Beyond The Breakwater Discussion Forums

The Rockfishes of the Northeast Pacific

2011-12-02T15:53:53+00:00

If you’ve spent anytime fishing around the Channel islands; the kelp beds; the Northern California, Oregon & Washington Rocky Coasts or inside Puget Sound.. chances are You’ve encountered Rockfish. they are all over the Place along the Pacific coast.
with at least 60 species from intertidal to the deepest reefs , Rockfish are everywhere.
It can be mind boggling to know what Species You’ve caught, many look a great deal alike to the average Angler.

Well here’s a Great book to get that will teach You almost everything You’d care to know about the members of the Sabastes genus..

“Rockfishes of the Northeast Pacific” by Love, Yoklavich & Thorsteinson

This is a Big, 404 pages Tome that is basically the Bible of Rockfish. it gives just enough scientific information to educate without overloading simpletons like Us..
Each Species is given a rundown about coloration, size, range, living needs, preferred foods,etc.. Plus enough quality Photos to help You know what you are looking at when you land that Rockfish that ate your Clouser….

Why bother learnign about the Rockfish?? you might ask.. well I find that knowing exactly what Species i just landed adds to my overall enjoyment of Fishing.. besides adding another Species to my Life list is pretty cool as well..

You can order the Book directly from the University of California press : http://www.ucpress.edu/book.php?isbn=9780520234383

Thought some of You out there would be interested.. I just started reading my Copy and it’s very good so far….

Need local knowledge!

2011-11-25T19:12:14+00:00

Hey there, so here’s the deal… I have a boat moored in Quivira Basin and have a full saltwater fly setup including flys. The problem is that I have never fished saltwater. I know casting technique, but as far as where and how to fish, I am lost. My proposal is this, if you are fairly experienced in fishing the kelp beds off San Diego, but don’t have access to a boat, you can come fishing with me! No cost to you, you get a day of fishing for nothing more than showing me the basics of fishing the kelp. I am not expecting any kind of fly fishing “lesson” per se, just some guidance on location and the like. If this sounds good to you, send me a message. Cheers.

Chris

Robert “Kazy” Kazahaya Award

2011-11-16T01:37:13+00:00

the Saltwater Flyrodders Pacific #1 club, which i am a Member of, had their annual “Fund Raiser / Luncheon” on October 29th. this year. it’s always a great occasion as we all get together, have a Great Lunch (Filet Mignon for me always), have a great Speaker & presentation (Al Q. & Capt. Bill Matthews “Calico Bass Flyfishing” this year..yes!!) and the Auction always has wonderful Goodies for Saltwater Flyfishing to bid on..
Well this Year the Club started it’s Robert “Kazy” Kazahaya Award for “Excellence in Fly Tying”.. I thought this was Great as Kazy, who passed away earlier this year, was a great fly Tyer and enjoyed teaching folks all about fly tying - a wonderful person all around..

Well it came time to announce the first recipient of this Award.. And They named ME!!!!.. I was completely Floored having been chosen for this Award.. I was speechless and felt very honored to receive the award, as Kazy was a good friend and he was a mentor to me back in the Early 80’s…

The “Jetty Ripper” is a Pattern i designed back in the mid 90’s for fishing the Sea walls & Jetties, and it’s been very effective for me and others..

I am very honored to receive such recognition from My Peers.. and Friends..

Thank you Kazy!!!

Lingcod on the Fly…

2011-10-29T04:10:59+00:00

I was talking with Capt. John on the Sea Jay the other week and he tells us that he knows a location where he can get us into Lingcod in 70 feet or less depth of water.. I have always wanted to target Lings on the fly rod, but always thought that here in Southern California it was not possible because of the depths they tend to live at..

So needless to say i am all gun ho to go out and try for them. Curious if anyone here has any experience with flyfishing for Lingcod ??

Techniques, fly patterns, etc…??

I figure on using T-14, T-17 & T-20 heads on running line, because I expect to get railed by a Ling and can handle breaking off a Shooting head easier then destroying or losing an entire integrated line… and I’ll be fishing my 10 wts. and 12 wts. to throw those heavy heads and wrench those Lings out of their hidy holes…

Any insight and advice would be most welcomed…

Thanxs,

DEAN ~~~~

Zombie Glo Squid

2011-10-21T05:40:58+00:00

Been working on a new Squid pattern and gave it it’s first “test Swim” on the Sea Jay 6-Pac on the 18th…
the Zombie Glo Squid worked very well for Mike Forrest and Myself; catching various Rockfish Species and Calico bass.. not a bad start Me thinks..
There is Glow in the Dark materials thru out the Pattern and it really seems to light up as the shooting Heads drag it into the depths.
This the Green version, I also be tying it in Yellow, White & Red versions….

[IMG]http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c346/Flyjunkie/Fly Patterns/PA200001.jpg[/IMG]
Normal shot…
[IMG]http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c346/Flyjunkie/Fly Patterns/PA200002.jpg[/IMG]
Intensified Shot, to show the Glo in the Dark materials….

I’ll post the Dressing soon.. thought folks might like to see it for now….

Fatal Attraction

2011-10-16T17:04:30+00:00

As I have been restocking my Offshore/ beyond the Breakwater Fly boxes lately I wanted to share a personal Favorite Pattern..

Blanton’s FATAL ATTRACTION

HOOK : Standard Saltwater, #2/0 ~ #4
THREAD : 140 White Ultrathread
EYES : Nickel Bead chain, sized to hook.
TAIL : Silver Flashabou, length of hook.
BODY : Silver or Pearl Diamond braid
HACKLE : White Saddle, 5 wraps
WING : White Craft Fur (can use EP Fibers, original calls for Bucktail) with Pearl Flashabou or Krystal flash over top.
OVER WING : Peacock Herl
HEAD : White Thread , I usually coat this with Pearl EZ Shape Sparkle Body, once the EZ Shape has dried I coat the head with Epoxy or Clear Cure Goo.

