Float tubed West Beach in Santa Barbara this morning from 6:00 - 9:30 am. Most of the floating weeds that were there Wednesday that made fishing tough were gone but the very murky water was still there. I started in the spot I've been getting fish lately (just to the East of Stean's Wharf) and picked up 3 halibut with one legal (24 inches) within the first hour. After that I explored around in deeper water on both the East and West side of the wharf for nothing. Going back to shallow water, this time on the West side of the wharf I picked up a short seabass.

All fish were caught on the 3 inch Mackerel colored Big Hammer, 3/16 oz. Assalt Darter Head and Pro-Cure Calico Cocktail. All fish released.

The first fish I caught had tail rot so bad that it didn't even really have a tail - just a stump. It was sad. A reminder - if you're planning to release halibut - DO NOT NET THEM unless you have one of the rubber catch and release nets. Regular nets do a lot of damage - especially on halibut. A BogaGrip or one of those Berkeley knock-offs is the way to go.

nice going with the seabass and halibut. i think the huge strike i got at hermosa with 3" brown grunion big hammer was also a halibut.


aaron

Aaron
Gimme

I fished the same day/area from 5:45p.m. - dark with the incoming tide from shore. Started near the bait receiver throwing swimbaits and ending up near the Wharf, I saw baitfish jumping but got no hook ups. Once at the pier, I changed to a Frenzy minnow and worked my way back. About 50 yards west of the pier, got one 20 inch halibut (released). I was using my perch/corbina outfit (4 lb line) so had some fun with the fish taking 4 strong surges before making the beach.

Where can I get a good net. I have seen some on the web, but too small for anything but trout.

thanks,
dbp

I'm not sure. I use a BogaGrip and it has eliminated my need for a net. I thought I saw some rubber and fine mesh nets in the Bass Pro Shops catalog but I'm not sure if those qualify as the "catch and release" nets. Inside Sportfishing may also be a place to check. FloMar has an article where he talks about the nets and they've also done a television show where he was using one for halibut.