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1

Salt Water Shore Fishing Reports / If I'm Only Gonna Get One... 5/8

« on: May 08, 2024, 09:22:27 PM »

Brought Jared in on the bite tonight. 1700-2000. 5-8mph wind in the face, 1-3' swell. More kelp in the water though. And tons of by-the-wind sailors. And like a dozen dead sea birds! Normally whatever about dead birds but there's obviously something going on so it was sad and concerning.

Early on I hooked a big piece of kelp with the KM and couldn't grab it in the wash. Finally got a hold of it after a couple minutes, the KM popped out, and I felt a weird pain in my finger. Turns out I somehow got kelp lodged under my fingernail...and at the same time my favorite pliers fell off my belt into the wash, never to be seen again.

Switched to a c-rig because Jared piled up 3 in short order. I pulled 20 yards off all my Red Label fluoro spools before this session, but didn't seem to help. First bite, set the hook on a presumed croaker and...whole rig gone. WTF! Immediately threw a tantrum. Jared had some Shimano fluoro to share so I put some of his 12# on for another c-rig. 5 minutes later I hooked up to something I couldn't turn for a minute, and was very glad I had a different source of leader for it. Played it all the way in, narrowly avoiding a big kelp patty, and slid up a donkey of a croaker. New PB at 17.5". Never thought I would break my old 17" record from when I was 12, but here it is!







Worth the trouble of the day.

Proceeded to snap off that leader somewhere along the braid 5 minutes later. Fish Gods Giveth, Fish Gods Taketh Away. In the last year of surf fishing I don't think I had ANY line failures of any kind from any section, and now I'm up to at least 7 failures from 3 different batches of line in the last 3 days. It’s not the guides/rod/reel since most of the breaks are within a foot of the leader knots. Might just buy the shimano fluoro for employee price and move on. Seems good enough quality.

I decided to tie the next KM straight to braid, and do as much standing and talking as walking and fishing. Jared ended the night with 5 croaker and 4 perch, plus a fouled bat ray, to my one croaker. But if I'm only gonna get one...

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Salt Water Shore Fishing Reports / Variety Hour Day Two 5/7

« on: May 07, 2024, 09:24:49 PM »

Got started a little later than yesterday, following the tide and hoping to wait out the afternoon wind a bit. Calmer conditions this time, maybe 5-7 head wind, similar swell but obviously less chop.

Took a few casts but broke the skunk with a small perch quickly enough.



A few casts later I got a good croaker thump, but farmed it because the drag was set too loose on my new Daiwa Laguna reel. The drag cam keeps getting knocked as I open the bail and it slips around way too easily. Frustrating.

A few casts later and I got another good thump, then that came unbuttoned. Reeled up and my hook was bent out! Absolutely ridiculous, there wasn't more than a couple pounds of drag. Very frustrated now. These Mustad #5 baitholders were a limited stock on ebay, perfect size, but every time I touch them with pliers in a fish's mouth they snap. Every time. Now bending? Brittle and bendy? No way.

Cut the hook off and retied. As I cinched the knot down the line snapped above the hook. Are you f@cking kidding me! I said that out loud. Older lady was walking by and laughed and said hi. I laughed at myself and said hi. But seriously. Reel, hook, line problems? Just go home now buddy.

Kept it moving, nabbed another perch. Long stretch of nothing. Then my c-rig got a ridiculous tangle. Was sick of the 8# leader material anyway so cut back to the 10# shock leader and tied on a 1oz KM. Didn't take long before I hooked into a decent jacksmelt. Got a few more bumps and short bites for the next 20 minutes. Then snapped it off on a cast, braid just kinda stuck to my finger too long. Bled a little bit. What's going on today!?

Tied on a 3/4oz KM and nabbed a WSP.



Next bite loaded up nice and pop! Line snapped like nothing. Seething with rage. I haven't had line issues in years and all my gear was failing on top of it.

Tied on my last 3/4oz KM and stuck 4 solid YFC on the way back to the car. Evened out my mood.



Gonna strip the top 20 yards of my fluoro filler spools off. Maybe they were getting worn by sitting in bags or the back of my car. Order different hooks, thinking the Matzuo sickles. And find a way to settle the drag cam.

3

Salt Water Shore Fishing Reports / Sunset Variety Hour 5/6

« on: May 06, 2024, 09:15:43 PM »

Made the effort and got out for an after work session. Met up with Tommy and almost all the other Charkbait employees.

