Salmon Trolling small boat in northern CA

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norcoast
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Salmon Trolling small boat in northern CA

Post by norcoast »

I am wanting to get into trolling in ca, I am wondering if anyone can comment on trolling a trailer-able boat in ca. I am looking into a 26ft boat with permit.
I am thinking that fishing out of shelter cove or fort bragg would be my best bet to make some money. At home we have a 20 fish day limit, and the quota fills quick. My question is can money be made on a small boat or is it a waste of time?
I am a deck hand on a crab boat in the winter through early summer. It will be hard for me to work for someone else during the summer and remain flexible enough to keep my current job on the crab boat. That is the reason for considering the small troller. I could park it in the winter and not pay a slip fee.
If anyone can chime in and give there thoughts it would be appreciated.
also wondering what is the permit by itself worth on a smaller boat?
Thanks
Capt. Midnite
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Re: Salmon Trolling small boat in northern CA

Post by Capt. Midnite »

I live about 6 mi. from the Cove and up until recently had a 26 ft. sport boat that I used as a 6 pak., I now have a 42ft. steel troller in Ft. Bragg F/V Shooting Star. Launching at the Cove is a pain in the A#@, and expensive, on a bouy just as bad. I think fishing a trailer boat is going to be more of a hobby that an actual money making business, but I have never fished commercially off a trailer boat, there is a small fleet that do hang around Ft. Bragg, but it seems to me they spend more time in the parking lot than they do fishing, if you really have to do this, I think your much better off with more boat with staying power and some comfort, I need a shower every day. Good luck what ever you do.
Jon
norcoast
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Re: Salmon Trolling small boat in northern CA

Post by norcoast »

thanks for the answer, nice to hear from someone familiar with the cove. Currently I work out if Trinidad, so I am used to mooring the boats and rowing out in the morning with a skiff. Is that an option in the cove? It seems like it would get difficult without a pier or hoist to offload and fuel. I am assuming there is no buyer either? do the guys transport their fish to the buyer
If you are in Bragg maybe you know the boat I am considering. I have not seen it personally yet, just talking to the owner back and forth for a while. it is blue and has outriggers that fold back for transporting on the trailer. the owner is santa rosa seafood or something.
I would fish out of Trinidad if we had better than 20 fish a day and a bigger monthly quota. The guys up here only got to fish a few days when they were biting.
A bigger boat would be nice. however It is out of reach for me. it does seem like there will be some mass retiring in the near future though. hopefully prices will come down when more is on the market? it seems like the bigger boats would need to be worked all year to be profitable. Ultimately I want a boat in the 40' range with a crab and salmon permit so I can keep busy but the better Tier permits are so expensive I think I would be a deckhand my whole life and never save enough to buy a boat with a 400-500 pot permit. I am hoping there is a way to start small and work up.
thanks again for your input, any more would be greatly appreciated
Siskiyous
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Re: Salmon Trolling small boat in northern CA

Post by Siskiyous »

The tier permits prices will come down, they dont make economic sense right now. I see some dory guys hitting it hard on the OR coast. I know Ron on The Hog Slayer in Crescent City very well, and he has done very well over the years. he bought his home for cash after one good crab season. So it is doable.

I love my 42 footer, but there isn't enough room on it for a shower - lol.

Good luck.
lone eagle
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Re: Salmon Trolling small boat in northern CA

Post by lone eagle »

My 41 footer comes without a shower- but it does have a fridge and a cook (priceless). I did notice a few trailer boats at Porto Bodega (Bodega Bay) this summer, good fishing down there I believe, and there's a camp site by the dock. Albion also looks a neat place to fish out of, 24' boat limit with campsite, urchin dive boats . No idea if salmon guys make money. Point Arena has trailer boats.
norcoast
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Re: Salmon Trolling small boat in northern CA

Post by norcoast »

thanks for the replies. I think I may have to deck hand some more until the right opportunity comes along. The boat I was considering has been stretched. It looks kind of funny for some reason. There will be some crab boats up for grabs soon where I work, They are all in the 30' range though. I understand what your all are saying about the bigger boat being nice. It seems like it would be a lot more universal as well. You could troll, crab and it is big enough to dabble in tuna on a slow year if needed or wanted. When I see these $400K price tags on 500 pot permits WITHOUT a boat it seems like a guy like me could never make it that far. maybe the right deal will come along and someone will work out a owner finance deal with a % of the catch kicked back. Hope the prices do get more realistic
nccal
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Re: Salmon Trolling small boat in northern CA

Post by nccal »

Shelter cove can be kind of difficult to fish commercially.. There is no buyer and you will need to set your own mooring if you want to fish there full time. That means moving all of your ice/fish/fuel to and from the boat with a beach launched skiff everyday. There is no ice in shelter cove as well so you will need to bring that in on a trailer yourself. All that being said you can make good money there if you play your cards right with a smaller boat. Launching won't be a major problem if you set a mooring as you will only go in/out once a season if you decide to stay there.

