Kayaking and BFS bass at Los Alamitos Bay 11/22/14

 I recently got my kayak about 3 weeks ago with the intention of using it for the bays and the inside of breakwalls on those calmer days. My vessel was christened last week at Newport Harbor with a few MINI Spotties and a Sculpin to boot. It wasn't a day of catching, but it was fun nonetheless.

To make up for the slow day last week I figured I'd give a shot at the one harbor I usually do well at in my tube. Los Alamitos Bay was the harbor of choice. Again, it wasn't a day of catching, but I really appreciated each fish I caught.

I was on the water at 0830 off the water at 1430. The first fish was at 1300 SUPER STOKED about that little skunk beater. Towards the end of the day I managed to bag another one at 13". An octopus was also caught today, but it slithered away before I got a chance to get any pictures.

I think I'll avoid taking my yak to small bays from now on. Or if I do I'll avoid tight structure fishing and opt for deeper more open bays.

My arms, neck, and back are sore as hell lol!

LRF in China

I'm writing on behalf of a fellow angler who is absolutely killing it on the rockfish and other rock dwelling species in China.  He fishes these less than desirable waters on a daily basis often putting his mornings at work usually resulting in a good tug of the the line.  His most common quarry, black rockfish, Sebastes schlegeli, is often found under rocky crevices lying in wait for that opportunistic meal.

Approaching these fish takes a skilled hand, pair of eyes, and understanding of the fish's nature.  Anyone catch catch the smaller of these fish by sinking a piece of cut bait at them.  BUT, it is the larger, reproducing females that takes skill.  Nevertheless, rockfish of all sizes are caught on his lures. 

There's a variety of ways to pursue these critters casting plastics and retrieving, jigging the bottom, and jerking are one of many ways to entice these hard fighting scrappers.  But, the preferred method is often presenting a small plastic such as a grub or worm at the opening of a rock.

Initially, he will attempt to ignite a reaction strike from these fish using a darting plastic such as a small jerkshad on a jighead. If that does not work he slows his approach to using a worm either dragging it across the bottom or using a twitch and fall method.  But, based on the conditions, the Black rockfish will demand a presentation accordingly. 

http://www.lib.noaa.gov/retiredsites/korea/main_species/rockfish.htm

Some info about the fish.

 

-Later

Kayaking Newport Harbor with BFS techiques 11/15/14

Another day, another adventure.  I took my new Malibu Sierra 10 out for its maiden voyage with the company of two awesome friends.  Needless to say, my vessel's first trip on the water was a success, but the catching department was not.  I threw just about everything that worked for me in the past at these spotties, crankbaits, spinnerbaits, swimbaits, plastics, all of it!  But, the only thing that seemed to get a bite was a slow crawl with some goby shaped plastics fished on my Curado 50E and Kuying BFS set-up. 

So, to make a long story short, we all caught fish, but it could have been better.

Me: 5 fish.  3 little Spotties, 1 Sand Bass, Sculpin.
My kayaking buddy: 4 decent Spotties and a few micro sized sand bass
My tubing friend: 2 little spotties, 2 little sand bass, and a Jacksmelt

Fun times all around even though the catching became fishing.

 

 

Later...

Newport Harbor Spotted Bay Bass 9/13/14

I don't have a fishing problem. And, I don't think I can be helped. lol
The water was pretty damn cold at some parts of the harbor transitioning from warm to cold pockets.

I caught 5 Spotted Bay Bass with the largest one at 14".

My friend caught 3 Spotted Bay Bass, PB 17". He lost what we bet was a 17"+. Sucks! He also caught a sand bass and a scorpionfish.

Towards the end of the day we ran into a school of mullet that made us think they were Bonita or some other silver bodied fish. One of them actually pursued my rattletrap.

Fun times.

 

http://liteangling.blogspot.com/2014/08/fishing-newport-harbor-float-tubing.html

One of my past trips to NPH that had more success.

Later... 

Close call at Peck Road Park Lake 9/9/14

When I meet new people often the topic of the conversation will eventually lead to what are my hobbies. Well, I'm an outdoorsman. I love to fish and it is my passion. But, don't be fooled. Fishing is much more than hook, line, and sinker.

Today while killing a few hours at a nearby lake I heard a bunch of shuffling near a tree that was 10yds or so away from me. It began with the sound of leaf movement. Next, the base of the tree started to move.

At first, I thought there was a homeless individual or animal climbing up the tree, but there was nothing that large. I stood there, observing the tree for a minute as lizards began scurrying out. At that moment I figured that it was the lizards causing all this commotion. I shrugged it off and turned away for a minute. The sound then progressed from shuffling to cracking. It was at that point that I decided to get up and no more than 5 seconds later, BOOM! The entire tree fell.

I'd say the diameter of the tree's trunk was at least 20 inches.

lol fun times!

I managed to only bag 2 micro bass and a bluegill. There was a 1-2lb bass est. that was working some bait for a while, but it would not commit and caused me to get home late.

Fishing Cozumel, Mexico part 1

In practically all of my vacations there has to be fishing at some point during my stay at a foreign country.  If you have ever been to Mexico you would know that it is home to one of the world's best saltwater fisheries.  I was fortunate enough to experience just that.

I was fishing on a private charter boat that was managed by three friends or amigos as it is called in Spanish.  These crew members were experienced fishermen that had been fishing for over 30 years.  With their expertise I managed to gabbing my very first and personal best blackfin tuna, groupers of various assortment, grunts, and triggerfish.

The morning started off with a beautiful sunrise at around 6 o'clock.  The deck boss had set me up with some trolling feathers in a chartreuse and purple color, and in addition we were trolling with some minnow shape crankbaits.  The charter was only four hours and for the first two hours of the trip we trolled for a single fish which happened to be my blackfin tuna.  After that we settle for bottom fishing for troopers and other delicious bottom fish.

All in all, the fishing trip was quite enjoyable and at $300 USD it wasn't too shabby.  My only complaint was that we didn't catch quite as many fish more fish as long as we should have.

Enjoy the video.

Light RockFish: Porta potty Sand Bass

7/30/13

Sand Bass, commonly referred to as Turd Rollers for their infamous spinning fighting characteristic.  Oh, and they crap at the same time when being reeled in.  lol

This was a very comical catch for me!