SOCAL SALT REPORT

SOCAL Catalina white seabass tactics — from the beaches to the bait grounds BY BRANDON HAYWARD/WON Staff WriterPublished: Mar 01, 2010

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SOUTH CAL SALT REPORT WON talks to Tino Valantine, skipper of the six-pack Options, to get anglers ready for white seabass season Some things just go so good together: pizza with beer, rum with Coke and, to anglers this time of year, white seabass fishing at Catalina Island. So far this year there has been a little bit of white seabass showing up locally and at Catalina — and plenty of rumors flying around — but the “full on” white seabass season is still a little ways off. When things will really kick in is anybody’s guess. But with warmer-than-usual water that is already at or above 60 degrees in some areas, there have already been some seabass prospects for those putting in the time. The first sportboat-caught white seabass was caught a few weeks on the six-pack Options. Skipper Tino Valantine has always been well known for putting his anglers on white seabass, be it back in his days of running the Phantom or as of last season when he started running the Options. Here are some of Valantine’s thoughts on seabass fishing that should get you ready for white seabass season: Moon phases and conditions The moon without a doubt plays a role in seabass fishing. Maybe not always as much as some anglers think, but having a moon phase around the full moon definitely seems to improve the odds of finding good seabass fishing. “I would say that I’ve seen a larger percentage of fish caught before, during and after a full moon; however, I’ve seen just about as many caught during a new moon,” says Valantine. “But think about it. What’s the equation to both phases: a larger tide swing. More water movement.” No matter what the moon is doing, seabass fishing comes down to conditions and being in the right spot at the right time. “I try to get good info, and I try to move around and throw as many squid around the island as possible, looking for the right conditions, be it water temps, movement or whatever,” adds Valantine. Top: LOOKING FOR CONDITIONS is a big part of seabass fishing. Middle: THE JIG AND SQUID is popular way to fish for seabass, especially at night in the deep water squid grounds. Eclipse owner Chris Switzer shows off his favorite way to catch seabass in the bait grounds — a Salas 6X Jr. with a few squid pinned onto it. Bottom: BIG WHITE SEABASS often show up in the bait grounds. The author hooked this 59.7 pounder on a jig and squid and handed it off to Jennifer Goddard while fishing with Valantine, right, on the Phantom back in 2007. (WON Photos by Brandon Hayward) When it comes to seabass fishing at Catalina, there are essentially two ways to fish them: in shallow water off beaches and in deeper water, from the edges of kelp lines to out in the deep water squid grounds. Shallow water seabass While moon phases, conditions and luck all conspire to dictate the outcome of seabass trips, where you fish for them often dictates the size of the fish you are going to catch. When it comes to fishing shallow water beaches, which is what many anglers think of when it comes to seabass fishing at Catalina, Valantine says that there is one constant to fishing the shallow water stuff. “There’s a difference between fishing the beaches versus the deep-water squid grounds. A lot of the fish you get shallow are smaller school fish from shorts and just legals to fish in the low 20s. I’ve seen a lot of 40-plus-pound fish caught at Starlight and West Cove (seabass spots that are hardly a secret) but most of the beach fishing is for smaller fish. “There are times when the big females get in shallow with the smaller males, but you lose a lot of them because it’s not like fishing out in the mud (as in the deep water squid grounds). There’s a lot more kelp and structure in shallow for them to break you off on.” Due to the structure factor, Valantine like to fish heavier tackle anytime he’s fishing seabass. He says that he has seen the Spectra “kelp cutter rigs” work good in the right hands, but thinks that you have to know how to fish them effectively. Valantine himself opts for pretty much the same rig anytime he’s fishing for shallow-water seabass on out to the fish at the edges of kelp lines. “I like a half-ounce slider, a big 6/0 to 8/0 hook and 30-pound pink Ande. Always have, always will,” he says. He likes to keep the “junk” like small bass, perch, small sheephead and such off the hook, hence using the big hook. Plus, when seabass swim through and want to bite, they are not the most selective fish around. In fact, his not-so-natural way of hooking his squid might come as a surprise. “I fish my squid like it’s a booger on a hook. It’s just another one of those