CHSP & RI 25-26 Jul Fri/Sat

[tufnik]

CHSP, Fri

I was on the water after 8 am. Very nice day. Low wind. The water was calm in the afternoon.

Fished the Inner Wall looking for togs and triggers with sand fleas and clams, but got nothing but toads.

I then went to the Outer Wall, and caught only toads. Met two yakers. Only one yaker caught one tog.

I watched boats, but saw no one bring up togs. Met two divers spearfishing for togs. One diver said visibility was good, and they both limited out on togs within an hour. I told him I couldn't hook up. He said togs are there. In fact, he said he saw a bunch where I was fishing.

I later met a group of two anglers and two divers on a boat in the same area. The divers speared many togs and triggers, but the anglers said they couldn't catch any togs or triggers.

When I started to leave in the afternoon I saw two other boats arrive. Both had divers. By then, the fishing boats I saw earlier had already departed.

What's going on? Everybody said togs are at the Outer Wall. Yeah, but they aren't really hungry. I think maybe the water is not quite ideal. It was about 70 deg. Once in a while maybe someone will catch a dumb tog that doesn't know it shouldn't be active...lol...

Maybe I should take up spearfishing.....lol.....


Roosevelt Inlet, Sat

I jigged a tandem rig with Gulp and white bucktail along the edges, docks and inlet. The morning, and I was on the water after 6 am on an ongoing tide, was partly cloudy.

Caught a short, then a 17" keeper around 9 am. I was so excited, especially after my prior day's dismal tog trip. The cool thing is that some fish bit off the tail of the electric chicken Gulp minnow. Most people throw the body away. For fun, I "salvaged" it by cutting a V-tail. I figured if the flounder didn't like it, it could hit the white bucktail. Sure enough, it worked on the 17 incher..lol.....

I went on to catch toads, croaker and more keeper flounder.

A thunderstorm came by about the time I was leaving around 1 pm. So, I got soaked. That's Ok, because this was one of my best flounder hunts.

Tally:
5 toads
1 croaker
3 short flounder
3 keeper flounder (17", 17", 19.5"; got lucky on that underside hook-up)



CHSP pics

[tufnik]

RI pics

[Slobber Bob]

At least you salvaged the trip with some flounder!

Three of us fished the south jetty in OC the other day for tog/sheepshead and are having the same experience. The tog are there, but not biting. We caught 2 or 3 right when we started and then couldn't buy a bite. I think we got maybe 1 more before we quit after about 4 hours on the water. Sucky.

[Shady]

Thanks for the report! Good work on the flounder. I really wanted to get out to chsp in August, but all the Tog lockjaw reports, may change that unless Triggers start biting. Last year, I went in August and caught some Tog but they were just under keeper. The trip was made by Triggers gifted to me by Joe and by the variety of species caught. For now I'll stay tuned to your guys reports and hope they get better mid-August for chsp. Maybe I'll just have to go flounder fishing too...

[tufnik]

Since temp affects tog activity, I'm not sure you're going to get a lot of action in the next few weeks. DE tog season closes at the end of Aug. After a 4-week closure, it reopens 29 Sep. Tog activity should go up then, but I don't think the water will be ideal for max activity. Targeting togs in Aug may not be worth it, unless the trigger bites step up. You can then target both.

I did get subtle bites, but I couldn't catch the fish. Not sure if the clever bait stealer was a tog or non-tog. If it was a tog, it certainly was not aggressive. If I were to hunt togs now, I might try blue crab. As you know, sand fleas are easier to bait steal. Blue crab is harder to steal, so you'll have a better chance of a hook-up on a not-so-aggressive tog. That's my thought anyway.

I don't hear a lot of good trigger reports. Seems like last year was much better. Who knows, maybe the bite will step up real soon. Meanwhile, flounder reports seem pretty good. Better than last year.

[Shady]

If I make a flounder trip I might have to hire the Tufnik guiding service, I've caught 3 keepers my whole life all in VB...

[dson05]

I've developed a good drifting technique that has proven very successful. Caught 2 keepers almost every trip (except my leader issue day on the pier). Most of my success has been on the pier, but each time I took my yak out and used my method I have caught +/- 10 flounders with 2 keepers each time. I do this with a hi lo rig with minnows, but works with the gulp tandem rig tipped with spot or squid as well. It's pretty excited because the flounders chase the bait down and slam the rod as if it were a rockfish or something. I havn't caught the action on tape yet, but I have recorded the method that I use if you'd like me to show you. I showed my friend this past weekend and he really enjoyed it. let me know and I'll pass that video along.

