Santa Barbara Calicos & Sandbass

It's raining and stormy here so no fishing or surfing today, so I thought I'd report on yesterdays fishing session just in case any of you guys find yourself in this area ready to fish.  I launched my kayak from Summerland beach at about 8:00 AM, trying to get the calm before the storm.  A south east wind was forcast for later in the day.  The water was glassy for the half hour paddle to the spot I call the Rockpile.  I started drifting using swim baits and my new Seeker rod.  The bite was slow at first, but picked up after an hour or so.  I started getting light bites that later turned into good hook ups.  I caught several Calico Bass and a nice Sand Bass.  About 11:30 the south east wind kicked up and was at my back for an easy paddle back to the launch site.  Since we just ate the last fish from the summer fishing season, I kept a Calico and the Sand Bass.  They were both about sixteen inches, not a big deal, but just right for a couple of fish dinners for my wife and me.

Nice brace of bass Jim, & nice custom rod too!

Nice catches!  Thanks for the report and picture Jim.

Boy do I miss So-Cal
Thanks for the report and pic.

thanks for the report and pics jim, what seeker rod is that, my uncle is handing down the black steel g870 to me, was wondering how you like it, and what reel you have matched to it, thanks cameron

Very nice - love it down there!  Wish I was more into fishing when I was at UCSB in the mid '80!  Had other things on my mind...

Man I miss those days of catching calicos and sandies... Awesome job getting out before the storm and scoring some fare.  My mom lives in the SY valley and the next time I visit I will definitely be bringing the yaks, we tried fishing Cachuma last summer but they do not allow kayaks on the lake...   Thanks again for the report!

-Patrick

Nice!

Another Seeker fan/owner here as well.   

Nice report.  What color swimbaits and what weight heads were you using?  Thanks Andy

Very nice - love it down there!  Wish I was more into fishing when I was at UCSB in the mid '80!  Had other things on my mind...

Like beautiful women?

thanks for the report and pics jim, what seeker rod is that, my uncle is handing down the black steel g870 to me, was wondering how you like it, and what reel you have matched to it, thanks cameron

I like it a lot.  It's a Seeker CLB 704 7' composite rod rated 10 to 25#.  It's graphite in the butt section mated to fiberglass in the tip section.  At the local tackle shops suggestion (Hook Line and Sinker), I cut 3 inches off of the tip and three inches off the butt to accomodate a little heavier line for bounce balling.  The result is a stiff butt end section with a very flexible, durable and strong tip section.  It's very easy to tell when your sinker/lure/swimbait hits the bottom.  I wrapped it myself with Fiji guides and reel seat.  Yesterday I was using an Avet MXL reel loaded with 50# Spectra and a long 30# mono topshot, but I think an Avet SX would probably work as well or better with 20# mono.  I like Cal Star and Seeker  rods with Avet reels.  (I keep my rods and reels inside the kayak when launching and landing.)

Nice report.  What color swimbaits and what weight heads were you using?  Thanks Andy

White fishtrap w/3/4 oz heads, two oz. rootbeer Tora Tubes, and three oz. orange Mogambos as the wind picked up and the drift got faster.

cool, thanks jim

Thanks for the pics.. Makes me wish I lived back down in SD .. Until I remember the traffic . Glad to see some people dont think calicos as a glorified rockfish ...

Nice catch.  I lived in Ventura about twenty years ago and used to go on twilight fishing trips out of Hueneme Sport Fishing.  We always caught limits of Calicos and Sand Bass, just North of Ventura, fly-lining anchovies.  That's a great place to fish.  It's good to hear the Calicos and Sandies are still out there.

Thanks Jim