Tunaslam
06-14-2012, 12:52 PM
Fishing Wednesday 06-13-12, with Bill Fisher, on his 18’ Trophy, “Toad Hall”. I left my home in Diamond Bar at 5:45pm; arriving at Bill’s Trailer residence on a cliff overlooking the water, some 10 miles south of Rosarito at 8:15pm Tuesday evening.
After selling his other trailer which he has owned for numerous years, Bill recently purchased another unit in the Trailer Park with a superior view, and spent six months remodeling it. The unit is not quite as spacious as his other unit and still requires additional remodeling, however, the location is fantastic. After chatting about the next day’s fishing possibilities, we watched a combination of San Diego Padre Baseball and the NBA game between Miami and Oklahoma City. They both finished nearly together and it was time for lights out, as the wake up call was set for 4:30 am.
We woke up to heavy mist and deep marine layer, with a slight breeze. Just past grey light we arrived in Las Salinas, where Bill slips his boat. We exited the harbor around 6:00am, into fairly calm seas, with some small swells.
We headed south toward Salsapuedes, stopping not far out of the harbor to make bait to supplement our frozen squid supply. Made a dozen mixed Spanish and Green Mackerel and continued south within 20 minutes. On the way south we spotted numerous birds diving on bait, which turned out to be small anchovies and large schools of Mackerel. We never metered any predators or saw any boils. We stopped after running 5 miles in some deep water and began some drifts.
The first couple of drops between us resulted in catching a few Bocaccio, a nice Green Spot, a few Starries and a Bank Perch. We tried several other spots and scratched out a few bigger Bocaccio and several decent sized Barber Poles, and finally I caught the first Rojo.
http://i1091.photobucket.com/albums/i394/tunaslam/Bill-Las%20Salinas-06-13-12/100_2178640x480.jpg
We re-set and both Bill and I added a couple of more Reds, bringing our total to five. After a few more dry drifts, we made several more moves further south, eventually reaching Salsapuedes. We made a drift in the shallows to see what was happening in this area which we had not fished in over six months. I caught a nice Sand Bass, while Bill released a Calico Bass. Here I am with the Sand Bass:
http://i1091.photobucket.com/albums/i394/tunaslam/Bill-Las%20Salinas-06-13-12/100_2177640x480.jpg
With the action in the shallows extremely slow, we moved to a bit deeper water, over 150 feet, to look for some more Reds. I dropped down with my Lucanus knock off setup, and got slammed on the way down. Oh yeah, violent head shakes and even a little drag taken. It was heavy, and they fussed all the way up. Yep a double on the Reds hits the deck. Bill follows up with back to back Reds on a jig, and then got one on his Lucanus outfit.
Bill sees some birds working off in the distance and we go to check it out. We metered a ton of bait, but once again no signs of anything feeding on the schools besides the birds and a pack of seals. The skies were very hazy and visibility was only about 2 miles, so we could not see if anything was happening at Todo Santos Island. Bill elected not to run further south as the wind appeared to be picking up somewhat as were the swells.
We returned to the hot Red area and shortly thereafter we had limits. I did catch these Coppers in the same area:
http://i1091.photobucket.com/albums/i394/tunaslam/Bill-Las%20Salinas-06-13-12/100_2182640x480.jpg
http://i1091.photobucket.com/albums/i394/tunaslam/Bill-Las%20Salinas-06-13-12/100_2183640x480.jpg
Another Red:
http://i1091.photobucket.com/albums/i394/tunaslam/Bill-Las%20Salinas-06-13-12/100_2179640x480.jpg
It’s not often that the shallow water fishing exceeds the deep water; I guess the fish moved inside for spawning purposes? We moved in on the beach to do a halibut drift for nothing. We then worked our way along the kelp line and found a nice stone loaded with Calico Bass. Unfortunately the drift was very rapid as the wind was about ten knots with higher gusts, and added to that was a ripping current We made a number of passes catching 3 to 4 pounds Calico Bass on each pass until they stopped wanting to play or we were just speeding past them too quickly? These Bass had not been missing any meals lately, all fat and in full spawning colors.
