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Subject: "2009 Qualifier 105 Big Hammer Skiff/Kayak Trip" Previous topic | Next topic
Leapin BassWed Jun-10-09 10:53 PM
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#14703, "2009 Qualifier 105 Big Hammer Skiff/Kayak Trip"


  

          

May 30, 2009 - Saturday - Sacramento Reef:

This was my first time fishing Sacramento Reef from the skiff. We've gotten close to it in the big boat on past trips but the weather was never good enough. This time it was decent. We started drifting the kelp and picking some bass in the pockets. We had several flurries where it was nearly a fish a cast. The quality of the fish was very good with most of them in the 2 to 4 pound range. The largest one we got was around 6 pounds. We were working our way around to a section of boilers but our visit to Sac Reef was cut short by some commercial panga guys saying we could not fish there. Instead of making an issue out of it Joe decided the best thing to do was to leave and work it out later. One of the other skiffs did well near the boilers and I believe landed the largest bass of the run at about 8.5 pounds.

For the afternoon we stopped on a couple hard bottom area where we had a pretty wide open bite on rockfish, bass, and a variety of other species.


May 31, 2009 - Sunday - Cedros Island:

We started near the North end of the lee side of Cedros. The morning run skiffs did well on bass and found a few yellowtail. Rob Belloni and Nico were out and got about 60 bass for their run. During the flurry of bass their skiff driver Alan hooked up on a 5 inch Calico Hunter Big Hammer and they got to witness what yellowtail in the high 30's does to bass gear. Followed by another similar fish on iron.

Me and Rob Creek were out on the second skiff run of the morning. We had a good pick on decent bass - typical lee side of Cedros bass fishing. Didn't find any yellowtail but we new they were around.

The afternoon/evening skiffs found good bass fishing along with some yellowtail and white seabass action. All near Redondo point.

http://www.swimbait.com/gallery/q105-skiff/photos/skiff-090531-010.jpg
On Our Way

http://www.swimbait.com/gallery/q105-skiff/photos/skiff-090531-020.jpg
Chum


June 1, 2009 - Monday - Cedros Island:

Morning Skiff Run - Part 1: This was a day for the record books (at least my record book). Started off in the skiff with Alan as our skiff driver for the morning run. Soon after we started Travis' skiff reported yellowtail in the bay just to the West of Redondo Point on the South side of Cedros. I had heard from Rob B. the night before that Alan got one of his yellowtail on a turquoise jig and sure enough that is what he had tied on today. So, I decided to give the new Sexy Smelt color a whirl. As soon as we pulled up I threw the 6.5 inch Sexy Smelt Big Hammer out and get slammed almost immediately by a nice mid-30's size yellowtail. The line was flying off my new Curado 300E as the skiff spun around and the fish started dragging us. I was quickly reminded of how powerful these fish are and how cool (and perhaps a little crazy) it is to get them on bass gear. That of course, didn't last long as Rob Creek soon hooked up on a Hammer and our skiff driver Alan hooked up on a jig. Now we were being pulled in all different directions. As soon as I landed my fish I grabbed my new bass jig setup (Trini 16 on a Loomis Musky stick I built years ago but never really had a purpose for it - I have now found it's purpose) threw it out and hooked up again. Once I landed that fish I grabbed my surface iron rod (Trini 30 and 9 ft. Teramar), threw out, and... you guessed it... hooked up again! Even on 50 lb. mono it was a tough fight. Just like out of a dream, yellows crashing on bait, chasing and crashing on lures right next to the boat - simply amazing. When the chaos was over we ended up with 14 yellowtail for our skiff. I got seven of them. 2 on swimbaits, 4 on my bass jig stick, and 1 on my surface iron stick. Rob C. got 4 and Alan got 3. I don't remember if we lost any fish. I know I didn't - which is a first for me - especially for the first yellowtail of the trip. It usually takes me a couple to get in the "groove" of handling them on bass gear. I believe half of our fish were on swimbaits and half were on iron.

http://www.swimbait.com/gallery/yellowtail/photos/yellowtail-wolf-pete-090601-010.jpg
Sexy Smelt Yellowtail

http://www.swimbait.com/gallery/yellowtail/photos/yellowtail-creek-rob-090601-010.jpg
Rob's morning catch

