The strangest thing Rick Bush has ever seen snagged on a fishing line off the Central Coast is a Long-Nosed Lancet fish.

"It’s got the body of a snake and the head of a barracuda," explains Bush, assistant manager of Patriot Sportfishing of Port San Luis just outside Avila Beach in San Luis Obispo County. "Nobody knows much about ’em, except that they live about 4,000 feet down. And they have shiny blue eyes."

Bush has been scheduling and running half-day, full-day and overnight sportfishing trips off the Central Coast for years, along with Patriot owner Steve Moore. The Long-Nosed Lancet was exotic, but the Patriot crew is used to getting "up-close" to the wide range of water wildlife abundant in the seas off the Central Coast.

During winter, the Patriot boats and crews cater to whale-watching crowds. Great Gray Whales migrate through the waters off San Luis Obispo in December and January, on their way south to Mexico. Humpback Whales on their migration south show up a little earlier, and lead the way. Crews and whale watchers sometimes spot Blue and Mink whales, Bush says.

The Grays and the Humpbacks - regulars off the Central Coast during migration times - head north again to Alaskan feeding grounds in late spring (April or May), passing through the Central Coast again. Winter or spring, the whales are quite a sight. "There are 20,000 to 30,000 whales coming through here, starting in December," Bush explains.

About the same time, California Elephant Seals arrive on the beaches near San Simeon and Cambria, where the females give birth. The waters off San Luis Obispo County are also home to sea otters and seals year-round. The Patriot boats take eager eco-tourists to see them all. (Winter weekend whale-watching tours are $25 for adults and $18 for children; tours depart Port San Luis at 2 p.m. and return at roughly 5 p.m.)

Guys Just Want to Fish
Though more and more people are booking boats to watch Ocean wildlife, plenty still just want to go fishing. And most of them are men - though more women are getting into the sport of sport fishing, and entire families too, Bush says.

They’re all in luck. Sport fishing fans can catch 86 different species of rockfish off San Luis Obispo County. The rockfish range from two to 15 lbs, depending on the species: rock cod, red Rock Cod, or the aptly named Cow Cod. A day-tripping fisherman recently caught a 14-lb Cow Cod while out on a Patriot boat.

In spring, the waters off San Luis Obispo County are home to the southernmost tip of California’s Salmon Run. April 1 is the salmon season opener; the season runs through June.

Salmon season is always unpredictable, Bush says. "Some years it’s wide open, and there’s almost too many fish to be caught. And then some years there aren’t that many at all."

More predictable is Albacore season. "We’re known for our excellent Albacore fishing," Bush explains. Albacore, a large tuna, run offshore during summer and early fall. The Albacore season is July through October.

"The Albacore get really big up here. At the end of the season, they’re about 60 or 70 pounds each," Bush says. Early in season, they’re likely to weigh around 30 lbs. Any time it happens, casting a line on a pole and hauling up a 30 lb. or 60 lb. tuna is, well, a lot of fish.

That’s Opah, not Oprah
Along with the Albacore run come Thresher Shark and Opah. "Were the Opah capital of the world," Bush says.

Opah is "a unique, special fish. It’s like a very rich tuna. It’s a really strange-looking fish: big round wide eyes. And they’re yellow and spotted with blue. The biggest Opah ever caught on a rod and reel was caught out of here: 163 pounds. It wasn’t on one of our boats. But somebody on one of our boats caught a 125 pound Opah," Bush says.

The Opah range all the way to Hawaii, and usually prefer temperate, warmer waters. But when the Albacore show up off the Central Coast, the Opah come along too.

They aren’t exactly plentiful, though. Even though the Central Coast may be the ‘Opah Capital of the World,’ Bush explains, "You see about four Opah for every 4000 Albacore."

The Albacore run fairly far offshore, anywhere from 15 to 100 miles out. During Albacore season, Patriot Sportfishing adds overnight trips, for $185+ per person ($15 Gas Surcharge). "We have one boat with bunks, and a hot galley where you can buy hot lunch, hamburgers, hot breakfast - it’s like a floating hotel," Bush says.

The overnighters, as you may guess, "are usually the serious fisherman, folks who want to go out and get a fish," Bush explains.

For the rest of us, Patriot offers half-day trips (2 a.m. to 12 p.m., $43 for adults and $28 for kids).

Patriot also offers all-day trips, from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. ($58 for adults, $38 for kids). There is also a longrange/shallow water trip from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. that costs $68 for adults and $58 for kids.

Patriot features a 4th of July Fireworks viewing trip from the boat by RESERVATIONS ONLY. Departing at 7 p.m., the trip costs $68 for adults and $58 for kids.

The day-long and overnight trips draw more experienced fishermen; the half-day trips draw the experienced crowd along with fishing novices, and fishermen and their wives and kids out to give dad’s pastime a try.

Novice Fisherpeople Always Welcome
If you don’t fish but want to try, don’t fear: Patriot rents all the gear and bait you need, and you can also purchase your required fishing license from them, too. All Patriot boats offer a "cold galley," with sandwiches, chips, sodas and snacks for sale. And they’ll even take care of the dirty work for you once you catch a fish.

"Our deckhands will clean and filet your fish for you, so they’re ready to cook right when you walk off the boat," Bush explains. You can’t beat that.

For more details, contact Patriot Sportfishing at 805-595-2000. The Patriot Sportfishing headquarters and boats are at Port San Luis, at the west end of San Luis Bay Drive. (Take either Ontario Road or San Luis Bay Drive west from Highway 101 south of San Luis Obispo, and follow San Luis Bay Drive all the way to the Port San Luis Pier parking lot.)

Who knows - you might be the next to haul up a rare Opah, or maybe one of those Long-Nosed Lancet fish.

Teresa Mariani is a freelance writer based in San Luis Obispo who likes her fish caught for her and cooked, preferably in Italian restaurants.

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