Clearing
the rock jetty protecting the Shelter Island Launch Ramp in San Diego Bay, I
braced myself against the console and tightened my visor as I anticipated the
rush of G‑forces while getting on plane before racing into open bay
waters. Instead, Barry Brightenberg
shifted into neutral while announcing, “We’re here.”
The big outboard had barely warmed up and Brightenberg, owner of Fish
Trap Lures, was already making a cast. “Too
many guys think the fishing will be better the further you go and pass up one of
the most reliable stretches of bass water right in front of the launch ramp,”
says Brightenberg. “Of course,
we’ll work our way around the north Bay, but I like to try this spot first.
I’ve caught sand bass up to eight pounds here, so it’s worth a
try,” he added.
Soon
everyone onboard, from veteran angler Bob Fletcher, President of the
Sportfishing Association of California, and first-timer Sabrina Williams were
catching one-to three-pound sand bass almost non-stop.
“There’s a good clam bed here and sandies somehow are able to feed on
them especially during a good tidal movement like now,” offered Brightenberg.
To prove his point, one of our bass had a freshly-caught razor clam in
its mouth. I use to dig for these
elusive clams for bait and how these bass can get to them is a mystery to me.
As
we drifted with the current, Brightenberg gave us a rundown on his favorite
technique. Actually, he attributes
its discovery to Gary Brown, the founder of Fish Trap Lures and a mistake he
once made. Brown made a cast and had
a bad backlash, the kind that run deep and take time to work out.
As he dug out the line he kept dumping more into the water until he had
half the spool out. As he was
reeling in the slack line he discovered a nice sand bass had picked up the
plastic tail and was firmly hooked just by cranking steady.
He repeated the same method of letting out lots of line and kept getting
bit. A new technique was born.
Basically,
you cast up-current and then let out lots of free-spooled line, maybe two-thirds
of a small bait-casting spool. Brightenberg
will also simply drop a lure overboard, put the rod in a holder and let the line
free-spool out while he tends to other chores.
Once enough line is out, simply retrieve the lure at a speed that is
slightly faster than the current. A
straight, direct retrieve works best with these tails and you don’t have to
bounce the jig or make fancy maneuvers. When
a bass hits it usually feels like a subtle snag.
Keep cranking until locked up before lifting the rod tip high.
Avoid trying to set the hook with a violent yank the moment you feel
something because you’ll miss the fish on most tries.
As
with most bay fishermen, Brightenberg likes a good tidal movement.
“Incoming is best, but anything moving will produce fish,” he says.
Case in point: we were working the bay on a strong outgoing tide and
doing quite well. Big, four-feet
plus tides are optimum with the first two hours rated the best by Brightenberg.
With big water movement it’s necessary to adjust the lure weight to
keep on the bottom where the strike zone is.
Also, check the lure carefully after each retrieve for grass or other
debris. If the wind picks up
opposite the current direction Brightenberg will deploy one or two sea anchors
which will help keep the boat drifting at the same rate as the tidal flow.
This is important because you want to keep the lure near the bottom and
moving just slightly faster than the current.
Typical
bay forage includes anchovies, smelt, queenfish (herring), tomcod (white
croaker), crabs, razor clams, and pencil clams.
Brightenberg likes to mimic some of this natural food with his plastic
tail colors. Dark blue and silver
for anchovy; green for grunion; brown and yellow with an orange stripe in the
belly for razor clam; yellowish tan for perch; and brownish green with a key
lime stripe and golden belly for smelt are among some of Brightenbergs
creations. Standard tail sizes for
water deeper than 30-feet is five inches. For
Mission Bay where maximum water depth is about 15-feet, a three and one-half
inch tail is preferred. Leadhead
shape is not a critical factor and a one and one-half ounce size will fit most
situation. Brightenberg prefers the
smaller 3/0 hook size than the larger 5/0 found on many leadheads because the
larger hook shanks extend too far back onto a plastic tail and interfere with
optimum swim-action. Smaller hooks
are easier for most fish to take as well. One
thing about head design: Don’t use eyeball-style leadheads with a clam-color
plastic tail. “I’ve never seen a
clam with eyes before,” says, Brightenberg.
Balanced
conventional light tackle is well suited for fishing San Diego Bay.
Two outfits that Brightenberg uses is a Shimano Calcutta 250 reel spooled
with 8-to 15-pound line matched with a Calcutta 815XFA fast taper rod and a
Catala 300 reel and Calcutta 715XFA rod. When
fishing Mission Bay just a few minutes northward, Brightenberg will use lighter
tackle in addition to smaller lures since Mission Bays shallower confines
produce more spotted bay bass than the brutish sand bass commonly found all year
in San Diego Bay. Peak season for
sandies is September thru June as the bass usually migrate to the ocean during
July and August to spawn. Plastics
will also score well on kelp bass, white seabass, halibut, barracuda, bonito and
mackerel that frequent the varied habitat provided in San Diego Bay.
