It’s been 2 weeks since my last shore fishing. This time, I went 30 miles south from our Lucky Craft USA office to a place called Dana Point. This place is also going to be the location of the SWBA 3rd stage competition. But since I won’t be fishing on a boat, it won’t really be a good examination of the place for the tournament. However from now on, for this Daily Flash Minnow report, I will be going on fishing trips to the southern region from our office for awhile. I am planning on going as far as San Diego!

Anyways, even in Dana Point I found 2 piers just like they have in Long Beach and Redondo Beach. My first location was from the pier right next to the education center and I there I casted a Flash Minnow. Unfortunately I got no hits and all of a sudden it started to rain so I decided to wait in my car (It can get very dangerous when fishing in the rain, so everybody please be safe). The rain had stopped and I decided to go to the other pier. But there were a lot of surfers here and it seemed a bit tough for shore fishing. So I went on the pier and decided to examine the surface a little with a Flash Minnow. Since it was my fist time fishing in Dana Point, I wanted to understand what the bottom surface was like, so I used the Valid 70H to explore the ocean floor. I used a lift-and-fall action and dropped the lure all the way to the bottom first, then slowly retrieved and examined the condition. The bottom is covered with sand with a lot of large rocks and kelps. And if you don’t understand the area, the lure tends to keep getting caught into things which led me to losing mine. I ended up going home with no fish, but I did get to confirm that there are a lot of fishing locations in the southern region also, so I am very excited for the upcoming season. In Dana Point, there are landing areas so it is possible to go boat fishing too!

Sandy
The Daily Flash Minnow

P.S. I lost one of my favorite Valid lure, so I’m a bit bummed.

My first fishing spot was here!
http://maps.google.com/

And my second spot on a pier was here!
http://maps.google.com/

Dana Point

These are some recent activities I’ve been a part of lately: first is the MDR SWBA event, although I did not finish where I wanted, 21st out of 70 teams isn’t so bad. I caught quite a few fish on the DD 100 MS Crack color and weighed one of our five on that bait. It was great to see Neil and Sandy at the weigh-in! I believe there were some pictures taken while holding a couple of Calico Bass …….hopefully they look good.

Last weekend was Day at the Docks in San Diego, I was able to make it down for Saturday while wearing my LC shirt and hat, came across many people who asked about the Saltwater line of LC baits and showed them what baits I use and have in my arsenal …….they were very impressed on the product. For some reason, I don’t think the San Diego fishermen are too familiar with the LC line of hardbaits for the saltwater……..I’m not sure why but I always have product on me when I show for the fishing events throughout Southern California. Hopefully they will catch on down there ……..they don’t know what they are missing!

I also made the annual Lilly Call event at the Balboa Angling Club on Sunday …… There were lots of people at this IGFA light- line event. The next event is Dana Point and I’m really looking forward to it! This will be a place where the hardbaits will do well and hopefully so will I!

Gerry

This week, I boarded on the “Patriot” and again went on a boat fishing trip. Unlike last week, it was a sunny day fishing. And there were a lot of fishermen on the boat as well. Hoping to catch some Scorpaenopsis and Sand Bass located at about 160ft below, I again used a Shell Spin and attached a 1oz weight on its head part. It took 45 minutes to get to our destination from Long Beach harbor and it was a slightly different spot than last time. I started off using the Texas Shell Spinwith a rod specifically for light tackles. And immediately I get a hit!! I caught a small Flounder (Hirame)! Afterwards I got couple more hits but was unable to hook it well, so I decided to change it to a butterfly jig instead. Then I kept fishing keeper size fishes! I caught some by aiming the bottom first and once I get a hit, I kept my tension the stable.

After being able to catch quite a few, we moved on to our next destination. At this fishing spot, I dropped it to about 60ft to the bottom at a relatively shallow area. I again used the Shell Spin and started. On a Shell Spin, since the hook is right below the body, when you are aiming the bottom the hook tends to sink in, so it becomes harder to tell when you get a bite. So what I do is; I first drop it to the very bottom, I then make a half-turn on my reel so it is lifted at about 30cm. Afterwards, I make sure to keep my tension the same. Most importantly, I make a lift, fall, and stay action and continue to keep my rhythm. Then on my “stay”, I feel a knock! knock! and when I pull at the right time it hooks on. And I believe that is what lead me to catch some Scorpaenopsis. This time, I was able to catch 1 Perch and 3 Scorpaenopsis with the Shell Spin!

Sandy
The Daily Flash Minnow

P.S. On this trip, I made my personal record!
Scorpaenopsis x18 (12 Keepers) Flounder x1 Perch x1

Since I was able to catch some Flounders 2 weeks in a row, this time I went boat fishing. It was my very first boat fishing this year! I departed from Newport Beach (Newport Beach Landing) to catch some Sculpin Fish and Sandbass.

