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Wow!! what a day.
first, we see a big kep paddy just off the break line of the swells(not very big). then, me, dh_tubinaaron, dhtubinchris, and another frien decide to just go for it.
haha... not very smart. we wait for that little pause in the swells to go out there, but once we get half way, the waves just start pounding on us. aaron and chris both got to ride a wave in, not purposly. but me on the other hand, well.. things didnt go so well...
i got out there. and I look up, and i see one of the better sized swells just about to break on me. I almost dove under the wave, forgetting that i wasnt body boarding. I didnt, but then the wave broke right on top of me. my tube got away from me, my waders were completely filled with water, I was tumbling under water, and I lost my rod and reel. It came out of my rod holder mounted on the back of my tube. we looked for it for a little bit, but we gave up.
chris let me use one of his rod rigged with 4# (perfect). I used a little orange grub with a sparkly jig head. caught what we believe to be a lizard fish, and 2 sand bass on it. my first fish on a plastic from a tube!! yipeeee!!! then we went to the bait receivers. Me and chris were traveling together when he gives me his livewell to go and catch up with aaron to use his cell phone. I didnt think anything of it. well.. then the wind started picking up, and the current was ripping. I was stuck. I was kicking as hard as i could. I wasn't moving anywhere. my feet and my quadraceps started to cramp up. I gave up. I waved down a boat and asked them for a ride. they kindly gave me one back to where aaron and chris were(ahead of me).
I guess this guy went to catalina and got a 40# WSB!!! very nice.
when I caught up with chris and aaron, I gave up on live bait, and jig fishing. I thought I'd try something. I put a little piece of shrimp(the kind you eat, not the live ghost shrimp) on a 1/0 hook. we were kicking our way back to shore with our lines dragging behind us. I had put my rod in my rod holder to my right while i looked behind me to see how much further. I looked back, and the rod was almost doubled over. I reeled it in very carefully, remembering that I only had 4# on it. It turns out that it was a 13 inch sand bass. not as big as i thought it was. MY FIRST LEGAL SANDBASS FROM A TUBE!!!! YAY!!!
with the wind and the current, we decided not to go back out in the water.
we saw a seagul struggling to walk. so we wanted to help. we casted an anchovie at him, trying to get him to bite the hook so that we could take whatever was in him out. well... that didn't work. so we just chased him with a net. it turns out that he had a humungo-bungo halibut trap rig in him. the treble hook was burried, and the single hook was in a bone or something. so we just cut lines and gave it to a lifeguard.
Overall, I had a very fun, at times, and very crappy day! not bad...... very fun! definatly an experience to remember.
good thing that set up wasnt very expensive. a corsair 300a and a cheap abu garcia rod.
in the summer, we think we will try to get back over those waves, hopefully that kelp will still be there. during the summer when the water is warmer, we probably wont be wearing out waders, so we wont have to worry about getting wet. but I'm definatly going to be gripping that rod tightly!!
(that whole thing probably didnt make much sense....oh well!!)
joe
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oops sorry, I wrote that. I guess chris forgot to logout after he was done on my computer. anyways, i released the sand bass, and the seagul,I'm sure, is fine![laugh][laugh][laugh]
joe
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[cool]Hey, Joe. Great report...even if the outcome of the rogue wave wasn't so great. Sorry about your lost tackle. It doesn't matter how much it cost, it could have put you out of action, if not for the generosity of friends. And, it's always a bummer to lose something you are used to and have broken in just right. The positive side is that you did not get drowned or hurt...other than your dignity.
A good lesson for all. Pay attention to wind, waves and currents. If you don't, you could end up getting a ride you didn't count on. Sometimes it works out okay. Other times you have major problems.
Congrats on scoring some new firsts from a tube. There will likely be many more. Every trip you learn something new and have new opportunities. After a while you will have a real treasure chest of memories, that nobody can ever take away from you. And, by the way, you are not an official float tuber until you have been bombed by waves and roughed up by both wind and current. You're getting there fast.
Oh yeah, I suspected that it was you posting when you referred to Chris in the third person tense. You gotta start paying attention to logging in right. You will never get a marlin icon under your name if you keep giving your posts to Chris.
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I thought that was odd that chris was referring to himself, LOL!
