bones
09-05-2012, 06:12 AM
Well folks it's been a while since I've put up a report primarily because the fishing has been so slow at my local haunts that I decided to focus on family and work and keep an eye on conditions. The water in Samo Bay has been so warm that all of the bait moved off shore and the sand crab beds are in full swing. More or less the fish in the surf zone are pretty much stuffed with crabs and eat at their leisure. Knowing that the bite wont improve without some cooler outer water I decided to head on up north of Samo Bay and check out some old stomping grounds.
Target Area....... Ventura county.
Upon arrival to Ventura harbor I decided to hop around inside of the harbor itself because the tide was low and the outside structure needed to fill in a bit. With the low water levels I decided to take a different approach other than my typical dropshot routine and give the good old Lucky Craft Flash Minnow a shot by running it deep. As I carefully decended down to the waters edge I was instantly reminded of how sketchy it can get in tennis shoes trying to negotiate the silt covered rocks and started the day with doing the splits and taking a little spill. Hello Bonsey!.........Wake the heck up and pay attention! Rocks are VERY unforgiving to say the least. So I stabilize my footing and began to fan cast. As soon as I started running my bait through the area I realized that there was some SERIOUS bait stacked up in the harbor.
This is a good sign. On about my third cast I feel that ever so tell tale ...nibble....nibble..GRAB!
After a quick little fight my first short halibut of the day comes to color.
http://i410.photobucket.com/albums/pp185/lukesdad2008/ventura%2008282012/P8270156.jpg
Well...Now I know that they are aggressive enough to hit the hardbait inside of the harbor. Then a few casts later I get another grab and when this fish comes to color I notice that it is in trouble. A serious case of tail rot has set in.
http://i410.photobucket.com/albums/pp185/lukesdad2008/ventura%2008282012/P8270150.jpg
http://i410.photobucket.com/albums/pp185/lukesdad2008/ventura%2008282012/P8270151.jpg
Tail rot sets in on halibut very fast inside of harbors where they lay on the bottom in all of the sediment that contains alot of heavy metals and other nasty elements. Any severe trauma to the tail of a halibut that causes an open wound almost always condems the fish to a certain death. Nets commonly known as tail splitters can be the cause or for example what happened to the next halibut I caught in the same spot.
http://i410.photobucket.com/albums/pp185/lukesdad2008/ventura%2008282012/P8270157.jpg
It only takes a second for a thrashing flattie to injure its VERY FRAGILE tail on the sharp edges of the rocks. I tried to place my hand on her quickly but she just went nuts and wound up tearing up her tail in just a blink of an eye. The upside was that she was a legal....The down side is that she probably wont survive.
Ok...Enough for the inside of the harbor and to be honest..... harbor fishing just isn't my thing any more....I need the surf in my face and some sand under my feet. So I decide to venture to the outside of the harbor and give the trenches a shot. They were filled in nicely now but to my amazement.....The whole trenchy area that looked so good was void of anything hungry. I was using my micro-lite rod and a 1000 series sedona spooled up with 6lb test and tossing a Lucky Craft pointer 65. Then right by a jetty I get a grab in the skinny. At first I thought it was a nice sized perch but to my delight and panic....It was a good sized flattie which took me for a ride on my UL setup.Six nice little drag burning runs to be exact! As a matter of fact this was a first for me. Who would have thought? A legal flattie in one foot of water on ultralight gear !
Very nice!
http://i410.photobucket.com/albums/pp185/lukesdad2008/ventura%2008282012/P8270160.jpg
http://i410.photobucket.com/albums/pp185/lukesdad2008/ventura%2008282012/P8270161.jpg
After that little rush I decided to fan cast the area for nothing at all but I was standing there proud and re-energized with hope. I gazed at the jetty and thought to myself.....mmmmm..... What is to be discovered on the other side. With a quick hop to the top I looked south and quickly saw a worthy deep trench. My feet hit the sand and I switched over to my Crucial crankbait rod with my hardbait. I saw my target and fired a quick cast perfectly to the sweet spot. Three cranks and I get hammered with authority. The fish immediately jumped which doesn't happen very often with halibut but hey...... Who's complaining!
There was alot of surge and this fish was very high spirited to say the least. A few moments later the surge brought her to my feet where she promptly measured out at 24".
http://i410.photobucket.com/albums/pp185/lukesdad2008/ventura%2008282012/P8270162.jpg
http://i410.photobucket.com/albums/pp185/lukesdad2008/ventura%2008282012/P8270163.jpg
I spent the next 30 minutes or so working the area as I noted a group of perch hunters a few hundred yards away. I was watching them and they weren't doing very well but the most important thing was that they didn't see me land a nice flattie. I decided to call it quits in that spot and began to walk back to my car with a big grin!