There were about 40 people on the boat with quite a few people, but because of the strong winds that day, a lot of people were getting sea-sick so I actually had a lot of space to fish. It took about 45 minutes to the fishing spot, and once I started fishing, I immediately felt a hit on my rod!! It was a 13 inch Scorpaenopsis! The rod and reel I had purchased half a year ago was doing great! Afterwards I kept catching more, and from adding the small ones also, I caught 9 fishes!!

My fishing technique that day was to drop the fishing weight to 160ft and to just wait, which was actually the captain’s advice to me. But I decided to drop it all the way down to the bottom and then lifted it about 50cm. Disregarding the swaying of the boat, I kept the line tension stretched tight and waited for a hit. I believe that was the reason I was able to catch a lot that day.

We then moved to our final destination to aim for some Sandbass. I used the Shell Spin and dropped it to 15m in depth. Here there was a bet going on to who can catch the first fish for the Jackpot! I got fired up and waited for a hit. After 5min a different fisherman caught a Sandbass and the bet was over! A 10 minute competition… what a short fishing time. However, out of everyone else not being able to catch much, I caught 9, so in result I’m very satisfied!

If only there was a heavier Shell Spin lure~!

Sandy
The Daily Flash Minnow

P.S. I made my fishes into Sashimi and ate it.

In this report, I want to talk about the SWBA Tournament which was held on April 2nd. There are 6 tournaments every year and it was the 2nd one this year (Also sponsored by Lucky Craft & IMA)!

It was located in Marina del Rey and over 80 boats participated in this competition. Every year there are more and more teams participating, but regardless, there were all eyes on our Lucky Craft pro staff Team Gerry (right image) and Team Jimmy (left image). They both had a very nice Bass limit!! They didn’t win the competition, but they were able to make it in the top 10 rank!! What skilled anglers… I asked Gerry in private where he was able to catch those fishes and he kindly answered, “in the rocky point”! We also made plans to go fishing together next time!

They use the same measuring system and equipments as the BASS/FLW tournaments, and each year it progresses. I’m confident to say that this SWBA, saltwater fishing tournament will definitely be the next big thing!
This day’s BIG BASS was 7lb!

And the winner was Team Hammer with a 19 pounder!

Sandy
The Daily Flash Minnow

P.S. I got to take a picture with the founder of SWBA!
(From the left is: Matt (IMA), James (SWBA), Eric (SWBA) and Lucky Craft reporter)

Lucky Craft fans all across the world~, it is time for the Daily Flash Minnow Report!

Continuing from last week, I had gone to the pier in Long Beach! Started my day at 6:30am and as the forecast said it was a sunny day! The highest temperature went up to 29℃ (84.2 F). At the pier, even in the early morning, there were already a lot of fishermen and the popular spots were taken by the time of my arrival. But there were still few spaces left and I was able to start casting with a FM110. Then I realized right below me was several flock of fishes! I thought I just might catch one today. However…while not being able to catch any, I observed my neighbors bait fishing carefully. If they weren’t able to catch any from bait fishing, I came to a conclusion that there probably aren’t any fishes below, so I decided to change locations!

Around 10 o’clock, there was barely any wind coming by and I decided to long cast in a very wide range from the beachside. I made sure to cast at the right timing by observing the wave movements, and cast behind the wave! Instead of aiming the very bottom, I tried to aim the upper surface to appeal the Flounders (Hirame)! I didn’t get any reaction from aiming 50cm from the surface with the FM110, so I changed it to the PT100 (White with yellow belly). With that I aimed from the bottom to the top. I continued to cast while traveling 3m, and as I was about 250m away from the parking lot, I suddenly got a hit!! I pulled quickly and then…!

It was a Flounder (Hirame)!! It was big and thick too!!! Is this my long desired legal size fish!? Full of hope, I carefully measured the Flounder… it was 53cm (21in) with just 1 inch short from being a legal size… so I decided to release it. “Tonight’s dinner mission” (Quoted by SHINGO) had to be carried over for next time.

Although from catching Flounder, I’m starting to understand more on how to catch them. I know now that it is good to have color on the lure belly, the aiming time is right around the approaching high tide, and lastly it is better when there is more water clarity.

P.S. The white hooded fisherman was also using the FM110 (Candy).

Sandy

The day before my fishing trip it rained pretty hard so I thought about canceling. But then I remembered what my boss had told me before, “The day after it rains, you can catch quite a few fishes~!” And the morning of my fishing trip, it was completely opposite of how it was yesterday, it was an amazingly sunny day! I immediately headed out to go fishing.

I grabbed a casting rod for the FM110 & a Drop Shot rig rod for the bottom surface and finally arrived at Alamitos Bay. The wind was blowing very strongly towards me so it was impossible for me to long cast. So I thought of a plan, I decided to move to the pier!! I was able to fully cast in 6 directions with the FM110 & PT100 and aimed the upper surface area. But when that didn’t work, I also tried aiming the bottom! I cast in a pretty fast pace at about 10 cast per spot while walking along the pier.