http://i1091.photobucket.com/albums/i394/tunaslam/Bill-Las%20Salinas-06-13-12/100_2176640x480.jpg
Getting Bill to let me take a picture of his fish he caught is a challenge, but here he is with one of the nice Calico Bass:
http://i1091.photobucket.com/albums/i394/tunaslam/Bill-Las%20Salinas-06-13-12/100_2180640x480.jpg
Myself with another nice Cali:
http://i1091.photobucket.com/albums/i394/tunaslam/Bill-Las%20Salinas-06-13-12/100_2181640x480.jpg
http://i1091.photobucket.com/albums/i394/tunaslam/Bill-Las%20Salinas-06-13-12/100_2175640x480.jpg
All the Calico Bass were released. Working the kelp line produced no bites, and since we were scooting by everything so rapidly we gave up and headed north. Rounding the Point the winds began to die down. We stopped on more stones in the shallows for a half dozen short Lingcod, some Chocolate, Copper and Gopher Cod, and a few smaller Reds, all released.
At 2:00 pm we called it a day. The winds had backed off, and the seas returned to a state of calm, and even father sun made a brief appearance, allowing us to shed our sweatshirts. It was a great day of fishing, and we caught a wide assortment of fish.
The day’s catch, a very nice assortment of fish tacos in waiting:
http://i1091.photobucket.com/albums/i394/tunaslam/Bill-Las%20Salinas-06-13-12/100_2185640x480.jpg
Cleaned the fish outside the harbor, and stopped at Charlie’s for some fish and shrimp tacos for me and Heuvos Rancheros for Bill, washed down with cold beer and white wine. Returned to Bill’s for a little siesta time, before beginning the long journey home to Diamond Bar at 5:30 pm., at least a bit rested from the nap.
Otay Mesa was said to be a 50 minute wait at the border. Took me an hour, although I messed up and couldn’t get into the ready line, as they had placed barriers along their normal route to the border, and it thus required another route to find the ready lane, bummer as that looked to be a wait half as long? Always the unexpected at the borders, darn it? Pulled into my driveway at 9:15 pm, exhausted from the nearly four hour long trip home.
Bill, you almost always put us on the fish, no matter where we look and today was a real good’n. I had a blast, thanks so much for the invite, and fabulous hospitality. What a fun day on the big pond!
Hook up!
Cory
After selling his other trailer which he has owned for numerous years, Bill recently purchased another unit in the Trailer Park with a superior view, and spent six months remodeling it. The unit is not quite as spacious as his other unit and still requires additional remodeling, however, the location is fantastic. After chatting about the next day’s fishing possibilities, we watched a combination of San Diego Padre Baseball and the NBA game between Miami and Oklahoma City. They both finished nearly together and it was time for lights out, as the wake up call was set for 4:30 am.
We woke up to heavy mist and deep marine layer, with a slight breeze. Just past grey light we arrived in Las Salinas, where Bill slips his boat. We exited the harbor around 6:00am, into fairly calm seas, with some small swells.
We headed south toward Salsapuedes, stopping not far out of the harbor to make bait to supplement our frozen squid supply. Made a dozen mixed Spanish and Green Mackerel and continued south within 20 minutes. On the way south we spotted numerous birds diving on bait, which turned out to be small anchovies and large schools of Mackerel. We never metered any predators or saw any boils. We stopped after running 5 miles in some deep water and began some drifts.
The first couple of drops between us resulted in catching a few Bocaccio, a nice Green Spot, a few Starries and a Bank Perch. We tried several other spots and scratched out a few bigger Bocaccio and several decent sized Barber Poles, and finally I caught the first Rojo.
http://i1091.photobucket.com/albums/i394/tunaslam/Bill-Las%20Salinas-06-13-12/100_2178640x480.jpg
We re-set and both Bill and I added a couple of more Reds, bringing our total to five. After a few more dry drifts, we made several more moves further south, eventually reaching Salsapuedes. We made a drift in the shallows to see what was happening in this area which we had not fished in over six months. I caught a nice Sand Bass, while Bill released a Calico Bass. Here I am with the Sand Bass:
http://i1091.photobucket.com/albums/i394/tunaslam/Bill-Las%20Salinas-06-13-12/100_2177640x480.jpg
With the action in the shallows extremely slow, we moved to a bit deeper water, over 150 feet, to look for some more Reds. I dropped down with my Lucanus knock off setup, and got slammed on the way down. Oh yeah, violent head shakes and even a little drag taken. It was heavy, and they fussed all the way up. Yep a double on the Reds hits the deck. Bill follows up with back to back Reds on a jig, and then got one on his Lucanus outfit.
