Rock Fish Lures or Bait

Don't over-think it - these are not trout. 

Swimbaits probably do give you the best chance of catching something - almost any fish will bite 'em.

On the other hand, this will also catch rockies and lings (and probably a halibut, too). That's an unpainted 3oz leadhead with a sliced up balloon stuck on it.

The Green Thing does work!

Ballons!!!!! Damn the low cost super skirt I've been looking for, never even thought about it.

Ballons!!!!! Damn the low cost super skirt I've been looking for, never even thought about it.

cheap, a variety of colors, & they're latex, which is pretty much biodegradable.
 
MattS posted this a couple years ago:  http://www.norcalkayakanglers.com/index.php/topic,21697.msg224096.html#msg224096

Dang didnt think of that, but now that I am maybe even a condum!!!! lol just kidding ir am I the fish on base will prob hit anything right now!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm certainly no expert, but when I fish inside kelp beds I've had great luck with P Line "Laser Minows". Actualy they work well everywhere I've tried them, but in kelp the are easy to descend and retrieve without getting snagged. I keep a selection from three to six onces depending on water conditions.


I really dig the balloon idea. I love low tech solutions.

maybe even a condum!!!!

A used condum would probably work best 
 
I'm mostly a swimbait user with shrimp fly above. The old style shrimp fly with red and yellow yarn / silver body or a rootbeer bass tube have worked best for me. In swim baits its been rootbeer twin tails or hammer style mostly with reddish coloration  The big cabbies seem to like red. Recently I've been going back to bait if the swimbaits don't produce. My last two trips out of MBK the fish were showing on the FF but not biting until I took the sabiki off my trout rod and went to a long leader carolina rig with a squid strip on a smaller hook. The big blacks seemed to really like that .