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