Messages

1381

Salt Water Shore Fishing Reports / Testing Ventura Waters 11/8

« on: November 08, 2019, 09:57:38 PM »

Fished 2pm-8pm, 2 beaches. Even split of time between the two. Both were light on the weeds. 10 knot wind died at sunset.

Guy walking by me told me there was somebody dropping baits last week at the same spot with a drone. Started figuring that kind of thing into my 10 year plan.

Arrived at spot A, was getting prominent pecks and nibbles on mack chunks, couldn't get them to go.

On one retrieve I snagged this tiny little feller.



I know what you're thinking, I thought it too, but it fell off the hook trying to cast it out...girl with dyed hair with hands on her hips watching me try to wade out and cast it, don't wanna judge too hard but I felt like I was in for an ear full when I got back to the hard pack. She walked away when she saw the ray slip off the hook.

Moved up coast at sunset. Wind died nicely.

A couple missed hook sets here before I finally laid into something and it took off. Fiercest run I've ever had, dragged buttoned down on the Avet and still heading to Santa Cruz. I feel head shakes so I'm trying to keep my sh!t together cuz this would be a submarine of a shark, it's pushing me much harder than an 8' 7 did.

15 minutes in, I finally see the little rat tail sticking out of the wash...

45"



Lost my favorite pliers during the release in the wash, kinda bummed about that.

More sore than I care to admit from that slime ball. Second time at this beach I've been duped by a bat ray that fights like something else.

Maybe try again tomorrow.

1382

Fishing Talk / Re: Throwing down the bet

« on: November 08, 2019, 06:07:04 PM »

Loser eats bait

1383

Fishing Talk / Re: Last year on this date....

« on: November 08, 2019, 12:48:07 PM »

I’m going at least twice a week for the foreseeable future. Hoping I can take an early lead on shark numbers while y’all are still in the garage cleaning last winter’s BO from your waders.

1384

Salt Water Shore Fishing Reports / Malibu Exploring 11/6, Bird Sitting

« on: November 07, 2019, 06:09:13 PM »

Made a solo trip last night from about 6pm-midnight.

Tried the usual first spot, lake like conditions and no salad, but felt pretty dead. Packed it up after about 2 hours and headed south.

Spot #2 I've wanted to try for years but whenever I drive by it looks weedier than Willie's bus. This night there were almost no weeds. Small boulders in the sand kept me on my toes but it felt fishy.

Sure enough, 9pm rolls by and I get a good first hit. 47" leo on the tail half of a mackerel.



A few casts later I got another about 3', tail hooked so I didn't bother with a pic, quick release.

Rest of the night I had maybe one set off the clicker with a very short tug to find my bait mauled. Others were silent but equally thieving.

Pardon my fascination with destroyed baits.



I sent a whole mack hoping for less thievery, but it came back shredded and gutted.



I did see some lobster molts on the ground, so maybe they were having a day out there.

Also saw this seabird limping and cawing, so I walked down to inspect it. Not limping away from me so I picked it up with my hoodie and checked its feet to make sure it wasn't tangled in trash or anything. Then I bird sat for about 10 minutes before it hobbled off and into the rocks.



A western grebe, for all you nerds.

2 decent leos in 6 hours is still a slow night, but it's the best I've done in a bit. Solo nights on the beach are my happy place regardless of fish, but I'm hoping it breaks open with the exotics real soon.

1385

Saltwater Personal Craft Fishing Reports / Re: Trident 13 at La Jolla (2019-09-21)

« on: October 30, 2019, 10:09:11 PM »

Great variety, sorta surprised to see the sheep and the white fish on the spoon but squid is squid I suppose.

I commend you for doing 6 miles after 10 the day before, I gotta drink some protein and rest up for a couple days just reading this.

1386

Salt Water Shore Fishing Reports / Re: Tuesday Sharking.... or Really a Conditions Report (10/29)

« on: October 30, 2019, 04:20:52 PM »

Sums it up well. Poachers diving on your bait sounds annoying. Idk how responsive DFG is these days but that could be worth a call.

1387

Fishing Talk / Re: Something new to me

« on: October 28, 2019, 12:52:00 AM »

I learned that trick on Balboa Pier more than a decade ago, I suppose they since haven't learned diplomacy amongst each other.

1388

Salt Water Shore Fishing Reports / VC 10/28

« on: October 28, 2019, 12:49:11 AM »

1-3ft waves, 60º air, 65º water, 8kt winds at 5, calm by 10pm, high tide at 10:15pm, light to moderate kelp.



Bait stealers picking mackerel clean to the bone with the tail halves, not really touching the head halves. Smaller chunks didn't do any good. No obvious bites. Happy just to decompress for a few hours on the sand. Might try some new spots in the near future.

1389

Fishing Talk / Re: Something new to me

« on: October 25, 2019, 04:02:41 PM »

Next time try cutting up the first mackerel you catch, they’re little savages. Crazy about the thresher!

1390

Salt Water Shore Fishing Reports / Re: It Worked!!