Approximately 1700 start time. 10-20mph head wind to start and structure not filled in. Woof. Got a croaker bite real quick out of one of the few holes, but the leader failed mid-line. Hmm. Cherry on top was wind surfers flying over my line every minute or so. Could have bopped them on the head any time. Thankfully they got done jogging the same circles by 1715 and Tommy/friends arrived shortly after. I threw c-rig crack while they threw iron. I said hi to Tommy while the rest of the crew was well up the beach already. I nabbed a nice croaker.



Then a couple BSP about ye big.



Tommy left me in the dust, right when I nabbed a corbina!



The crew had all but abandoned me by this point, but I was slow to keep up because I was getting bit. Variety continued when I found a section full of wallies! Pretty good size ones in there too.



Ran out of gulp, moved to the grub with a little pro-cure. Lost my confidence with the grub a while ago but tonight renewed it. Bite didn't slow down as I nabbed a couple more WSP. Then the 10th fish of the night, jacksmelt. Why not!



Next fish up, f@ck it eh, come join the party! Queenfish!



Capped the evening with another solid YFC.



Caught up with the crew and they'd had a slow pick on croakers and beans the whole time. Stoked on a dozen total and 6 species.

Hope Tom is beating the wind and racking up the variety in Kauai!

4

Salt Water Shore Fishing Reports / DQ'd 4/27

« on: April 28, 2024, 06:02:23 PM »

My extra set of hands bailed, couldn't find a replacement under short notice, so couldn't score for OC. Bait was thawed already so I went out anyway. 4' @ 6 looked like 1-3 @ 7. Set up on a berm that the waves never quite got over. Smoked a cigar and set at least 5 baits out with only a couple bait picker-atters to show for it.



Tried something different by butterflying all my baits. Didn't equate to success this time but I might keep doing it, at least with smaller mackerel.

Congrats VC on a win, when's the pic dropping?

5

Saltwater Boat Fishing Reports / Spring is Springing 4/21

« on: April 21, 2024, 02:22:51 PM »

Launched 0700. Wanted to scout for threshers and plan B look for bass.

Headed to the LB break wall first. So much bait, birds, and mammals for miles. Water temps swinging wildly between 57-61. High tide 0900 had me excited cuz I got my first last year on the same tide.



Set up shop around 0730. Realized my frozen mackerel were pretty old and mushy at this point. Didn't bring a lighter spinning rod or sabiki, but casted a 1oz crank on my jigstick into the bait while I had the mackerel on a float. No luck on either. Reset in a few different spots with no sign of fish before I bailed at peak high tide to try bass.

Hopping my way toward the HB flat, a couple spots that usually produce were dead. Then I got some dead weight as I was reeling up from one. Short halibut maybe? Finally? Nope. Second mantis shrimp this spring. How do I have 2 mantis shrimp to 0 halibut after over a year of bounce balling? Very silly.



Got over to my honey hole where I should easily break a skunk. Downsized my offering and popped a short sandie. 10am and the wind was already making some chop, gonna be a long ride home...



Another sandie, then a calico in the mix.



Saw a guy in a 35'ish sportfisher bendo on something, following it around for a good 15 minutes at least. Thresher, maybe BSB. Didn't keep up with him. Did mark something big and lonely.



Fished til 1100 with nothing more to show. Short period had built up over the hour and it was a sh!tty ride home. Much less bait in shallow but still plenty of dolphins cruising every which way. If the conditions hold up I'll have a better game plan for the Ts next Sunday.

6

Fishing Talk / Shimano

« on: April 20, 2024, 04:46:39 PM »

More bouncing around on my part...starting the 29th at Shimano as a reel tech. Jared is already over there as a reel tech, a spot opened up, and he put in a good word. Time to get out of the tire business...

...and time to load up on free shimano gear...

...once I prove I'm a great worker of course.

7

Saltwater Boat Fishing Reports / Lasuen Knoll 4/9

« on: April 09, 2024, 02:40:00 PM »

The weather shaped up real nice to the point I figured I had to try the run to the 14 for the deep rockfish. Almost out of the paisans from last week already, so already due for a refill. Had a dentist appt at 1500, so factoring in the sunrise launch, I knew I would only have time for about 3 hours of fishing, but that's been enough for rockfish limits lately when it's on.

Got to the ramp with the parking lot lights still on, for once.



