Hunting Harbor 8-20-2020

[Top Gun]

I might have to try it out. Have you ever fly fish for spotties?

[Top Gun]

I'm kinda new to fishing for spotties. The only way that i have caught them was on the bottom because they are in the grass.

[Harry Hill]

Originally Posted by Top Gun

I might have to try it out. Have you ever fly fish for spotties?

I haven't fly fished for spotties but I have fly fished fresh water species. I have watched some fly fishermen on Mission Bay, they were mostly catching smaller fish but it was all catch and release anyway so size didn't matter. It was the same on San Diego, they probably caught ten fish to every one I was catching on my swim bait but they were all small fish. It may have just been the day I was watching though. There isn't any reason bigger fish won't take a fly. I think the smaller streamers catch smaller fish so maybe it's they just need to be fishing bigger streamers. Most people don't eat spotties anyway, I know I've tried a couple of times and wasn't crazy about them. They tell me sand bass are better and calicos are the best. I don't see why you couldn't catch barracuda on a fly if you sight cast to them.

[ajcm648]

I plan on going on Sunday out of Huntington Harbor. It will be my first trip on my outback. Any tips for targeting Halibut or Spotties. Thanks.

[Tigermidge]

I have ben fly fishing for 20 years and 10 Surf fly fishing and about 6 Bay fly fishing.
You can catch any fish with steamers you catch with bait or lures.
ALL the bass are on the bottom 95% of the time.
I have caught 32 inch Halibut on a fly, and Bonita, WSB, Yellowtail, Calico, Spottie's, Sandies, surf perch, corbina, SNGF, Bat Rays, spot fin croacker, yellow finned croacker, and a others as well.
I love it.
I just can't fish 100 ft. down, 50 or 60 is my max..
Mark F.

[Harry Hill]

Originally Posted by Tigermidge

I have ben fly fishing for 20 years and 10 Surf fly fishing and about 6 Bay fly fishing.
You can catch any fish with steamers you catch with bait or lures.
ALL the bass are on the bottom 95% of the time.
I have caught 32 inch Halibut on a fly, and Bonita, WSB, Yellowtail, Calico, Spottie's, Sandies, surf perch, corbina, SNGF, Bat Rays, spot fin croacker, yellow finned croacker, and a others as well.
I love it.
I just can't fish 100 ft. down, 50 or 60 is my max..
Mark F.

How do you get that deep? I'm thinking a shooting head in front of braid but how long a cast do you make to get 50 feet down. I see guys trolling flys on leaded line but not casting long distances. I used to fish lakes and rivers but I never got that deep. Of course thing have come a long ways since I used to fly fish so many improvements I'm thinking. I did read about some guys catching spawning ling cod off the rocks near La Jolla.

[Tigermidge]

The Fly line I use is 100 Ft. total length... Heavy sink tip first 30 to 35 ft. intergraded sinking/running line behind that for the rest of it.
I can cast it 50 ft and let it sink for 30 seconds while I kick my hobie in revers, letting out more line.

Mark

If you would like I will send photo of the lines i use.

[Harry Hill]

Originally Posted by Tigermidge

The Fly line I use is 100 Ft. total length... Heavy sink tip first 30 to 35 ft. intergraded sinking/running line behind that for the rest of it.
I can cast it 50 ft and let it sink for 30 seconds while I kick my hobie in revers, letting out more line.

Mark

If you would like I will send photo of the lines i use.

thanks, I know the guys fishing for stripers locally are using flies behind a lead core line to get the depth. I haven't seen the flies but I'm guessing it is something along the line of a thread fin shad. I fished Silverwood Reservoir before the stripers got there but any big streamer with a lot of white would kill the brown trout that were in the lake. Are you standing up when you cast? I don't know if I can still send a streamer 35 yards. The guys I see fishing the bays are fishing a lot shallower than 50 feet but they seem to do pretty good on the spotties.