HAPPY Hollow Sunday (9/3)

Hey Alan, it was your boat! I saw the person who looks like you, but I was not sure. Otherwise, I would paddle over and welcome you.

wow Eric what a nice halibut! these post are killing me this my favorite time of the year to fish

you always have to be prepared!

large thresher  Mmmmmmmmmmm........what a battle that would of been

guys thanks for the posts.....your putting a smile on my soul

chef

So jealous Eric, I wanna get a hali!! Gonna have to make it out to Bean Hollow soon, that place seems so productive! If any of you guys are going next weekend I'd love to tag along. 

The thresher shark was an awesome event that I missed. I actually had to paddle back to the beach for a potty break.  I might have to change my name accordingly if this gets any worse.  Anyway Bill, Joel, GTO and Henry were making a lot of noise. As I paddled back I hear Bill yell, #$@#$@ something@# Shark.  I immediately notice they were all side by side.  For a second I felt like a seal pup stradend by pack, easy target.  Anyway after after a couple more seconds I heard something about a thresher and relief came over me.  Close to Ano we be, when at Bean Hallow.

Starting in October Ano can get up to 12 GW's a day>  Food for thought. 

Jason

I used a Braid Slammer (4 oz).  I do not think color matters a whole lot.  It has a treble hook that I like.  3 points are better than 1.  Tip it with squid and used 30 lb braid on a 15-50 lb. fenwick rod.  A Shimano (cheap) gt200 (G200?) reel.  When, I don't feel like working it (Jigging) I used a 4 oz torpedo with a short leader and J-hook w/squid.  Just hit bottom and reel up a couple of turns.

Ken kickfish

You guys are a great team to fish with.   Here's what I use.  I use a 4-inch storm swimbait (color doesn't seem to matter; it's the action I think) tipped with squid on a 24" 20lbs mono leader and a 2 oz sliding sinker on a 20lbs braided line.  Both lings and cabs seem to love them, and I only get an occasional rock fish.  I caught both my ling and cab around a shallow structure half way between the park and the glass house up north, about a half mile out in front the bird rock.  I don't have my ff, but my guess it's only about 25-30 ft.

I used to share the frustration at not landing a big one, but now I figure it's good karma.  Last week, a good 36" ling flopped off my yak because I only had it half way in the net.  The fish's not ready to meet it's maker; it's okay.  It was fun to see my rod really doing the bendo thing.

BH is so productive; I am thinking of going out there again this weekend.  Let's see how things go.

Happy fishing,
Henry

Get a gaff and a big hammer.  Gaff from under the belly , then get it on the Yak and beat the ling until it's own mother would not recognise it.  Right between the eyes works for me.

Ken kickfish

Nice fish all!  Looks like a great time and sorry I missed you this weekend.
Eric, see, karma loves Halibut!  Glad you got yours... 

I will be watching weather to maybe go this coming weekend after taking a weekend off.  Or hopefully someone will find the salmon.  I know, I keep saying that...

Congrats Eric - that's the biggest Halibut I've seen!  I was really amazed on how CALM Eric was when he was fighting the monster I knew right off that bat that it was not going to fit my net so I did what I could and tried to get it in head first but it was just still too green. I waited patiently as Eric played it until it just settled down. Amazingly, it stayed really calm for a few seconds when Eric had it's mouth just a few inches out of the water, I quicky dipped my entire net into the water and got it in tail first (which is a big no-no ) And as soon as I pulled my net up, the head of the Halibut was leaning against the side of my yak and I wacked it repeatedly  I got my game clip,secured it and I had Eric stow inside my hatch (since he did not have one). GAME OVER  The funny thing was that the halibut came alive 3 to 4 times throught out the morning and it would vibrate the entire yak - kinda freaked me out the first time I'm just gald it was inside that yak and not laying on top of the deck.

Anyway, Eric definitely has proven his skills at Bean Hollow, so far, he's a had a great streak in this particular stretch of water. He truly deserves the catch as he has been putting a lot of time in the water Congrats again 

That Thresher Shark was a sight to see  Shoulda taken some pics but I was just too busy chucking my jig (baited with squid) at it....hoping to get it to bite

I was also out there on Sunday with my friend in the double kayak (see Alan's pics). Bean Hollow sure is a fishy place!