2 hour run to the bank. Morning wind blew against the W swell, but it cleaned up after an hour or so.

Used the big ol' Avet EX30 this day with 50# braid and leader, and a 24oz weight. Comfy T-handle. Started in 1050'. The spot was insta-bit last time, but didn't get a peck. Degrading to reel all the way back up without a bite...

On to 950'. This was where I loaded up in December on chameleons. Nothing. Felt the clock ticking.

Tried a new spot in 550'. Didn't take long to get bit there!



Steady pick on the specks, including a nicer 2lber.



Descended this rosy along with a small chili that came up right after. Started getting into the junk.



Haven't seen a greenstripe in a very long time.



It was 10am with 5 fish in the bag and I was feeling like just keeping whatever came up. Got another small chili and bagged it. Then snagged bottom and lost my rig. Last 24oz weight. Had my 30# rig ready with fresh loops so I headed to the high spot around 350' and tried it for 15 minutes with 16oz. Lots of marks and no bites until the very last minute when I caught this poor rosy that went in the bag.



Left at 10:50. Glassy conditions to start and got into white caps at the last stretch, glad I timed it that way. Also saw a whale as I was getting back on the coastal shelf, but not sure on the ID. Only came up once. Looked like we were on a collision course so I slowed down, then it never came back up. Brown(!) and very smooth (unlike humps or greys), 30-40' length. Not used to brown whales. Any guesses? Cool to see. Maybe a minke, or a fin. I think I saw one from afar last week as well, about 5 miles away from this and similarly near the coastal shelf. Loving the whale action so far this year. Though I'm sure the minute I bring Alicia out for it they will be gone to Alaska.

Not the limit I wanted, but it was a nice day and I did see some variety along with a whale, so can't complain.

Well turns out the appointment is next week…should have stayed out. Even got a text from the dentist office on the water to remind me it’s next week and I saw the sender and assumed it was a day-of reminder.

8

General Board / Released A Single...

« on: April 08, 2024, 06:36:36 PM »

I released a song onto Spotify and all other music streaming platforms, and iTunes (or whatever it's called now?). It's called Sea Monsters. Loose metaphor as you'll find out, I'm not trying to be The Fishing Songwriter or nothin', but you know me and it's gotta bleed in at some point.

https://open.spotify.com/track/301i0a9tKkQaOjRKOBd2ak?si=1c292ec09af14811

or..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sRmTdCsd7fc

Album of the same name on the way by the end of the year by the looks of things.

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Saltwater Boat Fishing Reports / Paisan Opener 4/2/2024

« on: April 02, 2024, 02:14:38 PM »

And I'm not kiddin' around!

Got lucky with my day off being the best conditions of the week. Was still a little worried about the half moon not pushing enough water but hoped for the best.

Launched 0700. Small but very mixed swell. Water on the inside looked like Koga's morning routine sewage spill. Woof!

Got to the grounds about 0815. 3 cattle boats, CSU research vessel of similar size looked like it was on a crew trip, and about 4 skiffs in the zone. Went 2/2 on the first drops for paisans, then drifted off it. Was pretty much the game. 12oz had scope but kept bottom just well enough. 5" flukes for bait. Paisans love finbait. Sanddabs were showing no mercy either. Caught 5 dabs and let all of them go except this absolute unit 12.5"er.



Not instant, but steady bite. Limited by 0945. First boat off the grounds. 9 paisan 1 red. Very simple trip. jrodda launch, jrodda catch limit, jrodda go home. Off the water before 1100.



Best of the day. 12.5" and 19".



Looks like about 4 dinners. Deep fried is coming first!

10

Fishing Talk / Pop the bottles folks!

« on: April 01, 2024, 09:37:34 PM »

It’s Paisan season.

Finally finished off the BFT, low on thresher, no groundfish fillets, so took the opportunity to thaw and clean my chest freezer. All ready for another year of abuse.

Gonna launch early tomorrow and see what happens.

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Fishing Talk / New BPS opened

« on: March 28, 2024, 04:26:01 PM »

Was gonna go after work today to peruse but my lady seems down to see it with me so might go this weekend.

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Fishing Talk / Koga's Club

« on: March 25, 2024, 04:37:41 PM »

Are you AOY yet at your bass club? I can't remember your last name but I don't see any Chris even placing on your club website's tourney results

Thinking about heading out for your Open in June to give you a tutorial.

