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View Full Version : Anyone ever catch rockfish in our local harbors?



Ifishtoolittle
08-07-2010, 10:58 PM
I'm just curious because over in Japan a lot of guys will use UL equipment and use little jigs for rockfish in harbors. Over there every harbor is teeming with little rockfish. So, do we have any small rockfish a say reds or bocs that will dwell inside harbors? I know for sure that grass rockfish and treefish tend to be in shallow waters. If there are some smaller grade rockfish in harbors I may just try those techniques out.

YouTube - ‪????????????????‬‎ (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7uWgoXPhDc&playnext=1&videos=eXMruA9d2lI)
Here's a video so you guys will know what I'm talking about.

Thanks.

-IF2L

smokehound
08-08-2010, 08:08 AM
Ive heard of boccacio being common around some harbors.. never seen any myself though..


Ive seen some, like brown rockfish, and grass rockfish.. a scorpionfish here and there..

Havent really seen any other rockfish in the harbors though.


I really doubt reds would be in the harbors..

Ifishtoolittle
08-08-2010, 05:58 PM
Ive heard of boccacio being common around some harbors.. never seen any myself though..


Ive seen some, like brown rockfish, and grass rockfish.. a scorpionfish here and there..

Havent really seen any other rockfish in the harbors though.


I really doubt reds would be in the harbors..

Alright thanks for the info smokehound. I guess the only way to really know if there are decent numbers of rockfish in harbors is to go out and fish in them.

agbasser
08-10-2010, 10:05 AM
i caught a sculpin in newport harbor once,while fishing spotties.does that count?

Natural Lefty
08-10-2010, 10:26 AM
Ifishtoolittle, I have caught a few small Cal. Scorpionfish (Sculpin), Grass Rockfish and maybe Brown Rockfish in Oceanside Harbor. I have also heard of Rockfish in Mission Bay and San Diego Bay. Farther north, Grass Rockfish and maybe some other kinds are common in Santa Barbara harbor, but I don't know if you consider that a local harbor or not. It seems to me that the farther north, the more and larger Rockfish there are. Good luck catching them. I had Opaleyes going after my jig at Oceanside Harbor last time, so maybe Rockfish would too.

Ifishtoolittle
08-10-2010, 03:17 PM
i caught a sculpin in newport harbor once,while fishing spotties.does that count?

Yeah I think that should count. Thanks.

Ifishtoolittle
08-10-2010, 03:18 PM
Ifishtoolittle, I have caught a few small Cal. Scorpionfish (Sculpin), Grass Rockfish and maybe Brown Rockfish in Oceanside Harbor. I have also heard of Rockfish in Mission Bay and San Diego Bay. Farther north, Grass Rockfish and maybe some other kinds are common in Santa Barbara harbor, but I don't know if you consider that a local harbor or not. It seems to me that the farther north, the more and larger Rockfish there are. Good luck catching them. I had Opaleyes going after my jig at Oceanside Harbor last time, so maybe Rockfish would too.

Yeah I'm not sure if I would go that far north just to catch some rockfish in the harbor, but thanks though I'll use this info you gave me.

n1ckxlam
08-10-2010, 04:17 PM
hmmm thats a tough thought. even the northern bays near SF dont have a lot of rockfish in their harbors, when rockfish is the name of the game. down here, they are even more scarce. the occasional sculpin is probably the only exception when it comes to rockfish, but i dont really see that being a huge finding in the harbors. what kind of rockfish are you referring to though? like inshore sculpin and gazer species or like vermillion, blues, blacks, and olives? a lot of those rockfish wont be found this far south, or even that shallow.
honestly in light of this, i would love to see a report on the rockfish you got from the harbor [no sarcasm], heh.
good luck to you ifishtoolittle,

Nick

smokehound
08-10-2010, 04:37 PM
You will find some around the REALLY deep bays.

Lots of people catch nice rockfish around the santa monica bay. Vermillions too.

Ifishtoolittle
08-10-2010, 05:11 PM
hmmm thats a tough thought. even the northern bays near SF dont have a lot of rockfish in their harbors, when rockfish is the name of the game. down here, they are even more scarce. the occasional sculpin is probably the only exception when it comes to rockfish, but i dont really see that being a huge finding in the harbors. what kind of rockfish are you referring to though? like inshore sculpin and gazer species or like vermillion, blues, blacks, and olives? a lot of those rockfish wont be found this far south, or even that shallow.
honestly in light of this, i would love to see a report on the rockfish you got from the harbor [no sarcasm], heh.
good luck to you ifishtoolittle,

Nick

I guess any inshore rockfish would be good. From what I have always observed young fish of any species tend to stay in the shallows until they are large enough to venture out into the deep. I was just hoping to target these young rockfish.

