Kayak Fishing Adventures on Big Water’s Edge  

Go Back   Kayak Fishing Adventures on Big Water’s Edge > Kayak Fishing Forum - Message Board > Kayak Fishing Reports
Home Forum Online Store Information LJ Webcam Gallery Register FAQ Community Calendar Today's Posts Search

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 04-21-2020, 09:23 AM   #1
StrikerMC
Instagram:@nomad.waterman
 
Join Date: Mar 2020
Location: Newport Coast
Posts: 60
I have a problem... [rockfish report]

... I can't get any other rockfish than reds!

I only recently learned that there are rockfish to be had outside the Newport area, so I've hit it up about 5 times in the past week and a half and have limited each time on, you guessed it, reds.

Now I know that we all like reds, but for the sake of variety... how do I catch the other varieties? Coppers, barbers, starries, trees, browns, etc. I have caught them all on squid or live sardines on sport boats in the past. I see reports on here of people catching some toad coppers, so I'd love to hear about different tactics, if there are any.

I don't want people to start thinking I'm posting the same fish over and over (like some do). Anyways, here's a brief report of my last few trips:

Depth- 180-213'
Direction- either south or west. One direction has less fish but bigger grade, and the other direction has more fish but smaller grade. You can figure that part out pretty easily
Bait- single 3" squid strips on a 4/0 octopus hook, heads didn't work as well and neither did a bunch of strips on a hook. Also tried slabs of mackerel with great success.
Weight- 12-16oz for fast drops and vertical lines.

If you want to learn more or go hit up the grounds, one of the better ways to contact me is over Instagram. Give me a follow @nomad.fish






Last edited by StrikerMC; 04-21-2020 at 09:52 AM.
StrikerMC is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-21-2020, 09:39 AM   #2
jruiz
Large Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: La Verne, CA
Posts: 1,008
Other species can be had by fishing with shrimp(sheephead) and fishing with larger swimbaits(>6") with a strip of squid(ling).
jruiz is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-21-2020, 11:13 AM   #3
Salty
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2020
Location: Huntington Beach, CA
Posts: 433
Try this: Double dropper with 6-8oz weight. On one loop, put a shrimp on a size 2 treble, on the other a piece of squid (Or slab of mac? Havn't tried that!).
If you want to try something different, I've had some fun with is this setup: Rig a 3-way swivel onto your line. On one end, put about 12-14" of leader and tie on a small (1/2oz-3/4oz) tube bait (I've been using hookup baits). On the other end, tie a littler longer leader (18") and put on a larger tube bait (5/8oz-1.5oz). Test the rig just under the surface and bounce it a few times to see how they react to your movements. The ideas is that when you jig it up, the baits run at each other, then away when you drop the tip, making it look like the bigger bait is attacking the smaller one. When you're over structure, send it down and bounce it just off the bottom the same way, using slightly more exaggerated movements to compensate for line stretch in deeper water. If I'm in deeper water or stronger drift, I use heavier jigs. I assume this works with swimbaits and other soft baits too, but I've only tried it with Hookup baits. (Red/Yellow has worked best for me, my buddy has had more luck with neon green. Been told white works well too).
If anyone has any suggestions for how I can improve this setup too, that would be great stuff to learn!
Salty is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-21-2020, 11:20 AM   #4
Salty
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2020
Location: Huntington Beach, CA
Posts: 433
Oh, and don't forget to liberally apply and reapply some nice, smelly juice in the tubes! Red Crab juice is what's worked for me.
Salty is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-21-2020, 12:23 PM   #5
Saba Slayer
Senior Member
 
Saba Slayer's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Palos Verdes
Posts: 1,855
three way...

Use the Owner three way swivel and you'll be happier with the double rig...rather than using the old style 3 way and you'll have less tangles too...
Attached Images
 
__________________
Jim / Saba Slayer

Saba Slayer is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-21-2020, 01:19 PM   #6
BenCantrell
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2017
Location: Sebastian, Florida
Posts: 238
There's a pretty good variety of rockfish species in the 100-150 ft depth range. Try mixing up the depths and I'm sure you'll get something other than vermilion.
BenCantrell is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-21-2020, 01:50 PM   #7
summers in kuwait
Senior Member
 
summers in kuwait's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: East County San Diego
Posts: 657
nothing wrong with being consistent

As others have mentioned, altering your bait, lure, etc. will produce alternate results

Wanna really change things up? Hit those same honey holes with a single dropper loop or spider hitch with live greenbacks or sand dabs if you can catch them.

