14 July 8 , 2022 VOL . 41 • ISS . 11
WHAT ’ S HOT continued from page 2
performed a major overhaul of the entire vessel , making it a cadillac among sportfishing boats in our region . I stepped on the boat at 5:15 and already recognized several anglers that I had fished with , wrote articles about or worked with in the past including Phenix Rods ’ fearless leader - Vince Borges , Andy Douda - my old sturgeon fishing buddy and former organizer of the Addathon Sturgeon Derby , and last but not least , James Smith himself , owner / operator of California Dawn Sportfishing . Our first order of the day was to shoot north along the coast to find lingcod and rockfish . While the rockfish were a little leery to bite due to cold water , the lingcod were more than willing to gobble 5 ” AA Worms Bad Bubba Shads and Shad Tails . JP Gano and Nick Lam lead the way in getting fish on the deck while Matt Paino , Optimum Baits owner , topped the catches with the biggest lingcod of the day . That ling was a 20 pound behemoth landed on a 5 inch Bad Bubba Shad . We finished out lingcod fishing with a total of 44 fish for the anglers and crew . Next up , James took us for a short ride to the South Bar located in front of Land ’ s End on the San Francisco Peninsula . The plan was to try for halibut . Before everyone could even get situated , commotion came from the stern . Nick Lam had fired off his very first cast and hooked a halibut which turned out to be a 25 pounder on a swimbait . When I say the stoke was real , it was REAL ; landing a hog of a halibut with an artificial lure on the very first cast ? Insanity . I moved to the stern and parked myself right next to Lam . After several casts with a 4 ” Bad Bubba Shad , I felt a bump and immediately hooked up . It was my turn . “ Don ’ t pump the fish , just slowly grind on the reel handle . That way , you wont lose him ,” Lam instructed . This was a mistake I was making all day long and both Gano and Lam attributed it to the lingcod I was losing earlier in the day . Eventually , we had her boatside and our deckhand Scott Brace had it in the net – a respectable fish around 30 inches . A few casts later , I felt another bump and hooked up on another fish , this time a smaller keeper . The crew slowly picked off a few more fish until the tide went completely slack and the bite died out . James moved us to the North Bar where the anglers drifting live bait began putting fish in the boat . Gano , myself and Lam continued to chuck swimbaits and while it was slow , we kept on knowing that the next bump on our line could be the one . While I ’ m not sure about Nick , JP
Matt Paino , owner of Optimum Baits , shows off a nice lingcod that he caught while using a 5 inch Bubba Shad while fishing aboard the California Dawn II .
Photo Courtesy of Kaz Kondo
and I have a bass fishing background which translates to the want ( and need ) to catch ocean species with artificial lures . While it ’ s proven that lingcod and halibut love a lively anchovy , the skill needed to work artificial baits to catch both species is the ultimate test of angling skill . After seeing more fish come up by the live bait anglers , I made a switch to a more natural colored Bad Bubba Shad – the Baja Anchovy . After several casts I felt the tell-tale “ bump ” but missed it . A few casts later , I felt another bump and I reeled down as fast as I could . This one stuck ! Immediately I was pinned to the rail with a very large and angry halibut . After what felt like an eternity of grinding him to the boat , Scotty scooped it into the net and on the deck she hit - a 19 pound slab . The adrenaline was pumping good ! I put on another Baja Chovy swimbait and went back to work . I felt another bump and hooked another halibut , a small keeper that hit the deck , adding to my total number of keepers halibut to four . At this point , hunger had set in so I ran inside to order a cheeseburger from the galley . It was perfect timing as we neared the end of the drift and James was motoring us up to start another . I scarfed down my cheeseburger as quickly as I could . Oh and by the way : If you haven ’ t experienced the food from the galley on either the California Dawn or California Dawn II – you ’ re missing out . It ’ s flat out amazing . Re-energized from lunch I went back out and continued to do work with the swimbait and it wasn ’ t long until I hooked into another halibut . Another bruiser of a fish that had me pinned to the rail while I grinded it
AA Swimbaits are a must have in your arsenal if you plan on fishing for halibut , stripers and lingcod . Keep an assortment of colors and sizes available because you never know what the fish want .
