Finally got back out on the water this past Sunday with Jonathan and friends who went on my April charter to Catalina on the Tide Change (read report here). Got back out on the Spectra again as well. This was a 1/2 day run out to the rockfish hole and hit the sculpin grounds for some good fishing for this group. Left the dock from Pierpoint right before six with Captain Chris and deckhands Ted and Dennis. This was my 3rd charter of the year taking out people who have never fished before, or have only been out with me once or twice. It’s fun working with and watching people learn to enjoy fishing.
Chris gave everyone the rundown on what we were going to do as we headed out. Hit the spot for salmon grouper (Bocaccio) that we have been out at before (read my report on my last trip on the Spectra) then head over to fish sculpin and be back at the dock around 1:30pm or so. For the majorty of the people out on this trip (other than myself, my son Jonathan) this was only the second trip out on the water. The last charter we caught a few rockfish and conditions were tough, today was a total 180, great flat weather and a ton of fish. Limits on almost everything for everyone and crew. Just as a taste of what is to come, here is the biggest fish of the day and our final load of fish in the cooler…
Got out to the spot in about an hour and Dennis took care of everyone going out, rigging up and making sure everything ready.
Everyone got to see some dolphins play with the boat darting along the bow and playing the wake as well. Weather was a bit overcast, but flat and nice. Slowed down the engines out near the rigs and got the first yell from Ted to drop down. Everyone but my son Jonathan was set up with an 8oz sinker with a double dropper loop with big hooks, and big sardines or small mackerel. Jonathan had a single hook, but I was helping him fish with a big mackerel on it, hoping for one of those big lings to hit down there.
Everyone dropped, a few birds nests happened, a few people had never used a conventional set up but everyone got to the bottom to get hit on the first drift. Everyone hooked up and fun began. I’ll let the photos tell the story.
Did a total of 3 drifts on the spot. Had a few tangles but we pulled our boat limits in about 45 minutes on the spot. Ted the deckhand caught one of the biggest salmon groupers we had seen in a long time fishing with a big mackerel. Here is the fish in front of Jonathan (and yes, this is not held out from him, it’s right in front of his chest).
We cleaned everything up and headed out about 20 minutes away to the sculpin grounds to see what we could do there. Anchored up and got to work. Kept the same set up as the salmon grouper, but I had a big bag of green 2″ plastics I picked up at the Fred Hall Show earlier this year and I switched out to the lead head with one on. We fished with cut mackerel from the bait tank along with the lead head. Me and Jonathan were the first to the bottom and hooked up on a nice sculpin right away.
We also found the sand dabs in the same spot and if you did not have a green plastic on, all you got was the sand dabs. Every drop produced either a nice sized sand dab or a sculpin, hardly ever came up empty handed on the boat. So for the next few hours we slayed them all. Everyone was having fun, most had never seen or caught either and we had limits on sculpin and about 50 sand dabs in 2 hours.
We decided to call it a day around 11:45 and headed back to the barn. We had a ton of fish on board. Here is the cooler full the brim. I would not want to fall on top of that sculpin pile, makes me shutter just thinking about it.
Once again the Spectra came through for me and my charter and the crew was excellent. Dennis went way above and beyond the call to help everyone have a great time, and Chris was all over the place helping everyone. Ted put us on the fish as always and did an beautiful (and hard) job cleaning and putting everything together. I can’t recommend this boat enough to people. Billy runs a great operation with Spectra Sportfishing. I get to go out again this coming Thursday with another group I put together and I’m looking forward to it. Everyone went home happy and with a lot of fish to fill the freezers.
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.
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New to Fishing? Want to Learn How?
Join me on one of my upcoming charters with Spectra Sportfishing at Pierpoint Landing in Long Beach, CA.
The crew of the Spectra will help you with everything, and everything is included in the price! Rods, reels, tackle, bait, fish cleaning and lots of help! All you need is a fishing license! Best of all the Spectra is a big boat with a lot of room, we only take out 6 passengers at a time.
We can also do custom charters to fit your needs, beginner or experienced angler! Email me at sean@glumace.com or call at 562-706-8999.
Upcoming Charters
Overnight Trip to San Clemente Island
Saturday/Sunday, September 18-19
$320 per person (Price also includes FOOD and EQUIPMENT!)
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USA Sportfishing.net
http://www.usasportfishing.net - a great online fishing community! Check it out!
Welcome to GlumaceFishing.com!
Sean his son Jonathan and his daughter Katelyn love to fish in Southern California. This site is loaded with reports, photos, news, charters, reviews and more. They maintain this site as a journal of their adventures in fishing.
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For great prices on sinkers of all types give Lanny a call 626-384-6504 or email at Lannynichols@yahoo.com
