A few newbies heading to Salt Point State Park!

Subject pretty much says it all, my old man, a family friend, and myself are headed out to the coast this weekend to do a little fishing from the shore.  I have been solely a freshwater fisherman and thus have no clue what I'm getting in to.  Was hoping some of the experienced rockfish anglers could chime in with some advice on how to not end our outing with a skunk.  Any input on how to set up our rigs and what to use would be immensely appreciated! If nothing else, I'm excited to do a little salt fishing with a family friend I haven't seen in some time!!

Salt Point is a blast to fish ! When you get that tug,  its a place that you never know what's on the other end of the line from a little black rockfish or sea perch to a huge ling or a wolf eel. Its like Christmas morning !

The best set up is a high-low set up rigged with two baitholder hooks (#4-#1/0 size depending on what's hitting) and enough weight to get down quickly and stay on the bottom (2-4oz. usually works depending on ocean conditions). Tip those hooks with your favorite bait ... strips of squid, mussels, shrimp tend to work best and are the most durable as well. Its also a great place for artificials as well. Grab some 1oz. lead heads jigs and some 3-5" scampi or swimtail grub plastics in various colors and give those a go as well.

One tip, make sure you know where you are on the coast before you toss a line in the water. There are several marine protected areas and preserves around Salt Point so make sure you're not in one when you start fishing. Within Salt Point, I like to walk south of Gerstle Cove and work the edges of the kelp beds that you can reach from shore. There are also a few pullouts along the highway north of the campgrounds where you can park and walk across a grassy meadow to the cliffs and find various spots to walk down.

Don't hang in one spot for too long. There's a lot of territory to cover up there and those who cover some ground tend to find more fish. Conversely, if you start finding some blue or black rockfish, spend some time in those spots. They tend to congregate in large schools and you can really get into some solid action when you find them. One you locate them and they're in feeding mode, you can have a great time catching fish after fish on artificials and a light line.

It probably goes without saying, but just be careful. This is such a rugged part of the coastline and all it takes is one misstep or setting up in an unwise spot and you're either falling down a cliff or getting snatched off the rocks by a wave. I made a poor call just south of Gerstle Cove when I was younger by putting myself in a dumb spot to make a cast and lost my balance. By shear luck, I was able to grab just enough rock as I fell to keep me from going completely off the cliff and onto the rocks well below. My rod and reel and bucket of tackle however, ended up in the drink and were goners.

Another tip, if you think you packed enough tackle, pack half again as much more. Its not whether you'll get snagged, its how often. This place is snag heaven and it comes with the territory to go through all of tackle. But then again, all those nice spots that grab hooks and sinkers also hold some really nice fish as well.

Have fun ! Cant wait to hear your report when you get back.

Chattich

Thanks for all the info!  It is encouraging and has me fired up! I did pretty well at lake sonoma this evening after work and am hoping that along with your post, it is another good omen!  We are definitely using squid, and I picked up some of the artificials and jig heads you mentioned, but I was wondering if you had any thoughts on sardines/anchovies?  With the high-low technique I could bait one hook with squid and the other with sardine and see which gets hit more often.  Thanks for all the safety briefings as well, I'll be sure to stay alert.  Thanks again for the responses!  We are heading out there this Sunday and I will be sure to let you know if rods get bent, or if I continue the super skunk streak haha.  Tomorrow I'm off chasing monster bass at Spring Lake in Santa Rosa!

Superskunk,

Wow, you're doing the fish trifecta this weekend ! I've been meaning to drag my kayak over to Spring Lake from Napa and give it a go as well. One of these days ...

I'm partial to squid, shrimp, and mussels because they're so durable in the rough surf. I've gone the anchovy and sardine route as well and they'll definitely catch fish, but those baits tend to get pretty beat up in the waves and get easily knocked off the hook by kelp. I always bring a box or two of squid and then harvest some mussels right of the rocks and that will usually suffice. Haven't looked at the conditions for Sunday, but if the waves aren't too bad, it definitely doesn't hurt to toss a chunk of sardine out and see what happens though.

Definitely mix up the baits on each hook on the high-low rig. Maybe somebody uses mussels and sardines, someone else uses sardines and squid, somene else uses mussels and squid. Sometimes you see a pattern emerge, sometimes you don't. But I always like having more bait offerings out there in case they're targeting one versus the other.

