ghetto dad
02-16-2011, 11:46 PM
Hey guys,
I know its been a long time since I posted up...I haven't been fishing much...but heres my report from the Tradition on 2 12 2011..its been WAY too long..lol
Hey guys,
Well, after about a year of having not been “able” to fish one of my favorite fish to catch, the elusive structure bass, I finally was able to schedule a trip on Saturday on the Tradition, out of Redondo Sport Fishing.
Got the wake up call from my 3 year old at 3:45 am, put her back to sleep, and got ready. I was out of the house and on the road by 4:30 am, making my way north on the 405 towards Redondo Beach.
I arrived at the landing at 5:15, unloaded my gear, and headed to the boardwalk to board the Tradition. I was the first person in line, due to the fact that currently, there is no office to purchase tickets from. So for now, they are boarding you by your position of your reservation. They are currently selling tickets directly on the boat, but word is that will change very soon, as they are getting NEW MANAGEMENT on the pier at the ticket office.
At around 5:50 am, other passengers started showing up, including the “Yak Crew,” consisting of Jerry, Tom, Carlos, and Jim. Other passengers started to show up also. Morgan came up to the top of the ramp at 5:55 am to call people down to the boat. Once we all boarded the boat, we promptly departed the dock at 6:00 am.
http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i292/ghettodad/SDC13236.jpg
Crew today consisted of Captain Steven, Morgan on deck, and Shawn in the galley. Steven made his morning safety speech, and immediately afterward informed us on the days game plan. We would be starting out in the 160 range for Sculpin in the morning, and then once we caught our limits, we would be heading into the shallows for the elusive Structure Bass. For the sculpin, he recommended 4-6 ounces of lead, tied underneath a two dropper loop setup consisting of lead heads with plastics, tipped with squid. Then for the bass, he recommended a MINIMUM of 25 lb test, tied to a lead head or lead head/plastic combo tipped with the live squid that we were tanked up with. So I rigged my rods, ordered some breakfast, and shot the sh** with Big Jimmy and the Yaks on the way out.
THE WAY OUT!
http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i292/ghettodad/SDC13233.jpg
BIG BOSS JIMMY HELPING OUT!
http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i292/ghettodad/SDC13238.jpg
THE AMMO FOR TODAY!
http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i292/ghettodad/SDC13237.jpg
My arsenal for the day:
1. Phenix Inshore Assassin, Shimano Calcutta 250 loaded with 12 lb test.
A. 3 oz torpedo sinker, single dropper look with ¾ oz lead head with a green Mogombo.
2. Truline D8, Avet SX 2 speed, loaded with 65 lb Spectra Backing, 75 feet of 25 lb mono top shot.
B. 1 ½ oz lead head, green Mogambo.
3. Super Seeker D8, Avet MXJ 2 speed, loaded with 65 lb spectra, 125 feet of 40 lb mono top shot.
C. 6 oz torpedo sinker, double dropper loop, (2) ½ oz Yellow Cottee Heads, green whams with orange tails.
WEAPONS OF BASS DESTRUCTION! LOL
http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i292/ghettodad/SDC13235.jpg
SCULPIN WEAPON!
http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i292/ghettodad/SDC13234.jpg
BASS WEAPON!
http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i292/ghettodad/SDC13241.jpg
We arrived in the area about 30 minutes later, Steven metered around to find the spot, and we dropped the hook to start our day loading up with great tasting Sculpin.
Unfortunately, we had a pretty good cold offshore wind blowing, which made it difficult to stay on the spot, and also made us swing quite a bit. This made for tough fishing conditions, which also led to Steven having to reset the anchor a few times. We still ended up with a fair pick on the Sculpin, and fairly easy limits on the fish. We did have to pick through the shorts, but we managed to get our limits by 9:30 am, then we headed north to the shallows to see if the Structure Bass wanted to cooperate for us for the rest of the day.
We arrived in the area about 30 minutes later, greeted by better weather, flat calm water, andno signs of the wind that was blowing earlier. Steven found the first structure area, and dropped the anchor. We were in 60 feet of water.
