Happy Monday everyone!
Hit the marina at 6am for an all day affair on Saturday. The tide chart was looking fairly flat with 8mph winds, so I figured it would be a relatively calm day. I planned to paddle straight out to the break wall and possibly venture to the outside of the wall if conditions looked ok. They did not. Not sure if its my nerves still or if its just my common sense kicking in (overcast skies, I was alone, seals were abundant, GWS sightings recently in the area...) but once I saw those 3-4' swells crash against the edge of the wall, I changed my mind. Oh well, plenty of water to fish within the safety of the walls.
I decided to try my usual plan, but with switching up my primary bait to a 3/8oz underspin and 3" trailer. Ideal for cloudy/overcast days, but I think my cadence was too fast and I started the day with a lot of missed fish.
Inside of the main break wall was REALLY slow. I worked from north end to the south with only one Lizard, one short Hali, and a legal Calico to show for it. Dropshot with a 3" baitfish profile got 2 of the three fish, and the underspin got the Calico.
Moving to the N side of the channel, I started working the drift and the bite started to pickup. I trolled the underspin in the current and threw the dropshot to the usual spots of mine. For the next few hours I found the usual suspect (short) Spotties and Sandies when my underspin gets hung up. Releasing a hangup in a drift is no fun, especially when it starts to move. Oh wait, hookup! That underspin was choked by a Halibut. Bigger than the first, but still short. Man those fish are fun! So now that I'm noticing the Halis chasing small bait, I decided to switch gears and focus on them exclusively. Not more than 10 minutes in, I get hammered. It didn't feel like a bass, but it felt big. I fight the fish for a few minutes when I finally see color. Halibut! After a few strong runs, a few attempts to get her in my grips, and another 5-10 minutes in fight mode, she finally opens up and I lock her in. Personal best fight and landed with only my fish grips!
What a fight and what a rush to get it into the boat safely. Awesome experience!
After hanging around the same area looking for the tanks friends, I moved to the east side of the marina and started to work the underspin around the docks and pilings. A few short strikes and a few more short fish, I decided to call it a day and head back to the ramp around 4:30.
Final fish count:
1 Lizard fish
1 short Calico
1 legal Calico
Multiple short Spots
1 short Sandie
2 short Halibut
1 legal Halibut
Rigs of the day:
7' MH Okuma Helios, Quantum Smoke Inshore, 8lbs Trilene 100% Gold Box with a 12-16" leader to weight dropshot.
7' MH Okuma Shadow Stalker, Daiwa Tatula HD, 10lbs Trilene 100% Gold Box with a 3/8oz underspin.
The more time on the water I get, the more I realize that you dont need to fish heavy gear in the salt. The big halibut I got was caught on a dropshot rig, with a light hook and 8lbs line. That fish was easily double the weight limit of that rig. Obviously if you're targeting big/open water fish you don't want to go ultra light, but I genuinely think that a lot of salt guys are over rigged for the water they are fishing. Patience, good terminal connection, and a properly set drag saved the day on this fish.
Also, this is the second time the G&F folks were at the ramp surveying incoming anglers. They really appreciate the data we provide and each time I've interacted with them, they have been helpful and kind. Also, each time I've seen them, they have asked if I was licensed but didn't ask to see it.