Awesome day at Fort Ross 9-17-08

Hello Everyone,

Short and sweet this time I promise. Met up with hightide and Roly (future NCKA
member) Malibu2,and Dale L at Fort Ross this morning. Water was super nice and
the swell was between 2-3 ft. I made sure this time around to take some dramamine. Immediately had a fish on one after another. Came home with nine
various types of rock fish. Had to leave early to pickup my children from school. I
hope hightide post the pictures he took. I have a question to you folks that
fish Fort Ross often? I had five big fish on and each time my like broke because
the fish was apparently too big. I swear it was not kelp. As I jig up and down, I
would have a fish on and immediately it would dive real deep and then it would
just sit there like  a log. Everytime I gain a foot,he would take six feet back
and each time everynow and then, he would give me a little slay ride for about
ten to twenty feet. I am dying to know what that fish was?

Jedmo

most likely you caught the bottom and wave action and you reeling back made you think you had a fish on.

sometimes you do get rocked by a fish, but it's more common to get rocked by a rock, 

Thanks for the great report - looking forward to the followups. 

You could've had some big lingcod on, Jed.  What pound test are you using?  Go with 20 or 25 and maybe an even bigger leader.  When I first started fishing from the rocks in really good spots I got broke off by a few lings, rays, halibut?...etc.!  So the gear gets refined - knots always best quality (CHECKED!), always check for frayed leaders or bent snap swivels..etc.  Keep improving your technique until you get whatever it is that you're hooking.   

And if you did hook the rocks, at least you were where you needed to be to catch a fish too.  (reel up a few turns at least!   )

Big thanks Abking. I was using a 20lb test mono. It's funny because you had to be
there to see the reaction on my face when I hooked on to those huge fish. Rolly
actually had a big fish on too like  mine was and he was drag at least 300 yards from
where he caught the fish and he lost it because of the swivel

Jed

Thanks for the report Jed!


BTW - I will be bringing that 10 cell battery holder to Still Water on Saturday for you.


 

most likely you caught the bottom and wave action and you reeling back made you think you had a fish on.

sometimes you do get rocked by a fish, but it's more common to get rocked by a rock, 

The same thing has happened to me a few times and I am sure this was the explanation. I did get very excited at first tho!

I'll tell ya, I've lost my share of sturdy lings as a result of using light tackle. I started out with 17lb test mono 5 years ago and have gone up to 40lb braid now. I use a 25lb mono leader & I still had one rock me & break off this season. Only the one though, as opposed to 4-5 a few seasons ago.
So, although it may have been a little terra aqua you were onto, I'll go with the imagination that it was giant lings messing with you
Glad you guys had fun out there!

Rock vs big fish...my two cents:

You say it happened maybe five times. Getting a big ling, say over ten pounds, large enough to make a run or two, and perhaps break your line might happen once or twice in a great day of fishing. Five times makes me think something else is going on. I think you're getting hung up on reef or rock. If you're fishing iron and losing lures, try replacing treble hooks with some good quality single hooks. And if you're fouled on the bottom, try geeting just a bit of slack in the line, and bouncing your rod up and down, often you can free it. Another option is to loosen your drag, and paddle upcurrent a ways, changing the angle you're pulling from. When all else fails, get right over your line, wind down hard on it, and let the swell lift you and your boat, breaking the line. Doesn't work in glassy conditions, but you want to avoid using rour rod to break the line. It's a bit risky, both for you and your equipment.

Then again, maybe there were lots of big fish, what do I know?

It's tough to tell...  I've had times when I was sure I was snagged and it turned out to be a fish, and other times it's the other way around, (must be a BIG one!!, followed by Oh I knew it was a snag all along...  what are you guys looking at?)  And I think sometimes they grab it as soon as you free a snag. 

My biggest ling went under a rock, I could feel my line grating back and forth as the fish pulled...  I gave some slack and it came loose eventually.  I was lucky.

Sometimes there's just nothing you can do.

I'll tell ya, I've lost my share of sturdy lings as a result of using light tackle. I started out with 17lb test mono 5 years ago and have gone up to 40lb braid now. I use a 25lb mono leader & I still had one rock me & break off this season. Only the one though, as opposed to 4-5 a few seasons ago.
So, although it may have been a little terra aqua you were onto, I'll go with the imagination that it was giant lings messing with you
Glad you guys had fun out there!

I piss on "sporty" when it comes to lings and cabs. Gimme 50 lb braid, 40-50 lb fluoro or hybrid leaders, and rods/reels that have literally lifted fish of 50-75 lbs. Add an 8 oz jig head and a 12-18" Greenling, and call me happy

I blame it all on that monster Linda Mar fish that rocked me like I was using bluegill gear...

And I think sometimes they grab it as soon as you free a snag.

I know that lings will grab a jig when it get's free from a snag.

Regards,
Scott

   Maybe it's the seal that was messing with and finally took my descender. I think he/she was doing it for sport.

Great to see you guys get a calm day on the big blue and catch some nice fish.......

sometimes you do get rocked by a fish, but it's more common to get rocked by a rock, 

Yea tell me about it.


-Brian G

Here are some pictures I took from the Fort Ross trip.

I'll tell ya, I've lost my share of sturdy lings as a result of using light tackle. I started out with 17lb test mono 5 years ago and have gone up to 40lb braid now. I use a 25lb mono leader & I still had one rock me & break off this season. Only the one though, as opposed to 4-5 a few seasons ago.
So, although it may have been a little terra aqua you were onto, I'll go with the imagination that it was giant lings messing with you
Glad you guys had fun out there!

Sean, this is on your bigger outfit? Breaking 30lb takes some serious effort (assuming it is not abraded), so moving from 30 to 40lb just means you get a less vertical angle on your drift. Also, if this is your abu, your drag will give way before the 30lb braid breaks. if it is your penn, that might make sense but then you might as well bump up to 35 lb (blackwater makes some) or 40lb or even 50lb or 60lb leader.

I do use 40lb leader with 30lb mainline braid a lot at a spot like the bean because I don't like to retie very much and fish and rocks do cause abrasion which knocks the breaking strength of the leader down below the mainline pretty quickly.

John

Sean, this is on your bigger outfit? Breaking 30lb takes some serious effort (assuming it is not abraded), so moving from 30 to 40lb just means you get a less vertical angle on your drift.

John,

It is my hypothesis (born out by empirical results so far) that when using braid, line diameter doesn't make much of a difference in line angle when drifting. I get functionally identical angles whether using 20 or 65 lb braid. What seems to make the most difference is lure hydrodynamics, and just how closely I'm holding bottom. Keep whacking the jig on the rocks to draw in fish, and it's has a major effect on the horizontal component of line angle.

Scott