Live Bait Fishing for Yellowtail

Once you hook your first yellowtail You will be hooked as well! This fish is a very special fish for Southern California and Baja, Mexico anglers. It is a very powerful, hard fighting and great eating member of the Jack family. It is one of the most prized inshore fish in the Southern
California/Northern Mexico area. In California they are mostly a early summer to late fall fish, as they prefer water above sixty five degrees, though some may be caught all year at the local islands ( Catalina and San Clemente ).

Fishing is best when the squid come into shallow water to spawn. You can usually buy some from the local live bait operations, buy some from squid boats at Catalina Island, or you can catch your own at the Island. I prefer to buy them from a bait boat at Catalina as these have
not made two trips across the channel and are not all beat up. Yellowtail may be found at many locations at Catalina, the East end, the Vees, Farnsworth bank ( use sixty pound test here ) and the West Cove area are a few of my favorites, though the best fishing spots usually have a large number of party boats and private sport fishers anchored in the best areas, not hard to find.

When anchoring in a large fleet of boats try to stay at least forty to fifty yards from other anchored boats, yellowtail make long powerful runs and you don't want to get tangled with other fishermen's lines/anchor lines. Anyway yellows travel in schools and the boats on the outside of the fleet are usually the first to get hooked up. Just in case live squid are not available at the Island, I usually bring about ten pounds of frozen fresh dead from the super market ( don't get frozen squid from the tackle store or bait dock, these are low quality with no color, super market squid are eating quality and have all their color, they work twice as well ) .

If I get live ones I use the frozen to chum with. After you are anchored safely have one person start chumming. Cut the squid into three pieces for small ones and four or five pieces for larger ones. Now start your chum slick by throwing one piece of cut squid about one every ten seconds and once every two minutes throw a live one out.

You don't want to feed the fish, just encourage them to come into your area. I have several
rods rigged and ready to go should I need them. ( 14 ) I start out with two rods rigged with twenty pound mono on either casting or Shimano Baitrunner spinning reels on six and a half foot med-hvy rods. If the water is clear I will put a four foot fluorocarbon leader on the end of the line, this makes a big difference where the fish are heavily pressured. I always use premium hooks, Owner is my favorite, but any premium super sharp hook will work. For live squid I use a 4/0 short shank, and depending on the current I will put a 1/4 to 1/2 oz. egg sinker on the line before I tie on the hook.

This gets the bait deep enough to keep it away from the birds. Now put the reel in freespool and slowly let the squid drift out with the current. I let one go about twenty five yards and the other about thirty five yards from the boat. The next two rods have thirty pound test and have conventional reels, and six foot heavy rods, they are rigged the same way except they have
one to two ounce egg sinkers depending on the current. They should be straight down about half way to the bottom, put them in rod holders in free spool with clickers on. The squid should be hooked once through the pointed end.

The last two rods are heavy forty pound outfits with a four to six ounce heavy white iron jig, these have one or two squid pinned on the treble hooks, and are dropped to the bottom then reeled up about two feet from the bottom. Now put them in rod holders and let the rocking of the boat bounce them seductively right off the bottom. These rigs will catch yellows, white sea bass, calico bass, halibut and many other island bottom feeders. When a fish hits the Iron jig, the hook should be set as fast as possible. When a fish eats the squid rig, you should let him pull about fifteen feet of line off the reel before you set the hook. Put the reel in gear, point the rod tip at the fish, and when the line comes tight, set the hook hard. The drags should be set as tight as possible just short of the lines breaking point.

Yellowtail will make a series of hard runs, while they are pulling line from the reel, just hold on, don't wind the reel. When the fish stops running immediately start pumping the fish as hard as your tackle will allow. After landing any gamefish I quickly bleed it and put it on ice, this insures great quality steaks for the grill. These tactics work well anywhere yellowtail are found.
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Fish Report for Friday June 17, 2007

Today I had a charter with 4 persons aboard, plus myself. We fished the rockfish early in the morning and by 11 am we had many nice reds ( 3 to6lbs. ) and an assortment of other colorful, and tasty rockfish. In the early afternoon we fished for calico bass and did real well, with 5 fish over 4lbs. ( released ) and 21 keepers plus dozens of shorts, less than 13 inches, but still fun to catch. We also had sand bass, rock bass, mackerel, a shorthalibut and some blacksmith perch. All in all a very successful day, the guys were kept busy catching fish and enjoying a beautiful day on Santa Monica Bay.
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Thoughts on Chartering...

When I decided to become a charter boat captain, I knew it would not be easy finding fish on a regular basis for my clients, especially in Santa Monica Bay! But it was the closest spot from where I lived, and it was closed to commercial fishing, NOT! I added the NOT! because although it is closed to commercial fishing, the commercial's sneak in there all the time at night and without running lights just have their way with the place.

