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