We still had time left on the day so we hit a rock just outside the breakwater near the beginning of the horseshoe kelp area. We picked away at small calico bass, and lots of blacksmith perch and smaller fish. Ted and I fished on the bow, and Ted brought up some big rubber lip perch and I found a rock full of buttermouth perch. We stayed on it for about an hour to give everyone a fill of fishing on the spot and headed back in. Great day for David and everyone was happy! I’ll let the photos tell the rest of the story. The season will be winding down as the holidays get close and I look forward to fishing next year!

Put together our 2nd lobster trip of 2010 and our last trip of the year on the Spectra on Sunday, December 10th. Got our usually group of regulars together for this special trip over to the island for some hooping. Noreen, Michael, Chris, Lanny and my son Jonathan came on down. The weather was beyond good, flat all afternoon and night and it was in the mid 70′s all day. Could not ask for better conditions in December!!

Picked up a few scoops of bait from the barge and headed off to the island. We did a quick stop at a spot where some sand bass were biting a day or two before. It was slow picking, I got a nice sand bass and Jonathan brought up a bunch of perch, small calico bass and even a nice sized sheephead that popped off at the surface. Only stayed a little while and headed off to our spot at the island to drop our hoops. Had a big lunch/dinner on the way.

From 40th Trip: Catalina on the Spectra

From 40th Trip: Catalina on the Spectra

From 40th Trip: Catalina on the Spectra

From 40th Trip: Catalina on the Spectra

From 40th Trip: Catalina on the Spectra

Got there right before dusk and set our traps. Did a total of about 7 drops and brought up 12 legal lobsters to take home. Everyone had a great time pulling up the traps, had some shorts mixed in that went back home to grow up bigger for us to get another day. Everyone got to go home with a few nice lobster and a few fillets to boot. Once again Billy and crew did a great job, and we look forward to doing it again soon!

From 40th Trip: Catalina on the Spectra

From 40th Trip: Catalina on the Spectra

From 40th Trip: Catalina on the Spectra

Got to get out again on the Spectra for a mid week twilight trip. A storm had just pass through that day and the weather was gorgeous. Got out on the water around 7pm with owner Billy Keleman, Ted Hale, Dennis and 3 of Billy’s regular customers. Went out to the rigs off of Huntington Beach and it was on. All leadhead fishing with whole dead squid. Billy and crew ran into a ton of squid last weekend (see the report here) so we had enough bait to last forever.

We hooked up to something big with the first cast, took us around the boat a few times before breaking off. Either it was a big black sea bass (they hooked and released a 30 pounder a week earlier in the same place) or maybe a big ray. Broke off after about 20 minutes of fighting. For the next few hours it was wide open calico and sand bass fishing. Every cast you would get hit hard, in the first hour I farmed a lot of fish, got the hang of it for the rest of the night.

Did not get any photos this trip, just too busy with fish. We ended up with around 250 – 300 fish coming on board. Did a ton of catch and release. These were mostly legal fish, hard fighting. Some of the best bass fishing I have been in ever. Stayed out longer than normal, ended up back at the dock around 2:30 in the morning. Late night but worth it!

Got another group together this past Sunday 7-18 on board the Spectra for a full day local trip. Got down to the dock around 5:30am with my son Jonathan loaded up the equipment. My cousin Jason and his dad Mark came out on this one along with Lanny who I purchase my sinkers from and Chris. Left the dock right around 6:00am and headed out to the bait barge to pick up some dines and small anchovies. Had some live squid left in the tanks as well. Headed out to the salmon grouper spot to fill up the bags before searching for the sand bass and cuda.

From 35th Trip: Local Full Day on the Spectra

Got out to the spot and dropped on down, and hookups all around.

From 35th Trip: Local Full Day on the Spectra

Dennis and one nice bocaccio.

From 35th Trip: Local Full Day on the Spectra

Big one of the day.

