Jackpot Jimmy
01-23-2011, 12:35 PM
On Thursday night, the Tradition loaded up the tanks with some live squid to hopefully spur some better action on the bass for the weekend. Our game plan was to first go out and get our limits on sculpin, and then go inside and fish the bass. On the way north, we rigged up our rods first for the sculpin. My choice of rig was the rig that was very successful for me last week – a four ounce leadhead and big scampi with a smaller plastic up above it. A couple of other guys did the same, except for having a B2 squid plastic up above the big scampi. For the rest of the time, I shot the breeze with my friends, ribbing each other and keeping ourselves entertained. And soon, we were at the fishing grounds.
The sculpin fishing was the usual instantaneous type fishing, and we started loading up on some quality sculpin. Not every one was a nice one like last Sunday, but a few nicer ones did come up. As for me, I was getting quite a few shorts in between the legals. Normally I would use my go-to spectra rig for this type of fishing, but I had to put that reel out of commission while it gets serviced, so I put my P-332 Newell with 25 pound test line on my Super Seeker 809. I could still feel the bite, but it was hard to tell sometimes if I had a fish on, or if my rig was just fouled up. Nevertheless, I got my limit as did everyone else, so we headed inside to fish the bass.
Bill with a Quality Double on Sculpin
http://i391.photobucket.com/albums/oo358/Jackpot-Jimmy/001-65.jpg
Quality Sculpin
http://i391.photobucket.com/albums/oo358/Jackpot-Jimmy/002-59.jpg
More Big Sculpin for Tom and Bill
http://i391.photobucket.com/albums/oo358/Jackpot-Jimmy/004-52.jpg
We got inside and found the rock after a little while. At this spot, we had two stones around us – one being on the stern/port corner, and the other being off the starboard bow. We were swinging around quite a bit so it was hard to locate the one off the stern, so most of the guys went up to the bow to fish the other one. I stayed on the stern as it was receiving little pressure, and I was rewarded by landing the first bass of the day.
http://i391.photobucket.com/albums/oo358/Jackpot-Jimmy/005-68.jpg
Meanwhile on the bow, my friend Bill got manhandled by a BIG bass. He successfully got it up out of the rocks and had ten cranks on it as it was fighting the whole way, and it just pulled the hook. This same thing happened to me last week, and I guess when it comes to this, you just have to hook them in the right spot, but this is something you can’t control.
After this, I got another bite on the stern and set the hook. I was fighting like a bass but it came up and this was the result…
http://i391.photobucket.com/albums/oo358/Jackpot-Jimmy/003-62.jpg
This nice cabbie would have been a keeper if it was in season. But, just like last week with the brown rockfish and the sheephead, it was certainly nice to catch and release it. Soon after, we moved on to another spot. This spot was located off the starboard side around the gate. On one drop, I got a bite, and swung, and got the fish out of the rocks. I got a few cranks on it, and then it started to really pull. I had it turned again slightly and got a few more cranks on it, and then the line went slack, and the fish was lost. It was the second time that day that’s happened and my second week in a row where that’s happened. I just would have liked to see it, because it had to have been something BIG, just like Bill’s lost fish. Other than this, there was nothing doing, so we moved on.
We located the next stone off the port side towards the bow. This one was very sticky, and there were quite a few casualties as a result. If you landed on the other side of the ledge, you got bit pretty much instantly. I was still using 25 pound test line, and a couple other guys were using 20 pound test. We had picked a few bass when Matt, one of our deckhands for the day, hooked something that pulled really well and landed this…
http://i391.photobucket.com/albums/oo358/Jackpot-Jimmy/006-53.jpg
http://i391.photobucket.com/albums/oo358/Jackpot-Jimmy/010-37.jpg
This was nice to see, as I haven’t seen a triggerfish caught in a while. It was a nice one weighing three pounds, three ounces. A little while after this, I got bit, set the hook, and I noticed the fish had quite an erratic pattern coming in, and landed another nice triggerfish that weighed four pounds even. I was very happy as I haven’t caught one in a couple years. I got bit plenty of times last year but none were eager to latch on to my leadhead all the way.
http://i391.photobucket.com/albums/oo358/Jackpot-Jimmy/007-46.jpg
After this, we landed a few more bass, but then the bite petered out to nothing, so we moved on to another spot close by. We landed some more bass here too, but before long, it was time to head for home. We ended up with 18 bass and 2 triggerfish for our efforts, and with all the missed fish meaning more bites, it definitely was the best day for us so far this year. I ended up with three sand bass, a calico, and the triggerfish, being the high stick for the day. Like I said, I fished 25 pound test most of the time and ended up fine, but at one spot I had to bump it up to 30 pound for a little while. In regards to what they wanted, it was mixed. At some points they wanted the mogambo, but there were a few times when they would bit the straight leadhead and squid. This fishing is all about trying something different if what you’re doing isn’t working. Try a different color leadhead, or try coming over the rock instead of going straight down on the front side of it. You be the judge of what needs to be done.
In regards to the Tradition, it’s starting a double half day run this Monday, January 24, running until Tuesday, March 1st, leaving at 7:30am and 1pm daily. The target will be sand bass and sculpin. Hopefully fishing picks up even more as were are expected to have another batch of good weather. Great times, great fishing!
