back to bassics

Considered lighter loads on party boats but $100 price tag for ½ day was not very inviting. Drove to my favorite kelp area and launched on 9 ft longboard and offered them fresh cut squid. If there was any whitefish or sheephead or others, well, they must have had squid-free day. To deter skunk, I cruised around kelp and collected all the plastic bags and birthday balloons, stashing them in my fenny pack.

The wind and current were getting stronger and only occasional baitfish would surface in rather murky conditions. The water seemed warmer than air (= I started to shiver and put on a hood). On the way to shore I tied trusty white plastic and after few casts started hooking calicos. And they were big: mostly legal 14-20 “ and were attacking in pairs. Kept one for dinner and just before the breakers/boilers hooked something heavy. I thought it was cabezon but tuned out to be a large black rockfish. It looks like it should warm up soon and they seem closer to shore, hopefully will get out there again.

Have fun out there.

Nice Calico!

Nice report, when you said you caught a black rockfish did you mean a black sea bass, I know there are black rockfish but I thought they are farther up north.
I have fished channel Islands a lot and have never seen one caught.

Well, I have not seen rockfish that dark in the channel here either, it was not 'black rockfish' which is lighter or 'black sea bass', but was certainly shaped like rockfish but was black and purple (like cab). I think it was the color of dark algae growing near and on boulders where I hooked it. Wish I got a picture before sending it back.