« on: October 25, 2019, 04:49:06 AM »

Good you found the macks! You got me pumped for my next outing with my own fresh supply of mack.

1391

Fishing Talk / Re: Specialty Surf Shark List (Updated 9/18/19)

« on: October 24, 2019, 04:24:26 AM »

Fair, I was just considering for data points especially  since not many are shown to be caught on ray.

Duly noted.  It's funny, I've tried bat ray as bait before, but have not done well on it.  It sure holds on the hook good and is really a dense piece of bait.  I might have to give it another try.

How do you cut the bats up to put on the hook?  Rectangle?  Square?  Diamond cut with hook at pointy end?  I think a bait rigging article might serve people well on here trying new baits or even hooking them differently.

I like it for 2 reasons: 1, because it stays on the hook so well, and you can use a single steak until it gets bit, you break it off, or you're done fishing. It can soak much, much longer than a mackerel and stays on the hook better. And 2, it weeds out a lot of other species, so when you hook up you know it's not a shovel or a bat ray, however judging by the current data it's only catching 7s and whites, may or may not weed out soups but we'll see.

For a while, I was cutting the wing into strips, parallel with the spine. Essentially as big as you can cast, so maybe cutting the cuts closest to the shoulder in half since they're longer and thicker than the wing tip.

However, the last ray I harvested, I just cut and saved each wing whole, which gave me more time to contemplate a good cut and maybe cut as much from the wing as I need for an upcoming trip. My last trip, I made a cut from wing tip toward the body, making for a piece that's 10" long and 1" wide or so. That way, it has a long profile which may get more attention from the opportunistic 7. Still too early to tell if that's the key, but I think it's a good idea, since the wing tip isn't substantial as a cut on its own.

The rays I've been harvesting have been about 18-24" in wingspan. It seems like the right size where I don't have to harvest too many small ones or handle the waste of a large ray. That one slot bat ray's meat could last a dozen trips or more, at least for a single person who is using cast-able pieces. I caught 34 small/medium size mackerel the other night and I imagine it may only take 4-6 trips to run through that.

Maybe next bat ray I harvest I'll do a pictorial, but it'll be a few months.

1392

Fishing Talk / Re: Specialty Surf Shark List (Updated 9/18/19)

« on: October 22, 2019, 04:52:59 PM »

Fair, I was just considering for data points especially  since not many are shown to be caught on ray.

1393

Fishing Talk / Re: Specialty Surf Shark List (Updated 9/18/19)

« on: October 21, 2019, 04:39:59 PM »

Had a few earlier this year before I started posting on PrehistoricSoul. I'll link you and give the abridged data:

#1 - http://www.scsurffishing.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=116424&p=1115103#p1115103/7/19
72"
Bat ray
Female
1-3'
Incoming tide
Waxing crescent (6%)
VC

#2 - http://www.scsurffishing.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=116496
84" (rough guesstimate)
Bat ray
Gender unknown
1-3'
Incoming tide
Waning crescent (4%)
VC

#3 - SCSF search engine spazzing but i'll give the pic below
94"
Bat ray
1-3'
Male
Incoming tide
Waxing crescent (7%)
VC

1394

Salt Water Shore Fishing Reports / Re: NVC 10/20: Still Waiting, but a PB Leo

« on: October 21, 2019, 01:21:56 PM »

First off, that's a sweet ass rod/reel you are casting!  Congrats on the PB Leopard.  I'm not sure what is going on here with the Soupies and the Sevengill's.  They seem to be running later as every year goes by! 

I can't wait to start seeing some nice grinners from up there when the bite starts to happen!

Thanks! It’s a Penn Carnage ii and an Avet MXJ. I’ve been a little paranoid that I’ll get schooled by an odd white or BSB, most people would probably go next size up with the reel, but I've yet to fret in a fight. The XH rod sure seems to kick a critter’s ass, that’s for sure.

I took a look at that chart you made of all the bigger species that have been caught on the forum and realized A: ray chunks will catch 7s and whites but not soups, and B: it looks like it’s might be too late for soups up here and too early for 7s. Doesn’t stop me from trying though.

I’m just gonna keep going out on Sundays until it pops open. I’ve got a new spot I have a theory about as well, but it may be such a steep beach that it would pose a safety issue while reviving big sharks.

1395

Salt Water Shore Fishing Reports / NVC 10/20: Still Waiting, but a PB Leo

« on: October 21, 2019, 02:13:09 AM »

6pm-11pm. Low tide at 10:15pm.

Leo bit at about 9pm. 50" boyyo (edit: judging by another pic with the tail in view it’s 52”). Caught on chunk mackerel. Was pretty feisty, coming in I thought it might be my first soupy, but I'll take a PB any day. Bait picker-atters present.

Water temp 63º. Moderate kelp. Some wind in the night but not bad. Occasional 4' outside break was pushing my rig down the beach every other cast, even with a 6oz sputnik. Probably need a refresher on advanced casting techniques to get that extra 50'. Soaked bat ray the last hour for no action.

Jeremy