LJ this afternoon

[icelogger]

A few noob questions.

Where to launch? I was thinking shell beach or boomers beach...

Im fishing with penn jig master 500L and 7' ugly tiger with a 500yds 65lb spectra base(not cheap!) My second rod is a 6'6" and spinning with 20lb spectra.
My question is about fluoro. I bought 30 yards of 30lb seaguar. How much fluoro should I tie on the spectra? The kayak fisherman I bought it from said not to use fluoro in the kelp beds.

I'm going to try and catch my own bait. I have a sabiki, 3 once weight, and some frozen sardines for chum. Where should I go to catch bait? Can I paddle out to the kelp and try for bait where I see signs of life?

So far ive picked up a blue and chrome tady 45, 2 oz anchovie laser minnow, and a 4 oz green/black dot/shiny silver laser minnow. With all the rod and limited tackle I have, how can I use this to catch fish. I'very been getting skunked a lot lately.

Thanks

[steveooo]

Originally Posted by icelogger

A few noob questions.

Where to launch? I was thinking shell beach or boomers beach...

Im fishing with penn jig master 500L and 7' ugly tiger with a 500yds 65lb spectra base(not cheap!) My second rod is a 6'6" and spinning with 20lb spectra.
My question is about fluoro. I bought 30 yards of 30lb seaguar. How much fluoro should I tie on the spectra? The kayak fisherman I bought it from said not to use fluoro in the kelp beds.

I'm going to try and catch my own bait. I have a sabiki, 3 once weight, and some frozen sardines for chum. Where should I go to catch bait? Can I paddle out to the kelp and try for bait where I see signs of life?

So far ive picked up a blue and chrome tady 45, 2 oz anchovie laser minnow, and a 4 oz green/black dot/shiny silver laser minnow. With all the rod and limited tackle I have, how can I use this to catch fish. I'very been getting skunked a lot lately.

Thanks

For launching, most people launch at the boat launch @ the end of Avenida De La Playa in La Jolla. Summer time is pretty busy @ the launch, so bring some wheels. Make sure you know where the reserve boundaries are for fishing.

The 2 rigs you have should be good for now. Tie about 3 feet of flouro on to your spectra, and use a 2/0 - 4/0 size hook for the size of bait out there right now. Tie good knots, there are some fish around that are no joke.

To catch bait, look near the edges of visible kelp, or just look for bait puddling on the surface. Get a greenback mac if you can, and fish it basically in the same areas that you can see bait puddling around, or being chased by something below.

[taggermike]

Shell beach is not so good and Boomers is called that for a reason. Try the LJ Shores boat launch. Your out fits sound fine. I use 3-4 feet of fluoro leader, usualy 40lb and 40 isn't over kill. You get a big YT or WSB burried in the bull kelp and you'll be glad for the heavier line. Look for bait along the kelp edges. There were big schools of dines and both green and brow macks breazing and popping all over yesterday. But it's not always that easy. Greenies are best but dines, browns and eve smelt do get bit. I like those big deans but I find they don't live very well in a small kayak bait tank. As for your irons, you can bouce them along the bottom but this time of year I would cast them in to any fish I see working on the surface. Mike

[icelogger]

Yeah sabiki fishing for bait is not easy. I found Greens, blues, and browns all over the place. I chumed a lot and even put chunks of frozen dines on each sabiki hook. I saw big greenbacks but they wouldn't hit the sabiki. I managed one small blue and silver unknown bait in a half hour. I put it on and lost it on the first cast. Was running out of daylight so i ended up fishing yo yo and surface irons. Are there other ways to catch bait?

I found a huge feeding frenzy out there. It was cool to see. I threw everything I had in the middle of it and only managed a 15" calico on a surface iron. It was humbling to only catch one fish. What are signs of yellow tails in the area?

I trolled a surface iron on the way in and caught a 20" cuda.

Headed back out there tomorrow around 2pm if anybody wants to join.

[467echo]

are you using a fish finder? If you are not, blind jigging for bait could get difficult at times. I mainly use my FF for finding the bait.

[icelogger]

I'm blind jigging for bait since I haven't bought a ff yet.

[467echo]

Look for someone catching bait and has a ff and scoot in close. Most peeps wont mind if you are close if all they have in the water is their sabiki. And they will probably tell where in the column the bait is hanging out. Good luck

[taggermike]

Icelogger, seeing boiling fish that won't bite is a frustrating situation. The fish we have around here each have thier look or stye when they surface feed. Calis tend to make a splash and will often throw in a tail flip as they go back down. The will also rush along the surface chasing bait with thier backs 1/2 out of the water. Cuda will splash and usually show them selves in slashing low leaps across the surface. When bonito are around they can really put on a show. They will get tight in an area and form a true "foamer" where the surface of the sea is covered in white water. They will also come clear out of the water and summersalt in the air. I have found YT to be more subtle. They rarely come out of the water or show thier bodies. Often you see deep boils, like toilet flushes, with no splash and maybe just a flash of the fish if the sun is right. I can't say what fish you saw but they might have been on micro bait and a big surface iron didn't match the hatch. When the fish are focussed on micro bait or krill I have had some success using a small white iron, 2-3 oz, pulled fast through the area. Long post but I get obsessed with surface fishing. Mike

[Fisherman4454]

I don't have a fish finder either and I rarely have an issue finding bait. Edges of the kelp are good most of the time, but when that doesn't work I like to troll my sabiki to find the schools. I've found that when I troll in relatively open water, I pretty much strictly catch greenbacks. When I hook one I drop her back down and try to fill the tank.

Now if I could just figure out what to do with them once Ive got em in the tank...

[CGNOON]

Originally Posted by icelogger

Yeah sabiki fishing for bait is not easy. I found Greens, blues, and browns all over the place. I chumed a lot and even put chunks of frozen dines on each sabiki hook. I saw big greenbacks but they wouldn't hit the sabiki. I managed one small blue and silver unknown bait in a half hour. I put it on and lost it on the first cast. Was running out of daylight so i ended up fishing yo yo and surface irons. Are there other ways to catch bait?

I found a huge feeding frenzy out there. It was cool to see. I threw everything I had in the middle of it and only managed a 15" calico on a surface iron. It was humbling to only catch one fish. What are signs of yellow tails in the area?

I trolled a surface iron on the way in and caught a 20" cuda.

Headed back out there tomorrow around 2pm if anybody wants to join.

We caught a bunch of greenbacks and spaniards the others day just slowtrolling a sabiki with a decent sized sinker on it while were trolling 2 macks behind it. I was in a 14 foot aluminum boat with 15hp so this might not be as feasible on a yak. Once you get one of them theres always more in the area.

[icelogger]

Thanks for the info. Mike, that is great info. I really like surface fishing too. I would rather cast lures all day if I knew what the right lure for that day is and what predator fish are chasing baitfish. I was able to catch bait for the first time. They were all spanish macs but it was good experience. The deck gets crazy with 4 macs going nuts flopping around. The new x factor bait tank solved this mayhem. I put all the macs in the bait tank to chill them out and unhooked each one.

Thank you Edward for the bait fishing pointers and the free squid out on the water. And thanks Robby for teaching some basics of ocean fishing at the launch.

Psyched to get out on the water again and try some new techniques