07-16-2003, 05:01 PM
man I want to go! I fish that island all the time on the sport fishing vessel that I work on.
for the calico bass, sand bass, halibut, white sea bass, and yellowtail, I would go with a very very heavy freshwater bass rod. but if you have a light saltwater rod, rated for line from 15-25, use that. match that with a small conventional saltwater reel with about 15 pound line on it. but dont go out and buy all of this just for one trip.
as far as hooks go, you should bring an assortment of sizes ranging from size 4, 1, 1/0, 2/0, and 3/0. as for bait, I would fish a dead squid that you can buy in the packages on a 3/0 hook. squid, also called "candy bait", will catch you anything on that island. all of the fish I mentioned above are the main fish people catch on the squid. you should fish the squid as if you were fishing a plastic worm. let it hit the water and sink. then reel it in a little and put the reel in free spool. continue this process, and some bass or yellowtail will hit it. try to fish around the kelp. if you are on the back side of the island, there is a big boiler rock. it is barely sticking out of the water. fish that and fish it hard. calico bass are holding there. if you can see any bait boats out on the water, you should try and go get some bait from them. you might be able to get if for free, if your nice. haha. they are usually about 20-40 yards from shore.
blue perch are little crappie sized fish, as what tubedude said, that fight super hard and are a thrill on 4 pound line, but I dont recommend that because a bigger, better fish might pick up your line. for the blue perch, I would use a size 8 hook with a tiny peice of squid on it. these fish are surface fish so dont use too heavy of a sinker. you might want to try using a big bobber. I have never done so, but it sounds like a good idea. it might look rediculous too, but who cares. sometimes you will catch blue perch that are around 2 pounds. wow are those things great!
there are many bottom fish at catalina that feed on the squid also. what we do is use a #4 or #6 hook with a strip of squid on it. we also use a 2-4 ounce sinker just to get it down there. you might catch some sargo and sheep head. those are very fun and very good table fish.
well, I know all that information was a little out of order but it will catch you fish.
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for the calico bass, sand bass, halibut, white sea bass, and yellowtail, I would go with a very very heavy freshwater bass rod. but if you have a light saltwater rod, rated for line from 15-25, use that. match that with a small conventional saltwater reel with about 15 pound line on it. but dont go out and buy all of this just for one trip.
as far as hooks go, you should bring an assortment of sizes ranging from size 4, 1, 1/0, 2/0, and 3/0. as for bait, I would fish a dead squid that you can buy in the packages on a 3/0 hook. squid, also called "candy bait", will catch you anything on that island. all of the fish I mentioned above are the main fish people catch on the squid. you should fish the squid as if you were fishing a plastic worm. let it hit the water and sink. then reel it in a little and put the reel in free spool. continue this process, and some bass or yellowtail will hit it. try to fish around the kelp. if you are on the back side of the island, there is a big boiler rock. it is barely sticking out of the water. fish that and fish it hard. calico bass are holding there. if you can see any bait boats out on the water, you should try and go get some bait from them. you might be able to get if for free, if your nice. haha. they are usually about 20-40 yards from shore.
blue perch are little crappie sized fish, as what tubedude said, that fight super hard and are a thrill on 4 pound line, but I dont recommend that because a bigger, better fish might pick up your line. for the blue perch, I would use a size 8 hook with a tiny peice of squid on it. these fish are surface fish so dont use too heavy of a sinker. you might want to try using a big bobber. I have never done so, but it sounds like a good idea. it might look rediculous too, but who cares. sometimes you will catch blue perch that are around 2 pounds. wow are those things great!
there are many bottom fish at catalina that feed on the squid also. what we do is use a #4 or #6 hook with a strip of squid on it. we also use a 2-4 ounce sinker just to get it down there. you might catch some sargo and sheep head. those are very fun and very good table fish.
well, I know all that information was a little out of order but it will catch you fish.
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