I haven't run my boat in a month, and it needed to burn off some of that old fuel. It was supposed to be hot as hell at the house, so a quick bonito run was going to be my morning excitement.
I wasn't sure where the bones were, but I knew the 1/2 day was on them, so I figured LJ was the place to be. I get to the ramp and could see the fog, but it wasn't foggy where I was. As I putted down the pass, I entered the thick fog. f@ck... impossible to see.
(https://i.imgur.com/GlFHbjv.jpeg)
I almost got run into by a few boats coming out of Dana and realized just because you have electronics like radar, doesn't mean you know how to use it.
This was going to suck as it just kept getting worse and the radio chatter was like it got worse the further you got out.
As I turned the jetty, I figured just slow troll my deep diving lure to see if I could find some sort of gamefish.
(https://i.imgur.com/D5XimyP.jpeg)
Water was clean with some occasional grass. 64.8 degrees... and did I mention foggy?
(https://i.imgur.com/sOTyRCN.jpeg)
I had about 3 boats run right up on my ass and almost cut off my trolling lure, so I just reeled it in and ran to LJ at a cruising speed.
Boats all over LJ popping out of the fog, but I metered no bait and saw no breaking fish. I trolled around for a while and saw my buddy bounce balling for halibut. I chatted a bit and decided to head out to my rockfish spot. All the bonito were at the 9-mile and I wasn't going to run all the way out there in the fog with no radar. Randy got a nice halibut, but I didn't have any bait at all and only brought minimal tackle. My shoulder, wrist and hand have been killing me and I really only planned to make a fast minimalistic trip and be back at the ramp by noon. Wishful thinking, but I wanted to stick to it.
I ran out to my rockfish spot and saw loads of marks on the bottom. First drop with the knife jig and I catch a greenspotted rockfish. About 10x smaller than my record one. lol. I was using the bass rod I bought off of Jeremy, so needed to break it in proper! St Croix Bass rod... I think it is the Mojo Bass, but he has electrical tape over the label.
Finally things started to clear out.
(https://i.imgur.com/FseGAKw.jpeg)
I caught a half dozen smaller critters on the 6 oz knife jig. The current was a problem, but I moved spot to spot until I found the bigguns.
In 4 drops I caught two legit Bocaccio...
(https://i.imgur.com/M1dFHkE.jpeg)
(https://i.imgur.com/f3vXLxq.jpeg)
and I also caught3 reds! I had to reel up so slow that the small one swam right back down and didn't get effected by getting reeled up. Funny, I say the small one, but it was still 2 pounds! The other was over 5 pounds! Double assist hooks and both got one!
I drop down one more time and Bam! Instant hook up! This one was 2.75# so a better upgrade than the one that swam back down.
(https://i.imgur.com/pIWfFBX.jpeg)
I literally left with my limit and got back to the ramp before noon! BUT HOLY HELL! It looked like the 4th of July in the bay! I get to the ramp and a guy fishing literally on the busy ramp said the traffic is backed up all the way to the 163 on the 8 and the 52... As I drove home, I can confirm the traffic jam of people getting to the beach! Shnikeys!
I got home to 100 degree heat and slowly cleaned the boat and fish. My hand is killing me and my shoulder is sore so it took a bit to finish up. I weighed the red and it is one of the biggest local reds I've caught! (Local meaning shorebound and not offshore)
(https://i.imgur.com/cfbWIjz.jpeg)
Anyway, Plan C was a success. Plan A (Bonito), Plan B (Yellows) were a total failure.
I get home to see a text from Randy... I guess I should have brought the halibut gear.
(https://i.imgur.com/mjbRQ3Y.jpeg)
Nice reds, good fallback plan. Too bad no bones but that fog looks and sounds pretty sketch.
I'm hesitating to go to the beach this weekend because of the fresh hot weather. The state beaches have absolutely insane lines in the summer here, I can't believe people will bother to sit in a line 100 cars deep.
Yes it's a Mojo Bass. 1-4oz, 7'10, MF action....great rockfish rod among many other things. I started a rule a few years ago for myself where if I wasn't at least given a rod for free, I wouldn't show the brand name. No free ads here!
That fog is sketchy even with Radar, just a weird feeling all around.
Glad you found some nice Reds !
Them Halibut look pretty nice too 8)