Aaron
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[  ] [size 4]ahha no.. ok that wasnt smart but it was fun after because while we were waiting for my dad we had a sand war and I WON!!!! ahah yes!!!!! ahah ok but a good place to fish.. later[/size]
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[size 4]-chris[/size]
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oops... i messed up this time. I was under the saltwater forums and didnt see my post. I thought it was taken out or something, so i wrote another one. so now I have one in the saltwater forums and the float tubing forums. oh well.....
joe
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[cool]At least you logged in right this time. That gets you some style points.
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[ ] [size 4]ahahahah!!!! BUST!!!! he got u... ahah truline!!![/size]
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[size 4]-chris[/size]
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those last two things you said came off pretty harsh... I dont know if you're having a bad day, or it's just me confusing some non-funny jokes.....
joe
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Hey there Whicheveroneyouare, ha ha
Yours is not the only fishing outfit, or other tackle in that stretch of water/beach area between Point Fermin and the jetty that juts out there. Imagine if you were tubing alone and the accident greater. For the ocean, I know you've checked the high/low tide swing and time between peaks and neaps but it's hard to judge the wind and how the currents are going to interact.
Poor little seagull. There's one very cute one that lives on the Cabrillo public fishing pier and has only one leg and a bad drooping wing. Everyone feeds him. Nick name is lucky! No, that part is a joke.
Did the one fish have a mouth full of tiny, long sharp teeth and a slimy, elongated body? It's face comes to such a sharp point it almost looks like a bird's beak right? If so, that's a lizard fish.
If you have the neoprene chest waders like Hodgeman, did you close the top with your belt?
Outstanding report and it takes a guy with a lot of self confidence to admit to a case of over-enthusiasm for the benefit of others. Thanks
JapanRon
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[cool]Sorry, Bro. I did not mean to offend. I definitely sympathize with your situation. However, if you gonna hang with us nasty old guys on this board, you gotta grow some thicker skin.
On a personal note, let me offer that anything you ask, and any of us can help with, it will be done. We are all here to help and support others who share our enjoyment of flotation fishing. I would never personally attack or ridicule anyone. My humor can be a bit "edgy" sometimes, but if you are offended, I apologize.
As moderator, I have the ability...and resposibility...to monitor all of the posts that go up on this board. With one minor exception, I have not had to edit or delete any posts. That makes my job easier and keeps this a better place to hang out. Believe me, there are some sites that are nothing but "flame forums".
KEEP ON KEEPIN' ON
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funny you mention that ron.... after I got completely wiped out, i thought about that belt that i had left at home. but thtas ok, because the water taht was on my clothes was eventually warmed up by my body heat. so i was warm the rest of the day.
and yes, thats what the fish looked like. kind of a greenish color.
tubetude.... no harm done... i just wasn't sure if you were trying to offend me or you were just being your "goofy" self... haha "goofy" is a good word today. sorry for the problems....
Joe
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[cool]No problem. Problems are usually our own creation. I value your input here and enjoy the adventures of the "Terrible Trio".
I was also wondering. That "glitter head" jig you were using. Sounds like it might have been one of mine. I sent quite a few things for you guys to sample. When you find out what works best, let me know and I can fix you up with some more stuff.
Catching those inshore and bay fish on small jigs can be a lot of fun. And, you will catch some good sized fish too...not just small ones. If you saw the pic I put up of those two big cats, they were both caught on little jigs hardly bigger than a penny. I have caught lots of legal 'buts in the past while casting jigs and little spinners for perch or sand bass. And, I have always preferred the light tackle too. It doesn't hold up on truly big nasty fish, unless you are really good at fighting them and have a lot of time to spend with them. But, you get more hits and have more fun on the average size stuff.
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[ ][size 4]ahaha he got ur a** again!!!!!! double bust!!! jp joe no harsh things that say is meaningful... ITS MY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!! WOOOHOOOO[  ][ ][ ][ ][/size]
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Actually.... i thought baytuber sent this stuff to us.... but maybe it was you.... I got it from chris, and chris got if from somebody on the forums.... maybe it was you.
I was looking over that post that i got all pissed off about, and it really wasnt that bad.... i just overreacted. I was tired from baseball practice and was in a bad mood..... sorry bro.
joe
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hey tubedude,
Those small jigs are KILLER at El Do on the bluegills!!