Not a bad day at all when I had no expectations!
When the weekend arrived I had a meeting with our SWAT leader Wingnut to go over final plans for our annual surf event Hunting Giants IV. We decided to meet up at the harbor and I spent the morning watching the "Wingnut Show". Seems that recently whenever I get together with Arthur he puts the spell on the fish and I spend the time watching him and taking pics. I made just as many casts as he did but he has always had that special relationship with Poseidon. It was great to see him smile and I knew that it has been a while since he has slid a flattie up to his toes. He made pretty good work of it but no legals for the General today. He did slay quite a few flatties though here are a few pics.....Nothing but smiles!
http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r135/Wingnut32566/Wingnut%208/Wingnut%2010/Wingnut%2011/SWAT1008-6.jpg
http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r135/Wingnut32566/Wingnut%208/Wingnut%2010/Wingnut%2011/SWAT1010-7.jpg
http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r135/Wingnut32566/Wingnut%208/Wingnut%2010/Wingnut%2011/SWAT1003-10.jpg
http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r135/Wingnut32566/Wingnut%208/Wingnut%2010/Wingnut%2011/SWAT1005-12.jpg
http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r135/Wingnut32566/Wingnut%208/Wingnut%2010/Wingnut%2011/SWAT1006-10.jpg
http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r135/Wingnut32566/Wingnut%208/Wingnut%2010/Wingnut%2011/SWAT1007-12.jpg
http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r135/Wingnut32566/Wingnut%208/Wingnut%2010/Wingnut%2011/SWAT1011-8.jpg
http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r135/Wingnut32566/Wingnut%208/Wingnut%2010/Wingnut%2011/SWAT1009-9.jpg
That's it folks for the fishing report and now I will leave you all with a few pics I have taken along the way with my new camera that I think you will enjoy. Take care and god bless everyone.
When the tide goes out sometimes there is a whole new world exposed to the eye.....
http://i410.photobucket.com/albums/pp185/lukesdad2008/ventura%2008282012/P7070222.jpg
http://i410.photobucket.com/albums/pp185/lukesdad2008/ventura%2008282012/P7070219.jpg
Channel Islands harbor and a MAJOR sandcrab die off at the end of their lifecycle. The smell was overwhelming.
http://i410.photobucket.com/albums/pp185/lukesdad2008/ventura%2008282012/P8280182.jpg
One sunset at Topanga State beach with the cloud cover from southern tropical moisture.
http://i410.photobucket.com/albums/pp185/lukesdad2008/ventura%2008282012/P7180226.jpg
http://i410.photobucket.com/albums/pp185/lukesdad2008/ventura%2008282012/P7180229.jpg
A dead dolphin on a beach in Oxnard...
http://i410.photobucket.com/albums/pp185/lukesdad2008/ventura%2008282012/P8180132.jpg
http://i410.photobucket.com/albums/pp185/lukesdad2008/ventura%2008282012/P8180131.jpg
My favorite place in the area to attack with hunger after a day on the water....
http://i410.photobucket.com/albums/pp185/lukesdad2008/ventura%2008282012/P8270175.jpg
http://i410.photobucket.com/albums/pp185/lukesdad2008/ventura%2008282012/P8270177.jpg
The fisherman's memorial in Ventura Harbor.....
http://i410.photobucket.com/albums/pp185/lukesdad2008/ventura%2008282012/P8270178.jpg
http://i410.photobucket.com/albums/pp185/lukesdad2008/ventura%2008282012/P8270167.jpg
http://i410.photobucket.com/albums/pp185/lukesdad2008/ventura%2008282012/P8270168.jpg
A good example of how the flatties will hit a hardbait like a flashminnow when they are actually feeding on baby perch. This little perch was still alive when the flattie coughed it up!
http://i410.photobucket.com/albums/pp185/lukesdad2008/ventura%2008282012/P8070127.jpg
http://i410.photobucket.com/albums/pp185/lukesdad2008/ventura%2008282012/P8070129.jpg
Never Forget what this man was all about.....FAMILY,FUN,FRIENDS AND FISHING !!
http://i410.photobucket.com/albums/pp185/lukesdad2008/ventura%2008282012/P8130130.jpg
I hope you folks find this report inspiring and get out this weekend. The swell is backing down and the up welling started a cooling trend in the coastal waters..... Fall is almost here and the fishing should start to pick up.
