Lucky Craft pros Joe Thomas go searching with Pat DeCastro for Tarpon at Longboat Key, Florida Golf Coast from this episode of Stihl’s Reel in the Outdoors.

I got a call from a friend the other day and he told me he caught a 26in Halibut in Bolsa Chica. So I immediately headed there the very next day. It was my first time fishing here so I wasn’t quite sure what the water condition was like, but the image shown was what I first saw and it just looked perfect for Halibut fishing! There was good water flows, run ups, rip currents, and the terrain here is constantly changing which makes it easier for the baits to gather. And this means there is a higher chance for me to catch some Halibuts! I had high hopes this day!
There wasn’t too much change in tide on this day and the water level stayed pretty stable. However, the river water came in pretty strong and the lure had the tendency to drift away, so I needed to cast by adjusting to the water flow. That ended up making it very difficult for me to catch anything. In Long Beach where I usually go, there is barely any water flow so I had more control over my lure, but I realized that depending on each the location the condition is quite different… lesson learned. I wasn’t able to catch anything this day, but I am definitely coming back here again next time.

Catch result: 0
Sandy
The Daily Flash Minnow

Sandy’s one point advice:
I wonder if this little section will become popular? Well, I’ll just wait and see and continue to write it. To all the people who I gratefully want to thank for reading my blog and if you have any questions on California fishing and/or fishing locations, please don’t hesitate to ask! I’ll be waiting~.
This time I will talk about the parking situation in Bolsa Chica. Here it is a California state managed parking lot so there is a fee of $15 for a day. It is quite pricey… But there’s other options! You can purchase an annual pass for $125 and you have unlimited parking for a year!! Not only that, you can use that pass anywhere that is considered state parking! How great is that! With this pass, I’m going to continue to challenge fishing in different places such as Malibu, Huntington Beach, Corona, San Onofre, Oceanside, and San Diego where the parking pass can be used in all these locations! Now I don’t have to worry too much on parking. It can not be used in Long Beach or Redondo Beach so please keep that I mind.

Lucky Craft pros Joe Thomas go searching with Pat DeCastro for Tarpon at Longboat Key, Florida Golf Coast from this episode of Stihl’s Reel in the Outdoors.

Continuing from last week, I went Halibut fishing with my new ESG Rod again. Last week the weather condition was horrible due to the rain, but this week was in perfect condition! I started fishing early morning along with the rising tide! There were a bunch of seabirds flying in the water which also meant there were plenty of fishes! So I got my rig from the parking lot and headed to the jetty. Then on my way, I couldn’t believe my own eyes… I’ve never seen the ocean like that before, it was all red! Was it red tide? I couldn’t understand, but decided to look it up later. I knew there were plenty of baits, but with this water condition, I couldn’t expect to catch anything… Though, I didn’t want to give up! I decided to use a lure color that is more visible – a pearl color. I also used a DD (Deep Diver) and very slowly retrieved the deeper range. Then I got a bite! It was a small size Halibut! It was my one valuable fish I caught that day, but it accidentally fell between rocks right before I was able to take a picture…

Lately I’ve been having a tough time catching fishes, so I’m thinking of changing my fishing locations.

This is completely off subject, but dolphins appeared by the bay!! And I saw 3 of them! America’s great~~!

Fishing Result: 0

Sandy
The Daily Flash Minnow

Sandy’s Halibut Catching Method:
In early dawn and/or when the fishes are the most active, fast retrieving is more effective. However, what is more important is the condition – how dark/bright the field is and the water condition. Depending on that, you need to change up your retrieving speed.
When it is dark, retrieve slowly and as it gets brighter fasten the retrieving so they don’t realize that it’s a lure.

This week it unusually rained for 2 days in California. The next day because of the rain, fishing condition was bad and there was only little hope for a bite. Sure enough when I arrived at my fishing location, the water condition was very bad with high turbidity and a bunch of trash floating around. I expected to not catch anything due to this condition. But this time instead of fishing, I actually wanted to test out 2 new saltwater rods I received from the main office in Japan recently. So to see how these rods feel, I started casting. And…WOW! These new ESG rods are great! Compared to the previous rods, it has a softer tip, stronger bat, longer grip, and just the feel of the grip is perfect. With this rod I get less miss bites and I have a good feeling I’ll get more catches. I’m looking forward on seeing the types of fishes I’ll come across using these 2 new ESG rods.

Rod Introduction:

ESG “Shore Saltwater Game” Rod
Length: 9’7”
Lure Weight: 2.6g ~ 20g
Line: 6lb ~ 14lb

ESG “Shore Saltwater Game” Rod
Length: 8’ 7”
Lure Weight: 2.6g ~ 24g
Line: 8lb ~ 16lb

Fishing Result: n/a

Sandy
The Daily Flash Minnow

Travis & I had another top-10 performance over the weekend. We are off to Fernandina Beach tomorrow to fish the IFA Redfish tour Eastern division final event.  We hope to have another solid finish to update you on next week!

