Introduction: Raacerx, live in Sebastopol and Emeryville, new to kayak fishing

If I'm just resetting a short drift I pedal slowly and leave the line in the water being sure it is above the bottom and take into account the depth of where I'm heading if I'm going over a pinnacle or reef. I often catch blacks and blues this way.

Yep, I've caught a lot of blacks, blues, and olives by leaving the line in the water when I move. But I don't keep rockfish anymore so I just reel up and re-drop now.

Yeah, see that's the problem too, I don't really want blacks and blues anymore (unless its a real big juicy one I can give to my friends or family).  Especially with squid on the double drop, black limit is basically guarantee every time I get on the water in areas I know if the conditions are right, so I don't take any until the end of the day unless the freezer is empty. 

Problem being, there are often lings around the schools of blacks and blues.  I've tried going up to 5-0 or 6-0 hooks but it doesn't seem to matter haha.  Hell i've caught plenty of small rockfish on my huge 7-0 jighead with a 7" tail.  Sigh. 

WelcomeToTheMadness Max.  Did you learned some Tagalog while you stay in PI?


-Kiel

Nope! I was down in the Visayas region (outside of Dumaguete, on the island of Negros).  Different dialect down there compared Metro Manila and Luzon. Picked up some Visayan, but it's always a bit harder because English is so widely spoken. 

Is your family Filipino?  Most people don't say PI unless they're Filipino hahaha.   

You got that right!! I am pure Filipino.     


-Kiel

If I'm just resetting a short drift I pedal slowly and leave the line in the water being sure it is above the bottom and take into account the depth of where I'm heading if I'm going over a pinnacle or reef. I often catch blacks and blues this way.

Yep, I've caught a lot of blacks, blues, and olives by leaving the line in the water when I move. But I don't keep rockfish anymore so I just reel up and re-drop now.

Yeah, see that's the problem too, I don't really want blacks and blues anymore (unless its a real big juicy one I can give to my friends or family).  Especially with squid on the double drop, black limit is basically guarantee every time I get on the water in areas I know if the conditions are right, so I don't take any until the end of the day unless the freezer is empty. 

Problem being, there are often lings around the schools of blacks and blues.  I've tried going up to 5-0 or 6-0 hooks but it doesn't seem to matter haha.  Hell i've caught plenty of small rockfish on my huge 7-0 jighead with a 7" tail.  Sigh.

I hear you sometimes you can't get to the bottom through the blues and blacks. If you want to avoid blues and blacks just use swimbaits. I rarely catch them on my jighead that has a 9/0 hook and 7" swimbait. When I leave off the squid I catch very few rockfish but still catch lings and cabbies and big rockfish.

WelcomeToTheMadness Max.  Did you learned some Tagalog while you stay in PI?


-Kiel

Nope! I was down in the Visayas region (outside of Dumaguete, on the island of Negros).  Different dialect down there compared Metro Manila and Luzon. Picked up some Visayan, but it's always a bit harder because English is so widely spoken. 

Is your family Filipino?  Most people don't say PI unless they're Filipino hahaha.   

You got that right!! I am pure Filipino.     


-Kiel

Hah! See?  I've never heard anyone use "PI" unless they've lived there or are Filipino.  I've still got a bunch of belongings stuck out there, including my KTM Duke, but can't get back cause of COVID.  No one wants to buy the bike right now either because, well, no tourism. 

I miss a lot of things about being there, including some terrible karaoke nights thanks to Tanduay (I do not understand how you can produce a bottle of "rum" for under $2), and the cost of living is cheap, although that is changing pretty fast (rent was up to $600+ for a nice modern place where I was, when two years back it was $250 for a house on the water).

But a lot of things I don't miss too; I got in a bad motorcycle accident last summer, an old man pulled out onto the highway without even looking, and it was a pretty big ordeal with both the police and the health system.  I went to three hospitals and was told I maybe had a broken wrist; I eventually flew back to California and found I had 13 fractures in my hand.  Not to say I didn't have a bunch of bs insurance problems when I got back to the USA, it's equally as bad, but..

Some random pics:

I hear you sometimes you can't get to the bottom through the blues and blacks. If you want to avoid blues and blacks just use swimbaits. I rarely catch them on my jighead that has a 9/0 hook and 7" swimbait. When I leave off the squid I catch very few rockfish but still catch lings and cabbies and big rockfish.

