Cabrillo 6/16/07

[Tarpon guy]

Howdy,

I was going to try fishing Leo Carrillo, but couldn't find anyone who wanted to go and I don't like fishing unfamiliar turf solo. Instead I fished the kelp beds at Cabrillo in San Pedro. I was on the water by 6:00 AM. I tried some of the holes first. I used a 4" plastic with the single curly tail and a strip of squid. I caught and released three 12" kelp bass. I moved to the edges of the kelp and caught the two in the pictures. I could also see Jack Smelt checking out my lure when it was almost to the surface.

The translucent pink lure seemed to work the best. The fish didn't stop biting, but I got hungry and decided to call it quits around 9:00 AM. There were five guys gearing up to go out when I was coming in. I told them what I was using and hope they did well.

Next time out I thought I'd make sure and bring some small plastic and see if I can catch some of the Jack Smelt. I've caught a couple at Cabrillo and they're pretty good eating.

I'm not too good at identifying the bass. I thought the one to the right in the top picture is a Barred Sand Bass and the other one is a Kelp Bass. It's the same two fish in the bottom picture. I would appreciate the heads up if I got these wrong...

Good luck, good fishing!

[PerryC]

Tarpon Guy,
Thanks for the report I just saw the question about Leo Carillo. I have fish there a few times, but have hit the near shore kelp beds for some assorted bass and such. Deep Hole is supposed to be pretty good and close by, but I never made the trip.

The kelp beds at Cabrillo can be pretty good for bass. You can also try a few of the Big Hammer Senorita colored swimbaits next time as they can be pretty good around kelp. They're a red and brown mixture with some glitter thrown in for good measure. I've used 3 inch grubs to catch jack smelt before but you could use some of the 2-3" plastics I'm sure. On 6lb line, they put up a pretty good fight. TC&TL,
Perry

[Tarpon guy]

Thanks, Perry. I'll give the Senorita colored baits a try.

[Piranha]

The small bass is a sandbass(bottom pic), the other(big one) is a calico or kelp bass! Piranha

[Tarpon guy]

Thanks, Piranha!