On the sand before dawn. Surfs down and crowds are back. Didn't bother to wait for the lull and plowed through a couple closeouts. A few grunts later turned North to check out the pier.
59° SST, lite puff from the East, smooth seas with long smooth rollers moving underneath. Zero life at the pier. Checked the bouys just to the West. Couple nibbles but nada on the Sabiki. A few grunts later made a heading for the canyon's edge.
Metered the edge and found some marks down deep. Dropped the metal for nada. Played with the settings to try and get a better picture. Marks looked small and with talk of squirts I tied on the squid jig to the bottom of the sabiki. Nibbles felt like the right kind so I started cranking. Pulled up a chain of juvenile green striped rockfish. A few grunts later continued to zig zag the canyon's edge.
Not much happening after an hour or so working the canyon. It was nursery fishing at best with more dink green stripes. I'm not too far away from a couple of small rockpiles in the middle of nowhere. I haven't visited this spot in awhile and never really see anyone fishing it so I decided to go over and check it out. On my way there, just a couple hundred yards short actually, a skiff works it's way right on the spot. No way! As I start my grunt routine I spy as he slows down over the spot but then decides to gun it and head way the hell away. Hmm... my turn to check it out.
Structure is right where it should be. Meter is showing a little life off the bottom. I make the long drop and get slammed instantly. Decent red coming in hot! Next 2 drops rinse and repeat. All 3 fiesty little buggahs fought all the way up even with the barotrauma. Weird. Reset my drift and get into a slower but steady vermillion bite on the metal. Winds and current were kicking up making it a one drop drift sorta deal. Spent some time to send a few smaller ones back. But was eventually able to top off a limit of verms. Quantity over quality this time. A few grunts later I stuff the lid closed on the
RSW.
Went inside the Cove to see if anyone was home. Had a few tugs on the swimbait but missed the hookset. A little while later got pantsed again. Paddled around looking for more but couldn't find anyone else to play. Cleared the deck, headed in, ended the session with a smooth landing.
As I write this report I notice nothing but red and green right before Christmas. There is no such thing as coincidence. Merry Christmas PSoul keep your drinks cold and your bellies warm.