SWAT Lt. Bones........ Debriefing complete.
-----<><
Target Area....... Ventura county.
Upon arrival to Ventura harbor I decided to hop around inside of the harbor itself because the tide was low and the outside structure needed to fill in a bit. With the low water levels I decided to take a different approach other than my typical dropshot routine and give the good old Lucky Craft Flash Minnow a shot by running it deep. As I carefully decended down to the waters edge I was instantly reminded of how sketchy it can get in tennis shoes trying to negotiate the silt covered rocks and started the day with doing the splits and taking a little spill. Hello Bonsey!.........Wake the heck up and pay attention! Rocks are VERY unforgiving to say the least. So I stabilize my footing and began to fan cast. As soon as I started running my bait through the area I realized that there was some SERIOUS bait stacked up in the harbor.
This is a good sign. On about my third cast I feel that ever so tell tale ...nibble....nibble..GRAB!
After a quick little fight my first short halibut of the day comes to color.
http://i410.photobucket.com/albums/pp185/lukesdad2008/ventura%2008282012/P8270156.jpg
Well...Now I know that they are aggressive enough to hit the hardbait inside of the harbor. Then a few casts later I get another grab and when this fish comes to color I notice that it is in trouble. A serious case of tail rot has set in.
http://i410.photobucket.com/albums/pp185/lukesdad2008/ventura%2008282012/P8270150.jpg
http://i410.photobucket.com/albums/pp185/lukesdad2008/ventura%2008282012/P8270151.jpg
Tail rot sets in on halibut very fast inside of harbors where they lay on the bottom in all of the sediment that contains alot of heavy metals and other nasty elements. Any severe trauma to the tail of a halibut that causes an open wound almost always condems the fish to a certain death. Nets commonly known as tail splitters can be the cause or for example what happened to the next halibut I caught in the same spot.
http://i410.photobucket.com/albums/pp185/lukesdad2008/ventura%2008282012/P8270157.jpg
It only takes a second for a thrashing flattie to injure its VERY FRAGILE tail on the sharp edges of the rocks. I tried to place my hand on her quickly but she just went nuts and wound up tearing up her tail in just a blink of an eye. The upside was that she was a legal....The down side is that she probably wont survive.
Ok...Enough for the inside of the harbor and to be honest..... harbor fishing just isn't my thing any more....I need the surf in my face and some sand under my feet. So I decide to venture to the outside of the harbor and give the trenches a shot. They were filled in nicely now but to my amazement.....The whole trenchy area that looked so good was void of anything hungry. I was using my micro-lite rod and a 1000 series sedona spooled up with 6lb test and tossing a Lucky Craft pointer 65. Then right by a jetty I get a grab in the skinny. At first I thought it was a nice sized perch but to my delight and panic....It was a good sized flattie which took me for a ride on my UL setup.Six nice little drag burning runs to be exact! As a matter of fact this was a first for me. Who would have thought? A legal flattie in one foot of water on ultralight gear !
Very nice!
http://i410.photobucket.com/albums/pp185/lukesdad2008/ventura%2008282012/P8270160.jpg
http://i410.photobucket.com/albums/pp185/lukesdad2008/ventura%2008282012/P8270161.jpg
After that little rush I decided to fan cast the area for nothing at all but I was standing there proud and re-energized with hope. I gazed at the jetty and thought to myself.....mmmmm..... What is to be discovered on the other side. With a quick hop to the top I looked south and quickly saw a worthy deep trench. My feet hit the sand and I switched over to my Crucial crankbait rod with my hardbait. I saw my target and fired a quick cast perfectly to the sweet spot. Three cranks and I get hammered with authority. The fish immediately jumped which doesn't happen very often with halibut but hey...... Who's complaining!
There was alot of surge and this fish was very high spirited to say the least. A few moments later the surge brought her to my feet where she promptly measured out at 24".
http://i410.photobucket.com/albums/pp185/lukesdad2008/ventura%2008282012/P8270162.jpg
http://i410.photobucket.com/albums/pp185/lukesdad2008/ventura%2008282012/P8270163.jpg
I spent the next 30 minutes or so working the area as I noted a group of perch hunters a few hundred yards away. I was watching them and they weren't doing very well but the most important thing was that they didn't see me land a nice flattie. I decided to call it quits in that spot and began to walk back to my car with a big grin!
