Spotted Bay Bass are one of the most commonly targeted fish in Southern California. Their habitat is mainly limited to the bays and harbors and creates a great fishery for kayak, float tube and shorebound anglers.
They are also active at night, making them a great fish to target any time one has the chance to fish.
As a transplanted Midwestern fisherman, I have had great success catching Spotted Bass applying techniques learned while targeting other species. One of my favorite is vertical jigging at night. In this article I hope to explain the technique in detail and hopefully help you increase your catches of after dark Spotties.
Tube and kayak fisherman are limited in mobility and can't run and gun like boat fisherman can. Tube and kayaks are much more stealthy however, and this presentation rewards those who don't spook Spotties holding tight to cover.
Vertical jigging is a common technique used to target Walleye in flowing water in the Midwest. Walleye are a structure oriented fish that has a tendency to hang near the bottom and favors areas with current flow. (sound familiar to you Spottie fisherman?)
My lure of choice is a relatively heavy skirted jig. I like 3/4 to 1 ounce football-style heads. The heavy head helps me maintain contact with the lure and not only detect bites, but also irregularities and structure on the bottom. At night, Spotted Bass seem to hold especially tight to rocks, ledges and other bits of structure. They also tend to be on deeper structure at night. The heavy jig ensures that the line will remain nearly vertical in any current flow also. The football head shape is also important, the line tie is near the top of the jighead so it presents a natural profile when jigged vertically. It also does not roll over on its side when the jig is on the bottom. As we will see, these are important aspects to the technique.
I like to add a trailer that "wiggles" with little or no added movement. Bulky plastic worms, slugs and craw-type trailers fit this description. Obviously, I am a big fan of the Salty Claws. The general "retrieve" is to flip the jig/trailer out a short distance (slightly farther than the water depth) and let the jig swim down on a taut line, paying attention for strikes occurring on the drop. Once the jig makes contact, I jiggle it on the bottom and then rest it. After a cycle or two of the jiggle/pause, I lift the jig off the bottom and lower it back on a tight line.
Experiment with the speed and distance of the lift, but generally I lift it (rather than "snap" it up) two to three feet off the bottom. Lowering the jig back to the bottom, rather that simply dropping it on a slack line, allows you to monitor for soft bites (which can be especially hard to detect in the darkness) as will the slow the fall of the bait. You want to basically make a heavy jig sink like a light jig.
I use the tidal flow to move my tube or kayak along the structure I am fishing. I especially like to target long docks that parallel the direction of the current flow. I normally try to slow my drift so I am moving with, but slower than, the flow. I will also fish when moving against the current to start a new drift, but it is easier to maintain boat/kayak/float tube control while drifting.
At night, don't be afraid to rework an area this way. Spotties seem to tend to congregate more after dark and it is common to get two or more fish along one dock this way.
This presentation is also great for harbor Sand Bass in the deeper structure, just step up the jig weight if needed.
No comments:
Post a Comment