Took my kayak out to campus point in the evening on sunday. Outside the surfline where the current sweeps out around the point into the kelp. At around 530 the white seabass bite took off and i got at least a dozen between then and dark on 4 and 5 inch plastics - pretty much anything that resembled a sardine or anchovie seemed to be working well. I landed 1 that was 31 inches and had another that looked legal throw the hook next to the boat. It was awesome - those things fight so well.

Nice job Dave. Do you have any idea how deep the water was where you were fishing? Just curious.

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

Where in the water column were the fish? If they're within the top 20 feet or so, try throwing the fastrac minnow sometime. The fish will usually stick better than when you hook em on the plastic. You'll also miss a lot less fish because of all the trebles.
-Brian

Brian,

It's kind of funny that you say that because I've noticed that they don't stick as well to the trebles and those big single hooks. I've not only noticed it with halibut and seabass (since we discovered the fastrac) but I've noticed it ever since I started fishing. Unless they're hooked by all three points it seems that the hooks work themselves loose easier. I've actually been contemplating sticking some single hooks on the fastracs.

Also, for everyone using the fastracs you should remove the center hook. Not only will you not injure the fish as much but you will have less of a chance of popping your tube or hooking yourself. With halibut it seems about 80% get the back hook and about 20% get the front. With white seabass it's more 50-50. When I first started using it I had the center hook on and none of the fish were hooked by it - it's a waste - trust me. Also, be careful netting fish because that extra hook dangling around will catch the net and if the fish flips out you'll loose it (I learned this the hard way).

Pete

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

The water wasnt too deep - i couldn't see bottom, but that isn't saying too much - I would guess somewhere from 15 to 25 feet - I was pretty much at the start of the kelp off the point. I was getting hit both on the straight retrieves and on the drop, but it seemed like most fish were going for it on the drop about 1/3 to 1/2 way to the bottom.
Thanks for the tip on the fasttrack minnow - I'll try that out soon

Pete,
I haven't lost too many fish once they were hooked. I usually end up having the fish with one treble in his mouth, and another in this gill plate or something. Maybe that's a disadvantage to removing the middle treble. With all three trebles on there, the fish doesn't have much of a chance of coming unbuttoned, but it is a pain to deal with all those trebles once you get the fish to the boat.

I was thinking about how to further modify the fastrac minnow. Here's a couple ideas- Have you seen those new red treble hooks? I think they're made by Daiichi or X-Point. Try switching out the front or middle treble for one of those and it may resemble an injury to the fastrac and trigger more strikes. On like the Florida flats and stuff they put one red treble hook on the jerkbaits to make it look like it's bleeding or injured.
Another thought that would take a lot of time and engineering would be to take off ALL the trebles and remove the things that the attach to. Then try to construct a tail to put on the back, maybe cut one off of a possum lure or something, and rig a single hook on the top of the lure. Then add suspend dots to the belly until it sinks really well. Twitch it along the bottom and it's sure to catch halibut. I've tried fishing it across the bottom with an egg sinker over a swivel (carolina rigging...) but I think the egg sinker just pisses them off and scares them away since it's so close to the lure. So, there's a couple things the think about.
-Brian

Brian,

I've actually had fewer come loose after I decided to remove the center hook. I've read numerous times in magazines and stuff over the years how trebles sometimes don't hold as well as singles because they work themselves out. My cousin who fishes for tuna nearly every weekend in Ensenada will never throw an iron with a treble for tuna - he always opts for a single hook for this very reason. The one problem with the Fastrac is that their hooks basically suck. We thought about sticking some Owners on there but that can get expensive. The red hook idea is interesting. Before that I may try putting a little red around the "gill" area on the lure. For the most part I think the lure is moving so fast they don't really have time to see it and it's more of a reaction strike. This is why I think it works better than the plastics when the water is ultra clear. There is probably a lot we could do to improve these lures but everytime I try something it doesn't seem to make a difference. I do believe removing the center hook helps and I'm sure I haven't lost any fish because of it. Actually, the more I use it the less fish I loose - so maybe I'm just learning how to set the hook correctly with that lure.

Another thought... Crankbaits are supposed to be fished with slower action rods - allowing the fish to get a better hold of the lure. I was using a pretty fast action rod when I first started throwing the fastrac. Since then I have built a Loomis P843 that has a slower action. I've been using the fastrac on it exclusively so maybe that's the deal and it has nothing to do with the hooks.

Pete

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

I agree, the single siwash or o'shagnessy is tops. there are a few lures that seem to need the treble for action.

I love using a single hook jig in my kayak because it makes a fine little gaff.
OK now here's the commercial, I have a jig that is really a wonder! It's not on the market yet and wont be for a number of weeks.
I know what I am talking about, I have made jigs since 1957.
The new gem is called .........
"Bada Bing" by jerry ,yep thats me, but the truth is the truth and I have been picking up wsbs from college point to Malibu.
Even a few sorts right about where the barge was at Redondo.

keep pluggin

jerry