Nice fishes.

For rockfish I prefer to use a jighead with at least a 7/0 hook and at least a 6" swimbait.  I get very few fish that do not come unpinned easily and I can shake loose the short lings without having to handle them at all.

Neat Stuff.

Kencor Panga

Always do a radio check and fire up the GPS before launching.  Always mark the launch on the GPS. 

Pay special attention to the direction of the current versus the wind drift.  With small rock piles sometimes it is hard to drop down on the actual rocks if the current and wind are oposing each other.  You get blown into the end of the kelp stringer before you ever reach the rock it is attached to.  Sometimes the only option is to tie up to the kelp but I do not prefer to do this.  Also you might try a little deeper water if there is some structure.  I catch better quality fish in 100' of water.