I have called The F & G dept many times only to be told they have no wardens available at the moment. ( Get off your soap box Roy ).

Anyway I took many trips on 1/2 day, 3/4 day, and overnight boats for several years and kept records on where they fished, time of day, month year, where the tide was, weather conditions, ( wind, waves, clouds, water temps, air temps ) and any other info I could get. I got my SCUBA certificate and made many dives on the spots where I caught fish to see why they were there, and how they related to structure, during different, weather, wind and current conditions. I talked to as many fishermen as I could, and asked questions until they were tired of seeing me. I spent as much time as possible on the water putting all this info together, and always looking for reasons why fish were where they were, and what conditions they bit under. ( No matter what you learn about fish, they are great about throwing you a curve when you least expect it.)

LIFE LESSON # 7: PRIOR PREPARATION PREVENTS POOR PERFORMANCE!!!!!!!!!!!

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Fish Report for June 12 - Sunday

I had a charter in Santa Monica Bay, with four anglers catch 26 calico bass, 7 sand bass, 1 5lb trigger fish, 2 sheep head, 1 cabazon and 1 halibut. These were keepers, we also caught about twice that number of shorts, not keepers but still fun to catch. 99% of the time we use circle hooks, they mostly hook the fish in the corner of their mouth, making unhooking and release a snap.
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Big Baits part 10

I was pulling as hard as the light line would allow, and slowly but surely the fish started coming up closer to the surface, one more feeble run and the fish gave up, now I was gaining line steadily. I looked into the depths as I wound the fish to the surface, now I could see it, WOW, it was a giant halibut! It was the largest halibut I had ever seen, outside of Alaska. One swing of the gaff and it was on the boat, her tail beating loudly on the deck, I could not believe what I was seeing, here was the biggest California halibut I had ever caught, or had been caught on my boat.

As she was flopping on the deck, she spit out 5 mackerel, up to 2 1/2 lbs. probably eight pounds worth. Later on the scales she hit 49 1/2 pounds, add the 8 pounds of macks she spit up, and she would have easily broke the California state record and the IGFA all tackle record for Calif. halibut.

But after I received my certificate for my 21st IGFA world record, I promised my self I would let all record fish go until I had helped others catch 21 World records. My clients are now at 20 world records, and I have only 1 more to go to fulfill my promise, in the meantime I have released over 70 record class fish that I have caught. I am a professional fisherman and I should be able to break records, but helping others catch a record fish is a very special feeling, 100

times more special than catching my own!!!!

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Big Baits pt 4

Big baits, Big fish!! This is especially true in the ocean. One of my favorite fish in So. California is the Calico bass, looks just like a freshwater bass, and eats all the same lures. I have caught them on crankbaits, plastic lures, worms, lizards, creature baits, and most all other soft plastic bass baits jigs, topwater lures, and the list goes on and on.

I grew up fishing for largemouth in Oklahoma, and Georgia, and then when I moved to Calif in the early 60's, I continued my love affair with them. I fished the pro bass circuit for 5 years in the early 80's, and ran a profitable bass guiding business for about 15 years. In the early 80's I got my USCG Captains License, and started doing more and more saltwater charters, that's when I discovered calicos would eat all the standard bass baits I had in my freshwater tackle boxes. Boy, I was in heaven! Unlike freshwater, you could easily catch 50 to 100 calicos in a day's fishing, most of which were released.

Even before catch and release was popular in the ocean, I insisted my clients release all bass over 5 lbs and most of my regulars had a 3 lb ceiling. There were lots of large calicos then, but it seemed such a shame to kill a large slow growing trophy, just to eat it. These were special fish that could be caught several times and give a special thrill to many people before someone harvested them. This was especially true in Santa Monica Bay, where the fishing pressure was intense. There were up to twenty party boats at times, ( 55 to 75 ft boats that carried 30 to 50 passengers ) and many small 16 to 30 ft private boats that plied the bays waters. In those days you could easily catch many calicos over 5 lbs in a days fishing. At some of the offshore islands with their vast kelp forests, the numbers of large bass was amazing, but I noticed the numbers of big bass was steadily going down in the bay.

More on BIG BASS tomorrow!!

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Tips: Big Fish, Big Baits

Big fish need a big bait, the size of a fish's mouth determines how big of a meal he can eat. You can catch a big fish on a small bait, but most big fish are caught on larger offerings. You won't get as many bites on the big baits, but when you do it will be a whopper!