Morning Skiff Run - Part 2: Rob C. and I scored and got to stay out for the mid-morning run with Alan. Having our fill of yellowtail and being on the South side of Cedros there were some boilers and inshore rocks I wanted to fish that produced well for me last year. There was also a cove my buddy Bryan Davis fished with his dad last year where they got a variety of species (bass, halibut, white seabass). So, we told Alan we wanted to go bass fishing and we headed West. We stopped on a spot where the skiffs got some white seabass yesterday evening but it only produced a few bass for us. On to the inshore stuff. I recognized this large black rock and knew we were in the right area. The scenery was absolutely beautiful. Threw up next to the large black rock and slammed a nice 6 lb. boiler bass, reminding me how much harder boiler calicos fight then calicos that don't live in the rocks. We all started picking fish off the rocks and it was a blast. After landing a few nice ones I really wanted to play with my new jig setup so I started throwing the iron. The bass didn't seem to want to commit as much to the iron as they did the swimbaits but I did manage to get a few and they put on a great show for us. At times I had multiple 3 to 5 pounders climbing over each other all the way to the boat chasing the jig. After a couple tries (I haven't perfected my aim with the jig stick yet) I was able to get my jig just on the other side of this rock ridge just under the surface. Put a couple of cranks on it and saw a huge fish roll and, unfortunately, miss the jig.

http://www.swimbait.com/gallery/calico/photos/calico-wolf-pete-090601-010.jpg
6 lb. Boiler Calico

http://www.swimbait.com/gallery/q105-skiff/photos/skiff-090601-010.jpg
Inshore Structure at the South side of Cedros

The best fishing experience of my life: We figured we had fished out the area just to the West of the big black rock so we turned around and headed over to the East side of it. The water was still pretty clear but the closer we got to the cove Bryan fished last year the water started looking more and more like seabass conditions. I started throwing the 5.5 inch Red Calico Hunter Big Hammer on a 1.5 oz. Yellow Hammer Head right up into the shallow rocks. Just outside the cove I noticed a little "alley" in between two nice looking rocks in about 6 ft. of water. Standing in the front of the skiff pointing into the shore I threw the bait up in the alley and started my retrieve. Just as it got the edge of the rocks I noticed a large head approaching from the left. Not wanting to take my eye off the bait I couldn't tell exactly what it was but I knew it was not a bass. With seabass on the brain I yelled, "there's a white seabass" and watched as it slurped down my bait. By this time I got a better look at realized it was a nice yellowtail. My stomach jumped into my throat, my heart started pounding, and my hands started trembling. I set the hook and the fish took off at top speed flying by the starboard side of the skiff. Somehow I ended up in the back of the skiff kneeling on the driver's seat with one knee and my other foot firmly placed up on the driver's backrest hanging on for dear life. I'm not sure I have ever seen line peel off a reel that fast. At about 1/3 of my little spool (Curado 300E) Alan asks me if he wants me to start the motor. "Not yet", I reply. "Now?", he asks. "No", I reply again. We go back and forth a couple of times while I am carefully using my thumb to try desperately to slow the thing down. Now with only about 10% of my line left I say, "okay, start it". He gets it started and we turn the skiff around. We go a few feet and the fish finally tires a little (or perhaps just felt safer in deeper water). We slowly get to it and now I am in a vertical tug-o-war. The fish finds some kelp and wraps me up. I don't give up hope and slowly but surely work it through the kelp. Alan comes over and gaffs my personal best yellowtail at 45 pounds. For quite some time after landing the fish my heart continued to pound and my hands were shaking so badly I could hardly fish. I could not believe I landed that fish.

http://www.swimbait.com/gallery/yellowtail/photos/yellowtail-wolf-pete-090601-020.jpg
45 lb. Boiler Yellowtail

http://www.swimbait.com/gallery/q105-skiff/photos/skiff-090601-020.jpg
Where I caught it

But... the run wasn't over. Rob C. had worn a Guy Harvey t-shirt that day with a white seabass, yellowtail, calico bass, and a halibut on the back. We now had two out of four (plus a couple of sand bass we caught earlier while fishing the kelp). We work our way into the cove and catch a few more calicos on and off the rocks. I then get picked up near a boiler and it felt strange... a subtle reminder of home. Sure enough, hands still shaking, I bring in a 5 lb. halibut. Okay... three out of four. Rob had never caught a legal white seabass. The conditions looked perfect but all we could find were calicos and a few more halibut. We had several halibut follow our baits all the way to the boat including one that looked to be in the 10 pound (30 inch) range. Rob hooked and lost another barely legal that spit his bait right at the side of the skiff. Then... Rob hooks up. We could tell right away what it was as his rod was dancing up and down with those all too familiar head shakes. Four out a four? You bet! Rob lands about a 10 pound seabass to top off the run.

http://www.swimbait.com/gallery/whiteseabass/photos/whiteseabass-creek-rob-090601-010.jpg
Rob's First Legal Seabass

http://www.swimbait.com/gallery/q105-skiff/photos/skiff-090601-020.jpg
More South Cedros Inshore Structure

