Jackpot Jimmy
12-26-2009, 09:06 PM
We rolled off the dock at 6am with 16 anglers and headed north. Our crew consisted of Captain Steven Konrady, Derrick in the galley, and Morgon and John on deck. The plan was to fish bass in the morning, and move on to the sculpin and rockfish in the afternoon. After driving about an hour or so up the line, we finally dropped anchor and started fishing.
All morning long, we had flat calm, yet slack conditions. This caused us to swing around and lose track of where the rock was. However, we chipped away at some bass and nice sheephead. We had some flurries going at times, but with the constant search for the rock, these were few and far between. Most of the guys were fishing the straight leadhead and squid, and the fish would grab the head of the squid, and not get the hook all the way, which lead to a little bit of frustration. At some times in the morning, the bass would want the whole squid, but like last week, at times they wanted the smaller profile bait. As always, these bass were aggressive. One guy lost a leadhead to a nice bass, and not five minutes later, our friend Tom lands a nice bass and right when he bounces the fish to the deck, out comes the leadhead lost earlier. It really is interesting to see that even after a fish is wounded, they are still interested in getting what they think is an easy meal.
Like I said, we had a nice pick on the bass in the morning. We bounced around on a few spots, with the deeper spots producing a bit more than the spots in shallow. At one of those spots, I managed to land a legal cabezon, which was my first legal cabezon caught in-season. In fact, I caught a legal one last February, but due to the closure, it had to be thrown back. Anyways, at some spots, you had to make a little lob cast and drag over the rock. Just before we were done with the bass fishing, I succeeded with this technique, and landed a nice big grumpy sand bass, which made for a total of three or four quality sand bass for me. Around thirty minutes past noon, Steven announced that we would be headed out to the sculpin hole down the coast.
Once we got there, it was pretty instantaneous on the sculpin, but the slack conditions made it tough to stay on the spot. After three times of repositioning and a steady pick on the sculpin, Steven decided to make some drifts over the spot. Some more sculpin were caught, but it was pretty evident that they had scattered. With time running out, Steven turned the boat towards Redondo, and we headed on home. Jackpot went to Tradition regular Tom with a nice big sand bass that he wrestled out of the rocks, and in the process, broke its gill plate. That’s exactly how those big sand bass try to escape – wedging themselves deep within the stone, and flaring out their gills so it is darn near impossible to get them out. Anyways, it was all right today, but as winter goes on, it’s only going to get better. Great times, great fishing!
P.S. I hope all of you had a good holiday, and I want to wish you a joyous and prosperous 2010.
I apologize about the quality of the pictures. There was a smudge on the lens of my camera that I didn’t realize was there until I got home. Believe me, I can take better pictures. I especially hope Tom forgives me, because I won’t be able to poach him ever again. Personally, I think my camera hates him. :Wink:
http://i391.photobucket.com/albums/oo358/Jackpot-Jimmy/001-33.jpg
http://i391.photobucket.com/albums/oo358/Jackpot-Jimmy/004-30.jpg
http://i391.photobucket.com/albums/oo358/Jackpot-Jimmy/005-39.jpg
http://i391.photobucket.com/albums/oo358/Jackpot-Jimmy/006-29.jpg
http://i391.photobucket.com/albums/oo358/Jackpot-Jimmy/012-12.jpg
http://i391.photobucket.com/albums/oo358/Jackpot-Jimmy/013-9.jpg
http://i391.photobucket.com/albums/oo358/Jackpot-Jimmy/014-10.jpg
All morning long, we had flat calm, yet slack conditions. This caused us to swing around and lose track of where the rock was. However, we chipped away at some bass and nice sheephead. We had some flurries going at times, but with the constant search for the rock, these were few and far between. Most of the guys were fishing the straight leadhead and squid, and the fish would grab the head of the squid, and not get the hook all the way, which lead to a little bit of frustration. At some times in the morning, the bass would want the whole squid, but like last week, at times they wanted the smaller profile bait. As always, these bass were aggressive. One guy lost a leadhead to a nice bass, and not five minutes later, our friend Tom lands a nice bass and right when he bounces the fish to the deck, out comes the leadhead lost earlier. It really is interesting to see that even after a fish is wounded, they are still interested in getting what they think is an easy meal.
Like I said, we had a nice pick on the bass in the morning. We bounced around on a few spots, with the deeper spots producing a bit more than the spots in shallow. At one of those spots, I managed to land a legal cabezon, which was my first legal cabezon caught in-season. In fact, I caught a legal one last February, but due to the closure, it had to be thrown back. Anyways, at some spots, you had to make a little lob cast and drag over the rock. Just before we were done with the bass fishing, I succeeded with this technique, and landed a nice big grumpy sand bass, which made for a total of three or four quality sand bass for me. Around thirty minutes past noon, Steven announced that we would be headed out to the sculpin hole down the coast.
Once we got there, it was pretty instantaneous on the sculpin, but the slack conditions made it tough to stay on the spot. After three times of repositioning and a steady pick on the sculpin, Steven decided to make some drifts over the spot. Some more sculpin were caught, but it was pretty evident that they had scattered. With time running out, Steven turned the boat towards Redondo, and we headed on home. Jackpot went to Tradition regular Tom with a nice big sand bass that he wrestled out of the rocks, and in the process, broke its gill plate. That’s exactly how those big sand bass try to escape – wedging themselves deep within the stone, and flaring out their gills so it is darn near impossible to get them out. Anyways, it was all right today, but as winter goes on, it’s only going to get better. Great times, great fishing!
P.S. I hope all of you had a good holiday, and I want to wish you a joyous and prosperous 2010.
I apologize about the quality of the pictures. There was a smudge on the lens of my camera that I didn’t realize was there until I got home. Believe me, I can take better pictures. I especially hope Tom forgives me, because I won’t be able to poach him ever again. Personally, I think my camera hates him. :Wink:
http://i391.photobucket.com/albums/oo358/Jackpot-Jimmy/001-33.jpg
http://i391.photobucket.com/albums/oo358/Jackpot-Jimmy/004-30.jpg
http://i391.photobucket.com/albums/oo358/Jackpot-Jimmy/005-39.jpg
http://i391.photobucket.com/albums/oo358/Jackpot-Jimmy/006-29.jpg
http://i391.photobucket.com/albums/oo358/Jackpot-Jimmy/012-12.jpg
http://i391.photobucket.com/albums/oo358/Jackpot-Jimmy/013-9.jpg
http://i391.photobucket.com/albums/oo358/Jackpot-Jimmy/014-10.jpg