Tunaslam
03-30-2013, 03:33 PM
Fishing Sat. 3-30-13, with John on his comfortable 25’Parker, the “Horndog”. We launched out of Cabrillo’s in San Pedro at 5:45 am, our beginning destination being the Palos Verdes Coast.
We coasted up to the area we wanted to fish. Water Temperatures were up a bit from several weeks ago to 56.5 degrees. The meter marks along the usual area we fish were very spread out. The seas contained a 1 foot wind chop, at about eight knots. Our first drift was at a rapid pace, yet the critter fishing was game on. John had the right moves, as he was hooking fish at a good rate. I caught a few, yet I was primarily fishing with rubber hooks, lots of bites and few hook ups?
Here is John with a double on the Reds:
http://i1091.photobucket.com/albums/i394/tunaslam/100_2486680x510_zpsdbe394c4.jpg
On our first drift we caught numerous Gopher Cod, Coppers, Johnny Bass, Reds and one nice Starry. Just as we were finishing our first drift, Lal pulled up in the Rubber Ducky with his friend Marc. Then John hooked a big fish and fought it for a while as Lal and Marc looked on. I grabbed a net, as this looked to be a big enough fish needing such. Wished I would of grabbed a gaff instead? The big Lingcod arrived at the surface and as I slid the net under the fish it spit the lead head. John maintained tension on the line and the lead head flew up and hit me on the side of my face. Yikes, that was way too close to my eyes, lucky me. The Ling calmly swam out of the net as my natural reaction was to duck and lose control of the net.
It looked to be five to six pounds and definitely legal? John set us back up on a similar drift, however, just like that conditions changed. The wind died and with it the current. Our drift slowed to a crawl and so did the bite. This lasted for about a half hour, and then the wind picked up again, yet in a different direction. It was a chaotic drift scenario, first one direction then another. We still caught fish along the way.
Our first Bass of the day, a 2 pound Sandy:
http://i1091.photobucket.com/albums/i394/tunaslam/100_2487680x510_zpsc0a52d55.jpg
Not long after I caught the first Sand Bass, John catches this rascal”
http://i1091.photobucket.com/albums/i394/tunaslam/100_2489680x510_zps9040b307.jpg
http://i1091.photobucket.com/albums/i394/tunaslam/100_2490680x510_zps74cc5720.jpg
I got ***** slapped on my next bite, I hooked a big fish on my 15 pound outfit, got about ten feet on my wind in with huge head shakes, and then the big fish said, I don’t want any part of this, my drag started screaming out, and then pop, it was gone! I reeled in 2 feet of shredded line.
No matter what we did to set up on meter marks, our direction changed every time we went on a drift. North, south, or into the coast, the only direction not incurred was away from land. Then we simply spun the boat in a 180 degree direction, going almost nowhere, when the wind completely died, but only for a short while?
We caught more Reds, Johnny Bass, Copper Rockfish, Sculpin and at least 20 Gopher Cod. What happened to the Bass? One of the few Sculpin we caught:
http://i1091.photobucket.com/albums/i394/tunaslam/100_2491680x510_zpse0aa2646.jpg
Our third Sand Bass:
http://i1091.photobucket.com/albums/i394/tunaslam/100_2488680x510_zps399b0849.jpg
Another big Sculpin by John:
http://i1091.photobucket.com/albums/i394/tunaslam/100_2492680x510_zps94baaa0e.jpg
I think you can see the Ducky in the background?
As the morning progressed we found fewer marks and a continuation of goofy currents and drift direction. It became a slow scratch bite for hours. We ended the day with 40+ Rockfish, and three Sand Bass. We kept a few Reds, Sculpin and other critters for fish tacos. All others were released to fight another day.
We called it a day at 1:00pm. Thanks so much for the invite John, can’t wait for our next adventure together.
Hook up! Cory
We coasted up to the area we wanted to fish. Water Temperatures were up a bit from several weeks ago to 56.5 degrees. The meter marks along the usual area we fish were very spread out. The seas contained a 1 foot wind chop, at about eight knots. Our first drift was at a rapid pace, yet the critter fishing was game on. John had the right moves, as he was hooking fish at a good rate. I caught a few, yet I was primarily fishing with rubber hooks, lots of bites and few hook ups?
Here is John with a double on the Reds:
http://i1091.photobucket.com/albums/i394/tunaslam/100_2486680x510_zpsdbe394c4.jpg
On our first drift we caught numerous Gopher Cod, Coppers, Johnny Bass, Reds and one nice Starry. Just as we were finishing our first drift, Lal pulled up in the Rubber Ducky with his friend Marc. Then John hooked a big fish and fought it for a while as Lal and Marc looked on. I grabbed a net, as this looked to be a big enough fish needing such. Wished I would of grabbed a gaff instead? The big Lingcod arrived at the surface and as I slid the net under the fish it spit the lead head. John maintained tension on the line and the lead head flew up and hit me on the side of my face. Yikes, that was way too close to my eyes, lucky me. The Ling calmly swam out of the net as my natural reaction was to duck and lose control of the net.
It looked to be five to six pounds and definitely legal? John set us back up on a similar drift, however, just like that conditions changed. The wind died and with it the current. Our drift slowed to a crawl and so did the bite. This lasted for about a half hour, and then the wind picked up again, yet in a different direction. It was a chaotic drift scenario, first one direction then another. We still caught fish along the way.
Our first Bass of the day, a 2 pound Sandy:
http://i1091.photobucket.com/albums/i394/tunaslam/100_2487680x510_zpsc0a52d55.jpg
Not long after I caught the first Sand Bass, John catches this rascal”
http://i1091.photobucket.com/albums/i394/tunaslam/100_2489680x510_zps9040b307.jpg
http://i1091.photobucket.com/albums/i394/tunaslam/100_2490680x510_zps74cc5720.jpg
I got ***** slapped on my next bite, I hooked a big fish on my 15 pound outfit, got about ten feet on my wind in with huge head shakes, and then the big fish said, I don’t want any part of this, my drag started screaming out, and then pop, it was gone! I reeled in 2 feet of shredded line.
No matter what we did to set up on meter marks, our direction changed every time we went on a drift. North, south, or into the coast, the only direction not incurred was away from land. Then we simply spun the boat in a 180 degree direction, going almost nowhere, when the wind completely died, but only for a short while?
We caught more Reds, Johnny Bass, Copper Rockfish, Sculpin and at least 20 Gopher Cod. What happened to the Bass? One of the few Sculpin we caught:
http://i1091.photobucket.com/albums/i394/tunaslam/100_2491680x510_zpse0aa2646.jpg
Our third Sand Bass:
http://i1091.photobucket.com/albums/i394/tunaslam/100_2488680x510_zps399b0849.jpg
Another big Sculpin by John:
http://i1091.photobucket.com/albums/i394/tunaslam/100_2492680x510_zps94baaa0e.jpg
I think you can see the Ducky in the background?
As the morning progressed we found fewer marks and a continuation of goofy currents and drift direction. It became a slow scratch bite for hours. We ended the day with 40+ Rockfish, and three Sand Bass. We kept a few Reds, Sculpin and other critters for fish tacos. All others were released to fight another day.
We called it a day at 1:00pm. Thanks so much for the invite John, can’t wait for our next adventure together.
Hook up! Cory