Can The Day Get Any Better? You bet it can! After lunch we jumped on an empty skiff (not sure why there was one available but I'm not one to pass up the opportunity) and headed out to Redondo Point. Alan did very well out in deeper water at this time yesterday. When we got there the current was going in the opposite direction from yesterday. The pick was on the slow side (for Cedros) but they were there and they were eating. I pitched my 6.5 inch Mackerel colored Big Hammer near a submerged stringer and let it sink. It hit bottom, I put a wind or two on and... "tap". Set the hook and the tug-o-war (yes, I know, I just don't know how else to describe it) began. The water was very clear and we could see pretty far down. I saw the fish and knew it was a good one. As it got closer it seemed to get bigger (and darker and meaner). Shortly thereafter I landed my new personal best calico at 9 lbs.

http://www.swimbait.com/gallery/calico/photos/calico-wolf-pete-090601-020.jpg
9 lb. Calico Bass

I kept looking and drooling over the boiler rocks in tight at Redondo. Alan had fished there yesterday and it was slow. Our bite slowed down so we decided to go just inside the cove where we got the yellowtail in the morning. We found a ridiculous wide open bite on calicos and a few sand bass. The current kept getting stronger and our drift (no wind) kept getting faster. Every time Alan would set us up he'd get closer and closer to those ever appealing boiler rocks. Finally, he got close enough. I fired a shot right on the lower edge of the middle set of rocks and slammed a nice bass. Another epic bite started. Not only right on the rocks but fish seemed to be all around the area. Then Rob hooks up and what do you know... those all too familiar head shakes... but bigger. Unfortunately, the fish breaks his floro leader. At that point I believe he was convinced that straight tying the braid is the way to go. We set up on the boiler again and Alan fires a jig just on the edge of the rock. About half way in I hear "KABOOM" as a big yellowtail explodes on his jig... and misses it. I didn't see the strike but the sound was horrifying. Needless to say we hung around the boilers for a while after that which was great for me!! No big fish but we continued to knock some nice boiler calicos.

As evening approached the birds started showing signs just like they did the night before. Now, we were out in the skiff with a guy who I swear can smell yellowtail. Alan's ability to find them was astonishing. They weren't holding steady anywhere but somehow he could find them. We (or should I say, they) put three on the boat while I lost two. Alan owns and operates the El Capitán (http://www.calsportfishing.com/) out of San Diego. It was an absolute pleasure to fish with him.


June 2, 2009 - Tuesday - Cedros Island:

I was on the big boat for the morning skiff run. We went out to an area they call the "four" just offshore the South side of Cedros. We found one of the most ridiculous wide open bites on 15 to 20 lb. class yellowtail I've ever seen. Rob Belloni's first fish was on fairly heavy gear. Everyone else was hooked up so I guess he didn't want to wait around as I saw him bounce his first fish onto the deck of the boat. It was hilarious. After getting a few on jigs it was time to get stupid and have some fun. Out came the Magnum Zara Spook. Threw it into a patch of boiling yellows and after a half a dozen swipes at it one of the fish stuck.

http://www.swimbait.com/gallery/q105-skiff/photos/skiff-090602-005.jpg
Deck full of yellowtail

http://www.swimbait.com/gallery/q105-skiff/photos/skiff-090602-010.jpg
Magnum Zara Spook Yellowtail

Okay, did that. What now? I searched through my box and found the Rapala Risto Rap that helped us win the second half of the SWBA finale last year at the wall. It was a little light but what the hell? I tied it on, could barely cast it but it didn't matter. Right at boat side it gets swiped and... GAME ON! The fish made one short dive, came up, and Joe was right there with the gaff. The lure was annihilated. The back hook was gone, the wire had torn through the balsa wood, and the front treble was barely hanging on the fish. I couldn't believe I had landed the fish after seeing the lure. Rob, Nico and Cal played around with various lures also. I believe they got one on a popper and hooked some or at least got bit on an MS Slammer, Miki (striper lure), and a spinnerbait.

http://www.swimbait.com/gallery/q105-skiff/photos/skiff-090602-020.jpg
Risto Rap Yellowtail

http://www.swimbait.com/gallery/q105-skiff/photos/skiff-090602-025.jpg
What a Yellowtail Does to a Balsa Wood Lure

