seal ... GET OUT OF HERE"!!! ... and ..... WHOA! WAIT A SECOND! my brain kicked in ...... IT'S A FREKING WHALE!! ... breaching less than 100 ft behind me! It was already starting it dive and it's tail raised up into the air; 6-8 ft above the water surface, and it's massive tail was no less that 8-9 ft across. WOW!!
I was hoping it would hang around; so I tied off on the buoy that it passed next to, so that I could get a picture of it when it circled around again but instead it swam-off further away and all that I could see at this point was it blowing air & water approx 25 ft into the air. I ended up watching it from a distance for about 10 minutes as it swam away.

WHAT A BLESSING!

Note to self: Change pants when I get home! lol


Location: LAH, Los Angeles Harbor
Duration: 6:00 hrs until 11:00 hrs (5 hrs)
Sun Rise: 06:11 hrs
Moon Phase: Waxing Crescent
Gray Light: 05:30 hrs
Tidal Conditions: 6:00 hrs 1.5 ft, 7:00 hrs 2.4 ft, 8:00 hrs 3.2 ft, 9:00 hrs 4.1 ft, 10:00 hrs 4.5 ft, 10:25 hrs HT 4.5 ft, 11:00 hrs 4.4 ft ... etc.
Air temperatures during session: 50 deg to 58 deg, pt cloudy with lots of  sunny sky's breaking through.
Water temperatures: 56 deg
Wind: 6:00 AM 2 mph ENE, 11:00 AM 6 mph SW.
Water clarity: 6-8 ft
Large Leaf Kelp Beds: healthy large leaf kelp beds to report[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
Tidal Coefficient: (CE) 83 in the morning, this is a higher average and considered a stable rate.
iSolunar Prediction: Major Period: 7:23pm until 10:23pm
(4 out of 4 possible) <"))>< <"))>< <"))>< <"))><
Sea Dogs: 4 to report
Dolphin: None to report
Whale(s): 1 30 footer to report
Pelagic Bird Activity: a few to report
Bait Presence: N/A
Distance kicked: 1.34 miles
Calories Burnt: 510 calories, if walking.
Personal Attire: board shorts, multi layer shirts w/ hoodie and rain jacket
Fish Finder used: Deeper Pro +
Model of Float Tube: Cumberland
Type of fins used: Force Fins
Wader Skins: Wader Leggings[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
Tackle Used: 1/4oz Sardine Green/Silver, Glow Green, Purple/Silver. 3/8oz Sardine Green colored HUB's.

SP Dan's fish count this evening: 10-fish tonight, 5-species, 1-legal Sandy to report.

(1) short Halibut 13 1/2"
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(2) Greenback Mackerel 10"
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(2) short Barracuda 20"
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(2) Sandy's, best were a 15 7/8" LEGAL[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
(3) Spotty's, best was a 11"
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Note: All legals shown, but just one pic of each species landed if short and all fish were quickly released. (CPR'd) caught, photographed & released.


PLEASE .... always be completely respectful to the boat owners and their property ... their boats.


PLEASE ... always leave it cleaner than you found it!
So please grab a hand-full and Pitch-In!!


Thank you for taking the time to check out today's fish report!

Tight lines!

SP Dan     <"))>< 

It looks like you had a Great day nice pictures

That would be scary and awesome all at the same time...and yes a change of pants would be needed....Great report as always. Good fishing.

Wow, great day of fishing and an extra shot of adrenalin to go.

Looks like you had a great day and an assortment of fish. I would have loved to measure a fish! Good job!!!

Another great report! Nice pictures and a fishing encounter you wont forget! It was a blessing!

Litefoot wrote:It looks like you had a Great day nice pictures

Hi ya Rick,
Whale yes ... it was slow and yet eventful as well ... to say the least. lol

Thanx for replying to my post,

SP Dan     <"))><

TobyB wrote:That would be scary and awesome all at the same time...and yes a change of pants would be needed....Great report as always. Good fishing.

The first three things that flashed in my head were:
*What is it?!
*Where is it?!
*Can I get out of it's way?!
*Photo taking was way-down on my list of priorities.

Thanks for responding to my post Toby!

SP Dan     <"))><

Jerdon wrote:Wow, great day of fishing and an extra shot of adrenalin to go.

Adrenalin to the max Sir!

fish stalker wrote:Looks like you had a great day and an assortment of fish. I would have loved to measure a fish! Good job!!!

Thank you for replying to my post fish stalker!

Troutbum wrote:Another great report! Nice pictures and a fishing encounter you wont forget!  It was a blessing!

Indeed ... one of many blessings!

Great report! Thanks for sharing! See that's what makes fishing in the ocean so much fun. You never know what you are going to catch..or see! Too bad I don't fish the salt, except for the bays in a skiff. Hey what are "wader Leggings" and why do you wear them?

Komori wrote:Great report! Thanks for sharing!  See that's what makes fishing in the ocean so much fun.  You never know what you are going to catch..or see!  Too bad I don't fish the salt, except for the bays in a skiff.  Hey what are "wader Leggings" and why do you wear them?

Komori,

Our sponsor; on the side column, Wader Skins owner Ron, offered everyone on FTFF a price discount on his products in order to expose his new Wader Skins or just his Leggings to the FTFF members on our site.
Ron's Wader Leggings are custom fit to the exact measurements of each leg from the middle thigh down to the ankle with velcro strips at the ankles.
So, I took him up on his offer because they appeared to be what I was looking for.

Ron makes a fantastic Wader Skin product and if you don't want to wear chest high breathable waders but you want to keep your legs warmer, Ron's leggings are certainly an excellent alternative to achieve this goal. And besides, breathable waders can get too warm at times.

Thanks for asking Komori

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Oh thanks Dan!  Those might be just what I need.  I don't like wearing waders, in fact I'll put off float tubing at my nearby Lake Perris for a month or more to wait for the water to warm up some, so I can just wear shorts.  With those leggings, I could go out now, instead of waiting until May or June!  I'll check them out.  
By the way everyone.. my name is Jeff Soto (not the popular artist..he's my son) and I used the name "Komori" here on FTFF because that was the brand name of my printing press I ran for many years.

Komori wrote:Oh thanks Dan!  Those might be just what I need.  I don't like wearing waders, in fact I'll put off float tubing at my nearby Lake Perris for a month or more to wait for the water to warm up some, so I can just wear shorts.  With those leggings, I could go out now, instead of waiting until May or June!  I'll check them out.  
By the way everyone.. my name is Jeff Soto (not the popular artist..he's my son) and I used the name "Komori" here on FTFF because that was the brand name of my printing press I ran for many years.

It’s nice to meet you Jeff my name is Dan!