Marley
06-21-2009, 01:10 AM
I wound up with too many hours at work this week and had to leave early Saturday. And what better thing to do with an evening off than to hit the local fishing hole! A quick run by the house for a change of clothes and an even quicker tackle-up and it was off to what has become a magic place for me, Santa Ana River Lakes.
I know, there’s a quarter of a million cars a day pass by just outside the fence and it’s not exactly a garden spot, but you can sit in a boat (or in your car in the driveway) and listen to peacocks call to each other as they climb to their roost, all the while watching the day fade into night. And besides, the fishing can be spectacular…
I tied up my ride over 30 feet of Santa Ana River water in what was really more evening breeze than I would have liked, and the boat quickly came tight on the anchors. Out went the offerings; a hunk of mackerel flylined on one stick, and a shrimp tail flylined on the other. Neither would make it to the bottom before being attacked, and both would end up as teaser morsels for the unseen quarry lurking below.
You’d think I had never done this or something. Maybe because I’d spent the last two weekends out chasing big game and totally struck out on both trips, maybe because it felt more like a trout hunt than a catfish hunt, but I totally farmed not only my first two hits, but the next two as well. What’s up with that?
Didn’t take much to acquaint myself with a bite again and the next time the 4-lb. was streaming of the Stradic, it was game on. A quick hookset and a couple of runs and my first catfish was in my net and going home for dinner.
A second fish quickly followed, as did enough to fill my limit. So quickly did I land my limit that I decided to buy another pass. 30 minutes in a boat really isn’t long enough at all. My second limit took a bit longer at just over an hour.
A third limit would have been greedy and since I’m not the world’s greatest at finding biting catfish, I figured I should save a little luck for next time out.
With one exception (and one LDR), my fish all came on flylined bait. The exceptions were when I put on a split shot and floated a shrimp 18” off the bottom. Otherwise, my fish came on either a shrimp or a hunk of mackerel. The fish seemed to be anywhere from 10 feet under the surface all the way to the bottom in 30 – 35 feet. There were guys around me catching fish with dropper loops and a wad of lead, but I prefer to use as little weight as possible for whatever I’m fishing for. It just feels better and I seem to catch more fish that way.
Line ultimately wasn't an issue as the fish hit the 12-lb. as readily as the 4-lb. And when the 12-lb. was wound on a Torium 14 tied to an 800xl, the poor things stood no chance...
There was no sign of the sturgeon they planted this week. They seem to be boiling or rolling on the surface, but they wanted nothing to do with a bait with a hook in it. Are they related to bluefin? Very few have been caught and they planted a lot, so maybe I’ll just have to get back over there next weekend…
I left my camera on my desk when I left so all the pictures I have are after the fact, but here you go…
A happy sink full of unhappy catfish…
http://www.allcoast.com/photos/data/504/100040DSCN26138043-med.jpg
I wish these things came apart as easily as trout…
http://www.allcoast.com/photos/data/504/100040DSCN26158044-med.jpg
Happiness is a huge gut pile, or at least a big bag full!
http://www.allcoast.com/photos/data/504/100040DSCN26168045-med.jpg
I know, there’s a quarter of a million cars a day pass by just outside the fence and it’s not exactly a garden spot, but you can sit in a boat (or in your car in the driveway) and listen to peacocks call to each other as they climb to their roost, all the while watching the day fade into night. And besides, the fishing can be spectacular…
I tied up my ride over 30 feet of Santa Ana River water in what was really more evening breeze than I would have liked, and the boat quickly came tight on the anchors. Out went the offerings; a hunk of mackerel flylined on one stick, and a shrimp tail flylined on the other. Neither would make it to the bottom before being attacked, and both would end up as teaser morsels for the unseen quarry lurking below.
You’d think I had never done this or something. Maybe because I’d spent the last two weekends out chasing big game and totally struck out on both trips, maybe because it felt more like a trout hunt than a catfish hunt, but I totally farmed not only my first two hits, but the next two as well. What’s up with that?
Didn’t take much to acquaint myself with a bite again and the next time the 4-lb. was streaming of the Stradic, it was game on. A quick hookset and a couple of runs and my first catfish was in my net and going home for dinner.
A second fish quickly followed, as did enough to fill my limit. So quickly did I land my limit that I decided to buy another pass. 30 minutes in a boat really isn’t long enough at all. My second limit took a bit longer at just over an hour.
A third limit would have been greedy and since I’m not the world’s greatest at finding biting catfish, I figured I should save a little luck for next time out.
With one exception (and one LDR), my fish all came on flylined bait. The exceptions were when I put on a split shot and floated a shrimp 18” off the bottom. Otherwise, my fish came on either a shrimp or a hunk of mackerel. The fish seemed to be anywhere from 10 feet under the surface all the way to the bottom in 30 – 35 feet. There were guys around me catching fish with dropper loops and a wad of lead, but I prefer to use as little weight as possible for whatever I’m fishing for. It just feels better and I seem to catch more fish that way.
Line ultimately wasn't an issue as the fish hit the 12-lb. as readily as the 4-lb. And when the 12-lb. was wound on a Torium 14 tied to an 800xl, the poor things stood no chance...
There was no sign of the sturgeon they planted this week. They seem to be boiling or rolling on the surface, but they wanted nothing to do with a bait with a hook in it. Are they related to bluefin? Very few have been caught and they planted a lot, so maybe I’ll just have to get back over there next weekend…
I left my camera on my desk when I left so all the pictures I have are after the fact, but here you go…
A happy sink full of unhappy catfish…
http://www.allcoast.com/photos/data/504/100040DSCN26138043-med.jpg
I wish these things came apart as easily as trout…
http://www.allcoast.com/photos/data/504/100040DSCN26158044-med.jpg
Happiness is a huge gut pile, or at least a big bag full!
http://www.allcoast.com/photos/data/504/100040DSCN26168045-med.jpg