What boat do you work on in trinidad?
Jacksdiving
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Re: Salmon Trolling small boat in northern CA

Post by Jacksdiving »

I bought the boat he is talking about from bodega because I haven't been able to find a good deal on a trailer boat. It seemed like the right boat and it drove decently soooo , bought it!
What is the best place to buy gear? Leader line gurdie cable with hand tied stoppers, lures etc?
Any help would be appreciated
Capt. Midnite
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Re: Salmon Trolling small boat in northern CA

Post by Capt. Midnite »

Don't know where your located, gear is getting harder to come by these days Coast Marine on Jefferson St. in S.F. has a limited supply Franks next door has some if you can handle the tourist problem, Englunds in Eureka has the best selection. What I would do now, if you know what you want, is to buy online out of B.C. Canada, do an online search.
F/V Shooting Star
Ft. Bragg Ca.
Jacksdiving
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Re: Salmon Trolling small boat in northern CA

Post by Jacksdiving »

I'm in Navarro and Richmond... Thank you for the advice!
Jacksdiving
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Re: Salmon Trolling small boat in northern CA

Post by Jacksdiving »

Is there a link on this site for running gear with "chicken wing" style poles?
Jacksdiving
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Re: Salmon Trolling small boat in northern CA

Post by Jacksdiving »

My buddy and I have gone through the engine and my partner went through the fuel system, we thought it was odd the boat listed to starboard while testing it out, but we fixed that. Our fear was that the tanks were steel and complete Sh$%, but we dug down through the insulation and the turned out to be fiberglass. We ran the engine off a jury tank and the smoking stopped... thanks to fresh fuel and stanadyne!!
just needs some paint and our old ford 4X4 diesel to haul her. We upgraded the trailer brakes to Electric over Hydraulic 4 wheel disc and a new controller and we should be good for the road.

AS FAR AS GEAR GOES....... I will be running at least a line or two of FBR's (modified with larger hooks and swivel change) I haven't heard much of people using these for commercial, but I am going to use bait when the bite is slow and Rubber anchovy or herring when the bite is hot.....

Please give me some info if you have heard any positive or negative about this. Thanks everyone!
Jacksdiving
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Re: Salmon Trolling small boat in northern CA

Post by Jacksdiving »

-BUMP-
hot dog
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Re: Salmon Trolling small boat in northern CA

Post by hot dog »

Somebody asked about chicken wings? I did it for several seasons and it's a love/hate thing. Great for towing, not so much for coming alongside. They have to be folded in and it makes a cage that you're trapped in. Would like to see them rigged to fold forward with wire stays holding them from creeping aft. They fish nice, though giving a minimal spread but easy access should something break. Be sure to use shear boards on the lead lines and if your fishing beyond 15 stops you may want to run the lead lines up to 10 stops before turning and bring them over to the davit on the inside of the turn. Don't forget to drop them back down after the turn! Also watch out if you hit a big kelpwad it will stretch the outhaul lines and mess with the wire angles at the blocks.
Other than that just make sure your breakaways are all i n order and not too heavy. I also found that since you're not making a big angle from the tip of a pole high up you would get a diving float and have to use bigger float if there's current or the thing is getting stuck in waves and not coming back up. This setup is really ideal for shallow fishing say up to 15 stops and really fun at 3 stops! The springs are right there and really easy to see even the tiniest bites. Just be right on it though when folding the poles in at sea in a chop, they can slam around brutally!! Anyhow good fishing to you. P.s. Have those injectors serviced asap.
Jacksdiving
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Re: Salmon Trolling small boat in northern CA

Post by Jacksdiving »

Okay.......so we got the engine running and all is good. We are trying to figure out why the boat constantly lists to the Port side. Honestly this is a Franken boat, but we went out Behind angel island today the weather conditions were absolutely phenomenal we swung out the "chicken wings" dropped her sinkers ran our gear, our stoppers, our floats etc. and everything seems to work absolutely perfect. We get back to the dock to leave it in the water for the night to see how it's going to stay or if there are any leaks or any unknowns there might be and we noticed that somebody put pipe thread into a boss/fuel fitting on the Racor filter….Ouch, glad we didn't shut off the engine when we got fuel. We threw on a new racor and it fired up. I tried calling the previous owner to ask about the listing, but no call back yet, my other friend said he knows who it is and he bought some gurdies from him. I'll wait and see. By the way, I am rigging the wings with a quick release idea on the preventer cables so you can pull the wings forward if you need to. Thanks for all your help I really appreciate it!
Crawfish
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Re: Salmon Trolling small boat in northern CA

Post by Crawfish »

Check fuel distribution. Maybe one tank has more or less fuel than the other. Some small boats have a potable water tank on one side as well. Look for extra leads stacked against the stringers on the lower side. Anchor gear on one side. It does not take much to create a list on a small vessel. Speaking of fuel always take extra fuel filters with you!
Fish n electrician
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Re: Salmon Trolling small boat in northern CA

Post by Fish n electrician »

I fish out of Monterey with a 25' trailerable boat. I am a weekend warrior but we will follow (call in sick for work) the fish when the good numbers come up.
We fished out of Shelter Cove this year. It was too rough for the Fort Bragg big boats to get out of the harbor but we had no problem beach launching with the tractor.
I guess they added on to the rock breakwater and it is more protected now.
He usually charges $2.00 a foot to launch.
The guy there who runs the place and launches the boats (I forget his name i think its Joseph) will buy your fish for market price.
No need to worry about ice if you unload daily. Also if you sell him your fish (I did) he will comp you the launch fees.
I guess if you sell him your fish every day you could launch, haul out for the night and repeat as necessary.
They got a snack shack there with hot food, coffee and donuts.
It is a hell of a road trip though..8 hours from Monterey through the redwoods.
As for fuel, I don't know, we went for the weekend and didn't need to refill. Re-fueled on the way out of town.
Also I broke a leaf spring on the way in and while I was out fishing he hired a welder and fixed my trailer for me for $150...i got nothing but good to say about the place!
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