Go back to previous topic
Forum nameFreshwater Fishing in California
Topic subjectOceano Lagoon, 2/16
Topic URLhttp://www.calfishing.com/dc/dcboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=3&topic_id=12455&mesg_id=12455
12455, Oceano Lagoon, 2/16
Posted by Mickster, Tue Feb-17-04 08:44 AM
Went to the Oceano lagoon for a morning of fishing in the tube. Water was 54 degrees and stained. Weather was cloudy with isolated sprinkles, barometer was slowly rising (30.20 when I started to 30.25 when I was fisnished).

I started about 9:30am and worked the island south of the Pier St. bridge. Went down the west side flippin a jig then back up the same side throwing a Senko. No one was home. I then went to the west bank of the lake and alternated between the senko and the jig but no one seemed to be home. It was when I was on the north side of the bridge when the activity picked up.

Earlier in the week I had read Rob's guide to jig fishing and had visited Pete at Wilderness / Tackle Warehouse to collect the necessary gear. Today I decided to fish the east arm of the lake and started with a patch of tules just past the bridge. I flipped the jig in a couple of spots and sure enough I felt something nibbling my bait. A hard pull and the jig comes shooting out of the water. Hmmm. I flip it back in the same spot and while I'm analyzing my fish finder, from the corner of my eye I see my line taking off to my left. A hard pull releases my jig from it's capture (unfortunately).

My next stop is a fallen tree. I pitch the jig under the tree and I watch carefully. Within 15 seconds or so, my line is moving out from under the tree. I take in the slack and give it a gentle jug. Oh, yeah, somethin's got a grip on this one! A hard set and the line goes wild! I reel it in and it's nice largemouth. I go for the scale and realize it's in the truck. My guestimate is a three pounder, lookin' like a male, lean but solid, and with red lips. Yup, they're munching on craws all right.

I ended up going along the lagoon's south bank with no other hits. My fishing ended at noon and after thinking about it, the south bank was probablty the wrong one to try considering the sun has no penetration there. I'll know better for next time.

Rob, my hat's off to you. Your article on jig fishing was top notch and the black/red jig with black & red brush hog did well. For this adventure I ended up using a baby brush hog on a 3/8 oz. black & red jig for a slightly smaller presentation. I figure once the water breaks the 60 degree mark I'll go full brush hog and maybe move up on size of jig.