05-03-2013, 09:54 PM
Go The Other Way
Posted on April 30, 2013
There are guys that just bank on a fish report. I mean, when they hear the fish are on a kelp line or squid nest, that is it, set in stone. I am not that guy. Never have been, never will be. I do take mental notes of when and where, but not so I can go sit on the spot where someone else found the fish. I am speaking specifically about island seabass, Catalina Island seabass.
Back in the days when I worked for Mark Wisch, he would always talk about the 3 day bite. Meaning, that when the seabass moved into an area they would bite there for 3 days, and not normally more than that. Determining where they would move to and bite next, well, that was one of Marks specialties (that I think I learned from him). No doubt he learned that in some ways from Allyn Watson. The thing to think about here is, when a guy makes a score and word gets out, at what point in the 3 day rule did he find the fish? If they are biting in an area one day and not the next, then (according to the rule), he found them on the 3rd day.
It gets a little more complicated when certain areas consistently have good seabass conditions. Places like Orange Rocks or West Cove. I will plan a trip by what is being caught at either one of these places, and start where they are not biting. Let me repeat that. “I start where the seabass have NOT been biting.” Hey, its worked for me for a very long time. It accomplishes several goals and eliminates things I dislike.
For one, I do not like to fish in a crowd. I do not like being accused of fishing other peoples dope, and I do not like drama. I also thrive on the hunt, and the kill. Therefore, I “go the other way.” There are times when the fish just set up camp in an area and go on and off the bite for weeks at a time. Two years ago the fish were along the V’s and Palisades for what seemed like a month, and I did fish in that crowd with some success. Not by getting in the middle and waiting it out, but by fishing the edges and conditions I saw with my own eyes. Even then, solitary trips up the back often produced more fish than the waiting in the pack game.
I guess the point I am trying to make here is that I don’t go to where the reports say the fish are biting, I go the other way. If they are biting up West, I go East. Too many times I have gone to where the bite has been for nothing. Usually when the client hands me the printed report from the internet and tells me “that’s where the fish are.” Thankfully that has not happened in a very long time. Those of you have fished Catalina enough over the years know what it feels like to sit in a crowd in West Cove, catch nothing, see no fish caught, and hear later that someone found the fish down East.
In this sense, the reports are a very useful tool. So look at the reports to see where they are biting at Catalina, then go the other way. You will need some basic fundamentals on how to fish seabass (conditions) and intimate knowledge of Catalina for this to work. Unfortunately, these days a large group of boats is the X that marks the spot. Not even that anymore. Just one boat anchored has become a magnet for others. This will do nobody any favors.
Parting shot? I actually like it when I find a spot of seabass that want to bite and a couple weekend warriors come and anchor by me. Its always fun to kick the snot out of’em while someone watches and catches nothing.
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Posted on April 30, 2013
There are guys that just bank on a fish report. I mean, when they hear the fish are on a kelp line or squid nest, that is it, set in stone. I am not that guy. Never have been, never will be. I do take mental notes of when and where, but not so I can go sit on the spot where someone else found the fish. I am speaking specifically about island seabass, Catalina Island seabass.
Back in the days when I worked for Mark Wisch, he would always talk about the 3 day bite. Meaning, that when the seabass moved into an area they would bite there for 3 days, and not normally more than that. Determining where they would move to and bite next, well, that was one of Marks specialties (that I think I learned from him). No doubt he learned that in some ways from Allyn Watson. The thing to think about here is, when a guy makes a score and word gets out, at what point in the 3 day rule did he find the fish? If they are biting in an area one day and not the next, then (according to the rule), he found them on the 3rd day.
It gets a little more complicated when certain areas consistently have good seabass conditions. Places like Orange Rocks or West Cove. I will plan a trip by what is being caught at either one of these places, and start where they are not biting. Let me repeat that. “I start where the seabass have NOT been biting.” Hey, its worked for me for a very long time. It accomplishes several goals and eliminates things I dislike.
For one, I do not like to fish in a crowd. I do not like being accused of fishing other peoples dope, and I do not like drama. I also thrive on the hunt, and the kill. Therefore, I “go the other way.” There are times when the fish just set up camp in an area and go on and off the bite for weeks at a time. Two years ago the fish were along the V’s and Palisades for what seemed like a month, and I did fish in that crowd with some success. Not by getting in the middle and waiting it out, but by fishing the edges and conditions I saw with my own eyes. Even then, solitary trips up the back often produced more fish than the waiting in the pack game.
I guess the point I am trying to make here is that I don’t go to where the reports say the fish are biting, I go the other way. If they are biting up West, I go East. Too many times I have gone to where the bite has been for nothing. Usually when the client hands me the printed report from the internet and tells me “that’s where the fish are.” Thankfully that has not happened in a very long time. Those of you have fished Catalina enough over the years know what it feels like to sit in a crowd in West Cove, catch nothing, see no fish caught, and hear later that someone found the fish down East.
In this sense, the reports are a very useful tool. So look at the reports to see where they are biting at Catalina, then go the other way. You will need some basic fundamentals on how to fish seabass (conditions) and intimate knowledge of Catalina for this to work. Unfortunately, these days a large group of boats is the X that marks the spot. Not even that anymore. Just one boat anchored has become a magnet for others. This will do nobody any favors.
Parting shot? I actually like it when I find a spot of seabass that want to bite and a couple weekend warriors come and anchor by me. Its always fun to kick the snot out of’em while someone watches and catches nothing.
Share this: