MDR - 4/23/17 - Skunk be gone!
 

I decided to finally put some of the BWE knowledge that's been so graciously shared to work and boy did it pay off.

Hit the water at safe light and paddled straight to the last boat slip on the west side (start of the rock wall.) I wanted to force myself to slow down and picked natural/blue/green/clear colored plastics. First up was the drop shot w/18" leader and dark colored 4" shad. As soon as the rocks got sunlight and the tide peaked, the bite opened up. First sliming of the new Ride and skunk be gone! In just over two hours I landed multiple Spotties and Sandies in a 50yd stretch of rock. The sizes were small, but I knew I had whatever they were looking for: low, slow, and natural.

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Around 11am the bite started to slow a bit and I was getting a lot of other paddler traffic so I decided to cross the channel and hit the east side wall. The bite was slow on that side as well so I switched presentations to a shakeyhead type jig with the same plastic bait and with the hook tip buried to avoid the vegetation. Using the current and wind to my favor, I let the conditions push me back into the marina and I made casts behind me to every piece of cover and structure I could find. Lots of good/strong bites, but nothing landed (I was fishing much faster at this point and can contribute the misses to this.) The size was getting bigger, but I wasn't getting hooked up.

Just after I passed the Lifeguard slip I decided to switch one more time and put a lighter color bait on of the same size and leave the hook open as risk of hangups. BOOM! I landed a two more with the size finally starting to get better. After passing the bait dock I make my way into the open slips and that move got me my best two of the day...

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...The last which being a beautiful spot that felt a solid 2-3lbs. The final and best fish of the day!

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I know its not much, and I know they aren't the biggest and baddest bass out there, but I'm REALLY stoked that I finally broke through the saltwater bass funk. Next task is to get consistent, and then to get consistently bigger sizes.

Rig of the day:
Okuma Helios MH rod with Quantum Smoke Inshore reel
10lbs test dropshot w/18" leader and a shakeyhead screw-on jighead
Damiki ishad in various natural colors (dark in the AM, lighter in the afternoon)

Thanks again to my BWE brethren that have been so great in helping me get on the right track in the salt! :cheers1: :cheers1: :cheers1:

Nice! How do like spotties compared to large mouth?

I think the spots fight way harder. Although in the LMB's defense it's been a solid 2+ years since I've felt the tug of a greenback.

I'd compare the spots more to a smallie than LMB. They seem to be relating to the SMB habitat and patterns more as well (in my ignorant opinion...)

The Sand Bass was another story. I had one that spit the hook that was as big as my final catch, if not bigger, and it was barely fighting at all (much more of that LMB dead-weight feeling.) I just straight reeled in instead of setting the hook and whiffed when she rolled at the boat... :mad:

I agree that they are more like smallies, least in my limited experience. Sandies, particularly the small ones, are weak fighters. Bigger ones are a about equal to a lmb.

Saltwater bass fighting qualities from my experience:

Spotties: pound for pound the hardest fighter when compared to his cousins in the same weight class. They're always pissed, tough, and fight you until the surface and then they fight some more.

Calicos: The most explosive of the three. They hit surface, mid-column and bottom. They get big, tough, and will slam baits much larger than what they can fit in their mouths. They make runs, headshakes, and dive. The harder fighter when compared to a sand bass of the same weight.

Sand Bass: The laziest fighter of the three, but it doesn't mean that they don't fight. Their fight qualities are different in that they roll and make short dives. The bottom is home so that's where they go. Personally, I like these guys the most since you can find them anywhere and they are the least picky of the three.

Oh and largemouths are pussies compared to our saltwater bass. You can boat a largemouth in seconds. With a salty bass it takes longer.

The tiny sandie I landed fought harder than the big one I missed. Not sure if that is a species thing or a size thing (I think small bass are a load of fun to catch, especially on ultra light gear.)

Awesome perspective, thanks. I 100% agree that the LMB are the weakest/laziest of the bass species that I've caught. I've had 1000's of bass on a hook, and of them all, that last Spot that I hooked was the most exhilarating. I can't wait to get back out there and look for the larger ones!

Congrats on the skunk buster. Glad you listened :luxhello:. Just a matter of time before you find one of the bigger models.

Great job. That looks like a really fun session. I haven't fished MDR in a while.

You just haven't fished at all. I mean 2 weeks?! Come on!!! :reel:

LOL. Look who's talking!

Thanks, Denis. Your advise was spot on! :cheers1:

It was great. Now if I can only find a better spot to launch from (I've been parking at Mothers Beach and paddling all the way over to the rocks...) :auto:

There is a parking lot right next to the ramp on mindano way for 1.00$ an hour. I have never caught a spottie at MDR but have caught plenty in the San Diego area. Maby I should try it again sometime.

If you're talking about what I'm thinking about, then that's the public launch in Basin H? Not a huge reduction in travel distance but its still better than Mothers. Thanks for the recommendation!

You launchat the ramp parking is just a little cheaper.

Great job out there. I have only fished there once but ended up with a 17 inch spottie that was a CHUNK. Caught him on a 3 inch big hammer in a natural bait fish color with a chartreuse head on 15 pound test. The funny thing was that i had fished that day out at the rock piles and gotten maybe one or two small fish. Then i come back to the slip, drop in the big hammer for the hell of it, and get slammed!
Anyway great job on the number of fish you got. Who cares about size as long as you had fun.