From 35th Trip: Local Full Day on the Spectra

This first drop was one of the best first drops we’ve had at the hole. All big fish (lots of limits of 2 on the first drop) and we only did 2 more passes to come up just short of limits.

From 35th Trip: Local Full Day on the Spectra

2nd Pass.

From 35th Trip: Local Full Day on the Spectra

From 35th Trip: Local Full Day on the Spectra

From 35th Trip: Local Full Day on the Spectra

Headed back in to the flats along with the fleet. Did not find much and tried a few different spots. No love on the sand bass or cuda in the morning. Found a rock while heading over to Izors and anchored up. Dino got a nice ling.

From 35th Trip: Local Full Day on the Spectra

I pulled up a nice sheephead. There were also some big fish down there, grabbing the bait and tearing you off. Probably big lings or sheephead.

From 35th Trip: Local Full Day on the Spectra

Baby sculpin.

From 35th Trip: Local Full Day on the Spectra

Dennis cooked up a great breakfast and lunch for us. Plain and dry burger for Jonathan.

From 35th Trip: Local Full Day on the Spectra

From 35th Trip: Local Full Day on the Spectra

At one of our stops off Huntington Beach and the flats (along with the fleet) we had back to back hookups on nice sized bat rays. Pulled Rick all over the boat. My uncle Mark also hooked up on one.

We finally got a few sand bass and calicos on board on a rock we found. They were in the structure, and if you did not hook and get them out of the rocks you hung up and lost them.

From 35th Trip: Local Full Day on the Spectra

From 35th Trip: Local Full Day on the Spectra

Bass hookup!

From 35th Trip: Local Full Day on the Spectra

From 35th Trip: Local Full Day on the Spectra

Did well on this spot, picking away at everything. Decided to stay out a little longer and anchor up with the fleet one last time. And the entire fleet was there. The Matt Walsh, Victory, Sport King, Native Sun, Enterprise, So Cal and a few others. Got in on a good spot and started chumming, got the cuda running some and hooked up on a few nice ones. If the bait swam towards the boat while fly-lining it was over, change and cast out again.

Jonathan and Ted on a big barracuda.

From 35th Trip: Local Full Day on the Spectra

From 35th Trip: Local Full Day on the Spectra

Called it a day around 5:30pm and headed back to the barn. Filled up a cooler with a mixed bag of bocaccio, rockfish, a few sculpin, a sheephead, a few sand bass and calicos, and a few nice sized barracuda.

From 35th Trip: Local Full Day on the Spectra

Everyone went home with a nice sack of fish. Billy, Ted and Dennis were great as always, going above and beyond and working hard to find the fish even though they were not all that cooperative. Got another twilight ready for next Monday, hopefully the sandies will be ready to play!

Great article on how to fish bass in the reefs. I had the pleasure to fish with Jimmy on the Tradition out of Redondo Beach back in January 2010 working the structure and bass. It was hard work, but the payoff was great and made for a fun day fishing.

Here is my report from that day.

http://glumacefishing.com/2010/02/29th-trip-34-day-tradition-bass-fishing-trip-130/

If you have any questions email him at jmbassfisherman@yahoo.com

Background
When I was younger, my dad and I fished out of Dana Point. That area is filled with natural reefs and artificial reefs, with plenty of hard bottom spots. We fished 10 and 12 pound test for the bass even while fishing the artificial reefs because the structure was not too rugged, and we landed plenty of big bass off of these spots. In 2009, I got to experience structure sand bass fishing in the Santa Monica Bay for the first time, and let me tell you, it’s hard! I lost plenty of leadheads and fish in my first time fishing these treacherous artificial reefs that most refer to as “stones”. After watching guys that were experienced at it, I grew to love it and caught more fish each time I went out. Don’t be discouraged if you don’t do too well your first couple times trying this fishing. It’s tricky, but once you get the hang of it, you’ll love it – trust me.

