WSB South OC
 

Hello!

I just wanted to start a discussion about local wsb numbers. I spend most of my time launching out of newport harbor or state beaches in CDM but I often launch out of Dana Point (not as much) my parents live in town there. I was hoping for any information that will help me locate, hook into, and land a wsb in south orange county.

Has anyone heard of more wsb numbers off the headlands/strands/creek/DanaPoint versus somewhere like CDM/Newport?

Been mostly fishing pretty good sized greenbacks (seem to be catching more of those than anything else) either dropper looped or on a carolina rig. Also if there is a lot of bait/dolphins/seals I've thrown Scrambled egg & Mack pattern irons.

Any and all information is appreciated, been putting in some serious time on the water to locate these fish in my area, I've hooked up a few times the last month into what felt like good fish but only to be broken off rather quickly(no confirmation they were wsb either) .... all indications are that April/May is prime time for the big wsb in southern cal and I do not want to wait another year!!!! If you can bag a ghost in Mexico, Central Cal, and all the way up in Oregon/Washington State then it does not make sense to me that they aren't around in southern orange county if there is ample bait and habitat. any thoughts?

Thanks again!
Anthony

Anthony,

I am planning to fish Newport on Saturday in search of WSB, halibut, or Thresher (and if none of that hits, rockfish). I havent scored a seabass yet from the kayak either so I can't offer any advice from experience, but if you want to give it a go with me on Saturday your company is more than welcome. I do know that halibut bite well with the moon and I have read that seabass do as well and we do have a new moon friday night so Saturday should be a good day to give it a shot. Let me know...


Cody

I fished Crystal Cove last Friday AM and it looked really promising. Corona del Mar, not so much. Plenty of greenbacks around Pelican Point, deeper kelp. I have put in a fair amount of time here and still looking for the Newport ghost.

Hey Cody, sounds good I'd love to tag along! I was planning on launching Saturday as well. I have not landed one either, these fish are haunting my dreams! Let me know when you plan to launch sounds like fun




I guess promising is good to hear! Last few times i've been out there greenbacks have been pretty easy to come by, hopefully that continues. Well shit, sounds like my best option is to get out there as much as possible....increase those odds haha thanks for the info :cheers1:

U guys got room for one more?

The more the merrier... if we can't find the right kind and end up fishing rockfish we can split up and cover more ground looking for hard bottom and once someone finds it we can all try to sack up on taco meat.

I like to launch at Kid Beach (on Balboa Blvd.) Let's meet up there around 6-6:30?

I checked the forecast... 0-1ft swell at long intervals (grease calm in other words) and 4kts of wind all day. Epic.

Sounds like a plan I'll be there by 6am. I'm a bit of a pack rat so i'll need some extra time to setup. I'll bring a box of squid for the taco meat.

Dang. Wish I could join you guys. How long do u think you'll be out there? Hmm. So tempting..

Good luck fellas! Post up some pics!



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Last week the street was closed and I had to park over 2 blocks away so bring wheels and check the temporary street signs, some spots say permit only.

Incase we aren't able to meet at the same launch spot i'll be on Ch 71.

I'm not that familiar with Newport Beaches and couldn't find "Kid Beach", but I'd like to try to find it.

Where, on this map, will you guys be meeting? And where will you look to fish?

http://gis.newportbeachca.gov/gispub...p/default.aspx

Between Granada and M street on balboa blvd E. look for a small patch of sand with a dock.

That's thee spot. I have most likely seen you on the docks or out in the water.

Anyway, my room mate was wanting to launch before sunrise. Any takers?

Anyone tried the coastguard station? How far from kid beach is it to drive. I don't have wheels to walk at kid beach if the road is closed :mad:

Never launched from kid Beach, but the CG station is my go-to spot. Limited parking in the lot, but there's street parking too. Gets full after 0730. Bathrooms, showers, etc. Its an easy walk to the water. I always use wheels, though. You could drag through the soft sand if you needed, maybe 75 yards? Lot hours are 0600 to 2200 I believe.

The road being closed does not cause that many problems... Watch out for some of the residents :farmer:

Its on the other side of the harbor. Good spot if you arrive before 6:30ish. But the sand is soft and non sand wheels are worthless. Using the for right sidewalk is a good option if your yak isn't wide like my PA.

Yup.. the side along Kid Beach is definitely closed, but you can get to the sidewalk via open driveways. Also, there is a short retaining wall on Kid Beach, but if multiple people are going, that shouldn't be a problem. Solo.. it was a pain in the ass and I basically drop rolled my kayak off the wall. :ack2:

I think K Street is better access, and parking if you are going that early.

I don't know where people are meeting and fishing, since I can't make this... but this is Kid Beach:

go to: maps.google.com

enter these GPS coordinates into the Search box: 33.598644,-117.883373


You can click on "Directions" to get driving turn-by-turn directions. Pretty easy to find. Street parking might be a problem, so bring wheels, and don't load your rods vertical until you're on the sand (low hanging trees along sidewalks)

Good luck fellas.. :cheers1:

Can somebody post coordinates to the K Street launch site?

