WSB in NON LJ locations

[Fiskadoro]

Originally Posted by StinkyMatt

I do know that WSB can be caught (with luck) in LJ. How about other places that you got a legal WSB.

Locations I've caught them/ things I've caught them on per location

Todas Santos: Krocodile spoons
Pt. Ferman: TomCod, Plastics
Marinland, Sardines, Iron
Rocky Point, Squid, Iron, mackeral
Bluff Cove, Squid

MDR: Rapalas, Plastics, Anchovies, Squid, Iron, Krockdiles, Sardines, smelt
SMAR: Mackeral and Sardines
Topanga: Squid
Pepperdine: Squid, plastics
BKR: Squid, Mackeral, Iron
Rigs off Oxnard: Iron
Santa Cruz Island: Squid, Iron
Catalina Island: Squid, Iron, Plastics
San Clemente Island, Squid
Santa Barbara Island, Squid



The vast majority of my legal Seabass were single fish, caught while I was fishing alone or with friends, where we just were able to find them, and hook one.

I've caught them under barracuda, on the surface on plugs, right against the shore in six feet of water, and on bait to at least 150ft deep.

I will admit that I have had limit fishing days, and seen bites where you could hook them every cast, or where I got fish every time I went out for weeks at a time. If it's any help the single fish I usually found on finbait where the wide open limit style fishing has for me always been related to squid in one way or another.

That said I've caught them on all kinds of things. Plastics, krocodiles, Iron, rapalas on light tackle, dines, anchvies, smelt, live tomcod, spanish macks, greenbacks of all sizes even big horse mackerel up to 2+ pounds.

Probably the weirdest was my first. I was fishing with a friend out of San Pedro, and we were right off the point Fermin marker buoy maybe in like 1989. I dropped down a diamond jig and was actually trying to jig up a Seabass as I had read in some vintage 50s or 60s So.Cal. fishing Book "Hookup?" that Seabass were sometimes caught in that area. I did not know shit about fishing here at the time, and was just putzin around yo yo'n the diamond jig based on what I had read, fishing my rockfish rig, a old six foot Conolon rod I found at a garage sale for ten bucks with a 4/0 and fifty Dacron with a leader.

I bounced around that diamond jig, but all I could catch were Tom Cod one right after another. I'd just hooked one when my rod doubled over and something took about ten feet of drag before coming off, and when I pulled it up the tomcod looked scraped on the sides with fine teeth like a coarse wire brush.

I figured it got halibut bit, so the next Tomcod I pulled up I hooked through the nose and dropped down to the bottom with a six ounce sinker. The next thing I knew the rod doubled over again it held and little while later I brought up my first seabass that now I'd guess at somewhere between 18 and 25 pounds.

Sometimes it's better to be lucky then good.

Lots' of places you can catch them, it's just a matter of putting in the time on the water. To be honest I'd say a lot of Seabass fishing is just being at the right place at the right time and putting something edible in front of their nose.

Jim