For the mid-morning skiff run we switched up the teams a little and I had the pleasure of fishing with Nico. We ran over to the large black rock to try a little more inshore boiler fishing. Unfortunately the fish just didn't want to play. We tried hard to get them in tight but nothing. It was surprising. I did have one nice fish chase down and slam my jig at boat side but that was about it. We moved out a little deeper and fished the edges of the kelp. We started getting them but it was a slow pick. We moved quite a bit ending up inside Augustine Bay fishing the kelp. Still a slow pick. Near the end we moved in tight and fished the boilers and inshore structure at the East Point of Augustine Bay. Beautiful looking area and Nico slams a nice 6.5 pound boiler bass. On the way back to the big boat we fish the kelp lines again, still picking a few and I get a nice 6.5 pounder.

http://www.swimbait.com/gallery/calico/photos/calico-raffo-nico-090602-010.jpg
Nico's 6.5 lb. Boiler Calico

http://www.swimbait.com/gallery/calico/photos/calico-wolf-pete-090602-010.jpg
My 6.5 lb. Calico

Fished the big boat in the afternoon. Had some decent bass fishing in deeper kelp. Rob got a nice 5.5 on a jig. Nico got the only yellowtail of the afternoon. It was a 30 lb. class fish.

http://www.swimbait.com/gallery/q105-skiff/photos/skiff-090602-040.jpg
Qualifier 105


June 3, 2009 - Wednesday - San Benitos Island:

Headed out on the morning skiff run with Cal as our skiff driver. We made our way through the small gap between the main island and the middle island. Cal wanted to check it out. Conditions weren't great so the other skiffs stayed on the inside and had a decent pick on the bass. We worked our way around to the sparse kelp and hard bottom area on the East side of the middle island where we've done very well in the past. We started picking them pretty good. Rob Creek broke his personal best with a nice 5.5 pounder on the 6.5 inch Mackerel colored Big Hammer.

http://www.swimbait.com/gallery/calico/photos/calico-creek-rob-090603-010.jpg
Rob's 5.5 lb. Calico

http://www.swimbait.com/gallery/calico/photos/calico-wolf-pete-090603-010.jpg
Benitos Calico on the new "Hot Karl"

After picking that area clean we moved in tight to fish the inshore rocks and boilers on the West side of the East Island. Unfortunately, the inshore fish didn't want to play. But, just as we were looking for something else to try we saw some birds and small boils just outside from where we were. We ran over there and starting picking the bass pretty good. I was switching between the swimbait and jig. I had a yellowtail chase my jig and blow up on it right next to the skiff, unfortunately it missed it. Then, the bass fishing busted wide open for the rest of our run. It was pretty much a fish a cast on the swimbaits. I stuck with the jig for a while and although the swimbaits were outfishing the jigs we had a couple of fun moments watching the bass chase the jig around. Rob hooked up and broke his personal best (again) with a nice 7.5 pounder on the same swimbait. Cal hooked up on the swimbait also and after a nice tug-o-war boated a 15 lb. class yellowtail. It never made that initial run they usually do so for a while we thought he had "the" bass.

http://www.swimbait.com/gallery/calico/photos/calico-creek-rob-090603-020.jpg
Rob's 7.5 lb. Calico

http://www.swimbait.com/gallery/q105-skiff/photos/skiff-090603-015.jpg
Jig Fish

For the mid-morning skiff run Rob B. and Nico got a chance to fish one of my favorite spots at Benitos. A large rock on East Island called Bouy Cove where I got my personal best (8.5 lb. calico) a few years ago. They had some great boiler fishing with bass up to 6 lbs. I was glad to hear they got to experience fishing that spot. They capped off their run with some 7 to 9 lb. bonita.

http://www.swimbait.com/gallery/q105-skiff/photos/skiff-090603-010.jpg
Bouy Cove

After lunch we headed back out in the skiff with Tim as our skiff driver. We tried the spot he fished that morning and picked a couple but it was slow. We made our way over to the North side of the East Island. Fishing was still slow but we were able to pick a few off of Lunker's Rock which is always fun. From there we made our way around the island to meet the big boat on the South East side. With about 15 minutes left on our run we stumbled upon another wide open bite of 2 to 4 lb. fish. Played with those as long as we could and then headed back to the big boat.

http://www.swimbait.com/gallery/q105-skiff/photos/skiff-090603-020.jpg
East Island and Lunker's Rock

http://www.swimbait.com/gallery/calico/photos/calico-creek-wolf-090603-010.jpg
End of the Run Wide Open Bite


June 4, 2009 - Thursday - Cedros Island:

For the morning Joe decided to take the big boat with everyone aboard out to the "four" to see if we could find the suicidal yellowtail bite we had a couple days ago. Sure enough the fish were there and were just as eager to play. It was stupid time again. My first inclination was to try and get one on a 3 inch swimbait. Which I did on about my 3 or 4 cast. After that I tried a spinnerbait for a while. I got a lot of bumps but could not get them to stick. I figured they were hitting the blade but I kept trying. Rob hooked and landed one on the MS Slammer. Nico got one on the Miki.