THey love the little black ones with the white feather.
You ever make a trout rod or bluegill rod out of an 8 ft fly rod or longer? Been looking to see how long it takes and want to get one for jigs and mealworm throwing.
How many rods are in the corner of your tackeltorium??[ ]
Aaron
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Hi there TubeDude,
Yes, I was thinking the same thing on the sparkley lead heads. I haven't used mine as yet so I have no input but on the matter of El Dorado Lake, those black jigs are really becoming an 'old reliable' bait.
Thanks for the jigs and the hard work put into them. The shad season is getting closer.
I don't remember a description of your noodle rod. Do I remember your description of your noodle rod made from an outrigger blank? Not sure. I made mine from a 9 foot flyrod and used a length of da da.... PVC pipe to form a handle below the flyrods reel seat. Two handed casting rigs are not that troublesome for beach fishing. How, I took the stopper out of the rod butt end, found a dowl shaped it to insert into both the butt end of the rod blank and the inside of the 1/2 inch PVC pipe. Darn guides cost bigtime!
JapanRon
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[cool]Hey guys, this post is to cover for both Aaron and JapanRon...on jigs and long sticks.
That black jig, with the chartreuse eye, was developed from my favorite flavor of ice fly, in the days when I lived in the north country. The combo of black, gold and a chartreuse eye was absolutely the best for bluegill. Since then, the little jigs I make up in the same colors are almost as much a part of my everyday tackle selection as the #1 all-around killer, the white with a red eye.
I have made rods since I lived in Southern Cal. I learned to wrap the rental rods for the passengers when I worked on the boats. Kept me busy when the weather didn't let us go fishing. I gradually evolved to making smaller and fancier rods...doing a lot of exotic diamond wrapping and all that stuff. Didn't help me catch more fish, but something to look at when I wasn't getting bit.
I started making long rods when I lived in Sacramento. I used them both for shad and for the steelhead and salmon. When I took them to the creeks and lakes in the high country, I found they were ideal for reaching out and dropping a light lure or bait to spooky fish in skinny water. I also found them to be ideal for fishing jigs under bobbers, with long leaders...and especially for "bubble-chucking"...fishing flies behind water filled bubbles. I could fling them a mile.
Most of my first long spinning rods were made from Fenwick glass flyrods. A six weight, with a fast tip, was good for light sunfish and stream trout. However, if I fished steelhead, or wanted to fling a water filled bubble, I got better performance from a 9 foot for an 8 weight line.
I have since made some heavier "dip sticks", for dredging big cats and bass out of cover from my float tube. I build them on heavy action rods of ten or eleven feet in length...either downrigger rods or fast tip European match rods...or "Zander" (walleye) rods. These big sticks also work great for probing pockets along breakwaters and other structure in salt water. When you hang something in protective cover, you need some beef to bring them out. You don't do much casting with the big sticks, so baitcasting reels are better than spinning.
If you are going to be casting light jigs for sunfish and trout, an eight or eight and a half foot rod is about right from a float tube. It provides extra length and action...like fishing with a fly rod...but is not too heavy and cumbersome. For bank fishing, the 9' length gives you more reach.
Fly rod blanks are pricey these days. If you want a long spinning rod, you can find a serviceable fly rod at Wally World (WalMart) for under $50. If you are not checked out on making handles, you can tape a spinning reel to the fly rod handle and you are good to go. It will cast without adding spinning guides, but it will cast farther and better if you at least replace the bottom two fly rod guides with spinning guides. I have seen a lot of similar rigs on the water. Crappie guys use them a lot.
If you are really into building rods, then remove the fly rod handle and replace it with a spinning handle. It is your choice how long you leave the butt section. On 9' rods for bubble chucking I leave a longer butt section, to allow two handed casting. With shorter handles, you get more of the feel of a fly rod when playing the fish.
Similarly, carefully remove the snake guides from the fly rod and rewrap with light singlefoot Fuji spinning guides. Either replace the guides in their exact places...or, if you know what you are doing, respace them to spinning rod configuration. This will usually cut the number of guides by two or three, and keep the rod a little lighter. Too many guides...heavier than the fly rod guides...and you won't like the feel of the rod.
If anyone wants to try putting one together, PM me with questions and I will try to help walk you through it.
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