Now, one of the “tricks” to fishing Structure Bass is to make sure that your offerings are DIRECTLY over/in the structure. And most of the time, you have to “work” to find the structure. The structure is not always all around the boat, but there can be anywhere from 1-3 “spots” at any given spot. This means that you have to pay attention, and constantly look around for people snagging the bottom, because that IS where YOU want to be. If you cast out, and don’t “feel” the structure, wind in, and recast. Continue doing so until you know you are in the zone. Also keep in mind that boats do swing, between any breeze/current conditions that may be present at the time. Which means that even after one cast and finding the structure, the second cast could be way off, and the structure can be on the other side of the boat. You will be fine as long as you pay attention and put in some work. It takes practice and patience, but once you have mastered the art, it will be time for you to leave the temple, lol.
The first spot produced quite a bit of structure, but nothing in the way of bass. Steven didn’t waste much time on this one, and pulled the anchor, found another area, and dropped it again.
This spot didn’t have as much structure, and you had to work and make casts to find the structure. Steven gave it a little more time on this one, and the first bass on the boat today was Jimmy’s, a very nice 5 lb fish! I was watching when that fish hit, and it hit HARD and doubled his rod over. Jimmy pulled back hard and got him out of the rocks, which is very important to do. It battled hard all the way to the boat, until Jimmy won the battle. Unfortunately, that was it for the second spot, so Steven once again pulled the hook, and looked around for a spot that had some more cooperative bass.
GREAT JOB KID!
http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i292/ghettodad/SDC13243.jpg
*side note* One of the signs that you have a good captain, is that they won’t waste too much of your fishing time on a spot that isn’t producing fish for their customers, which Steven is a great captain.
The third spot was pretty much the same, lots of structure, but no cooperative bass. Morgan ended up getting a quality fish on this spot, and that was about it. So once again, we made a move.
This was the deal the rest of the day, Steven put us on excellent areas of structure, but for some reason, the bass did not want to cooperate today as they have been on previous trips. The rest of the day produced a nice bass here and there, with Jimmy getting his second of the day, some more quality sculpin, some nice Brown Rockfish (released, out of season), even a lobster! This of course was released. But I would like to note that the other spots were a little more active, but the bass were winning today, and destroying people in the structure.
Steven decided to try one more spot, this time in 40 feet of water, and this would be our last spot for the day, as we were out of time. Also, keep in mind that I wasn’t on the “bass board” yet, which was irritating to me. I switched it up to a red leadhead and a live squid, no plastic. I found the structure, and finally, got a nice hit! I swung like a ninja, and set the hook! After a small battle, I landed a nice Brown Rockfish, which I had to release. Damn, no bass yet! Got another live squid, made my casts, found the structure, and waited. Thump! Thump! With ninja-like reflexes, I set the hook hard, and immediately knew it was a nice bass, finally! I could actually feel the line on the structure, and knew I had to get this fishes head turned. I high sticked the rod, and pulled like a champ and got the fish out. After an excellent battle, my 5 lb fish comes to gaff!
LAST MINUTE VICTORY! JAAACKKKKKPPPOTTTT!
http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i292/ghettodad/SDC132442.jpg
Once the fish was sacked up, I checked my line (VERY important) and noticed that 15 feet of line was frayed like hell, so I retied, and repeated. Thump! Thump! Set the hook, and had another bass on the board! This one was much smaller, but legal and a nice fish nonetheless. I ended up with 2 bass the last 10 minutes of the trip. No that’s not cutting it close at all! Lol This spot also produced a bass for Jerry, another bass for Carlos, and one for Tom.
GREAT JOB CARLOS!!!!
http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i292/ghettodad/SDC13245.jpg
THE OLD GURU AND YOUNG GURU! LOL
http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i292/ghettodad/SDC132472.jpg
Now it was time to go home, and I pulled it out the last 10 minutes of the trip.
Morgan called for Jackpot, I threw my fish on the scale, and won. I had the only “qualifying” big bass, lol.
Today, even though on the slow side, was a great time, which I really needed. The crew was excellent, and I would highly recommend fishing the Tradition the first chance you get.
