MDR - 8/20/17
 

Had a spare Sunday morning and decided to hit Marina Del Rey for a few hours. Out and on the water at safelight, I paddled straight for the break wall. Swell was manageable but the skies stayed dark for most of the morning. Swinging for homeruns, I had an expectedly slow day with little success up until the sun finally broke through the marine layer. Once again, the south end of the break wall is where I found my bite.

I had four REALLY strong bites and only this one checker board to show for it. Personal Best Calico!

http://www.bigwatersedge.com/bwegall.../PB_Calico.jpg

The other three fish took the bait and dragged me directly into the rocks. These bass are so impressive!

I’m not sure what to do about this situation in the future. My drag was set tight, rod was flexed, and the only resistance I was giving the fish was the boat. Bite, set the hook, and off into the rocks they went dragging me through the water. The only reason I got the one I landed was I fought my way around the hole he was hiding in and eventually got him out (my line looked like hell. LOL) The others were just not giving me anything and eventually broke off. My broken fluorocarbon looked like a half eaten string cheese.

Boat traffic was awful so I headed back in around 11:30.

Final fish count:
1 short Spottie
1 short Halibut
2 short Calicos
1 legal Calico - PB!

Rig of the day:
7' MH Okuma Helios, Quantum Smoke Inshore, 10lbs Trilene 100% Gold Box 16" leader drop shot with a 3/4oz football head weight. 3” shad top bait and 5” shad bottom.

As for the break offs, what would you guys recommend I try in the future? Upping my line weight? Switching to a heavier rod? Stop fishing around structure? It was so frustrating finally getting on really good bites and they kept dragging me into the exact same hole.

Nice report.
Congrats on the PB.
I use 30 lb. braid and 20 lb. flouro leader with drag
buttoned down pretty tight. I still get rocked once in awhile.
Cheers, Steve

Nice report, thank for sharing.

:the_finger:
We had this conversation hahaha. If you recall me saying "You will fish light tackle in the ocean until you loose some good ones." This isn't a lake, there's more structure and sharp rock.

Although you may coax a few more bites on light tackle, if the presentation is right and the cast lands in the right spot the bigger bass really don't care that much about the leader. So why not fish heavier?

I personally run 20-30 lb flouro.

Fair enough. :linesnap::the_finger:

So when this happens, does that heavy 20-30lbs line really help get them out of the junk? I get cutting through kelp or ripping out of grass, but rocks? That just seems like a lose/lose situation.

Those bites were nasty though. Such a rush to feel the yak turn and get pulled like that. It's been a long time since I've had that happen.....

Yes absolutely.
Calico bass are very structure oriented and ambush predators. So you will almost always get them off structure. From my diving I notice the really big ones like to hang out in deep holes and cracks inside big rocks. I imagine they come out slam a bait and head right back in. So you if you are fishing light tackle and land your bait near the hole, its pretty much guaranteed that he's taking your jig right back in there just like a grouper. While he's green it will take some line strength and drag to stop that from happening.

I fish a heavy 15-30 lb rod with 50 lb spectra to a 20-30 lb leader. You can really turn those suckers out from the rocks that way. But I bet the reel still matters, I fish a lexa 300 so there's plenty of drag.

Interesting. Sounds like I had the right gear, just the wrong bait tied to the wrong rig.

They didn't want a swimbait on Sunday. They wanted a fluke.....

https://zoombait.com/wp-content/gall...uper-fluke.jpg

Nice report and congrats on the PB. Suckers fight hard!! No comparison to their green freshwater cousins imo.

Congrats on the PB.

I fish 10lb and 17lb for all salt water bass. For calicoes I start with the 17lb and switch to 10lb if they are being line shy. Even with 17lb, sometimes you just can't stop them. As you found out they just drag you along and and corn hole you. If I was fishing from a boat I'd be using 30lb+ with the drag buttoned, but then you have way more leverage to pull the fish away. In the yak, sometimes you just have to take your lumps.

What fluke is that? I love that color.

Thanks!

I totally agree. These fish have some shoulders on them!

Thanks, Ed.

I have a mental problem tying 20lbs+ line to a 4" bait, but I guess I'll just need to get over that. It may have been my presentation, or it may have been my line, but I can tell you these guys didnt bite by 25lbs and they did bite my 10lbs.

The fluke? Glimmer Blue I think...

The presentation will be affected by the line thickness. Keep that in mind when tying on. The other thing to keep in mind is that there are different types of fluorocarbon. I know the seaguar "premier" is designed for more of a natural presentation and is thinner. Its really designed for live bait fishing but may be the better suited for the finesse style fishing you are used to.

When calico's want to bite they bite anything. Got over 20 legals a couple weeks ago with 50lb flouro out of the kelp.

I did have a high speed Lexa 400 so I think it gives them no time to think and they just hit it hard before the lure gets away.

I agree with going heavy for Calicos. 12-15 lb is good for schooling Sand Bass and Spotties but start with 25-30 lb with a nice stiffer rod like a Terez for Calicos, drop down to no less than 20 if you have to. Don't give em a chance to bury your line in the structure.

For bass 10lb is my light light outfit for 1/4-1/2oz swimbaits, 17lb for jigs <3oz and small swimbaits, and 25lb for jigs <4oz and 4-6" swimbaits. I almost never lose fish to structure. Keeping tension on them and getting away from the structure is key.

#30 braid, #20-25 flouro works well for me, even on the occasional Leopard shark.