Too Much to Cover It All

[captjeffjones]

“NEW” COB Fish Reports
Fish Report for Wednesday, September 4th:

Too Much: Seriously, I don’t know what to say. It seems a higher percentage of guys are finding spots of big bluefin that just want to chew, than guys that miss completely. Thing is, its not really THAT good. I mean, yea, if you have sportboat quantities of bait to throw and a sonar to locate the schools the won’t bite the jigs, then it can be “trip of a lifetime” good. But there simply has not been a good private score YET! So it CAN’T be THAT good, right? The other part that baffles the mind is the spread of fish. One day the fleet get’em in an area, the next day one ventures off to the unknown and raises the bar. This is happening almost daily. I can’t track them all guys, I just can’t.

Yellowfin: I have no doubt a handfull of YFT’s have squirted past everyone and are on the mammals in our local waters. NO ONE SINGLE SHRED OF DOUBT. Otherwise, the ‘big wad” continues to be at 100+ miles, and the further down you go the better it gets.

Cortes: The Tanner and Cortes continue to kick out good scores. This is a tough place to fish on a private boat without some solid experience. Sit in 30 fathoms for the BFT’s and a little shallower for the big yellows. Only the most hard core private guys have the anchor gear (and balls) to anchor in 180 feet of water 100 miles from home. Otherwise you are trolling and that just won’t cut it. Furthermore, to really get a good shot at the quality fish, you’ll need to anchor in the dark and start chumming for the morning bite. I’ll do it again, will you? Leave these spots alone until you are sure you have what it takes.

Marlin: Not ganged up in one spot so you’ll have to cover some water to find the fish and stick where the conditions are. Find the bait, birds, life and STAY. Bouncing from waypoint to waypoint will get you as many marlin as winning lotto tickets. Take the luck out of the equation and grind it up where the life is.

Islands: A few seabass at Catalina, but I’m not saying where. I have a trip this Saturday and as much as I love you guys, I really don’t want to see you there. A chance at a yellow anywhere (literally). Find some current without all the distractions (kayaks, water skiers and sailboats) and you are in luck. Don’t forget a tank of live squid. Same with SCI, yellows just about anywhere you can get away from the seals. Seabass in Northwest Harbor and maybe at Gold Bluff. Rumor of seabass on the back are as far as I can tell, bullshit. SBI is being kept quiet for a reason. The guys fishing it like catching seabass and yellows without another boat around.

Local: Super fun big bass fishing on the wrecks and reefs. Not quantity, but some real quality. The guys fishing big baits are catching some huge bass and releasing them, so you should return the favor. Radiation from Japan has tainted these fish anyways (wink).

Kelps: This is another thing that amazes me every year. RIght now a certain handfull of my friends are going out and catching yellows and dorado on kelps each time they go, while others are driving from kelp to kelp saying there is only bait on the kelps. If you are close enough to know whether the kelp has bait or not, you spooked the fish off already. Set up way up wind/current of the kelps and shut down. Chum and flyline baits as you begin your drift, and drift past the kelp so that you do not go “right next” to the kelp. Try it once, just try it. Try not casting your bait right at the kelp like the fish actually live under it and won’t swim 30 feet to eat a meal. If you keep missing on the kelps deal, you are too close. Yes, sometimes there is a LOT of fish on a kelp and you can drive right up to it and catch fish, but you will catch more fish if you stay off the kelp. That, and do not fish a kelp someone else is fishing. Nevermind, I know saying that is a waste of time. Carry on……..

[Mikey]

Thanks captain, another great read full of great info.

[Oatums]

Great read Capt, thanks for sharing.

[choodak]

Thanks for the write up Cap. May do a one day trip on sunday if the cards fall right. Was thinking launching out of oceanside and heading out to the 209, then maybe work the area between the 209 and the 181. i hear everything being caught is a little farther south, but seems like the water is warming up enough to give it shot.

[Saltwater Bass]

Thanks for the write up Cap. May do a one day trip on sunday if the cards fall right. Was thinking launching out of oceanside and heading out to the 209, then maybe work the area between the 209 and the 181. i hear everything being caught is a little farther south, but seems like the water is warming up enough to give it shot.

I got gas money

[captjeffjones]

There are fish on the kelps locally, and have been for well over a month. Its no slam dunk, but they are there. Just come up with a good game plan and follow some simple rules.

1. Homework: Be prepared by figuring out ahead of time who has the best bait (or where it needs to be caught) and make the time to do it right. Do not blindly go out to the receiver and just take whatever they have. Also, study an SST chart. There are plenty of free SST's out there to look at, and armed with where the breaks are (that trap and hold the bait and kelps) you have a starting point.

2. Do not set a course from seamount to seamount. Everyone else does this, so go a different way to find kelps that have not already been fished. Kelps have no idea where the 277 is. Seriously, go to where the breaks are, not a waypoint on your chart plotter.

3. Leave early. Fishing a kelp that someone has already fished until all the fish are caught or have stopped biting will not help anyone. Leave early enough so that the kelps you find are virgin kelps for the day. (This is a big one).

4. DO NOT fish a kelp someone else is already fishing. A guy can catch one rat yellow and call out on the radio that "its wide open!!". Heck, I do this just to send guys in the wrong direction when I'm NOT EVEN ON A KELP. Under no circumstances should anyone ever fish a kelp with a boat already on it. EVER.

5. Go slow. Troll if you can stand it, but running around at 20kts you will miss kelps, I promise you this.

6. When you do find a kelp, fish it without looking under it first. Stay away from the kelp. Many times there are fish that really want to bite deep under the kelp or away from the paddy. Running right up to (and casting into) a kelp just scares most (if not all) of the fish away. This one I cannot stress enough. A yellowtail will see your bait 50 feet away from the kelp, and if he wants it he will go and get it. DO not cast at the kelp!!!!

7. If you are fishing a kelp and the fish stop biting, or you see fish that will not bite, slow troll baits to get the bite. Slow trolling works when almost nothing else will. Drive around the kelp, turning as you go by so the baits pass by it by around 15-20'. Dorado especially like this method.

8. Use J hooks. Its hard to hook a dorado on a circle hook.

9. If you fish a kelp properly, you can use light line. See #6. Light line gets bit better, period.

10. DO not give up. Time crawls by when there is a lull in the action. Don't change gears and start trolling for makos or run to the island for a shot at the yellows. Stick with the game plan, and if you fail, learn from it.

I'm heading to Catalina tomorrow guys, later!

[Mikey]

Another very awesome read and great tips. this is how we did what we did at the last tourney. we stayed to our plan and did what we said we where gonna do. it paid off....
thanks capt. i hope people read this and use it.