If kid beach is going to be a hassle lets either go for cg station or k street.

It's just a few blocks up the street from Kid Beach.

put these GPS coordinates into Google: 33.599826,-117.886898

not recent but its been done
 

Its just a few blocks before kids beach. Do you have a radio?

Im still going to launch at kids beach as early as possible with my roommate and unfortunately do not have a radio but we will see you guys out there (yellow OK prowler)

I am up for what you suggested Cody, heading south to Crystal Cove area and depending on how that goes heading back out towards the canyon for some rockfish. Look forward to seeing you guys out there!




Probably the most satisfaction I've gotten from a damn youtube video in a long while... :wsb:are in the backyard...all we need now is a lot of luck and none of this :linesnap:

nice share, thanks!

Mr. jbara.. that's awesome! What is "CG beach"?

that must suck .. catching a fish SO big that the fish gets in the way of using your mirage pedal drives to haul it back to shore. Happy paddle! :luxhello: :kayak-surfer:

Yup! Just went to west marine and got one of their floating models. :D

CG= Coast guard

Check your PM

If by chance I don't catch you at the launch ill be hanging around the bait receiver to test the water.

wouldve joined y'all this morning if not for boys soccer. maybe next time, been itching to get out again. hope y'all have some good stories and pics to share.

Looked around for you guys and didn't see anyone! Had my radio on 71 but not a peep all day. Oh well. I got the skunk. Passed up on buying bait from the barge (bad idea) tried looking for some and couldn't find any. Tried looking for rockfish in 150-200 ft and couldn't find any. At least I found out that my new bait tank and sonar work

Next time will be better...

Sorry bro, my buddy called last night and wanted to join so I didn't make it to kids beach until 6:45. Had to pack his gear on my truck. I called out on 71 at 7:00am and 8:00am and got no responds. How did you do? Landed a few short sand bass. Went out to the shelf and didn't see a single fish on the ff.

I actually got a late start too... slept thru my alarms :banghead:

I paddled out past the bait barge and thought to myself "should I buy bait?" and I said "nah I will find it and make it myself" well after an hour of looking for bait and nothing more than a few pinhead anchovies flipping around on the top of the water, I went out to deep water... I have never tried metering for rockfish... do they show up well on the sonar or are they difficult to make out since they are so far down/close to the structure? Looked around there for another hour or so, swell started picking up and I decided to head in because I thought being out there solo was asking for trouble in a building swell. Didn't even bother to fish the harbor since I neglected to bring my plastic setup/lighter gear. Paddled in and headed for home. Off the water by noon-ish.

yak and gear are still on my car... contemplating fishing Cabrillo tomorrow since it's closer and I have more experience fishing that harbor.

What's the best way to fish bait out in the deeper waters like the canyons? What are you targeting? I know in the canyons, people are hunting the threshers.. which I'm not really looking to mess with just yet...

What about :wsb: ?

How do you best rig your bait? Flyline it? Collar hook? I got the impression these are best thrown near kelp areas?

Thanks for any tips.

CC... sorry for the slow day. At least you got out there yesterday! I'm still trying to figure Newport out. I'm hoping next weekend sometime, and for sure Memorial Day looks good. :drool5:

Barge only had dines there were a lot of macs at the mouth in the middle. I zig zacked 120-180 feet for about an hr and didn't see a single fish on the FF. A few PB showed up the left within 10 minuets. Fished the kelp beds for about three hours for nada then decided to have some fun and switched to small hooks and hooked up a few dozen randome reef fish. At around 1 I head in to the harbor and fished for about another hour. Landed a few short calico on plastic and got a Hali hit trolling a dine but no hookup; it bit the dine in half.

I was looking for rockfish in the deep water. Didnt see any on the sonar. I havent targeted them from my yak yet, only on skiffs/passenger boats. I fish heavy weights in deep water (8oz all the way up to 1 pound or more if the current is moving) as for bait I have used live squid frozen squid and sardines and all produce equally well.

As for the seabass- again, I don't have much experience but I DO know that if you troll your baits you want them down low in the water column... so you would tie a torpedo sinker to your main line with your leader off of that or you can use a sliding egg sinker too I suppose. I would nose hook the bait, collar hooking might work too. And if you found and made live squid, fish it near the squid beds with your bait suspended a couple feet off the bottom. Pin two on a heavy glow/white jig and hold on when something takes it. This is all stuff I have read from other people's experience and how-to articles and such... if anyone else has info that they are willing to share please chime in.

I really want to go back out... next Saturday would be cool- I am down with anywhere. I am unavailable on the saturday of memorial day weekend but sunday would work. I went to cabrillo this morning and thought it'd be a great sunny day like yesterday... I woke up to the sun peeking thru the blinds at 5:45 packed a lunch and got to the ramp at a little before 7 and the visibility was 100 yards at best due to fog so I turned around and came home and now it's gorgeous outside :mad: this weekend wasn't meant to be!