Until next time…….
GD
I know its been a long time since I posted up...I haven't been fishing much...but heres my report from the Tradition on 2 12 2011..its been WAY too long..lol
Hey guys,
Well, after about a year of having not been “able” to fish one of my favorite fish to catch, the elusive structure bass, I finally was able to schedule a trip on Saturday on the Tradition, out of Redondo Sport Fishing.
Got the wake up call from my 3 year old at 3:45 am, put her back to sleep, and got ready. I was out of the house and on the road by 4:30 am, making my way north on the 405 towards Redondo Beach.
I arrived at the landing at 5:15, unloaded my gear, and headed to the boardwalk to board the Tradition. I was the first person in line, due to the fact that currently, there is no office to purchase tickets from. So for now, they are boarding you by your position of your reservation. They are currently selling tickets directly on the boat, but word is that will change very soon, as they are getting NEW MANAGEMENT on the pier at the ticket office.
At around 5:50 am, other passengers started showing up, including the “Yak Crew,” consisting of Jerry, Tom, Carlos, and Jim. Other passengers started to show up also. Morgan came up to the top of the ramp at 5:55 am to call people down to the boat. Once we all boarded the boat, we promptly departed the dock at 6:00 am.
http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i292/ghettodad/SDC13236.jpg
Crew today consisted of Captain Steven, Morgan on deck, and Shawn in the galley. Steven made his morning safety speech, and immediately afterward informed us on the days game plan. We would be starting out in the 160 range for Sculpin in the morning, and then once we caught our limits, we would be heading into the shallows for the elusive Structure Bass. For the sculpin, he recommended 4-6 ounces of lead, tied underneath a two dropper loop setup consisting of lead heads with plastics, tipped with squid. Then for the bass, he recommended a MINIMUM of 25 lb test, tied to a lead head or lead head/plastic combo tipped with the live squid that we were tanked up with. So I rigged my rods, ordered some breakfast, and shot the sh** with Big Jimmy and the Yaks on the way out.
THE WAY OUT!
http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i292/ghettodad/SDC13233.jpg
BIG BOSS JIMMY HELPING OUT!
http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i292/ghettodad/SDC13238.jpg
THE AMMO FOR TODAY!
http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i292/ghettodad/SDC13237.jpg
My arsenal for the day:
1. Phenix Inshore Assassin, Shimano Calcutta 250 loaded with 12 lb test.
A. 3 oz torpedo sinker, single dropper look with ¾ oz lead head with a green Mogombo.
2. Truline D8, Avet SX 2 speed, loaded with 65 lb Spectra Backing, 75 feet of 25 lb mono top shot.
B. 1 ½ oz lead head, green Mogambo.
3. Super Seeker D8, Avet MXJ 2 speed, loaded with 65 lb spectra, 125 feet of 40 lb mono top shot.
C. 6 oz torpedo sinker, double dropper loop, (2) ½ oz Yellow Cottee Heads, green whams with orange tails.
WEAPONS OF BASS DESTRUCTION! LOL
http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i292/ghettodad/SDC13235.jpg
SCULPIN WEAPON!
http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i292/ghettodad/SDC13234.jpg
BASS WEAPON!
http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i292/ghettodad/SDC13241.jpg
We arrived in the area about 30 minutes later, Steven metered around to find the spot, and we dropped the hook to start our day loading up with great tasting Sculpin.
Unfortunately, we had a pretty good cold offshore wind blowing, which made it difficult to stay on the spot, and also made us swing quite a bit. This made for tough fishing conditions, which also led to Steven having to reset the anchor a few times. We still ended up with a fair pick on the Sculpin, and fairly easy limits on the fish. We did have to pick through the shorts, but we managed to get our limits by 9:30 am, then we headed north to the shallows to see if the Structure Bass wanted to cooperate for us for the rest of the day.
We arrived in the area about 30 minutes later, greeted by better weather, flat calm water, andno signs of the wind that was blowing earlier. Steven found the first structure area, and dropped the anchor. We were in 60 feet of water.
