Looking for some advice about fishing trip

[InfidelYak]

So I'm headed on a 12 hour trip this weekend. We're going to be fishing around the backside of catalina. Would it be bad of me to attempt to yo yo with some irons?? Honestly I just don't wanna start doing it and get told I'm an idiot or somthing hahaha im new to socal fishing and the art of "yo-yoing"

[King Saba]

lol who cares if you get called a fool for yo-yoing in November? I have no experience with that, but from what I understand it's more a winter and early spring technique when the fish are hugging tight to a canyon's bottom. BUT, conditions can change at anytime so who knows? Maybe a yo-yo fish might be a possibility.

[Aaron&Julie]

One of the most usual methods of yo-yoing is simply to cast out or drop your jig straight down, let it sink to the bottom, then rapidly retrieve all the way back up. When yellowtail are on the feed, you might get bit on the drop as much as on the retrieve. If on the drop you are bit on your iron you'll know it when the lines starts peeling off rapidly, then simply put the reel into gear, you usually don't have to swing on the fish to hook it. White sea bass may hit along with other species. Also, you can change this up a little, if you make a long cast let it sink to the bottom, retrieve it quickly maybe half way up, let it sink to the bottom again, repeat until your last drop down is totally vertical, then reel all the way back in and repeat. The most popular jig for this method is probably a blue and white Salas 6X Junior, or a Salas 6X Junior in the scrambled egg pattern, a mix of yellow and brown. Most tackle stores should have these, ask the attendant.

Also, the deckhands on your boat usually know what areas the boat will be fishing that day, or once you set up anchor just ask them. They can probably give you an idea of whether it's worth trying this method of fishing.

There's another method of yo-yoing for Reds, Lings and other large bottomfish, usually requiring a heavier/larger type of iron. A couple popular irons back in the day were the TNT or large Diamond jigs. In this case, you drop to the bottom reel up a few cranks and then just keep raising rapidly and slowly dropping your rod until you're bit. Here you do want to swing as hard as you can to set the hook, they don't strike hard like yellowtail. In this type of fishing in particular it's important that you immediately reel off of the bottom, as these locations are usually rocky reef bottoms with pinnacles and such, and it's very easy to get stuck and lose a valuable jig. Putting whole squid or strips of mackerel on the jig hook will increase getting bit too. Often if you have a good captain on board, he'll tell you he's metering schools of fish and tell you about how many feet above the bottom they are, giving yourself a better idea how many cranks you need to reel in after hitting bottom.

Good luck, remember there's never anything wrong with asking.

[Aaron&Julie]

The backside of Catalina has good areas for fishing yellows and whites, plus good bottom fishing reefs too. So, you might want to call the landing about the trip you're going on to find out what they might be fishing for when you go.

And check daily on the fish report for your boat to see what they've been catching. That way you know to have the right jigs in advance for the style fishing you'll be doing. I will say this, typically, bait outfishes jigs in most situations, but it certainly is nice to have both options available. It's why many fishermen bring multiple rods and setups for switching quickly to one fishing method or another.

[2-Stix]

Both posts above are spot on. I fish some Jax Jigs on bottom for reds and lings also.