Need help: Best weedless swimbait rig for fishing rocky kelp area from shore?

Started by Vintage Offshore Tackle, May 21, 2020, 06:13:40 PM

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Vintage Offshore Tackle

I have never fished rockfish/cabazon/ling cod from shore but since other options are limited at the moment, I would like to give it a try.  I would really appreciate it if anyone has any suggestions for rigging swimbaits (leadheads with plastic tails) to be able to work through rocks and kelp without getting hung up while retaining a maximum hook-up to strike ratio.  I don't want to spend more time re-rigging than fishing, and I'm afraid that's what will happen if I fish the traditional set up.

Thank you,

Randy

xjchad

Randy,
Z-man has some great weedless jig heads and awesome swimbaits that are very weed/snag proof.

https://www.zmanfishing.com/cms/index.php
Husband, Father, Fisherman

jurelometer

It's been a few years since I have fished the NorCal/ central  coast shoreline, but don't think the fish have changed much:

For jig heads -eye at the very front/top of the jig, with no ring exposed below the center of the eye.   There should be a skid plate shape on the bottom front.  If there is a setback from the nose to the eye, it is easier for the nose to get under a rock ledge, or to go around a kelp branch.   

If you are casting into kelp, those bristle/ brush style weed guards are a must.

I like to fish a bit on the heavier side ( 1-2 oz), but the calico guys down south fish much lighter (1/2-3/4 is common, or even lighter).   I usually don't go below 5 inch body on a swimbait.  If you are fishing those little 4 inch paddle tails, you might have to downsize the head to freshwater bass type.

I have my own jig head design, but there are several brands with this style on the market.   If I make a new batch soon, I will send you some.  Just let me know what size.

For the swimbait bodies, I prefer a shad profile (deeper) over an anchovy (skinny).  Shorter gets you more fish, longer gets you bigger fish.  If the tail gets bitten off, keep fishing it for a bit.  Sometimes no-tail gets more bites,  sort of like a sluggo.

Light vs. dark colors matter, but exact colors don't.  These fish have little ability to see colors.  Clears with glitter are popular, but I like opaque with pearl finish.  Something that does shimmer a little, but does not flash.   Plain old black over pearl white is a ling killer in low light situation.  I have one friend that swears by chartreuse over pearl, but only for Monterrey bay.  I think that mebbe these stand out a bit like a flashing market squid in the shallows.

I fly fish with critter flies for calicos and shallow water resident rockfish, and I suspect  that some sort of critter tail on the jig head would do well for these and especially for cabezons, but I have not tried it.  Critters are good for working slow and very tight to structure.  Paddle tails seem to need a bit more speed.

I'll see if I can find some photos.

-J


jurelometer


Here is a Warbaits  head.  It should give you an idea of the general shape.  I really don't like all the overhang on the swimbait body, but the Socal guys like to rig them that way:



Here is a critter style jig from Reebs:


These are the colors that i like for inshore on the paddletails that I designed:




Note that the shape gets smaller near the head, so overhang is less of a problem than with the Hammer style plastics.   My jig heads are also a bit deeper than the Warbaits for a given weight.  But I can't find any to take a photo of  ???.

-J

xjchad

Husband, Father, Fisherman

mo65

   For weedless swimbaits I like these style hooks better than the weedless jighead type. 8)
~YOU CAN TUNA GEETAR...BUT YOU CAN'T TUNA FEESH~


MarkT

I like the Warbaits heads with MC swimbaits.  The Owner weighted Beast hooks are what you use for the large swimbaits.  You get them down between some rocks and you're toast no matter what you're dragging.
When I was your age Pluto was a planet!

jurelometer

Quote from: mo65 on May 21, 2020, 09:24:25 PM
   For weedless swimbaits I like these style hooks better than the weedless jighead type. 8)

Those look nice as long as you don't need much weight, and use a body with a pointed nose and a shallowe profile.   The Owner beasts that Mark mentioned look pretty nice, and go up to 3/4. oz.  I wouldn't mind throwing these in the kelp with the right plastic.  They won't find bottom in a current, or properly keel a big fatbody shad.

