Oc 8 /1-2

[chimo]

It was a Jeckyl and Hyde kinda weekend. Friday night was a little rough on me so i didn't make it to OC until noon Saturday. Launched on a strong outgoing tide that pushed me through the inlet at over 8mph and started fishing the south jetty with sand fleas. The bite was slow but 3 low 30 inch reds and a pair of sheephead at 19 and 21 inches made up for it! I also missed some bites from triggers, caught a puffer and tangled with a cnr briefly before heading back into the inlet to fish for flounder on the incoming. The flounder bite was also slow for me with only a handful of dinks and one near keeper to show for my time. Off the water around 1930 with high expectations for Sunday.

Launched sometime after 0500 Sunday to what seemed like an unusually high low slack tide. Fished both jetties, the wreck I fished last trip, another wreck, the south jetty again, the channels behind AI etc with only 3 more pufferfish, 2 cnr's, a dink bsb and a couple small flounder before my fish finder and my batteries burned out around 1300. Water temps were low to mid 70s ocean side and mid to high 70s inside the inlet.

[Slobber Bob]

Quality over quantity!

I'm long overdue to get back out there again; hopefully soon!

I was wondering if you were able to anchor up inside the inlet with the tide running out that hard or did you just ride it out and fish the ocean side? I've always avoided fishing there on outgoing unless I knew the ocean swells were small enough to ride the tide out and fish the ocean side.

[chimo]

I've never really been comfortable anchoring with heavy current and boat wakes so it's usually more of a controlled drift with the hobie. The underwater portion of the south jetty has been my go to spot. On the outgoing there is a nice little eddy there.

[Slobber Bob]

I'm with you. Even on low coefficients, or the tail end of the outgoing current before slack, I don't like anchoring there either. There is a lot of water pushing up against the south jetty on outgoing.

I've been wanting to try the underwater portion of the jetty more, but it just hasn't lined up for me yet. Conditions on the ocean weren't conductive to going there on outgoing (big ocean swells!), or it's incoming tide and the current is way too much. It can get snotty out there on incoming; I give you credit! Last two times I tried it was way worse than it looked once I got out there and I had to chicken out and head back inside.

If you don't mind me asking, did you have any problems vertically fishing that part of the jetty with other boats around? I usually see a few charters there that drift spot across that part for stripers on the incoming. Wondering if they get in the way or vice versa? Although it sounds like you might only fish that part during outgoing?

[chimo]

I'll fish the area on all tide phases but it is definitely harder to fish on the incoming with the way the current wants to push you. There wasn't any problem with other boats Saturday, actualy there were very few people fishing in the afternoon. Sunday was a different animal with multiple boats drifting back and forth and a ton more traffic on the water in general. Everyone stayed calm and tried to give each other a little room but its a tight area...

[Slobber Bob]

Gotcha, thanks. One of these days you text me I'll be able to join you!

I'm hoping to sneak out there an evening or two after work this week. But it's also WMO, so they'll be plenty of big wake in the inlet once the scales open.

[mike o]

Thanks for the report. Did you get the reds and sheepshead on sandfleas? I'm hoping to get down there in 2 weeks.

[chimo]

Yup, was using sand fleas to target the sheep head and picked up the redfish as a pleasant accident.

[Salty Dog]

Great report, congrats on your catches.

[dasher]

Nice job, & keepers are a bonus - havent been through the inlet yet - might not this year.