Bill sees some birds working off in the distance and we go to check it out. We metered a ton of bait, but once again no signs of anything feeding on the schools besides the birds and a pack of seals. The skies were very hazy and visibility was only about 2 miles, so we could not see if anything was happening at Todo Santos Island. Bill elected not to run further south as the wind appeared to be picking up somewhat as were the swells.
We returned to the hot Red area and shortly thereafter we had limits. I did catch these Coppers in the same area:
http://i1091.photobucket.com/albums/i394/tunaslam/Bill-Las%20Salinas-06-13-12/100_2182640x480.jpg
http://i1091.photobucket.com/albums/i394/tunaslam/Bill-Las%20Salinas-06-13-12/100_2183640x480.jpg
Another Red:
http://i1091.photobucket.com/albums/i394/tunaslam/Bill-Las%20Salinas-06-13-12/100_2179640x480.jpg
It’s not often that the shallow water fishing exceeds the deep water; I guess the fish moved inside for spawning purposes? We moved in on the beach to do a halibut drift for nothing. We then worked our way along the kelp line and found a nice stone loaded with Calico Bass. Unfortunately the drift was very rapid as the wind was about ten knots with higher gusts, and added to that was a ripping current We made a number of passes catching 3 to 4 pounds Calico Bass on each pass until they stopped wanting to play or we were just speeding past them too quickly? These Bass had not been missing any meals lately, all fat and in full spawning colors.
http://i1091.photobucket.com/albums/i394/tunaslam/Bill-Las%20Salinas-06-13-12/100_2176640x480.jpg
Getting Bill to let me take a picture of his fish he caught is a challenge, but here he is with one of the nice Calico Bass:
http://i1091.photobucket.com/albums/i394/tunaslam/Bill-Las%20Salinas-06-13-12/100_2180640x480.jpg
Myself with another nice Cali:
http://i1091.photobucket.com/albums/i394/tunaslam/Bill-Las%20Salinas-06-13-12/100_2181640x480.jpg
http://i1091.photobucket.com/albums/i394/tunaslam/Bill-Las%20Salinas-06-13-12/100_2175640x480.jpg
All the Calico Bass were released. Working the kelp line produced no bites, and since we were scooting by everything so rapidly we gave up and headed north. Rounding the Point the winds began to die down. We stopped on more stones in the shallows for a half dozen short Lingcod, some Chocolate, Copper and Gopher Cod, and a few smaller Reds, all released.
At 2:00 pm we called it a day. The winds had backed off, and the seas returned to a state of calm, and even father sun made a brief appearance, allowing us to shed our sweatshirts. It was a great day of fishing, and we caught a wide assortment of fish.
The day’s catch, a very nice assortment of fish tacos in waiting:
http://i1091.photobucket.com/albums/i394/tunaslam/Bill-Las%20Salinas-06-13-12/100_2185640x480.jpg
Cleaned the fish outside the harbor, and stopped at Charlie’s for some fish and shrimp tacos for me and Heuvos Rancheros for Bill, washed down with cold beer and white wine. Returned to Bill’s for a little siesta time, before beginning the long journey home to Diamond Bar at 5:30 pm., at least a bit rested from the nap.
Otay Mesa was said to be a 50 minute wait at the border. Took me an hour, although I messed up and couldn’t get into the ready line, as they had placed barriers along their normal route to the border, and it thus required another route to find the ready lane, bummer as that looked to be a wait half as long? Always the unexpected at the borders, darn it? Pulled into my driveway at 9:15 pm, exhausted from the nearly four hour long trip home.
Bill, you almost always put us on the fish, no matter where we look and today was a real good’n. I had a blast, thanks so much for the invite, and fabulous hospitality. What a fun day on the big pond!
Hook up!
Cory