Where Are These “Stones”?
The artificial reefs I’m referring to are scattered around the Santa Monica Bay, with the vast majority of them being off of Malibu and Santa Monica. These reefs were planted in the 60s, 70s, and 80s, and ever since they have provided habitat for many species of fish such as sculpin, perch, sheephead, sculpin, cabazon, triggerfish, and of course, the popular sand bass. Most of the stones are in 40 to 60 feet, with a few other stones and wrecks out deeper to 90 feet. If you were to dive on some of these spots, I bet you would see plenty of old tackle and fishing line.

Tackle Tips: What to Get Before the Trip
These stones are very rugged with plenty of crevices for the fish to hide, so, you must come prepared! Begin by having a rod and reel that you feel comfortable with, something not too heavy, but not too light. My favorite set-up for this kind of fishing is a Trinidad 14 on an eight foot medium heavy Calcutta rod with 25 pound test. Others fish Avets, Saltigas, Sealines, Saltists, and Newells, but it is entirely up to you – just use a rig you feel comfortable using, because to be successful, you have to fish hard!

The line is the most important thing. You need to use heavier line – it’s not the size of the fish, but the structure they live in! Most recommend starting with 25 pound test, and if the fish are getting you stuck in the rocks and breaking you off constantly, don’t be afraid to go up to 40 pound test. Sometimes, the fish will get a little twitchy and some anglers will go down to 20 pound test. While they may get more bites, the hook-to-land ratio goes down. You be the judge of what needs to be done.

Next, don’t go light when it comes to leadheads. Bring plenty of one and a half to three ounce leadheads, because some days you will lose a ton of lead. Most of the time I use an ounce and a half, but sometimes current will get really bad and you will need the heavier head. Personally I would also pack some really light leadheads – it would probably come in handy on days where the current is slack and the fish are twitchy. Color of the leadhead doesn’t really matter, as plenty of fish have been caught on the plain leadhead. However, popular colors include chartreuse, glow-in-the-dark, and a brown-red mix.

Lastly, I would highly recommend bringing six inch Kalin’s Mogambo Grubs in the chartreuse, chartreuse salt and pepper, and slime colors. These plastic grubs are very popular and provide a little extra enticement factor to the fish. Most of the time, the fish will be eager to bite your bait with the six inch plastic grub, but sometimes when the fish get really finicky, a smaller grub would be the way to go. Ocean Logic from Wal-Mart makes a really great chartreuse four inch grub that would be perfect in this situation. However, when the fish want to really chew, they will be always eager to engulf a leadhead with a whole squid threaded up the shank of the hook. By the way, you can get mogambos from Wal-Mart, any tackle store, or you can order them online in bulk – I think the latter is the way to go, because of the value and you will have them for a long time to come.

Make sure you bring a lot of leadheads, as you may lose a lot! Shown below are chartreuse, chartreuse salt and pepper, and glow in the dark mogambo grubs slipped onto leadheads.

On left is the common 10-pack of Kalin’s Mogambo Grubs, and on the right is from a bulk order of 100 chartreuse salt and pepper mogambos. As you can see, they will last you for a long time to come.

The Bait
Fresh dead squid is more often than not the bait of choice for fishing these stones. Most often the fish will be eager to eat a whole fresh dead squid even with a mogambo slipped on the leadhead, but again when the fish are finicky, using strips would be the best way to go. Sometimes you will be lucky and the sportboat will have live squid, and that is the best bait of all for fishing the artificial reefs.

Fresh dead squid for the day’s fishing.


Now…Onto the Fishing!
You’ve got all the necessary gear…now you’re ready for the fishing! Your trip will begin with a stop at the bait receiver to pick up sardines or live squid. The sardines aren’t useless, as the captain may want to try a halibut drift and halibut do live in between these artificial reefs, so bring some torpedo sinkers and hooks just in case. If the receiver does not have live squid, it is possible that you will get it off a boat, but most likely, the crew will already have a batch of squid from the freezer that will work very well for the bass. I would have a squid catcher in your box just in case for the off chance you will be snagging squid. Anyways with the bait all ready, time to fish!