I normally fish a 2oz head with my 7 inch shad and a 4oz head with my 9 inch.  The 9 worked pretty well on the Cedros Yellowtail when they were keying on mackerel.   This one swam right by a Tady to eat the plastic.   Saw the whole thing.  The 7s work good on the  dinky NorCal lings. If I ever get a chance, I would like to fish the 9s on the lings in a place where they run a bit bigger.    But for what Randy is doing, if he wants a lot of action, 4-6 might be a better size range.




You can see how I like the body (mine) to fit the jig head (not mine) in the bottom left of the photo.   This is a 7 inch body on a one ounce head.



As you can see, I made wayyy to many different prototypes.  Probably should have had an intervention  :)  But l learned a lot about swimbait action.   And I also learned that I  hate pouring soft plastics.   Have to find a partner one of these days that likes to pour plastisol and knows how to do it safely.

-J

Vintage Offshore Tackle

Thanks to everyone for all of the great information. 

Jurelometer, that's amazing that you are molding your own tails.  They look great!  You have put a tremendous amount of thought and effort into your swimbaits and your techniques and I really appreciate you sharing your hard-earned knowledge with me.  I never thought about the fact that the space between the nose and ring on a leadhead created an increased risk of hanging up, but it sure seems obvious now that you have mentioned it.  I have a few of those Warbaits weedless heads, but I haven't used them for calicos because it seemed to me that the weed protector would cause you to miss a few fish that you would otherwise hook, and you can usually get a non-weedless head through the kelp if you walk it slowly when you feel it bumping, but I don't think that the rocks would be so forgiving and walking it through the kelp might not work as often with the different angle fishing from shore as compared to from a boat.  I will give it a go with the smaller tails as you suggested, because I'm really just needing to catch something and I think that I will focus on just catching anything, at least to start out with.  I have a feeling that this shore fishing is going to be a lot more challenging than what I am used to.

Mo, those freshwater rigs look like they will work great in calm water, and there are supposedly a lot of cabazon in the larger tidal pools, so I will give those that you suggested a try.  I have enough full tackle boxes that I had to buy when I bought someones rods and reels that I am sure that there must be some of those in at least one of them.  Thanks a million for taking the time to show them to me.

Chad and Steve, thanks for the heads up on those swimbaits.  They look great.

Mark, I think that you summed it up correctly.  No matter what kind of "weedless" contraption that you use, you are going to lose a lot of gear fishing through the rocks from shore!

If anyone lives near San Luis Obispo and wants to give it a try with me, I would love to have some company.

Thanks again,

Randy


Donnyboat

Yes Randy, it would be a good idea to have 3 or 4 fisho`s using different jigs At the same time, I have a mate that fished from Onslow for many years, he was living there, & he said on a dark day use dark jigs, on a bright day use light coloured jigs.
Don, or donnyboat

Vintage Offshore Tackle

Thank you Don.  We always used to say that about our albacore trolling feathers too.

Swami805

Hey Randy, the stardust is starting to run trips tomorrow. I'm gonna try and weasel out of work and go next week sometime. I'll holler when I figure out what day I can go.
I heard they're getting some strippers off the beach up there. I'm not plugged into the locals there but maybe check around.
Sheridan
Do what you can with that you have where you are

MarkT

I've had no issues with hooking Calicos on the Warbaits (or other similar heads) with the weed guards. They eat it and hook themselves. I've had multiple 50 fish days using them.  The Owner Beast type hooks are for big swimbaits usually fished in the kelp on, or just under, the surface.
When I was your age Pluto was a planet!

Vintage Offshore Tackle

Quote from: Swami805 on May 22, 2020, 03:27:10 AM
Hey Randy, the stardust is starting to run trips tomorrow. I'm gonna try and weasel out of work and go next week sometime. I'll holler when I figure out what day I can go.
I heard they're getting some strippers off the beach up there. I'm not plugged into the locals there but maybe check around.
Sheridan


That's great Sheridan!  Call me when you decide about a trip on the Stardust, and you can count me in for getting some strippers off of the beach, but let's not tell our wives about that.