Photo Courtesy of Roland Aspiras
There is no doubt that this lingcod wanted this AA Bubba Shad in Baby Lingcod colorway . AA Bubba Shad ’ s are deadly when fishing for lingcod .
Photo Courtesy of Roland Aspiras
up from the bottom . Slightly smaller than my first big halibut , but another one to add to the tally of keepers to five , and that ’ s where I finished . Shortly after , James had us clear lines as we made our way back to Berkeley Marina . What a day of fishing . And while some of the best fishermen in the state gave me props on my day of halibut catching , I ’ ll admit I was in shock of how good of a day I had . Honestly I think it was more luck than anything . And , I can ’ t claim much in terms of the success because I had two extremely talented anglers next to me showing the ropes the entire time . A big shout out goes to JP and Nick . Another big shout out goes to Vince Borges . Vince truly knows how to build a group of guys that are not only amazing fishermen , but amazing human beings as well . Everyone on the trip were great people and I think that was a big part of why the trip was such a success . I can ’ t forget about James Smith and his deckhand Scott Brace and galley chef Tammy Matteri . Both James and Scotty ran around the deck all day long helping anglers land fish and untangle lines . And like I mentioned earlier , Tammy makes some amazing food . One last shout out goes to Matt Paino and Jeff Clough from Optimum Baits and @ miroku _ big _ baits _ in _ cali who spent the entire day filming all of the stoke and excitement . Now , onto the rigging and gear . I prefer a swimbait rod rated in the ballpark of 10-25 pound test . For reference , I ’ m using a Phenix M1 Inshore SMX-C 77ML . This is a 7 ’ 7 ” rod . JP Gano uses the same
rod but in the 8 ’ 2 ” length , SMX-C 82ML . I find the shorter rods are easier for me to manage – Gano is much taller than me . When throwing the heavier jigheads , I like using a heavier rod . That ’ s where I ’ ll use the SMX-C 711MH which is 7 ’ 11 ” and rated for 15-35 pound test . Gano likes the SMX-C 82MH for this application ; a 8 ’ 2 ” stick rated 20-45 pound test . For the reel , I ’ m using a Daiwa Lexa 300WN . Gano uses a Shimano Tranx 300 , but both are great for this application . Use a model that has a gear ratio in the ballpark of 7:1 . For line , 30 to 55 pound braid will suffice . What ’ s more important is a leader in either 40 or 50 pound fluorocarbon . Fluoro is ideal for abrasion resistance and sensitivity as opposed to monofilament . To connect the leader to your braid , use an FG Knot – there are many videos on Youtube that show how to tie the knot . Take an assortment of jigheads ranging from 3 / 4oz to 4oz ; heavier weights for deeper water , and lighter weights for shallow water . I like using four inch swimbaits , and my favorite is the Bad Bubba Shad from AA Worms . A four inch Bubba Shad rigged on a jig head will be around five inches which perfectly matches the size of most anchovies that California lingcod and halibut feed on . Also , pay close attention to the size of the hook on your jig head . A 5 / 0 or 6 / 0 hook will sit perfectly on a four inch bait . For colors , I try to keep it simple like I do with bass fishing - three color profiles . Bright , natural , and dark . For bright colors , look for a smelt pattern which usually has some form of yellow , blue and white . For natural colors , look for anything that matches an anchovy or sardine . And for dark colors , choose something that has brown and tan tones . Check out aaworms . com and their huge selection of swimbaits . Chasing halibut and lingcod with swimbaits is a fairly straightforward technique . Cast out your swimbait into the wind and / or current and let it hit bottom then engage the reel . Crank the reel handle two to three times , then stop and let the bait hit bottom . Rinse and repeat . Strikes usually occur when your swimbait is falling . This is where you ’ ll feel a tick or bump on the line . Don ’ t set the hook . Instead , reel down as fast as you can until you ’ re locked in with the fish . When fighting the fish , don ’ t pump the rod . Instead , keep steady pressure and keep grinding on the reel handle until you have the fish at the boat . As I mentioned earlier , I lost several lingcod due to pumping the rod until JP and Nick gave me the advice . Throwing swimbaits for halibut and lingcod is a great alternative to fishing livebait . Give it a try sometime . If you have any questions , feel free to reach out on the @ fishsniffer instagram page .