This
winter day the current started picking up steam and we started catching more
Pacific mackerel near the mouth of the Bay which will happen when you retrieve a
plastic tail through the water column in range of the surface fish.
As we were trying to avoid mackerel attacks, Williams was quietly working
on a backlash that took half a spool to clear.
Reeling in slack line the rod seemed to straighten as if snagged on the
bottom and then started bouncing under the weight of her largest bass of the
day. What technique.
You
can forget pretty much what you learned about bay bass the further north you go.
“San Diego Bay is unique unto its own for having a big, deep water
fishery and lots of big sand bass,” says Ben Secrest, Sales Manager of Blue
Water Wear at AFTCO. “When you
fish Dana Point Harbor, Newport Bay, King Harbor at Redondo, Huntington Harbor
and Marina del Rey the habitats change radically and you have to change
techniques,” adds Secrest.
The
north waters are shallower, the habitat is more structure-oriented and the
smaller spotted bay bass is the dominant species.
Lures and tackle are all scaled-down in size to be effective.
The fish are found in different spots as well.
“It took me about ten years just to figure out Newport Bay and where
the fish were holding,” points out Secrest.
Unlike San Diego Bay you won’t find large groupings of fish in the main
channels. Key spots include the
sides of channels around pilings,
navigation buoys, moored boats and other structure.
A
strong tidal current is critical. “I
like an incoming tide about an hour after the low when the water starts rippin'
,” says Secrest. Anglers need to
pick out areas where they see the most current, such as near a buoy, and cover
the water column with at least five or six casts to find out where the fish are
holding. Bass will have their
“nose” into the current waiting for forage to be swept by.
“A good technique is to “flip” the dock pilings by casting plastics
with the tidal current while “back trolling” with the motor to hold your
position,” advises Secrest. It’s
also a good idea to fish at night around the dock lights because they attract
lots of fish. You can also simply
drag a plastic bait on the bottom from a drifting boat and catch fish.
Occasional pops will attract attention, but it’s important to keep the
bait on the bottom. “As long as
your bait is on the bottom you’ll catch fish.
Wind a little bit, let it sink to the bottom or change angles.
You’ll get bit when you start to do something different 60 to 70
percent of the time,” says Secrest.
Clam beds are good spots to fish and they are often found under moored
boats. Simply wind the lure slowly
over a bed to attract a bass attack.
Think
small. Don’t use large five-inch
tails up here. A good maximum size
plastic tail is three inches matched with a one-half ounce leadhead and 2/0 hook
size. “Keep the hooks small
because bass will get stuck on a long shank and just keep biting the bait in
half,” says Secrest. When there is
little current scale down to 3/16 to 1/4 ounce heads and smaller tails.
Strong currents may require 1/2 to 5/8 ounce leadheads to keep in the
strike zone. Lighter heads will give
a slower fall rate which can be enticing to bass hanging around vertical
structures.
Secrest
likes to use a variety of plastic tails and grubs such as Fish Traps, Kalins and
Salt Grubs with colors that look like what the bass are feeding on.
Favorites include Green Grunion, Tennessee Shad, Brown Bait and Anchovy
patterns. With split tail and single
tail grubs, Secrest favors the Smoke with Red Flake, Irish Whiskey (greenish
brown with green flake), Clear with Red Flake (all-time favorite), Rootbeer with
Gold Flake, Brown with Sparkle and Tomato Pepper.
This
is light tackle country. Typical
outfits include Shimano reels such as the Curado 100 and Calcutta 50 spooled
with six-pound line and the Calcutta 100 with eight-pound.
These are matched with five-foot six-inch to six-foot trigger sticks.
For spinning, the Shimano Sahara 1000FA with four to six-pound line
paired to a six to six and one-half foot rod is a good choice.
When the water is very clear Secrest will add a six or eight-pound
fluorocarbon leader to the main line to get more strikes.
Otherwise, the lures are tied directly to the main line without a leader.
Spotted
bay bass, sand bass and some calico (kelp) bass are found in these
“northern” bay waters all year. Based
on years of experience, Secrest has found that the peak season is March, April
and May. You may also be surprised
by halibut and white seabass as well.
Before placing the tail on the leadheads hook, lay the
tail along the shank first so that you can determine where the hook point will
come out. Put a light scratch mark
on this spot.
Start threading the large end of the plastic onto the
hook point so that the hook will come out on the broad, flat side of the tail at
the point where you marked the spot.
To thread correctly, keep the point of the hook in the
center of the tail so that it doesn’t go on crooked.
The tail must be straight to be effective.
Note that with some leadhead shapes the location of the initial hook
penetration may have to be adjusted so that the rim of the body portion will
match the perimeter of the leadhead. Gently
push the plastic up the shank of the hook until snug against the leadhead.
Replace the tails wherever they become torn, worn, or cut off.
PHONE 619-462-7875
FAX 619-435-6009
E-MAIL: tonypena@rovingagnler.com
Roving Angler Copyright © 2000 This
material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
|