When I fish for trout in So. Cal's pay to fish trout lakes, I see most people using baits that are much too small for the giants that they stock in these lakes. They catch plenty of trout, but the people who consistently
catch the big fish are using big baits. Take for example, Berkley Power Bait, a multi-colored floating bait that the trout seem to love. Most fishermen use a little ball the size of the tip of your little finger, or they roll it into a worm-shaped tube the size of a pencil. I use a light-wire laser sharp hook, # 8, and wrap a inch of pipe cleaner around the hook near the eye of the hook, this holds the power bait on. A drop of superglue holds it to the hook.

I make up a couple dozen in several sizes in advance, so I don't waste fishing time while at the lake. When fishing for trout I spool my reels 95% of the time with Berkley Vanish Fluorocarbon, as it is virtually invisible. My main line is 8# test, if the water is clear I will use a 4# test leader, or 2# test if the fish seem spooky. The reason for the two separate line tests is with the larger main line, I can cast a heavier sinker without fear of snapping the line if I need to make an extra-long cast, and since there are lots of other fishermen around, if I get tangled in their lines, I have a much better chance of not breaking off.

Come back tomorrow to see how I rig my baits for big fish!
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Boat Captain pt 2

You come in after a charter, You still have to clean up the boat after every one else goes home, not just dried blood. I've had people go below and lay down in my bed and lift the covers and throw up in my blankets. Some hours later when I had finished cleaning, was very tired and needed to go to sleep, because I had an early charter the next day, I got in bed and found the " little present " they left me.

Now I still have to go to the laundry.

You need to be a good mechanic, in the summer it takes weeks to get into a boat shop. If you can't fix it yourself, you will lose 1000's of dollars!

You need to be good with children, people bring their children and you have to bait their hook, cast their rod, hook the fish, help them reel it in, take the fish of the hook, re-bait etc. Some people have three kids, who needs a gym? But, know what? I LOVE IT!! Kids are so cool, and they are the future of sport fishing!

You need to be the school nurse, I've never had a serious problem aboard my boat other than a few hooks stuck in fingers, but you need to know how to take care of medical emergencies just in case one happens.

You need to be an entertainer, fish don't bite all day, and during the slow times you need a vast joke library to keep people laughing.

I could go on and on, but I'll give you a break and end this here.
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Boat Captain pt 1

Lots of people tell me they would love to be a charter captain, "BOY, you have the greatest job in the world!" Getting paid for taking people fishing!! That's like saying the president gets paid for signing a few bills. They don't see the other 18 hrs a day he spends running the good ole USA.

My job entails being the guide and finding fish for you. Fish don't stay in the same place all the time, anytime there is a place where the fish hang out in the same place, fishermen quickly find out about it and quickly fish it out. I have some secret spots, but the other charter guys know my boat, and when they see me in a spot for more than a few minutes,they will wait for me to leave, then move over it to check it out with their electronics. Later they will come back and fish it, now it's not secret anymore.

For the past 25 yrs I have been insisting that my customers release all bass over 5 lbs. These are special fish, it takes 8 to 12 yrs to grow to this size. I have caught the same fish many times in a season, ( I mark them with a tag, then I can keep track of that fish, sometimes for years. )

People don't realize how hard it is to keep a boat in shape for chartering, You usually drive them for two days and work on them for three days. My wife thinks its just an excuse to get out of the house. The salt air is constantly eating up your wiring and generally causing havoc with anything metal ( your motor ). During the charter season the boat is kept in a slip in Marina del Rey, the rest of the year the boat is kept on the trailer in dry storage. Salt water is hell on a boat!!
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Magic Fish part 2

I have been fishing this lake for many years, and had never hooked anything like this before! This fish ran like a Salmon, but none were in here, the largest bass in the lake were about five or six lbs. I once caught a 14 lb bass and it didn't pull this hard. 10, 15, 20, 30 minutes went by and still this fish was out near the middle of the lake. I dare not pull too hard with the 2# test line or it would snap, 45 minutes had come and gone but I had gained about 30 ft of line. By now there was about 25 people following me up and down the shore as I fought this very large fish.

Now I could feel the fish was tiring, he was letting me pull him closer and his runs back towards the center were getting more feeble. That was good because I was getting "feeble arm." A common malady among fishermen who fight a large fish for a long time. Your arm feels like it is going to fall off, and various other parts off your body don't feel much better.

Finally the fish was close enough to net, a big cheer went up from the crowd as I lifted it from the water. My gosh! It was a giant Koi carp and one of the most beautiful fish I had ever seen. These fish are prized by the Japanese, and a large fish like this could be worth a couple thousand dollars. Koi can live up to 80 yrs. and very large ones are considered very lucky by the people who keep them in their backyard pools. I was thinking how can I get it to the pet store nearby, they would surely buy it.

