Shelter Island, 10 June 2013
 

Visiting from Fresno for my nieces middle and high school graduations gave me the opportunity to squeeze in a trip to San Diego bay--the first time I've fished it on a yak, and probably 30 years since fishing that bay on a boat. I launched at Shelter Island at 5:30 AM to fish the incoming tide. saw the Islander returning from what sounds like an epic NCKA trip. Paddled to the bait barge and got a small scoop of bait; two big sardines and a bunch of small anchovies. Put the sardine on a trap rigged dropper loop then paddled back toward SI. Soon caught a nice sandbass on that sardine. Unfortunately I lost my second sardine trying to put it on the hook. The chovies were so small I didn't think they'd get noticed on a plain dropper loop presentation so I switched to a halibut bounce ball rig with big chrome flasher, purple haze hoochie and trap hooked anchovies. I caught a lot of fish on this rig including another nice sandy, three nice spotted bay bass, a short halibut and a bunch of huge lizard fish. I kept the two sandys and released everything else.

Matt

If you don't mind me asking, how far off the bottom do you keep the flasher, how far from the main line do you keep your flasher and how far from your flasher do you keep the bait? Is it a dodger of a flasher? And how fast do you normally pull this rig. I have been wanting to throw a dodger in and try this rig, but I am not really sure how to rig it. Thanks!!!

Beef78, you are right, it was a dodger, not a flasher. I tied the mainline to a three-way swivel. On the bottom eyelet of the swivel I had about 30 inches of mono to a six ounce lead ball. On the middle eyelet I tied about 30 inches of mono to the dodger (size 00). I used a 14" length of mono to connect the hoochie to the other end of the dodger, tying the mono to an "action ring", and snapping the ring to the dodger. This connection allows the hoochie to swing more freely than it would if tied together with a knot. Will try to take a pic soon if that will help. I was surprised at how many different species responded to this rig.

Matt

very nice going!

Awesome! I am planning on trying something like that around SD bay tomorrow, I will tell you how it goes. I have been doing very well catching halibut with live bait, but have only caught one much bigger than 22 inches and I managed to let that one get away with my game clip.

Ended up taking my four year old with me to mission bay this afternoon instead of going to SD bay this morning. I was too tired this morning after my 24 hour shift to fish. I ended up with 2 shorts.