Advice - San Diego Bay Fishing for Kids - Kayak Fishing Adventures on Big Water’s Edge

jlabs63 · 09-20-2021, 11:20 AM

Hey guys, i have 3 daughters (5-9) that i need to get into fishing. I have access to a boat out of Harbor Island and looking for some general advice regarding locations, bait and tackle. It would be great to get them hooked up with some bass (just something other than greenbacks).

I have some spinning rods with Carolina rigs and some small Hookup Baits on 10 lb flouro.
- Hook size
- Bait (ghost shrimp, shrimp? No squid, right?)

To be clear, i am not looking for numbers to anybody's honeyhole. Ive never fished SD Bay, so just some general (or detailed, if you want) advice on where to go.

Mahigeer · 09-20-2021, 12:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jlabs63

Hey guys, i have 3 daughters (5-9) that i need to get into fishing. I have access to a boat out of Harbor Island and looking for some general advice regarding locations, bait and tackle. It would be great to get them hooked up with some bass (just something other than greenbacks).

I have some spinning rods with Carolina rigs and some small Hookup Baits on 10 lb flouro.
- Hook size
- Bait (ghost shrimp, shrimp? No squid, right?)

To be clear, i am not looking for numbers to anybody's honeyhole. Ive never fished SD Bay, so just some general (or detailed, if you want) advice on where to go.

Shelter island is a good place for newbies and kids.

A dropper loop rig with one or two hooks is better for kids.

Ghost shrimp is a great bait. Fillet mackerel for more mackerel is great.

#8 baitholder hooks are a good size for pier.

There are other piers in San Diego too. Check pierfishing.com website.

PapaDave · 09-21-2021, 10:09 AM

I usually drift with the tide using plastics and weedless jig heads along the bottom. Drift down the rows of boats in any of the harbors, the main channel gets a little rough with the boat traffic on busy days.

jruiz · 09-21-2021, 12:41 PM

When i was growing up, I was perfectly happy to catch macs. Cut those sabikis in half and put one on each rod. 1 hour drifting for nothing and you'll quickly have a boat full of kids that have had enough and want to go home and would likely not want to go out again.

Mahigeer · 09-22-2021, 08:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jruiz

When i was growing up, I was perfectly happy to catch macs. Cut those sabikis in half and put one on each rod. 1 hour drifting for nothing and you'll quickly have a boat full of kids that have had enough and want to go home and would likely not want to go out again.

Plus one.

jlabs63 · 09-23-2021, 09:29 AM

Thank you fellas. Greenbacks would be just fine, but wouldnt mind introducing them to some other species. I found this article, which is pretty helpful:

https://sdfish.com/forums/t/fishing-...go-bay.163428/

My plan is to get plenty of shrimp / squid (enough for chum) and ghost shrimp if I can find them. Tie on a few sabiki rigs tipped with bait for the kids while is fish plastics / hookup baits for bass.

Probably hit around Shelter and Harbor Islands; maybe the bait barge.

Mahigeer · 09-26-2021, 09:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jlabs63

Tie on a few sabiki rigs tipped with bait for the kids while is fish plastics / hookup baits for bass.

IMHO, using bait on Sabiki during day lights is unnecessary. It does not harm, but not needed. It would be cheaper to tie a bunch of hooks and then put bait on them.
The cost of Sabiki rigs is for the feathers, beads, etc. It is so the hook looks like a shrimp or kirll.

At night bait as scent is ok on Sabiki, then again, why not tie bare hook with bait.

09-20-2021, 11:20 AM	#1
jlabs63 Member Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: SD - Carmel Valley Posts: 78	Advice - San Diego Bay Fishing for Kids Hey guys, i have 3 daughters (5-9) that i need to get into fishing. I have access to a boat out of Harbor Island and looking for some general advice regarding locations, bait and tackle. It would be great to get them hooked up with some bass (just something other than greenbacks). I have some spinning rods with Carolina rigs and some small Hookup Baits on 10 lb flouro. - Hook size - Bait (ghost shrimp, shrimp? No squid, right?) To be clear, i am not looking for numbers to anybody's honeyhole. Ive never fished SD Bay, so just some general (or detailed, if you want) advice on where to go.

09-21-2021, 10:09 AM	#3
PapaDave Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Menifee, CA Posts: 1,473	I usually drift with the tide using plastics and weedless jig heads along the bottom. Drift down the rows of boats in any of the harbors, the main channel gets a little rough with the boat traffic on busy days. __________________ So long and thanks for all the fish...

09-21-2021, 12:41 PM	#4
jruiz Large Member Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: La Verne, CA Posts: 1,011	When i was growing up, I was perfectly happy to catch macs. Cut those sabikis in half and put one on each rod. 1 hour drifting for nothing and you'll quickly have a boat full of kids that have had enough and want to go home and would likely not want to go out again.

09-23-2021, 09:29 AM	#6
jlabs63 Member Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: SD - Carmel Valley Posts: 78	Thank you fellas. Greenbacks would be just fine, but wouldnt mind introducing them to some other species. I found this article, which is pretty helpful: https://sdfish.com/forums/t/fishing-...go-bay.163428/ My plan is to get plenty of shrimp / squid (enough for chum) and ghost shrimp if I can find them. Tie on a few sabiki rigs tipped with bait for the kids while is fish plastics / hookup baits for bass. Probably hit around Shelter and Harbor Islands; maybe the bait barge.