http://www.swimbait.com/gallery/yellowtail/photos/yellowtail-wolf-pete-090604-010.jpg
Yellowtail on a 3 inch Big Hammer

I didn't have the mid-morning run on a skiff so I decided to finally give the kayak a shot. First time for me and I have to say it is pretty sweet. It took me about 30 minutes to get a "feel" for the yak and to find some fish but once I did it was a blast. I stuck to my 10 lb. outfit with a 4 inch Red Calico Hunter Big Hammer and landed over 30 bass... all on the same 4 inch Big Hammer! Most of the fish were in the 1 to 2 pound range but I did manage a few over 2 pounds including a nice 4.5 pounder that worked me on 10 lb. I love catching fish on light tackle and getting them in the kayak was a lot of fun.

http://www.swimbait.com/gallery/calico/photos/calico-wolf-pete-090604-010.jpg
4.5 lb. Kayak Bass

http://www.swimbait.com/gallery/q105-skiff/photos/skiff-090604-050.jpg
The 30+ Calico Swimbait

After lunch Rob Creek and I were back in the skiff with Alan as our skiff driver. We picked the bass pretty good in similar areas that I was getting them in the kayak. I tried the ripbait in tight and picked a couple as well. Every so often I threw the jig but again couldn't get the bass to commit. But... once again they put on a great show. At one point I saw a huge dark cloud following my jig. I yelled to Rob and Alan, "look, look, look!" and when it came into view the jig had 8 to 10 big (at least 25 to 30 pounds of fish total) calicos literally climbing over each other trying to get the jig.

We decided to make a run down the island toward the point where the Q was fishing. On our way down I saw some shoreline that was screaming inshore halibut. Pulled in there and threw the ripbait a couple of times when word came over the radio that the Q and the skiffs had found some big yellowtail very close to shore. I put down my rod and said, "let's go". I couldn't believe it as I started to recognize the area. It was the area where two years ago we got into a crazy wide open inshore yellowtail bite. "Could this possibly happen again", I thought to myself... "no way". we pulled up and I felt I like I was having déjà vu. Alan stops the skiff I throw out my 6.5 inch Sexy Smelt colored Big Hammer, take a couple of winds and, THUMP!... Fish on!!! As I watched the line melt off my reel I still couldn't believe what was happening... again! While I was fighting that fish Rob hooks up on the 6.5 inch Silver 'Chovy. I get the fish in, grab my bass jig stick, throw it out, and you guessed it, THUMP! Alan soon hooked up on his jig and it was pandemonium in our skiff. At the end of the run we boated 6 yellowtail (2 each) all in the mid to high 30's. Once again, half of the fish were on swimbaits and half on jigs. Not sure how many fish the big boat had but one of the skiffs had 10 and the other had 6 as well.

http://www.swimbait.com/gallery/yellowtail/photos/yellowtail-wolf-pete-090604-020.jpg
Déjà Vu Yellowtail


June 5, 2009 - Friday - San Martin Island:

On our way back back home we stopped at San Martin island to do a little halibut drifting. Most guys drifted live bait on dropper loops. By the end there were 6 legal halibut caught from about 10 pounds to 32 pounds with a few very nice (up to 7 lb.) sand bass thrown in. I stuck to the Stinger jig and caught a sand dab that was about half the length of the jig. LOL!

http://www.swimbait.com/gallery/q105-skiff/photos/skiff-090605-020.jpg
San Martin Halibut

Topped off the day (and the trip) with an amazing turkey dinner.

As always, the food, the crew, the boat, and the food (did I mention the food?) was top notch. Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone at the "Q" for another amazing trip!

Gear used:
Shimano Calcutta XFA815/Shimano Curado 300E/50 lb. P-Line Spectrex
Shimano Calcutta XFA820/Shimano Curado 300D/50 lb. P-Line Spectrex
G. Loomis MU946/Shimano Trinidad 16/30 lb. P-Line CXX
Shimano Teramar TMC-90H/Shimano Trinidad 30/50 lb. P-Line CXX
Shimano Crucial CRC-C711ML/Shimano Chronarch 50mg/10 lb. P-Line CXX

  

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swimbaitThu Jun-11-09 04:24 PM
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#14704, "RE: 2009 Qualifier 105 Big Hammer Skiff/Kayak Trip"
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Dammit Pete, I didn't take any pictures with the rod in my teeth :D }( :D

Congrats again on your epic day with the 45lb yellow and the 9lb calico. That's just sick. That was a magic day of fishing.

  

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