Ifishtoolittle
08-10-2010, 05:12 PM
You will find some around the REALLY deep bays.

Lots of people catch nice rockfish around the santa monica bay. Vermillions too.

REALLY deep? Well I was hoping to target rockfish from shore, but that is good too, thanks.

n1ckxlam
08-10-2010, 10:37 PM
i believe juvenile rockfish still mature in open water, and many that break 8 inches in length begin to venture into the deep as well. but dont let that stop you bro, haha. there arent too many stripers or salmon in the south, but they are caught nonetheless. when you find the rockfish hole, i will be more than happy to hear the "told ya so"
good luck ifishtoolittle

Nick

smokehound
08-10-2010, 11:03 PM
Rockfish (excluding salmon groupers) are mostly sedentary fish. They drift around as larvae, and when they transform into juveniles, they settle down and seldom migrate more than a mile.

Salmon groupers are the only ones that really cover considerable distance.

4g63power
08-10-2010, 11:20 PM
sup nick! long time buddy...edwin caught some rockfish off the docks inside redondo harbor in front of the oyster bars. pretty cool looking creatures. lets fish dude. are you going on big daves charter this weekend?

n1ckxlam
08-11-2010, 09:05 AM
Rockfish (excluding salmon groupers) are mostly sedentary fish. They drift around as larvae, and when they transform into juveniles, they settle down and seldom migrate more than a mile.

Salmon groupers are the only ones that really cover considerable distance.

thanks smokehound

haha ya wouldnt doubt edwin caught some. yah ill be on the charter, you? and its next weekend right?

elevated
08-11-2010, 10:36 AM
I've caught brown rockfish from MDR, really small though, about 8-10 inches...

Ifishtoolittle
08-11-2010, 12:42 PM
i believe juvenile rockfish still mature in open water, and many that break 8 inches in length begin to venture into the deep as well. but dont let that stop you bro, haha. there arent too many stripers or salmon in the south, but they are caught nonetheless. when you find the rockfish hole, i will be more than happy to hear the "told ya so"
good luck ifishtoolittle

Nick

Thanks n1ckxxlam.

Ifishtoolittle
08-11-2010, 12:59 PM
Rockfish (excluding salmon groupers) are mostly sedentary fish. They drift around as larvae, and when they transform into juveniles, they settle down and seldom migrate more than a mile.

Salmon groupers are the only ones that really cover considerable distance.

Hmmm, okay thanks smokehound.

Ifishtoolittle
08-11-2010, 12:59 PM
I've caught brown rockfish from MDR, really small though, about 8-10 inches...

Awesome thanks.

badgerbacker
08-18-2010, 02:35 PM
My wife caught a 13-14" Cal. Scorpionfish (Sculpin) out of Dana Point harbor this year. We were in a boat, but the fish was only about 20' from the rocks. I have picked up a couple 10-12" out of there in the last few years.

FishinElectrician
08-21-2010, 05:18 PM
The skipper of the New Del Mar (Rick Oefinger) told me that when he brought the vessel down from Washington, he and his crew would fish for lingcod as they crept down the coast, and kept them alive in the tanks. Once they docked in the marina, they released them all...

Ifishtoolittle
08-21-2010, 09:58 PM
The skipper of the New Del Mar (Rick Oefinger) told me that when he brought the vessel down from Washington, he and his crew would fish for lingcod as they crept down the coast, and kept them alive in the tanks. Once they docked in the marina, they released them all...

Hmm, interesting.

Ifishtoolittle
08-21-2010, 09:59 PM
My wife caught a 13-14" Cal. Scorpionfish (Sculpin) out of Dana Point harbor this year. We were in a boat, but the fish was only about 20' from the rocks. I have picked up a couple 10-12" out of there in the last few years.

I consider sculpin as rockfish so thank you for this badgerbacker.

Swank909
08-23-2010, 04:53 PM
I'll second the NPH Sculpin reports, I've randomly caught two on squid within the last 3 years (I dont bait fish often). Caught them off the Jetty (The wedge) if it helps any. I've never seen nor caught any myself from the harbor shore though, I fish plastics almost weekly (in NPH).

Ifishtoolittle
08-23-2010, 05:01 PM
I'll second the NPH Sculpin reports, I've randomly caught two on squid within the last 3 years (I dont bait fish often). Caught them off the Jetty (The wedge) if it helps any. I've never seen nor caught any myself from the harbor shore though, I fish plastics almost weekly (in NPH).

Thanks for the confirmation. I'll use all this info if I ever get a chance to go out to fish the salt soon.