The Mothball Fleet

[Lite Tackle]

Here’s a view of the famous Suisun Bay Mothball Fleet from the Grady. There were over 340 ships at anchor and up until 9 years ago, the Battleship Iowa was being stored here. It was towed to San Diego to become a museum. Today, there are 6 ships remaining.

Earlier days of the Mothball Fleet fishing out of the Whaler

Battleship Iowa in San Francisco Bay headed for San Diego

With buddy fishing Alcatraz Island

Taking a break at Angel Island

 

[Fishtales]

nicw pics. beautiful spot.

 

[PNW_Drifter]

Very cool, thanks for sharing.

 

[Bloodweiser]

nice rods. are those Calstars?

 

[Lite Tackle]

nice rods. are those Calstars?

One on the right is a Seeker 270 and the other a Calstar 270. The Seeker has a much softer tip for the light Dino bites. I like the honey blanks, easier to see when fishing at night.

 

[Fishtales]

That's a hell of a fish. Nice job, better pic.

 

[Lite Tackle]

Fished through the night. Propane Buddy heater came in handy. Goth this around 6:00am.

 

[Bloodweiser]

You know how to catch sturgeon. No doubt. Nice job..

 

[leeccoll]

Nice catch LT!

Mud shrimp, ghost shrimp??

 

[Lite Tackle]

Nice catch LT!

Mud shrimp, ghost shrimp??

With the current state of affairs, beggars can’t be choosers. I called Benicia Bait on Friday at 3:15pm and they said they had just got a small delivery of grass shrimp but they were closing at 4:00. I jumped in my Jeep and flew over there and they would only sell me a 1/4lb. They had no ghost or mud shrimp so I picked up a box of crawlers. My buddy found some frozen herring and ghost shrimp. I had a package of eel and a bit of roe in the freezer left from some king salmon caught last year.

I guess to make a long story short, they were caught on a sturgeon cocktail. Grass shrimp is my preferred bait.

Final tally for the trip was three white sturgeon, two shorts and the keeper, 44” to the tail fork. Five Striper, 4 shorts and a 20” and two keeper Starry Flounder to 14”.

 

[Bloodweiser]

Berkeley flat?

 

[Lite Tackle]

Berkeley flat?

Suisun Bay.

 

[RussGW270]

I so miss the sight of coming home to a sky full of Navy ship outlines. That, to me, was the most awesome sight.

R

 

[Fishtales]

I liked watching the submarines heading into the sub base in Groton CT. Those boomers were impressive.

 

[Lite Tackle]

I liked watching the submarines heading into the sub base in Groton CT. Those boomers were impressive.

I was stationed in Groton for Subschool. Nice place. Was there when Reagan visited the USCGC Eagle across the river in New London.

 

[Lite Tackle]

I don’t think many, if any SSBN’s came down the Thames, only fast attacks that I am aware of. Of course, I’ve been wrong before.

 

[Keeldad]

Lite Tackle, I was in Rotten Groton for subschool in ‘76. Ended up on boomers. I do remember going up the Thames in one because I was the bridge phonetalker and the railroad bridge tender was giving us opening issues. I think we were there because we were headed for a yard period in Newport News from Holy Loch and they wanted to offload some sensitive equipment, but you’re right, boomers in the Thames (especially above EB) were rare.

 

[Lite Tackle]

Nice, I was on the USS Daniel Webster (commissioned 1964) out of Holy Loch in 1987, last patrol before decommissioning in 1989.

 

[Keeldad]

IC2(SS). USS John C Calhoun (SSBN 630) and Ulysses S. Grant ( SSBN 631) ‘75- 80. We were punching holes in the N. Atlantic about 10 years apart. Must say something about Seafarers if ex-sub sailors appreciate their seaworthiness.

 

[Fishtales]

My uncle was the CO of the USS Stonewall Jackson for a couple of tours. He loved life on the boomers and told lots of great stories. Left Harvard to go into the USNA and did 30 years retiring on Rickover's staff in DC. One of the biggest opportunities I passed on was when he came calling for me to go to the Naval Academy. What did a 17 year old know back then - nothing... I declined. Often wonder how life would have been different....