El Cap (1/17) and Miramar (1/18) - New PB

[bfullerton17]

Hi all,

Had a couple interesting days on the water this weekend. Got out to El Cap yesterday, and had a quick session on Miramar this morning where I got into a good one. Reports below:

El Cap (1/17): Showed up to a line at the gate again this morning. My first thought: not again! Last time this happened, the ranger never showed up, but luckily they pulled up at around 6 AM. Anyone know if they were just late, or was the opening time pushed back? Anyway, got on the water at about 6:30 AM and tried to get on the reaction bite with the crankbait and jerkbait, but had no takes. Threw the ned rig and a 1/8th oz jig as well, but also had no takes. I did manage 4 clones on drop shot, with the trusty MM Roboworm saving me from a skunk. Overall, it was a pretty unremarkable day for me. I talked to a cool guy right after he pulled up a nice 3.8 (I think) on the opposite side of the cove we were working, and he said his buddy was slaying ‘em on the neko rig. Something to think about for next time! I was off the water at about 2:30 PM.

I guess matching the hatch isn’t foolproof

Miramar (1/18): Fished from a 6-11 AM this morning and managed 3 fish total, but one of those 3 fish was a monster and my new PB, tipping the scale at 8lb 4oz and beating my previous PB which was a bit under 7lb. I was about halfway through the retrieve of my drop shot on my 3rd cast of the day, and when this fish hit and I reeled down on it, I knew it was big. I could feel those tail pumps right off the bat, with each one taking drag and putting some serious bend on my M spinning rod. The fish made one jump early on where I got a good look at it. Nothing wakes you up at 6 AM like seeing a fish of that quality on the end of your line! After a roughly 3 minute fight and a few drag peeling runs, I was able to lip the fish and get a weight and a few pictures. What a morning!

Length: Approximately 24 in.
Weight: 8lb 4oz

[JWall]

Outstanding!!

[TIM]

Awesome fish. What was your setup for drop shot . Had to be lite. Impressive. Thanks for update.

[Fisheromen]

Nice fish!

[bfullerton17]

Awesome fish. What was your setup for drop shot . Had to be lite. Impressive. Thanks for update.

Thanks for reading! It’s pretty light, but not as light as I know a lot of guys will go with their finesse stuff. I run 15lb high-vis yellow braid to a roughly 12 foot 8lb flouro leader with a 1/4th oz cylinder weight roughly 15 inches under a size 1/0 Roboworm Rebarb hook. The leader is quite a bit longer than I would normally go with low-vis braid, but I’m paranoid that line-shy fish will be put off by that high-vis braid. That big fish ate a 4.5 inch Margarita Mutilator straight-tail Roboworm, but I think most color worms would do the job. A fish like that will definitely test the integrity of your knots and gear, especially when throwing the lighter stuff!

[CorsoEnthusiast]

Hi all,

Had a couple interesting days on the water this weekend. Got out to El Cap yesterday, and had a quick session on Miramar this morning where I got into a good one. Reports below:

El Cap (1/17): Showed up to a line at the gate again this morning. My first thought: not again! Last time this happened, the ranger never showed up, but luckily they pulled up at around 6 AM. Anyone know if they were just late, or was the opening time pushed back? Anyway, got on the water at about 6:30 AM and tried to get on the reaction bite with the crankbait and jerkbait, but had no takes. Threw the ned rig and a 1/8th oz jig as well, but also had no takes. I did manage 4 clones on drop shot, with the trusty MM Roboworm saving me from a skunk. Overall, it was a pretty unremarkable day for me. I talked to a cool guy right after he pulled up a nice 3.8 (I think) on the opposite side of the cove we were working, and he said his buddy was slaying ‘em on the neko rig. Something to think about for next time! I was off the water at about 2:30 PM.
IMG_7246.jpeg

Miramar (1/18): Fished from a 6-11 AM this morning and managed 3 fish total, but one of those 3 fish was a monster and my new PB, tipping the scale at 8lb 4oz and beating my previous PB which was a bit under 7lb. I was about halfway through the retrieve of my drop shot on my 3rd cast of the day, and when this fish hit and I reeled down on it, I knew it was big. I could feel those tail pumps right off the bat, with each one taking drag and putting some serious bend on my M spinning rod. The fish made one jump early on where I got a good look at it. Nothing wakes you up at 6 AM like seeing a fish of that quality on the end of your line! After a roughly 3 minute fight and a few drag peeling runs, I was able to lip the fish and get a weight and a few pictures. What a morning!
IMG_7247.jpeg
IMG_7259.jpeg

I am cool dude’s buddy lol. It’s been fun out there. Was there both days last weekend and all 3 days this long holiday weekend. Slowed down a little bit the last two days, at least in the areas I’ve been fishing heaviest.

Congrats on the big catch!

[TIM]

Awesome fish. What was your setup for drop shot . Had to be lite. Impressive. Thanks for update.

Thanks for reading! It’s pretty light, but not as light as I know a lot of guys will go with their finesse stuff. I run 15lb high-vis yellow braid to a roughly 12 foot 8lb flouro leader with a 1/4th oz cylinder weight roughly 15 inches under a size 1/0 Roboworm Rebarb hook. The leader is quite a bit longer than I would normally go with low-vis braid, but I’m paranoid that line-shy fish will be put off by that high-vis braid. That big fish ate a 4.5 inch Margarita Mutilator straight-tail Roboworm, but I think most color worms would do the job. A fish like that will definitely test the integrity of your knots and gear, especially when throwing the lighter stuff!