Two of My Four Bass
http://i391.photobucket.com/albums/oo358/Jackpot-Jimmy/012-28.jpg
Ray with a Couple Nice Bass
http://i391.photobucket.com/albums/oo358/Jackpot-Jimmy/013-24.jpg
The sculpin fishing was the usual instantaneous type fishing, and we started loading up on some quality sculpin. Not every one was a nice one like last Sunday, but a few nicer ones did come up. As for me, I was getting quite a few shorts in between the legals. Normally I would use my go-to spectra rig for this type of fishing, but I had to put that reel out of commission while it gets serviced, so I put my P-332 Newell with 25 pound test line on my Super Seeker 809. I could still feel the bite, but it was hard to tell sometimes if I had a fish on, or if my rig was just fouled up. Nevertheless, I got my limit as did everyone else, so we headed inside to fish the bass.
Bill with a Quality Double on Sculpin
http://i391.photobucket.com/albums/oo358/Jackpot-Jimmy/001-65.jpg
Quality Sculpin
http://i391.photobucket.com/albums/oo358/Jackpot-Jimmy/002-59.jpg
More Big Sculpin for Tom and Bill
http://i391.photobucket.com/albums/oo358/Jackpot-Jimmy/004-52.jpg
We got inside and found the rock after a little while. At this spot, we had two stones around us – one being on the stern/port corner, and the other being off the starboard bow. We were swinging around quite a bit so it was hard to locate the one off the stern, so most of the guys went up to the bow to fish the other one. I stayed on the stern as it was receiving little pressure, and I was rewarded by landing the first bass of the day.
http://i391.photobucket.com/albums/oo358/Jackpot-Jimmy/005-68.jpg
Meanwhile on the bow, my friend Bill got manhandled by a BIG bass. He successfully got it up out of the rocks and had ten cranks on it as it was fighting the whole way, and it just pulled the hook. This same thing happened to me last week, and I guess when it comes to this, you just have to hook them in the right spot, but this is something you can’t control.
After this, I got another bite on the stern and set the hook. I was fighting like a bass but it came up and this was the result…
http://i391.photobucket.com/albums/oo358/Jackpot-Jimmy/003-62.jpg
This nice cabbie would have been a keeper if it was in season. But, just like last week with the brown rockfish and the sheephead, it was certainly nice to catch and release it. Soon after, we moved on to another spot. This spot was located off the starboard side around the gate. On one drop, I got a bite, and swung, and got the fish out of the rocks. I got a few cranks on it, and then it started to really pull. I had it turned again slightly and got a few more cranks on it, and then the line went slack, and the fish was lost. It was the second time that day that’s happened and my second week in a row where that’s happened. I just would have liked to see it, because it had to have been something BIG, just like Bill’s lost fish. Other than this, there was nothing doing, so we moved on.
We located the next stone off the port side towards the bow. This one was very sticky, and there were quite a few casualties as a result. If you landed on the other side of the ledge, you got bit pretty much instantly. I was still using 25 pound test line, and a couple other guys were using 20 pound test. We had picked a few bass when Matt, one of our deckhands for the day, hooked something that pulled really well and landed this…
http://i391.photobucket.com/albums/oo358/Jackpot-Jimmy/006-53.jpg
http://i391.photobucket.com/albums/oo358/Jackpot-Jimmy/010-37.jpg
This was nice to see, as I haven’t seen a triggerfish caught in a while. It was a nice one weighing three pounds, three ounces. A little while after this, I got bit, set the hook, and I noticed the fish had quite an erratic pattern coming in, and landed another nice triggerfish that weighed four pounds even. I was very happy as I haven’t caught one in a couple years. I got bit plenty of times last year but none were eager to latch on to my leadhead all the way.
http://i391.photobucket.com/albums/oo358/Jackpot-Jimmy/007-46.jpg
After this, we landed a few more bass, but then the bite petered out to nothing, so we moved on to another spot close by. We landed some more bass here too, but before long, it was time to head for home. We ended up with 18 bass and 2 triggerfish for our efforts, and with all the missed fish meaning more bites, it definitely was the best day for us so far this year. I ended up with three sand bass, a calico, and the triggerfish, being the high stick for the day. Like I said, I fished 25 pound test most of the time and ended up fine, but at one spot I had to bump it up to 30 pound for a little while. In regards to what they wanted, it was mixed. At some points they wanted the mogambo, but there were a few times when they would bit the straight leadhead and squid. This fishing is all about trying something different if what you’re doing isn’t working. Try a different color leadhead, or try coming over the rock instead of going straight down on the front side of it. You be the judge of what needs to be done.
In regards to the Tradition, it’s starting a double half day run this Monday, January 24, running until Tuesday, March 1st, leaving at 7:30am and 1pm daily. The target will be sand bass and sculpin. Hopefully fishing picks up even more as were are expected to have another batch of good weather. Great times, great fishing!
Two of My Four Bass
http://i391.photobucket.com/albums/oo358/Jackpot-Jimmy/012-28.jpg
Ray with a Couple Nice Bass
http://i391.photobucket.com/albums/oo358/Jackpot-Jimmy/013-24.jpg