This Pattern has been around for at least 30 years. Originally it was called the Kings Harbor Bucktail, because Blanton had designed for his annual trips with the San Jose Flyfishers down to Kings Harbor for the Bonito back in the Day. It was tyed in an assortment of color combinations. I did fish the Kings Harbor Bucktail back in the early 80’s in The Harbor and it was effective on the Bonito.. and Mackerel , Calicos, etc…
Later on Blanton reworked the Pattern, coming up with this overall White theme and renaming the Pattern the Fatal Attraction..
A straight forward , easy to tye Pattern the “F.A.” can be used to great effect in the local harbors, along the Kelp beds, over around the Islands as well.. I’ve taken it to Loreto Baja and have had good success with it.

The Overall White theme can be altered for personal use, but I nowadays simple change the Color of The Flash over the Wing to get variations in the fly.. : Sky Blue, Green, Chartreuse, Royal Blue, Olive.. all are effective. Try your own variations and see what works best for you.

The 2 samples in the photo have been mauled by a good many Bonito & Calico Bass.. but I’d still fish them (until the materials fell completely off the hook… ).

I’d consider the Fatal Attraction a “must Carry” for the Local Saltwater action.. Give it a try and let us know how it works for You.

[IMG]http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c346/Flyjunkie/FatalAttractionMauled.jpg[/IMG]

Pilgrim & Osborne Banks..

2011-10-15T00:58:05+00:00

I have been talking with Capt. John F; owner of the Sea Jay out of Channel Islands about doing a special trip out to Osborne or Pilgrim Banks.
Capt. John told me he is willing to make a special Trip out to the banks with the Possibility of getting 6 flyfishers into Tuna.

Soo we are O.k. for a Boat and a willing Capt.

What I would like to ask is if Anyone on this Board has ever made the run out to either of the banks and what was their opinions about fishing them???
I know Osborne banks is off the Southern end of Santa Barbara island and that the Pilgrim Banks are about half way between Anacapa & Santa Barbara islands.

Capt. John knows about both Banks, but mentioned that most Captains will not run out to them from Oxnard because it is a longer Boat ride and conditions can be iffy for connecting with the Tuna (for the Fillet hunters anyway). I have been able to find 5 other Flyfishers who would be very serious about taking the chance if it meant we might get into Tuna… I am going to seriously Plan for next year in Sept. or Oct. depending on how the Warm water currents move up the Coast.

Any insight or personal experiences with either bank would be soo helpful and greatly welcomed…

Thank You in Advance,

DEAN ~~~~

7 wt Line Recommendations for Surf Fishing

2010-08-21T21:14:11+00:00

Bought my wife an Abel Super 7 (thanks Craig for the referral) to be used for surf fishing. She’s all over my case to spool it up. I’m putting the backing on, but do I put a floating or sinking line on for surf fishing?

Sportfishing Magazine Article on Spectra to Mono Leader Connections

2010-06-27T05:17:24+00:00

In the July/August issue, more tests of reader’s knots. What I found most interesting was not the knot info, but the breaking strength of the Spectra vs. the stated strength on the spool….

30lb Sufix breaking at 44.5 - 54 lbs, no knots! And after tying the knots, the winner’s knot tested at 58lb, plus the top 4 all tested over 40lbs…

Does it bother anyone else that the braid had about a 25% variation in breaking strength in the base sample, and the winners knots broke at over the highest breaking strength of the base sample??

New to fly fishing in the salt - gear set up questions

2010-06-12T21:27:19+00:00

I am hoping to get some info on setting up my fly rods for the salt. I have been fishing freshwater, mainly moving, for awhile but am new to the salt. The two rods I am currently setting up are both Sage XI2’s - one is an 8 weight and one a 6 weight. Both are 9 feet. I will mainly be fishing in Southern California between Los Angeles and Santa Barbara. The spots I will mainly be fishing in are the surf, from jetties, from a kayak around the kelp beds, and occasionally from a boat.

My first question is in regards to the general line I would usually be using, especially in the surf. I am thinking of setting up both rods with Rio Outbound or a similar line. Working off of the specifications for the Rio Outbound line should I be getting an intermediate head with a floating running line for the surf? Or should I be getting a faster sinking head (faster than intermediate at least) and an intermediate running line? I know that depends probably on how quickly the grades under the water drop off and what depth the fish usually hold at and what I am fishing for. I know that you want at least part of the line to sink in order to not get washed back in the surf as much but is an intermediate head fast enough sinking for getting down in the surf and is it right then to have the running line be floating?

My next question is regarding shooting heads. I am also planning on setting up both of those same XI2 rods with shooting heads, probably the Orvis Wonderline head system or the Rio Riomax system. I may be fishing more in the surf than anywhere else since it is easiest to get to and am wondering what weight of shooting head over my rod’s specified line weight I should be getting. I have heard of going one line weight up and I have heard of going two line weights up. Both rods are fairly fast and stiff. Does going up one line weight with the shooting heads give enough extra weight to load fast rods and to get the head moving with so little weighted line to work with? Or would you recommend going up two line weights? If you did go up two line weights are there any negative aspects to that? I’ll be using a variety of heads - intermediate, sinking, fast sinking, etc…

While you are at it any recommendations on backing for salt would be apprecated as well.

Comments or recommendations would be highly appreciated.

Thanks!