En route to your first location, it’s time to tie up your rigs! Any knot will work fine, but you may want to double up your line with a spider hitch or a uni-knot loop, but personally I would start with the regular knot, and switch over if you need to.

The captain will meter around the reef he wants to fish. Sometimes, there will be two reefs very close together, and he might anchor between them. Wait until the boat settles back before you cast your line in. Now here’s where the tricky part comes into play. These stones are relatively small, so you need to see where people are “hanging the rock”, and fish as close to you can to them, without pushing anyone out of their spot. The idea is to move around and locate the rock, because if you’re not in the rock, you’re not fishing. You need to work together to catch fish. Even if you’re not on the main part of the reef, you could be dropping on an edge that will have plenty of grumpy sand bass. Wherever the reef may be relative to the boat, you may have to make a long cast, a lob cast, or drop straight down – look around you and see where people are feeling the rock.

Next, let’s talk about the annoying perch. There are a ton of blacksmith perch on these reefs. They are actually great eating, so if you want to load up, drop a couple of small hooks with small squid strips, and have at it. However, if you want to catch a bass, ignore them. Let them peck away at your bait, because they will get the bass’ attention. This next step is the hardest thing about structure sand bass fishing – differentiating between a perch bite and a bass bite. The perch bite will be a continuous pecking action that will not put a load on the rod. A bass bite will have either a thumping or larger pecking action. Believe me, once you get the hang of it, you will know the difference between a perch bite and a bass bite.

When your bait is in the structure, you will get hung up sometimes. Don’t drive your leadhead into the rock, just loosen the line a tad, and give the rod a couple of popping motions, and you should be okay. Don’t fret if you lose the leadhead, it’s all a part of the game – in other words, if you’re sending down a favorite lure, have more of that favorite lure on hand! Most of the time that popping motion will work – just remember not to drive the hook into the rock.

Well, you were patient and you finally got a bass bite! Don’t think about it, you need to react fast to get that bass up many crucial feet out of the rocks. Sometimes, it takes falling into a crevice of the rock to get bit, so you absolutely need ninja-like reflexes. When you get that bite, swing and wind quickly at the same time. If you feel the fish but you also feel the rock, keep winding, because your line may be all frayed, but you can still get the fish up. Don’t delay, just keep winding until you get the fish out of the rocks, and you’re all clear, but it is still important to have a nice steady wind, because you don’t want a weak point in the line to fail on the way up. Once you get the fish up, you may notice that several feet of line are completely frayed. Even if you feel the smallest fray, don’t think you can get away with that – retie! It will be worth it in the long run and you will have a much better chance on the next fish.

Sometimes, a small calico or even a big sand bass might come out of its hole and hit you right before you hit the bottom. Pay close attention and keep your line taut, and you will be richly rewarded!

Good times will be had by all while fishing the stones.

Everybody working together and fishing hard at the rail.

Author working the structure.

Grumpy Sand Bass
These homeguard sand bass sure know every nook and cranny of their home, and they know where to go once they have their food. If you wait too long, the bass will wedge itself in the rock by flaring out its gills, much like you see them do when they lay on the deck. If you feel the rock rubbing against them as you pull them from the rocks, you will probably notice many scratch marks on them – well, you know why. Once you get them out of the rocks, just a slow, steady wind is sufficient.

Mike with a big grumpy sand bass caught in March 2010.

Author with two nice sand bass caught in December 2009.

Carlos with a group of big sandies.

Juan and Larissa with some nice grumpy sand bass.

Steve and Morgon with a nice big sand bass.

Chak with a nice sand bass caught on a mogambo grub.

Terry with another nice sand bass.

Ray with a couple sand bass caught in February 2010.

Bounty of sand bass for a day’s fishing.

Morgon and Carlos with the jackpot weigh in. A big sand bass will more often than not take the jackpot for the day.

