macks at SWC ( carmel ) 1-1-2012

late post.  Caught these with my dad at stillwater cove at the beginning of January...first time there.  Out around the outer rocks in about 100'.  Lots of hit and runs, but the mackerels were the most excitement to catch and even better to eat.

Thinking of launching from the Monterey CG pier area later this week with dad for some sand dabs and perhaps some squid. Last year when we fished cannery row for rockfish we saw some market-size squid come up chasing the rigs but they didn't bite. No sand dabs there either when we tried.  Saw a Molas that a seal lion was playing frisbee with...which was very interesting.

Anyone have any recommendations on where or coordinates close by we can try to for sand dabs?

thx
vesper
10yr and with a fishing dream.
Hobie sport - island chic

Dont know any good spots for sand dabs but Ive been wanting to fish for them for a while. Ill join you to fish later this week when you have a day picked if you dont mind. Search past forums for sandab reports there is also a how to with some spot mentions probably.

Wes

just aim at the red buoy and get out into 100 plus FOW for the dabs. Have not been out for them in a while but they are usually there

Nice Macks    Cant wait till they come back!    You wont find squid out there this time of year.  But like Eugene said, head out to the red buoy and drop down a sabiki loaded up with pieces of squid.  Haven't skunked yet on dabs in MBY!

You wont find squid out there this time of year.

In 2010 the squirts n bass blew up mid feb.......

Wow macks? Nice!!! Thanks for the report & info.
For dabs, I fish about 400yds NW of the red mile buoy, using a size 6 sabiki tipped w/squid tentacles. But it's a little cold for squid @ 54* right now. Also make sure to double-check the marine forecast before going out, it's supposed to be 6-8ft through the wknd.

Dont know any good spots for sand dabs but Ive been wanting to fish for them for a while. Search past forums for sandab reports there is also a how to with some spot mentions probably.

Wes

found one by Great Bass 2...


Here are some things I have found helpful when fishing for sand dabs:

Location
I have caught sand dabs at most locations on the California coast. You can find them in water as shallow as 30’ but they are in greater numbers in 100-300 FOW. They are usually on large flat sandy areas and can be caught year round. Monterey Bay and Half Moon Bay are good places to fish for them but any area where deep sandy bottom water is close to shore is good. Most of the common kayak rock fishing locations have sand dab spots within a short paddle. It seems that the farther south you fish, the deeper the water where the sand dabs are found. Out of San Pedro, the sand dab grounds are in 200-300 FOW compared to 100-200 FOW in NCAL. Finding them can sometimes be difficult. Start fishing in 100-150 FOW except at HMB where I would make a few drops inside the reef in 50-100 FOW. If you don't get bit after a minute or 2, move to another spot. You are looking for a congregation of fish and when you find one, you will get bit right away. When you locate a concentration of fish, use waypoints and the track function on your GPS to systematically cover the area which may be 100 yards or greater in diameter. Like other flatfish, the tides affect feeding activity with both sides of the tide being equally productive. Monterey Bay and Half Moon Bay are easy launch sites and have some protection from a west swell, however, the sand dab fishing areas are some distance from the launch and are more exposed so check the WX before you go and take all of the standard safety precautions.


vesper
10yr  and with a fishing dream.
Hobie sport - island chic

Nice the wife has been wanting me to smoke some of those macs for her. To be honest I can't stand the taste but she is all about it.

I fished an hour for sandab abut 2 weeks ago and they weren't in the red buoy zone. Well ok a silver dollar sized one was and the biggest star fish I have ever caught too. Usually I can easily catch dinner there in an hour. I believe I read on here that according to GB2 the cold water has them deeper than say the 130' of the red buoy. If I go again I will likely go out into much deeper water or just go to Moss Landing.

Thanks for all the suggestions. The weather doesn't look to good tomorrow ( Thursday ) so we are going out Moss Landing Friday.  Going for Sanddabs and hoping for some squid.