things I’ve always done. I just take that squid and ball it up on the hook so it’s like a Titleist golf ball and fire the thing out there. Seabass don’t care. When thy they want to feed and you put a squid in front them, they are going to eat it.” Valantine believes that keeping that bait on the hook while the junk and naggers peck away at the squid is part of the key to getting bit. “You’ve got to get the biomass up. I like to salt the area down (as in throw a lot of squid chunks). You want all the perch and bass pecking at your bait. It’s what gets the seabass’ attention sometimes. You want all that stuff pecking at your bait,” he says. On the grounds Valantine lumps fishing the beaches and the kelp lines pretty much together. If you were to fish a squid on a half-ounce slider and allow the bass and perch and junk to peck away at your squid while waiting (and hoping) for a seabass to come by, you’d do okay. Ditto for fishing a half- to one-ounce leadhead. When it comes to fishing the deep-water squid grounds he says that the fish are often bigger. He also adds that you should usually change the slider rig out for a set-up that is going to get you close to the bottom. “A lot of times out on the squid grounds I set up on squid nests that are, oh, anywhere to 100 feet or so feet deep. Due to the depth and current, you want to fish a dropper loop or a jig and squid. Sometimes if you fish a slider your bait just drifts too far away,” he believes. “You want to keep your bait in the zone around the nest. “The bigger fish, the 40 to 50 pounders come from the squid grounds a lot of the time,” he adds. The biggest tip Perhaps you’ve picked up that there really isn’t a lot to catching a seabass with a rod and reel when they want to bite. The hunt of finding them is where the skill comes in. In other words, if you are a passenger, all you have to worry about is hooking a fish after the captain sets the boat up. When seabass want to bite, they are some of the dumbest fish around. Another “dumb” part of seabass fishing is the dumb luck that seems to go with it sometimes. A guy that has never fished for seabass will get the only one on squid fished on a dropper loop and an upside down spinning rod. While it seems like luck — and it is — there is also another word to seabass fishing that doesn’t get tossed around as much. The word is persistence. TINO VALANTINE caught this 50.1-pound white seabass on 30-pound Pink Ande back when he was running the Phantom in 2007.  (WON Photos by Brandon Hayward) You have to put your time in. Seabass are one of the few fish that bite anytime, be it the middle of the day or night. While the early-morning hours (often called the grey, or fishing in the grey) kick out a lot of seabass bites, so does the middle of the afternoon and the middle of the night. For these reasons, Valantine says that his biggest advise to anglers who want to catch a seabass is a simple one. “The fish do not have appointments. They are where you find them. They bite when they please. Just because they bit at 5:30 a.m. doesn’t mean they are going to bite at the same time the next day,” he urges. “If you come out, fish hard. You can’t get them sleeping in your bunk; that’s one of the few certainties to seabass fishing. If the boat gets to the island at 12:30 a.m., then fish. Fish as much as you can. Stay up all night. Fish all day. Sleep on the way in or in between spots. You paid good money to come out and try to catch a seabass for a day. You are fishing for one fish from March 15 ‘til June 15 (when the limit is one). Make it count.” Excerpts from this feature first appeared in Brandon Hayward’s book, The Southern California Angler. The book is available at www.wonews.com, and in WON’s booths (414-417) at the Fred Hall Show.  • THE AIR BLADDER on a white seabass is huge. It’s what gives them the look of worms on an up-and-down meter. • A SOLID STREAM of worms is a good indication you are sitting over a school of seabass. This picture was taken on a limit-style day at Catalina. Tips on metering seabass When it comes to fishing for white seabass at Catalina from a private boat, the puzzle to catching white seabass all revolves around reading the conditions — plus the meter at times — and figuring out what you’re looking at. Mark Wisch’s book, In the Grey, helped throngs of private boaters in upping their seabass success at Catalina. It’s a must read for any private boaters hoping to get in the seabass game this season. One essential skill (aside from figuring out conditions) is being able to properly read your meter. Just know this. White seabass look like big worms on most meters. They mark way different than a tuna or a yellowtail. Why? White seabass have huge air bladders. Up-and-down meters really pick this up, so be on the lookout for a “wormed up” meter.