....... is that there is no secret. i've been lucky the last few trips. i've been unlucky on others. well, a few. um, hardly ever, but that doesn't mean that it can't happen. a couple of guys have asked, so let's get to important stuff first. the numbers ...........
here are my favorite rock cod spots.
san gregorio - 37.17.3718 and 122.26.0203
the top of the "triangle of death" - 37.16.9351 and 122.25.9491
the side of the "triangle of death" - 37.16.7946 and 122.25.9942
the bottom of the "triangle of death" - 37.16.6580 and 122.25.8932
pescadero #1 - 37.15.7704 and 122.25.7287
pescadero #2 - 37.14.3421 and 122.25.5364
pescadero #3 - 37.14.0109 and 122.25.6306
bean hollow #1 - 37.13.1226 and 122.24.9495
bean hollow #2 - 37.11.6029 and 122.24.4972
light house #1 - 37.10.9685 and 122.24.0349
franklin point #2 - 37.09.8153 and 122.22.7954
franklin point #3 - 37.09.0480 and 122.22.0601
ano nuevo - 37.07.3252 and 122.21.3314
depth - you will see a pattern. these are all in 60 feet of water or less. that is all that i fish. from depths greater than that, the fish will decompress. i do not believe that the survival rate for a recompressed fish is high enough. i know that there is data that says that it is ok, but i do not believe it. what i do believe is that you can pull a fish up from 60 feet, yank a hook out of it's lip, toss it back in the water and watch it take off like a rocket. seen it plenty of times. the only other special thing i do is that 3 foot leader with the small treble hook and the 4 ounce weight for live bait. the 4 ounce weight immediately sets the hook so that rockfish and lings are always hooked in the mouth. that actually works GREAT!!!
probably the thing that helps the most is a killer sounder. the furuno fcv 1100 makes a HUGE difference. i run it in split screen mode. high frequency shows only big fish. low frequency shows everything. when i see arcs on both sides, i know i have big fish under the boat. when i see clouds of red on low and very little on high, i know i have school fish underneath. and i don't panic if i am marking no fish at all. these are the times when i will pick up vermillions and lings. you will never pick these in clouds of school fish, because they do not play well together. hope this helps. alan