Not a bad day at all when I had no expectations!
When the weekend arrived I had a meeting with our SWAT leader Wingnut to go over final plans for our annual surf event Hunting Giants IV. We decided to meet up at the harbor and I spent the morning watching the "Wingnut Show". Seems that recently whenever I get together with Arthur he puts the spell on the fish and I spend the time watching him and taking pics. I made just as many casts as he did but he has always had that special relationship with Poseidon. It was great to see him smile and I knew that it has been a while since he has slid a flattie up to his toes. He made pretty good work of it but no legals for the General today. He did slay quite a few flatties though here are a few pics.....Nothing but smiles!
http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r135/Wingnut32566/Wingnut%208/Wingnut%2010/Wingnut%2011/SWAT1008-6.jpg
http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r135/Wingnut32566/Wingnut%208/Wingnut%2010/Wingnut%2011/SWAT1010-7.jpg
http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r135/Wingnut32566/Wingnut%208/Wingnut%2010/Wingnut%2011/SWAT1003-10.jpg
http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r135/Wingnut32566/Wingnut%208/Wingnut%2010/Wingnut%2011/SWAT1005-12.jpg
http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r135/Wingnut32566/Wingnut%208/Wingnut%2010/Wingnut%2011/SWAT1006-10.jpg
http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r135/Wingnut32566/Wingnut%208/Wingnut%2010/Wingnut%2011/SWAT1007-12.jpg
http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r135/Wingnut32566/Wingnut%208/Wingnut%2010/Wingnut%2011/SWAT1011-8.jpg
http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r135/Wingnut32566/Wingnut%208/Wingnut%2010/Wingnut%2011/SWAT1009-9.jpg
That's it folks for the fishing report and now I will leave you all with a few pics I have taken along the way with my new camera that I think you will enjoy. Take care and god bless everyone.
When the tide goes out sometimes there is a whole new world exposed to the eye.....
http://i410.photobucket.com/albums/pp185/lukesdad2008/ventura%2008282012/P7070222.jpg
http://i410.photobucket.com/albums/pp185/lukesdad2008/ventura%2008282012/P7070219.jpg
Channel Islands harbor and a MAJOR sandcrab die off at the end of their lifecycle. The smell was overwhelming.
http://i410.photobucket.com/albums/pp185/lukesdad2008/ventura%2008282012/P8280182.jpg
One sunset at Topanga State beach with the cloud cover from southern tropical moisture.
http://i410.photobucket.com/albums/pp185/lukesdad2008/ventura%2008282012/P7180226.jpg
http://i410.photobucket.com/albums/pp185/lukesdad2008/ventura%2008282012/P7180229.jpg
A dead dolphin on a beach in Oxnard...
http://i410.photobucket.com/albums/pp185/lukesdad2008/ventura%2008282012/P8180132.jpg
http://i410.photobucket.com/albums/pp185/lukesdad2008/ventura%2008282012/P8180131.jpg
My favorite place in the area to attack with hunger after a day on the water....
http://i410.photobucket.com/albums/pp185/lukesdad2008/ventura%2008282012/P8270175.jpg
http://i410.photobucket.com/albums/pp185/lukesdad2008/ventura%2008282012/P8270177.jpg
The fisherman's memorial in Ventura Harbor.....
http://i410.photobucket.com/albums/pp185/lukesdad2008/ventura%2008282012/P8270178.jpg
http://i410.photobucket.com/albums/pp185/lukesdad2008/ventura%2008282012/P8270167.jpg
http://i410.photobucket.com/albums/pp185/lukesdad2008/ventura%2008282012/P8270168.jpg
A good example of how the flatties will hit a hardbait like a flashminnow when they are actually feeding on baby perch. This little perch was still alive when the flattie coughed it up!
http://i410.photobucket.com/albums/pp185/lukesdad2008/ventura%2008282012/P8070127.jpg
http://i410.photobucket.com/albums/pp185/lukesdad2008/ventura%2008282012/P8070129.jpg
Never Forget what this man was all about.....FAMILY,FUN,FRIENDS AND FISHING !!
http://i410.photobucket.com/albums/pp185/lukesdad2008/ventura%2008282012/P8130130.jpg
I hope you folks find this report inspiring and get out this weekend. The swell is backing down and the up welling started a cooling trend in the coastal waters..... Fall is almost here and the fishing should start to pick up.
SWAT Lt. Bones........ Debriefing complete.
-----<><