[rossman]

Looking at the list of folks that are fishing this Tourney, I suspect there are a good number that have never fished Bahia San Quintin for halibut. I have spent about 10 days on the water there and have had what I consider very good halibut fishing almost every day, but I'm by no means an expert. I find it quite different than the traditional Southern California halibut fishing, mostly because of the conditions. The tidal currents rip in the bay. It is almost like fishing on a river. The further you get from the mouth of the bay, the worse the current. Secondly there is copious amounts of floating eel grass and ribbon grass that float in and out with the tides. I find it extremely frustrating to fish with anything other than lead head and plastic combos. One can usually sabiki up some smelt and sometimes some macs but I have found it impossible to fish live bait because of the current and weed conditions. Even with fishing artificials you will end up with a wad of weeds on every cast. But if you try to hit the holes in these mats of floating weeds you will find that you will only be snagging the weeds on the retrieve and you will be able to work your bait on the bottom for a bit before having to retrieve it. I try to use as little weight as possible but unless it is slack tide, 3/4 oz is probably as little as you can get away with. The locals generally use scampi or other curly tailed grubs for their halibut fishing. Bring plenty if you choose to fish this way because the bass are plentiful and voracious. My best fishing has been close to the weed beds in 5 to 25 ft of water. The deepest water I have found has been about 50 ft. I have never had a bite in the deeper water but there have been 50 lb halibut jerked out of the area they call "the hole". Looking forward to seeing everyone.