07-16-2003, 02:10 PM
[cool]Hey, Kid, if you have never caught calico bass in salt water, you will be talking to yourself when you leave the island. These largemouth counterparts are thick around Catalina. You will find them everywhere there are rocks and/or kelp. Take your standard bass tackle and lures. They will vote for about anything a largie will. The only difference is that it is seldom a finess bite, but usually a hard smash on a fast retrieve.
You can catch some really nice calicos...up to 4 or 5 pounds, casting off any points or around the rockpiles visible in the clear water. Most of what you hook will be the "non-legal" under 12 inches, but there will usually be a few larger ones around too. The big surprise you will get is that a 12" calico will fight like a 12 pound largie. Lots of fun.
Any bait that looks like a five or six inch fish...or a squid...will get bit by the locals. That means swimbaits and tubes, in all the standard fishy colors will get a vote from time to time. Crankbaits, spinnerbaits and spoons all work too...as do twisters, grubs and even plain old plastic worms. I haven't tried them, but I'll bet Senkos would work...although a bit pricy for the amount you will go through, when cheaper stuff will work. Plain white, smoke sparkle, red and white, blue and white, green and yellow, various shades of olive or motor oil, pink. Those are the colors to use in rotation until you find what they want.
If you get lucky, or if you can get out a ways from whore, you are likely to find a few barracuda and/or bonito. These are open water gamesters that are ideally suited to bass tackle and lures. If you hook a big bonito, be sure you have lots of line and a good drag. Ditto if you luck into a white seabass or yellowtail. They run into some poundage and can move you upon the waters. Just don't let yourself get out far enough to get caught in a current, and pay attention to the weather forecast.
Also, there have been some great white sharks sighted around Catalina on occasion. There are lots of sea lions that use the island as a summer condo and they attract the predators (sharks)
I have tubed along the lee side of Catalina in years past, and always was amazed by the beauty and clarity of the water. You can see fish swimming below you in over fifty feet of water, and can often watch a big old calico come up for many feet to whack a lure. When a whole school charges your lure, it gets semi exciting.
For a good fish feed, try fishing a small piece of cut squid on a plain old nightcrawler hook and sinker. There are millions of Catalina blue perch around the same places you find the calicos. They are about crappie sized, but fight ten times as hard. They are easy to fillet and are great eating.
If you really get lucky, you might hang a halibut or two by bouncing jigs off the sandy bottom in between the rocks. They have to be 22" to keep, but there are some around the island that will go over 50 pounds. A lot of really big halibut have been landed by guys using light gear. And, with the clear water at Catalina, you will get bit more with light line.
Let us know if you have any specific questions, and we can work on them. I am jealous, but hope you have a great trip. Here's a pic of a decent calico,
![[Image: robleadbetter.jpg]](http://www.calfishing.com/images/rob/robleadbetter.jpg)
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You can catch some really nice calicos...up to 4 or 5 pounds, casting off any points or around the rockpiles visible in the clear water. Most of what you hook will be the "non-legal" under 12 inches, but there will usually be a few larger ones around too. The big surprise you will get is that a 12" calico will fight like a 12 pound largie. Lots of fun.
Any bait that looks like a five or six inch fish...or a squid...will get bit by the locals. That means swimbaits and tubes, in all the standard fishy colors will get a vote from time to time. Crankbaits, spinnerbaits and spoons all work too...as do twisters, grubs and even plain old plastic worms. I haven't tried them, but I'll bet Senkos would work...although a bit pricy for the amount you will go through, when cheaper stuff will work. Plain white, smoke sparkle, red and white, blue and white, green and yellow, various shades of olive or motor oil, pink. Those are the colors to use in rotation until you find what they want.
If you get lucky, or if you can get out a ways from whore, you are likely to find a few barracuda and/or bonito. These are open water gamesters that are ideally suited to bass tackle and lures. If you hook a big bonito, be sure you have lots of line and a good drag. Ditto if you luck into a white seabass or yellowtail. They run into some poundage and can move you upon the waters. Just don't let yourself get out far enough to get caught in a current, and pay attention to the weather forecast.
Also, there have been some great white sharks sighted around Catalina on occasion. There are lots of sea lions that use the island as a summer condo and they attract the predators (sharks)
I have tubed along the lee side of Catalina in years past, and always was amazed by the beauty and clarity of the water. You can see fish swimming below you in over fifty feet of water, and can often watch a big old calico come up for many feet to whack a lure. When a whole school charges your lure, it gets semi exciting.
For a good fish feed, try fishing a small piece of cut squid on a plain old nightcrawler hook and sinker. There are millions of Catalina blue perch around the same places you find the calicos. They are about crappie sized, but fight ten times as hard. They are easy to fillet and are great eating.
If you really get lucky, you might hang a halibut or two by bouncing jigs off the sandy bottom in between the rocks. They have to be 22" to keep, but there are some around the island that will go over 50 pounds. A lot of really big halibut have been landed by guys using light gear. And, with the clear water at Catalina, you will get bit more with light line.
Let us know if you have any specific questions, and we can work on them. I am jealous, but hope you have a great trip. Here's a pic of a decent calico,
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