northern recon report - santa barbara county

[q3fishboy]

Haven't really been posting much recently as I have been super busy working on applications for graduate schools and other such things. I spent all of last summer up north with my parents studying for the GRE and managed to miss the white sea bass bite in Santa Barbara but am finally finishing up now.

Managed to make a couple of quick trips to the beach this past week and was able to get into some pretty good perch fishing. Lots of 8-9 inch fish and decent number around 12 inches but nothing huge. All of the fish were caught on a light lead head with either a grub or swim bait.

Also had a surprise visitor of a halibut yesterday. Tapped out at 22.5 inches and had completely swallowed the swim bait. Even the lead head was gone when its mouth was closed, with only the mono coming out of its mouth. Gave up a nice fight on 6 pound line and perch gear.

[SP Dan]

Hi ya q3fishboy,

"CONGRATULATIONS"!
I do believe that that is the first SWAT legal Hali of the 2013 season!

Thanx for the fish report! :Cool:

SP Dan <"))><

[Which Way Out]

He's BAAAACK! Right on Roy. We need some more reports from you this year.

Good talking to you today. Glad to see that fish after all that cold weather we just went through. Well you have always had a nack of finding fish.
I have Monday off so if you want we can hit the road and look for some more of those. Just might go poach that spot SAT morning:Wink:

WWO

[murrieta angler]

Sweet job Roy!
I really wasn't expecting the first legal flatty to come from the North...:Surprised:
I guess Santa gave you a late Chrristmas gift,,,:Big Grin:
Good to see you out in the surf and catching fish again.
But, you are doing what needs to be done, as far as school goes...:Wink:
Take Care and look forward to seeing you all next month,
Robert
<><

[Wingnut]

Congrats Roy, you have the first legal Halibut of the year on the S.W.A.T. Leader Board. :Envious:
You had me going there for a minute with that photo-shopped picture text of that fish, lol :LOL:
See ya next month at the "Gathering." :Big Grin:

[dlmoo312]

Congratulations on the legal hali!
I know the feeling of having to study while there's fish to be caught, but it will all pay off in the end!
It must feel great to be out again, and you were already able to land a legal!
Thanks for the report and I hope you get your wsb this year:Smile:


-Daniel

[bachiboy]

Way to come outta the corner swinging Roy! Great way to start out the new year! Lookin forward to the opportunity to fish with you and the rest of the crew next month.

Congrats on the legal!!!
Don

[sidified]

No doubt, Q3, that a couple of secrets to success is cracking the books hard, and absorbing the knowledge by fishing frequently..
Now since you caught the first hali of the year, how about some intel? What toothpaste did you use? What color sox were you wearing? and have you called Uncle Skippy lately??

[q3fishboy]

Hi ya q3fishboy,

"CONGRATULATIONS"!
I do believe that that is the first SWAT legal Hali of the 2013 season!

Thanx for the fish report! :Cool:

SP Dan <"))><

Dan,
I guess it was. I sure wasn't expecting to see a flattie that day.


He's BAAAACK! Right on Roy. We need some more reports from you this year.

Good talking to you today. Glad to see that fish after all that cold weather we just went through. Well you have always had a nack of finding fish.
I have Monday off so if you want we can hit the road and look for some more of those. Just might go poach that spot SAT morning:Wink:

WWO

Bill,
Glad to be talking (and fishing) with you again. Looking forward to a hopefully great year.


Sweet job Roy!
I really wasn't expecting the first legal flatty to come from the North...:Surprised:
I guess Santa gave you a late Chrristmas gift,,,:Big Grin:
Good to see you out in the surf and catching fish again.
But, you are doing what needs to be done, as far as school goes...:Wink:
Take Care and look forward to seeing you all next month,
Robert
<><

Robert,
Me too. I figured it would come from down south where there is some warmer water. It is nice to be back out on the water and looking forward to fishing more after I wrap up this last bit of work.


Congrats Roy, you have the first legal Halibut of the year on the S.W.A.T. Leader Board. :Envious:
You had me going there for a minute with that photo-shopped picture text of that fish, lol :LOL:
See ya next month at the "Gathering." :Big Grin:

Arthur,
The first picture wasn't photo-shopped either; just the angle of the camera and playing with perspective. Holding the fish with a fully out-stretched arm straight at the camera makes it look much bigger because it is closer to the camera than the person you are comparing it to. I saw one of my favorite photos a couple of years back. It is someone holding a perch right in front of the camera and taking a picture of his/her friend who is like 30 feet down the beach. In the picture, it looks like the 6-8 inch fish is eating the friend.


Congratulations on the legal hali!
I know the feeling of having to study while there's fish to be caught, but it will all pay off in the end!
It must feel great to be out again, and you were already able to land a legal!
Thanks for the report and I hope you get your wsb this year:Smile:


-Daniel

Daniel,
Thanks, and I hope so on the WSB.


Way to come outta the corner swinging Roy! Great way to start out the new year! Lookin forward to the opportunity to fish with you and the rest of the crew next month.

Congrats on the legal!!!
Don

Don,
Thanks. I am looking forward to fishing with everyone next month too.


No doubt, Q3, that a couple of secrets to success is cracking the books hard, and absorbing the knowledge by fishing frequently..
Now since you caught the first hali of the year, how about some intel? What toothpaste did you use? What color sox were you wearing? and have you called Uncle Skippy lately??

Sid,
The trick is to just be completely unprepared. No stringer or game clip, no boga grip, nothing. Most importantly, make sure to not wear waders and freeze. Haha. Actually, I have just been making short trips and have been too lazy to deal with my waders. Also, I have just been catching perch, hence the no boga grip etc. Fortunately, I did have a tape measure with me in case I caught any big perch. Unfortunately, I don't really have much useful intel as I was just fishing for and expecting perch and am surprised as anyone else. I have been basically looking for calm holes adjacent to rocks at the right tidal height and was doing the same thing when the halibut showed up. Hope that helps.

[sidified]

Sid,
The trick is to just be completely unprepared. No stringer or game clip, no boga grip, nothing. Most importantly, make sure to not wear waders and freeze. Haha. Actually, I have just been making short trips and have been too lazy to deal with my waders. Also, I have just been catching perch, hence the no boga grip etc. Fortunately, I did have a tape measure with me in case I caught any big perch. Unfortunately, I don't really have much useful intel as I was just fishing for and expecting perch and am surprised as anyone else. I have been basically looking for calm holes adjacent to rocks at the right tidal height and was doing the same thing when the halibut showed up. Hope that helps.

It sure does help, matey.. being ''too lazy to deal with waders'' makes me feel a whole lot better about going to the mall and not dealing with pants..

[blackwater]

Congrats on putting the first legal Halibut on the SWAT leaderboard Roy. :Razz:
I'm trying to make it up there to fish you guys in a couple of weeks at the gathering. :Cool: