One of the favorite aspects of saltwater fishing in the Monterey Bay is that, when you go out you never know what you’re going to catch. Fishing on the local party boats sometimes, you never know who you are going to meet either.

I had the chance a couple weeks ago to hop on board Stagnaro’s Sportfishing flagship Velocity for an afternoon Twilight Cod Fishing Trip. This is a really good deal! At a very reasonable price, Stagnaro’s takes anglers out to local reefs and enjoy potluck fishing for rockfish, lingcod, halibut and the occasional exotic. Though the afternoons are almost always windy on Monterey Bay, the big Velocity has the bulk and power to stabilize in the wind and swell for successful fishing.

On board that afternoon, I had the pleasure to meet and fish with Doug Greer. Greer is 94 years old and ran a successful engineering and laboratory equipment business for many years. His primary claim to fame, however, is being an original member of the “Our Gang” cast who were also known as “The Little Rascals.” These comedy shorts were already historical when I was a kid, which makes them ancient at this time. Greer might be termed as “ancient” as well, but his zest for life, and love of fishing would belie that description. Greer hugged the rail and handled his equipment like an expert. He was as happy to see his deck mates catch a fish as he was to catch his own. He’s been an avid fisherman all his life, he said, and spent many years fishing from the Santa Monica Wharf, coincidentally the spot where I caught my first saltwater fish. “I used to fish with Stagnaro’s every week. Now I still get out about once a month. I love fishing on this big comfortable boat. There’s nothing like being out here on the water,” Greer related about his local fishing. About the Our Gang experience, he said “Google ‘Turkey Egg Greer’,” his nickname earned by the plethora of freckles that got him into the business.

Fishing was fairly steady that afternoon, and we all went home with at least half-limits of rockfish for the dinner table, mostly big bolina rockfish but with an occasional vermilion and at least one lingcod for the boat. Deckhands Azure Cohen and Joey Stagnaro kept lines untangled, and unhooked fish for the gunny sacks, seeming to be everywhere on the boat at once. Skipper Gabe Torres had to search around a bit, and it wasn’t easy to stay on the reef once he found fish. Torres stuck to it though, and it’s safe to say that each of the 30 or so anglers aboard that afternoon stepped off the boat with big smiles and hefty bags of fresh fish fillets.

Bushnell also operates Santa Cruz Kayak Fishing Guide Service. Please send your reports, pictures or questions to scruzfishing@yahoo.com