Rockfishin' in the rain

[Saba Slayer]

This storm blew in a lot faster than we thought it would...
Another midweek Redondo Fish Taco adventure...Slight off-shore winds in the morning and it was easy to feel the bottom and the light bites.
Once again it was tough to hold bottom at 230' and almost impossible to react to the bites in time to get a hookup when the wind picked up...and once again the swell and wind died down as the wind tried to switch around so we went lighter on the weights and hooked up a bunch of Vermilions and a few Coppers to get close to limits again...
It was a beautiful view as we watched the rain travel across the city and head toward us...and then the storm hit us and it was a wet slog back to King Harbor...we should have left a half hour earlier but we just wanted to try and limit out again.
We paid for our greed...the good news was that everything got washed off on the drive home LOL...!
Get out there and get those Rockfish while you can...the season closes for two months at the end of December.

[jorluivil]

Have you tried going straight spectra?

I tried this once and had some decent results but trying to keep the sprectra from wrapping itself in itself is pretty hard

[DPevin]

My main rockfish setup is braid backed with a (at one point) 100 yard mono topshot which is probaby 50-75 yards now. It works pretty well feel wise....although i have on another setup gone braid to short floro leader long enough for a dropper loop or double. And i did notice more feel for sure, even on cattle boats at like 300-350 ft.

Rod selection plays a big part also. But like saba said, if you are drifting fast and its hard to hold bottom or even tell if you are on bottom good luck feeling those dinker rockfish picking at your bait.

Im heading out monday, was gonna try for some halibut. But your last two reports have got me feeling guilty if i dont get some more reds before the end of the year.

[Saba Slayer]

I use braid with a short 10' to 15' top-shot of mono...I have no trouble feeling the hits when its not blowing 10mph...I just hate fishing with so much weight...too much like work...!
The most fun rockfishing for me is with a level wind 400 type reel and a lighter rod in water less than 200'.
The old timers use to use a braided linen line and a very stout rod with a rail pad to use on the hand rail to gain some advantage when they were bringing up 5lbs sash weights and three Cowcod.
Jorge...Straight spectra is really tough to break when I get hung up on the bottom, so that's why I use that mono top shot...and there really is no reason to use fluorocarbon and waste the cash...after all...we're just talking about rockfish here...LOL.
DPevin...it sounds like there are still a few Halibut around DP...good luck!

[hiramehunter]

Can't wait to get another session (or two) in next week before the year ends

[TheBentRod]

Thanks to Jorluvil and Ful-Rac, I can tie on topshots of flouro of 5 feet with ease. Then I tie in 2 dropper loops with a knot for the sinker on the bottom.

I usually can find the reds and slay them in no time when I am serious about it with this rig.

The rod is medium action with a level wind reel.







fun times! Other details are withheld to protect the innocent.

[Orca Winfrey]

Originally Posted by jorluivil

Have you tried going straight spectra?

I tried this once and had some decent results but trying to keep the sprectra from wrapping itself in itself is pretty hard

This is a sample dataset of one, but the first time I fished the area with King Saba, I tied a flatfall directly to my braid and got only one hit. Saba on the other hand was killing it with the same setup but with a topshot. I decided to tie on a mono topshot and suddenly I was catching. We were in 150-250 feet.

[King Saba]

Your laziness got the better of you. lol

[Orca Winfrey]

Originally Posted by King Saba

Your laziness got the better of you. lol

Lol! Yes, but now we know. Maybe they didn't like my red Spectra.

[GregB]

Sounds like a great one despite the weather.