We first fished squid tipped 3.5oz megabaits/slammers in the shallows (20-40ft) for about 30 c&r rockcod with a few keepers (fat grassy and a really nice hitchhiker ling).

We then proceded to deeper water to meet you guys and watched the landing of that huge halibut!  Out there (50-70ft), we caught a decent cab on a 5oz thin diamond bar (thanks to mooch for the net and bat).

On our last drift, we we fishing live bait and lost a really nice ling at the yak. I was really looking forward to watching my friend repeat landing another big ling for me with his gloved hand (no gaff or net) but it wasn't meant to be. The one we landed earlier was calm until Vinny grabbed him and then went bezerk in his lap!    I think I'm making a gaff for next time!

It was great meeting you guys. I have a few questions for you.

When you're fishing the large swimbaits, do you rig a stinger hook? We had a lot of short bites on 7" swimbaits, a couple being nice fish.

How many vermillions have you guys caught out there? What depth, rigging?

I'm thinking a one way drift from would be a great way to fish this area with its prevailing southbound movement on a calm day like Sunday. Next time I'm hiking in the area, I'll scope out some alternative launches to the north (pescadero 4mi N, pebbles 1-1.5mi N) and landings to the south (gazos 4-5mi S or franklin 6mi S). There is some nice structure out there. Have you given this any thought? My only concern is that if the conditions soured, you could be committed to a long drift. Are there any other possible launches/landings/bailout spots that I should consider? Obviously, such a plan would require a buddy kayak or two and several contingency plans, but it could be worth trying.

Thanks again,

Matt

 

Matt

A Big thank goes to Mooch - not only assist landing, but also your presence. Veterans like you and many others have showed me wealth of fishing skills in the past year. It was your guys around me, giving me high confidence in playing the fish. Your tips are truely appreciated.

No worries Eric - this is what NCKA is all about = getting everybody into some fish     I'm just passing on what I've learned from the old timers 

Matt,

I feel your pain on the short bites from using the bigger swimbaits  I've done some modifications in the past and I've had better luck. What I do is cut about a inch off the head of the swimbait so when I insert the jig head, the hook ends up closer to the tail....doing this will kill a little bit if the tail action but it will still "wiggle" enough to entice a bite. I sometimes do the same with the curly tails and have noticed better hook-ups

just my 2 cents....

The Vermilion that  I caught that day was caught on the troll (using Bill's custom curly tail - rootbeer color on a 6 ounce jighead) in about 50 ft. of water. I try to keep my lure or bait in the water as much as possible - even when I decide to paddle on and look for other hot spots. I also caught a nice brown with the same method.

My cabezon and ling were caught by "dragging the bottom"  - almost like drop shotting for bass 

I'm thinking a one way drift from would be a great way to fish this area with its prevailing southbound movement on a calm day like Sunday. Next time I'm hiking in the area, I'll scope out some alternative launches to the north (pescadero 4mi N, pebbles 1-1.5mi N) and landings to the south (gazos 4-5mi S or franklin 6mi S). There is some nice structure out there. Have you given this any thought? My only concern is that if the conditions soured, you could be committed to a long drift. Are there any other possible launches/landings/bailout spots that I should consider? Obviously, such a plan would require a buddy kayak or two and several contingency plans, but it could be worth trying.

Matt

Hi Matt, Nice to meet you on the water. It was me(eric) fishing next to you and landed the halibut. 

I am thinking of same - launch and fish other places nearby BH. Drifting from north to south could be a problem, since launch and landing will end up with different spots. But, fishing out of Pescadero Beach, Gazo or Franklin beaches would be interesting. As you pointed out, there are nice structures around these areas. I would be into this type of exploration, if you want too.

Eric

Eric, nice halibut.  Congrats!
As Cafecraig said... Karma was just returning the favor for helping land Craig's halibut the previous weekend.

on saturday i used a 5 oz mega bait with treble hook and a wire dropper about 18" up with a 4/0 hook.  on the 4/0 hook i used a tube jig, makerel or squid.  never used this set-up before but i didn't take it off my line all day.  Caught a pile of fish including two vermillions and got my double lings on this rig.