Coroloma 11/23/07

[jplee3]

Hi guys,
So a couple buddies and I hopped on the Coroloma yesterday. We had a good time out there and the boat caught limits. I had 12 rockfish and gave a few to my friends (one was a smaller bocaccio since I already caught one, and my friend get a bocaccio). But since the boat got limits, we all came home with 10 anyway...

Left my friend's place around 4:30am and got to the dock a little before 6am. There were 21 anglers on the boat so not too bad - we left around 6:15am but we spent a good 2.5 hours riding out. We didn't start fishing till around 9am or so. We actually went further out than expected... capt started circling a spot then announced that he had fished this spot the past couple weeks and it wasn't that great so we took off for another hour to get to another spot. In either case, fishing was a little slow in the morning but picked up halfway through. There were a couple good spots producing consistently on every drop. Towards the end, we were getting good bites. Bait of the day was sardines, dead squid, and the occasional sanddab. A few ppl were throwing down the dabs for lings. A few people pulled up shorts and a couple legals at the end. Not sure what they caught those on. I actually had a hitchhiker on one of my rockfish as I was pulling up but I started pumping and winding [big no no as I learned after seeing the bite marks...] and lost it :( Towards the end, I threw down a couple grubs on the double dropper loop and picked off some fish that way. Once or twice off an orange/yellow shrimp fly jighead and once or twice off a plain jighead/white grub combo (both with squid trailers). We were fishing in 300-360ft of water and, amazingly, I could kinda feel the bites off my Jigmaster spooled with 30lb mono! So I was able to set the hook . Maybe my 'skill' has just improved but I had a rough time the first time (of course, I was using a 5'6 stout rod that time too ;)).

Heading out:
http://media3.dropshots.com/photos/304397/20071123/b_065946.jpg

An oil rig:
http://media5.dropshots.com/photos/304397/20071123/b_072932.jpg

Bait - sardines and squid:
http://media3.dropshots.com/photos/304397/20071123/b_084204.jpg

My friend inadvertently caught a couple small makos:
http://media4.dropshots.com/photos/304397/20071123/b_122521.jpg

Apparently, I had no idea, but a ling hitchhiked on a rockfish I brought up. It let go though because I was pumping and reeling lol... I thought I felt something pulling... I kept kickin myself after the deckhand pointed it out. I *really* want a ling now :twisted:
http://media4.dropshots.com/photos/304397/20071123/b_142936.jpg

Close-up of the ling damage:
http://media5.dropshots.com/photos/304397/20071123/b_142955.jpg

Then a couple people pulled lings over right after that :cry: The bigger one won the jackpot hands-down.
http://media5.dropshots.com/photos/304397/20071123/b_143027.jpg
http://media4.dropshots.com/photos/304397/20071123/b_143038.jpg
http://media5.dropshots.com/photos/304397/20071123/b_143225.jpg
(I bet the big one was the one that was hitchhiking on my rockfish :( )

My total catch (minus 3 fish including the smaller bocaccio):
http://media4.dropshots.com/photos/304397/20071123/b_143752.jpg

My buddies and I with our catch:
http://media4.dropshots.com/photos/304397/20071123/b_144004.jpg

Rockfish thumb! :D
http://media3.dropshots.com/photos/304397/20071123/b_151845.jpg

This dog took a dump on the boat and wanted everyone's food AND bait! But he kept the birds at bay
http://media3.dropshots.com/photos/304397/20071123/b_151902.jpg

And also the shark...
http://media5.dropshots.com/photos/304397/20071123/b_122543.jpg

Nice trip:
http://media3.dropshots.com/photos/304397/20071123/b_155541.jpg

There were two deckhands (one was a newbie) and the galley chef and capt occasionally helped out. It was rough with constant tangles :( The noob deckie was still learning the ropes so it was hard with help sometimes. But they did a good job though. The capt worked to put us on the fish so I can't complain. These definitely weren't as big as the fish I got from Hueneme so that aspect was a bit disappointing since these areas are known for both the quality and quantity. But I'm happy about getting my limit at least :) Oh yea, and no bananas spotted either :D
My dad steamed one of the rockfish earlier... good stuff

[pyronut]

Hey there,

Great trip guys. Looks like you all had a great time. :appl:

Too bad you couldn't keep that ling on :explode: but you will get the one your looking for.

Pyronut

[SanDimasLMB]

Hitchhikers are one of the reason your not supposed to pump and reel when rockfishing. When you pump to rod, the fish spin like crazy on the hooks and come off a lot of times. Just slow, steady winding is enough.

Nice fish and report :thumb:

[SanDimasLMB]

The dog's name's Doc BTW, very cool dog too. He's good luck if he likes you.

[Brian_GSC]

Man, nice report! I like the picture of the oil rig with the sun behind it.

Some days are better than others out there. One day you can get some big fish, the very next day it is all dinky ones.

If you get a chance, try spooling up with braid with a short topshot of mono...you will feel more bites that way, and you will lose fewer rigs too.

Also, if you are going to fish with mono, try using circle hooks...it will help in hooking fish you don't feel, and it will help keep the fish on your hook as you reel up. Ofcourse, a steady wind w/o pumping will also help the fish stay on your hooks.

Congrats on a good day on the water, and thanks for the fish porn!

[jplee3]

Thanks for the tips! Yea, we were using circle hooks and we're getting quite a few good ones that way. Fortunately we didn't lose any rigs on rocks or anything. My line did get cut on the first or second drop after a bad tangle. But fortunately the guy who cut my line retrieved my hooks and sinker and gave them to me at the end on the way back as I was putting away my stuff. I thought I had lost em for good though... (gosh, I hope there weren't any fish on!).

I have braid on both my Avet and Senator but I think I got wayyy too much topshot on - I did [percentage wise] 50/50 for the Avet and 90/10 on the Senator (about 100yds or so). I'm considering taking the mono off both and filling with braid (leaving room for some topshot of course) whenever I get to changing line. This was the first trip I cut into the braid on BOTH reels, so it was good to 'break' them in at least.

[SanDimasLMB]

Thanks for the tips! Yea, we were using circle hooks and we're getting quite a few good ones that way. Fortunately we didn't lose any rigs on rocks or anything. My line did get cut on the first or second drop after a bad tangle. But fortunately the guy who cut my line retrieved my hooks and sinker and gave them to me at the end on the way back as I was putting away my stuff. I thought I had lost em for good though... (gosh, I hope there weren't any fish on!).

I have braid on both my Avet and Senator but I think I got wayyy too much topshot on - I did [percentage wise] 50/50 for the Avet and 90/10 on the Senator (about 100yds or so). I'm considering taking the mono off both and filling with braid (leaving room for some topshot of course) whenever I get to changing line. This was the first trip I cut into the braid on BOTH reels, so it was good to 'break' them in at least.

For me, I basically fill my reels up with braid so that I can only tie on like 10-15yrds. of mono.

[Bobbyk]

Just so you know those aren't makos, but looks like a good trip way to go on those rockfish.

[ghetto dad]

great report and pics man....thanks

[one_leg]

No Anal Fin = Spiney Dogfish

Nice report and pics too. Thanks for sharing it with all of us.

One_Leg

[steve092]

Ooof!!
The thumb must've been annoying to fish with.
But nice report and catch.