Decided to fish the harbor today. Planned on getting there at around 5 but ended up going at 6 (we rented born in east l.a., give me a break...). I started out with a 4" green sardine swimbait fishing it around the bait barge. I was getting pecked at on just about every cast. I was pretty certain they were ronkies but just in case they were halibut, I decided to fish it a while. After repeated missed fish, I devised a new rig. It involves the plastic on the bottom with the fastrac minnow on a spider hitch about 12 inches up. I used the 5 inch fastrac. The only problems were that the trebles would constantly hook onto the main line which would foul the rig, and consequently spin around on the retrieve, twisting the line all up. However, on the second cast I nailed a ronkie. YEAH BABY!!!! Man, it was a battle, but I managed to get it to the boat with my 9 foot rod. After that excitement, I wasn't sure if I could handle anymore, but I found the strength and decided to throw fastracs on that flat between the pier and the jetty. Throwing the 5 inch, on about the second cast, again, the lure was almost to the boat, and I was just about to lift the rod to make the next cast when a little halibut smacked it. Scared the ##### out of me, but threw back like a 10 inch flatty. Once it became seabass time I worked the bait barge with fastracs, rob's seabass special swimbait, and a big old rapala sliver. There was a lot of bait milling around on the surface. The sun set and it got dark and I still hadn't gotten bit. I made a permanent move to the 4 inch fastrac because I figured the bait was up on top and I wanted a small bait that would run shallow. This wasn't producing either and I started thinking about what I was going to write for this report when I got home, and started kicking in to shore when KABLAAAM!!!! Right at the boat, maybe 8, 10 feet from the rod tip. This fish fought like there was no tomorrow. Just as he made a dive for the bait barge the cell phone started ringing (yeah, I'm gonna answer that...) More than once I found both hands on the foregrip. But, I eventually laid the smack down and pulled in a BEAT 24 inch WSB. Twas all the action for the rest of the evening, and I love white seabass. Even the shorts are soooo much fun. A short halibut is a pain the @$$, as is a short calico bass or something, but I'll fight a short white seabass anyday. I can't imagine what a 30 or 40 pounder would do to me. No, that's not fear you sense in my voice... Ok, hey Pete, what size fastracs do you usually throw? I've found the flatties like the 5 inch and the seabass like the 4 inch better. Probably because the 5 inch gets down deeper and has a better silouhette on the sky from being eyed from below for the halibut. The five inch fastrac should get the seabass too, but I haven't had much luck on it.
-Brian

Brian,

I've pretty much had equal luck with both sizes. I also bought a Rebel Spoonbill minnow in the same color pattern as the fastracs and tried it for the first time yesterday but didn't get anything.

You can't catch tomorrow what you kill today - please practice catch and release.