Making bait
 

Hey what?s up everyone, I normally launch out of Dana Point. Normally buy the half a scoop for $25 dollars. That?s becoming to be too much haha! I?m wondering how and where I can make bait around there! I have some frozen sardines in the freezer I can use for chum.

From what I hear you can make bait around the pipeline (mackerel) in about 60' or deeper, also at the point. Also, if you look around there most likely be schools of smelt or sardines around the spots of kelp, get some oatmeal to chum them up.

When I meter bait, the vast majority of strikes on the sabiki occur while the rig is sinking down. Use at least a 5 oz weight to allow the rig to sink fast. The commercial bait catchers in Florida use 16 - 24oz, to deter tangled rigs. If the rig does not get hit sinking through, pump and wind up quickly. Once one bait is hooked, its erratic motion will attract other baits to strike, so wind it up slowly. When I worked on head boats in SoCal, I would often double the average passengers catch following those methods.

At night in Florida, a Sabiki with a 1/4 once crappie jig trolled at 1.8-2 kts along the beach in darkness is very effective for catching bait. When the bait is finicky, A rig of 1/8oz crappie with two 1/32oz crappies above it on 15lb or lighter line will outfish a Hayabusa D119. Slow trolling over submerged sand bars perpendicular to the beach generates more strikes than trolling parallel to the beach. A moving head lamp will scare bait. A light shining steadily into the water on a non-moving vessel will attract microorganisms that will eventually attract bait and the whole food chain. :jig: Good luck :D

Buy a dented can of the cheapest tuna....sink your sabiki and chum away. Should work pretty well.

Or cat food...

Making Bait at Dana Point
 

I seem to catch mackerel around the green buoy a little bit outside of the harbor if you are looking for yellowtail or halibut bait.