Jackpot Jimmy
12-05-2009, 10:41 PM
At last, the time has arrived. Words cannot express the excitement of this kind of fishing – winter time leadhead and squid sand bass fishing. The poaching of spots at the rail, ninja-like reflexes, and a loss of leadheads all characterize this special kind of fishing. The thrill of pulling a nice bass out of the stones is exhilarating. If you pay close attention and work at it, you will be richly rewarded.
In the last week, the Tradition managed to make some live squid, and they also collected plenty of fresh dead. They call it candy bait, and that was no lie. The bass counts for the Tradition boosted in the last week, along with some triggerfish, sheephead, sculpin, and even some bonito. Anyways, my dad and I got down to Redondo early, and we rolled off the dock at 6am, with 24 anglers and plugged tanks. Our crew consisted of Captain Steven Konrady, Derrick in the galley, and John and Greg on deck. We rigged up our heavier set-ups with leadheads, and some guys slipped some mogambos on their heads. I recently bought some dorado-colored mogambos, and I was eager to try them. After about an hour or so up the coast, we set up on our first spot.
It was actually slow to start out. We were pounded by the perch, and only a few bass were caught on a couple different spots. However, those who were fishing a little jig on the surface or plastic with squid on the surface were getting some smaller bonito. In addition, some guys got bonito on their leadhead and squid set-ups. At our first or second spot, Tradition regular Tom hooked up with something big that ended up being a nice angel shark. With these guys, you have to be extremely careful, because they will tear you to shreds. After a while, the bite picked up a little bit. Some nice grumpies and calicos came over the rail, and quite a few people adapted to the fishing rather quickly and caught their fair share. One guy ended up with a huge sheephead that taped out at 13 pounds.
The weather looked ominous for the better part of the day, but there was one period when it was flat calm, and it actually got warm. However, the wind quickly picked up again - so much for that.
We tried a couple more spots in the afternoon, and we got some more bass and sculpin. The last spot was one of the better spots of the day. We swung around on the anchor, and we would get the vast majority of the bites when the stern was facing towards shore. This spot held mostly calicos, and nice ones at that. With time running out, Steven turned the boat towards Redondo, and we headed on home.
It was a nice day fishing the structure sand bass. Nothing wide open, but a steady pick nonetheless. I ended up with six or seven mixed bass, with a couple of them close to four pounds. A nice mixed bag was caught today – bass, triggerfish, sculpin, rockfish, bonito, sheephead, and even an angel shark. You needed fast reflexes today, as some guys got completely ruined. However, I did not lose one leadhead today. If I was too slow, I would get stuck in the stone, but I would slack off, put it in gear, feel a thump, and swing, only to lose the fish. I did get some fish out with that technique, though. Quite a few casualties today, but people learned from them, and made sure to be a little quicker on the draw. Overall, it was a great day on the water. Great times, great fishing!
http://i391.photobucket.com/albums/oo358/Jackpot-Jimmy/001-31.jpg
http://i391.photobucket.com/albums/oo358/Jackpot-Jimmy/002-33.jpg
http://i391.photobucket.com/albums/oo358/Jackpot-Jimmy/003-32.jpg
http://i391.photobucket.com/albums/oo358/Jackpot-Jimmy/004-28.jpg
http://i391.photobucket.com/albums/oo358/Jackpot-Jimmy/006-26.jpg
In the last week, the Tradition managed to make some live squid, and they also collected plenty of fresh dead. They call it candy bait, and that was no lie. The bass counts for the Tradition boosted in the last week, along with some triggerfish, sheephead, sculpin, and even some bonito. Anyways, my dad and I got down to Redondo early, and we rolled off the dock at 6am, with 24 anglers and plugged tanks. Our crew consisted of Captain Steven Konrady, Derrick in the galley, and John and Greg on deck. We rigged up our heavier set-ups with leadheads, and some guys slipped some mogambos on their heads. I recently bought some dorado-colored mogambos, and I was eager to try them. After about an hour or so up the coast, we set up on our first spot.
It was actually slow to start out. We were pounded by the perch, and only a few bass were caught on a couple different spots. However, those who were fishing a little jig on the surface or plastic with squid on the surface were getting some smaller bonito. In addition, some guys got bonito on their leadhead and squid set-ups. At our first or second spot, Tradition regular Tom hooked up with something big that ended up being a nice angel shark. With these guys, you have to be extremely careful, because they will tear you to shreds. After a while, the bite picked up a little bit. Some nice grumpies and calicos came over the rail, and quite a few people adapted to the fishing rather quickly and caught their fair share. One guy ended up with a huge sheephead that taped out at 13 pounds.
The weather looked ominous for the better part of the day, but there was one period when it was flat calm, and it actually got warm. However, the wind quickly picked up again - so much for that.
We tried a couple more spots in the afternoon, and we got some more bass and sculpin. The last spot was one of the better spots of the day. We swung around on the anchor, and we would get the vast majority of the bites when the stern was facing towards shore. This spot held mostly calicos, and nice ones at that. With time running out, Steven turned the boat towards Redondo, and we headed on home.
It was a nice day fishing the structure sand bass. Nothing wide open, but a steady pick nonetheless. I ended up with six or seven mixed bass, with a couple of them close to four pounds. A nice mixed bag was caught today – bass, triggerfish, sculpin, rockfish, bonito, sheephead, and even an angel shark. You needed fast reflexes today, as some guys got completely ruined. However, I did not lose one leadhead today. If I was too slow, I would get stuck in the stone, but I would slack off, put it in gear, feel a thump, and swing, only to lose the fish. I did get some fish out with that technique, though. Quite a few casualties today, but people learned from them, and made sure to be a little quicker on the draw. Overall, it was a great day on the water. Great times, great fishing!
http://i391.photobucket.com/albums/oo358/Jackpot-Jimmy/001-31.jpg
http://i391.photobucket.com/albums/oo358/Jackpot-Jimmy/002-33.jpg
http://i391.photobucket.com/albums/oo358/Jackpot-Jimmy/003-32.jpg
http://i391.photobucket.com/albums/oo358/Jackpot-Jimmy/004-28.jpg
http://i391.photobucket.com/albums/oo358/Jackpot-Jimmy/006-26.jpg