Cabrillo beach

[vincentek9]

ended up with the skunk. we got our baits raked REALLY BADLY 6 times. but those cormorants wouldn't leave us alone. and the bait barge only had some massive dines/macs with a $25 minimum purchase... and 90% of the bait died right away. oh well. maybe better luck next time. thanks for the tips though!

[GregAndrew]

Originally Posted by vincentek9

ended up with the skunk. we got our baits raked REALLY BADLY 6 times. but those cormorants wouldn't leave us alone. and the bait barge only had some massive dines/macs with a $25 minimum purchase... and 90% of the bait died right away. oh well. maybe better luck next time. thanks for the tips though!

At Cabrillo? Were you in a boat? Has been a $10 kayak scoop for years. BTW, I love those gigantic Sardines, but freshly caught ones will tend to die in the bait tank. Or slow pumps or too many. Come to think of it, Sardines are kind of finicky. I will skip the bait barge when they don't have bait that is at least 7" (I don't like to waste my time hassling over short fish). Every short fish you bring up and release is time that a bigger bait could have stayed in the zone. Bigger baits will not eliminate shorts, but they will reduce them substantially.

[SirFishsALot]

^^ Good advice! Always learning from you guys.

[jorluivil]

Originally Posted by vincentek9

ended up with the skunk. we got our baits raked REALLY BADLY 6 times. but those cormorants wouldn't leave us alone. and the bait barge only had some massive dines/macs with a $25 minimum purchase... and 90% of the bait died right away. oh well. maybe better luck next time. thanks for the tips though!

$25 for bait? You must be a really good tipper.

I spent many years buying bait from the barge and I also spent a ton of money on it. 1-2 trips a week, $9 for parking, $10-$15 for bait.......it gets expensive. Eventually, I started making my own bait, that saved me a ton of money. I was losing some fishing time in the process of making bait but I made up for it by launching earlier and getting on the bait spot at first light.

Its not uncommon to find greenbacks, Spanish macs and lizard fish in the harbor, all you need is a sabiki and a FF. It can get frustrating not being able to find bait but when you do you'll be glad you did because you just cut the cost of your fishing trip by %50 and you will have premium bait.

[Hunters Pa]

Really easy to troll a sabiki to find bait while also looking for it on the ff. Add a heavy swimbat or jig on the bottom, you never know