[AbuMasgouf]

if i make a flounder trip i might have to hire the tufnik guiding service, i've caught 3 keepers my whole life all in vb...

lol +1

[AbuMasgouf]

I've developed a good drifting technique that has proven very successful. Caught 2 keepers almost every trip (except my leader issue day on the pier). Most of my success has been on the pier, but each time I took my yak out and used my method I have caught +/- 10 flounders with 2 keepers each time. I do this with a hi lo rig with minnows, but works with the gulp tandem rig tipped with spot or squid as well. It's pretty excited because the flounders chase the bait down and slam the rod as if it were a rockfish or something. I havn't caught the action on tape yet, but I have recorded the method that I use if you'd like me to show you. I showed my friend this past weekend and he really enjoyed it. let me know and I'll pass that video along.

Last year all the luck I had was on minnows drifting between the pilings. I had both a bottom rig and hi lo rig and both worked well (hi lo increases the chances obviously). Having said that I'm always interested in learning from other's experiences, so I'd be interested in seeing the video

[tufnik]

The best way to catching fish is to fish, fish, fish....even after countless skunks...lol....

I've tried hanging and dragging minnows many times, and honestly, I don't see them any better than jigging. I find good ole white bucktails as my go-to.

Dson, would like to see your technique. Do you use two rods in a drift? I've tried securing my yak to structure, hanging minnows on two rods, and waiting patiently for bites. Better chance of catching flounder on two rods, but I still prefer jigging with a single rod.

[dson05]

The best way to catching fish is to fish, fish, fish....even after countless skunks...lol....

I've tried hanging and dragging minnows many times, and honestly, I don't see them any better than jigging. I find good ole white bucktails as my go-to.

Dson, would like to see your technique. Do you use two rods in a drift? I've tried securing my yak to structure, hanging minnows on two rods, and waiting patiently for bites. Better chance of catching flounder on two rods, but I still prefer jigging with a single rod.

fish fish fish is the best method haha. I wish I could do that all the time, but i'm at a stage in my life where I need to maximize my chances when I get a chance to get out there haha.

I agree that jigging is probably the easiest and most effective way of covering ground and enticing a bite, and also removes the need for dragging a minnow bucket and trying to keep them alive, but after long hours of togging or jigging I tweaked the traditional drift to work best with my fatigue and the lack of enough hands to jig (because I paddle and can't hold my position in moving water like at you guys with the blessing of a mirage drive while fishing )

*side note* I actually don't jig for flounder as much if I don't have something to tip the gulp with. At least from spending my time on the pier to figure out the biting patterns and speaking with/learning from locals I have realized the numbers of hook ups with keepers rose exponentially for those that used cut bait or minnows to tip their gulp. I have experienced that myself as well. Not that I won't jig, but just the success rate and the local knowledge proves that even on slow days it will encourage a bite.

Tufnik. On my drift I use 2 or even 3 rods sometimes because I have the mod pod and a 3 rod holder on my Ocean Kayak. There is the obvious concern for tangles and such with so many lines, but i realized that if the spacing is right and if the kayak position is right the lines don't cross and actually stay spaced out. I havn't had any serious issues of tangles.

I will dig through my go pro files to see if I can dig up the short bits of film I have that shows what I do and will load it.

Again, not to say this is the best technique, but just something that worked for me. Especially when tired of jigging. Covers just as much ground if not more and reduces wrist aches at the end of the day. haha. Just keep it as an extra method if nothing else works.

[tufnik]

Wow, you drift on three lines!?!?

Actually, I don't drift using more than one rod because of the fear of tangles. Frankly, I never tried more than one. Hmmm.......you've given me hope... maybe I'll try it. If I can control the line paths with proper yak positioning, it'll mean more flounder catches

[dson05]

Wow, you drift on three lines!?!?

Actually, I don't drift using more than one rod because of the fear of tangles. Frankly, I never tried more than one. Hmmm.......you've given me hope... maybe I'll try it. If I can control the line paths with proper yak positioning, it'll mean more flounder catches

yeah. The trick is you don't want to let out too much line. Let out a little extra line from vertical as possible. Reduces snags and also prevents tangles. It will be a little easier to keep positioning right with a paddle because you may need to reverse a little at times.

I don't have any videos on the drift. I must have deleted it cause I caught none on that drift. I will record it again the next time I am out ( possibly this Thursday) and I will post it to you guys then.

[coastal_dan]

Thanks for the report, I was at the Inner Wall Saturday. Not much luck and very crappy rain...no rain...rain...no rain...pouring...no rain. I did manage to get my first flounder double...at the inner wall...on sand crab and shrimp...what?! Only 12" and 15 1/4" but awesome nonetheless. There were a lot of croaker out there too.





Thought about going out sunday but ended up spending the day on my dads boat cruising and dolphin watching...what a blast with the little one...

[Romo]

Nice looks like a good time dan