shore fishing at catalina??

[christainmetalhead909]

ill be at catalina next week in toyon bay for 5 days. whats the best way to fish from the shore or the pier for yellow tail or anything big? also what is the best time to fish and bait to use. i have seen yellow tail swim right under the pier in years past so i know they come in close. any info will be usefull. thank you.

[calico killer kevin]

Toyon Bay? I thought that was only for the school campers? Anyway, I went there four years ago for 5 days and did the whole camp thing. Lots of calicos and sheeps around the pier and surrounding kelp.

I talked to one of the instructors that has a boat and fishes that area every morning. I believe he is still working there. Well, he catches plenty of calicos, sheeps, cabbies, and every once in a while, a lone yellow. He fishes artificial mostly and does pretty well. If you have a chance, take out one of their kayaks and work an iron in the deeper water or troll a small mac.

[christainmetalhead909]

thanks for the info ya it is only for camper but my friends dad and friends did allt he electrical work there and the camp lets us come stay for 5 days and lets us do what ever we please its so sweet. ya there are all kinds of calicos under that float at the end. a few years ago early in the morning i hooked up with a yellow off the float with my bass pole and got stripped lol. so the deeper what with a iron i just drop it down and bring it up fast right? i have a bunch of them but i hardly ever use them.

[victor101]

you lucky &%$$#&%^&.....Toss some iron for the yellowtail... take a sabiki rig and try some of the smaller macs! post a report!

[calico killer kevin]

Sweet. In the mornings, rip a surface iron fast across the surface and later in the day, head out and yoyo deep. For the yoyo, reel as fast as you can. Nothing less than 30 or you'll regret it. Bring a 2 speed if you got it.

Don't know if they still allow it, but we used to jump off that float at the end of the pier. Prize catch is the ever so elusive 95 pound 5th grade private schooler haha. Lots of them around, but apparently, they're kinda like mullets. Jump around and don't bite anything, so you gotta pull out the bigass trebles and snag them haha.

[Nessie Hunter]

A few good articles on "Saltwater yo yo fishing" on Google..


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Fishing the Yo-Yo iron for early spring yellows at San Clemente island
By Oliver Ngy

Depending on the conditions, overnight party boats will start fishing San Clemente island for the spring yellowtail and seabass in March/April. Often times they'll fish them on the drift over meter marks/breezing fish in 200 plus feet of water. This is the time to bust out the heavy jigs and put quality yellows on the deck.

What you'll need

6-7 foot rod for fishing 40 or 50 lb line. The shorter rod will provide more leverage while fighting the fish up to the boat. Casting is not an issue as you just drop your iron over the side

4/0 sized reel such as a Daiwa slx-40, Penn GS 545, Penn 4/0 senator, Pro Gear 545/440, Shimano Trinidad/Torium 20 or 40, etc. Narrower reels will be much easier to handle during the fast winding involved during yo-yo fishing. You also want a reel with a bit higher gear ratio say 4:1-6:1, it'll make a day of fishing the yo-yo a lot easier

40 or 50 lb QUALITY line. These spring yellows fight like bruisers and they'll bust you off in a second if you're line isn't up to par. I suggest green or clear line at the islands as I've had really inconsistent results with anything blue, but that is just my opinion. P-line CXX, Maxima Ultragreen, Berkely Big Game, Soft Steel, and Stren High Impact are all lines I have confidence in. Don't forget to check for abrasion or nicks after every fish.

Yo-Yo iron jigs are heavier than their surface iron counterparts; they're made to sink fast. Tady 9, A2, 4/0, Iron man 3, 5, 6, Salas 6x jr, 6x are all great fish catchers. As far as colors go, a few basics such as dorado, blue and while, scrambled egg, black and white, chrome, and white get bit fine. If you have a great “looking” jig without the right action versus an ugly jig with a great kick, the ugly jig will usually win out the pretty one. As far as how to tell which jigs swim better than others you gotta go out and fish em. You can have 5 jigs of the same model and color and only have 1 that catches fish. Make sure those treble hooks are sharp!Now how to work the iron:

Just Drop your jig over the side of the boat, it doesn't matter if you're not in the stern. I like to get away from everyone and fish on the bow
Let it sink to the depth where the fish have been metered or breezing or all the way to the bottom

Put your reel in gear and depending on what kind of jig and action the yellows desire, wind it in with a steady medium to a burning fast retrieve. Pay attention to how fast the guys who are getting bit are winding and try to mimic them. You can NOT reel the iron faster than a yellowtail can swim. Keep your rod tip pointed right at the jig while you wind.

When you get bit. DON'T set the hook!!! It will feel like you snagged often times, but when you're fishing open water in 200-300 feet there isn't anything to snag on. WIND, WIND, WIND!!! You wind until line starts screaming off your reel, that's how you set the hook when fishing the yo-yo. Also beware of bites during the sink, if you're line goes slack before it hits bottom, or you feel a tick you've just been bit. Put the reel in gear and wind, wind, wind. Don't lift the fishes head out of the water when it comes up to gaff, he'll shake his head and send that treble hook back at you if you do
If you don't get bit don't get discouraged, that last drop of the day can produce the jackpot winning mossback yellowtail. Wind the jig up until you get to within viewing distance if you don't see followers and just put your reel in freespool and let it drop back down to the strike zone. Repeat until you succeed

This style of fishing is a bit strenuous on the body as a lot of winding is involved, not to mention fighting 20-30lb yellows up to gaff. I find it to be very rewarding when that jig just “stops” in the middle of the water column and hope you feel the same. Yellowtail that eat yo-yo iron are usually better quality fish than those caught on bait, and you never know when that 40lber decides your iron is his lunch. If you have never fished this way and don't have the gear, etc, just contact me and I'll do my best to help you out. Good fishing

[victor101]

yoyo iron from shore?....... I thought we were talking about shore fishing.