2011 Ruskin IFA Redfish Tour

Captain Heath Seckel & Captain Travis Tucker

“A New Fishing Spot”

This week I went to a new Halibut fishing spot. When going Halibut fishing, I usually would go to the Long Beach Jetty, but this time I went to the other side where I had in mind for awhile – the Seal Beach Jetty. I got some information about this place that the water stream at the tip of the jetty and towards the beach side (shoal) is the best fishing spot. The basics in trying to get a better chance catching fish at a new location are to continuously and effectively cast and to keep your retrieving speed constant at a certain spot and repeating that action! It is also good to change your depth range from surface, middle area, to the bottom. As for me, I first used the FM110 to explore the surface, then the PT100 for the middle area, and finally for the bottom surface I used our newly released FM120DD & PT100DD!! So with the FM120DDI used my latest technique for Halibut fishing, the bottom knocking action with slow retrieving. This action has been a major success in catching fishes! However, at a new location this bottom knocking technique becomes a huge risk because you have no idea what the bottom surface is like and what obstacles exist and there is a high chance it may get caught into something and lose your lure!! BUT!! If you want to build your fishing skills you sometimes need to be bold. And in that result, I caught one!! The Halibut was about 20in. With my very first fishing experience here, I have a better understanding of where the rocks and such obstacles are located. So next time I want to go a little further towards the tip of the jetty.

Fishing Result:
Sandy: Halibutx1

Sandy
The Daily Flash Minnow

Benny Florentino and I recently fished the last regular season SWBA tournament of 2011. The tournament took place in San Diego and was held at Dana Landing in Mission Bay. The fishing overall was very tough, and we were struggling all day just to get bites. The weather was kind of cool and overcast. On several occasions we each said that if the sun would just come out the fish would bite the rip bait.

Well with 25 minutes left to fish the sunshine finally arrived at Point Loma kelp. Ten minutes later I watched a big calico bass shoot out from under a patch of kelp and literally inhale my Flash Minnow 190 in MS Herring color. The fish ended up weighing 6.75 lbs and was the big fish for the tournament. Our faith in that bait continues to grow every time we throw it. And a $1,000 check doesn’t hurt too much either. Thanks again for making some awesome baits and for letting Benny and I be a part of the Lucky Craft family.

We qualified for the SWBA Elite Championship on Oct 8th and I am sure the Flash Minnow 190 will be a big part of our game plan.

Wish us luck!!

Keith

I’m off to go shore fishing from the beach with our new employee Miku. With this she will experience all 3 styles of fishing: Bass, boat, and shore fishing. We started fishing from early morning in Long Beach where lately it is said to have a high count of catches. This will be her very first Halibut fishing experience as well. Miku has almost no fishing experience, but yet her casting skills are already excellent! With her Kendo experience, she must know how to seize techniques fast. Our first bite of the day was by me, but the size of the Halibut was less than legal size. I used my latest fishing pattern that’s been getting me a lot of bites! I cast the PT100DD and started knocking the bottom then I would slowly retrieve. Especially lately in Long Beach, instead of using the FM110 to swim on surface, there is a better chance in getting a bite when you go a deeper range while feeling the bottom surface. I frequently use the FM120DD & SS90V2 with that fishing pattern and been getting a pretty good result with it. However, it does depend on the condition of the tide, but it is the best to use the DD during high tide!!!

Well then… as for how Miku did, something very shocking happened!
After about an hour since we started, I hear Miku screaming, “Aaaah~~! I caught one!!” So I look over and…!! Her rod was bent tremendously! After carefully pulling it up, there was a huge, 25.5in Halibut!! I was stunned by Miku… Even from last week, she just might have something that gets big ones. Here in California, the law is if you catch a halibut less then 22in you can’t take it home. And to even catch a Halibut larger than 22in is very difficult for all fishermen, but at her very first shore fishing experience with the PT100 she surpassed that. I am extremely impressed.

I’ve been to Long Beach many times this past year and aimed for Halibut, but never did I catch a Halibut over 22in. I am mortified… From now on, I would like to learn a lot from Miku instead.

Fishing Result:
Sandy: Halibut x5
Miku: Legal Size Halibut x1, Halibut x3, Barracuda x1

Sandy
The Daily Flash Minnow

This time we went on boat fishing from Newport Beach with our new employee Miku!! She has absolutely no fishing experience, but starting today I want her to learn the joy of fishing and bring up this Daily Flash Minnow blog site together. She will become our new “Lucky Fishing Girl” and will also begin writing articles about her experiences, so please stay tuned! Today I will be helping her out with the basics including knot tying and casting.

The boat took off to Huntington Beach offshore and we will be aiming for some Rockfish, Sanddab, and Scorpion. Since it was Miku’s first boat fishing experience, she was having a difficult time getting the lure to the bottom and couldn’t get any bites. I completely understand how she feels because just a year ago I was in the same shoes. If only she was able to get to the bottom, the fishes would most likely come for it, but it seemed pretty hard for her to understand the feeling of it hitting the bottom… While then, I got a bite!! I could feel it swimming around so I was guessing it might be a Mackerel. I wanted Miku to feel how the rod felt when a fish is caught so we traded rods and had her retrieve. It was my very first Mackerel! (Miku’s rod on the other hand had a starfish caught on it!)

When it became about time to go back, we hear a yell, “Ah~~~!! Fish!!” Miku caught a large size Scorpion!

Miku you did it!! It was her very first fish! (I’m starting to have this feeling she just might catch big ones… The Mackerel was 17in!)

Please continue to see how Miku develops her fishing skills!!

Sandy
The Daily Flash Minnow