Now, one of the “tricks” to fishing Structure Bass is to make sure that your offerings are DIRECTLY over/in the structure. And most of the time, you have to “work” to find the structure. The structure is not always all around the boat, but there can be anywhere from 1-3 “spots” at any given spot. This means that you have to pay attention, and constantly look around for people snagging the bottom, because that IS where YOU want to be. If you cast out, and don’t “feel” the structure, wind in, and recast. Continue doing so until you know you are in the zone. Also keep in mind that boats do swing, between any breeze/current conditions that may be present at the time. Which means that even after one cast and finding the structure, the second cast could be way off, and the structure can be on the other side of the boat. You will be fine as long as you pay attention and put in some work. It takes practice and patience, but once you have mastered the art, it will be time for you to leave the temple, lol.
The first spot produced quite a bit of structure, but nothing in the way of bass. Steven didn’t waste much time on this one, and pulled the anchor, found another area, and dropped it again.
This spot didn’t have as much structure, and you had to work and make casts to find the structure. Steven gave it a little more time on this one, and the first bass on the boat today was Jimmy’s, a very nice 5 lb fish! I was watching when that fish hit, and it hit HARD and doubled his rod over. Jimmy pulled back hard and got him out of the rocks, which is very important to do. It battled hard all the way to the boat, until Jimmy won the battle. Unfortunately, that was it for the second spot, so Steven once again pulled the hook, and looked around for a spot that had some more cooperative bass.
GREAT JOB KID!
http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i292/ghettodad/SDC13243.jpg
*side note* One of the signs that you have a good captain, is that they won’t waste too much of your fishing time on a spot that isn’t producing fish for their customers, which Steven is a great captain.
The third spot was pretty much the same, lots of structure, but no cooperative bass. Morgan ended up getting a quality fish on this spot, and that was about it. So once again, we made a move.
This was the deal the rest of the day, Steven put us on excellent areas of structure, but for some reason, the bass did not want to cooperate today as they have been on previous trips. The rest of the day produced a nice bass here and there, with Jimmy getting his second of the day, some more quality sculpin, some nice Brown Rockfish (released, out of season), even a lobster! This of course was released. But I would like to note that the other spots were a little more active, but the bass were winning today, and destroying people in the structure.
Steven decided to try one more spot, this time in 40 feet of water, and this would be our last spot for the day, as we were out of time. Also, keep in mind that I wasn’t on the “bass board” yet, which was irritating to me. I switched it up to a red leadhead and a live squid, no plastic. I found the structure, and finally, got a nice hit! I swung like a ninja, and set the hook! After a small battle, I landed a nice Brown Rockfish, which I had to release. Damn, no bass yet! Got another live squid, made my casts, found the structure, and waited. Thump! Thump! With ninja-like reflexes, I set the hook hard, and immediately knew it was a nice bass, finally! I could actually feel the line on the structure, and knew I had to get this fishes head turned. I high sticked the rod, and pulled like a champ and got the fish out. After an excellent battle, my 5 lb fish comes to gaff!
LAST MINUTE VICTORY! JAAACKKKKKPPPOTTTT!
http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i292/ghettodad/SDC132442.jpg
Once the fish was sacked up, I checked my line (VERY important) and noticed that 15 feet of line was frayed like hell, so I retied, and repeated. Thump! Thump! Set the hook, and had another bass on the board! This one was much smaller, but legal and a nice fish nonetheless. I ended up with 2 bass the last 10 minutes of the trip. No that’s not cutting it close at all! Lol This spot also produced a bass for Jerry, another bass for Carlos, and one for Tom.
GREAT JOB CARLOS!!!!
http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i292/ghettodad/SDC13245.jpg
THE OLD GURU AND YOUNG GURU! LOL
http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i292/ghettodad/SDC132472.jpg
Now it was time to go home, and I pulled it out the last 10 minutes of the trip.
Morgan called for Jackpot, I threw my fish on the scale, and won. I had the only “qualifying” big bass, lol.
Today, even though on the slow side, was a great time, which I really needed. The crew was excellent, and I would highly recommend fishing the Tradition the first chance you get.
Until next time…….
GD