I will try this.  I think part of the problem is that when I started fishing from the rocks, it took soooo long to catch anything that I basically wanted to keep everything legal I could, once I started to land them.  I need to shift from that, now that landing fish isn't the problem, it's just landing the fish I want.  Even my 7-0 hook jigs looks so freakishly large to me! 

Anyone down here tried Lancer Jigs?  Great company out of the PNW, really affordable, nice jigheads; they are elongated torpedo style so they're really erratic underwater.  Lots of colors, weights, and lengths.  My buddies in Oregon swear by them; I lost most of mine from shore, and haven't got more to try from the kayak, but that's what they're made for. 

I hear you sometimes you can't get to the bottom through the blues and blacks. If you want to avoid blues and blacks just use swimbaits. I rarely catch them on my jighead that has a 9/0 hook and 7" swimbait. When I leave off the squid I catch very few rockfish but still catch lings and cabbies and big rockfish.

I will try this.  I think part of the problem is that when I started fishing from the rocks, it took soooo long to catch anything that I basically wanted to keep everything legal I could, once I started to land them.  I need to shift from that, now that landing fish isn't the problem, it's just landing the fish I want.  Even my 7-0 hook jigs looks so freakishly large to me! 

Anyone down here tried Lancer Jigs?  Great company out of the PNW, really affordable, nice jigheads; they are elongated torpedo style so they're really erratic underwater.  Lots of colors, weights, and lengths.  My buddies in Oregon swear by them; I lost most of mine from shore, and haven't got more to try from the kayak, but that's what they're made for.

I got my last batch from Bob on this forum. He makes some great stuff.

http://www.norcalkayakanglers.com/index.php?topic=75876.0

I hear you sometimes you can't get to the bottom through the blues and blacks. If you want to avoid blues and blacks just use swimbaits. I rarely catch them on my jighead that has a 9/0 hook and 7" swimbait. When I leave off the squid I catch very few rockfish but still catch lings and cabbies and big rockfish.

I will try this.  I think part of the problem is that when I started fishing from the rocks, it took soooo long to catch anything that I basically wanted to keep everything legal I could, once I started to land them.  I need to shift from that, now that landing fish isn't the problem, it's just landing the fish I want.  Even my 7-0 hook jigs looks so freakishly large to me! 

Anyone down here tried Lancer Jigs?  Great company out of the PNW, really affordable, nice jigheads; they are elongated torpedo style so they're really erratic underwater.  Lots of colors, weights, and lengths.  My buddies in Oregon swear by them; I lost most of mine from shore, and haven't got more to try from the kayak, but that's what they're made for.

I got my last batch from Bob on this forum. He makes some great stuff.

http://www.norcalkayakanglers.com/index.php?topic=75876.0

+1 For Kayak Bob!

WelcomeToTheMadness Max.  Did you learned some Tagalog while you stay in PI?


-Kiel

Nope! I was down in the Visayas region (outside of Dumaguete, on the island of Negros).  Different dialect down there compared Metro Manila and Luzon. Picked up some Visayan, but it's always a bit harder because English is so widely spoken. 

Is your family Filipino?  Most people don't say PI unless they're Filipino hahaha.   

You got that right!! I am pure Filipino.     


-Kiel

Hah! See?  I've never heard anyone use "PI" unless they've lived there or are Filipino.  I've still got a bunch of belongings stuck out there, including my KTM Duke, but can't get back cause of COVID.  No one wants to buy the bike right now either because, well, no tourism. 

I miss a lot of things about being there, including some terrible karaoke nights thanks to Tanduay (I do not understand how you can produce a bottle of "rum" for under $2), and the cost of living is cheap, although that is changing pretty fast (rent was up to $600+ for a nice modern place where I was, when two years back it was $250 for a house on the water).

But a lot of things I don't miss too; I got in a bad motorcycle accident last summer, an old man pulled out onto the highway without even looking, and it was a pretty big ordeal with both the police and the health system.  I went to three hospitals and was told I maybe had a broken wrist; I eventually flew back to California and found I had 13 fractures in my hand.  Not to say I didn't have a bunch of bs insurance problems when I got back to the USA, it's equally as bad, but..

Some random pics:

Right on Max, thanks for sharing your experience in PI. ( Philippine Island ).


-Kiel