I need tips for Rock fish!

Here goes my first post!. A few months ago I discovered Kayak fishing. It looked so fun that within a week I bought a used OK caper, grabbed my crab nets, and set off in Linda Mar. I pulled up tons of big red rock crabs! This was amazing to me because I'm used to crabbing in fort point pier in San Francisco which can often be disappointing. As for fish, I grew up catching perch and stripers from the surf. Fishing in the water on the other hand is completely new to me.

I did a bunch of research on which fish are in season, how to catch them, size regulations, restricted species etc. This morning I took a rod and a few anchovy swimbaits I found at home and finally went out to target some rock cod and lings. I haven't invested in a fish finder yet so I just observed where others were fishing. I ended up near San Pedro Rock very close to shore. I dropped my line til it hit the bottom and jigged it for about 10 minutes. No bites and I was already getting lazy so I placed the rod in a holder while I decide on a better location. I started reeling the line back in and felt something heavy but just dead weight. I was thinking it was seaweed. As it was getting close to the surface I saw it was a fish and that fish started fighting. I almost had it out of the water but then I saw it spit out my lure and swim away. I realized I never set the hook! I paddled to a small kelp bed at the start of San Pedro Rock. There was a bunch of seal there staring at me. I casted right outside of the kelp and felt a big bite. I reel in a few cranks but seemed to have missed my opportunity. A few casts later I felt another bite and attempted to set the hook. Another miss. I ended up losing a few lures to snags and decided to call it quits. Clearly I need some practice and hopefully some valuable tips. So here are my questions.

How and when should I set the hook? Am I supposed to wait until the line gets heavy after a bite then set? Or set it as soon as I feel a bite? And how hard should the set be?

Also, I had two rods with me today but only had one line in the water at a time. I read somewhere that I'm allowed 1 line with 2 hooks when fishing for rock cod. Is this accurate?

Get a fishfinder (helps find structure) and keep doing what you were doing.  Sometimes they don't get hooked and are just hitchhiking on the bait.  Get a net so you can get the hitchhikers before they realize it.  One rod - two hooks(hook and lure, two lures).  Search this site for a lot of info.

Welcome Markware,

I'm hardly an expert on rockfish from a kayak, but you should probably give a solid hook set immediately if using an artificial (jig, shrimp fly, bar etc.) for rockfish and lings. Sometimes you even need to two arm it with a fast jerk when using bars, beefy jigs or when using a heavier fishing rod. I would imagine you might get away with taking a little more time with a swimbait - especially if it was scented.

Does your fishing rod have enough backbone (at least the butt section) for a good hook set? Did you get a look at that first fish before it came off?

And sometimes it's simply just one of those days.... You're just not connecting with whatever is hitting your lure.

   

Welcome.  Yes a fish finder with gps would be even better.  I have a lot of success finding a spot and then quickly marking it on the GPS.  After I mark it I drift over the spot five to ten times trying different techniques, colors, and lures.  I love fishing a mega bait in 4 or six  ounces.  Once you locate some structure and or fish drop it down on them and start pumping the bait up and let it flutter back down.  Snap the rod tip up and drop it down quick to let the jig free fall.  If the area you fish gets a lot of pressure I found that casting the iron like twenty feet into the drift and letting hit the bottom you can softly jig it off the bottom up and down and it will get bit pretty good.  Dragging swimbaits of course is another excellent method.  On rock fish.  I set the hook as soon as I get bit and as hard as I can.   Good luck.  Andy

Both of my kayaks are rigged for fish finders, but I never use them for rockfish. Lots of people do, and yes you can see the structure, but is not for me.  I prefer to fish edges of kelp, pockets inside the kelp, and obvious structure. You will get a feel for the bottom after a while when you drop your rig down. Knowing the depth I guess is important, but I almost never fish deeper than 100' for rockfish. Most of it is around 10-60' of water. The reason I like shallower water, is that baro-trauma really doesnt come into play for releasing fish. And, it is usually close to the shore in case I need to go back in fast. I like to keep it simple, and sometimes, I just use a hi/low with a cannonball weight, and tip the hooks with squid. Other times, ling bars, or swimbaits. Fun thing about rockfish, ya never know what you got until it is at the surface! Kinda like Christmas.

I like to use braided line as there is no stretch, so you don't need to swing for the fences with a hookset.  I use a FF now but for years did not.  Sometimes its better to NOT know where you are and just cover ground.

MontanaN8V is spot on about the inshore fishing.  Plus a medium rockie from 150 feet is a dead weight that sometimes head shakes.  I grass rockfish in 20 feet, will have you feeling like a good ol boy in a bass boat.

 

   He's doomed!  Hooked for sure.  WTTM.

Funny thing about the hooksets. I always swung like I was Babe Ruth trying to win it all but after seeing time and again that the so cal SW bass guys just wind I tried winding. To my pleasant surprise I'm hooking more fish by giving the handle a few quick firm turns and loading the rod when bit. Maybe I was ripping the bait out of the fishes mouth with the hookset or maybe the wind method has a more natural feel for the fish so they hang on longer I dunno.
I don't use circle hooks very often and mainly fish a 1 or 2/0 gami worm hook or the good old j hook. Sharp hooks will make a much more significant difference in hook up rates then how you set the hook.         

Lingcod especially have a talent for spitting lures. Even when you think you've hooked them solid, sometimes they just wait until color to spit it out. 

I used to use a rather "noodle-y bass rod with mono, and often lost fish that way. eventually moving to a rod with a bit more backbone, and going with a short topshot/spectra mainline greatly increased my bite-to-hookup ratio.

This might educate and hopefully entertain:

http://www.norcalfishingnews.com/stories/rock_fishing_by_kayak_brings_peace,_serenity_and_dinner?id=396


Allen

This might educate and hopefully entertain:

http://www.norcalfishingnews.com/stories/rock_fishing_by_kayak_brings_peace,_serenity_and_dinner?id=396


Allen

WOW!  What a great article Allen!!!  Sent it off to my dad, bet he will enjoy it

Thanks Al!  you guys recover from Sledge's visit yet?

Allen

That was a good article and I like the website to.  First time I've seen it.

Never pull a ling out of the water get a good net.  Find what works and do it again

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using Tapatalk

Loved the article, Allen. 

Welcome, Markware!     I agree with Allen - bait's where it's at!  I worked jigs, knives, leadheads...etc. for years for big lings and rockies, but bait has become like an art in the ocean, for me, but I'm a kook.  Welcome.   

Check the setup in this vid - banana weight with a barbless mooching slip rig and hoochie behind it - if it's salmon season you can keep one on this if you're trolling it, and it catches a crapload of rockies and lings.  Good luck, and take your camera.