Suddenly my wife was at my side and said " Roy you have to let it go, it was talking to me, it said if I let it go I would be very lucky. I said, " you want me to throw a couple thousand dollars away?" " YES YOU MUST ", she said. Now I seemed to be hearing the same things inside my head, this was very strange, to hear a fish talking to me. Without further ado I removed the hook and slipped the fish back in the water, he swam a few feet and turned a little toward us then sped away. A groan went up from the onlookers and several complained that fish would have fed their families for many days if I had given it to them. I walked away knowing I did the right thing.

On the ride home Virginia said to me, "that fish winked at me before he swam away!" A couple weeks later, we were in a Indian Casino, and Virginia saw a machine with fish symbols on it, "I want to play this one" she said. She put ten dollars in the machine, pulled the handle and got five fish symbols in a row. Bells rang, lights flashed and $2000.00 winner flashed across the screen.

Just coincidence? Yeah RIGHT!!
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Magic Fish part 1

My wife and I were fishing at a small lake in Santa Fe Dam park 10 miles east of Pasadena. It was the middle of November, and we were experiencing the weather So. California is famous for, a warm and sunny fall day. This is one of the lakes the Calif Dept of Fish and Game stocks with trout in the winter and catfish in the warmer months. It is close to a million people and gets heavy fishing pressure, but it's close by, and the park like setting makes it a perfect place for a quick getaway.

We had been fishing for about an hour and had caught several nice trout. Because of the heavy fishing pressure this small lake gets you have to use very light line to be successful, as the fish that aren't caught right away quickly become wary.

We were using ultra-light spinning gear. The reels were spooled with Berkley Vanish, a fluorocarbon line in 2# test that I have used to catch trout up to 13 lbs with. Fluorocarbon is a line that is almost invisible underwater and I would recommend it in any situation where you have clear water and spooky fish. Our rods were 6ft light action models. Our rigs consisted of a small float and a very small split shot that had the float only about 20% above the water, this gave us casting weight and allowed us to make long casts and since the floats were mostly underwater, the fish felt no resistance when they pulled it down. The distance to the hook is adjusted up and down depending on water depth or the depth you get the most bites at. Early and late in the day, closer to the surface, and during the day close to the bottom. The hooks were #18 laser sharp models. I always use laser sharp hooks as they give you 50% more hookups than regular hooks.

We were using red worms for bait. The floats bobbing in the light breeze gave the worms an up and down swimming action that most of the species of fish in the lake found irresistible.We made our casts upwind and let the breeze drift our baits downwind, at the end of the drift, reel in and make another cast just a little closer or farther. This way you are searching different areas, when you start getting bites continue casting to the same area until the action slows, then cast to a new area.

This cast was no different than many others I had made, the float stopped then slowly sank out of sight, I gently lifted the rod tip as I turned the reel handle, ( with light line and small sharp hooks there is no need to set the hook, the hook will penetrate when the line comes tight without danger of breaking the light line ) as the line came tight and the fish felt the hook, it took off in a powerful run, my rodtip was pulled down to the water and I had to run along the shoreline to keep up with the fish. What was this?

I had never hooked such a large powerful fish in this lake...
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A Shark Story the Conclusion

We worked feverishly with the buckets to empty the water from the boat.

After about 45 min. most of the water was gone, and I could see no new water coming in. I looked over the side of the boat and noticed since we had stopped chumming most of the sharks had left. Now how were we going to start the motors with 2 dead batteries? I went to the medicine chest and got the bottle of aspirin, then I dropped 1 in each battery cell. The acid in the aspirin would give me one quick burst of power. I waited about 15 min for the aspirin to work, then used my jumper cables to hook both batteries to the engine that started the quickest. Crossing my fingers and holding my breath I turned the key...

The engine turned slowly, rrrrrr, rrrrrr, rrrrrr, varoom!! What a sweet sound. I let the engine run for about 10 minutes to charge the batteries up then started the other engine, when both engines were running smoothly I went back to the engine compartment to see if I could discover where the water was coming from. I immediately saw water coming from the rubber hose that connects the riser to the exaust system, it had split and a good amount of water was flowing out into the bildge. I shut the motor down and tightly wrapped duct tape around the hose, that quick repair would get me home, the hose could be replaced tomorrow.

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I have been chartering in Southern California for thirty years, I have learned many tricks on making emergency repairs to get the boat back to port, ( no service stations out here, you are on your own! ) These also work on you car or motorhome when you find yourself far from services. In my stories I will give some helpful hints on how to make it back when you are stuck.

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