SC hkp Friday 9/16

Anyone interested in planning a collective effort for Friday? I'm planning to launch from the west harbor ~6am, catch bait, and drift past the mile buoy, eventually working west (ending as far as the antenna buoy in front of Mitchells). 

I wish, I have to work. I need to get out on the water and test out my new Hobie and fish finder

I'm 90% certain. I don't know which way I'll go, as the halibut bite has been east of the mile buoy so far, but I am a fan of the CDIP/antenna buoy area...

I may be able to get down there since the MBK tourney was postponed.
I'll see if I can get my work done today.

All set for tomorrow. I'll be on ch 69 

Good luck 🍀.  Let us know how you guys make out.  May be heading there soon myself…

I got a late start, launching at about 7:30am. I headed straight out, trolling from about 30 fow out to 85 fow, then to the east, mostly in the 60-70 fow range. I also had a a sabiki in the water most of the time. 

Out past the mile buoy in 80 fow, there was a good rockfish bite--it was no secret as at least a dozen boats were there. Just passing through, I caught 8, of which 4 were nice ones (2 verms and 2 blues). I threw them all back as I was looking for bigger game.

I wasn't able to find anything in my prospecting east of the mile buoy. The strangest part was that I got absolutely nothing on my sabiki, in spite of seeing a lot of different types of baitfish on my FF.

I had a few things I needed to get done, so I headed back into the harbor early, like about 11:30. The funny thing was that after I got back to the harbor, I got sidetracked talking to several people, so landing early didn't result in getting home early (or getting much of anything done). I probably shoulda just stayed on the water for a couple more hours...

Anyways, I did hear from mbwaterdog on 69 shortly after launching. Just as I was coming into the harbor,  I noticed that my radio had magically switched itself to Ch 75, which explained the long radio silence. I talked to one kayaker at the dock and he'd had similar results to me (including the lack of sabiki action). I hope mbwaterdog and any other NCKAers found the big ones that eluded me...

Thanks for the report!

Thanks for the reports in SC fellas!  I'm wanting to go exploring the east side some more as well as it's been the most productive for me this year.  Hoping to see some big mackeral come in like last year.  If the bait isn't biting it could be pinheads, at least I've had days of seeing bait but not catching them except for snagging them and seeing how small they were.

Thanks for the reports in SC fellas!  I'm wanting to go exploring the east side some more as well as it's been the most productive for me this year.  Hoping to see some big mackeral come in like last year.  If the bait isn't biting it could be pinheads, at least I've had days of seeing bait but not catching them except for snagging them and seeing how small they were.

Other than me, I didn’t see any boats working that east side area that has been so productive recently. As for the bait, one kayaker I talked to caught a single mackerel, and I’m sure there were a bunch of topsmelt around, so I don’t it was a size issue.

Btw, there was a ton of loose kelp around including some large bunches, and all the way out to 85+ fow. Trolling consisted of a lot of kelp-dodging, and I still picked up an unusual amount of crap on my line…

I was OTW at 0600 and thought for sure I was at least 2 hrs behind NWM  I headed out and marked the usual bait just outside the harbor and tried a sabiki tipped with squid for about an hour. I totally failed at catching bait, which unfortunately is becoming too usual for me. I made a quick dash over to the west side and threw a swimsuit most of the morning. Great to hear you on the radio NWM, then it was silent  I Hooked several rockfish that I released as I watched all of the boats out near the mile buoy. A PB near me landed a really nice halibut. The swimbait got a lot of nice action and I ended up with a really nice Verm. The next cast, something big bumped my swimbait but didn't stick, so I let it drop and it sure enough it came back. I stuck it this time and the fight was on. This fish felt heavy and it took a few good runs, especially when it saw my kayak. After a solid fight, I boated a nice 24" cabby. I haven't kept any rockfish this season, so I kept the verm and cabby and they'll provide at least a few meals. The water was flat and it was a great day to be out. We made fish chowder tonight with the verm, some leftover crab, and porcini. The rain is pounding here in SC.

Nice quality fish! It seems to me like there’s not a lot of cabbies caught in SC, so that’s extra special.

It’s been pouring rain almost all day at my house (not far from Lexington Reservoir). I was hoping to go fishing tomorrow, but it looks like the rain will last thru the morning….

Don't think I have ever caught a cabbie in SC, let alone a nice fattie like that! Fun fighters and tasty!  Congrats on some nice fish to eat!

Nice quality fish! It seems to me like there’s not a lot of cabbies caught in SC, so that’s extra special.

It’s been pouring rain almost all day at my house (not far from Lexington Reservoir). I was hoping to go fishing tomorrow, but it looks like the rain will last thru the morning….

Got a cab about 17 inches right near the tiny yellow buoy that’s near that wacky antenna buoy on 9/11. Took a white 4-inch Gulp swimming mullet.

Got a cab about 17 inches right near the tiny yellow buoy that’s near that wacky antenna buoy on 9/11. Took a white 4-inch Gulp swimming mullet.

That's awesome!  Been trolling those Powerbait grubs as well thinking it's my secret bait