Fish Sniffer On Demand Digital Edition Issue 3822 Oct 11-25 | Page 26

24 Oct 11 - 25, 2019 VOL.38 • ISS. 22 What’s Happening • What’s New What’s Hot! Sponsered by: Hunting Big “Gators” at the Cape Hunting big Lingcod is at the heart of fishing here on the Central Coast. Anglers from near and far book their trips in pursuit of the next, or first, big gator. This was my motivation as well when I booked a 12-hour trip to Cape San Martin aboard the Fiesta out of Virg’s Landing in Morro Bay. My goal was simply, Amy Wellenkamp of Nipomo, CA with a 13# Lingcod.   to top my personal Photo Courtesy of Amy Wellenkamp best. I was not alone in this hunt. Many other anglers had the same goal, to catch a big one and most were motivated to qualify for the 7th Annual John Rowley’s Biggest, Baddest Lingcod Competition with $10,000 in cash prizes. On that Wednesday morning we arrived at the tackle shop to check in about 4:00am, boat was to depart at 5:00am with a light load of anglers to make the 3 plus hour trip up to where the big ones live. The ride up to the cape was fairly smooth, and got a little choppy as we got closer. Once we arrived at the Cape the conditions began to improve, deckhand Aaron Neely reported the swell came down to 6ft at 7 seconds with a light breeze at 5-10 knots and no current, perfect. At our first drop we started fishing at a 175 foot plus depth, the water was a bit dirty with red algae but the fish didn’t seem to mind when the biggest Olive Rockfish I’ve ever seen started flying over the rails. They were in the 3-4 pound range. Then the big Baccachios and high quality Red Vermillion started to hit the deck with a few other varieties of rockfish in the mix. At the start of the day the white shrimp flies and diamond jigs were the favorites for the Reds and the red jig caught the eye of a few Lings, but they were a slow catch to start. My largest fish in the early morning bit the 14oz Rattleling Fishing Armory bullet jig. As we were fishing Captain James checked in on me as he didn’t see a lot of fish in my bag and he gave me a few sugges- tions which I appreciated, we talked about how my goal was to catch a big one and so he tailored his advice towards the hunt for a big gator. Deckhand Ventura Garcia also let me know the lings preferred Steve Howell of Morro Bay with two jumbo Red Vermillion.   Photo Courtesy of Amy Wellenkamp. By Amy Wellenkamp the smaller swim baits and not to throw giant stuff at them. So, I took their advice and put away my larger jigs and swim baits and stuck with smaller lures. My largest Vermillion was caught on a purple 1.5 ounce Hookup Bait in 175 feet of water. A fun contest for sure. The reds have really been attracted to the Hookup baits up and down our coast this year, especially in the shallow water, 100 feet or less. When no other baits are working these tube baits are killing the high-grade fish. They compete well for the fish’s attention when there is a lot of baitfish in the water, a new go-to lure for me. After a while we traveled up the coast another mile and a half and made it all the way up to Pacific Valley in search of some higher quality Vermillion, and we found them. Especially Angler Steve Howell, of Morro Bay. His gunnysack could barely contain his catch of these huge reds. Meanwhile, Freddie Cardenas, out of Visalia slayed a couple of big lings while fishing his favorite spot on the stern. Freddie’s lure of choice was an octopus style pearl swim bait. Mid-morning I was fishing my favorite color swim bait by Madame Lure, the mackerel. I have these in the 3.5” and 5.5” lengths. I was using the 5.5” size with a 4oz red bullet-style jig head. Captain James was getting read to move to a new spot when my line got hit. I started reeling, it was a decent fish, I could tell, but I wasn’t really thinking it was a Ling. I had been catching other heavy fish and thought it was a red or maybe a white belly. Much to my surprise it was a ling, I called for a gaff, the deckhands yelled at the captain to stay put and Aaron Neely expertly transported my catch into the boat. I was thrilled, it was a Freddie Cardenas of Visalia, CA  with two blue Ling, I call these Cotton Candy Lings, and Lingcod.   it was a bigger fish. Aaron grabbed the digital Photo Courtesy of Amy Wellenkamp scale for me and we weighed him, a 13# Ling. I barely beat my personal best, but I did beat it. What a thrill. For the last hour or so of the trip we moved into the shallow water drifts, my favorite, catching more lings, most were hitchhikers. We ended the day with limits all around, and 16 Lings, a smaller showing than this trip has been producing lately. Freddie Cardenas of Visalia took the jackpot with his 16# gator. For this trip the largest Lings were caught on artificial baits so that was interesting to make note of. As we motored back to Morro Bay I asked Captain James a few questions regarding the Lingcod season. He stated the bigger Lings typically appear up in these waters in October and November and are in the 20# plus range that time of year. The biggest ones are caught in the deep water, 275-300, so start your workout. If you are interested in hunting a big gator and even possibly qualifying for the Lingcod Competition make sure you book a trip with Virg’s Landing soon, these long-range Cape trips fill up fast. You can call the landing to make a reservation at (805) 772-1222. Tight lines and happy hunting. The Best SUP for Fishing! More Stable Because It’s Wider. More Portable Because It’s Infl atable. 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