Calicos
Calico bass abound these reefs also. Most of them are shorts, but quite a few nice ones live mixed in with the plentiful sand bass. As previously stated, you will find that they will be willing to hit a bait on the way down. Not much to say about these guys, but any calico over three pounds is suggested to be released for the future of these fine game fish.

Larissa with a nice calico bass caught in December 2007.

Oz with a nice calico bass caught in January 2008.

Kenny Mac with a nice calico bass caught in January 2006.

Pulling the Trigger – The Elusive Triggerfish
While not as common as catching bass on these reefs, there are quite a few triggerfish in these reefs that put up a great fight and are great to eat. Triggerfish will bite your bait like a big perch. You will feel a series of big taps, and once your rod loads up, set the hook, and keep winding like normal. They come in with a pretty erratic pattern, but don’t worry and keep winding until they are to the boat. These triggers range from just bigger than your hand to trash can lid sized. If you miss a trigger, you will know it because your mogambo tail might be missing – that’s definitely a triggerfish bite. As previously said, triggerfish are great eating. If you pan fry them, cook them just like you would a pork chop, or if you like ceviche, they are great fare for that.

Jason with a nice triggerfish caught in October 2008. This fish won both the jackpot and the BBFC side bet.

Watch out! These triggers have some serious teeth, so don’t get too close!

Author with a nice triggerfish caught in February 2009.

About the smallest you will see a triggerfish caught.

Juan with a nice triggerfish caught in December 2007.

Other Species of Fish in these Reefs
There are many other species that live in these reefs. There are quite a few sculpin that make the stones their home, and quite a few are economy sized. There are also cabazon, which are great eating and known for their flaky texture. Sheephead also are residents, and if they are in season, bring some shrimp and try for some sheephead. You might even catch a halibut in between the reefs – you never know! When you drop your bait down, you won’t necessarily catch a bass, and that’s the best thing about saltwater fishing.

Nice sheephead caught in December 2009. This big goat weighed in at 13 pounds.

Another nice sheephead caught in December 2009.

Author with a nice cabazon caught in December 2009.

There are some days where you might be able to catch a few great eating sculpin on these reefs in addition to some bass.

Little cabby caught in January 2010.

Walter and Morgon with a nice cabazon caught in November 2007.

Halibut can be caught right beside the bass while fishing the stones.

In Conclusion…
The author is not liable for chronic frustration as a result from readers fishing the artificial reefs. In all seriousness, this fishing may frustrate you, but I know that you will love it. There will be days where you get your limit no problem, days where fishing might be scratchy, or days where you might lose eight fish in a row…just fish and let learn from your mistakes! No fisherman is perfect at this kind of fishing, so learn what you can, watch others, and you will succeed. Remember to look to see where the rock is located, have fast reflexes, and above all, HAVE FUN!!!

With school starting on February 1st I wanted to get out one more time. Got invited by Jimmy Bass (you can read his report here) who also posts reports on FishingNetwork.net to go out of Redondo Sportfishing on the Tradition on a Saturday Bass / Structure fishing trip. I had not been out of Redondo for about a year (did a sculpin run on the Betty G a year ago) and after reading all of Jimmy’s posts for the past few months wanted to get out on Tradition and fish with him. Worked out great, so I packed up my stuff Friday night and headed down to Redondo on Saturday morning.

Got down to the landing around 5:15am and picked up my tickets at the shop and went over to the marina where the Tradition is docked. Noticed right away that the Saturday run has a big group of regulars that Jimmy is part of. Looked like it was a good group of guys to fish with. Total of 12 guys went out, deckhand came on up and started taking tickets and we left the dock right on time at 6pm.

The sun came up and we were treated to a beautiful sunrise right off LAX.

