bsp
05-14-2011, 10:17 PM
Man, haven't written up a report in a while. Just got finished with finals for USC earlier this week, and it didn't help my studying that the last two weeks have resulted in several very solid sessions for my SWAT brothers. :LOL:
Since I hadn't been fishing in a long time, I was pretty determined to put some fish on the sand. I had a small session yesterday that revealed there was some great structure, but I didn't connect with any halibut at all. I did run into new member Redondo Steve though, and had a great time talking to him. He would later catch a legal in one of the areas I was thinking of fishing today, so I had some good intel that the fish were in.
Got a PM from Wingut about a very productive area, but it wasn't in the cards for me to fish there today. Definitely wished I had, but that's not my report to tell. Those that did go had a fantastic time, and should be posting up a report soon. Rest assured, it will be a VERY impressive one that's well worth the wait! :Twisted:
My alarm got me up at 6am today to get a nice early start. Looked outside and it was windy, cloudy, with a bit of rain... so I decided to sleep a few more hours. Not very SWAT of me to turn down the early session, I know... :LOL:
Ended up getting down to the sand about 10am. The nice thing about cloudy skies and lower air temps is that it keeps a lot of bathers out of the water. As a result, lots of nice trenches were available to fish. We worked our way down the beach, and 10min in Dad picks up a short on the dropshot. Not the legal we were looking for, but a good sign.
http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd185/ghost2u/CIMG1589.jpg
We move down the beach a bit more, again focusing on the trenches and the structure spots within them. Dad keeps getting shortbit on the dropshot, and the small teethmarks confirm they're perch. Bumping up to 6in or 7in dropshot baits eliminates perch by catch, and increases the likeliness of catching a solid flattie. Dad picks up another short about an hour later.
http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd185/ghost2u/CIMG1590.jpg
We keep moving down the beach, and there is a lot of life. Pelicans diving offshore, spooked a few fat corbina that were just cruising, and spotted a few big shovelnose guitarfish swimming in the shallows. Good signs, but not as much baitfish as I usually like to see. Ran into a guy who had a corbina in his bag who said the perch and croaker bite was off the hook. Wasn't what we wanted to catch, but good to know that a lot of other fish were around.
About this time, I see another guy who's been standing fairly far out wearing waders casting repeatedly. He seemed like another flattie hunter, so I made my way over to say hi. His name was Lorenzo, and he was a VERY experienced surf fisherman. We spent quite a while talking about surf fishing in general, and I picked up some pointers along the way.
http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd185/ghost2u/CIMG1591.jpg
At this point though, I've got no halibut on the sand, and Dad's got two. The smack talking has already started, and I feel the pressure to show that I can actually catch halibut. We work our way back to the car, and I fire a long cast out to the tail end of a small rip current (thanks Nessie Hunter for the new bearings!). I start the retrieve when I just feel a lot of weight. I slam the hooks home, and nothing but more weight. It stays like that all the way in until it goes nuts in the shallows. Beach it, looks legal, but turns out to be short. Still, one really fat short halibut.
http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd185/ghost2u/CIMG1592.jpg
Having redeemed myself, Dad and I agree to call it a day. Had a nice time for a short session, and it looks like the bite is going to go off very soon. Once the weather moves through, I'm betting it's going to get much better.
Hope you guys enjoyed the read, and let me know if you've got any questions. I like helping people out, and try my best to put others on fish.
Tight lines,
Marc
Since I hadn't been fishing in a long time, I was pretty determined to put some fish on the sand. I had a small session yesterday that revealed there was some great structure, but I didn't connect with any halibut at all. I did run into new member Redondo Steve though, and had a great time talking to him. He would later catch a legal in one of the areas I was thinking of fishing today, so I had some good intel that the fish were in.
Got a PM from Wingut about a very productive area, but it wasn't in the cards for me to fish there today. Definitely wished I had, but that's not my report to tell. Those that did go had a fantastic time, and should be posting up a report soon. Rest assured, it will be a VERY impressive one that's well worth the wait! :Twisted:
My alarm got me up at 6am today to get a nice early start. Looked outside and it was windy, cloudy, with a bit of rain... so I decided to sleep a few more hours. Not very SWAT of me to turn down the early session, I know... :LOL:
Ended up getting down to the sand about 10am. The nice thing about cloudy skies and lower air temps is that it keeps a lot of bathers out of the water. As a result, lots of nice trenches were available to fish. We worked our way down the beach, and 10min in Dad picks up a short on the dropshot. Not the legal we were looking for, but a good sign.
http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd185/ghost2u/CIMG1589.jpg
We move down the beach a bit more, again focusing on the trenches and the structure spots within them. Dad keeps getting shortbit on the dropshot, and the small teethmarks confirm they're perch. Bumping up to 6in or 7in dropshot baits eliminates perch by catch, and increases the likeliness of catching a solid flattie. Dad picks up another short about an hour later.
http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd185/ghost2u/CIMG1590.jpg
We keep moving down the beach, and there is a lot of life. Pelicans diving offshore, spooked a few fat corbina that were just cruising, and spotted a few big shovelnose guitarfish swimming in the shallows. Good signs, but not as much baitfish as I usually like to see. Ran into a guy who had a corbina in his bag who said the perch and croaker bite was off the hook. Wasn't what we wanted to catch, but good to know that a lot of other fish were around.
About this time, I see another guy who's been standing fairly far out wearing waders casting repeatedly. He seemed like another flattie hunter, so I made my way over to say hi. His name was Lorenzo, and he was a VERY experienced surf fisherman. We spent quite a while talking about surf fishing in general, and I picked up some pointers along the way.
http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd185/ghost2u/CIMG1591.jpg
At this point though, I've got no halibut on the sand, and Dad's got two. The smack talking has already started, and I feel the pressure to show that I can actually catch halibut. We work our way back to the car, and I fire a long cast out to the tail end of a small rip current (thanks Nessie Hunter for the new bearings!). I start the retrieve when I just feel a lot of weight. I slam the hooks home, and nothing but more weight. It stays like that all the way in until it goes nuts in the shallows. Beach it, looks legal, but turns out to be short. Still, one really fat short halibut.
http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd185/ghost2u/CIMG1592.jpg
Having redeemed myself, Dad and I agree to call it a day. Had a nice time for a short session, and it looks like the bite is going to go off very soon. Once the weather moves through, I'm betting it's going to get much better.
Hope you guys enjoyed the read, and let me know if you've got any questions. I like helping people out, and try my best to put others on fish.
Tight lines,
Marc