Trash Fish

[Amish Ed]

Nice fishes. Kinda tasty looking.

[Hamachijohn]

Way to go! Thx for sharing and the fish porn. Wish there were sheepheads up here in norcal... so tasty. you can catch them sometimes in Bis Sur and south, but..

anyway, looks like good eatin!

[Aaron&Julie]

Your bottom fishing results are uncanny. You'd think you were fishing points north of Morro Bay. Congrats.

[hook1fred]

Damn good job.... everytime I go out targeting bottom fish I end up with several fish about 4-6 inches long

[ashmoz]

Highly enjoyed your bucket.

Cheers,

[Deamon]

That's some good photos right there...great job!

[bigbarrels]

Originally Posted by ashmoz

Highly enjoyed your bucket.

Cheers,

x2........thanks for sharing your photos

[j mo]

Larry,

Ive heard for years how good Sheeps are, yet the last time I actaully ate one or tried to it was horrid! Perhaps its the water up here, perhaps I got sloppy in filleting and knicked the bile duct and spoiled it. I dont know...

Do they really taste that good?

ps enjoy your posts....

[tagyak]

Originally Posted by j mo

Larry,

Ive heard for years how good Sheeps are, yet the last time I actaully ate one or tried to it was horrid! Perhaps its the water up here, perhaps I got sloppy in filleting and knicked the bile duct and spoiled it. I dont know...

Do they really taste that good?

ps enjoy your posts....

i am not sure how you prepare your fish for eating but in asian restaurants if you purchased a sheephead that size, EASY $100. they normally will steam the fish with garlic and green onions with some sesame oil and some other goodies. it is REALLY good.

[ful-rac]

Trash Fish??? Rockfishin' is awsome only wish I could do more!!! NIce red!

[pchen911]

Originally Posted by j mo

Larry,

Ive heard for years how good Sheeps are, yet the last time I actaully ate one or tried to it was horrid!

Do they really taste that good?

Yes.

Very soft and flaky, you can't fillet and fry them like you do for rockfish.

Tagyak is right. They need to be steamed gently.

[maui jim]

NICE F"N GOAT....Reds are tasty....
Lings are the Gordon's Fishermans payday...

[tunaseeker]

Great vids thanks for sharing!

[blackcloud9]

Originally Posted by hook1fred

Damn good job.... everytime I go out targeting bottom fish I end up with several fish about 4-6 inches long

Thanks.

Some tips that everyone should know. The key is not to spend your time
reeling up and killing little tiny fish that you don't want. Right?

This juvenile 'bycatch' is what gives deep rockfishing a bad name in the
MLPA/enviro world. Less-equipped people may get their limit of keepers,
plus, kill 10 or 20 babies in the process. This is unsustainable and makes
you just want to stop.

How do you combat that? Just think for a minute.

If you used a 7/0 circle hook, a big bait, a high modulus graphite rod and
200 feet of no stretch spectra/braid and only tighten up when you feel a
big headshake bite, you wouldn't catch little ones.

If you fish the 2 oz plastics, and only set the hook when the BIG THUMP
happens, you get keepers. In order to feel what is happening with
your rig, you HAVE to have spectra/braided line and a quality graphite
rod.

Again I do not use J hooks with bait, just big circle hooks, in big baits. I
do not ever jig big Irons on the bottom, that just kills little fish.

I will be fishing this Sunday in South LJ. I will be launching from Big Rock
around 6:30 - 7. Big Rock beach access is near the end of Winamar St in
La Jolla.

The winds will be light and the surf will be flat.

[roby]

If you used a 7/0 circle hook, a big bait, a high modulus graphite rod and
200 feet of no stretch spectra/braid and only tighten up when you feel a
big headshake bite, you wouldn't catch little ones.

If you fish the 2 oz plastics, and only set the hook when the BIG THUMP
happens, you get keepers. In order to feel what is happening with
your rig, you HAVE to have spectra/braided line and a quality graphite
rod.

Great info...thanks for sharing.

I do not ever jig big Irons on the bottom, that just kills little fish.

If you don't mind, can you elaborate on the above statement. When I use jigs for rockfish I typically get bigger sized rockfish...

[blackcloud9]

Originally Posted by roby

Great info...thanks for sharing.

If you don't mind, can you elaborate on the above statement. When I use jigs for rockfish I typically get bigger sized rockfish...

Thanks for the comment Roby. Great point.

My question would be: do you get ONLY bigger sized rockfish on the iron?

If so, keep at it!

I'm sure others will agree that the La Jolla area seems to be chock full of
smaller/baby rockfish schools - which I work hard to avoid catching. My
tackle preferences are focused on NOT catching 'whatever bites', but,
attempting to have patience until a larger model finds my offering.

So, while jigs can be very effective down deep, I'm sure everyone has
seen the four inch rockfish that get impaled on treble hooks of the 7-inch
irons. I have seen too many. Sometimes through the eyes, or snagged in
the stomach or gills. This is caused by using the usual indiscriminate
'jigging' action on the iron near the bottom. The same happens with using
J hooks and constant hooksets at every nibble.

If you are fishing someplace like Mexico: Colonet or San Martin on a 1.5
day trip where even the smaller fish are two pound class, then it can be
worthwhile. And sometimes you hit a rock locally where they are all good
sized fish and you're home free to fish whatever.

To summarize, I'm voluntarily limiting myself to eliminate the smaller
bycatch as much as possible. Since I prefer to use smaller, lighter reels
and rods for 'sport' anyway, its not the right tackle to fish a big iron.
Megabaits can be great, but again I'd be catching 'whatever bites' ...
big or small.

Hope that helps.