Jackpot Jimmy
06-05-2011, 05:54 PM
On Thursday despite the wind, the Tradition managed to get limits of rockfish for 11 anglers, with close to 50% of them being vermilions. We were hoping for more of the same for Saturday, departing the dock at 6am with 24 anglers. We maneuvered over to the bait receiver and loaded up on some sardines in one tank to compliment the anchovy/sardine mix we had in the other tank. Then we were under way, with the first order of business being to keep the inside honest and scan Hermosa up to Manhattan and El Porto for signs of barracuda. Unfortunately, the water temp took a major nose dive from the mouth of King Harbor, so hopes were lost. With that we headed out for the cod grounds.
I rigged up a few people who rented equipment with double dropper loops and a ten ounce torpedo sinker, but as for myself I tied what I usually always use while rockfishing – a six ounce diamond jig with a shrimp fly teaser. But I also tied a single dropper loop for a bait rig as a stand-by. We soon arrived at the area and drifted over the spot a few times, resulting in some nice boscos and grouper. On the third drift we hit the mother load on the grouper with a few five pound fish and one that went close to nine pounds. A nice surprise for fishing in SMB was also caught – a 3 pound, 3 ounce widow rockfish, which is a rarity for around here, especially one that big. That fish was caught on the same drop as the big grouper was caught by the same person.
After that things started going downhill real fast. The current became strange and we had a bow first drift while fishing our second area. There wasn’t a whole lot to show for our efforts because of this, so Captain Steven Konrady elected to try a different area.
Along the way, the wind steadily increased but backed off when we got into the area. However, the current played havoc on the drift and we drifted a ¼ or ½ a mile in just five minutes. So, we put the hook down and had a nice pick on the reds for a while on the cut squid and anchovies. But the current still was a major pain, and here’s why: one lady had a nice red on her line, and she went to bounce it and it fell off over the side. The current was so fast you couldn’t get a gaff fast enough to stick it, and unfortunately, it became pelican and seagull food. To make matters worse, the trip wire broke due to the fast current and we drug off the reds. We tried it once more but we didn’t get a re-bite out of the reds, maybe a couple here and there but mostly it was the smaller honeycombs and boscos.
Our total tally was 142 rockfish for 24 anglers, but it could have been a lot better of a count had it not been for the river-like current. But we still managed to get a bounty of nice reds, grouper, and others that will make for really good tacos later on.
In terms of the fishing, I hope something happens soon to drastically pick up the fishing. I didn’t even imagine a few weeks ago when the barracuda bite was really good that we’d be falling back to rockfish afterward. However, a sign of hope showed up in the afternoon as we had a 61 degree surface temperature. Last year, we went from rockfishing during Memorial Day to the Rocky/Vincente seabass bite two weeks later. In addition, the calico fishing really picked up in that two week period. So I still have high hopes for the fishing in our neck of the woods – it may all change in a short order. Stay tuned…
3.3 Pound Widow Rockfish and 8.13 Pound Salmon Grouper
http://i391.photobucket.com/albums/oo358/Jackpot-Jimmy/001-76.jpg
http://i391.photobucket.com/albums/oo358/Jackpot-Jimmy/002-69.jpg
http://i391.photobucket.com/albums/oo358/Jackpot-Jimmy/003-72.jpg
http://i391.photobucket.com/albums/oo358/Jackpot-Jimmy/005-81.jpg
http://i391.photobucket.com/albums/oo358/Jackpot-Jimmy/008-48.jpg
http://i391.photobucket.com/albums/oo358/Jackpot-Jimmy/006-66.jpg
http://i391.photobucket.com/albums/oo358/Jackpot-Jimmy/009-44.jpg
I rigged up a few people who rented equipment with double dropper loops and a ten ounce torpedo sinker, but as for myself I tied what I usually always use while rockfishing – a six ounce diamond jig with a shrimp fly teaser. But I also tied a single dropper loop for a bait rig as a stand-by. We soon arrived at the area and drifted over the spot a few times, resulting in some nice boscos and grouper. On the third drift we hit the mother load on the grouper with a few five pound fish and one that went close to nine pounds. A nice surprise for fishing in SMB was also caught – a 3 pound, 3 ounce widow rockfish, which is a rarity for around here, especially one that big. That fish was caught on the same drop as the big grouper was caught by the same person.
After that things started going downhill real fast. The current became strange and we had a bow first drift while fishing our second area. There wasn’t a whole lot to show for our efforts because of this, so Captain Steven Konrady elected to try a different area.
Along the way, the wind steadily increased but backed off when we got into the area. However, the current played havoc on the drift and we drifted a ¼ or ½ a mile in just five minutes. So, we put the hook down and had a nice pick on the reds for a while on the cut squid and anchovies. But the current still was a major pain, and here’s why: one lady had a nice red on her line, and she went to bounce it and it fell off over the side. The current was so fast you couldn’t get a gaff fast enough to stick it, and unfortunately, it became pelican and seagull food. To make matters worse, the trip wire broke due to the fast current and we drug off the reds. We tried it once more but we didn’t get a re-bite out of the reds, maybe a couple here and there but mostly it was the smaller honeycombs and boscos.
Our total tally was 142 rockfish for 24 anglers, but it could have been a lot better of a count had it not been for the river-like current. But we still managed to get a bounty of nice reds, grouper, and others that will make for really good tacos later on.
In terms of the fishing, I hope something happens soon to drastically pick up the fishing. I didn’t even imagine a few weeks ago when the barracuda bite was really good that we’d be falling back to rockfish afterward. However, a sign of hope showed up in the afternoon as we had a 61 degree surface temperature. Last year, we went from rockfishing during Memorial Day to the Rocky/Vincente seabass bite two weeks later. In addition, the calico fishing really picked up in that two week period. So I still have high hopes for the fishing in our neck of the woods – it may all change in a short order. Stay tuned…
3.3 Pound Widow Rockfish and 8.13 Pound Salmon Grouper
http://i391.photobucket.com/albums/oo358/Jackpot-Jimmy/001-76.jpg
http://i391.photobucket.com/albums/oo358/Jackpot-Jimmy/002-69.jpg
http://i391.photobucket.com/albums/oo358/Jackpot-Jimmy/003-72.jpg
http://i391.photobucket.com/albums/oo358/Jackpot-Jimmy/005-81.jpg
http://i391.photobucket.com/albums/oo358/Jackpot-Jimmy/008-48.jpg
http://i391.photobucket.com/albums/oo358/Jackpot-Jimmy/006-66.jpg
http://i391.photobucket.com/albums/oo358/Jackpot-Jimmy/009-44.jpg