Well my first west coast fishing trip was a huge success!!!A huge thank you must go out to everyone here who helped me prepare for this trip wither it was reel upgrades/service, rod advice, rig recommendations or whatever...I truly believe I wouldn't have had such a successful trip if it wasn't from all of you here so that you!!!! I owe you all a few beers :) :) :)
I left Three Rivers the night before at around 11:30 pm to ensure I got to Virg's in plenty of time to get checked in, buy a few more jigs, and get some braid on my brand new to me freshly upgraded 501...plus I couldn't sleep anyway so why not leave extra early!!!
We loaded promptly at 5am and were off the dock by 5:10am while I secured my spot on the port side towards the front of the boat. It was almost a full boat with 40 anglers on board, most seemed like regulars and luckily not one rental rod/reel was seen all day, everyone brought their own gear which made me hopeful that not a lot of tangles were gonna happen.
We ran up the coast for about 4 hours and the passed the San Simeon Lighthouse before we even dropped a line. I think we fished near the Piedras Blancas State Marine Reserve but I'm not sure; all I know it was a long cold ride.
The boat finally slowed and everyone took their spots along the rail readying their rigs for the first drop. I eagerly grab my 501 and hung my jig over the side and wait for the "drop" call and when it does I slowly start a easy underhand cast of my jig away from the boat and my inexperience with convectional reels takes over...BIG BIG BIRDS NEST as my jig barely hits the water!!!! I try to clear it quickly but can't so I reel it in and grab my spinner and make my first drop. Before my first jig hits bottom the guy next to me, Garrett, is reeling up a nice legal ling from his first drop!!!
It took me a while but I finally got the concept of jigging down and had no problem getting my limit of both lings and rockfish before the day was over. My lings were your average 8-10lb size but I did manage 5 nice red rockfish as well as an olive rockfish and a Cabazon. There were 5 big lings in the hunt for the jackpot but the overall winner was a sweet 17.5 lber. Overall it was a great trip and I am already looking forward to going out again...maybe a 2 day trip next time ;D ;D ;D ;D
I'll let the pics do the talking....
PJ
few more pics
Looks like you had good water.
I didn't know you were in Three Rivers. We are going to have to get all the guys from Central Calif together for a trip.
Nice fishes........
Nice fish and pics.
Nice report.... thanks!
Nice PJ..Glad you had good luck and a good time
BT
Beautiful PJ. I hope you got to use that 501 more than that first drop nest.
Quote from: Bryan Young on January 06, 2016, 02:01:14 PM
Beautiful PJ. I hope you got to use that 501 more than that first drop nest.
Yeah I was able to fix the birds nest while we repositioned for another drift. I should have had you magg the reel for me while you had it!!!!
Quote from: pjstevko on January 06, 2016, 10:25:09 PM
Quote from: Bryan Young on January 06, 2016, 02:01:14 PM
Beautiful PJ. I hope you got to use that 501 more than that first drop nest.
Yeah I was able to fix the birds nest while we repositioned for another drift. I should have had you magg the reel for me while you had it!!!!
Just always have an extra spool with line on hand. Put the Jigmaster quick change spool to use. It has saved me (more than once) when suffering a professional overrun.
Thanks for the report!
Quote from: swill88 on January 06, 2016, 11:22:36 PM
Quote from: pjstevko on January 06, 2016, 10:25:09 PM
Quote from: Bryan Young on January 06, 2016, 02:01:14 PM
Beautiful PJ. I hope you got to use that 501 more than that first drop nest.
Yeah I was able to fix the birds nest while we repositioned for another drift. I should have had you magg the reel for me while you had it!!!!
Just always have an extra spool with line on hand. Put the Jigmaster quick change spool to use. It has saved me (more than once) when suffering a professional overrun.
Thanks for the report!
if the 501 spools weren't so pricey and hard to find I'd carry an extra one...
plus if I carry an extra one I'll never learn how to cast right