I then arrived at the end of the pier and still had absolutely no response so I decided to go back to the beach.

For some reason I didn’t want to give up. I went back to my car to drop off the materials I didn’t need and then grabbed only one casting rod, FM, PT, and PTDD lures with me. I went to the corner of the pier and beach. I started off casting the FM110 (Color: Aurora Black) but got nothing… I tried out the PT100DD right after.

Then… Bam!! I got a hit!! I tried not to panic and slowly retrieved… it was a Flounder (Hirame)!! This was my very first fish caught this year from Okappari (Shore fishing).

The size was about 40cm (15”) long and quite small, but I finally caught one with a Lucky Craft lure!! My goal since the 2011 New Year was to catch a fish from Okappari (Shore fishing)! And finally I met my goal!! Now I can go on the boat.

See you all soon!

P.S. The expensive trigger I bought on my Japan business trip finally paid off!

Sandy
The Daily Flash Minnow

Date: 3/17/11

It is time for the Daily Flash Minnow again. But to start off, I would like to send my deepest condolences to the all the people who was and still are affected by the great earthquake of Kanto, Japan.

Today I went to a local beach, Newport Beach for my fishing trip! Due to the rain from yesterday, the water was quite cloudy and it was also a foggy weather. The temperature was low, so I made a choice on aiming the bottom instead of the surface. This time, I brought 2 rods and used the Bass fishing essential item, the drop shot rig. The rods are made exclusively for casting and I used the PT78XD & FM120DD as my main lures.

The first half of the day, I casted with the reliable FM120DD! But when I didn’t get any kind of reaction, I changed it to a smaller lure size and continued to do a lure rotation between these lures: PT 100DD, PT 78XD, and PT 78DD. Unfortunately, I still didn’t get any response, so I tried out a less motion type lure, the Valid and continued to retrieve. Again, nothing.

It was my last resort, the Drop Shot!! I long casted the Drop Shot and dragged it on the bottom surface. And when I felt a change, I shook it a bit and then just waited! I continued to do that and finally by the jetty I felt a hit!! I immediately reacted to it, but the worm torn apart and failed… It was probably because the hook I was using on the worm was too big, so it didn’t hook on too well…
No fish again! But I did find out that there are fishes on the bottom area, so next time I’ll have that in mind and challenge with a rig next time.

Sandy

The Daily Flash Minnow

This is the Daily Flash Minnow Weekly Report!

It’s been awhile since I came to Redondo Beach. In the morning I went to an area called Malaga where it was famous for Flounder (Hirame) fishing. The last time I was here, the fisherman next to me was using a drop shot and was catching a lot of Flounder. So I tried to do the same thing, but in result I got 0. Right about the time the low tide was approaching, I moved to a place called Jetty.

Waves on the outer area were very high so it was impossible for me to fish there, so I started aiming in the inner sea region. Since it was at low tide, using a Wander I pulled very slowly towards me while shifting it left to right at 15 degrees interval. Searching everywhere, I continued to cast and retrieve.

While color rotating lures, I traveled almost half of Jetty. From looking at the time of the rising tide, I changed my lure to a Flash Minnow 110, Pointer 100, then to a Pointer 78DD, targeting my range to a deeper area. I rotated lures so I may possibly aim the rising banks. But that didn’t go too well and I ended up with no catches. Can it be a bad time?? Is it not Okappari (shore fishing) season anymore…??

P.S. Next week I am planning to go to my good friend and also the owner of Optimum Baits, Mat’s factory tour. So please stay tuned.

See you soon!

Sandy
The Daily Flash Minnow

This is the Daily Flash Minnow Weekly Report! I want to apologize for not being able to post up a fishing report last week. But this week I will like to share my reports with much more effort!!
I again visited Newport Beach for this fishing trip. I arrived at 9am with high tide and at about 3pm with low tide. So in the morning, I mainly used the Flash Minnow 110 & 130MR and aimed at 1m from the surface! I concentrated on casting in open water in kelp bed areas and aimed for some Perch and Calico Bass! Just one time, a fish came chasing after the lure, but I was too slow at reacting, I let it get away… When I can’t see the fish and feel a hit I can react to it right after, but when I can actually see the fish coming, I tend to panic! Mortified… I’ve let my very first fish of this year get away.
In the afternoon I used the Wander (In whitish color with center plates), Flash Minnow SSR (Ghost Iwashi color) and others. I let it slowing sway on the surface and aimed the surface again. I full casted to the inland ocean side where there are ships from the harbor passing by (I chose this area because where ships pass by it is deeply gouged and from the ships passing all the baits wind-up together and concentrates in that area). ……it is too strict. I can’t fish… What should I do…

Next week I will go somewhere else!! And the week after that it will be just like the tide condition today so I will see if I can go to Malaga Cove (Palos Verdes)!!

P.S. The Wander lure I used today! I used a color that is still under development. I can’t really show it, but it is shown somewhere.

Okay then, see you soon!

Sandy