31st Trip: Local Rockfishing on the Spectra 4/25/10

By
Sean Glumace
– April 26, 2010Posted in: Fishing Photos, Fishing Reports, Front Page, Half Day Trips, Private Boat Trips, Saltwater

After getting out 2 weeks ago with the large charter group (38 people, view the full report here) I did on the Tide Change to Catalina I was looking forward to my first trip out on the Spectra out of Spectra Sportfishing and get some me time fishing in. This was just a family fun trip, 1/2 day local rockfishing shake down cruise with a few of my friends and family that owner Billy Keleman put together for us. Other than my cousin Jason, son Jonathan and I everyone else was either new to fishing or had only a few trips out.

Got down to Pierpoint Landing and met up with everyone around 5:30am and got out of the dock right at 6:00pm.

From 31st Trip: Local Rockfishing on the Spectra 4/25/10

The Spectra is an impressive boat, with a ton of room on deck, big bait tanks and a full kitchen and bunks for everyone. She has a unique tower and stack, so she is not hard to miss when out on the water.

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From 31st Trip: Local Rockfishing on the Spectra 4/25/10

Billy and Ted were on board to help out and we hit up the bait barge for some scoops of sardines and small macs. I tried for some macs or tommy cod for Jonathan to play with but no love at the barge.

From 31st Trip: Local Rockfishing on the Spectra 4/25/10

Bait looked great and we settled in for a ride out to a sweet spot that they have for rockfishing.

From 31st Trip: Local Rockfishing on the Spectra 4/25/10

Billy took care of everyone’s rigs as we headed out. Large hooks on a dropper loop, some rods 2 hooks some 1 hook and an 8oz torpedo sinker. I got to fish with spectra for the first time rockfishing and let me tell you, I’m now a convert. I could tell the difference with the hit vs. the mono that I had on my rods. Most of the big fish came off the rods rigged up with spectra and very large hooks.

Got out to the spot and did the first drift. If you missed on the first drop you had to wait till we moved back and repositioned on it again. First fish up was Gus and a nice salmon grouper (bocaccio).

From 31st Trip: Local Rockfishing on the Spectra 4/25/10

I lost one on this drift while bringing it up, but made up on the next drift. All these fish were big quailty salmon groupers, I would say all personal bests for this area. Billy and Ted worked hard putting us on these fish and it paid off.

Another nice fish.

From 31st Trip: Local Rockfishing on the Spectra 4/25/10

Ready to drop when they say so…

From 31st Trip: Local Rockfishing on the Spectra 4/25/10

My son Jonathan’s first salmon grouper, and a limit to boot on one drop!

From 31st Trip: Local Rockfishing on the Spectra 4/25/10
From 31st Trip: Local Rockfishing on the Spectra 4/25/10
From 31st Trip: Local Rockfishing on the Spectra 4/25/10

On the second drift Gus hooked up on a beautiful red snapper, one of the bigger models I have seen locally in a long time.

From 31st Trip: Local Rockfishing on the Spectra 4/25/10
From 31st Trip: Local Rockfishing on the Spectra 4/25/10

Hook up!!

From 31st Trip: Local Rockfishing on the Spectra 4/25/10

Hook ups!!!

From 31st Trip: Local Rockfishing on the Spectra 4/25/10
From 31st Trip: Local Rockfishing on the Spectra 4/25/10

And the end result, happy camper!

From 31st Trip: Local Rockfishing on the Spectra 4/25/10

First one ever…

From 31st Trip: Local Rockfishing on the Spectra 4/25/10
From 31st Trip: Local Rockfishing on the Spectra 4/25/10

Owner Billy and a big boy…

From 31st Trip: Local Rockfishing on the Spectra 4/25/10

Some of these fish were almost as big as Jonathan.

From 31st Trip: Local Rockfishing on the Spectra 4/25/10

Jonathan and Billy again…

From 31st Trip: Local Rockfishing on the Spectra 4/25/10

Kiss for good luck…

From 31st Trip: Local Rockfishing on the Spectra 4/25/10

Henry’s first salmon grouper.

From 31st Trip: Local Rockfishing on the Spectra 4/25/10

Jason and I went down with some whole dead squid to see what we can pull up and he got his biggest for the day, 26 inches long.

From 31st Trip: Local Rockfishing on the Spectra 4/25/10
From 31st Trip: Local Rockfishing on the Spectra 4/25/10

We got our limit in a few passes and packed it up to find some other fun.

From 31st Trip: Local Rockfishing on the Spectra 4/25/10
From 31st Trip: Local Rockfishing on the Spectra 4/25/10

Looking for more fish!

From 31st Trip: Local Rockfishing on the Spectra 4/25/10
From 31st Trip: Local Rockfishing on the Spectra 4/25/10

Just to give you an idea of how big these guys were…

From 31st Trip: Local Rockfishing on the Spectra 4/25/10
From 31st Trip: Local Rockfishing on the Spectra 4/25/10

We tried a few more stops looking for reds and other rockfish but nothing panned out. The water temp was around 57 degrees so it was slow. Decided to head back in and hit Izor’s before calling it a day. All morning it was grey and overcast, but as flat as a lake. Got to Izor’s and it cleared up to blue skies. There were about 10 other boats out there with us as well.

From 31st Trip: Local Rockfishing on the Spectra 4/25/10

We tried a few spots anchored up but with no love. Got a few bites and Jonathan brought in the last fish of the day, a little rockfish.

From 31st Trip: Local Rockfishing on the Spectra 4/25/10
From 31st Trip: Local Rockfishing on the Spectra 4/25/10

Called it a day around 1pm and headed back to the barn. Ted took care of the filleting and everyone went home with a nice bag of fish, plus some nice heads for fish soup.

From 31st Trip: Local Rockfishing on the Spectra 4/25/10
From 31st Trip: Local Rockfishing on the Spectra 4/25/10

This was one of the best local rockfishing trips I’ve ever been on and I would like to thank Billy Keleman again for putting this little taste test together for my group. I look forward to booking 1/2 day and overnight trips to the island with him. He runs a top notch operation on a beautiful boat that is a great platform for a 6 pack trip, comfortable and tons of room! He will be running out of Long Beach through June 30th then moving the boat down to San Diego starting July 1st. You can find out more about the boat and how to charter it at http://www.spectrasportfishing.com.

Thanks again Billy for a great trip!

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About Sean Glumace

Sean loves to fish in Southern California and this site is his journal of his adventures in fishing. He started fishing when he was a little guy with his dad David, and has continued to this day with his family. In his day job, Sean has been a graphic designer for over 15 years, designing everything from in-store displays and signage for supermarkets to e-commerce auction sites for an online consumer electronics company. He was a web and graphic designer then later an art director for McMullen Argus Publishing (Primedia), building and working on sites for Lowrider Magazine and Super Chevy, plus 30 other automotive magazine sites. Sean seized the opportunity to teach other aspiring designers - a passion that took him first to Learning Tree University and then to Golden West College in Huntington Beach, CA, where he has been an integral part of the renowned digital arts department for more than ten years. Throughout his teaching career, Sean maintained a freelance business, designing for clients including the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (Los Angeles Area Emmy Awards), Image Comics and many more. See his work at http://www.glumace.com.