Then hold on!
summers in kuwait is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-21-2020, 03:01 PM   #8
Salty
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2020
Location: Huntington Beach, CA
Posts: 433
Quote:
Originally Posted by Saba Slayer View Post
Use the Owner three way swivel and you'll be happier with the double rig...rather than using the old style 3 way and you'll have less tangles too...
Good call! I've been using the Owner 3-ways too. Pretty much tangle-free. Would not recommend this setup in kelp though :P
Salty is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-21-2020, 04:27 PM   #9
StrikerMC
Instagram:@nomad.waterman
 
Join Date: Mar 2020
Location: Newport Coast
Posts: 60
I am going to grab some of these. I use traditional and even though they are an improvement on the regular dropper (imo), I still hate tangles!
StrikerMC is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-21-2020, 04:40 PM   #10
Harry Hill
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2015
Location: Yucaipa, CA
Posts: 1,136
Just wish I had the problem of a stringer full of any kind of fish
__________________
you can't eat it if you release it
Harry Hill is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-21-2020, 05:05 PM   #11
matthew7!
Senior Member
 
matthew7!'s Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2020
Posts: 183
Try flat falls I use the shimano flats falls 250grams


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
matthew7! is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-21-2020, 06:08 PM   #12
TJones
Senior Member
 
TJones's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2012
Posts: 2,526
X2

Quote:
Originally Posted by Harry Hill View Post
Just wish I had the problem of a stringer full of any kind of fish
TJones is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-22-2020, 10:12 AM   #13
daperrin
www.TheKayakLaunch
 
daperrin's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: Orange County
Posts: 234
I normally use a double shrimp fly rig with 5/0 hook and a strip of squid. I will try this out next week.
__________________
David P

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thekayaklaunch
https://www.instagram.com/thekayaklaunch
daperrin is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-22-2020, 03:12 PM   #14
JohnMckroidJr
Senior Member
 
JohnMckroidJr's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2014
Location: Fort Lauderdale
Posts: 1,932
Nice Catches! Reds are a good problem to have. Back when I fished SoCal in the '80s, most of the rockfish we caught were Boccaccio(salmon grouper). If someone caught a red or two, it was a trophy. Vermillions make for firmer fillets at the end of the day on the cleaning table.
JohnMckroidJr is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-24-2020, 08:05 AM   #15
SoCalEDC
Senior Member
 
SoCalEDC's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2019
Location: Rancho Cucamonga
Posts: 609
Quote:
Originally Posted by summers in kuwait View Post
As others have mentioned, altering your bait, lure, etc. will produce alternate results

Wanna really change things up? Hit those same honey holes with a single dropper loop or spider hitch with live greenbacks or sand dabs if you can catch them.

Then hold on!
interesting. I always get a bunch of sand dabs, i think I will bait one up next time out. thanks for the info
__________________
IG: @blackflag_fishing
Youtube: Blackflag Fishing
2014 Ocean Kayak T13 SOLD
2020 Hobie Outback SOLD
2021 Stealth Fisha 500
#StealthTribe
SoCalEDC is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-24-2020, 12:11 PM   #16
summers in kuwait
Senior Member
 
summers in kuwait's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: East County San Diego
Posts: 657
Quote:
Originally Posted by SoCalEDC View Post
interesting. I always get a bunch of sand dabs, i think I will bait one up next time out. thanks for the info
Lings love them!


summers in kuwait is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-24-2020, 07:16 PM   #17
Harry Hill
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2015
Location: Yucaipa, CA
Posts: 1,136
Quote:
Originally Posted by summers in kuwait View Post
Lings love them!


I'm with the lings, I love sand dabs
__________________
you can't eat it if you release it
Harry Hill is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-26-2020, 07:17 AM   #18
CorvinaLoca
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2013
Posts: 129
variation

try a slab of one of the reds you get. and try other baits/depths like people suggested. personally, in deeper water i would avoid 3 way swivel and other potential types of tangles, especially if on a yak. actually prefer setup somebody else mentioned - single spider hitch dropper loop w/ 50-60 lb and at least a 4/0 size hook. you only catch one fish at time. bigger hook mostly keeps the little guys off and if you hook a big sheepshead, or decent ling or yt, you can land it.
CorvinaLoca is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply


Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is On

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -8. The time now is 03:11 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.
© 2002 Big Water's Edge. All rights reserved.