Rpt Sun 11-01-09 SCI Reds, Lings and Bass

[tunaslam]

Fishing Sun. 11-01-09 with Dave Robinson on his 28' Farallon, “Hooked” with crew Nouri, and Jim, with our destination being San Clemente Island. We left Dave’s slip in Newport Beach at 5am, and did not get any bait, as the bait barge was closed.

Dave set a course for the East end of SCI, expecting to begin fishing on the backside between China and Lost Point. As we left the harbor, the sunrise was spectacular, and the seas were very calm.



The ride over was extremely pleasant, and we began fishing around 8:30 am. As we past Pyramid Cove, there were a couple of private boats fishing the kelp beds inside of Pyramid Head, no one was fishing the cove, or near the caves where there has been some good yellowtail fishing recently? Perhaps the bite was over early? We never saw a sport boat today, and only one other private boater. Water temps in the cove began the morning at 65 and rose to 67-68 by early afternoon.

Our first couple of drifts were uneventful, the current was strong, from west to east, which is normally a good sign. We caught mostly good sized Santa Marias and Starry’s, a few Green Stripes, a couple of Reds, and too many Bocaccio?

Although Dave couldn’t seem to keep those pesky Bocaccio off his Lucansus setup, he finally landed a couple of sweet Red Vermillion.




Dave made a few moves and we picked up more of the above, a better bite on the Vermillion, and added a few Lingcod for spice.

This is a 29” 8.5 lb. Lingcod I caught, Dave added a 24.5” Lingcod and later I caught a little larger Lingcod of 30” and 9.5 lbs., however, the pictures didn’t turn out for some reason? I caught both my Lings on white/red Ed’s Jigs.



Jim fished a Stinger Jig, and caught a few dandy Reds.



Nouri was fishing a Jax jig, as did I while alternating with different outfits. Here we are showing off some good sized Vermillion rockfish together.



Dave and Jim with more Reds.







Got a hail from Alex on their boat “Scorpio” also fishing SCI. Alex had just landed a 30 lb. Yellowtail fishing a dropper loop for rockfish, a nice surprise? Congrats Alex.

Before noon the conditions became so nice, you wanted to sit down, grab a cold beer and just take it all in. As the bite slowed with the reduced current, and having just reached limits on the rockfish, Dave moved us into shallower water to look for some other critters such as Whitefish, Sheephead, and Calico Bass. It was a real slow pick, as I continued to add to my variety list, having switched to a Lucanus rig, I caught a Sheephead, a blue bass, Johnny Bass, and this nice Copper rockfish.





Dave with a Copper rockfish.



A Copper and a Red



We finally caught a few whitefish, yet it was a really slow pick, trying a bunch of different spots, then called it a day at 3:30 pm.

The ride home was outstanding, and we slowed down a few miles off Newport to filet the fish.

A great sunset to end the day.



Thanks again Dave, another fantastic trip together.
Hook up!
Cory

Here are some great Calico Bass pic’s from several previous trips to SCI in Oct. when my computer was not able to connect to the internet. The fly lined sardine fishing for Cali’s was off the charts in several locations off the west end of SCI. The fish averaged 3-4 lbs. with a half dozen over 5 and a few more to 6.5 lbs. The colors of the Calico Bass were just awesome, full spawning mode?

Myself with a dandy Cali.





Dave with a Calico Bass.



Lal joins the fun.




Big Dave with Bass



Myself with a brute Calico Bass, and as dark as the kelp he was hiding in.



Dave and I





Nouri with a big’n.



Another good one for me.



Jim joining the party.



Lal again



A couple of more I caught.





Just a blast!