Sat. at the Bean 8/9

A crew of six hit the water at the crack of dawn, and finally, no surf to time or bust through!! Easy entrance on and off the water. The fishing, although not a wide open bite, was encouraging. Walker and I were the last off the water with only Sean still on the beach, so I didn't see what all was caught, but I think everyone went home with fish and a smile. In addition to some rockies I C&R an underling while Walker C&R a "microling" (a 5" ling that he snagged). We were visited by a party boat (the Queen of Hearts) that worked along the shore between the Bean and the lighthouse. I was surprised to see the boat in so close, at one point she had her bow right up to the entrance of the Hollow. I will leave it for others to add on how it was for them. I sure enjoyed it!

Wow, you can get a post up fast Rocketman, now I know where the ncka handle comes from
It was a good time out there for me today, all in all.
I'm getting the hang of this whole fishfinder thing, so I could somewhat accurately find structure. First off I lost 2 jigs to the rocks, one right after the other I was bummed, but then I caught and released a couple of nice cabbies, both about 20". Just before 8am I got snagged again  , but this time when I pull, the snag comes up a little, then pulls back "fish on", for as long as it took the bruiser ling to figure out it was hooked and bust for the bottom. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzt, and I'm thinking, "man, this is a good fish, hope it doesn't rock m....." and "ping" goes the 25lb test leader . When I pulled it up the last 10" or so looked like someone had been at it with rasp it was so abraded. Losing the fish didn't help my fishing confidence, BUT the fish you lose is always inspiring, so I re-tied, this time with a green scampi (having now lost all my white ones). Another 2 hours go by with little action, then I caught an underling, about 20".
By 10:00 I'm getting a little bored, and the wind is picking up, making the drift just about "PITA" speed. So I paddle inside to stow my stuff. I can see Colin heading in, Steve and Walker are way outside, and Chris is drifting in close. In the past there is a little stretch in there where I've caught fish, so I paddle over and drop the jig down.
Doink! A gopher. Oh well, it's a cute little guy. I drop again.
BAM! A Cab, this one is 21.5 and goes in the bag for dinner. OK, I'm done now.
I drop the jig in while I reach to close up my FF screen and BAM, and this guy is taking a little line. Turns out to be a 29" Ling. Bonk, & in the bag he goes. He takes one of the scampi tails with him.
Now I'm beginning to think something is happening down there in that 38 feet of turquoise water. So I drop again, with my now single tailed jig. I deadstick the rod to reach for the FF screen and it goes bendo right away, and THIS fish is taking line too! A twin of the 29"er comes up. I put it in the sack, and stop put my stuff away. It's now 10:12 and I am stoked.
It felt like things were just lighting up, but the tankwell was full of fish. My timing was good in that I got to see Chris & Colin before they left, & I was on the beach just long enough to see Steve & Walker come in. Walker had a beauty of a Copper on his stringer.
Yep, it was a good day at Bean today.

Great reporting, Guys.  Sounds like a great day.   

     Beautiful picture of the launch site. Nice to see everyone got on the fish.

Nice job guys. Glad to see you got into some fish.
I have never been to the Bean before but those pics sure make me want to make the trip.

I have never been to the Bean before but those pics sure make me want to make the trip.

Mike, Walker and I would really enjoy a morning on the water with you out at the Bean, anytime.

That last picture is a little deceiving, makes it look tropical. In fact it was more on the drizzly side until we got back on shore and then the sun came out and the water took on some really nice color.

Thanks for the BH update.  Good to hear that conditions were mild, everyone launched and landed safely and you got into some fish.

Did anyone use the north cove to enter/exit or did you guys use the main beach?  From the picture it looks like that cove is doable.

Sean, I can't believe you never used a FF until now.   It sounds like the fish have come into the shallow water and are hanging out in the BH structures.  Funny how the BH "snags" sometimes come alive.  Did you happen to remember what the water temperature was?  When we went out about 5 weeks ago it was only about 53 F and the fishing was very slow.

For those of you that haven't fished the bean, when its on its real good but be careful that you don't let the winds blow you too far south.  Also you Hobie guys, leave your fins at home because the landlord likes to taste yaks with fins.

Gary

Did you happen to remember what the water temperature was?  When we went out about 5 weeks ago it was only about 53 F and the fishing was very slow.

Gary, two weeks ago when I was out I had readings of 50 degrees and the time before that 49, yesterday I was seeing 53. It has warmed and the bite has improved. Our FF/temp readings are a few degrees off from each other which is ok, the trend in temp is what matters and it is warmer than before.

Did anyone use the north cove to enter/exit or did you guys use the main beach?

main beach, north side

be careful that you don't let the winds blow you too far south.

yeah, that's a potential problem, but next time out that is the area I plan to target. Walker and I covered a lot on the north side yesterday and then did a long drift to the south and got into some interesting structure, we both agreed that we wanted to explore that area more. Worst case we would come in around the south side of the lighthouse and then Walker would jog back and get the car. As it was yesterday when we paddled back the wind was just starting to to blow the tops off the chop (11-13 knots?) and it wasn't too hard.

your bean hollow photo is excellent.  and yes it does look tropical.  when i drive there with the heat on in my truck  it reminds me of hawaii!
it was a good day of fishing for me;
3 cabs to 22"-kept one
1 big copper-released
1 huge grass? - so big and perfect looking i let it go also!
4 blacks-released
only fished about 3 hrs, then back home for a good nap

the wind can be fierce, drifting to pigeon and sending walker back for the van is a good idea

Sean, I can't believe you never used a FF until now. 

I know, I'm evolving!

I marked the water temp @ 52.

Yeah, that last photo of the beach is great. I can almost taste the mai tais and smell the plumeria blossoms!

Got a stringer picture of the cabbie and two lings? Thats a lot of fish.

good work all and especially sean since he's certainly bided his time this season and tried a few times before having a nice double ling and cabby payoff.  FF is especially fun @ the bean because the structure is so crazy there.

Now you have a FF you can find the snags, Sean!!!

Those first two 20" cabs must have been the two I released Friday.  Congrats on the Ling/Cab limit!  That's some good eats.

FWIW, I kept and ate a grass rockfish friday, not the best tasting fish I've had.

Laura & I grilled the Cab I caught that afternoon, with a side dish of homegrown squash and onions and grilled corn on the cob. Tastes like summer!

Sorry Bambora, I have a pic of the fish, but when I try to post it I get denied. I think the camera res was set too high for our overloaded server. I reset the pic size & res and was able to post, so next time...

Nice going, Sean!  I just saw the pics from Laura.  Those are good looking lings.  I'm glad the Hollow is starting to pump out some good fish for you guys.
I like that picture of Bean Hollow.  It certainly doesn't resemble the cold, damp overcast mornings that I've experienced there.

Jim