It was an early morning minus tide when I started fishing. The spot I had in mind can only be reached at a minus tide and requires a lot of careful climbing to get out to a fishing spot. Also, the calmer the water, the longer you can stay out there because you can easily be swept off the rocks when the tide comes in. The conditions have to be just right to fish in this spot. And they were.
On the second cast, I got a good hit and run. I reeled down on my slack and got a good hook set which means the fish stayed on while I pulled it through the kelp, rocks and all the obstacles. It turned out to be a 15” grass rockfish. Every time I cast out, that’s what I want to catch.
I fished for another half hour and got fish number two. Every now and then, one of these swim by and I get lucky (and the fish, not so lucky). It was a 24 1/2” ling cod.
At low tide, there is a lot of kelp you have to pull your fish through. The kelp is laying down as opposed to at high tide when the kelp is all floating upward. You need to wait for the waves to help you use the water to pull the fish through the kelp.
I had plenty of fish for the week, just fishing for about an hour. That doesn’t happen very often. So I called it a day - a very good day. And, by the time I got all my gear together and bled the fish, I had to get off the rocks anyway or be washed off.
Both fish were caught on fresh smelt. The ling was caught casting half-way out and the grassie, casting out far.
We got several good meals from these fish. This was one of them....
A rockfish “po boy” with spicy fries and fresh mango.
Another beautiful day on the Central Coast.
On the second cast, I got a good hit and run. I reeled down on my slack and got a good hook set which means the fish stayed on while I pulled it through the kelp, rocks and all the obstacles. It turned out to be a 15” grass rockfish. Every time I cast out, that’s what I want to catch.
I fished for another half hour and got fish number two. Every now and then, one of these swim by and I get lucky (and the fish, not so lucky). It was a 24 1/2” ling cod.
At low tide, there is a lot of kelp you have to pull your fish through. The kelp is laying down as opposed to at high tide when the kelp is all floating upward. You need to wait for the waves to help you use the water to pull the fish through the kelp.
I had plenty of fish for the week, just fishing for about an hour. That doesn’t happen very often. So I called it a day - a very good day. And, by the time I got all my gear together and bled the fish, I had to get off the rocks anyway or be washed off.
Both fish were caught on fresh smelt. The ling was caught casting half-way out and the grassie, casting out far.
We got several good meals from these fish. This was one of them....
A rockfish “po boy” with spicy fries and fresh mango.
Another beautiful day on the Central Coast.
