Bring on the Reports!

evanluck

Well-Known Member
#1
Weather is warming up. Time to go fishing! Almost all reports are helpful to at least some people.

Don't need to be fancy. Just: where you were, how long did you fish, what bait did you use, what did you catch, what did you see other people catching.

Excited to see more reports. Even skunk outings can convey useful information!
 
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evanluck

Well-Known Member
#4
i've been skunking at my spot where i have a view of the city and two marinas.. i need to find a new spot
Must be a stunning view from your spot! As someone who has fished very little from shore other than piers and jetties, I'm wondering how you chose your spot and the luck that you've had there in the past that made you stick with it?

Inquiring minds want to know.
 

pinfish

Well-Known Member
#5
Must be a stunning view from your spot! As someone who has fished very little from shore other than piers and jetties, I'm wondering how you chose your spot and the luck that you've had there in the past that made you stick with it?

Inquiring minds want to know.
I choose areas where water is coming in or coming out. Like an inlet. Or around the curve of point of land or under a bridge. Or and area where the deep part transitions to the shallow part. Then I try to fish around the peaks of tides when the water is moving and when the water is clearer. When tides are not too strong or not too dead.

So if I get to a new spot I either stay there and fan cast to cover all areas and wait for the fish to come by. Or I cast left right middle then move down and try again. Usually if you find a school (of stripers), you will get hit when you first find them. If you are there for 15 minutes then you either stay longer or move on.

The reason I "have a favorite spot" is when more often than not, I catch multiple fish in one session repeatedly. Other factors are easy to get to, and if I like the area in general. I have another reliable spot but I don't like going there too often because I have to navigate through a sketchy neighborhood, lots of homeless people, tweakers and googans. I also had another area where I saw mountain lions prints in the mud and I never went back (5 years and counting... lol)

I have to add another prerequisite: its a spot because I found it and its new (to me). Usually not well known.
 
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#9
EAST BAY
Thursday 2021-04-08
Sunrise 6:43 PDT, Sunset 19:39 PDT
Moonrise 5:31 PDT, Moonset 16:33 PDT
Low Tide: 4:40 PDT 1.8
High Tide: 10:24 PDT 5.3
Low Tide: 16:52 PDT 0.1


Thursday morning (4/8/21) near the top of the tide. Light breeze and occasional gusts to 8kph. Cloudy.
18" striped bass
4" White Pearl Big Hammer Swimbait on 1oz leadhead
10# mono line (never go higher in the Bay)
Light rod, one piece, used to be an Ugly Stik but I replaced the tip and the guides. (Recycled some loser's discarded braid to wrap the guides. Win Win.)


Good fight on lightish gear. But I was targeting halibut and the striper was released. No pictures because I do not photograph a fish unless it's kept.
 
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#10
My mini-report:

East Bay
Whole first week of April


I've been fishing a spot that doesn't actually receive too much fishing pressure and have been targeting hali with a drop shot and either a white pearl Zoom Fluke or a Keitech. 1/0s Owner worm hooks on the dropshot and a torpedo or other drop shot weight. Mono, spinning reel.

The week has been good. I've caught more halibut this past week than I caught all last year, and drop shot is a new technique I'm learning. It's fun to imagine what's going on underneath the water as the halibut ambush the bait and then take their second bite, and I'm slowly learning when to set the hook and how to keep them calm as possible so they don't shake the hook off. No keepers (ranging from ~10-19") but a lot of fun. I'm starting to have a strong preference for lures. I spent way too much time last year trying to get lucky on hali with dead frozen bait, and wasn't able to catch any even when I did have live bait, be it smelt, shiners, or anchovies at times. I've been fishing around the peak of the hi but also the start of the incoming and the peak of the low, feeling out to see how the tides impact this spot. I'm hoping that this is a good sign for the rest of the year.

I did have an annoying experience when I asked for help on a net job with a hali on the line. Unfortunately, the hali broke off, and I announced it aloud to waive the help. "Sure it did", a nearby angler said, mocking me as if I hadn't hooked onto anything. He proceeded to joke out loud to his friends for the next bit of time about "make sure your net is ready!" and other asides to his friends, but very loudly as I could tell he wanted me to overhear them. Lesson learned, I need to just rely on myself for the net job.

I really don't understand that attitude and bad intentions, but I got the last laugh when I did end up bringing up another halibut and he skunked without a bite. I walked by him proudly when I left. He wasn't talking smack then.