07-29-2005, 02:16 AM
Hey there guys,
Rode the Premier today. Danny at the helm and Mikie on deck. Good anchovies and sardines, with pinheads (the fish kind) for chum, from the receiver!. 30 anglers made it a lite load. Travel time to the hot spot in Santa Monica Bay took about 1 hour and 45 minutes.
Overcast in the AM again so it was really nice balmy weather. Ocean was flat but the water sure didn't look promising. So much for water quality huh! Slight current kept the fish interested throughout the day and grew stronger in the afternoon as the wind picked up. Turned into a nice sunny afternoon with a breeze.
After a short move or so, we had a flurry of really quality barracuda fishing with few shorts ranging from 6 to 9 pounds were coming over the rail and .... Over 35 caught. Just about bit anything thrown at them. Me ... yep .....plastics ! Used a heavier lead head as your line seems to stay taughter for that immediate strike! If not .... bye bye plastic !
At the same time, the sandbass started coming up (that was our target for dropping the hook in the first place), and I went into the sandbass mode and tried to avoid the cuda after catching a couple of the slimy creatures. I say: That was a lucky move as the sandbass never again bit wide-open like that for the rest of the day. We moved only a couple more times and each time picked away at the sandbass. Ended up with near limits of sandbass all around. You just had to work at it.
Nothing special on keying in on the sandies as they were being caught mid-depth to near the bottom of the water column. Weren't getting slammed like other days just a pick up and your hook set. The method I used for the Kalins and Big Hammers I used was to cast mid-distance, let the thing sink to 3/4 depth and, if not hit, used a very slow lift/drop or steady medium-retrieve back to the boat.
New discovery: Doh Factor ! I use an Abu Garcia Ambas
eur 5600 PLUS and it has this little switch that, as I am not a bass angler, I hadn't a clue how it might be correctlly used. By selecting the switch, via rocker, to show F .... by continually pushing down on the thumb bar the reel is in freespool.
Upside: Releasing the thumb bar instantanously puts the 'spool' in gear. Dude .... you don't have to grab and turn the handle, sometimes half a crank, to put the spool in gear...... nor do you have to change the positon of your hands for the hook set ! Increased hookset percentage BIGTIME !!
Downside: Your thumb gets darn tired holding the thumb bar down the time it takes the plastic to freefall to the prescribed depth!
Added later: Ya .... forgot to mention .... This guy (super cool dad) brought his very young son on the boat with ..... you guessed it.... the kids own tackle. Nice deluxe, 4ft Sponge Bob/spincaster outfit or was it batman!?? Kid caught a bunch of sandbass on it! I'm laughing so hard I'm crying to myself.
Most anglers took home limits and others, like me, were just happy to have the decent action. We got back to Pierpoint landing around 5:30. Not many (5 pound +) grumpies taken today in the sandbass department ! Barracuda won the jackpot. Big very Big !
Great boat, crew, and fishing with my club and a couple of others. Had a number of other internet fishing board guys on board too !!
Going Friday ... happy fishing everybody,
JapanRon
[signature]
Rode the Premier today. Danny at the helm and Mikie on deck. Good anchovies and sardines, with pinheads (the fish kind) for chum, from the receiver!. 30 anglers made it a lite load. Travel time to the hot spot in Santa Monica Bay took about 1 hour and 45 minutes.
Overcast in the AM again so it was really nice balmy weather. Ocean was flat but the water sure didn't look promising. So much for water quality huh! Slight current kept the fish interested throughout the day and grew stronger in the afternoon as the wind picked up. Turned into a nice sunny afternoon with a breeze.
After a short move or so, we had a flurry of really quality barracuda fishing with few shorts ranging from 6 to 9 pounds were coming over the rail and .... Over 35 caught. Just about bit anything thrown at them. Me ... yep .....plastics ! Used a heavier lead head as your line seems to stay taughter for that immediate strike! If not .... bye bye plastic !
At the same time, the sandbass started coming up (that was our target for dropping the hook in the first place), and I went into the sandbass mode and tried to avoid the cuda after catching a couple of the slimy creatures. I say: That was a lucky move as the sandbass never again bit wide-open like that for the rest of the day. We moved only a couple more times and each time picked away at the sandbass. Ended up with near limits of sandbass all around. You just had to work at it.
Nothing special on keying in on the sandies as they were being caught mid-depth to near the bottom of the water column. Weren't getting slammed like other days just a pick up and your hook set. The method I used for the Kalins and Big Hammers I used was to cast mid-distance, let the thing sink to 3/4 depth and, if not hit, used a very slow lift/drop or steady medium-retrieve back to the boat.
New discovery: Doh Factor ! I use an Abu Garcia Ambas
eur 5600 PLUS and it has this little switch that, as I am not a bass angler, I hadn't a clue how it might be correctlly used. By selecting the switch, via rocker, to show F .... by continually pushing down on the thumb bar the reel is in freespool. Upside: Releasing the thumb bar instantanously puts the 'spool' in gear. Dude .... you don't have to grab and turn the handle, sometimes half a crank, to put the spool in gear...... nor do you have to change the positon of your hands for the hook set ! Increased hookset percentage BIGTIME !!
Downside: Your thumb gets darn tired holding the thumb bar down the time it takes the plastic to freefall to the prescribed depth!
Added later: Ya .... forgot to mention .... This guy (super cool dad) brought his very young son on the boat with ..... you guessed it.... the kids own tackle. Nice deluxe, 4ft Sponge Bob/spincaster outfit or was it batman!?? Kid caught a bunch of sandbass on it! I'm laughing so hard I'm crying to myself.
Most anglers took home limits and others, like me, were just happy to have the decent action. We got back to Pierpoint landing around 5:30. Not many (5 pound +) grumpies taken today in the sandbass department ! Barracuda won the jackpot. Big very Big !
Great boat, crew, and fishing with my club and a couple of others. Had a number of other internet fishing board guys on board too !!
Going Friday ... happy fishing everybody,
JapanRon
[signature]