13

Saltwater Boat Fishing Reports / Spring Bass 3/20

« on: March 20, 2024, 04:15:52 PM »

Out of the harbor about 0730. Plan was a 50/50 split on trolling for bass and squid for critters/sheeps.

First stop was on a tiny stone that landed me 3 bass in a just a few minutes before it cooled.



Moved to Izor's for a quick look. Still plenty of fish as always. Actually hooked up this time on a 2# sandie. Dropped squid on the marks and got no attention.

Decided to focus up on the squid drifts while the wind was down in the morning and I already broke the skunk. Moved over to Critter Land and got a good bite but came off after a few seconds. Saw that it bit the hook with the squid head so I felt like that might have been my sheep.

Critters were slow. Hopping from one small area to the next I found enough marks that seemed like the usual suspects, but they just weren't committing. I did end up catching a 20" sandie on a squid head though.



And a dink turd with extra sharp teeth.



Sheeps and skrillas wanted nothin' to do with it so I took the hint and headed to a few spots I don't normally fish.

Weird fishes.



Found a stone with a few more willing players.



Got some slime on a new Yozuri.



Not seeing a lot of calicos this past year but found two today.





Finished around 1200 with a dozen bass. Just as I reeled in for the last time, my outboard puttered out. Oi! Sounded like a lack of fuel pressure. Checked the bulb, yeah. Squeezed it a bunch of times and not much happened. Got it started again and got home fine. Realized the valve on the tank was slowly coming unscrewed so it wasn't as compressed as it should be. Hope that was the issue anyway.

Got back to the ramp and these two older guys with a nearly brand new Robalo 302 were trying to get it on their trailer. I don't know nothin' about nothin' when it comes to getting a boat on a trailer, but I genuinely believed their boat was not making it home the way they handled it. Boat wasn't snug on the trailer, creaking quite a bit as it came out of the water. They broke the bow winch strap and did some kind of repair that didn't look real. Then I got on the road behind them and realized how monstrous the boat really was. Had to google it: 30' x 10'6" and 9000lbs. No oversize load signs or nothin'. Their stern straps were absurdly undersized, especially considering the condition of the bow strap. Again, I don't know about trailering boats. But they certainly did a good job making me nervous.



Op, and they left the antenna up.

14

Saltwater Boat Fishing Reports / Weren't Answering The Door Today 3/10

« on: March 10, 2024, 02:07:39 PM »

Was a bit tough waking up to my first alarm this morning being Spring Forward, so got a little later start than anticipated. WOT out the harbor about 0800. Brought shrimp as today's cut bait for a real college try at sheephead. Had some hope for the day with a good tide and great weather.

Stopped on my first spot and was marking plenty of fish but no bites, not even bait stealers. Looked like the usual layers of bass, whitefish, and blacksmith, so very surprised I didn't get a nip. Moved to my intended AO for the day and there were two party boats working the area, hadn't seen them before in that zone.

There was soooooooooo much bait past the 100' contour on the flat. 20 yard wide balls every 50 yards at times.



And not nearly as many whitefish marks as usual in my AO. Thought that was weird. Had bait stealers but they were very subtle, unlike the usual absurdly aggressive baby skrillas. Got 2 small reds but no whitefish or sheephead. Bites and marks were very few and far between.

Started back shallower. Wondered if the party boats had been hitting that area all winter draining it dry of the whitefish. Got over to Izor's where there were 4 other boats and started trolling my 3 way rig to maybe pick off some bass.

TONS of fish in the area, and zero bites.





Got hung up a lot on those those relief points for no payoff, moved shallower. More marks than I'd ever seen in shallow but once again zero bites.





Normally I see 2 marks tight to the bottom and 10 seconds later I'm bit. So I'm amazed that I probably put my presentation in front of hundreds more fish today and got not a tap. Maybe they're all full on all that bait in the area.

Frustrating. But nice day. Not skunked, though kinda felt like it.

15

Fishing Talk / Another HB Oil Spill

« on: March 08, 2024, 06:13:46 PM »

https://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/oil-spill-off-huntington-beach-coast-being-investigated/3359029/

Last one was in 2021 and was 25,000 gallons. This one doesn't seem as extreme but I'm not giving the platforms a gold star either. Hope it doesn't f@ck up the local bite, it was just starting to heat up. Might head out with the boat Sunday morning so hopefully it doesn't interfere with that plan, short term or long term.