Thanks for the info. Congratulations on the PB. Yeah there is some big ones there.

[bfullerton17]

Hi all,

Had a couple interesting days on the water this weekend. Got out to El Cap yesterday, and had a quick session on Miramar this morning where I got into a good one. Reports below:

El Cap (1/17): Showed up to a line at the gate again this morning. My first thought: not again! Last time this happened, the ranger never showed up, but luckily they pulled up at around 6 AM. Anyone know if they were just late, or was the opening time pushed back? Anyway, got on the water at about 6:30 AM and tried to get on the reaction bite with the crankbait and jerkbait, but had no takes. Threw the ned rig and a 1/8th oz jig as well, but also had no takes. I did manage 4 clones on drop shot, with the trusty MM Roboworm saving me from a skunk. Overall, it was a pretty unremarkable day for me. I talked to a cool guy right after he pulled up a nice 3.8 (I think) on the opposite side of the cove we were working, and he said his buddy was slaying ‘em on the neko rig. Something to think about for next time! I was off the water at about 2:30 PM.
IMG_7246.jpeg

Miramar (1/18): Fished from a 6-11 AM this morning and managed 3 fish total, but one of those 3 fish was a monster and my new PB, tipping the scale at 8lb 4oz and beating my previous PB which was a bit under 7lb. I was about halfway through the retrieve of my drop shot on my 3rd cast of the day, and when this fish hit and I reeled down on it, I knew it was big. I could feel those tail pumps right off the bat, with each one taking drag and putting some serious bend on my M spinning rod. The fish made one jump early on where I got a good look at it. Nothing wakes you up at 6 AM like seeing a fish of that quality on the end of your line! After a roughly 3 minute fight and a few drag peeling runs, I was able to lip the fish and get a weight and a few pictures. What a morning!
IMG_7247.jpeg
IMG_7259.jpeg

I am cool dude’s buddy lol. It’s been fun out there. Was there both days last weekend and all 3 days this long holiday weekend. Slowed down a little bit the last two days, at least in the areas I’ve been fishing heaviest.

Congrats on the big catch!

Ha, that’s awesome. Glad to hear you’ve been catching. I had some really good days on El Cap during the fall, but my last couple of sessions out there this winter have been a bit underwhelming. Guess that means I just need to experiment with some new methods and get my numbers back up. Really makes me miss that all-day frog bite from September and October. That being said, I am taking notes on your performance, and I’ll make an introduction next time I see you guys on the water. Tight lines!

Brad

[VinnyBass]

Enjoyed the reports Brad and thanks for sharing it with us. Congratulations on your PB! Got to love a PB anytime of the year, but on the third cast of the day......that is awesome!
Tight lines

[bfullerton17]

Enjoyed the reports Brad and thanks for sharing it with us.
Congratulations on your PB! Got to love a PB anytime of the year,
but on the third cast of the day......that is awesome!
Tight lines

Thank you for reading! Getting the good fish right off the bat is a beautiful thing. Even if you don’t get another fish for the rest of the session, you stay stoked on that one the whole time you’re out. No pressure and no grind the rest of the day. Tight lines, my friend!

[vito1023]

Congratulations on your personal best, my buddy and I went out to Lake JENNINGS looking for Bass. They had a trout plant not too long ago so we tried at some spots we’ve done well before. We were thinking about going to Miramar when we decided on JENNINGS not that we would’ve caught anything different we’ve been stuck on clones last three times out. We caught three each Clones 2 1/2 pounders was fun, but it’s been 20 Years since I caught my PB and it stands at 6lb 4oz. I sure would like to break it, SOON

[bfullerton17]

Congratulations on your personal best, my buddy and I went out to Lake JENNINGS looking for Bass. They had a trout plant not too long ago so we tried at some spots we’ve done well before. We were thinking about going to Miramar when we decided on JENNINGS not that we would’ve caught anything different we’ve been stuck on clones last three times out. We caught three each Clones 2 1/2 pounders was fun, but it’s been 20 Years since I caught my PB and it stands at 6lb 4oz. I sure would like to break it, SOON

I appreciate it! You're not the only one who's been stuck on clones. Up until a few sessions ago, I hadn't gotten a fish over 3lbs since November, and then luckily hooked into the good one this past weekend. Are you out there throwing big swimbaits? I've always been on the fence on whether or not that's something I'd want to get into due to the low-frequency of bites, but since getting that PB fish when I wasn't necessarily targeting trophy fish, I think I might be moving farther away from that camp. I'll never close the door on it, though! My previous PB (a little under 7lbs) was caught at El Cap on a frog as well, which has gotten me a ton of bites in the past at several different places, but no huge fish. I've concluded from my experience, which probably isn't much compared to some of the guys on this forum, that luck might be a bigger factor on many days than tactics. That being said, while the big swimbaits don't get bit as frequently, it does narrow it down to the bruisers and weed out the clones! Keep hammering 'em. That big one is gonna eat!