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Shore fishing for Rockcod

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ehunter

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Many years ago I witnessed a couple of guys walking up a steep grade half way to Santa Cruz from where I live. They had a gunny sack full of cod/bass they caught from the rocks. Does anybody on these forms have experience doing this?

 

I mainly use lures but once in a blue moon will bait something up if the returns seem impressive.

 

Do you look for certain underwater topology( depths) in the areas you decide to fish against the from the shore?

 

What gear do you use as I mostly spend my time loosing expensive lures that the rocks take from me.redface.gif

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Hey ehunter,

Great subject, I am sure lots of folks that post here fish for rockies from shore. I personally like to use lures as I am not much of a bait guy. I'll generally start out with good old 4" swimbaits in either anchovie, Halloween, or black/purple. I generally use a 3/4oz lead head. the secret is to keep it moving so you don't get hung, but at the same time, you want contact with the rocks. If you are losing lots of baits, switch over to a Texas rigged 4" tube bait in some sort of root beer color, you can really let that thing fall into the nooks and crannies where the fish live.

these will also work if you are fishing from a jetty, the secret is really don't be cast out far on a jetty but rather parallel and work the rocks.

If you fish bait, good old squid and anchovies are good. Most of the time if you are getting hung up, it is the sinker that is snagged, I like to run a three way rig with the line going to my sinker 1/2 the pound test range as the main line, that way if it snags, you don't lose everything.

you will snag up, but, that is where the fish live so it is kind of part of the game.

 

Hope that helped a bit,

Tom

Be the chimp, not the frog.....

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I have plenty of swimbaites and 3/4 oz lead heads does narrow things down quite a bit. Is standard perch rigging out of the question? I mean, how productive is a 3" Kalins grub swimbait with 30" leader and a 3/4oz torpedo weight at the beginning of the leader? Is this worth the trouble? Might the fish productivity likely drop off?

 

When Texas rigging a worm, usually there is a sliding head bullet sinker in front, right? This would make the rig weight much less than 3/4 oz. You probably compensate depending on the conditions right? If you need more than 3/4, what would you do?

 

 

No bait for me either. I rather not bother with smelly/messy baits and the hassles that go along with them.

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I've just started on the rockfish quest myself. No success yet but expect snags to rocks and kelp. If you are using bait you'll lose a ton of hooks and lead. Otherwise, it seems people do pretty well with swimbaits and other small plastics just like Surfhunter said.


Quote:Originally Posted by Surf HunterI don't wanna grow boobies.
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View Post... how productive is a 3" Kalins grub swimbait with 30" leader and a 3/4oz torpedo weight at the beginning of the leader? Is this worth the trouble?

 

 

I suspect that you will have a lot more snags with a Carolina rig with a 3/4 oz weight.

 

Generally you should only use as much weight as you need to properly work the bait. Using too much weight is asking for hang ups. I used to use the old cloth tobacco sacks filled with sand or rocks for weight. Grab a couple of threads of the bag with the clip swivel. If you hang it up... not much $$ lost. Lately the most expensive component of the rig is the weight.

The harder you work, the luckier you get.
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When Texas rigging a worm, usually there is a sliding head bullet sinker in front, right? This would make the rig weight much less than 3/4 oz. You probably compensate depending on the conditions right? If you need more than 3/4, what would you do?

 

Yup, it will weigh a lot less than 3/4oz but again, you are not casting a mile, you are working close in, also, if you do the Texas rig, i always find it best to peg the weight with a tooth pick to keep it from sliding, it will help keep it from snagging.

 

Tom

Be the chimp, not the frog.....

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View PostCool trick, I like that!! Hook an anchovie to a 2' carolina rig and you've got guaranteed fish. Just let wash through the rocks with the tidal surge and reel in slow

 

 

Did someone slip and guarantee you fish? Must have been Surf Hunter, only Forum Leaders are allowed to do that. cwm27.gif

 

About the only thing that is guaranteed is that you will loose some tackle.

The harder you work, the luckier you get.
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this is my absolute favorite type of fishing, as you might guess from my name. i am a bait guy myself.

 

my friends, and father, and I all agree that squid is the best bait to use, and it seems that most agree... as 99% of the other guys i talk to are using squid.

 

we try to keep our gear cost down as much as possible, depending on rod, we use a 3oz-5oz weight, preferably a shape that wont get hung up, one shaped like this "()" then for hook set up, i place a hook on about a 6" leader 12" above the weight, and then a second hook on a 6" leader about 14-16" abouve the bottom hook.

 

we cast, let sit for a minitue or two, then bring it in a few feet.

 

also, generaly... when you catach a fish in a certain spot, there are more fish there, so try to keep landing in that spot.

 

there is a book i read often, it is "fishing the pacific coast" by Ray Cannon, it is an exelent book, i do not remember where i got it, i think i got it in a book shop in santa cruz. i am not shure where you would get it today, as it is proably a 30 year old book.

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Amazon has the book:

 

Are you in the mood to put your opinion about the book because it has not been reviewed yet. :-)

 

How to Fish the Pacific Coast (Paperback)

8 used & new available from $2.31

 

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

If you want to catch fish on the Pacific Coast, this complete guide by sportsman-author Ray Cannon is for you. Through a good part of a lifetime of studying the behavior, the habitats, the likes and dislikes of salt-water fish - and by catching them - Ray Cannon took angling out of the realm of fisherman's luck and made of it an exact science. In this book you'll find fishing techniques for both the beginning and experienced angler - fishing from pier and dock, surf, rock, and from small craft. Detailed descriptions and accurate illustrations make fish identification easy...

 

Product Details

* Paperback: 160 pages

* Publisher: Lane Publishing, Co. (1978)

* Language: English

* ISBN-10: 0376063602

* ISBN-13: 978-0376063601

* Average Customer Review: No customer reviews yet. Be the first.

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it says i have to buy something to write a review.

 

i will agree 100% with what the Editorial Reviews said, if you do any knid of fishing on the wesy coast in salt water, i highly recomend getting this book.

 

it also has an EXELENT section of pictures and descriptions on how to identify species of fish, you could spend hours learning from this book.

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