DPH lunacy! and PB 5-13

[twin22s]

High tide + "full" moon + kelp and rocks =.....

Walked out onto the jetty with my Castaic full of fresh 50lb braid tied straight to a revenge football jig. 7'6" Diawa swimbait rod to hold it all together and hopefully haul the big ones out of the slop.

got out to the secret spot and started flipping the kelp mats just after sundown. wind was blowing and it was still fairly light. nothing doing. until the night really set in and moonlight was the only thing in the sky.
then it was on. caught two bass in quick succession and started thinking this was going to be a 20+ fish night.

First fish of the evening
http://i1368.photobucket.com/albums/ag192/brian_wilson4/Mobile%20Uploads/AE2912B3-286F-45F8-8049-62C9149B3A5A_zpstyj0obof.jpg (http://s1368.photobucket.com/user/brian_wilson4/media/Mobile%20Uploads/AE2912B3-286F-45F8-8049-62C9149B3A5A_zpstyj0obof.jpg.html)

number 2 and they are getting bigger...
http://i1368.photobucket.com/albums/ag192/brian_wilson4/Mobile%20Uploads/ABF12C06-11FD-4802-AF19-6F2F9726A5A5_zpszjweyl8z.jpg (http://s1368.photobucket.com/user/brian_wilson4/media/Mobile%20Uploads/ABF12C06-11FD-4802-AF19-6F2F9726A5A5_zpszjweyl8z.jpg.html)

after that I couldn't get bit, I'd feel some small fish pecking at the trailer but nothing to get excited about. I fished on thinking that when the tide started to fall the bite might pick up again.
I landed 1-2 small ones and was getting discouraged, and lazy. I started to let the spool spin too freely and getting overrun. finally I flipped so hard I nested my braid... great the bite has died and now I have to pick at this nest with a flashlight in my mouth... in the back of my mind I'm thinking please don't get bit now... murphy's law, I feel a bump, even with 6ft of slack in the line. damn. I make the call to reel my line on top of the tangle and set the hook. feels pretty good but she had wrapped me up in the thick stuff bad with the extra time I gave her before I could do anything. I worked the line back and forth for what seemed like 10 min. I could see a flash of white under the mess every so often so I knew she was still on the other end somewhere. when I got her to shake off the kelp it felt like she was still in it, but I could see her swimming freely. this was a BIG fish. I couldn't swing her. knelled down and lipped her. I think she grew in the time it took to do so. this is the biggest calico I have ever caught. and I have caught a few.

http://i1368.photobucket.com/albums/ag192/brian_wilson4/Mobile%20Uploads/B030C1A3-AB30-4DB7-9D8C-1DE23304E1FB_zpsheptrds6.jpg (http://s1368.photobucket.com/user/brian_wilson4/media/Mobile%20Uploads/B030C1A3-AB30-4DB7-9D8C-1DE23304E1FB_zpsheptrds6.jpg.html)

would have been legal for a halibut!
http://i1368.photobucket.com/albums/ag192/brian_wilson4/Mobile%20Uploads/9389D6A2-57D4-493C-9AE0-7A971E91E4D0_zps6t6xfov3.jpg (http://s1368.photobucket.com/user/brian_wilson4/media/Mobile%20Uploads/9389D6A2-57D4-493C-9AE0-7A971E91E4D0_zps6t6xfov3.jpg.html)

I was flying pretty high after that. I had my focus back. oh yeah I still had to un tangle the line on my spool. a lot less frustrating at that point. I caught 3 more bass 15"-17" and a hand full of shorts. Didn't quite make it to 20 fish, I think around 13 in total but I'll take quality over quantity when the 6lb+ are biting.

conditions are fading until the next full moon. look for another monster hunting report next month.

[DockRat]

Quality Checkers there, thanks for the post.
DR

[tamddo714]

awesome report! i was about to message you bc i was interested in going, but finals week so i got busy. maybe next time. good job out there

[murrieta angler]

Good sized calico Bro.
Congrats on your new PB.
Robert
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[bachiboy]

Awesome checker man! Definitely a brute. Looks like an amazing night to be out, professional overrun aside...but think of it this way, if you didn't backlash, your jig probably wouldn't have fallen right near that fish and you may have never gotten that bite of a lifetime.:Wink:

Congrats!
Don

[twin22s]

the jig had been sitting on the bottom for awhile(45 sec. at least). defiantly would not have dead sticked the bait for that long had I not had the backlash. I tried letting the bait rest longer after the initial drop after that but no more fish were caught that way. Luckiest backlash ever, lol.

[Jaysuuun]

Those are some pig looking Calicos! I always worry that I'll get slammed by something big during a nasty backlash. Looks like it worked in your favor! Good to see some quality bass from DPH.

[madbass]

got me all pumped up! killer report.
nice checkers, they are fun to pull on especially when pulling them out of the kelp..
thanks for sharing.

[smokehound]

AGh man not the gills i hope you kept that one, because it's dead now if you didnt.

[twin22s]

my fingers were in front of the gills between the gill plate and the first gill. I know its not the best way to handle them but I was afraid i would get my thumb torn off while trying to get the picture. as far as killing the fish by touching there gills, yeah its not good for them but in my experience anything short of leaving them out of the water for an hour or cutting off there head they still have a good chance of surviving. I fish a lot of freshwater bass and these Calico are invincible in comparison. don't get me wrong we need to be careful with them but to say that that fish wont survive based on how i was handling her is just plain crazy. I have caught a bunch of mangled looking calico bass from the harbor and all of them had full bellies and fought as strong if not stronger than a normal fish of their size.

[5150fishn]

Nice going on the nighttime checkers! Looks like a epic night. Thanks for the report and pics!

[Wingnut]

Toad Calicos... well done. :Big Grin:

[basshole1]

Those are some beautiful looking fish. A good chunk will sure get your adrenaline goin'. Cool report as well, thanks.

[twin22s]

It's that time again... big moon, big tide, small waves and huge checkers.

conditions look better than they have all year for the night bite off DPH jetty this weekend.

side note: MOST fish will be CPR. I do plan on keeping 2 or 3.

[dlmoo312]

Good luck out there! Let us know how you do :Smile:


-Daniel