Rpt.-02-13-16 Izor's Reef in the Fog!

[Tunaslam]

Talk about a turnabout in weather, Fog, damp, and very cold!

So, I went fishing Saturday 2-13-16, with Lal on his 18’ boat the “Rubber Ducky”. We launched out of Davies in Long Beach at 5:30 am, for a change of pace, our beginning destination was Izor’s Reef. Our plan was to fish for Bass at Izor’s until about 9am and then research the Rig’s for Tails, then maybe head to the Pipe in Newport. Well, all good plans are subject to change?

The dense Fog forced us to head out slowly to the Reef, at least in grease calm seas. We maybe had 100 yards of visibility. Not to mention, any speed meant more suffering, as it was extremely chilly and the wet moisture made it miserable.

We arrived at the beginning edge of Izor’s Reef and began a drift in one of our favorite areas, loaded with structure and hopefully big Bass. It was a rude awakening to poor conditions, and few fish. We perhaps moved 20 feet in more than ten minutes, with zero current. We caught 6 Sand Bass and 2 Calico Bass in 1.5 hours, while moving from stone to stone. 7 of the 8 Bass caught, were less than 1 pound. The one decent Bass caught by Lal was 3.5 pounds.



Lal did have some earlier excitement with his first “Bitch” Slap of the day. The big Bass absolutely hammered Lal, a few feet off the bottom and rocked him in seconds. Lal had no chance; as the fish could not be stopped in a sudden surge of power so close to his Cave! Lal reeled up four feet of shredded line. He was unfortunately using 15 pound test line, with a tight drag. You have a choice at Izor’s; you can use heavier line and get few bites or lighten up and take your chance on numerous bites? You always hope you get lucky and hook the bigger Bass off the bottom.

The fog would not relent; Father Sun was not helpful today. The jackets layered with sweatshirts, and multiple T-shirts did not keep us warm. The heavy wet air was very uncomfortable all morning.

The calm seas and virtually no current was certainly a handicap to our efforts. We moved from stone to stone at the lower reef for very little action. I joined Lal with a vicious ***** slap on my 15 pound outfit. I thought I had turned him and began to gain ground, then a serious pull of the drag and pop! I reeled up more than six feet of shredded line.

No idea how big these fish are, although a five pounder near his cave can pull very hard. As a matter of fact my next Cast resulted in the ultimate experience. I got bit on the fall, not quite near the bottom, the big Bass took drag, in fact several times, yet I prevailed. The violent head shakes all the way up and a few more runs were impressive. My hat’s off to the fight the Bass put on:



If a five pounder can pull that hard, how hard can a bigger fish pull, an 8 pounder can put you in your place, right? Humble pie worth eating.

Lal moved us further up the reef to a bit deeper water. Conditions remained similar with perhaps a bit more movement; we caught a few Bass here and there and then experienced a flurry of bites at times. We had a number of doubles and one Triple going during these drifts over structure on the outer end.

Lal with a double:



Myself with a nice four pounder:



Lal with another four pounder:



The seas remained flat calm with a mild swell until noon; the water temps were 59.5 degrees to start and improved to 61.1 degrees at high noon. The fog was still present and it remained chilly! We managed to scratch out a very good day, just over 50 mixed Bass, with maybe ten Calico Bass to 2.5 pounds, most under 1 pound.

All fish were released to fight another day!

The bigger Sand Bass were there, although so many puked up Red Crabs, it was difficult to get them interested. Lal got ***** slapped a second time, with no mercy as the line was split in two at the end and frayed for more than a yard? The wind came up a little after 12:30 pm and so did the swells. It was time to call it a day.

Some more pictures:









Thanks Lal, another successful day on the Ducky. It does not get much better.

[TUNAVIC]

Nice bassin there guys,your right about any sandie 5lbs and above pulling hard,I've caught a couple of slugs on mackerel and was amazed at their strength,I won't say what I thought they were,only surprised to see a big grumpy,wtg guys,oh yeah and brrrrrrr!

Cya Tuna Vic

[ml8fish]

Nice! awesome bassin'!

I cannot wait to get out there and start my 2016 season! itching!

-Marcus