From 29th Trip: 3/4 Day Tradition Bass Fishing Trip

Jimmy had emailed me earlier in the week telling me to pick up a bunch of 2oz leadheads and to put 25lb test on my reels before coming out. I’ve done some structure fishing out of Long Beach and LA before but nothing like we did today. I ended up bringing my Penn Squidder 146 with new 20lb, and my Newell S229-5 also with 20lb (I had just put on new line so I opted to go a little lighter). Good news was I did not get cut off the whole day, other than when I snagged the rock and had to break off. I brought my Calstar and a new rod I just purchased, a Okuma Baidarka Kayak Rod BK-S-761M which I got for $44 at Turners. I bought the Okuma because of the two rods we lost in December going overboard (read about it here and here). This one floats so I feel better letting my friends borrow it and my 6 year old son can use it as well. Rigged up both with just a leadhead 2oz and waited out the ride as we went from Redondo to the Pacific Palisades area. I fished the whole day with just a straight leadhead with a whole dead squid. I did notice that most of the regulars were fishing with a green plastic as well, I had some stuff in my bag but I decided to keep it simple all day.

From 29th Trip: 3/4 Day Tradition Bass Fishing Trip

We used frozen whole squid the whole day.

From 29th Trip: 3/4 Day Tradition Bass Fishing Trip

From 29th Trip: 3/4 Day Tradition Bass Fishing Trip

From 29th Trip: 3/4 Day Tradition Bass Fishing Trip

From 29th Trip: 3/4 Day Tradition Bass Fishing Trip

First stop the grumpy sand bass started to come over the side. Learned with the structure fishing that once someone found the rock you moved to that side. I’ll be honest, I did not do this all the time or ended up on the edge of the rock at most of the spots. Which means I did miss some opportunities, but it I still brought in fish. Got 3 just short calicos on this stop which all went back home, some big sand bass came aboard as well. The blacksmith perch were all over the bait at most stops, I ended up snagging 4 of them over the day which I threw back as well.

Second stop I ended up on the rock right away and pulled up 2 nice sand bass, and farmed a few as well. They hit hard and if you are not paying attention or miss its over. Go a nice sculpin on this stop as well. Every stop we had the fish would start up, then slow down and die off. We ended up moving about 5 times all day.

Jimmy working the structure.

From 29th Trip: 3/4 Day Tradition Bass Fishing Trip

Beautiful day in the Santa Monica Bay.

From 29th Trip: 3/4 Day Tradition Bass Fishing Trip

At the last stop I pulled up another nice sand bass and another sculpin.

From 29th Trip: 3/4 Day Tradition Bass Fishing Trip

I also got my first cabazon in a long time. Beautiful fish which was released, photos never do them justice.

From 29th Trip: 3/4 Day Tradition Bass Fishing Trip

Like this all day

From 29th Trip: 3/4 Day Tradition Bass Fishing Trip

Captain rolled it up around 2:30pm to get back to the dock at 4pm. Jimmy worked till the very end, got his limit after the anchor was pulled. A happy Jimmy at the end of the day.

From 29th Trip: 3/4 Day Tradition Bass Fishing Trip

Jackpot was called, a nice big sand bass caught by one of the regulars. Group shot by Jimmy.

From 29th Trip: 3/4 Day Tradition Bass Fishing Trip

Here was my take for the day.

From 29th Trip: 3/4 Day Tradition Bass Fishing Trip

From 29th Trip: 3/4 Day Tradition Bass Fishing Trip

Had a blast out there, crew and boat were great and the fishing was a challenge, unlike the summer sand bass runs off the Huntington Flats. All the fish were quality bass, big dark and rich colors. I could have landed a few more fish, but I learned a lot from everyone and l really look forward to doing this again before the bottom fishing season opens up in March. I’d also like to thank Jimmy for getting me to go out and try it!

My totals for the day

3 Sand Bass (kept)
3 Calico Bass (released)
1 Cabazon (released)
2 Sculpin (kept)
4 Blacksmith Perch (released)

Boat totals for the day
12 anglers
8 Calico Bass
68 SandBass
8 Sculpin
20 Perch

Everything cleaned up and ready for the freezer…

From 29th Trip: 3/4 Day Tradition Bass Fishing Trip

From 29th Trip: 3/4 Day Tradition Bass Fishing Trip