Shortly after, S L Dave pulls in and Mojomizer(Mark) walks up from the other end of the lot(He spent the night there)
Other AAB members started showing up.
We launched the alloy boats(4 Pacifics and one Bayrunner). Waited 'till 6:30 for any late shows. Set up for a photo shoot and headed out for some live bait(more pictures will be over in the "meet and greet" section as we headed out)
Don and I decided to target halibut this trip. Don, being a somewhat of a newbe to saltwater fishing, I thought that live anchovies would get the most bites(not necessarily the biggest, but most action)
This is what the bait operations look like out of this area. Open 24hrs, If you don't catch them at a bad time, you can get live bait around the clock
Our first stop was just outside the San Pedro opening. The wind was up pretty good already, making for an uncomfortable drift situation. Made a few drifts and our anchovie baits were getting molested by unwanted Pacific mackerel. :?
I decided to head back inside the breakwater and fish around the oil islands that are spread out in the harbor.
If you notice the structures built on the perimeter of this Island. They are there to try to hide the drilling operations going on there. If you're curious, you can use the satellite view on Google maps and enter "White Island off of Long Beach, CA" to see what's going on there.
We found a decent spot up against the island in 18' of water and started catching to targeted species(halibut)
Don hooks up on a better one and is rewarded with his first ever and legal at that...HALIBUT! :P
Smiles all around, even though this was taken before we had caught much of anything
The spot that the fish were holding was just a small area, so we decided to anchor and fan cast and cover the area.
It worked out okay. We had flurries of action for the next 3-4 hours on a mixed bag of halibut from 6" to just shy of the 22" legal size limit. A few short sand bass and a few sharks.
Don caught a most interesting catch...a Midshipman Fish, I've only one of these around five years ago. This has got to be one of the most slimy fish ever! Released it to freak someone else out :shock: :shock: :shock:
Headed it for the barn around 2:15 for the "Meet and Greet" barbecue
Here are some of different ways that I rig for Halibut while live bait drift fishing:
Simple reverse dropper loop 12-20lb line single or treble hook
Carolina rig w/sliding egg sinker(will sometimes substitute a bank sinker for the egg weight)
Big bait rig 5-8" baits(Sardines,Pacific or Jack Mackerel, or live or fresh frozen squid) 20-30lb. line
Scott
:) :) :)