I'll be interested to know how you do. Tight lines and good luck !

I'd definitely recommend heading to Spring Lake! While the numbers may not always be great, the quality is always phenomenal.  I only caught 3 bass in 2.5 hrs, but the smallest one was 3lbs.  Pretty good day in my book!

thats just crazy all those big ass bass in that little lake

nice report and that last pic is sic

Good Luck and have fun checking out the coast. I have nothing El's to add to what chattich said. Only one thing, take lots of pic's because if you don't take pics, it didn't happen That's a nice bass. Pics tells it all!

Looking forward to your report.
Alex

What is a "high low rig"?    What general kind of rod, reel, and line do you use for this kind of fishing.  The few times I have tried from shore I mostly just kept donating gear to the rocks.  Also how do you decide where to cast?
Thanks

Alcim11,

A high-low rig is also known as a surf rig/leader ... two loops for hooks set about 18" apart with a swivel and weight about a foot below the bottom loop. Vary your weight based on current and ocean conditions and vary your hooks based on the bait of choice and what's hitting in the area.



I like to go with a large spinning reel rigged with 25-30lb. test on a pretty stiff 8-10' rod. Whether wedged in the rocks or tangled in kelp, you will get hung up. Likewise,  anything you catch will dive for the nearest crack or crevice as soon as they're hooked so having the rod and line strength to free up snags and get fish off the bottom is pretty important. Smaller diameter line is really helpful as well because you'll deal with less drag from the waves and it'll help keep your rig from drifting across the bottom and getting hung up.

As far as where to cast, its pretty much up to you and what kind of water you want to work. If you want to throw out toward the kelp beds, watch a few waves break through the beds and get an idea of how far the kelp fronds sway in the surf. You'll start to see areas emerge right alongside the beds that you can cast but still avoid getting tangled in the fronds. Personally, I have had the best luck and least trouble with hangups by keeping my casts closer to shore. Especially at Salt Point, there are large detached boulders that extend out toward the kelp beds that you can easily scale. From there, you can make a short cast or even just basically drop your line vertically down and reach productive water. 

The biggest mistake I see people making is moving their line too much once its on the bottom which is a recipe for a tackle box full of lost rigs. Unless you're bringing in your line with a fish attached or to check bait, don't move it. The more its moved and set back down, the more chances you have to get it wedged in a rock and snagged. Cast, let it get set up on the bottom, hold the rod up and keep the line tight, and carefully feel for any strikes(they can be pretty subtle). If you go ten minutes without a strike, bring it in to check your bait and make another cast. When you do reel in, reel like the wind to get it off the bottom as quickly as possible.

It can be a really frsutrating, but really productive and rewarding way to fish as well.

 I really appreciate you taking the time to be so informative.  I  like Salt Point a lot and have gone there for abs, and fished off my kayak, but have only fished from shore there a little.  I only hooked rocks. 
Thanks again.

Happy to help. No doubt, it is a hard place and style to fish. Its one of my favorite places to rock hop for a day and hopefully come home with a tasty rock cod dinner though.

Solid weekend!  Lake Sonoma Friday night was quite productive, especially with the smallmouth bass.  Saturday produced some monsters out of Spring Lake. Today we landed two Cabazon and two kelp greenlings.  Thank you guys so much for the advice and help!!

A couple things I've found that helps "a little" is to use the old tobacco sack full of sand or rocks as a weight, not really as effective as lead, but they tear loose pretty easy, lost a bag but get back most of the rig.  Also you can try attaching hooks with lighter line than the leader, that way if a hook is what is hung up it'll break off and again you might get most of the rig back. Most store bought snelled hooks use some pretty strong mono, you gotta pretty much ty up you own for this.
Both of these tips really do only help a little and are more work than standard gear.  I think tobacco sacks are available at the Ft Ross store just south of Salt Pt,

The short cast is really effective at catching fish and getting your gear back.

Sounds like you had  GREAT weekend of catching to go along with the fishing.

Thanks for sharing the adventure.

Heck of a weekend - nicely done ! Glad to hear that Salt Point didn't skunk you.

Way to cover the bases.  Nice work.  I may head up  there this week.