[samgann93]

Throw surface irons in the morning and then make some baby macs and put a little weight and see what happens.

[calico killer kevin]

Vic, theres a bout a 50-75ft pier with a little float at the end. There are some sick kelps to cast at.

[christainmetalhead909]

thanks for the info, yes people can still jump off the float but only at certain times. do the yellow tail feed at night? how deep should i be to try to the yo yo jigs? we can use their canoos but we can only go out so far with them. i got some sabikis and i got a throw net also :) hope i can throw it i just got it yesterday.

also thanks nessie for the info on the way to fish the yoyo's

cal killer kev: lol we dont have many of the little ones and i wont fish by them any way but i will try the kayak idea later in the day. ill definatly post the hole trip up. most the time this guy takes us out for a day on his boat to go for yellows so hope he takes us out some time this year.

[christainmetalhead909]

Vic, theres a bout a 50-75ft pier with a little float at the end. There are some sick kelps to cast at.

i have snorkeld the kelps so many times and i have never seen yellows or wsb in them but it is a lot of kelp. last year we had a school of yellows right under the float, but they were only 5 lbs each lol.

[victor101]

50-70 ft long but how deep? I wouldnt yoyo an iron off the pier, but i guess you never know. I personally would CAST out a Sumo C2 or Tady 9 in blue/chrome or scrambled egg. Let it sink...and wind it in. What i like about this size iron is its small enough for a big calico or bonita to attack it and the weight lets you work it at different dephts. Ive also had luck with megabait jigs used from shore. Bonita and bass love em...

I would also try simbaits and dropshot gulp jerkshads....I would try the LC 110 from the surf...or the LC pointer off the pier...

So many different things to try...

Post a report...ive been wanting to shore fish at catalina for a long time.

[christainmetalhead909]

vic its only about 30 to 40 ft deep at the end. ill go pic up a mega bait. there are some big bass around the area, and i have a couple of the smaller irons. thanks for the info. like i said i will post the report its always a blast going every year.

[4g63power]

good luck brad

[christainmetalhead909]

good luck brad

thanks man ill be there from the 14 to the 19

[TShaffer]

Where are you going to be at? I just did all the same things your talking about (shore, pier, dock, kayak, and boat) except at two harbors the weekend of July 31st. Used lots of swimbaits for a lot of calicos. Irons produced nothing except calicos. Caught blue perch, whitefish, sheepshead, opaleyeMy buddy got spooled by something BIG at the dock on live bait he caught. I also tried some deep water fishing with the Lucanus Jig for some sandabs and sculpins. Also off the dock some guy caught an over legal sculpin! I could see the bottom where he caught it It was pretty funny.

[fishon714]

yoyo iron from shore?....... I thought we were talking about shore fishing.

Me too. Weird. Also throwing a yoyo from a pier? That would be wierd too since the water is only a few feet deep at the pier in Avalon.


fishon714

[ghetto dad]

thanks for the info ya it is only for camper but my friends dad and friends did allt he electrical work there and the camp lets us come stay for 5 days and lets us do what ever we please its so sweet. ya there are all kinds of calicos under that float at the end. a few years ago early in the morning i hooked up with a yellow off the float with my bass pole and got stripped lol. so the deeper what with a iron i just drop it down and bring it up fast right? i have a bunch of them but i hardly ever use them.

:ROFL:good old Brad...hooking up with High School girls....lmao....

have fun brother.....

GD

[christainmetalhead909]

Where are you going to be at? I just did all the same things your talking about (shore, pier, dock, kayak, and boat) except at two harbors the weekend of July 31st. Used lots of swimbaits for a lot of calicos. Irons produced nothing except calicos. Caught blue perch, whitefish, sheepshead, opaleyeMy buddy got spooled by something BIG at the dock on live bait he caught. I also tried some deep water fishing with the Lucanus Jig for some sandabs and sculpins. Also off the dock some guy caught an over legal sculpin! I could see the bottom where he caught it It was pretty funny.

two three coves up from avalon its called toyon bay.

[fishncatalina]

Hey, If they let you use a kayak bring the smallest sabiki rig you can find and catch yourself a smelt, also have a 20# to 25# rig and flyline that thing out behind the kayak
and paddle slowly between Toyon and Frog rock (no need to paddle fast) keep it in freespoll with the clicker on and get ready, when the clicker goes off turn it off with your thumb slightly on the spool, if line is still peeling off, count to 3, put it in gear and set the hook, I've caught more yellows in that area than I can count, It has been a little slow this year but their out there.

Good Luck

[christainmetalhead909]

Hey, If they let you use a kayak bring the smallest sabiki rig you can find and catch yourself a smelt, also have a 20# to 25# rig and flyline that thing out behind the kayak
and paddle slowly between Toyon and Frog rock (no need to paddle fast) keep it in freespoll with the clicker on and get ready, when the clicker goes off turn it off with your thumb slightly on the spool, if line is still peeling off, count to 3, put it in gear and set the hook, I've caught more yellows in that area than I can count, It has been a little slow this year but their out there.

Good Luck

im not sure where frog rock is but we can use the kayaks and i will try this out tomorrow when im there. thanks for the info.

[Hometown]

im not sure where frog rock is but we can use the kayaks and i will try this out tomorrow when im there. thanks for the info.

frog rock i believe is the large rock on the shorebreak east of long point looks like a frog squting

[smokehound]

find spots that have kelp nearshore. Some toad calicos in those spots.